The Private Serials Box Set(24)

"Not happening."

"I feel like you're too involved, like whatever is going on between us  is going to cloud your judgment and make things difficult." I pushed up  off his chest and rolled to his side, pulling the blanket with me,  keeping myself covered. "There are two very drastically different  components to my life at the moment, and I feel like it might be better  to keep them separated."

"I'm in this, baby, whether you like it or not. You can hire someone  else if it makes you feel better, but I'm going to get you the proof you  need, and I'll get it faster than anyone else you can find on Google."

I could see in his eyes he wasn't listening to me, that he wasn't going  to just let things lie and let me take care of my own business. "I just  think maybe you're too close to it."

"I've never been so close to anything in my life and I'm not about to let someone else handle what's mine. I've got this, Lena."

I sighed, exasperated, not entirely sure where to go from there or what  to expect. So instead of stressing myself out about things I couldn't  control, like Preston, I decided to curl into his side and let him  figure out what the next step would be.





Chapter Four

Turned out, the next step was actually pretty amazing. We stayed in bed and naked all of Saturday and then all of Sunday.

I'd never felt more cherished or taken care of. I was treated to  breakfast in bed both days and many hours of the most incredible sex I'd  ever experienced. Preston was a sensational lover. He was generous but  needy, intense but soft, domineering yet giving. He was the yin and yang  of sex and I reveled in every minute of it. I could never be completely  sure which side of him I was going to get, but I wanted to experience  them all, so I followed his lead and let him take me wherever he wanted  to go.

Part of me letting him take control was giving in to him when he  insisted. He'd requested I not sleep at my house any longer and instead  was to stay with him. I compromised by saying I'd only come over late at  night after I was sure Derrek wouldn't be coming back to the house.  This compromise was accepted after I agreed to let Preston pick me up  and be my escort.

On Monday morning, Preston had me pressed against the tiles in his  walk-in shower, gliding in and out of me at a ridiculously slow and  leisurely pace, as if we had the rest of our lives to be with each  other. The water was raining down on the wall next to us, its warmth  cascading down the wall and flowing around me, keeping me warm even as  Preston's mouth moved over every inch of my skin.

His finger found my clit and the slow pace at which he pumped in and out  of me coupled with the fast flicks of his finger brought on a quick and  powerful orgasm. My cries echoed throughout the shower, only to be  joined by his groan as he followed me into climax.

This had been my life for the last forty-eight hours  –  Preston finding  any way he could to make me come, whether it be fast, slow, sweet, or  dirty. He could do it all and he did it well. This time, though, his  leisurely pace wasn't a sexual maneuver, wasn't a calculated move. He  was literally trying to stretch our time together, trying to delay the  inevitable. Trying to suspend reality and pause the day. Soon, he'd be  driving me back to my house and we'd both have to work. Even though we'd  found a new reality together, it didn't change the reality that we both  had jobs to get back to.

Even as the Lotus pulled up to the curb a few houses down from mine, I  felt his tension. He didn't like dropping me off at the house I shared  with Derrek and he hated the fact that he had to let me walk from this  distance. But we both knew he couldn't just pull up in my driveway. Not  yet, at least.

"I'll be here tonight. Eleven." His words sounded harsh, but I knew he  was just unhappy with the situation. "If you hear from him, anything at  all, I want to know about it."

I nodded, looking at him, watching his jaw muscle twitch. I leaned over  and placed my hand against his cheek, trying to soothe him. I kissed his  jaw tenderly, then moved to his lips, trying to tell him with a kiss  that I was just as upset to walk away from him as he would be watching  me walk away. I was grateful for the darkly tinted windows in that  moment, knowing none of the neighbors could see our exchange. When I  pulled away, he looked less tense, so I considered my tactics a success.  I gave him a smile I hoped wasn't too sad, then reached for the door  handle. Before I got the door all the way open, his hand was on my arm,  turning me toward him.

"Lena, remember, trust me," he said, his tone serious and worried.

I nodded. "I trust you," I replied, trying to convince him. Because, truly, I did.

"I regret nothing about what's happening between us," he said, his sentiment catching me off guard.

I thought about his comment for just a moment and then smiled  –  a real  smile this time  –  and said, "Neither do I." I got out of his car and  walked to my house, wondering what anyone would think if they could see  me in that moment.

I was wearing Preston's clothes even though they barely fit. His gray  sweatpants and a t-shirt, no bra and no panties, and my flip flops. I'd  put his clothes on that morning, wanting to take part of him with me. I  held on to the waistband of the sweatpants to keep them from falling  down and the neck of the t-shirt kept sliding off my shoulder, but the  clothes smelled of Preston, so I was more than happy to wear them. I was  anticipating getting into the house, where I could bunch the shirt up  around my nose and take in his scent without embarrassing myself in  front of him.

As I pushed the front door closed behind me, I heard the unmistakable  sound of his Lotus driving away. I frowned slightly before I could stop  myself, but then pressed his shirt against my nose and inhaled, loving  the spicy scent of him. I made my way up the stairs and walked into the  bedroom, catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror that hung on the  wall near the closet.

The first thing I noticed was that I looked a mess. My hair was wild and  crazy and there were dark circles under my eyes. When I moved closer to  the mirror to inspect my reflection, I saw that although I looked  tired, I looked sated. My eyes were clear, my cheeks rosy, and my lips  full and swollen. I looked exactly like someone who had spent the  weekend in bed having sex.

Even though I'd taken a shower with Preston that morning, my hair was  obviously enraged and it needed a do-over, so I went into the bathroom  to turn on the shower. I peeled off Preston's shirt, smelling it one  more time, and then folded it, along with his sweatpants, and laid them  neatly in my pajama drawer.

I stepped into the shower and let the water run over me as my mind  wandered to the fantastic weekend I'd spent with him. So many images  flashed through my mind  –  some of them sexy, some of them sweet, and  some of them downright filthy. Each one made me smile and as I lathered  up the shampoo in my hair, I thought of ways I could repay him for such a  wonderful weekend.         

     



 

"Lena?" I heard Derrek's voice and stilled instantly. I hadn't heard him  come into the house or into the bedroom and was completely caught off  guard. There was no hiding from him though; he knew I was here.

"Yes?" I called out.

"Are you almost done? I need to shower before work."

"Uh, yes. Just give me a moment." I put my head back under the water to  rinse the shampoo out. Suddenly, the shower curtain was thrown aside and  Derrek stepped into the stall behind me, completely naked. My hands  went immediately to cover myself, my mouth gaping open at him. "What are  you doing?" I shrieked, eyes narrowing.

"Come on, Lena. It's not like we haven't showered together a million times before."

"Derrek, you know it's different now," I said. I went to step out of the  shower but felt him grip my upper arm, keeping me where I stood. He  pressed me up against the wall of the shower and the chills ran down my  spine, fear coursing through my veins. This was the exact opposite of  how I felt when Preston had done the same thing not an hour before. "Let  me go," I said, with as much conviction as I could manage, but even I  could hear the fear making my voice shake.

"Where did you go when you left the gala?"

"I wasn't feeling well, so I left."

"Yes, but where did you go?" His hand squeezed tighter around my arm and I tried to wiggle free from his grasp.

"Derrek, you're hurting me."

"I checked the records from the alarm system. It shows someone came home  that night and deactivated the alarm, set it again when they left, but  then no one came home again all weekend." His eyes were wild and looking  straight into mine. "Where were you?"

"I went to Samantha's house," I cried, finding the lie came to me quickly.

"All weekend?"

"I was sick and she didn't want me alone. She knew you wouldn't be  here." His grip tightened on my arm and his body pressed into mine. I  cringed, looking away, trying not to let my body shiver in revulsion  caused by his skin touching mine.