Page 49 of Forbidden Desires

“You’re mine,” he grunts out as he empties his release inside of me, his hips plunging forward in a deliberately deep thrust. His eyes bore into me, wild with jealousy, and it makes my heart race like crazy.

All air has been sucked from my lungs, and I hang on to him, trying to catch my breath. That was insane. He releases his vice-like grip on me, pulls out, and lets me down to the ground. I try to get my ragged breathing under control, sucking in deep breaths. I adjust my skirt, feeling his jizz running down my legs. I grab for his hand, needing to know we’re okay after that. “Brody.”

He pulls away. He collects my panties then takes off for the door.

“Brody,” I call to him, breathless, thinking that we would at least discuss what just happened. But he keeps stalking for thedoor, slamming it behind him as he leaves, and I jump, my nerves on edge.

I run a hand through my disheveled ponytail, trying to process what just happened. He’s so damaged. I’ve never met a man so jealous and possessive. And while I understand where it stems from, it’s unhealthy to think he gets to keep this up. I for one won’t put up with it. He needs to trust me.

And now I have an unsettled feeling that he just made it way too obvious something is going on between us. The more people that are on to us, the more likely it is to get out. He let his emotions cloud his judgment. This is what I was worried about. I don’t want to be the reason he and Emerson lose this place to their stepmom. I can’t be.

Chapter 23

Brody

Islam the door to my office, trying to get my emotions in check. Pacing back and forth, I run a hand through my hair. Adrenaline is pumping throughmy veins, making me feel crazy. Gisele Kelley is making me irrational, possessive, and jealous. I completely lost control, but I couldn’t stand to see her talking to Mason. Something took over me, I don’t even understand. All week, she has been my little plaything. It’s been fun sneaking around the place with her, but today I let my emotions get in the way. I’m getting attached to her already, even though I know I shouldn’t.

A knock sounds at my door, and I swing it open in a rush, expecting to see her. But it’s Victor holding some paperwork.

“Those figures you asked for, but I can come back later if it’s a bad time,” he says, looking me over with interest. Of course, he was lurking around the corner waiting for me to return, like the creep he is.

“Now is fine,” I snap. Taking the spreadsheets from him, I return to my desk, scanning them over for anything that stands out as obvious. Something doesn’t add up. We are nearly at full capacity. Yes, level four is being refurbished, so those rooms are out, but the numbers don’t add up. When I took over, I increased the prices and upped the bookings. The restaurant and events are all saving money thanks to Elliot, and I’m paying for the building works out of my pocket. This place should be making a profit, a good one.

He quirks a brow. “Something amiss, Mr. Alexander?”

I tap my fingers on my desk, wondering how I broach this. I understand he worked for my father for over thirty years and was his right-hand man, my father trusted him with his life—but I don’t. He’s sneaky. I can see it in the way his lips twitch, the way his eyes shiftwhen I’m around. He doesn’t enjoy working for me, that much is obvious, but exactly what he’s up to, that is harder to pinpoint. “I was hoping you could enlighten me, Victor. You worked side by side with my father for a long time. What am I doing wrong?” I tilt my head, narrowing my gaze on him while I wait for him to talk.

As I suspected, his eyes dart away from mine. He’s hiding something from me. Something big. “I don’t think you’re doing anything wrong, sir. These things just take time to turn around, but I’m positive you can do it.” He gives me a reassuring nod, and I know for sure he’s bullshitting me. He knows something.

“What about Lana? You're close. What do you suppose she thinks of all this?”

His lips twitch in that way they do before he’s about to spill shit out of his mouth. “She’s still heartbroken over your daddy’s passing. She hasn’t had time to contemplate the hotel figures,” he lies right through his motherfucking teeth. If I had proof I would fire him on the spot, but I can’t get anything concrete to connect him.

I smile at him, not because I’m happy with his response but because this shmuck is so dang predictable it’s amusing. “That will be all.” I dismiss him, not able to stand the sight of him a second longer. I’m positive it’s him who leaked my father’s story to the paper. I’m also positive it’s him skimming money out of our profits. I just need to work out how he’s doing it. He wants to run this company. He thinks he’s entitled to or he’s in bed with Lana already and the two of them are trying to take it from under Em and me. I can see it in his eyes, and as soon as I have hard proof of what he’s up to, he will be out on his ass.

He gives a nod of his head. “Anything else I can help you with, just let me know,” he chirps.

His happiness getting on my raw nerves, I pin him with my stare. “I’ll be sure to.”

He closes the door with a determined click, and I find myself drawn back to the figures on the desk. Something is amiss—a colossal black hole, slowly sapping our funds. Frustration crawls under my skin because I can't work it out. I should be all over this. It’s what I did for a living for years with my uncle. But those businesses were legitimate; this, whatever it is, is criminal, I’m sure of it. Victor has been at the helm for far too long; even the accountant is a crony of his. I need an independent party to take over, and I know just the person. I dial my uncle Oliver’s number and anxiously wait.

“Brody, it’s been a while. How are things in sleepy Deception Bay? Are you surviving?”

I close my eyes for a fleeting second. His voice, a beacon of calm, takes me back to times when he was my rock, more of a father than my own ever was. Gratitude wells up within me.

I exhale slowly, choosing my words carefully. “I can’t discuss the details over the phone, but I need some help. I want to run an internal audit on the hotel, similar to what we did for the last acquisition.”

“An independent to conduct an internal audit of The Alexander’s figures for the last five years? Something’s not right?”

“Correct. What is your team’s availability?” I ask, wanting this dealt with as soon as possible.

He thinks for a second, and I walk over to my window, looking out. Gisele wanders out of the chapel lookingover her shoulder. I can see she’s shaken, and guilt washes over me. I’m an asshole for treating her the way I did, but I can’t help it. When it comes to her, I go crazy.

“We don’t have any urgent matters. I could get a forensic accountant there by the beginning of next week.”

A glimmer of hope surfaces, and I nod to myself. “That would help. I want to get on top of this problem as soon as possible.”

“Understandable. Between the three of us, we’ll sort it out.”

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