Boxed Set: Intercepted by Love (The Complete Collection): Books One - Book Six

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Boxed Set: Intercepted by Love (The Complete Collection): Books One - Book Six Page 14

by Rachelle Ayala


  “I don’t love her, Andie. I love you.” He held his hand to her, but she didn’t take it. “I thought you knew. She being pregnant shouldn’t change anything.”

  Andie grabbed her hair with both hands and shook her head as if he wasn’t getting something. Without a reply, she strode from the sunken living room, through the gallery hallway, and into the great room.

  Cade followed her. “Answer me. Why should it matter? Isn’t it more important that I haven’t slept with anyone after being with you? That I’m killing myself being responsible and doing the right thing? I’m not turning my back on Roxanne and the baby, but at the same time, I shouldn’t be blamed for my past.”

  Andie stopped at the base of the spiral staircase. “You don’t really know what love is, Cade. You think it’s all about rewarding you a gold star because you did something right for a change. I’m sorry, it’s not all about you.”

  “Show me what I’m doing wrong.” He hated the desperation in his voice. He’d never known why his mother gave him over to foster care, or why he was shunted from one home to another just when he thought he’d been accepted. “No one ever showed me. They always left or sent me away.”

  Andie halted on the first step of the staircase. She was face to face to him, almost eye level. “It’s not a do this, do that, and then it happens. It just has to be.”

  “But I thought we had something there, back in Itasca. I thought …”

  “I didn’t know the real you back in Itasca. Sorry.”

  Chapter 8

  Andie slammed the door to her movie theater bedroom and flung herself on the huge bed. This room was clearly Cade’s room with its stark clean lines, black and silver color-blocked velvet bedspread and the large movie screen. Andie pushed a button and the velvet curtains closed over the screen. There. One less distraction. She pushed another button, and the room darkening shades retracted upward.

  Another stunning view, this one higher up than the sunken living room. The streams of red taillights contrasted with the white headlights on the freeway below, and in the distance, the City of Angels glittered.

  What was she going to do about Cade? It had taken all of her will power to walk up the spiral stairs, to turn her back and leave him hanging there. The Cade she loved in Itasca wasn’t a football player, a guy bedding three girls a night, if what she’d read in the gossip rags were true. The images of his party life ran rampant through her mind. She shouldn’t have looked, but she’d read every bit of gossip, although to his credit, there hadn’t been any recent reports, and the press had gotten tired of the Roxanne story.

  Andie yawned as she took off her makeup. It had been a long day, and she was way past her bedtime. After brushing her teeth, she got into her pajamas and pulled out her dog-eared copy of Michal’s Window, her favorite story about King David and his first wife, the princess Michal.

  Flipping to the bookmark, she settled back under the covers and continued where she’d left off.

  Michal has just discovered that David, her beloved, has been betrothed by her father to marry her sister, Merab. David meets her on the palace wall to say goodbye, but finds that she’s thrown away the stone he gave her. He’s hurt, so he’s cold and tells her now that they are going to be brother and sister-in-law, that they need to behave and get along. She jeers at him and tells him her sister doesn’t love him, and then delivers her famous line: You should have a wife who loves you.

  Andie wiped a tear from her eye. Of course everyone should have a wife or husband who loved them. That should be obvious, but back in those days, people married for position and privilege. Women were used as pawns. How did Michal handle the heartbreak of losing David to her own sister, and later to all of his other wives?

  She tucked the bookmark back between the pages of the thick book and placed it on her nightstand. Would it really be fair to Cade to marry Roxanne for the baby’s sake? That woman obviously did not love Cade, for had she loved him, she would never have embarrassed him in public. But still, she was carrying his baby, his seed, and there was nothing Andie could do to change that fact.

  Except, she loved Cade, didn’t she?

  Correction. She loved the fake Cade, the traveling dog breeder who’d cared enough about Gollie to search through the snowy fields for her. She loved the fake Cade who’d ridden his fat bike off a cliff, and who’d opened up to her and told her about his past, the baby with the cleft palate, rejected by many.

  That was the Cade she’d fallen for.

  She turned on the ceiling fan and cooled the room. It was warm, but the heat was dry, not at all humid like back in Itasca. If anything, her mouth was dry, and she needed to keep a bottle of water at her bedside.

  After setting her alarm clock, she slipped into bed and closed her eyes. There was a soft knocking at her door, and then a large, warm body pounced onto her bed.

  Andie turned to hug him, but instead of hard muscle, she found the soft fur of her dog, Gollie.

  “Good night, Cade,” she said to the partially open door.

  “Good night, Andie.” The door clicked shut.

  # # #

  The next morning, Cade stretched his long legs and loped down the hilly street. Beside him, his buddy Ronaldo pumped his arms to quicken his short, choppy stride.

  “You wait … for the uphill. I’ll … catch you … there,” Ronaldo shouted between breaths behind him.

  The motorcycle racer whose parents owned Silver Studios was a bullet of energy, fit and compact in a sport that had weight limits, yet required strength, daring, and coordination.

  Cade increased his pace, gaining as much yardage as he could before the uphill where his weight disadvantage hindered him.

  It was early in the morning, just before dawn, and he was already bushed. The night before, he’d tossed and turned in bed so much that his dog had jumped off and crawled into a corner. Andie wasn’t giving him a chance. She was like all the others who’d turned their backs on him because he had problems.

  The street leveled and turned upward. Cade blew out a breath and eased into the shorter strides.

  “Ha, ha … got you, dude.” Ronaldo caught him.

  “Not yet.”

  Bearing down, Cade sprinted up the hill, his breath rasping and his muscles burning. His legs felt like lead, but he couldn’t let Ronaldo beat him, especially not today. Not after his plans with Andie had backfired.

  The two were neck in neck as they approached the training facilities at the Flash Stadium. Ronaldo wasn’t a member of the team, but he was Cade’s buddy. He’d taken a year off of motorcycle racing after he’d crashed so many bikes his sponsor refused to build him another one, and Cade had told the team he was his conditioning coach to allow him access.

  They grabbed towels and headed for the weight room. Cade set up the barbells while Ronaldo prepared the dumb bells, lining them up for their workout.

  “How’d things go with getting Andie to your place?” Ronaldo asked as he spotted Cade for the bench press.

  “She’s there.” Cade hefted the bar up and down.

  “Just there?” Ronaldo bent over him, wiggling his eyebrows. “Or are you too worn out to talk about it?”

  “I didn’t get much sleep if that’s what you’re asking.” Cade completed the set and placed the bar back on the uprights.

  “Good going, dude. Think she’s fit for work this morning or should I give her another day to acclimatize?”

  “She’s okay for work, I guess.” Cade wiped his sweat with a gym towel. He hadn’t meant to give Ronaldo the wrong idea about Andie, but heck, he couldn’t be the laughing stock among his friends. Even worse would be his teammates. The guys had already been ribbing him for not going with them to strip clubs and bars.

  “Good for you.” Ronaldo punched his bicep. “Get them early and often.”

  “Yep.” Cade vacated the bench for his friend. He couldn’t even fake a shit-eating grin when all he could think about was how Andie had rejected his advances.

 
“I could never do it.” Ronaldo positioned himself under the bar after stripping off some of the weights.

  “Do what?” Cade held onto the bar lightly as he guided it down onto his friend’s chest.

  “Stay celibate for what, months? You sure you didn’t sneak in some head once in a while? Or did you totally rely on the five-finger salute?”

  “Andie’s worth it.” Not that he was so sure after last night’s disaster. He’d left the house early after letting the dogs out, and she’d been fast asleep, tucked in one corner of the bed, her red hair splayed over the pillow was the only touch of color in the black and silver room.

  “No woman who wants to hem me in is worth it,” Ronaldo said. “That’s all it is, a power play. She wants to pussy whip you and show she’s got control of you. There’s no better control than locking up your cock for her use only.”

  Cade tightened his jaw and stayed focused on the bar. “The weights must be too light if you’re talking so much.”

  “Hey, I’m not trying to bulk up like you guys. These muscles are for the girls to cream over. They like rubbing their pussies over my washboards and pecs.”

  His buddy was nothing if not crude. “Good for you, bud. So you got any action with the actresses trying out for Bathsheba?”

  “Enjoying the audition, although all of David’s wives are hot, hot, hot.”

  “Even saintly Abigail?” Cade had boned up enough to catch the gist of the women in the mighty king’s life, if only to have something to talk to Andie about.

  “Of course. The books don’t do her justice. They act as if a woman who has God on her mind can’t have multiple orgasms. Anyone who says ‘oh God’ as much as a pious woman is popping her cookies on a regular basis.”

  Cade had a feeling Andie might disagree. “So what’ll you have Andie doing?”

  “She’s working with the screenwriter. I imagine she’ll be real helpful with the love scenes.”

  “Why? In what way?” A burst of sweat prickled Cade’s skin.

  “The writer’s a man. One of those nerdy types. Probably a virgin, but he was the only one we could get for this project since it’s not easy finding men who idolize King David as much as Leroy does.”

  “Leroy, is that his name? Is he gay?”

  “No, not gay.” Ronaldo replaced the bar onto the uprights and sat up. “Why, you worried he’ll get his fingers into her panties and have her ready for Freddy?”

  He hated Leroy already.

  “I didn’t know enacting love scenes would be part of the job description.”

  Ronaldo chuckled and waggled his eyebrows. “She’s kind of got to know how it goes to choreograph it.”

  “I didn’t know this was rated X.”

  “It’s not.” Ronaldo patted his chest and sniffed, as if affronted. “It’s a real high-brow drama about King David and his love lives. How dare you call it smut?”

  They worked through the rest of the stations without much conversation. The only reason Cade recommended Andie for the job was to get her out to California to be with him. He hadn’t counted on a nerdy scriptwriter to get more time with Andie than he.

  “Hey, stop looking so glum.” Ronaldo slapped his upper arm. “You’re not seriously worried about a geek named Leroy, are you?”

  “Uh, no. Not at all.”

  “’Cause if you are, then you’re more pussy-whipped than I thought. Let me give you some advice.”

  “Not interested.”

  “Gonna give it to you anyway. The trick to keeping women interested is not to give in to them. Women say they want monogamy, exclusivity, you to toe the line and be a choir boy, but they always go after the guy with all the girls. Once you end up a monk, they lose interest.”

  “You think?”

  “I know so,” Ronaldo said. “You let yourself get whipped and poof, you’re emasculated. Give a woman too much power over you and she tosses you in the bin. Didn’t your daddy ever tell you that?”

  If only he’d had a daddy, maybe his life wouldn’t be so royally fucked.

  Chapter 9

  Andie checked her paperwork and dashed into the elevator at Silver Studios. She’d gone through the orientation with HR and had signed all the legal documents. It was time to meet her boss and coworkers.

  This morning had been a breeze. True to his word, Cade had provided a driver who had dropped her off with fifteen minutes to spare. A dog walker had taken both Gollie and Red out, and she’d found breakfast left in the refrigerator with a note from Cade wishing her luck on her first day of work.

  He hadn’t mentioned his schedule, which was okay, since he didn’t owe her any explanation of his time or whereabouts. Her heart twinged a little, but it was what she wanted. He was respecting her wishes.

  She arrived at her floor and approached the admin sitting in front of Ronaldo’s office. Andie’s jaw stuttered at the woman’s appearance. She was not only pierced, with a ring over her eyelid, but also one in her nose and another one over her lower lip. Half of her head was shaved bald and tattooed, and the other half sported spiked hair, colored blue.

  The woman looked up from her computer. “You’re the new research assistant for Leroy Chan?”

  “Yes, here’s my badge and paperwork,” Andie said, displaying her proof of employment.

  “We believe you. I’m Sylvia. Let me show you your cubicle. It’s right next to Leroy’s.”

  Sylvia swiveled her way between the partitions of the cubicles. She was stick thin and wore the most outlandish outfit. Andie wasn’t sure which side of her was crazier. One half of her jacket was a black motorcycle jacket complete with fringes on the sleeve and the other half was a floral kimono jacket with a single flowing sleeve. Sylvia’s short shorts were ripped denim with laddered holes showing her hot pink panties on one side and a patch pocket with a rainbow colored peace sign on the other. Add to that, the backs of her legs were tattooed top to bottom with serpentine creatures ending in black suede ankle boots.

  “All yours. Let me see if Leroy’s here.” Sylvia stepped aside and pointed to an empty desk. She peeked around the partition and waved. “Leroy, your assistant is here.”

  The King David expert was wearing an olive green soldier’s shirt and pants. His black beard was braided in neat little rows and strung with beads, and on his shiny black hair, he wore a white yarmulke with a blue star of David. A prayer shawl flowed over his shoulders.

  Sylvia stepped aside after making the introductions. “Have fun, kiddos.”

  In contrast to her coworker’s imaginative outfits, Andie’s grey business suit was staid and boring. How was she going to fit in here without a costume?

  “How was your trip?” Leroy said. “Please sit.”

  He cleared a spot by moving a pile of scribbles and books from a chair over to another pile of scribbles and books.

  “It was good. I’m really eager to get started.” Andie folded her hands across her lap. Why was she still acting like she was in interview mode?

  “Great. I’m working on a segment with King Saul and Jonathan and their jealousy over David. Saul’s hatred of David stemmed more from being a spurned lover than fear of David becoming king. When Jonathan’s soul knit with David’s and he stripped all his clothes and gave them to David, it was like he was marrying David. You know he even gave David his underwear?”

  “Uh, no. I’ve never thought of it that way.”

  Leroy flipped pages through a thick book. “He gave David his robe, his sword, bow, and girdle. What do you think a girdle is? Underpants. Or loin-cloth. That’s mighty personal, don’t you think?”

  It was kind of icky. She would never exchange underwear with her best friend. It was personal and creepy.

  She made light of Leroy’s observation. “Everyone loved David, male, female, young, and old. Even God himself loved David and let him get away with things others would have been hung for.”

  “Exactly. Some people are larger than life. God even approved of David taking all of Saul’s women
, his wives, his daughters, and his sons. David was beloved by all.”

  “Was he really?” Andie tapped her chin. “Or did everyone want a piece of him because of the propaganda that he was favored by God? Do you think anyone really knew the real David? Shouldn’t our movie depict a human David with all his faults and sins rather than the glorified hero that is the stuff of legends and fairytales?”

  “It’d be a mixture of both. Fantasy and reality. It’s all a matter of perspective, isn’t it?”

  “It is, except for the one person who knew everything about David and still loved him. She was the only one who saw him from the beginning to the end.”

  “Would that be you?” Leroy’s eyes lit, blinking at her.

  “Maybe,” Andie said. “But I don’t have the gift of living with David. I’d say it was the princess Michal. She was the only woman the Bible records as loving a man. And she knew him, warts and all.”

  # # #

  “You’re having dinner with me tonight.” Ronaldo Silver tapped the edge of Andie’s cubicle partition later that evening.

  She turned from her computer and swept her hair from her face. “Sure, uh, is it dinner time already?”

  He hooked a look at his watch and nodded. “Don’t worry about your driver. I sent him away. I’ll take you home after dinner. Heard you’re staying with my buddy, Cade.”

  Cade was Ronaldo’s buddy? Interesting, although that would explain the living arrangements and him picking her up at the airport.

  “Yes, it’s awfully kind of him to allow me,” she said.

  Ronaldo folded his arms and tapped his foot. “So, you have any preferences?”

  “Preferences? Like for apartments or rooms?”

  “Restaurants.”

  “I’m fine, whatever you’d like. Is Cade joining us?” She hurriedly stuffed a stack of research reports into her messenger bag and put her laptop to sleep mode.

  “No Cade tonight. This is a welcome to Silver Studios dinner.”

  “Oh, sure. Let me visit the ladies’ room and I’ll be back.”

  “I’ll be in my office.” Ronaldo flipped his suit jacket over his shoulder and sauntered back to his side of the floor.

 

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