Alex laughed. “You watched it too many times.”
“Too many. Check out this one.” He took a DVD from the bag. “The family suggested that you’d enjoy this one. Brave. I bought a copy. Lucan is too young to understand it.”
“Thank you. You didn’t have to buy this.” Alex glanced at Gawain who took the bag from Tristan.
“You’re right. I didn’t have to.” He snatched the DVD from Alex’s hand, then started to walk away.
“Wait!”
Laughing, Tristan gave her back the DVD. “I’m just kidding. Let’s go eat. I’m starved.”
Alex started for the door, but Gawain caught her by the elbow. Slowly, he pulled her against him. “They’re waiting for us.”
“They’re not. Believe me, they are already halfway done with their food. So what did you say to Tristan?”
“Do I have to tell you?”
“No. But it’ll bug me. I won’t be able to sleep, eat, and think. I’ll probably go back to work with my mind off somewhere and have an accident.”
“Yeah, right.”
“So what did you say?”
Alex sighed. “Okay. I told him that someday he’d become my brother-in-law. So he should be nice to me.”
Gawain pulled her even tighter, almost lifting her off the ground. “And what did he say?”
“He said, that would be nice. He winked and then went back to reading his book. Remember, I was just a child and I already proposed to you. So it wasn’t really a surpri—”
Gawain wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her. He planted a kiss on her lips. It was a quick one, but not enough. She cupped his cheeks for a longer kiss.
Alex could feel his arousal against the top of her pubic mound. Her body started singing again when Bors came back out the porch.
“Lovebirds, if you don’t come in now, there won’t be any food left for you.”
“Oh, dear.” Alex was too embarrassed to look at Bors. Gawain, however, was grinning from ear to ear.
Slowly, he let her body slide down until her feet touched the ground. Feeling his hard body against her was delicious. It would have been better if they were both naked.
Alex shook her head. She must tamp down these naughty thoughts.
With their fingers laced together, they followed Bors in the house and all the way to the kitchen where the rest of the Knights passed around the boxes of Chinese food. It was amazing to watch them. Kirsten picked up all the squid from the Chow Mein with her chopsticks and dropped them on Bors’s plate. Bors split the veggies between Taylor and Kirsten. Tristan picked the shrimp that he could find and gave them to Julie. They all ate as if they’d never seen food before.
“Barbarians. All of them,” whispered Gawain, but loud enough for everyone to hear.
Bors raised a fist with his middle finger straight up. The others just laughed.
“They may be barbarians, but you love them to death.”
“To death,” he repeated.
Chapter Twelve
The next few days, Gawain spent teaching Alex how to drive and taking her to different restaurants although she protested each time because food was so expensive. They spent their time laughing, making love, talking, and dreaming, like honeymooners building their future. It had been the best days of his life.
In such a short time, he and Alex became so intimate in a way he’d never been with any other woman. He wanted her with such intensity, like air in his lungs. And the thing of it was, he believed Alex felt the same way.
She hadn’t said a thing about her past, hadn’t talked with an accent, and she’d been as carefree as anyone lucky without dark memories.
He knew, though, it was only a matter of time before Alex faced the past again—to solve the mystery clouding the Roses. And that time came too soon.
Bors and Kirsten were coming, but he hadn’t told Alex yet.
“Popcorn, hon. Just as you like it. With lots of butter.”
“Yum! Do you think I’ll be as fat as a cow when I go back to the Philippines?” Alex popped another Hershey kiss in her mouth. “Oh, my God! This is so good!” she said with her mouth full.
“Man, what happened to my baby? You were so sweet and demure when you arrived. Now you eat like my family.”
“Like a barbarian?”
“Yes. Look at you, drooling all over your shirt.”
“What?”
As soon as she looked down, Gawain tapped her nose. “Just kidding.”
“The movie is starting.” Alex practically squeaked.
Gawain placed the popcorn on Alex’s lap. He didn’t tell her, but he’d seen the movie at least three times when Kirsten had begged to watch it with him.
They shared the popcorn, laughing when both of them dipped their hands in the bowl, grabbing each other’s fingers instead. By the time the movie ended, his stomach was full of candies, popcorn, and beer. He decided to lie down on the couch with Alex’s lap pillowing his head.
“That was a good movie. I could watch it over and over.” Alex reached for the box of Kleenex and wiped her hands.
Seconds later, her fingers ran through his hair. He closed his eyes and savored the good feeling.
“Thanks for taking me shopping earlier and for buying the shirts and slippers, Gawain.”
“No problem. I wish you’d let me buy you—”
“No. It’s enough that you let me stay here, feeding me, showing me around. Buying me more than what I need would be too much. God, did you see the prices? Just one pair of jeans would cost you forty dollars.”
“I have money, love. I can buy you—”
“Thanks, but no thanks.”
It would have had been a long debate at the mall if he’d insisted on buying her anything. He did, however, get a chance to buy something for her at Victoria’s Secret while she oohed and ahhed at Granny’s Candy Store. They had a nice trip to the mall, but he didn’t like that Alex got too much attention from men. When they walked in at the Victoria Secret’s store, the sales associates thought she was one of the models who came to visit. It was incredible. Kind of cool that he was mistaken for a model as well. Alex thought it funny to tell everyone that he was single and looking.
“I’ll probably use a tube of toothpaste tonight to clean my teeth.” She unwrapped another candy kiss. “Do you want one?”
Gawain opened his eyes. “If you can spare an extra.”
“Of course. You bought three huge bags of these suckers.”
“It was on the list.”
“I know. I should have added Sour Skittles.”
“We can do that.”
“Graham crackers?”
“That, too.”
“Thank you! Here,” she said as she unwrapped one kiss.
Gawain opened his mouth. Alex popped the candy in, then he grabbed her hand, and licked her fingers. “Yup. Tastes great.”
Alex, however, was too busy savoring her candies to notice his innuendo. She licked the same fingers.
Gawain’s cock pulsed. Lord have mercy.
“I’d better stop.”
“Why?”
“I’ll save some for later.”
“We can buy more.”
“I know, but I shouldn’t pig out like this when I couldn’t even share anything with Nanni and Ema.”
“They’ll get their share. Miss them?”
“Very much.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll see them soon.” As soon as the words left his mouth, sadness hit him square in the chest. He didn’t want Alex to leave. Ever.
He was fucking doomed.
When he heard the sound of Bors’s truck, he closed his eyes and let out a sigh. He wasn’t in the mood to entertain right now. All he wanted to do was be alone with Alex, but Bors’s visit, he knew, was important. His brother must have unearthed more information. His presence here meant his investigation was moving forward, which also meant getting closer to finding the truth about what happened at the Rose’s house. If Bors solved the ca
se soon…
Gawain met Alex’s gaze. She seemed unexcited about the prospect of talking to Bors.
“Hey, you okay?” He reached up to touch her cheek.
“Yeah. I’m just kind of afraid to hear what questions he has for me or what else Bors found out about my family.”
“All families have dirty laundry in their baskets, if that’s what you’re worried about. Did I tell you Kirsten is here, too?”
“Really?” Alex’s face lit up.
“Yup.” He took her hand and placed it palm down on his chest. “She’ll make your ears ring with her constant talk about her designs. Just so you know.”
“I don’t mind.”
“She’ll eat your candies.”
“We can share.”
Sitting up, he cupped her chin and then captured her mouth with his. In between kisses, he said, “Bors will eat everything. Including the strawberries, and he’ll lick the wrappers.”
“Again, we can share,” she breathed.
Gawain snaked his hand between her legs, then cupped her heat. “I like sharing, too. But not you. You’re mine alone.” He rubbed her pussy through her jeans. “I love everything about you.” Gawain nuzzled Alex’s neck, kissing the soft skin before taking a little bite of it.
“Gawain…”
“We’ll run upstairs. They can raid the kitchen while waiting.”
Alex giggled. “You’re so bad.”
“Damn. I want you.” He was about to unbutton Alex’s jeans when the doorbell rang. “Too late.”
“Answer the door.”
“I should.” With a loud sigh, he stood up and went to get the door.
As soon as the greetings were done, Bors and Kirsten fought for the bags of chocolates. Alex wasn’t far behind. She smiled with her teeth covered with chocolates and pretended to ask what was wrong. Among the four of them, they nearly devoured all of the candies and strawberries within minutes.
“So, Alex. How is your stay here so far?” Bors asked while fighting for the last strawberry with Kirsten.
“Fabulous! Today we went to the Pancake Haus for breakfast and lunch. I practiced driving and went shopping for junk foods. Gawain has been seeing to my needs.”
“I’m sure.” Bors grinned.
Gawain shook his head at his brother. He knew how Bors’s mind worked. He leaned back on the sofa and stretched his arm on the back with his hand touching the back of Alex’s neck. He played with the fuzzy hair on her nape that he wanted to kiss.
“Bors, you dripped juice on my skirt,” Kirsten whined.
“You call that a skirt? Jesus, whoever made that should be shot.”
“What’s wrong with my skirt?”
“That little piece of scrap is no wider than the band of my jockstrap.”
“Eww!” Kirsten punched Bors, who anticipated it and flexed his arm.
“You can’t hurt me, froggy.”
“Whatever. Hey, Alex. I want to show you my shop. I have clothes that might fit you. New, not used, but in need of a new home. Are you busy tonight?”
“She is.” The answer came so quick even before Gawain could process it.
“I am?”
“Yes.”
“Gawain, you can’t monopolize her. She’s my friend, too.”
“I know that, princess. I just don’t want to share her right now.” Gawain grinned when Alex scowled at him.
“You, too?” Kirsten rolled her eyes. “In case you haven’t heard, Alex. These boys guard their women like a hawk. Nice, but sometimes so annoying.”
“We protect our own. A Knight’s vow,” Bors said.
“I, I don’t belong to—”
“Yes, baby. You do.” Gawain massaged Alex’s neck.
Kirsten gave Gawain a sly smile. “You haven’t met Addie. Lord, she’s drop dead gorgeous. Like you.”
“We’ll be at Bors’s crib to join you guys.”
“Fantastic! Gawain said you could be an Olympic swimmer.”
Alex raised a questioning brow at Gawain.
He shrugged. “You said you’re good.”
“I can swim, but not as good as the Olympic athletes.”
“Same difference.”
“Not at all.”
Alex looked so flustered, he couldn’t stop himself from kissing her. “Just agree.”
“Okay, now that we got that kissing out of the way, bring your bathing suit Saturday. It’ll be a beautiful day for a swim. That is if Gawain lets you swim.”
“Bathing suit? I-I don’t have, uhm…”
Gawain exchanged glances with his sister. He smiled when she picked up on his silent message.
“You know, Taylor has been bugging me to go shopping. Can you go tomorrow, since my dearest brother wanted you for himself today?”
“We can all go.”
“Gawain—”
“I have to agree, Alex,” Bors said with a straight face. This time, he was no longer playful, but serious enough to wipe Alex and Kirsten’s smiles. “We can’t let you go out without one of us, which brings us to the reason why I’m here.”
Gawain felt Alex stiffen. He hated whoever altered her life, whoever gave her a nightmare while she was awake. It hurt Alex and he wanted it to go away. Or at least make it not so unpleasant. Damn it.
“What’s your question?”
Gawain saw the surprised look on Kirsten’s face when Alex talked with an accent, but she didn’t comment on it.
“Not a question, really, but I want to talk to you about your inheritance. According to my dad, even though you’ve been gone for a long time, everything that Clayton had left is still under your name.”
“My grandma and aunt didn’t inherit?”
“They were mentioned in Clayton’s will. Both received some money. But what belonged to your parents is still yours.”
“Even when Mom and I have been gone for eleven years? We could have been declared dead.”
As a habit, Bors used the coffee table to rest his booted feet. “There are several criteria for declaring someone dead by assumption. One is unsuccessful search for that person. Alex, no search or diligent searching was done to declare you dead. As soon as Baskerville is better, he’ll meet with you and talk about your parents’ assets.”
“Do you think my parents’ money has something to do with what happened that night?” Alex shook her head. “To this day, I really don’t know how much my parents are worth. Mom never told me. All I know is that we hada big house good for hide and seek.”
Bors smiled. “Baskerville will tell you all about that. Your parents left you a sizable amount of money, which leads us back to why we can’t let you out of our sight. Jealousy could be another motive for planting the man in your house.”
“Oh, dear.”
Gawain gently urged Alex to lean on him. “It’s alright, hon.”
“I know I asked you this already, but do you remember anything else about what you heard that night that you haven’t told me?”
“No.”
“Aside from us, who else knows that you’re back?”
Alex glanced at Gawain. He nodded and then gently squeezed the base of her neck.
“Luke Williams. He’s a friend I’d met when I was fifteen. He was doing his mission at the time.”
“Mission?”
“He’s a Mormon.”
Gawain listened. They hadn’t talked much about Luke. He was interested in finding out more about him.
“Every year, he would visit us on the island. When he learned about Nanni wanting me to get a good education, he brought me all kinds of books. He was the one who helped me get my online degree. Nanni and Ema are my family now, but since the death of my mom, Luke had become my connection to the world that I used to know. We’d speak in English, talk about the places I still remember. He’s my reminder of who I am.”
Her accent was getting thicker and thicker. Gawain noticed Kirsten was on the verge of tears while listening. He looked at Bors. He wanted to stop his brother’s que
stioning, but he knew they must do this.
“Did you tell him about the reason why you and Molly lived on the island?”
“He knows everything. I called him two times since I’ve been here. I left messages on his phone, Including where I’m staying. When he was in the Philippines, he promised to find some information about my family, our house. Everything that he could find, he’d let me know. I trusted him.”
Bors nodded. He didn’t show any emotions at all. To others, he might just look to be thinking, but to Gawain, and even to Kirsten who glanced at him, they knew Bors had already planned his next move.
“You don’t think he’ll go to the police, right, Bors?”
“No. Even if he went to the police, there is nothing for the police to go on. You and Molly weren’t declared missing, Clayton didn’t report finding a dead person in your house. Nothing was missing in your home. As far as the police are concerned, nothing happened that warrants investigation.”
“So weird,” Kirsten commented. “Clayton didn’t involve the police when Alex and Molly disappeared. To protect Molly’s already tarnished background. Molly took off with Alex because she thought she killed someone. However, no sign of struggle happened in the house, and no dead body either. Alex’s grandma and aunt now live in the Rose’s house. They also didn’t file a police report about Molly and Alex. What’s more, they didn’t look for Alex. Now, why would a naked stranger go to the Rose’s house while Clayton was gone?”
Gawain watched Kirsten tap her fingers on her chin. His sister, like the rest of the Knights, was aware of what happened with the Roses. But he didn’t think she was really paying attention. He looked at Bors. His brother was grinning. Gawain remembered Bors once said that sometimes the outsider could see a better picture, thus the reason why their dad would always ask them to listen to his cases.
“Someone must have hired that man to go to the Rose’s house,” Kirsten continued. “Whoever they were, they knew things went badly that night and rescued that man. Perhaps the man wasn’t alone. Bors, they could even have been in the house. Or the man who lost consciousness after Molly bashed him in the head, woke up, and asked for help. Now, if I’m right that someone hired the naked man, the question is why. My take? Someone wanted the Rose’s marriage destroyed. The evil plan could have been for Clayton to catch Molly with that man. Another question. Who would gain the most if the Rose’s marriage was destroyed?”
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