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Chapter twenty-three
Chapter 22
Tobias
Thesunissettingby the time we return to the yacht after a day shopping in the city. Today has been better than I hoped it would be. Owen was right, shopping with Bellamy was fun. Especially the part where we took turns “helping” her in the dressing rooms. Even as we finish a casual dinner on the deck, her face is still flushed from one of several orgasms we forced out of her, and I have every intention of giving her at least one or two more before we sleep tonight.
I stayed on high alert most of the day, even though no one knows where we are, and we’ve mostly managed to forget everything facing us at home. Or at least put it to the back of our minds.
Have I started to consider Las Vegas as home? Or do I mean London? Was London ever really home for me? I stayed away as long as I could, and I’m only going back now because of Gabe.
When we’re through eating, Owen and I clear the dishes, refusing to let Bellamy help, then we move inside to the living room, but Owen doesn’t join us on the sofa where Bellamy curls up next to me. He lingers in the entry, watching us. Something is on his mind. Before I can ask, he pushes off the door frame and pulls at his jacket. “I have to go back to Las Vegas tonight to check on some things.”
Bellamy frowns and pulls away from me. “Should we come with you?”
I grip her hand to keep her from getting up, as Owen comes all the way into the room and drops to one knee in front of her on the sofa. “Stay here with Tobias, love.”
There’s a battle going on inside her, and it’s spilling out onto her face in a storm of emotions. Does she not want to be alone with me? It stings to think she might only want me if Owen is here too.
He cups her cheek and leans in for a kiss. “Be a good girl and do as you’re told.”
She puts her forehead against his and closes her eyes.
Then she turns to me and smiles. “I guess we get that alone time sooner than expected.”
That she acknowledges my need for it is a step in the right direction. But I don’t like the fact that she needed Owen to tell her to behave for her to go along with it.
Am I reading too much into her reaction? It’s something we’ll have to discuss. But not right now. Now, I’m going to enjoy a night alone with her.
I’ve never stopped thinking of her as my fiancée, and she still wears my ring on her finger. And Owen’s bracelet on her wrist.
I stand to walk Owen back to the dinghy that will take him to land so he can catch a car to the airfield. “Lorenzo is definitely in Las Vegas. It’s looking more and more like he’s involved in this,” Owen says when we’re out of earshot of Bellamy. “I’m going back tonight so I can help track his movements and find out what he’s up to.”
“Call if there’s anything we can do from here. And hurry back.”
He takes me by surprise when he pulls me into a hug. I hug him back and stand at the railing until he’s out of sight. I turn to find Bellamy watching me from the doorway.
She gives me a shy smile and holds out her hand. “We still have dessert waiting for us. Want to talk while we have it?”
I lace my fingers with hers and follow her into the galley where we pull cheesecake out of the fridge.
“Tell me about college,” I say as I cut us each a slice.
She doesn’t answer right away. Instead, she moves to the coffee pot and pours herself a cup and lifts the pot in my direction. “How do you take it?”
“Splash of cream, no sugar.”
She prepares it for me and slides the cup my way.
“Thank you, vixen.”
We settle in the living room with our plates of decadent cheesecake before she answers my question.
“College is where things got started between me and Owen. But we kept it a secret from his friends. They believe the first time he saw me again after high school was the day I moved to Las Vegas. It was just easier that way.”
I slice my fork into the delicious dessert and contemplate her answer. “Why hide it?”
“We had to keep it from our families. That much was clear. But then Owen talked my father into letting him be my security, so there was at least a reason for us to be together. But he didn’t want anything accidentally getting back to either of our families. And since most of his friends were in the same world, it just made sense for him to talk about me as the annoying girl he was paid to protect without revealing my identity. I never went to the same parties or anything like that.”
