Frustrated Instincts (Marina: Part Three: Naughty Nookie Series)

by Serena Akeroyd

  Falling into step beside me, he asks, “We don’t have anyone booked in, do we?”

  “No. But that doesn’t stop people from flying in. You know that.”

  “I just hope it isn’t the Governor. He’s the only one I know who’d fly in at this time of the day. Christ, he pisses everyone off for the duration of his stay and then, afterward, there’s always a lull in creativity. It’s like he sucks the life out of the place, while he’s here.”

  Despite myself, and the weird atmosphere that has settled over the pair of us, I grin. I know exactly who he’s talking about. “My granddaddy used to complain about him.”

  “You remember that far back?”

  “My granddaddy was unforgettable. I didn’t have him for a long time, but what little I did have, I remember. Back then, the Governor was middle-aged and on his fourth wife. How many is it now?”

  “God knows. Too many. It’s a wonder he manages to get re-elected year after year.”

  “He’s a crappy husband, but a decent politician.” I shrug and smile at him coolly, politely, as though he were a stranger, when he opens the front door and lets me out first.

  The cool evening air is crisp as I suck in my first lavender-free breath. It had been in the bedroom too, so I can only assume it was Greta’s perfume.

  In silence, we walk over to one of the garages and each of us takes a seat behind the wheel of a mini-SUV-cart. In tandem, we set off at a fast pace and drive past the heart of the commune toward the landing strip.

  Cold air blasts up my nose and makes me wish I’d had the wherewithal to grab a pair of shades to protect my eyes, but I hadn’t had that many thought processes after Nate had caught me going through the papers on the bed.

  Uneasy. That’s one way of describing how I feel. Very, very uneasy. And I can kind of understand why Nate went ape, when I told him the truth about Papillon. Learning about secret lives, about the real reason for the whys and hows behind past actions… hurts.

  For four years, he said, he’d been searching for answers. From the very start, he’s been telling lies.

  While I’m hurt, at the same time, I’m pissed. How dare he lecture me for telling lies and withholding the truth, when he’s been doing exactly the same thing? The word hypocrite is tattooed on my mind and my lips purse as I brake to a halt a few feet or so away from the private helicopter.

  In the setting sun, with the light blaring directly on to the passengers of the helicopter, I freeze. For the second time that night. It’s a day for surprises.

  At an early age, we, at the commune, learn the government isn’t what the public believes it to be. The faces we see on TV, the people we vote for, they’re only half of the government. The faceless people, the men and women consumed in the shadow of their own power, they’re the ones with the real authority. How do we know this? Those faceless folk are either born and raised here or they tend to retire here.

  And Erick van der Viel is one such person.

  Now, why he’s standing here, glaring down at me, I don’t know. All I do know is that I grew up with the guy and that I’ve run across him twice in the last five years. Both times to do with Papillon and the important clients we served. And when I say important, I mean the men and women in positions the public did have some say in… The senators, Congressmen, and women who reveled in Papillon’s strict privacy rules and used it to ignore the stringent laws surrounding prostitution.

  It’s too much to hope that Erick is here on vacation. Especially with that glare.

  It’s only after I suck in a breath and shake off my surprise at his presence that I notice Nate is equally as shell-shocked. Studying him with a puzzled frown, I take in the source of his amazement and feel the tug of jealousy to spy it’s Erick’s PA. Natalia Rosenthorpe. From her expression and Nate’s, I can only assume they know each other.

  How intimately, I don’t know. But my little-used jealousy radar has winked to life.

  Attempting calm, I move away from the souped-up golf cart and head toward Erick. We’re close enough that I stand in front of him and tilt my head to the side expecting him to kiss each cheek. I take it as a good sign that he does just that. Blowing out a relieved, inaudible breath, I murmur, “No note?”

  “There was an unexpected emergency.”

  I cringe at the pointed comment. “So you’re not here on vacation?”

  He lifts his brows and shakes his head. For a faceless power, Erick is actually rather handsome. Had my parents had a choice in the guys I’d been attracted to as a teenager, then he’d have been top of the list. Not genius-less, sick and weak Jimmy. But strong, smart, superbly turned out Erick. With his perfect hair, face and body. Christ, he’d make a male model feel antsy. He stands there, looking like he’s about to take part in a photo shoot, hair slicked back in a neat quiff, expensive suit not creased by the air travel, the sleek tailored lines of his clothes hiding a body that is trim and taut. It’s nauseating.

  And the sickest thing is, I suit him.

  God. It’s probably why I avoided him as a kid, when he actively sought me out. Another sore point between Lucy and I.

  “A visit with the folks?” I ask, ever hopeful.

  He sighs. “No, Murray.”

  Rolling my eyes at the nickname, I grunt, “I grew out of that name when I turned eight, Erick.”

  For the first time, his face lightens. The instant it does, I’m on edge. Mostly because he has lifted his hands and is resting them on my upper arms. “You’ll always be Murray to me.”

  It doesn’t come as a shock to feel Nate’s hand on my shoulder. I can’t deny, I’m slightly confused. The Nate I’d just been dealing with is a new entity. I’m not entirely sure what the fuck’s going on. As it is, that horrible churning in my gut has made itself known again, so even though I’m dampening down how stressed I’m feeling at the moment, my body isn’t having any of it.

  “This is Nathan Conroy, Erick.”

  “My mother’s told me a lot about you… Nate, isn’t it?” Erick’s eyes switch from my face to Nate’s hand. “So formal, Marina. That’s unlike you. Mother had assured me you’re as vocal as ever.”

  “I try not to disappoint,” I bite out. “Unless it’s my parents.”

  Erick snorts, a somewhat incongruous sound considering he looks like something from a magazine front cover. “They always were morons.”

  Despite myself, I grin. “They were, weren’t they?”

  Our mutual amusement has the still-silent Nate tightening his grip on my shoulder. “If you’re not here on vacation, van der Viel, then why are you here?”

  “So you know who I am?” Erick cocks a brow.

  I don’t blame him for being somewhat taken aback. His very life depends on his anonymity. We only use his original name, because he’s a Blue Ridge native. Everywhere else, he has different nom de plumes. It would be facile to think differently. The last time I heard, which was from his mother’s gossip, so four years ago, he was something powerful in the State Department.

  “Dorothy is proud of you,” is all Nate says, but there’s an undertone to his voice. One I don’t trust.

  He’s hiding something. I can tell. I’m just not sure what.

  Erick doesn’t seem to notice, he just rolls his eyes. “For God’s sake, the woman could never keep her trap shut. Even if it’s a state secret.” He sighs. “Natalia, are the arrangements made?”

  “Yes, Sir.” Natalia steps nearer to our closed group. “The bank transfer has just taken place.”

  “Natalia’s accommodation costs have just been transferred over to the commune’s bank accounts. Nate, can you see her to her rooms? I need to talk to Marina.” Erick speaks with such self-assurance, a natural born leader, that it wouldn’t have shocked me if Nate leaped to the order. As it is, Nate doesn’t. Again, I bear the brunt of his fierce grip on my shoulder.

  “No, van der Viel.” The clash of formality between the two men has me grunting with annoyance. It’s almost like being pissed on by two wol
ves claiming territory. Theoretically, Erick has no right to feel in any way territorial. That hasn’t stopped him, throughout every part of our acquaintance, from acting as though he does. “I’ll have Sam Denison take care of Natalia. Whatever you need to say to Marina can be said in front of me.”

  Erick frowns down at me. “Like that, is it?” He purses his lips. “I’m not sure Marina would feel the same way. I need to discuss personal business with her.”

  “Her personal business is my business.”

  “Butterflies, Murray. It concerns… butterflies.”

  I close my eyes and sag into Nate’s hold. Papillon is the French for butterfly. It had been wishful thinking to believe myself free from that side of my life. If not free, then detached from it.

  Apparently not.

  “I know about Papillon, van der Viel. As I said, anything concerning Marina can be discussed in front of me.”

  Erick isn’t stupid enough to waste time on a stalemate. He grunts, “Fine, dammit. Then get Sam out here to take care of Natalia. I need to speak to you urgently, Marina. This isn’t the time to piss around.”

  “You’re the one making the small talk!” I chide, but take a step back into Nate to force him to move.

  Erick states, “Natalia, wait here. Someone will be out here for you in five minutes.” The other woman nods and retreats to the helicopter’s passenger seats, where she sits down.

  Spying this, Erick nods and walks over to the cart I’d been driving.

  Before he releases his grip on my shoulder, Nate mutters under his breath, “Don’t say a word without me there, Marina.”

  The warning has my back stiffening. “It’s not like I can over the sound of those engines!” I shake off his grip. “And if I do, it’s between old friends. I’m not sure where I stand with you now, Nate. When we started down this path, I thought honesty was the key. I accepted your bullshit, because I’d been lying and hiding so much from you… I didn’t realize that was a two-way street.”

  He hisses, “Don’t think you can back out of this, Marina. Today changes nothing.”

  “Today changes everything, Nate. Hypocrite,” I hiss at him and make my way over to the cart. Jumping behind the wheel, I start the engine and have the tires squealing as I reverse. It’s dangerous, but my eyes are glued to his as I make the maneuver.

  With my belly churning like I’ve just swallowed twenty habanero chili peppers and my ears deafened by the screech of the motor, I take off for the homestead.

  That old song, “What a difference a day makes” plays on repeat in my head. Only in this case, it isn’t a day. But an hour.

  Where the hell do the pair of us stand now?

  Nate’s lies change everything. His reason for being here… His words alone tell me he’s been two-faced, duplicitous. Actively hiding his purpose for taking the job at Blue Ridge and living here… What else can I do but believe there’s been a reason for him being in a relationship with me?

  It’s handy that I’ve been under his thumb these last few weeks. Despite myself and the confidence I’d found in embracing this new part of my soul, I can’t help but wonder if he’s used this time for his own benefit…

  The very idea sickens me.

  My eyes blur as they take in the dying light of the sun’s rays casting shadows over the ranch and I know I’m about an inch away from screaming out my confusion in front of Erick. That thought alone is enough to have me tightening my grip on the wheel.

  I hate showing weakness in front of other people… all my life, I’ve tried to present a strong front, knowing that the majority seek weaknesses in a person’s soul in an attempt to belittle them and so, control them. For twenty-eight years, I remained in pristine condition, untouched, because I’d let nobody in, always holding some part of myself to my chest to protect the real me.

  Until Nate.

  He opened the cage, freed the submissive and while an hour ago, I’d been grateful, now, I can only ask why?

  Grinding my jaw, I floor the accelerator and try not to let my thoughts take flight.

  But it’s hard.

  Too hard.

  How can I trust him now?

  It’s simple. I can’t.

  I race ahead and in the side mirrors spot the distance separating Nate’s cart and mine.

  A part of me wonders if he took a few seconds to talk to Natalia. Let’s add that to my list of concerns! Because Nate is one of those guys who is hard to shock. So for him to have been surprised at the other woman’s presence shouts at me. The only problem is, the shout is in another language and I don’t have a goddamn clue how to translate it.

  The distance between us is more than just physical. But I take advantage of it and rev up the speed a little more. When I reach the homestead a few minutes ahead of him, the brakes squeal to a halt as I slam my feet on them.

  There’s more at stake than my relationship with Nate. And even though my confused heart feels like it’s being stomped on, if Erick’s here, then it means I’ve done something to damage the country itself.

  Fuck, how do I get myself into these goddamn positions?

  “Well, that was fun.” Erick’s dry drawl has me glaring at him. His lips twitch at my annoyance and I guess I should take that as a positive. He wouldn’t be teasing or mocking me if the situation was irreparable.

  Regardless, I turn my head away and rest my forearms on the wheel. Planting my forehead atop the slight bridge I’ve made of them, I mutter, “How bad is it, Erick?”

  “Bad.” His somberness, so quick on the heels of his amusement, has me clenching my eyes shut.

  “What? What’s happened?”

  “A suicide.”

  “Who?”

  “One of the naughty boys that used your services.” I’ve long since ceased to feel any amusement that one of the top government officials knew and condoned my brothel. Naughty boys is our code for a high-level politician.

  “Shit.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Blackmail?”

  “Blackmail, extortion… you wouldn’t believe how much mess you’ve caused by pulling the stunt you did.”

  His head has my head jerking up. “I didn’t pull any stunt. The fucking mafia came after me and demanded I give them my client list. With all the pies your fingers are stuck in, you’ll know Nate’s only just got out of hospital for a gunshot wound. We weren’t practicing down at the range!” I bite out. “They shot him!”

  “Who are they, Marina?”

  “Like I said, the Russian mafia. Or at least, they were as far as I’m aware.”

  He snorts. “Is that what they told you? Clever bastards.”

  He falls silent and it takes that length of time for the sound of Nate’s motor to broach the place we’ve parked.

  He takes a second to absorb my dejected pose and then grits out, “What the hell have you said to her, van der Viel?”

  Ignoring Nate, I jerk my head away from my arms and turn to face Erick. “Why are you here?”

  Expecting him to say he’s here to arrest me, it comes as a relief to watch him grimace and mutter, “Damage control.”

  Read on for more information about the next part of Marina’s tale!

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  Naughty Nookie Series

  MONA

  Simone: Part One: Fall Into Love

  When Simone Barranquet meets Zane Matthews on a night out with her friends, little does she know that her life is about to change.

  Crashing into Zane, her mundane existence is teetering on the edge. A whole new world of sexual exploration awaits her; if she's willing to take a leap of faith in a man she doesn't know who leads a life she can't understand.

  US Kindle http://ow.ly/oEKje

  UK Kindle http://ow.ly/oEKkC

  Simone: Part Two: Crazy Little Thing Called Lust

  After the revelations that sp
rang forth after her one-night stand, Simone feels both betrayed and guilty as hell in the aftermath. When Zane calls her, looking to take her out again, what can she say apart from, ‘Get real! And while you’re at it, get lost!’

  But when Zane refuses to take her rejection and forces her to listen to his unorthodox tale, he sets Simone on to a path she never imagined impossible.

  With her life changing about her, only her friends can keep her grounded.

  But does she want to have her feet planted firmly on the ground?

  Or is she ready for adventure?

  Even if that adventure means her becoming something that goes against her every principle.

  US Kindle http://ow.ly/oEKmm

  UK Kindle http://ow.ly/oEKnn

  Simone: Part Three: All That Glitters...

  With Mona gradually realizing that life is a fickle mistress, she knows she has choices to make. Choices that will change her future forever. And regardless of the chaotic tangle of her affair with Zane, she still wants and needs him to be a part of her present.

  But with news of their affair having hit the gossip columns, Mona knows there’s little to no chance of that happening. Where once the future was bright, now it’s bleak until the remarkable occurs. A stranger who’s not so strange turns up at her door and offers her an alternative path.

  To Mona, being a kept woman was as unorthodox as could be, but what Zane’s husband, Jake Harris, suggests makes less sense than Martians taking over NYC. In fact, he might as well propose that she turn green.

  But for Zane, is she willing to do the unthinkable?

  Is she willing to take on sex god no. 2 to retain no. 1?

  US Kindle http://ow.ly/pXePq

  UK Kindle http://ow.ly/pXfaj

  Simone: Part Four: …Can Be Gold

  The Simone of old no longer exists. She has transmogrified into a woman with whom she can’t reconcile but who she must eventually come to accept. This new Mona is stronger, sexier and with an innate power that she’s only just beginning to understand.