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Enzo
I was having some kind of amazingly lusty dream. In my sleep, I reached out for Audrey, expecting her warm, supple body to be right there next to mine in the big bed.
My eyes flew open when I only groped cool silk and the comforter.
“Shit,” I muttered. Where the hell did she go?
Climbing out of bed, I pulled a robe on and stalked into the living room. I knew that it would be empty before I got there, but seeing the confirmation only made my heart sink. She was gone. Her mutt, Pepper, was gone, too. One of my solid gold serving bowls was on the floor with some water and crumbs in it, and I rolled my eyes. Fucking Audrey. Of course she’d pull down a three-thousand-dollar dish and use it for her goddamned mutt.
“Audrey?” I called out. “Audrey. Where are you?”
Balling my hands into fists, I stalked through the apartment and looked for her. She was gone. She’d left, and taken the pooch with her. In the bathroom, I flicked on the light and gazed at myself in the mirror. I looked terrible. I needed to moisturize and get a haircut, but somehow, I knew that wasn’t the reason why she’d left.
A feeling of discontent came over me, and I whirled into the dressing room. Sure enough, Audrey’s dowdy clothes were gone, and the silk bra and panties were on the floor. I rolled my eyes as I snatched them up and stuffed them in the bag. I’d sent one of my personal assistants on a shopping spree after giving her Audrey’s size, and she’d spent close to twenty thousand dollars at some new boutique. Bags littered the floor. I picked one up and read the label: RH Shoes.
“Goddamn it, Audrey,” I mumbled, dropping the bag on the floor and kicking it to the side. I couldn’t believe she’d done that. What was her fucking damage? I took her out to a nice meal, took her home and fucked her and gave her amazing new clothes, and she left? What kind of woman did that? I’d never been with a girl who didn’t positively leap at the prospect of new clothes.
She was a strange woman, alright. I set my jaw in a thin line and went back to the bathroom, turning on the shower and letting hot water gush down. With a sigh, I looked out the window. The sky was streaked with the first beginnings of the new day, and I felt like I’d barely slept at all. My muscles were slightly sore from fucking Audrey so thoroughly, and I was regretting the fact that I’d eaten red meat and drunk so much wine on a weeknight. I normally didn’t get hangovers, but lately, the lack of stress and sleep had gotten to be almost too much.
The hot water felt soothing, almost calming on my head. I closed my eyes and ran my head under the spray, letting the water wash away all thoughts of Audrey. Mmm, Audrey. Audrey in the shower, wet and naked and pliable, all for me. My cock stiffened, and I hesitated for a moment before reaching down and wrapping my hand around the shaft. It felt good to stroke myself, though not nearly as good as Audrey’s pussy, and I closed my eyes, thinking of her delectable body. I was angry with her, but that somehow only made the moment hotter, and before I knew it, I was coming and bracing myself against the thick glass walls of my shower.
I didn’t feel any better when I got out of the shower. I couldn’t explain it. Most of the time, when a girl left without asking, I was fucking thrilled. I didn’t love having to kick women out. Hell, I couldn’t even believe that I’d fallen asleep with Audrey after sex. So why was I so fucking mad?
Scowling, I walked into the bedroom as I toweled myself off. Audrey’s robe was folded messily on the bed, and I rolled my eyes. Of course, she had to be such a fucking martyr that she couldn’t even accept a gift. Of course.
As I was pulling on a pair of boxers and a fresh shirt, my phone started to buzz on the nightstand. I frowned. Back in the early days of LennoxCo, getting phone calls at five in the morning had been part of the routine. I hadn’t even minded; hell, most of the time I’d slept at the office anyway. But things weren’t like that anymore. Now it was pretty typical for me to leave for the day and not hear anything new from work.
When I stepped closer, I saw that it was Audrey’s number. Of course. She wanted to call and apologize and tell me that she just isn’t that kind of girl, blah, blah, blah. I debated not answering, watching the phone light up and buzz across the nightstand. I should just ignore her from now on. That would serve her right.
I felt almost disappointed when Missed Call showed up, and the phone stopped ringing. With a smirk, I walked over to the dresser and pulled a fresh pair of pants from my drawer. If Audrey had to put on such a self-righteous act about the clothes and the food, she could find someone else to do it with. I wasn’t going to put up with that shit, not from her.
I whipped my head around when I heard my phone start to buzz again. I frowned. It wasn’t like Audrey to call more than once. Frustration welled up inside of my chest as I walked over and ripped the phone out of the charger.
“What?” I demanded into the receiver. “What the fuck, Audrey? Can’t you just apologize at work like a fucking normal person?”
She didn’t answer. I only heard the breathy sound of her sobs.
“Enzo,” Audrey finally said in a broken, raspy voice. “Enzo, someone broke into my apartment.”
A chill flooded my body. “I’ll be right there,” I snapped. “Don’t go anywhere, you hear me?”
Twenty minutes later, I was in the back of a car racing across town. The sky had fully lightened, and the city was starting to wake up to the morning—homeless people were dragging their shopping carts full of possessions across the streets, and the first commuters were blearily approaching “L” stations, clutching briefcases and economy-sized containers of coffee.
I closed my eyes and willed the driver to go faster, but we kept getting caught at one red light after another. My mind was racing. I couldn’t believe that someone would have attacked Audrey. Then again, she lived in a shitty neighborhood. It was possible that whoever broke in had absolutely nothing to do with LennoxCo. But I wouldn’t know until I saw it for myself.
Audrey and her mutt, Pepper, were standing outside. She was wearing her pink parka and her usually pale face was red from the cold and from tears. She reached up to wipe a tear away from her eyes as I ran out of the car and stood in front of her.
“We got home,” Audrey began in a shaky voice, “and Pepper was making a fuss, and I didn’t know what was bothering her because she never growls or barks like that! And she didn’t want me to go inside, but I dragged her anyway...” Audrey hiccupped, and her voice broke.
When I realized that she was trembling, I pulled her into my arms and held her tight. Even though she was wearing that ridiculous marshmallow jacket, her frame felt thin and vulnerable in my strong arms. The dog whined and howled as I hugged Audrey, but I didn’t let her go.
“Everything’s going to be okay,” I said firmly. “We’ll check it out together, okay? And we’ll make sure you don’t have to come back here.”
Audrey blinked and swallowed hard. Her tongue darted out of her mouth and nervously licked her lips. “Okay,” she said in a shaky voice. “Here, take Pepper.” She held the leash out to me. “She’ll bark if you’re in danger.”
I rolled my eyes. Pepper was a fat mutt who looked like she wouldn’t even be able to scare off a squirrel, much less a bunch of rabid burglars. “It’s fine,” I said. “You keep her. I’ll be right back.”
Swallowing hard, I pushed my way into the apartment. It was a complete mess—it looked like someone had broken in and destroyed literally everything in sight. When I heard a noise behind me, I turned around to see Audrey standing there.
“I told you to stay outside,” I growled out in a low tone. “Don’t you ever fucking listen?”
Audrey blushed. “I feel safer with you,” she said softly. She still had her hand clamped tightly around the mutt’s leash. “And Pepper was cold.”
“Whatever,” I mumbled, turning around and sweeping my gaze over the kitchen. “It looks like someone broke in looking for spare cash, Audrey, like maybe someone who needed it for drugs. Is anything missing?”
“Not that I could see,” Audrey murmured. She stood there and trembled like a leaf in a slight breeze. “I mean, I didn’t look in the bedroom.”
“Do you have any valuables? Jewelry? Anything?” I scrutinized her face.
Audrey shook her head. “No. Um, well, there was the TV. But it’s broken. Whoever was here pulled it down, and it cracked the screen.”
I frowned. “That’s strange. Normally when break-ins like this one happen, it’s because someone needs fast cash for drug money. Did you have any cash laying around in plain view? What about your neighbors, do you know them?”
Audrey shook her head. “The people who lived upstairs moved out last month. And that apartment has been empty.”
I scowled, kicking at a ripped cushion. The stuffing was scattered across the floor so that it almost looked like a snowstorm had ripped through Audrey’s place. “We’ll look together. Come on.”