Chapter Fifteen

Once they returned to the house, Annabelle showered and changed out of the expensive outfit she borrowed from Jade Bradley into a t-shirt and a comfortable pair of yoga pants. She wanted to wash the clothes, but they needed to be dry-cleaned. She debated on whether to take them with her to have them cleaned or leave them in the hamper inside the dressing room.

“Annabelle?”

She stuck her head out of the closet. “In here.”

Kellan walked in, took in the number of clothes and shoes and shook his head in bewilderment. He smelled of soap and a woodsy aftershave and something uniquely him and she unconsciously moved closer, wanting to run her fingers over his freshly-shaven jaw. He reached for her and—

“Phone for you. It’s Jade.”

She sighed. So much for mutual feelings of attraction. Wait a minute—did he say… “Did you say Jade?” she mouthed. “As in Juliet LaRue?” The woman whose closet she was presently standing inside?

He nodded and her mouth dropped open. Jade Bradley wanted to talk to her? Was she upset Annabelle had worn the Ralph Lauren ensemble? She’d skipped over more expensive clothes, some with the staggering price tag still attached. Logan told her that she was welcome to wear anything she wanted. Was Jade mad her husband gave her free rein? She looked at Kellan, who was smiling amusedly. “What?”

He wiggled the hand holding the phone. “Anytime,” he said, looking like he wanted to laugh. She grabbed it from him, surprised to realize her hands were shaking.

“Hello?”

“Annabelle! It’s so nice to speak with you.”

Was she kidding? This woman had won an Academy Award, for gosh sake. “Um, hello Ms. LaRue…I mean Bradley.”

“Just call me Jade. How are you holding up?”

“I’m hanging in there, with help from Kellan and Ethan.”

“Well, you’re in great hands. I hear we get to meet you soon.”

“That’s the plan. I hope I won’t be intruding.”

“Never. We’re one big, happy family here. You’ll love it.”

She hoped so. She missed the luxury of having friends to talk to. For the past year, it’d pretty much been her and Rob, and he’d been so ill that most nights when they watched television, he’d fall asleep.

“The reason I called is that I wanted to be sure you’re making yourself at home and using what you need, clothes, shoes, makeup...”

“I did borrow a couple of items, thank you.”

“Kellan said we were about the same size, so pack a suitcase with anything you want and bring them with you.”

“That’s so generous of you, thank you.”

“I’m happy you’re able to wear them. I don’t get out there often, so the clothes are feeling neglected.”

Annabelle smiled. “I wore an outfit to the lawyer’s office today that needs to be dry-cleaned. Should I bring it with me?”

“If you want to wear it again, you can, otherwise, you can leave it in the hamper.”

They spoke for a few more minutes with Jade enthusiastically telling her again how she looked forward to meeting her soon. Kellan had given her privacy to talk, so after she disconnected, she placed his phone on a dressing table and found a suitcase to pack clothes. She felt guilty, but Jade insisted. She hoped to do a little shopping once they arrived in Indiana so that she didn’t have to rely on the borrowed clothes of generous strangers.

There was plenty of room left in the suitcase when she zipped it up. Lifting the handle, she rolled it out of the closet and grabbed Kellan’s phone. It rang and she jumped, then chided herself for being jittery. She glanced at the screen to see a picture of a man with spiky blue hair and a wide smile. The name said Tyler.

“Hello?”

“Zee, man, you going through a life change? Your voice sounds a few octaves too high…unless you aren’t Zee and this is the fetching Annabelle instead.” She pulled the phone from her ear and stared at it. How did he know who she was?

“This is Annabelle.”

“Pleased to meet you…er, speak with you, my fair lady. My name’s Tyler.”

“Who’s Zee?”

“My nickname for Kellan. His last name is Polizzi.”

“Oh, I get it now. Sorry, I’m not usually so slow.”

“No apology necesario.”

She stepped into the hall and spotted Kellan. “Here he is now.”

“Aw, I was enjoying talking with you. I look forward to meeting you in person, Annabelle.”

Were all his coworkers this nice? “Me, too, Tyler.”

She handed Kellan the phone and when she tried to roll the suitcase by him, he stopped her with a hand on the arm. “I’ve got it,” he mouthed.

She wanted to argue. He didn’t need to be lifting anything with stitches, but he’d already turned away, her suitcase in tow. At least she hadn’t packed much, so it wasn’t too heavy.

She headed to the kitchen to warm up several of the dishes Mrs. Hernandez prepared. She didn’t want the food to go to waste, and if they were leaving in the morning, they’d have to indulge in some serious binging.

She found the door Jade told her about that led to a wine cellar. She descended the circular steps to the room enclosed with glass doors housing dozens of bottles of vino to keep the temperature regulated. Rob’s house featured an impressive wine cellar, too, so she was familiar with the different styles of wines and various vineyards. She selected a bottle of her favorite Cabernet Sauvignon from a Napa winery and a Pinot Gris, not knowing if the men would prefer red or white. Most likely, they’d rather have a beer.

Turning off the light, she ascended the steps and found both men sitting at the bar that divided the kitchen from the living room drinking, of course, beer.

Ethan took the bottles from her hands and found a corkscrew. “Red or white?”

“Red, please.” She thanked him and took a sip after he poured the liquid into a glass. It was delicious.

Kellan had moved to the breakfast nook and they joined him. “What do you know about your sister in law?” he asked.

“Next to nothing. Her name.” She’d been surprised when Robbie showed up with the woman he announced as his wife. The fact that he hadn’t invited his father to the wedding was another sin she’d never be able to forgive. It’d hurt Rob deeply.

“You probably won’t be shocked to know that Vespa isn’t her real name.”

Annabelle chuckled. “I’m not.” Though why anyone would choose it for themselves was a mystery, too.

“She grew up Louisa May Milner in a slew of foster homes in Idaho. Never one of the brightest students, she barely graduated high school and then moved to Vegas. She changed her name to Venus Voluptuous.”

Annabelle choked on the wine. Wiping her mouth, she said, “Classy.”

Kellan smiled at her. “Right? She took a job in one of the bigger casinos as a showgirl.”

“A politically correct term for stripper,” Ethan joked.

Annabelle couldn’t say she was surprised the woman used those ginormous surgically-enhanced boobs to earn a living. And the poor grades didn’t shock her either. From the few encounters with the woman, she suspected the lights were on, but no one was home.

“A couple of years later, she moved to LA to become an actress and changed her name again, this time to Vespa Valentina.”

“She’s got a real thing for names that start with V.”

“Seems like it. Before she got her big break, she met and married Robert Singleton, Junior. Other than taking off her clothes for money, her background’s squeaky clean. No tickets, no arrests.”

“I’m guessing if she was an orphan, she doesn’t have any hidden properties.”

“Good guess.”

Ethan glanced down at his phone. “The California Highway Patrol just issued a BOLO on Robert and Vespa Singleton.”

“BOLO?”

“Be on the lookout,” he explained. “Rob’s a suspect in the shooting at his house.”

She wished she could come up with an idea of where they might be headed, but she and Robbie had never been close, so she had no clue where he’d go. The timer on the stove dinged. They removed the dishes and created a mini-buffet line, filling their plates with an assortment of delicious food. They talked and laughed throughout the meal. When they were stuffed, they cleaned the table and loaded the dishwasher. Then they carried their drinks to the living room. Annabelle was shocked when she refilled her glass to discover she’d polished off the entire bottle. Both men had a wicked sense of humor and they entertained her with stories of their coworkers and their families. She couldn’t wait to meet them, especially Kai Costa, the boy who’d saved both his stepsister and the president’s granddaughter from kidnappers, and he was only ten.

It was late when they said their goodnights. Ethan disappeared into a room down the hall and closed the door. Annabelle stared at Kellan, wanting to ask him to come into her room with her. “We should change the dressing on your wounds.”

His fingers traced over the bruise on her cheek. “I’m so damn sorry you were hurt.”

“You saved me, Kellan. If you hadn’t come for me…” She couldn’t finish the sentence. She’d run from him and he’d come for her anyway. She looked up into his eyes. Mistake. His gaze held her captive. She felt drunk, not from the wine but from the whiskey brown of his eyes. Her breath caught when his head lowered and then he was kissing her.

This was no sweet, friendly peck. This one was all consuming, the unleashing of desire that there was no hiding from. Her body ignited instantly, a raging inferno. She pressed as close to him as she could get and wound her arms around his neck. Breaking the kiss, he rumbled, “Not in the hall.” Then the world tilted and she was in his arms.

“Kellan, your stitches…”

“Are fine,” he finished before he attacked her lips again with a fierce growl. He kicked the door shut and then spun around and trapped her against it. She wrapped her legs around him and they both groaned at the contact. He was hard and judging by the feel, impressive.

He dug his hands in her hair and tilted her head for a perfect fit. His tongue found hers and he showed her with his mouth what he wanted to do with his body. She was so close to exploding and he’d done nothing more than kiss her breathless. He leaned back and tugged her shirt off. She’d forgone a bra since she felt weird wearing Juliet LaRue’s undergarments. His grunt of approval had her smiling, but then he leaned down and took a nipple in his mouth and her grin turned into a moan of pleasure. He was a master, playing her body like the finest musician. His hips ground against hers and she was so close.

“Come for me, Annabelle.”

The husky words whispered in her ear set her off. Fireworks exploded and her scream was sure to wake the dead—or at the very least, Ethan. Kellan’s mouth covered hers, absorbing most of the sound. Her muscles turned to jelly and she felt boneless and very satisfied. He’d rocked her world and he was still fully dressed. Kinda pathetic, but she was too languid to care.

He stepped back, causing her limp legs to fall from around his waist. She missed the contact of him at her most sensitive spot. When her feet touched the ground, she was sure her body would follow since she didn’t have the strength to hold herself upright, but she needn’t have worried. He scooped her in his arms and carried her to the bed, placing her gently down on the Egyptian cotton sheets.

The flip-flops she slipped on after her shower were long gone. He grabbed the waistband of her yoga pants and eased them down, letting out a tortured groan. She’d gone commando, too.

#

Annabelle was killing him. Killing. Him. Her body was a work of art, all soft curves and creamy skin. He’d pictured her several times in his mind, but the mental images hadn’t done her justice. She was magnificent. Relaxed from her first climax, he intended to give her several more before the night was over.

His brain tried to tell him this was a bad idea, but his body ignored it. Seeing her tied up and at the mercy of Bixby had sent rage through him, the likes he’d never experienced before. When she’d run from him, worry for her safety threatened to consume him. He’d felt like he couldn’t breathe. He could now, and he would take advantage of the fact.

“You’re wearing too many clothes,” she said, tugging at his t-shirt. Reaching behind him, he tugged it off. “Kellan…” She was staring at the bruise from the bullet. It was a riot of colors, but he didn’t feel it, didn’t feel any of his various aches and pains. Then her fingers trailed to the bandage covering his exit wound. He’d changed it after his earlier shower. Ethan’s stitch job was holding up, but after the marathon sexcapade he had planned, he might need Ethan to thread the needle again.

If she was worried about his injuries, then he wasn’t doing his job. He pressed his chest against hers, the contact exquisite, and kissed her again. Long and deep. She rubbed against him, her nails digging into his back. He was so hard, he needed to free himself before the zipper left a permanent scar. Levering off the bed, he took out his wallet and removed the strip of condoms he stuck in there earlier. God bless Logan Bradley and his well-stocked medicine cabinet. Then he unzipped his jeans slowly so as not to injure himself. Annabelle pushed to her elbows to watch and he grew impossibly harder. When he managed to work the jeans and boxer briefs off, and don the condom, he glanced at her. Her eyes were wide, her mouth open and she murmured, “Oh, my,” without taking her gaze from his erection. It was the last straw.

He wanted to go slow. Planned on taking his time to explore every creamy inch of her skin. With the finesse of a rutting bull, he dove for her, earning a surprised laugh as she caught him. He smiled down at her and then she was kissing him, stroking her tongue along his. Using his forearms, he spread her legs and then slowly entered her, the feel of her silken heat causing his eyes to cross at the tight fit. She was perfect. Made for him. When he was all the way inside, he paused, letting her body adjust to his size, savoring the connection. He threaded their fingers together and trapped her hands beside her head. Then he kissed her again, loving the taste of her, the feel of her soft lips, the eager way she responded to him. He’d have happily kissed her for hours, but the need to move was intense. He intended on taking it slow as he eased out and pushed back inside, but his intentions were shot to hell when she wrapped her legs around him, the urgent sounds coming from her throat goading him beyond the point of no return. He couldn’t hold back. He wanted her too much and the feel of her was like nothing he’d experienced before. She matched him stroke for stroke. He knew they’d be good together—but not this good. He’d had frenzied sex, he’d had wild sex, he’d even had kinky sex, but never anything like what was happening between them right now. It was—cataclysmic.

Suddenly it was too much. The feelings were powerful, overwhelming. He was close, so close. Then her back bowed and her inner muscles clenched him hard. Her eyes locked on his and something in his chest squeezed like a vise. He had trouble catching his breath. She looked as surprised as he felt. Then she tugged her hand from his and reached up to cup his cheek in a tender caress. It was his undoing. He let go, hurtling off the cliff to drift in euphoric bliss.

#

Annabelle wasn’t sure she was still breathing after the most spectacular, incredible sexual encounter of her life. She’d come apart not once, but twice. Fireworks were still bursting in multi-colored splendor and her nerve endings sparked like they’d been shot with a taser.

Just looking at Kellan, she knew he’d be good in bed. With his muscled, chiseled body and movie star handsomeness—not to mention the fact that he could put porn stars to shame—he’d no doubt had plenty of willing women to hone his craft. And by gosh, he had polished it to perfection. She’d never felt anything like what she just experienced in his arms.

She was too weak to protest when he eased out of her and left the bed, but he returned, slid beneath the covers and gathered her close. She snuggled against him, feeling safe and protected. Unlike the other night when he’d been in a drug-induced state, he knew what he was doing this time.

Sleeping with him had been a colossal mistake. She already admitted to herself that she loved him. She wasn’t sure she could guard her heart now, knowing what it felt like when he moved inside her, the look on his face when he came. He’d become the most important person in the world to her, and she couldn’t imagine her life without him.