Betrayal (19 page)

WAKEFULNESS CAME SLOWLY
as I stretched over the soft sheets and cuddled under the fluffy comforter. It wasn’t until my body protested with the ache from last night’s exploration, that I remembered I was in Nox’s suite. I hadn’t planned on staying. With my eyes still closed, I listened for anything, but only the hum of the air conditioner could be heard. Slowly, I opened my eyes. I was alone in the large bedroom. Pulling the sheet around my breasts, memories of the night before came rushing back.

I checked my wrists for bruising and found none. On the end of the bed was a robe, like the one I had in my suite, complete with the Del Mar emblem on the breast. As I reached for the robe, I saw the note beside the bed.

Good morning, princess,

I trust you slept well—since you did it through most of the night and most of the day.

I looked at the clock and smiled. It was after ten-thirty. I had slept well, but there was still a lot of day left.

Mrs. Witt has coffee for you and can get you anything you’d like to eat. I’m in the office—of the suite. Come find me. We have more exploration to do.

~Nox

I eased out of the big bed and wrapped myself in the robe. Though my body wasn’t sure it could take any more exploration, the goofy smile on my face told me that I wanted to try.

In front of the bathroom mirror, I apprehensively opened the robe. I wasn’t sure what I expected from the wax, but whatever it was, there was very little evidence. A few light pink circles on my breasts, but that was it. I checked my wrists again. They were a little tender to the touch, but no discoloration.

The large tub returned the smile to my face.

Debating between a shower and finding Nox, I cleaned myself as best as I could. The washcloth and sink sufficed as I secured the robe and set off to find Nox.

“Good morning, Miss Charli,” Mrs. Witt said as I rounded the corner to the kitchen.

My cheeks blushed knowing the thoughts she’d probably had. If I hadn’t tamed my hair before coming out of the bedroom, no doubt, she’d have thought crazy-ape sex.

Oh shit!
I needed to call Chelsea.

I did my best to act nonchalantly; after all, she worked for Nox. The man was gorgeous. She was probably used to having women in robes wandering about.

“Good morning, Mrs. Witt. I’m sorry to bother you…”

“No bother,” she said with a smile as she reached for a coffee pot. “How do you like your coffee?”

“Cream, no sugar.”

Handing me the mug, she asked, “Can I get you anything to eat? Fruit? Muffin? Mr.… umm
…
Mr. Nox said you might be hungry.”

Damn!
The blood rushed back to my cheeks. “I think maybe I should go to my suite.”

“No. I know he’s waiting for you in the office. I believe he’d be very disappointed if you left.”

I knew I didn’t have any claims on Nox. That was our agreement: one week—that’s it, but I couldn’t help but ask the question that popped into my head. “Mrs. Witt?”

“Yes, dear.”

“I suppose this isn’t unusual…”

Her smile widened. “That’s not for me to say.”

I nodded.

“But,” she went on, “Mr. Nox has spent the entire morning ensuring that his afternoon and evening are free.
That
,” she emphasized, “is highly unusual. Don’t you see why you shouldn’t run off? Besides, he wasn’t very happy when that happened before.”

I grinned. “That was a misunderstanding, as I’m sure you’re aware.”

“And it was understandable. His removing that ring
…
let’s just say, between us, that this past week has seen a string of
unusual
occurrences.”

“Are you sure I won’t be bothering him if I go in the office?” I still didn’t know what Nox did for a profession. What if he were talking to one of his bosses? I thought about Alton and how he didn’t like people coming uninvited into his office.

“No, dear. He asked for you to go to him, right?”

I nodded. “Well, in a note.”

“Then there’s your answer. Mr. Nox doesn’t say what he doesn’t mean.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Witt.”

She nodded. “You let me know if I can get you anything to eat.”

“I will.”

Carrying my coffee, I padded barefoot toward Nox’s office. I knew the layout of the suite from my other visits. Thankfully, the door was slightly ajar.

“I don’t care.” His gruff tone came through the crack. “The debate has been going on too long. I want this resolved—yesterday.”

I pushed the door wider, afraid there was someone with him, or he was on webcam. Instead, I found him standing at the window, wearing gym shorts and a worn Boston t-shirt, with a phone to his ear. The stern tone I’d heard in his voice showed in his face as he turned toward the creak of the opening door. And then his expression morphed: his blue eyes shimmered as his scowl curved into a smile.

I probably looked like an ogling schoolgirl, but the sight of Nox with sex-mussed hair, a day’s beard growth, and casual clothes had me smiling from ear to ear. I hadn’t thought it was possible for him to look sexier than he did in a silk suit or swim trunks, but it was. The familiar tightening inside me returned. It seemed to be a constant ailment in his presence.

“Good morning,” he mouthed, still listening to the person on the other end of the phone. “Edward, I’m going to need to continue this discussion another time. Something just came up.”

My gaze lowered to his shorts.

When I looked back up, he winked. “Resolve it. Goodbye.”

I took a step toward him as Nox did the same.

“Not one of your bosses?”

Nox’s eyes widened. “That call? No. Nobody really. I could tell you all about it, but that would break our no-information rule, and then I’d have to…” He pursed his lips.

“You’d have to
what
?”

“I was thinking about that.” He reached for my waist and pulled me close. “I’m sure I can think of something.” After a quick kiss he asked, “How are you this morning?”

I tilted my head against his chest. “Good.”

Lifting my chin, he asked, “Good? Is that all?”

“No, I’m better than good.”

WHEN THE LIGHT
of day finally leaked around the edge of the heavy draperies and the sound of staff passed my locked door, I let myself drift off to sleep. I couldn’t do it while the darkness gave cover. I couldn’t do it as I stared at the glass doorknob and willed it not to turn. I wouldn’t do it knowing that the old silver key that was supposed to keep my door closed could be pushed out with the right tool.

It was almost noon by the time I woke to the knock.

“Who is it?” I asked through the wood after I groggily made my way across the room.

“Me, child. Are you going to sleep the day away?”

I opened the door to Jane’s smiling face. “Maybe,” I replied with as much cockiness as I could muster.

She walked past me and looked around my room. Shaking her head, she opened my drapes.

The bed was disheveled from my sleepless night, but other than that, everything seemed ordinary. “Why are you shaking your head?”

“I was just wondering if you was alone.”

I forced my squinted eyes to open in the now too-bright room. “What? Of course, I’m alone.”

“Well,” Jane said, in a tone that meant she was letting me in on some big secret. “Word around the kitchen is that Mr. Spencer be here until late. Nobody sure when he left.”

My hands went to my hips. “Mr. Spencer and I walked to the lake after the party. Then he left. End of story.”

“Uh-huh.”

“No, uh-huh, Jane. Last night was the first time I’ve spoken to him in four years.”

She tilted her head. “Then why I hear you two stayed close.”

“Where? Who told you that?”

“You know how it is? Bethany, in the kitchen, she’s friends with one of the Ashmores’ girls. She said she heard Miss Millie talking to Mr. Peterson ‘bout you. Said she wasn’t surprised. She knew you two were just keeping it on the down low.”

Oh my God!

“Down low? Are you serious?”

It made sense. That was how stories and rumors got going in Savannah. It was the system long before Facebook or Twitter and now with the help of cell phones, it was probably faster. The house staff didn’t repeat what they didn’t see or hear, but give them a rumor and it not only made its way around Montague Manor, but to every other house in town with help.

I reached for my phone on the nightstand. I needed to talk to Bryce again. If this weren’t corralled, the people of Savannah would have us engaged before I left town tomorrow. The icons flashed. I’d missed two calls from Chelsea. We’d been texting halfway through the night. It wasn’t so bad for her—she was three hours behind. For me it was after three when we stopped chatting. I’d played a few mean games of whatever the latest game app was for a little while before I’d gotten lost in the book I’d recently downloaded.

Once law school started I anticipated my time for fun reading would be severely diminished.

I scrolled down my contacts, and while I let the screen linger on one name, I forced myself to scroll back up to the B’s. “I don’t even have his number.” Exasperated, I looked at Jane. “You can see how close we are.”

Her face scrunched together. “So you two’s not…”

“No. We’re not.”

“That’s my girl. Don’t let no man stop you from your dreams. You’re going to be a famous judge!”

I love her so much
.

“I don’t know about judge or famous,” I responded, “but lawyer is the plan.”

“You get cleaned up and dressed, and I’ll bring your lunch.” She shook her head with attitude. “You done missed breakfast.”

“Thanks, Jane. You don’t need to do that. What time is lunch? I can eat with Mother.”

A shadow passed over Jane’s gaze, the same one that spent the night lurking the hallways and doorways, and then just as quickly it was gone. “Your momma’s not feeling well today. She’s resting. You know how those headaches of hers can be. And I don’t mind bringing you some food. I’m so happy you’re here.”

My appetite disappeared again. If I stayed here too long, I’d waste away. “All right. But after I eat, I’ll go see her.”

“Let me see if she’s awake.”

Awake?
That wasn’t what Jane needed to check and we both knew it. We just didn’t say it.

Smoke and mirrors.

I started to walk to the bathroom and remembered my door. “Jane, when you go get that food…”

She nodded and patted the pocket of her slacks. “Of course.”

Jane had said Mother was sleeping, and since I had nothing else to do while I waited for the mystery meeting tomorrow, after my shower and lunch, I spent some time on my laptop scheduling the movers. They were supposed to pick things up on Thursday. That didn’t give me much time. Chelsea and I had already started packing a few things, but the big stuff needed to get across the country, and fast. I wasn’t sure where the summer had gone, but it had. It was crunch time. Even though the company promised coast-to-coast service in under two weeks, I figured I’d be sleeping on a sofa in New York for awhile, waiting for my bedroom suite to arrive.

I wasn’t taking all the furniture. First, I doubted it would fit. My new apartment was nice looking from the pictures, but I knew New York well enough to know nothing was large. The other reason I wouldn’t take it all was my best friend. We still had two months left on the lease in Palo Alto, and I promised her I’d pay my part while she figured out exactly what she was going to do.

I also looked at flights to get me back to California. I wished I could take one of the early ones, but I didn’t know for sure what time our meeting was. As I let the cursor float over the different flights, I decided to wait until I had more information.

Living in a huge house was like going to the local supermarket. The analogy had nothing to do with food, but made sense anyway. When you went to the supermarket in sweatpants, ponytail, and barefaced, not wanting to see anyone, you ran into everyone you knew. It was the way it worked. If you’re freshly showered or had just come from work or class, and you had time to run into people, you wouldn’t. Living in Montague Manor was like that. The corridors could be quiet and empty, or I could run into people at every turn.