Love Me (Trust Series #2) (22 page)

A little tip from that book Sam got me.

“Where the hell did you learn to do that?” he asks.

The pleasure on his face spurs me to keep the assault going as he grabs my hips and thrusts up, reaching that delicious spot that causes euphoria within me each and every time. My hands are resting on his chest. We both have a light sheen on our bodies. My sex continues to pulse around him.

He grits his teeth as he spits out, “Come, Alli, please…I can’t take much more of this.”

And just like that, I fall off the cliff, screaming his name in a euphoric ecstasy. A warm wave of contentment engulfs me, causing me to collapse onto his chest. His hands come around me like a vise as he holds me to him while both of us try to slow our breathing. His dick is still inside me, twitching and spilling into me.

“Baby, that was incredible.”

I breathlessly giggle. “Good. Thought I’d try something new.”

“Where the hell did you learn that?” His tone is possessive.

“Let’s just say girl time with Sam can benefit you also.”

“Geez, I’m never letting you go out with her to a club without me there.”

I give him a weak mock slap on the shoulder. It’s about all of the energy I can muster at this point.

“I hate that we have to go home tomorrow. I love our bubble,” I say.

His hand starts caressing my back, leaving a trail of tingles.

“Me, too. We’ll come back as often as we need to.”

“I’d like that.”

I’m already starting to feel re-energized and vitalized from our time here. I had no idea the extent of how draining our situation with the killer had become on us.

It’s later on in the morning, and I’m in the closet, getting some clothes. I begrudgingly agreed to get out of bed, so Damien could take me somewhere. He’s keeping his plans a surprise.

I hope it involves a horseback ride.

Pulling open my T-shirt drawer, I spot a black shirt that went missing a few months ago.

“Aha! I’m not nuts after all.”

I’m talking to myself, but it makes me feel good that I have finally found something versus losing yet another article of clothing. While I was in limbo between my place and Damien’s, plus all the traveling we did, I lost several pieces of clothing. This spurs my quest to start rummaging through the closet to see if any of my other missing items were left here last time.

“Did you say something, Alli?”

Damien’s at the door, dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, with his messed-up hair. He seems amused as he’s looking at me.

“No, I was just talking to myself. I was excited that I’m not crazy. From living in two places and traveling, I’ve had so many things go missing over the last few months. Finally, I found a shirt I had been looking for. Just felt like a small victory.” I give a shrug and keep rummaging.

“What all has gone missing?”

I continue looking through the drawers. “Let’s see…from what I can remember, a red scarf, a teal cowboy shirt, a purple silk robe and nightie, some yoga pants and T-shirts, some jewelry…oh, and one of my black cocktail dresses. I guess living in between all these places just threw me. But I found this T-shirt, which was gone, so I’m not crazy after all. The rest will turn up.”

So far though, I’ve had no such luck in finding anything else. I start going through the racks of clothes. Most of the clothing still have price tags on them from when Damien stocked the closets with things for me to wear.

“Have you lost anything since we got married?”

Now, he’s just trying to rub it in that I should have moved in with him sooner.

“No, I don’t think so. And before you say it, I know it could have been solved if I had moved in with you sooner. I’m glad we waited though, aren’t you?”

I don’t get a response as I abandon my search and slip my newfound T-shirt over my head. I turn around, and Damien is standing like a stone, frozen in place at the entrance.

I walk over to him. “Hey, what’s wrong? We’re living together now. It’s a fun walk down memory lane.”

He looks seriously at me. “When did you notice you started missing stuff?”

“When I started staying at your place all the time. Why are you focused on this so much?”

He fishes out his phone and connects a call. “Bane, meet us down in the study in five minutes. Drop whatever it is you are doing.”

The way his posture has gone all possessive and dominant definitely has me worried.

“What’s going on, Damien?”

“We need to give these details to Bane.”

“Why?”

“Alli, I don’t think you’ve lost anything. I think that fucking asshole has been in and out of your apartment, taking your shit for who the hell knows how long. You finding this shirt was a fluke.”

My body roots itself to the floor as his words penetrate my mind. A small gasp escapes my lips, and my hand involuntarily goes to my mouth. I have no idea what to say or do as Damien rubs his forehead. His jaws pops from the pressure he is putting on it. I need to feel safe in his arms right now. He must sense it because he takes a step and envelops me in a hug.

“Alli, it’s going to be okay. I just thank God that I wasn’t too late in protecting you.”

I just focus on breathing as I calm myself down. “I want him out of our lives.”

“You have no idea how bad I want that too, baby. Let’s go talk to Bane. Then, we can get back to focusing on us while Bane focuses on that fucker. I won’t have the fucker who’s doing this ruining our time here together. We need this.”

I nod against his chest as one tear escapes me. He turns us to head to the study.

Please don’t let it be true that this creepy guy after me somehow got my clothing. Please just let it be that I’m crazy and have misplaced my stuff. Please, please, please keep Damien and me safe.

For the last couple of hours, I have outlined everything I can remember about all the clothes I’m missing. Since I wasn’t on alert, my details are fairly vague. There’s one thing for sure—this guy we are trying to find is smooth and clever. The slow pace in which I lost the various pieces of clothing caused me to think I was going crazy because of my living situation.

Sitting next to Damien, he strokes my hand.

Bane asks, “Mrs. Wales, is there anyone you can think of who was present right before your clothes went missing?”

During the honeymoon, I tried getting Bane to call me Allison, but that was a no-go. When he calls me Mrs. Wales, it just feels so formal and stiff, like an interrogation, and my nerves are that much more on edge.

“No, I have no idea when they were actually taken. I would be packing, thinking of what I wanted to wear, and then I couldn’t find it.”

Bane leans forward slightly in his chair. “Mr. and Mrs. Wales, since a thorough search for the missing articles has not been done to date, do you mind if I search all of Mrs. Wales’s things just to ensure nothing has been overlooked?”

Damien looks at me, and I respond, “Of course. Please do.”

If Bane finds the clothes, then the situation definitely goes down on the creepy-level scale.

Bane pulls out his phone and types something into it before looking at me. “Thank you. I will start on this immediately, only allowing Jeremy to assist me. We are still working on uncovering what Martin was referring to regarding Rebecca.”

I can sense the respect Bane and Damien have for each other. It makes me feel better, and I know Bane will always have our backs.

Damien reaches out to shake Bane’s hand. “Thank you, Bane. No one is to find out what you’re looking for. I don’t want this getting back to the guy in any way.”

“Yes, sir. I will continue to keep you updated.” With that, he stands and exits the room.

We are left alone in the study. I’m trying to absorb it all.

Damien asks, “What would you say to a ride?”

Letting out a sigh of relief from the reprieve, I respond, “That sounds perfect. I’m going to bring my camera and get some more shots for my library at home. I’d love to go to that ridge you told me about where your grandfather proposed to your grandmother.”

He smiles warmly at me. “You remembered.”

“Of course. I remember everything you tell me.”

“Well then, Mrs. Wales, your wish is my command.”

It’s late afternoon when we set out on our horseback ride. We have a picnic packed with all sorts of goodies. Damien is on the blue roan, Rocket. I’m on Amanthia again, the brown buckskin quarter horse. Amanthia reminds me of Gingersnap, and I cannot wait until it’s safe for Gingersnap to come home to Atlanta. Within hours of me asking Damien to move her somewhere safe, he showed me where she was going to be stationed under a fake name and owner. It’s a top-security place halfway across the country.

Our pace is slow and enjoyable.

Looking at Damien, I say, “I have a question for you.”

Damien in a cowboy hat as he rides a horse is something to behold. He’s in artfully torn jeans, button up blue shirt and a black cowboy hat. Part of me wanted to miss the horseback ride all together and ride my cowboy in our room.

He looks over and smiles devilishly. “Shoot, cowgirl.”

“When we were here last time, it was the first time you brought up marriage to me.”

His grin broadens. “Yes, it was the first time I mentioned it.”

When he’s unsure of where I’m going with a comment, he always states my question back to me.

“If I didn’t freeze from shock, would you have proposed sooner?”

The horses continue moving at a gentle walk through the prairie, grabbing some grass to chew every once in a while.

“Alli, I was ready to marry you in Vegas when we were out on the balcony, and you told me you loved me.”

I’m shocked. “Really?”

“Yes. If I thought you would’ve said yes then, we would have been married that weekend.”

A tingle runs through my body, and I cannot help the loving smile that emerges on my face.

He continues to explain, “But my wife needs an immeasurable amount of time to process things, so I had to exercise the patience of a saint.”

I give him a mock pouty face.

“Oh, don’t you dare deny it, Alli. It took you almost four months to agree. Let’s just make sure we remember who was ready to marry whom first. I about lost my mind, trying to think of ways to expedite the process.”

I giggle. “What? You did expedite the process! We were married within forty-eight hours of you proposing to me.”

We both bust out into laughter.

“Well, we both got what we wanted in the end.” Damien says as he winks at me.

“That we did.”

The ride offers a freeness that I miss. The breeze causes the grass to roll like a gentle wave. Security is still around us, but they are keeping back, so we don’t feel like they are here. Before I know it, we’ve dismounted, and we are walking to the edge of the ridge, holding hands.

Oh my, this view is incredible.
I cannot take my eyes off of the infinite prairie spread before me.

Damien retells the story. “My grandfather bought this land right before he met my grandmother. When she was ready—because she was a processor like you and Becky—he brought her up here and confessed his love for her. He proposed to her and said there would never be another woman who completed him like she did.”