Love Me (Trust Series #2) (26 page)

And just like that, the fury is back in his eyes.

“What? He’s contacting you now?”

I feel my emotions creeping back into the red as a knot starts to form in my chest.

Damien starts rubbing my arms as he says, “Alli, breathe. He sent it to me when I was about twenty minutes from the house. Bastard probably knew I wasn’t home. I called Bane to check on you, and he said you were locked in the bathroom. When he got you to answer, I told him to let you be because I was close by.”

I lay my head against Damien’s shoulder, and he pulls me closer to him.

“I think Martin was right,” I say.

“I do, too. This guy is becoming unhinged, and it’s because of his lack of access to you and what’s going on in the news. But he’s not going to get near you.”

The finality in his tone is chilling.

“How did he get my number? There’s no way the few people who have it would give it out. He has to have connections to something to get it so fast. Did you store it anywhere?”

At this point, I might not even keep a phone, so there’s no way he could get to me.

Awareness flashes in Damien’s eyes, and he fishes out his phone. “Bane, whoever this is has access to the servers at Wales Enterprise. He is getting information that way, or he knows someone there. Anyone on the team and all of the real estate employees have access to those servers. Check to see if Ben has been sending anything to Cassandra. Alli’s number was listed under the company, and that’s how the prick got it. Get her an anonymous number. Make sure all your research stays away from anything related to the company. Continue to make it look like we are searching for Martin. Yes, I am aware that is going to slow things down.”

Ugh, changing numbers again. Sam and her parents are going to think I’m crazy. Oh well, that’s the least of my worries.

Damien turns his attention back on me. “I need to make sure you don’t want to discuss the tape any further. I won’t have anything coming between us, Alli. I need to know we’re okay.”

I think about it for a few minutes. “I’m not going to lie and say that it doesn’t still bother me, but I knew the score when I started dating you. It’s in the past. It’s just not pleasant to see the past in this case. I really don’t want to know the details. Just like before though, I do want to know if you’ve dated someone I might run into at functions, so I’m not taken aback. I want to be prepared if an ex of yours says something outlandish. What matters is who we are and what we mean to each other.”

He gives me a gentle kiss. “How about dinner in bed?”

I perk my head up. “Sounds good.” I know we need a pleasant distraction. “I picked out some colors and fabrics for
our
house, and I want to get your feedback on them.” I give him a weak cheeky smile as I emphasize the word
our
.

“Sounds good, baby.”

I’m still disturbed at what I saw, and I would love to bleach it from my mind, but I’ll deal with it and constantly remind myself that I’m the one he wants.

We have a forever kind of love.

Forever.

My promo photo shoot for the football team is tomorrow. Something magical happens when I start looking into a lens. Taking pictures takes me to a place of peace.

As we pull up to the hotel in North Carolina, the press is in full force outside the car. The camera flashes send me into a trance as I sit behind the tinted window of the SUV. I hope someone who is actually famous is staying here. If the press attention is for us, I dread what is on the other side of the door.

How long can a kiss garner this much publicity? Ridiculous.

“Alli, are you with me?”

I turn my gaze from all the press milling about with flashing cameras to Damien. “Yes, sorry, I was just lost in thought.”

He hates it when I get so involved in my mind that I zone out, especially now with all that we are currently dealing with. If he could have a direct link to my thoughts every moment, he would.

“Alli, stay next to me.” He rubs his forehead.

Eventually, he’s going to rub a hole in it.

“Fucking vultures,” he says.

“Hey, I’m fine. It’s fifteen feet into the hotel. Just don’t listen to them. If you don’t react, they’ll move on. It was just a kiss.”

For the hundredth time, he’s about to contradict me about it not being just a kiss when I decide to head him off at the pass. He needs to remain calm.

I put my hands up. “Okay, not just a kiss. A super-hot kiss.”

He quirks his brow at me, and I give a big cheesy smile, hoping to lighten the mood. It seems to work—fractionally.

We disembark from the vehicle with security surrounding us. The press is screaming all kinds of questions. Their voices are causing a loud and chaotic atmosphere. I can’t even make out what they are saying.

I keep a polite smile as we continue to the door.

The voice of one guy breaks through over the rest and says to Damien, “Are Allison’s bedroom skills as good as her kissing talents?”

My head immediately snaps to Damien. His blue eyes are searching out the guy who said it. A balding overweight man wearing suspenders is giving Damien a cheesy smile while laughing. Damien starts to move that way, but at my gentle pull, he stays with me instead of doing who knows what to that guy. I breathe a sigh of relief when we finally cross the threshold of the hotel.

As we approach the elevator, Damien tells Bane, “Have Jeremy find out who that fuckwad is.”

Bane nods and talks discreetly into his earpiece. The ride up to the hotel room is like trapping a panther in a small cage. Damien’s irritation is radiating in the atmosphere, causing my nerves to be more on edge than normal. This is our first public appearance since the media frenzy, and I knew it would have him a little more on edge.

Holy hell, it’s intense.

I glance over at Damien. His blue shirt is rolled up to his elbow, and every muscle is standing on edge.

I’m just ready to be in our hotel room, so I can focus on us and the upcoming photo shoot.

As we approach the door, Bane addresses Damien, “Sir, the room has been cleared. Outside security is in place.”

“Thanks, Bane.”

We enter the hotel room as Bane says, “Sir, may I speak with you for just a moment about my plans?”

Damien looks at me as I respond, “I’ll be in the kitchen, getting some water.”

Jeremy and I make our way into the kitchen to give them privacy. If I wanted to hear, Damien would let me. Honestly, listening to all the planning and contingencies stresses me out more. I just want to know actual facts and information.

I can still see Damien and Bane from the kitchen, and I notice the bellboy taking our bags upstairs to our room. I grab a bottle of water from the fridge, and as I turn back around, I see the bellboy stopped at a table at the top of the stairs. He’s scribbling something on a piece of paper. He comes down the stairs and starts to approach me, giving a big cocky grin and adding a little oomph to his strut.

Please, please, please let him just be looking for a tip. My husband cannot take much more this evening.

Hoping that money is all he wants, I grab some cash. Jeremy comes to stand within a foot of me.

I hand the cash to the bellboy as I say, “Thank you. Have a good evening.”

Awkwardly, the bellboy takes the money while handing me some kind of note with a cocky wink. I would imagine those dimples, blue eyes, and blond hair go over well with the ladies—if they’re in high school. He slowly walks away, but he keeps looking back.

This cannot be good.
I feel like I’m getting one of those notes in grade school, asking me to check yes or no if I think a boy is cute. I open the paper and read it as I take a sip of my water.

After reading the booty call, I choke on my water and spit it out.
Did he seriously think he had a chance?
Plus, I can’t believe he had the nerve to do that in front of my husband.

The bellboy is young and naïve. The immaturity of the note causes me to almost start laughing—almost. That is, until I see the intent stride of Mr. Hell on Wheels toward me, seeing the note in my hand. He holds out his hand, and I quickly oblige and give it to him.

Trying to placate the situation, I add, “Damien, he’s just a kid. He didn’t mean anything by it.”

The door closes, and I’m glad the poor kid is gone. I just need to get Damien up to our room, so he can calm down, forget about the last fifteen minutes of tonight, and lose himself in me. This note doesn’t bother me. It’s from a horny teenager, trying to get lucky with his good looks on the off chance that I’m open to grazing other pastures. I know I should take it more seriously, but with everything else going on, this guy is the least of my worries.

The veins start bulging in Damien’s neck.

I continue to try to reason with him, “Hey, Damien, let’s go up to our room. It’s been a long day.”

He turns to me. “I’ll be up there in a minute, Alli. I need to handle something.”

I go to grab his arm, attempting to coax him into letting this go. “Damien…”

“Alli, please go to our room. I’ll be there in a second.”

With that, he walks toward his office door. He really has reached his limit.

As he disappears behind the door with Bane, I yell after him, “Damien, don’t be rash!”

The door slams, leaving Jeremy and me in the kitchen.

Looking at Jeremy, I say, “I’m going to head to my room now.”

He responds, almost monotone, like always, “I’ll be outside the bedroom door, Mrs. Wales.”

With that, we silently make our way up to the room. I long ago stopped attempting to become friends with the security team. Talking to them doesn’t do any good.

When I get to the bathroom, I draw a bath. I lie back and just focus on the scent of lavender, the heat of the water, and the soothing sound of some classical music.

After some time, I hear Damien enter the room but keep my eyes closed. Moments later, the water starts to move, and I scoot forward some in order for Damien to slide in behind me, bringing my back to the front of his body. He still seems pretty worked up with his quicker than usual breaths, and his muscles are flexed stiffly as he wraps his arms around me. I give him a few moments, hoping the atmosphere helps him relax.

“Alli, I—”

I squeeze his arm. “It’s okay. I get it. The photographers were inappropriate. Let’s just enjoy each other. I don’t like the comments either, Damien, but if I get all worked up, you’ll get even more upset. You have me, and I have you. That’s all that matters. We have to stay focused on that while dealing with everything else.”

He starts to kiss down my jaw as he murmurs, “I like your idea of enjoying each other.”

My insides tremble in anticipation as his hand makes its way down my stomach.

Our night is about to turn around for the better.

We are eating breakfast. Damien’s mood has significantly lightened since last night. I just pray that everyone keeps their thoughts, notes, comments, and looks to themselves today.

Damien sips his coffee as I put cream cheese on my bagel.

He asks, “What would you think about buying a house here?”

“Three houses? Isn’t that a lot?”

He shrugs. “Not really. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a home to go to versus dealing with all the bullshit from staying at a hotel?”