Losing Her (Lost and Found Book 1)

by K. S. Marshall

  She turned her attention back to me, smoothing her hand over her hair, “Yes! I think everyone is waiting to see you.” She smiled again at Derrick and turned on her heel to lead the way inside.

  “It seems she can’t resist your charms either,” I whispered, low enough for Derrick to hear me.

  “I see where you get yours from,” he crooned into my ear, sending a rush of goosebumps all over my skin.

  Inside Prescott Manor, we were greeted by the welcomed sight of my father and two brothers. I rushed forward, toppling into my youngest brother’s arms. Benjamin Prescott, the youngest brother and middle sibling, was only four years older than me. Both of my brothers were tall, but Benjamin’s physique was more muscular. He was easily twenty pounds heavier than our eldest brother, Jonathan, but it was all muscle. And it seemed like he’d gotten bigger since I’d seen him last.

  “Ben!” I exclaimed, squeezing him tightly.

  “Bratty Lina. Where have you been girl?”

  I laughed at the familiar nickname, “Away.”

  He released me and I slid between him and Jonathan, giving my other brother a side hug. He kissed the top of my head, “Hey Lina Joy.

  Welcome back.”

  “You two liking it more around here without me wreaking havoc?”

  I couldn’t help but grin.

  “Of course, but mom and dad are freaking out. And Jason isn’t happy about it either,” Ben said, looking down at me, disapprovingly.

  I scowled at the mention of Jason, remembering the ride to the house.

  “Listen Alina,” Jonathan started. I deflated a bit. He almost never used my first name in its entirety. That was reserved for when he was either angry or being serious. “I don’t know why you did what you did, but you should come home. Seriously kid. Dad needs all of us right now.”

  “That’s why I’m here,” I said, “well, that’s why we are here.” I stepped from between their arms, reaching forward for Derrick’s hand and pulling him closer, “Ben, John…this is Derrick.”

  My brothers each took turns shaking his hand, but none of the three men gave anything away. Curious.

  On his own accord, Derrick turned towards my father and shook his hand confidently, “You must be Thomas.”

  My father grinned warmly, “You would be right, young man. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  I crossed my arms, eyeing my family with a curious expression.

  No one, outside of family and trusted longtime friends received this warm of a welcome. Even the boys my parents had desperately wanted me to marry didn’t receive this much enthusiasm. Derrick was clearly a winner in every category.

  I stepped into my dad’s waiting arms, sighing happily as he closed them around me.

  “I missed you baby girl.”

  “I missed you too daddy.”

  He kissed the top of my head and I relished in his closeness. I’d do anything for him, including coming back to my proverbial prison.

  Inhaling his familiar scent, I pulled away smiling. For the first time all day, I was actually happy to be right where I was.

  “Ma’am, your home is breathtaking,” Derrick said, turning his attention back on my mother.

  That was the ticket. My mother hadn’t lifted a single finger in any part of the interior decorating of the home, but it was a job she took very seriously. Once her modeling career had ended, she refocused her attention on becoming the quintessential home maker and socialite. Her zealous pursuit of the unofficial title of Queen of the Gold Coast had not gone unnoticed.

  “Oh darling, you’re a peach. Alina, why don’t you show your dear friend here the grounds and get settled in. We’re having an early dinner tonight so the staff can help with preparations for the party tomorrow.”

  No more needed to be said. I kissed my father’s cheek before looping my arm through Derrick’s and whisking him away. We toured the entire main house, including the library and wine cellar. In each room I told one or two stories that came to mind about my childhood. Most of which were funny anecdotes about me being the misfit of the Prescott family.

  “You are a misfit. It seems nothing has changed,” his tone playful.

  I jabbed an elbow at him, “Hey! I resent that!”

  He yanked me flush against his body, tilting my head up in the process, “You do?”

  That deep, sensual voice he used so often thrilled me,

  “Mmhmm.”

  “It’s true.”

  “And you love me for it.”

  That’s when I saw it. Something not quite fear and not quite confirmation flashed in his eyes. Just long enough for me to see it come and go. I opened my mouth to correct my usage of the word “love”, but hesitated. I wanted him to love me. I just didn’t know if he wanted the same thing.

  I fought the urge to do or say something awkward, “Um..well I guess we should get cleaned up for dinner?”

  “Sure.” Always so confident.

  I turned on my heel and proceeded down the hallway towards my room with him following close behind, “There’s a guest bedroom right next to mine. You’re more than welcome to it. Although, you could also share mine.”

  I glanced over my shoulder to catch the hint of a smile on his face, “Considering I’m your latest ‘fuck buddy’ as Jason with the three names called me in the car, I think separate bedrooms would be best.”

  Concealing my disappointment with a smile and a nod, I showed him to his room before going into mine.

  We had just under an hour before dinner was set to be served, and I could feel the full day of travel on my skin, not to mention our sex on the train. I sank into the steaming bubble bath I’d drawn for myself, lowering until my shoulders were underneath the surface. This felt good.

  The water was just hot enough to make my skin tingle all over, but cool enough to handle. I thought about other things that made me tingle.

  The sex on the train had been considered make up sex, but it was different somehow. Me being on top of his lap, riding him while he ground up into my sex. Damn— it felt so good. The feel of his firm hold on my hips and the way we kissed slowly and passionately made it feel so much more intimate than any other time before.

  The more I thought about it, the more I was confident that I wanted more with Derrick too. He was special, and using a word so simplistic didn’t do him justice. He was unexpected. Everything about him was a mystery, but in a good way. He’d come out of nowhere and shown me what I’d been looking for in the world. I felt like, with him, everything was making sense. I saw myself in startling clarity through him and I didn’t want to let that go. If I was being honest, I didn’t think I could let that go.

  But did he feel that way about me? Did I right his world, had I had any kind of profound effect on his life? For as easily as he could read me, I was lost when it came to reading him. Sometimes. I always knew when he was turned on or thinking lustful thoughts. That I could see in his eyes. That look he gave me when we were that way with each other was dangerous.

  And like a moth to the flame, I was a goner.

  SIXTEEN | Alina

  My fingers and toes were only slightly pruned when I finally emerged from the bathtub, fastening a thick cotton towel around my body. I padded to the wall length mirror and examined my face surrounded by curls. Derrick had never seen my hair this way and I was curious of what he’d think of it. Being home seemed like the perfect time to bring the style back. Plus, I was sure my family preferred me to be as close to the old Alina as possible this weekend.

  Family dinners were semi-formal affairs . We were all expected to come to the table wearing something presentable. Due to our high profile lifestyle, we never knew if someone would be joining us or not.

  Moreover, my parents subscribed to the notion that gatherings, family or otherwise, should be treated as special events.

  I’d chosen a floor-length dress made from dusty rose colored chiffon fabric. The muted color looked great against my skin, now a few shades darker from all of the
sun I was getting living out in Cold Spring.

  I wore nude ballet flats. The same ones my mother abhorred to see on

  my feet, but she was the former super model accustomed to wearing painful shoes. I was the practical one.

  Digging deep in my walk-in closet for a piece of jewelry, there was a knock on the door. I yelled for whomever it was to come in and continued my search. I felt his presence just as my fingers closed around the dainty necklace I’d been looking for. Lifting the tiny heart from its place on the wall, I turned to face him.

  Like nearly every other time since I’d laid my first glance on him, he took my breath away. He looked so good in his black slacks and white shirt, the top two buttons undone to accommodate the sheer size of his chest. I could tell he had shaven by the sharp lines around his goatee. And before I realized it, he had closed the distance between us, taking my mouth.

  He stilled my body between his hands, kissing me like I was the last breath of air in the world. I kissed him back, feeling lightheaded from the dominating way his tongue was moving in my mouth. Owning me. Possessing me in the way that he always did. My hands smoothed up the front of his chest, stopping to grip his shoulders, steadying myself in his hands. The cologne he was wearing was the same scent that always lingered around him. Entirely masculine with notes of wood and earth and a touch of something sweet. I couldn’t quite place it, but it smelled divine on him.

  He sucked on my bottom lip, letting out a low groan, “Dammit Alina.”

  I pulled back, laughing, “What did I do now?”

  “You’re so fucking gorgeous. I can’t help myself.”

  My cheeks felt hot.

  “I told myself I was going to walk in here and keep my hands to myself. This is your parent’s home, after all. I was going to do the right thing.”

  I pressed my chest against him, lifting up on my toes to kiss his chin, “Who says this isn’t the right thing?”

  He growled, “I want to fuck you right now.”

  “Let’s skip dinner.”

  Between us, he grew thick and hard. I loved knowing I could unravel him this way. My hands left his shoulders to cup his growing erection. The two of my hands barely covering him, I squeezed lightly and massaged him through his slacks, soliciting a primal sound of need out of him.

  He pushed me up against the wall behind me, claiming my mouth again. I groaned into him, still rubbing my hands feverishly on his groin. He lifted one of my legs, pushing the fabric of my dress up before hooking my leg around his waist.

  “Oh my god,” I gasped, feeling his cock press against my core.

  He thrust upward, angling himself against me, a flood of arousal soaking my sex. We stayed that way, kissing and grinding against each other for what felt like forever. All I wanted was to rip off every single layer of clothing that separated us from each other. Good god the man could probably make me come just like this.

  “Derrick, please,” I said, hearing the whine in my voice and not caring how juvenile I sounded.

  “I can’t,” his voice sounding strangled. He pecked my lips gently, soothing the searing passion between us, while still lightly stroking the underside of my thigh wrapped around him.

  “There is no way you can do all of this to me and think you’re not going to have me at some point this weekend.” My head fell back against the wall.

  He chuckled, leaning down for one more kiss before releasing my leg, “Noted. So does that mean I have to stay away from you now?”

  he took a measured step backwards.

  I glared up at him, “You stay away from me and I’ll pounce on you.”

  He waggled his eyebrows, taking two more strides away from me, “Is that right?”

  I rolled my eyes, dramatically, readjusting and smoothing my dress back down over my hips, “We should go down before they send someone up here for us.”

  His playful expression softened and his eyes trailed up and down my body, “You really are stunning tonight, Alina. As usual.”

  “You don’t look too shabby yourself.”

  I quickly retouched my makeup and made myself presentable while he stood in my bedroom, looking around. I noted that he wasn’t being intrusive or nosey, just simply pivoting around in the center of the room, taking it all in. I liked seeing him there, in my personal space. The place I’d been in nearly every day since I was born.

  I approached him from behind, linking my fingers with his.

  Without missing a beat, he brought my hand up to his lips and kissed it.

  “You ready?”

  “As I’ll ever be,” I smiled.

  As predicted, we were the last to arrive for dinner. My mother walked around the large table, greeting us both with cheek kisses and hugs.

  “Finally! I was just about send one of the staff up to grab you.”

  “I apologize, ma’am. I was having trouble finding my belt and Alina was patiently waiting for me.”

  I tossed a gracious smile over my shoulder at Derrick, taking the heat for our delay when it had been me suggesting we skip dinner in the first place. We took our seats, Derrick sitting next to me, my brothers across from us and my mother and father flanking the table on both ends.

  “I trust no one was waiting long?” Derrick asked, addressing the rest of the table.

  “Don’t worry yourself with that,” my father chimed in, his trademark kind smile spreading across his face, “we’re just glad you’re both here.”

  My heart warmed and ached a bit, knowing how much my dad wanted me to be back for good and knowing that I wasn’t ready to make that happen. I still had something to prove. Even if I wasn’t too sure exactly what that was yet.

  Dinner was served. Several courses of award winning food courtesy of our personal chef, Manuel. He’d been with the family for the last few years and I adored nearly everything he created. His food was rich and decadent, with heavy French and Italian influences from his years of study. The conversations taking place around the table were easy and relaxed. As I laughed at another one of Benjamin’s anecdotes, I realized I’d been unknowingly holding onto a ball of tension in my body.

  Having Derrick meet my parents was a big deal. They didn’t take too kindly to outsiders, especially without some upfront knowledge of who they were and what family they belonged to. But they were so different with him. Open, welcoming, unguarded. It was as if he belonged there. I wondered if he felt it too.

  “So, Jon how is everything coming along with work?” I inquired my older brother, during a brief pause in the conversation. He was a successful real estate developer and though I wasn’t interested in the work itself, I knew keeping the attention off of me would make this weekend go a bit smoother.

  “Oh it’s great. We just acquired some raw land not too far from here and we’re in the process of figuring out what would go best there. I think we need some new life back on the Gold Coast.”

  “Not this again,” my mother groaned. “Your brother seems to think that the traditional way this area was set up isn’t good enough. He wants to start putting in strip malls and condos or something.”

  I chuckled, “What’s wrong with a strip mall?”

  She shot me a look.

  “No one said anything about strip mall or condos, but businesses are flourishing closer into town. Maybe some of that would be beneficial out here. Dad thinks it’s a great idea.”

  All eyes shuffled towards my father who was taking a sip of his wine, uncharacteristically quiet.

  “Thomas?” my mom asked, shocked at the revelation.

  He set his glass down gently, then raised his hands up in surrender, “I want no part in this conversation. Conflict of interest,” he winked at me before grabbing his glass again for a healthy gulp.

  All of us, except mom, chorused with laughter. I caught Derrick’s eye in my peripheral and turned towards him, leaning close.

  “Having fun?”

  “Of course.” The deep rumble of his voice in my ear racing goosebumps over my ski
n.

  “I’m glad you’re here,” I whispered back.

  His hand left the table and slid over to my thigh, squeezing it lightly. I was staring at him when his expression shifted. His mouth turned downward and eyebrows pressed together as he looked at something over my head. I turned to see what had shifted his mood, but heard the smooth voice before my eyes could registered the face.

  “I hope I’m not interrupting.”

  A shiver of contempt ran down my spine when I saw Jason entering the dining room. He was still wearing the dark blue suit, his suit jacket draped over his arm.

  “Jason!” my mother exclaimed, clearly happy to see him.

  “Not at all, come on in. Have a seat,” my father chorused, gesturing towards the empty seat next to Jonathan. Directly across from me.