Page 18 of The Seductress

I should be pissed at him for letting her get away and get that close, but these things happen. The only question now is how did she know she was being watched? Doesn’t matter. She now knows that her niece was with me in the car, unless she didn’t get a good look, and with my luck I doubt it.

“Just make sure she doesn’t give you the slip again. I want a full report of every move she makes from now on. If you need someone else on the job with you that can be arranged.” My worry now was for Ashley. I could always get to the bottom of Jen’s schemes, but until I know her reaction to mine, and Ashley’srelationship I was taking no chances.

I wanted to rush to her after hanging up, but through the intercom I could hear her calm voice as she spoke with the cook and knew that she was safe. How the fuck am I gonna play this? I thought I’d have time, at least another few weeks or so-so I could put things in place to protect her. Now it looked like time had run out and I wasn’t about to put shit off any longer.

I got right on that. Tony was a bodyguard slash driver, but even though I trusted him alone to see to my care, I wasn’t about to do the same with hers. I put in a few calls and had men ready to take up position starting tomorrow. She’d have eyes on her at school and Tony would take it from there when he picked her up inthe evenings.

I toyed with the idea of telling her but nixed it. Let her enjoy her wedding planning and the newness of our relationship without that blemish. She was the first person I’d given much of a damn about in a long time and I’ll probably make a few missteps here and there; but if watching out for her bordered on over protectiveness, so be it.

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing.” She slipped into the room catching me unawares as I was deep in thought. “Yes you are, you’re worrying. I always know when you are. You get this line in your forehead. What’s wrong?”

It was amazing that she knew me so well already.

“Nothing’s worrying me, I promise. Are you all done in the kitchen?” I reached for her hand and pulled her down to me for a kiss to distract her. “Yes, I made your favorite, whiskey sweet potato casserole and we’re having rib eye steak with Martha’s own secret rubdown.”

“Sounds good, let’s go before it gets cold.” She led me downstairs as excited as a kid who had a new stunt to show off. “Sit here.” I winked at the cook over her head as she sat me down at my place, which had been set as if for a king. She’d broken out the fine china. She made a fuss over me, making Martha and I smile and grin at her antics. Far from being put-out as I had first feared, Martha now seemed to delight in having someone in her kitchen who was eager to learn.

“Well I’m off. You two leave the dishes I’ll get them in the morning, enjoy. Don’t forget dessert’s in the cooler.” That last was to Ashley who beamed at her before taking her place next to me at the table in the breakfast nook, which seemed to be her favorite place to eat. It was much cozier than the dining table in the formal dining room that’s for sure. It suddenly dawned on me that I’d had more home cooked meals in the last week than in all the time I’d lived on mine. I usually had dinner out. It was a nice change though so I won’t complain.

Dinner talk was more about the wedding, which it appeared I was only required to show up for. Fine by me, I hadn’t the first clue about such things. She seemed to have a handle on it though and I saw why she wasso against hiring a planner. Still, I had to ask because it sounded like a hell of a lot for one person to tackle.

“Are you sure you want to do all this yourself? It seems like a lot to take on with school and everything else.” I really didn’t want her overdoing it. As little as I knew about weddings and planning shit, everyone at some time has heard the horror stories. I don’t want her burning out before the big day. And I sure as fuck don’t want her stressed on the what should be one of the best days of her life.

“It’s fun Simon, I told you I’ve been planning this my whole life almost. I already asked mom and she’s jazzed about helping out. I’m sure she’s going to get her friends involved and with all these Tennesseewomen on deck we’ll have everything sorted in no time.”

“Convince me.” She spent the next half an hour trying and I listened as I enjoyed one of the best meals I’d had in a long time. Yes it was my favorite dish, but she’d added her own style in there somewhere and it showed. When she finally wound down and looked at me hopefully as if she were afraid I’d take away her new toy, how could I help but relent?

“If you’re sure baby.” She seemed more than capable so I left it alone for now, but with my mind made up that I’ll jump in if it even looked like it was too much for her.

I realized as we sat there enjoying a pleasant meal in the warmth and sanctity of home, howmuch of a calming force she had become in my life. Usually on an evening like this, I’d still be knee deep in work and most likely be wolfing down something I’d called out for at my desk, only to come home alone to an empty bed.

I’d never really taken the time to enjoy all that I had acquired over the years. In fact until I met her a few weeks ago, I was still going as hard as I had been in the beginning. Always trying to make that next buck. I can’t complain about that either, because my back account had flourished under my obsession with getting ahead, but now with her at my side, all I wanted was to share it with her. I had no qualms, no doubts about giving her the best of everything my money could buy, and that’s something I never thought I would have.

Even when Jen was playing me for a fool, I never quite opened up my heart to her this way. I realized now that I’d been a fool. I’d been willing to sacrifice this kind of happiness for a cold existence with a woman whose only benefit to me was dinner conversation at a business deal. For fuck sake I was a total ass.

I would’ve slashed my own fucking throat if I’d met this one after I’d gone through with marriage to her aunt. I know for a fact that it wouldn’t have mattered when we met, we would’ve had the same combustible reaction to one another. The shit left me cold, to think of how close I’d come to making the biggest fucking mistake of my life.

I tuned back into my girl before I made myself sick with my ownthoughts. I liked listening to her, liked the way she reached for my hand and held it while feeding herself with the other as if she needed that constant contact. She made me feel young and unencumbered. Like everything I’d worked for to this point was leading up to this, to her.

“Are you happy baby?” She stopped with her fork halfway to her lips. “Very.” She squeezed my hand and carried on with her tale.

Chapter 11

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The next few days went by smoothly enough with not too many hiccups. My meeting with Henry Jonas had gone pretty much the same as the one with Sorenson. He too had no reason for finding himself the target of Jen and her boy toy. The three of us had decided though that we would get to the bottom of it. I got the impression that they’d been waiting for a way to get back at her, but because she had them by the short ones it had been hard for them to go after her directly. I had no such fears.

Ashley and I were coming alongjust fine and it was as if we’d shared a lifetime together the way we complemented each other in all things. She had her moments when she was a royal pain in the ass but I put that down to teenage rebellion. I could usually bring her to heel with a hard fuck. That always seemed to get her back on track at least for a little while.

Jen had gone back to work and so far there had been no sightings of her near the campus or my office, and Ash’s parents claimed they hadn’t spoken to her since her return. Things were going along just swell until I was blindsided.

Ash’s mom, Janet, in her excitement at her daughter’s upcoming nuptials, had got the bright idea to take out an announcement inthe papers. I had no knowledge of it until the congratulations came pouring in. I didn’t panic, I had her under guard for each second she was out of my sight, but it was an added headache I could’ve done without.

That evening only verified for me what I feared most. “Something strange happened at school today.” I was only giving her half an ear as I was trying to put the finishing touches on a deal after dinner. We were spread out in my study, she on the floor with her mountain of books, while I sat at my desk.

“Oh yeah? Tell me.” I was sure it was going to be some banal story about one of her classmates or a professor, but what came out of her mouth next had me putting away my laptop and giving her my fullattention. “This guy approached me. He tried playing it off like he was a student but somehow I didn’t believe him. He was giving off very strong, very weird vibes and he seemed more interested in me than would be normal for someone you just met.”

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