Maybe Baby Lite (17 page)

“
You don’t have to stay
there you know?”

“
Where else would I
stay?”

“
Well, you can stay up at
the main house if you wish.”

Give me a minute to
pack!

“
Oh and that would look
real good, wouldn’t it? I can just imagine the comments from the
rest of the staff on that one.”

“
Tylar,” he said
impatiently, “I don’t care how it looks or what people think. The
fact of the matter is I'll be gone for the week and I don’t want
the additional stress of worrying about your safety. There’s staff
at the house. No one would bother you there.”

“
I’m a big girl, Trey,” I
asserted. “I can take care of myself; if something starts creeping
me out, I’ll make sure I call Ray or Denise, how’s
that?”

I could tell he felt a
little relieved, but I was certain that having me stay at the manor
would have made him feel totally better. Carmelita brought over a
plate with a large piece of tiramisu with two forks. She winked at
Trey and removed his dinner plate, hurrying off. I reached for one
of the forks, but Trey stopped me.

“
Here, let me,” he said in
his soft, silky voice.

He lifted a fork, and cut
a bite-sized piece of the cake, dipping it into the small cup of
warm chocolate sauce that was on the plate. He raised it slowly,
teasingly up to my lips, cupping his other hand underneath it to
catch any dripping. His eyes never left mine. I parted my lips
slightly, and felt the warm cake as it brushed past my lips and
reached my tongue. A small drop of chocolate dripped onto my bottom
lip; Trey leaned over and wiped it from my lip with the pad of his
thumb, smiling as his eyes locked with mine. He licked the
chocolate from the tip of his thumb, circling it provocatively on
his bottom lip. We continued this ritual until the cake was gone,
taking turns feeding each other. It was totally erotic and
delicious.

Oh wow
!

When the last of the
dessert was enjoyed, Carmelita cleared our plates. She paused at
the table and gave my cheek a pinch.

“
Prendersi cura di Signor
Trey il cuore dolce, lui vi portera indietro presto!”

Take care of Mr. Trey’s
heart sweet one; have him bring you back soon!

I looked at Trey
quizzically for translation.

“
She said to take care and
that she hopes you come back soon,” he interpreted for
me.

I was pretty sure I could
say thanks in Italian. “Grazie,” I responded smiling. I gave
Carmelita a quick hug.

She beamed and turned to
Trey.

“
Ah questo e un modo molto
meglio rispetto alla femmina Charlotte, amico mio!

This one is so much better
than Charlotte, my friend!

Trey got a funny
expression on his face, quickly giving Carmelita a hug and a peck
on her cheek and we were out the door. I didn’t say anything,
letting him think Charlotte’s name in Carmelita’s last exchange was
lost on me.

“
Thank you for lunch,
Trey, that was really delicious,” I said, smiling over at him as we
got settled in the car.

“
I’m glad you enjoyed it
Tylar. Carmelita is quite the character, and very fond of you I can
tell.”

“
I'm impressed by your
command of Italian. I'd no idea you spoke so fluently.”

“
I studied abroad during
high school and college.”

“
Trey, can you translate
something for me?” I asked.

“
I’ll try,” he laughed,
rubbing my knee with his right hand.

“
Okay, what does
‘Charlotte’ translate to in English?” I asked, batting my eyelashes
at him.

“
Oh, you caught that,
huh?”

“
Well…yes.”

For all of his denial of
having any type of relationship with Charlotte, it appeared that
they made their rounds as a couple. “Carmelita reads too much into
things,” he said impatiently. “I took Charlotte to Morelli’s one
time weeks back for dinner. Carmelita thought she was a royal
bitch, which she can be. Charlotte insulted the Carpineta
Fontalpino wine we were served. She told Carmelita it tasted like
Tuscan vinegar spiked with battery acid. You can imagine how that
went over with Carmelita.”

“
How'd it go over with
you?” I asked.

He slowed for a traffic
light and looked over at me, taking my left hand into his right
one, raising it to his lips. “I’ve told you before, Tylar, there's
no relationship whatsoever between Charlotte and me. As far as that
particular incident, it was embarrassing for me.”

The light turned green. He
kissed my hand before setting it back in my lap, shifting gears and
accelerating onto the highway. I leaned back into the seat and
sighed. We were back at the estate in no time. As we pulled into
the winding drive leading up to the mansion, Ray’s truck was parked
near the pool. No one was swimming, but Ray looked to be checking
the chemical levels, probably waiting for Trey to get back. I
hopped out of the car, not waiting for Trey to open my door. I felt
a little uncomfortable with Ray seeing me on a date with, well, our
boss. I cared about what Ray thought of me. He was probably the
closest thing to a father figure even though I'd only known him for
a few weeks.

“
Hey Ray,” I said
smiling.

“
Hey, Ty. You doing all
right?”

I nodded.

Trey walked over to Ray.
“Did you take care of what I asked you to?”

“
Sure thing,” Ray
answered. “Here you go,” he said, handing something to Trey. “I’ll
keep my key on my personal key ring. No one else will have access
to it—as you requested.”

“
Thanks Ray.”

Ray turned back to me.
“Mrs. Johnson is expecting you tomorrow morning at 9, Ty, at the
main office. I think she has a special assignment for you.
Hopefully, you won’t be too bored.”

“
Got it,” I said. “I’ll be
there, don’t worry, Ray.”

We exchanged smiles and
Ray took off to his truck.

“
You’ll like Rebecca,”
Trey commented. “She and Ray are probably my two most trusted
employees. I know my parents feel the same way.”

“
Who?” I asked.

“
Rebecca—Mrs. Johnson,”
Trey clarified. “If I know her, you won’t be calling her ‘Mrs.
Johnson’ for long. She doesn’t go in for a lot of formality and
pretense. That’s why I know you'll like her.” He gave me another
one of his award-winning grins, and placed his right arm around my
shoulders.

“
C’mon you,” he said,
softly, “Let me walk you to your cottage. I want to make sure
everything is secure and that you get settled in for the
night.”

“
It’s not even dark yet,
Trey,” I protested. “I’m not ready to call the day
over.”

“
I don’t want to either,
Tylar,” he said gently, “but I’ve got work to do this evening
reviewing the case before the trial starts on Tuesday. Then I have
to pack, shower, and all that good stuff. Plus,” he continued,
squeezing me closer as we made our way up the path to the cottages,
“I want a few minutes alone with you before I go. I want to make
sure I give you a proper goodbye.”

My stomach butterflies
were swarming. My cheeks were warm and flushed. We arrived at the
cottage and Trey fished in his pocket pulling out the two keys that
Ray had given him. He handed one of the keys to me. “Put this on
your key chain,” he instructed, “and pitch the old one.”

I nodded. “What about the
extra key?” I asked, nodding toward the one in his hand.

He grinned at me. “I
thought you might feel safer if I held onto it, just in
case.”

“
In case what?” I asked,
eyeing him suspiciously.

“
In case you lose yours or
something,” he frowned at me, feigning insult that I could think
anything other than honorable thoughts about him. He was a
complicated man, I thought. It didn't bother me a bit him having a
key. He owned the place. As far as I was concerned, Trey had a
right to anything here, with the exception of any other
woman
apart from me. I
looped my arms around his neck and stood on my tiptoes, kissing his
mouth.

“
Oh no—you can and will do
better than that, Ms. Preston,” he laughed, chasing me up the
couple of steps onto the porch. I struggled from his grasp,
playfully, and then saw that a small shopping bag had been hung on
my doorknob.

“
Hmm, looks like someone
left me a gift,” I teased. “Is that why you wanted to escort me to
my cottage Mr. Sinclair?” I asked coquettishly. “You do spoil me,
don’t you?”

Trey’s facial expression
had lost the amusement of just a moment ago.

“
That’s not from me
Tylar,” he said, his tone serious.

I tried to lighten the
mood; I wasn't into getting creeped out again after having spent
such a wonderful, calm day with my man. “I’m sure it’s probably
just some tacky Fred-X of Follywood underwear from
Jenna.”

I opened the screen door,
and lifted the shopping bag off of the doorknob. I held the bag
open and saw a small pile of plum silk material. I unfolded the
articles of clothing, holding them up. Suddenly I recognized them.
The realization hit me hard. Oh my God. I remembered them from my
dream. It was the silk pajama shorts that were ripped off of my
13-year-old body; the matching camisole was in the bag too. It had
been cut in half. That part wasn't in my dream. There was a typed
note on a piece of paper pinned to the camisole. It
read:

I believe these belong to
you, Sissy.

“
Oh my God!” I screamed
hysterically, flinging the bad down. Trey’s arms were around me in
an instant. The hysterical voice that was yelling “don’t touch me,
let me go” couldn’t possibly be mine could it? I felt strong arms
around me, lifting me, trying to calm me. Suddenly, Clint came
running up on the porch. Did Clint think that I needed help? Trey’s
voice was in my ear.

“
Stop fighting me Tylar,
for Christ’s sake, it’s me. It’s Trey!” He handed Clint my key.
“Open the door so I can get her inside,” Trey
instructed.

Clint made no move to do
it. He was sizing up the situation.

“
Clint for Christ’s sake,
it’s
not me
she’s
afraid of. Open the fucking door before we have the whole compound
down on us!”

Clint cautiously complied.
In seconds Trey carried me inside and placed me gently on my couch.
Clint carried in my purse and the shopping bag. Trey snatched the
silk pajamas and shoved them back into the bag so that they were
out of my sight. Clint brought me a glass of water from the
kitchenette. I accepted it, taking a sip, then another. Some
calmness was starting to seep in. The swirling and shrieking had
subsided. Trey sat next to me, looking at me, clutching my free
hand as if he expected me to shatter into a million pieces at any
moment.

“
Can Clint go ahead and
leave sweetie?” he asked me gently. I was confused. “Clint thinks
you were screaming because of me,” Trey explained. “He wants to
make sure that you aren’t afraid of me, that I wasn’t what made you
start screaming just now.”

I understood now. Clint
was going to protect me against Trey if necessary. He was a friend
to me. I saw that now.

“
Oh yes,” I said, “I’m
sorry, Trey, Clint. I’m sorry for that out there.” They were both
staring at me now. “Clint, thank you for coming to my rescue.” I
smiled at him weakly. “I received a shock, but Trey’s not
responsible. I’m okay, really.”

“
Are you sure?” Clint
asked quietly, moving in front of Trey, blocking his view of me for
the moment while I answered him. He apparently wanted to make
absolutely sure that I wasn't being forced to say this to him. I
knew that this was really pissing Trey off. I heard Trey’s heavy
sigh, as he mumbled, “Oh for Christ’s sake,” from behind
Clint.

“
No Clint, really, I’m
fine. Talk to you tomorrow?”

“
Sure thing,” he said.
“I’m right next door, Ty. You just holler if you need me,” he
assured me as he moved away.

As soon as Clint left,
Trey closed the door abruptly behind him mumbling something
inaudible. He returned to the couch, pulling me into his lap and
cradling me against his strong chest. I rested my head against his
chest; the sound of his heartbeat made me feel safe and
secure.

As my pulse returned to
normal, I leaned over pulling off my paddock boots and socks so
that my feet were bare. I curled back up into Trey’s lap, sitting
sideways in it. I pulled my bare feet up to rest flatly on his
muscular left thigh. I liked the way his fawn riding pants felt
underneath my toes. His right hand rubbed my back gently,
reassuringly, and then moved up to my neck, rubbing and caressing
me there. He cupped his fingers underneath my chin, tilting my face
up so that I was looking into the depths of his sapphire eyes that
were burning with something right now; I wasn't sure what until he
lowered his mouth to mine.

I closed my eyes and felt
his warm, sensual lips on my mouth. They moved slowly, caressingly
over my lips; his hands now framed my face on each side. His tongue
softly slid over my lips, parting them gently and expertly, and I
could feel my heart quicken. Our tongues met in a sensual, playful
exploration, and we found a perfect rhythm. I turned to jelly,
placing my hands up on his face, wanting to feel every inch of it
while my eyes were closed. The silk pajamas and note were
momentarily forgotten as I drank in the sensual taste, feel and
pleasure of Trey. He moaned softly, bringing our kiss to closure by
placing soft kisses on my lips, my face, and bringing my hands up
to his lips, kissing each one tenderly.