Authors: Michelle Dare
Tags: #Romance, #Romantic Suspense, #Love, #Suspense, #Sex, #Series
“Owen, do you know if the police found any
fingerprints last night?”
With a heavy exhale, he said, “No, they didn’t
find anything which means whoever is responsible was wearing
gloves. We’ll figure it out. Try not to worry.”
She heard someone talking in the background and
Owen answering, but the voices sounded muffled. “I have to go, but
I’ll be home at five-thirty. We can go to your place after
dinner.”
“Okay. Enjoy the rest of your day.”
Owen snorted and said, “Thanks, but I highly
doubt that. I’ll see you later.”
Cali was happy she would be able to get more of
her belongings. A thought occurred, My laptop was in the cabin.
Fuck! I wonder if it was found.
She remembered sliding the
computer under the bed, near the headboard before leaving. She had
a habit of tucking it away at night. At least she had her phone and
Kindle. She brought both on the trip, not knowing if she would have
time to read.
She went over to the bedroom door, opened it and
noticed a neat stack of her folded clothes. She dressed, brushed
her hair, found a brand new toothbrush on the counter. The man
whose house she was in didn’t seem real to her at times. Never had
anyone taken care of her so well and if felt really good.
After devouring a bagel with cream cheese and a
big cup of coffee, Cali felt much better. She felt rested and had
her energy back. It was late when they got in the night before and
she really didn’t get a chance to see much of the house besides the
kitchen and master suite. A tour was in order.
Leaving the kitchen, she walked into a formal
living room. The room had a light green couch and loveseat and both
faced a large stone fireplace which went from the floor to ceiling.
The ceiling was two stories high and a wrought iron chandelier hung
down. There were windows along the entire exterior wall.
Going to the window, she looked outside. The
large property backed to the woods, but knowing Owen it was all
protected by whatever means necessary. An in-ground pool with a
large stone waterfall and a hot tub off to the side was the main
feature of the yard.
Exploring the rest of the lower level she found
a family room with a flat screen television and DVD player. The
next room she came across was a library. It had large cherry wood
bookshelves on three of the walls. On the other was a fireplace
with floor to ceiling windows on either side. There was a large
comfortable looking couch as well as two chairs in the room.
She walked around the room touching the books
and looking at the titles. Every genre of book was housed.
Autobiographies, poetry, historical books of war, and surprisingly
some romance. Cali wondered if those books were kept for Adeline.
She couldn’t picture Owen sitting to devour a romance. The thought
made her laugh out loud.
“Looking for something in particular, dear?”
She turned and saw Adeline in the doorway. “No,
I was giving myself a tour and trying to picture Owen reading some
of these books.”
Adeline laughed. “All of the romances are mine,
but you are welcome to them. I love to escape into a good book.
Although, and don’t tell him I told you, but I did catch him
reading one once. He acted like he picked it up by accident. I
could tell by watching him that he was really reading the book.”
Cali laughed even harder at the thought
“Why don’t I make us a couple of drinks and we
can go sit out by the pool? The weather is nice outside, no reason
to be cooped up.”
“Sounds perfect.”
They spent the rest of the afternoon on the
patio, sipping drinks and talking. Adeline told stories about Owen,
funny ones that happened since Adeline moved in. She said what a
nice person he is and how she couldn’t ask for a better boss for
Steven and her.
Cali confessed how she was falling in love with
him and enjoyed all of their time spent together. “But it’s like
we’re in a bubble,” she said. “I’m not working, nothing to do, but
being jobless isn’t my reality. My life won’t be like this forever.
I need to work, go to my home. Being here is fun, but I know it’s
going to end soon.”
“Why, hun? Why does it have to end? Owen cares
deeply for you that much is clear. You could continue to stay in
his home. I know he would like having you here,” Adeline said.
“Even without him, I don’t need to work right
now, but I like to stay busy. I would love to find a job where the
work makes a difference and isn’t just pushing paper from one desk
to another. Plus, we haven’t been dating long and I feel like it’s
moving so fast.
“Even though we knew each other as teenagers, I
still want to get to know him better. I knew him ten years ago, but
Owen is a little different now, more mature. There is no need to
rush into anything. I want to do this right. Does that make any
sense?”
“It does make a lot of sense. Have you told him
how you feel?”
“Only that I’m falling for him and he knows I’m
independent. I don’t want to jump to any conclusions. We need to
sit and talk. Right now I want to find out who broke into the
cabin.”
“I know, we all do. Steven has been checking the
video footage today from different angles trying to get a good look
at the suspect, but hasn’t had any luck. The person is completely
concealed.”
“The what?” Cali’s eyes widened. “He has video
of the person who broke into my cabin and didn’t say a word? I
didn’t even know he had cameras on his cabin. Why wouldn’t he tell
me?”
Cali was angry that he didn’t tell her. She
couldn’t understand why he would leave the cameras out of their
conversations.
“I’m sure he didn’t get the chance to. You were
both so tired and upset when you came home last night. It probably
slipped his mind.”
“Adeline, he had plenty of chances to tell me.
I’ve been in his cabin! He could have mentioned it was being
monitored.” Then a thought came to her. “Oh no.”
“What?”
“Do you think … do you think he filmed us, you
know, fooling around?”
“Dear, Owen has all of his properties under
surveillance. Even if anything was filmed, it wasn’t for the reason
you’re thinking. And I know for a fact none of the bedrooms have
cameras in them. Plus no one has access to the footage besides
Steven and him. No one would see it.”
Cali shook her head and pulled out her phone.
She sent a quick text to Owen saying they needed to talk. Adeline
went inside to start preparing dinner, leaving Cali on the patio
alone. The phone rang 5 minutes later.
In a clipped tone she said, “Hi.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Why didn’t you tell me you had cameras all over
your properties?”
She heard him exhale. “Honestly, it slipped my
mind. When I’m with you, nothing else exists. I’m sorry the cameras
were never mentioned, but I’m telling the truth. I forgot.”
“Owen, is there a video of us having sex in the
pool in Hawaii?”
“Yes, but only because we were outside where the
cameras are. Cali, it’s strictly for security, nothing else.”
She knew that and understood his reasoning, but
now felt lied to. She wanted him home so they could talk face to
face.
“I know, but you should have told me.”
“I’m sorry. Listen, someone just came in. Can we
talk when I get home? I’m leaving in a little bit.”
“Yeah. See you then.”
The call ended and she stayed out by the pool,
thinking everything through. She was so deep in thought that she
didn’t hear the door open or the person who walked up behind her. A
hand touched her shoulder. She jumped, screaming at the same time.
She swung around ready to fight, but saw it was only Owen.
“What the hell?”
He had a smile on his face, trying to suppress a
laugh. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I thought you heard me
come.”
“No, I didn’t. Damn, don’t scare me.”
He took a step toward her, but she took one
back. “What?”
“We need to finish our conversation. You should
have said something, especially since the person who destroyed my
cabin is on film.” She needed him to know she was still upset.
“I know. I’m really sorry. Last night we were
both so tired and I didn’t want to worry you until the footage was
reviewed. I was going to show you tonight. Then you could see what
we found.”
“Owen, we have been together every day except
when you are at work. You’ve had plenty of opportunities to tell me
you monitor your properties for security. I know you have your
reasons for needing surveillance, but for you to not tell me, this
isn’t okay.”
He looked directly into her eyes. “Please,
Caliana, I’m telling you the truth. I forgot to tell you. No one
sees the footage besides Steven and me.”
“We were both naked in Kauai and a camera was on
us. All you had to do was tell me. It was that simple. The whole
thing could have been avoided if you had just said something.”
“If it makes you feel better, I’ll go right now
and delete the video of us in Kauai. You can come along. I’ll show
you everything and you can watch me erase it. I promise, I didn’t
mean to deceive you. And I know Steven hasn’t seen the video. He
doesn’t review footage unless necessary.”
“Fine, but before we go, you really didn’t get
anything concrete off of the footage from the burglar?”
Shaking his head, he said, “No, nothing. The
person was concealed and we didn’t see anything defining. I’m going
to copy the footage and bring it to the police station
tomorrow.”
“Damn. Well, let’s go delete the rest of the
shit so no one can ever see it. And swear that from now on you hide
nothing from me? I don’t want to wonder if you’re leaving something
out.”
Making an X over his chest, he said, “Cross my
heart.”
He reached for her hand and she let him take it.
He led them through the house to a small room off of the living
room. She had thought the door led to a closet when she saw it
earlier. He flipped open what appeared to be a light switch, but
underneath was a key pad. After typing in the necessary code, a
click was heard. He opened the door, stepping aside to let her
enter first.
“Holy shit!”
In the room was a crescent shaped, frosted glass
desk with three black chairs. Along the wall in front were multiple
screens with various views of Owen’s properties. On the desk were a
few laptops, all docked and wired in. A storage room was off to the
right which held the servers and other computer equipment that was
needed.
“This is also a safe room. The walls are
reinforced and no one can get in without the code. The code can
also be disarmed from inside. That way if someone is trying to get
in and you don’t want them to, you disable the panel making them
unable to open the door. I’ll give the code to you before we leave
just in case.”
“Just in case? What the fuck is going on where
I’ll need to be in a safe room?”
He shrugged and said, “You never know. I told
you I would always keep you safe and I meant it. Now, let’s find
the pool in Kauai and go back to the other night. You can watch me
delete the video, for good.”
They each took a chair. He typed something on
the computer and a picture of the pool appeared on one of the two
larger screens. “This is from the other day.”
He went and played the video. When Cali saw him
take his clothes off to get into the pool, her breath hitched. She
watched herself enter the picture next and run her hand over her
body.
Shit
, she thought.
This is like watching porn,
except I’m one of the stars.
She looked over at him and saw he was just as
mesmerized. She could feel herself getting turned on. Her nipples
were hard, there was a familiar ache between her legs and her mouth
was becoming dry. She wondered if he was getting hot too.
Looking to the screen, she saw his dick enter
her and the look of pure bliss on his face was the icing on the
cake. He was fucking her on the screen and wetness was forming
below her waist.
Without thinking, Cali brought her hand to her
neck, brushed the hair aside and slowly slid her fingers over her
nipple. Before realizing it, she let out a soft moan. Owen’s head
snapped over to look at her and next thing she knew, her chair was
spun so they were facing each other. His lips found hers within a
breath.
They kissed and their hands roamed all over the
other's body. His were massaging her breasts, hers were rubbing his
hard length and he lifted to push his cock into her hand.
He pulled the shirt over her head and unclasped
the lacy bra to let her breasts fall free. His mouth quickly found
her hard nipple. At the same time his hand found the button on her
shorts. In one swift movement his fingers were on her clit,
circling it. She tipped her head back in the chair from the
onslaught of sensation.
They went from watching the video to almost
fucking in a matter of a minutes. “Owen, I can’t take much
more.”
He pulled her shorts and panties off and moved
to his knees, putting his mouth on her center. When his tongue
found her most sensitive spot she cried out.
He licked and sucked, then pushed two fingers
inside. He hooked them and rubbed her g-spot, sending her right
over the edge. She held on to the armrests of the chair as the
orgasm tore through her.
But Owen wasn’t done. In a husky voice he said,
“Stand and bend over the desk.”
Cali did as instructed. She heard his zipper and
his shorts hitting the floor. Breathing heavy, her head was hanging
down, trying to catch her breath. The moment his cock found her
entrance, her head went up and she turned to stare into those
gorgeous, green eyes.
His fingers dug into her hips as he connected
them. He leaned over her back and said, “Damn, beautiful, you feel
so good. I want to savor this moment, but can’t stop at the same
time. I need you.”