TooDangeroustoLove

by AliyahBurke

  At a side table, Serenity sat down and ordered a drink from the waitress that came by in a very skimpy outfit.

  As the waitress walked away with their orders Serenity shook her head at him.

  “What?” he questioned.

  “Well, I think she wanted you a bit more than the drink order.”

  Brandt wanted to explain that the woman meant nothing and didn’t do anything for him, but at her grin he just kept his mouth shut. A teasing Serenity was a new concept for him.

  The show was rousing and they kept right on drinking through the night.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  God, her head hurt. And why did her mouth taste like she ate a bag of cotton balls? Hell, probably still had some in there. Serenity tried to open her eyes but it didn’t feel like a good idea. Her senses were swimming and it didn’t feel good at all. She wanted to throw up but that would require movement.

  Where was she? Why couldn’t she remember anything? The last thing she could recall was…nope, nothing. Thinking hurt too damn much. She moved her fingers and eventually got her arm moving. Slowly but moving. With a heave, she pushed herself up onto her hands and knees only to discover she was naked.

  Dear God, what did I do? Who had she done it with, if anyone? What happened last night? Her eyes opened and she looked around the room. It was a hotel room, a nice one. But the question remained, whose room was it?

  Still moving slowly, she found a thick white robe and slid it on. She tried to focus on listening for another person but she was just too muddled. “Why the hell did I drink so much last night?” she asked the room.

  A knock on the door startled her, causing her to wince from the sudden movement. Pulling herself over to the door, she opened it to admit room service. The man pushed a giant cart laden full of food. “Who ordered this?” she asked the man as he uncovered the dishes and set them around the table.

  “Your husband, ma’am. Mr. Fowler. He said that you would most likely be hungry after your…busy night.” He grinned.

  Serenity looked around the room; it looked like a honeymoon suite. Married, to Mr. Fowler? “Have you seen…my husband?”

  “He said he would be back soon and that you should begin breakfast without him.” He finished setting up the table. “Have a lovely day, Mrs. Fowler. And congratulations on your marriage.”

  She raised an eyebrow but signed the slip and added a tip for him. “Thanks.” The door shut behind him. “Married? I don’t think so.” She ignored the food, which was definitely not a priority. Serenity looked around the room for her clothes—they were scattered everywhere, so she gathered them and walked into the huge bathroom.

  Standing beneath all eight shower heads, she slowly found her sanity returning, but not so much the memory of what happened last night. “Okay, no more drinking for me.” Soon she was redressed and semi alert. Well, alert enough to know that she had a plane to catch this afternoon.

  As she walked back into the living suite, there he stood. Tall and imposing, he held a bouquet of roses in his hand. He wore khakis, loafers, and a black shirt. His hair was perfectly messy and his blue eyes glowed with a possessive fire as they moved over her face.

  “Good morning, sweetling.” His baritone voice made a muddled mess of her insides.

  “Morning, Brandt. What exactly is going on here?” She waved her hand around the room.

  “Whatever do you mean? Didn’t the food strike your fancy?” He was being deliberately obtuse.

  “I thought I would shower first and wait for my husband to return,” she said as she took a seat at the food-filled table. “Care to explain that?” Her eyes met his.

  Brandt set the roses down beside her and took a seat. “Seems pretty self-explanatory to me.”

  Her index finger moved between them. “We aren’t married.”

  He smiled at her words and helped himself to the eggs on his plate. “Quite to the contrary, my dear, we are very much married.” As the fork reached his mouth his eyes met hers.

  “We,” her voice grew hard, “are not married.”

  “Yes, we are. The marriage certificate is over on the dresser if you care to look at it.”

  If she cared? Hell yes, she cared. She was over there in seconds. “Oh my God,” she muttered to herself. Sure it was just like he said, it was her signature next to his. “According to this, my name is Mrs. Serenity Fowler,” she said as she set it back down with a shaking hand.

  “It is. That is generally what happens when you get married.” His voice reached her.

  Serenity looked down at her left hand. No ring. This was a trick. It had to be. Well, she was leaving this afternoon so why not play along? “Is this even legal? Did you do this while I was drunk out of my mind?”

  He narrowed his eyes. “I would never do that. You were completely sober during our nuptials. We drank after. This is truly legitimate.”

  “Of course it is. I guess my head is still a little fuzzy from all my drinking.” She moved back over to the table and sat down across from him. “Thanks for the flowers, they’re lovely.”

  “You are lovely. So, what do you want to do today?” His eyes heated up as they ran over her body. “More of what we did last night?”

  Considering her lack of dress this morning it didn’t take a genius to figure out what they had done last night. “I think I should go back to the cabin. I mean, after all, our dogs are there.” She dug into her meal. “So how exactly is this going to work? Us, I mean.”

  “Well, I was picturing lots of time spent in bed. That’s for sure.” He smiled at her setting her insides aflame.

  Serenity finished eating what little she could and then stood up. “Do you think you could give me some time to tell my parents alone?” Her eyes were direct.

  “Of course. I will drop you off and come back for you later on.”

  “That would be wonderful.” I won’t be there.

  Brandt also stood up and took his new bride in his arms. “We should get you going, the sooner I will get you back in my arms.” His head dipped and their lips met.

  Flames arced between them as their mouths melded into one. Her arms stole up around his neck as her back arched, pressing her breasts more firmly against him. This man was like a drug to her system. She needed it. She needed him.

  As his hands maneuvered under the flimsy material of her shirt and up towards her aching breasts, Serenity’s own hands were moving under Brandt’s shirt. Her fingers lovingly tracing each hard-planed muscle, nails scoring the skin as they passed over it.

  It didn’t take them long before breakfast or leaving the room had flown far from their minds. All clothes had been ripped off and Serenity found herself on the bed as Brandt slid into her. Deep. Fulfilling.

  “Oh God,” she moaned as her hips arched up to take him in even deeper.

  “We were made to fit each other,” he whispered as he drew back and slid in again.

  They made slow, sweet love to each other three more times before they fell back into a much-needed sleep. A while later Serenity woke to find her naked body entwined with the man who claimed to be her husband. She lay there in silence for a while, staring at him while he slept. He looked so content, so happy, so relaxed.

  Serenity glanced across the room and read the digital readout on the clock. One in the afternoon. Her plane was leaving in less than two hours. One finger traced along his chiseled jaw before she gently untangled herself from his warmth. As she gazed upon his naked body one last time, she covered him with the sheet.

  She tossed on her clothes quickly and slipped out the door, hanging the Do Not Disturb sign on the outside. She ran to the elevator and pushed the button for the lobby, strapping on her shoes as it took her down.

  With a wave to the hotel staff she ran out the door and hailed a taxi and had it take her home. She tossed the driver some money as she bolted out of the barely stopped vehicle and ran for her home.

  She threw open the door and found her things were already packed. Violet an
d Seth had packed for her. Serenity headed for the shower as Violet yelled, “I’ll put some clean clothes in there for you. Hurry up, the plane is leaving soon.”

  In ten minutes Serenity was dressed in black jeans, hiking boots, and a camouflaged shirt with the Marine logo on it. “Ready.”

  Violet pointed at the bag by the door. “That is for you. We will take everything else back with us. Say goodbye to your dogs and let’s get going.”

  Serenity hugged her babies and then Violet. “Thanks for doing this. I love you.”

  “Love you too, now get!” Violet shooed her stepdaughter out the door into the waiting vehicle.

  The second she had settled into the Jeep, Seth was peeling out of the driveway and heading for the airstrip. “Cutting it a bit close, don’t you think?” he asked over the wind as they flew along the road.

  “Sorry. Kinda lost track of time. I think I drank too much.”

  “Well, you look rested so guess it was what you needed.”

  Images of Brandt’s cock plunging into hers flashed through her head. She swallowed hard. “Guess it was.” Then again, considering she was now married, maybe not.

  Seth didn’t say another word as he whipped into the airstrip. He drove down to a plane that was already running. Without shutting off the Jeep, he put it in neutral and set the brake. “Here you go. Hurry up, they are waiting on you.”

  Serenity got out and smiled at the man who took her bag. Then she turned to her father. “Thanks for everything. I will see you soon.”

  “We’ll call before you come and we will meet you. Give them my love. Now, go on and get.” He hugged her quickly and kissed her cheek.

  Serenity kissed her father back and hugged him tight. “I’ll miss you.” One more quick kiss and she turned and ran up the steps to the Learjet. At the top she turned and waved before disappearing into the interior of the plane.

  * * * *

  Brandt woke and stretched languidly on the king-sized bed. He was draped across it diagonally. It was dark in the room and he reached for his wife, only to find that he was alone. Sitting up, he hit the light beside the bed—nope, she wasn’t there.

  Standing up, he saw that their breakfast was still there. They hadn’t even gotten that finished before they had ended back up in bed. He smiled as he remembered just how sensitive she had been to his touches, his caresses. Everything he had done, she had responded one hundred percent.

  Brandt didn’t see her clothes and so headed for the bathroom, thinking maybe she went to clean up. The bathroom was empty and cool, so it hadn’t been used in a long time. He glanced at the clock and saw that it was eight at night.

  “What the hell? Where is she?” he asked the empty suite. He walked around, put on a robe, and looked for some sort of note that she would have left him. Nothing. The marriage certificate was still on the dresser but there was no sign of the new Mrs. Fowler.

  Brandt took a quick shower and dressed in black slacks and a white shirt. Slipping into his loafers, he opened the door and saw the sign hanging there. He checked his cell phone and saw that he had five messages. That was promising…then again maybe not, as they were all from his father.

  As he strode down the hall he called back the man that had helped to bring him into this world. “What do you need, Father?” he asked when his old man answered.

  “I wanted to have dinner with you. Where are you?” Judson asked.

  “Walking down the hall of my hotel.” Looking for my wife. “I have something to do, sorry. Maybe tomorrow we can have dinner together.”

  “Okay.” He sounded disappointed.

  “Bye.”

  “Bye, son.” Judson hung up the phone.

  Brandt stood in silence in the elevator. Where could she have gone? When it reached the lobby he went to the front desk. “Excuse me,” he said to the young woman that stood there.

  “Good evening, Mr. Fowler. What can I do for you?”

  “This may seem like a funny question, but have you seen my wife come through her lately?”

  She didn’t even blink her big brown eyes. “No, but I just got here. Let me ask John, who has been here since noon. Be right back.”

  Brandt nodded and drummed his fingers on the countertop as he waited. She came back with the man named John. He smiled at the other man and waited for him to speak.

  “I saw your wife about one-twenty this afternoon. She came running out of the elevator and got into a taxi. Haven’t seen her since.” The young man smiled a bit nervously and walked off.

  “Thank you.” Brandt thought for a moment. She had wanted to tell her parents, he had totally forgotten about that. But why wouldn’t she have woken him? Brandt smiled at the woman and walked out the front doors whistling. In a matter of moments he would be with his wife again and they could start their new life. Together.

  He was still whistling as he drove up to her rented cottage and saw her Jeep out in front. There were lights on and he recognized Seth and Violet’s car. His heart was light as he walked up to the steps and knocked on the door.

  Seth answered. “Hello, Brandt,” he said.

  Well, he doesn’t seem very happy with the news. “Evening, Seth. I’d like to see m…Serenity.” He smiled at his father-in-law. Why aren’t there congratulations happening?

  He shook his head. “I’m sorry, son, she’s not here.”

  Not there? Brandt’s heart dropped to his feet. “Why? Where is she?”

  “Maybe you should come inside.” Seth waved him in.

  As Brandt walked into the house he panicked as he saw all the packed boxes. She was moving. “Where is she?” His voice had grown hard.

  All of a sudden, the back door opened and in came the three shepherds and Violet. “Evening, Brandt,” she said with a smile.

  Brandt smiled back as he reached down to pet the dogs. Then he turned his attention back to Seth. “You were just about to tell me where she is and what is going on here?”

  “She is on her way to Georgia. To see her friend,” Seth said as he taped another box closed.

  “And I take it she isn’t planning on coming back here?” At the silent “no” he got from the other two, Brandt felt the need to sit. He ran one hand over his face in an attempt to gather his bearings.

  “What did she tell you?” Seth asked.

  “Nothing about this. At least, not that I remember,” Brandt answered.

  Seth set down the tape he had in his hands and stood in front of Brandt. “You know, she didn’t remember much about last night herself. What happened between you two?”

  Brandt was faced with angry father material. But he didn’t back down, so he stood up and looked Seth right in the eyes and said, “We got married.”

  Seth guffawed. “Right. Care to try again?”

  “I’m serious. Serenity is my wife and I would really like to know where she’s gone.”

  Seth’s eyes narrowed and he took a step towards Brandt, only to be stopped by Violet’s voice. “It’s not our business, Seth. Excuse us, Brandt, this comes as a shock to us, for she didn’t mention that she was married.”

  “I’m not sure she believes it herself. I would bet she thinks it is a joke,” Brandt said.

  “Is it?” Violet questioned.

  “No, ma’am. Not at all. We are legally wed. Now, if you would tell me where in Georgia my wife is, I will go and claim her.” Brandt pierced Seth with his pale eyes.

  “Claim her?” Seth growled.

  “She belongs at my side. We are married and I don’t intend to let her go.” Brandt responded, amazing himself at how calm he was staying.

  Violet intervened once again. “Very well. Her friend’s name is Rawlins. Gavin and Sanura Rawlins.”

  “Rawlins? As in the billionaire? That Rawlins? The famous architect?” Jesus. Did she know any normal people? Gavin Rawlins made Brandt look like a pauper.

  “That’s the one,” Seth said smugly. “Do you know him?”

  “I know of him. Every architect knows of him.
He is a legend in his own right.” Brandt sounded like a guy drooling over an actress.

  “That’s where she is,” Violet said. “We will keep Hella with us, so go on and get your bride.” She walked over and embraced him. “Welcome to the family, Brandt.”

  As he hugged his mother-in-law he realized that he was a lucky man. “Thank you.”

  Seth hugged him as well, after a glare from Violet. “Welcome to the family, son.” He stepped back and added, “Good luck.”

  Brandt waved as he left the house and climbed back into his Mercedes. This woman was almost more trouble than she was worth. Almost. He dialed his father on the way back towards the town.

  “Hello?”

  “Dad?”

  “Brandt, what’s going on?”

  “I’m heading back to the States tonight. I will send the plane back down for you.”

  “What’s wrong? Why are you going back? The conference isn’t over yet and there are some people I want you to meet.”

  Even though he heard the disapproval in his father’s voice, he wasn’t wavering from his purpose. “Sorry. I am going after my wife. She seems to have left without me.”

  “Your wife? When the hell did you get married, and to whom?” his father yelled.

  “I got married last night. To Serenity. I love her, Father.”

  “Serenity. Who is Serenity?” He could see when his father put it all together. “That’s the one you think is Raven? Son, please…”

  “It was her, father. She and Raven are one. It’s a long story and I promise I will tell it all to you, but right now I need to go find my wife. I will talk to you back in the States. Bye, Dad.” He ended the call with his father only to call their pilot and tell him to get ready to leave for Georgia.

  * * * *

  Serenity smiled down at the baby she held in her arms. He was so cute. She glanced over at her friends. Sanura had settled into being a mother so quickly, Serenity didn’t want to stay and impose on their time together.