The Private Serials Box Set(51)

"I know you were here, trying to move on with your life, trying to  forget everything that happened with Derrek, and I totally respect that.  I could go the rest of my life and never see his face again and I swear  nothing, well, almost nothing, would make me happier."

His words were scaring me, my heart was thumping rapidly in my chest, and I could only imagine what he was alluding to.

"But I couldn't let him get away with it, Lena. I couldn't. I also  couldn't come here without something to offer you, something to help  prove I was, and will always be, on your side."

"What are you saying, Preston? What did you do?"

His eyes snapped to mine, and I'd never seen him so worried. His eyes  were almost frantic, looking back and forth between mine, as if he were  afraid he'd never look into them again.         

     



 

"I found him. I found Derrek."

My body snapped to attention. "What?"

"I found him."

"How? Where? Wha-"

"It was the only thing I could think of to do that would prove I was never working for him. Not after I saw you."

"What did he say?"

"I didn't approach him. Haven't gone anywhere near him. I didn't know if that was something you would want."

"What I would want?" I was nearly speechless, not able to wrap my mind around the fact that Preston had found him.

"Sam told me he disappeared."

"He did. Right after you left, he bolted. But you were gone, and you  didn't want to be reached. So, I did the only other thing I could think  of. I hunted him down, determined to make him pay for what he put you  through. I spent six weeks trailing him, following any lead I could  find. When I finally was sure I'd nailed him, I couldn't do it. I needed  you more than I needed him, and I didn't want to do anything that might  take me farther away from any chance I had with you."

"You could have nailed him? What the hell does that mean?" My pulse was  pounding, the very last thing I wanted was for Preston to go to jail,  and I had no idea what nailing someone entailed.

"Nothing major, just, you know, confronting him, trying to find some  sort of information to convince him to give you what you deserve."

"I don't need anything from him anymore," I said firmly.

"I know, baby," he said, his hand coming up to my face. "But you deserve  so much more than what you walked away with. He not only took what you  earned in that marriage, but he took everything your father worked for  too."

He wasn't telling me anything I didn't already know. I'd given up  thinking about everything Derrek had taken from me, mostly because I  didn't feel like there was anything to be done about it. I'd signed  every document he'd ever placed in front of me  –  and put in the position  again, I'd do the same thing. Every time I made one of those mistakes,  I'd done it out of love for someone. It wasn't my fault that Derrek  ended up being a complete bastard and took advantage of me and the love I  had for him. And it wasn't my fault that some asshole beat the crap out  of Piper and Preston was forced to agree to ruin me before we'd ever  met.

No, these problems were all Derrek's fault.

Suddenly, there was a fire inside of me. I was angry. More angry than I  could ever remember being, and there was only one person responsible for  the rage.

Preston was here, offering me the opportunity to find Derrek and get back everything he'd taken from me.

"You really think you can find him, you could find something to persuade him to give me what's rightfully mine?"

Preston's eyes never left mine. "All I know is that if it's what you want, I'll die trying to make it happen."

I looked at him, focused on his eyes, and I knew what I had to do.

"All right," I said firmly. "Let's find him."





END OF PART THREE





Part Four





Private

Property





Chapter One

There were few things in my world that could beat a morning cup of  coffee on the beach in Hawaii. However, watching Lena jog toward me in  rather small shorts and a sports bra ranked higher than any other  luxury. I tried to ignore the fact that she was jogging with my baby  sister, focusing more on the stretch and coil of the taut muscles in  Lena's legs. Sam was also jogging with them, albeit reluctantly, but my  feelings toward Sam also bordered on brotherly.

Lena was the first woman in years who made my blood run hot. She was  also the first in years who I felt could match me in intelligence,  humor, and-most importantly-in the bedroom. It wasn't even that Lena was  overtly sexual-she wasn't. She was conservative in most areas of her  life, including her body. I considered myself supremely lucky to be  privy to what she covered up with clothes. I would forever be grateful  that at the end of the day, she was in my bed, telling me about her day,  and letting me turn her inside out with pleasure.

I'd never been with a woman before who inspired me to find every single  part of her body that could make her writhe, to spend as much time as  possible using my mouth, hands, and cock to get her off. A woman so  perfectly made to fit me, it was as if we were pieces of the same  puzzle.

Being away from her for two months as I tried to find something to offer  her, something to convince her that I wasn't the man she'd been led to  believe, was torture. I was sure she'd come to Hawaii and, inevitably,  some other man would try to fill up the part of her heart I'd left empty  and I'd lose my chance to rectify our situation. Piper had been my  saving grace in those early weeks. That critical time when, in most  other situations, I'd try to fix the problem immediately. I knew Lena  needed something more, something I'd have to dig to find.

Piper owed me nothing, but insisted on going to Lena and being my eyes  when I couldn't be there myself. Parker had always been the brother to  swoop in and save the day, and I'd been grateful when he'd decided to  head to the island to help Piper. Parker had a life back in Oregon, and  his departure was harder on Lena than I'd anticipated. She'd bonded with  him in the small time they'd been together, but I was happy they'd  connected. I planned on keeping Lena in my life for a very long time, so  her relationship with Parker was a tick in the pro column.

I smiled as all three girls approached me. Lena's eyes locked on to mine.

"You've certainly become an early riser since you've come to Hawaii,"  Piper said, her breath slightly labored. She knelt down and placed her  hands on her knees, taking in deep breaths.

My eyes were still locked on Lena, but roamed down her body. "I'd never  really had a reason to get up early before. But there are some sights in  Hawaii you have to wake up early to appreciate."

Sam took clomping steps to join the group and then collapsed on the  sand, not appearing to care that the sand would stick to the sweat  covering her body.

"I," she said, then dragged in a deep gasping breath. "Am never," she  rasped out before she took another breath. "Jogging again." She was  sucking in air as if she'd been trapped under water, deprived of oxygen.

Lena smiled at her friend, but looked back at me. "She's used to jogging  on a treadmill," she said, her voice light and happy, finding joy in  simply being with her friends, and me, I assumed.

"Ah, yes," I said, sipping my coffee. "Running in the sand is a different exercise altogether."

"That's not exercise," Sam growled from the sand. "It's torture." She  rolled to her side and stood up slowly, still breathing a little  heavily, brushing sand from her body. "The devil endorses beach  jogging."

"Dibs on the shower!" Piper sprinted past Sam, laughing, as she ran  toward the apartment building the four of us were currently staying in.

Lena laughed but Sam's eyes narrowed at the disappearing Piper.

"She's going to regret that," Sam said.

"You can use our shower," Lena offered.

Sam's hands, which were still brushing sand away, stilled and her eyes  darted from Lena to me. "It's all right. I'll wait. Besides, it looks as  though he's about to eat you alive." Sam nodded toward me and I tried  to hide my grin. Sam had proven to be one of my biggest advocates in the  last few weeks, and I appreciated her complete and unwavering support.  She also was exceptionally good at making herself scarce when I needed  to be alone with Lena.

Sam winked at Lena and then limped off the same way Piper had gone. Lena  turned her smiling face to me and tilted her head to the side, her grin  spreading. "Are you going to eat me alive?"

I walked to her, pulling her against my body, feeling the heat from her  sweat-slicked body pressed up against mine, my hand sliding up her back  to cup her neck just below her raven ponytail. "Only if you're a really  good girl," I said quietly, my lips at the shell of her ear. I felt her  shiver and myself harden. Knowing the effect I had on her was the  biggest turn on.

It had only been a week since I'd made my presence known to her. Just  seven days since I'd laid my whole story out, hoping she would believe  me, that she would give herself to me again. And in those seven days,  after she had accepted that I never betrayed her the way she was led to  believe, she'd been nothing but eager and responsive. She wanted me just  as much as I wanted her.