Page 73 of The Gilded Cuff
The news hit her again, as the shock began to finally wear off. Then the panic set in.
The assassin sent to kill Emery was on his way to Colorado this very second to finish off Fenn. She couldn’t delay a second longer. She grabbed her phone and texted Wes. Fenn was in Walnut Springs, a small town in Colorado mainly famous as a resort town for skiers in the winter. She sent Wes the directions and emphasized how important it was that he get on the first flight out of Long Island. He’d have to make his excuses to Emery and leave right away.
They couldn’t tell Emery, not until they were sure Fenn was safe. He couldn’t lose his brother twice. No one was strong enough to survive that. Her heart twisted at the guilt of not telling Emery, but it was better this way, and hopefully he’d never know she’d kept the truth from him, even for a short time. He’d never understand why she had to deceive him. Someday soon she’d be able to tell him Fenn was alive and help reunite him with his brother.
Her cell phone vibrated with a text message from Wes.
On it. Will text when I find him. Booked flight for tonight.
Tonight? She wished he could leave sooner.
Her phone rang and she picked it up, expecting to hear Wes’s voice, but it was his sister Hayden.
“Hey girlie, I’ve got to get out of town for a few days. Wes is pretty upset about the club thing.”
Sophie grinned. “He’s mad, huh?”
“Yeah. He’s acting like I’m some sort of depraved lunatic for going there. This coming from the man who is dating one of the subs from the Cuff, and he goes there practically every weekend. I swear he should have ‘hypocrite’ tattooed on his forehead.”
Hayden’s husky laugh cheered Sophie up.
“So you’re leaving?”
“I figured I’d take a quick vacation. We have a house on Lake Michigan and I thought I’d go and spend a week there, let him cool off before I come back. You don’t need me here, do you?” Hayden’s tone turned odd and almost worried.
“I’ll be okay.” She hoped to God that was the truth. Although she and Hayden had only known each other a couple of weeks, she felt connected to the other woman and their growing friendship was deep.
“You don’t sound too sure. I guess if it was me I’d be nervous if left alone with all these men. Talk about a testosterone overload. Emery can be a dominating tyrant, Royce just a dominating ass, and I won’t even get into what my brother is.”
Sophie laughed, surprised at how easily Hayden could make her feel better. She’d never had many girl friends. She’d always been a loner and had never understood most of the women back in Kansas. Hayden was like her, different somehow.
“I think I can handle them, Hayden,” Sophie assured her.
“Okay, well call me if you have any problems. I’ll set them straight.”
“Thanks. Have fun on your trip.”
“Don’t worry, I will. Bye, Sophie.”
Sophie started to say good-bye but the line disconnected. A deep-seated ache settled in her chest and she felt suddenly very alone. It had always been hard to connect to people in general. With the dark history of Rachel’s abduction always looming large on the horizon, she’d stayed clear of people, except to write stories. As a journalist she could talk to people, interview them and stay distant. Emery, though, was her own personal sun—intense, overpowering—and he pulled her into his orbit. It was only a matter of time before he burned her up. She wanted nothing more than to be in his arms and turn to flames as long as his lips were on hers, his body pressed flushed to hers.
As if summoned by her thoughts, the bedroom door opened and Emery stood there, dressed in his dark suit, a blood red tie against his white shirt. Heat flooded her cheeks as she remembered that same tie around her own neck, his hands smoothing it down her bare chest between her aching breasts. It had been the only thing he’d allowed her to wear except for her cuffs, in their bed. And it had been so erotic, decadent, to wear something that was so uniquely his.
His immaculate clothes were his armor; she knew that now. Her eyes dropped to the screen of her computer for a second, seeing Fenn’s face and a pain knifed through her ribs. She forced herself to feign a casual manner as she smiled at him, logged off her computer, and set it down.
“Hey.” She hoped her face showed more warmth than her suddenly rough voice.
“What’s wrong?” He crossed the room and joined her on the bed, curling one arm around her shoulders. He cupped her cheek and turned her to face him. “Talk to me.” Emery dropped his hand to her hands, his fingers gliding over the gold cuffs still locked around her wrists. They didn’t match her clothes, but that wasn’t the point. They were his mark of erotic ownership and she wanted to show them to the whole world.
“It’s just everything that’s happened. I think it’s starting to set in, you know?”
“You’ve been in shock. It’s only natural.”
Sophie shivered as guilt slithered up the length of her spine where it nested at the base of her neck and sank its fangs there, making her shoulders tense. Why did he have to be so perfect and understanding? It made her silence about Fenn seem so much worse. She did the only thing she could do to keep her lips sealed. She kissed him, praying he wouldn’t taste her betrayal when her trembling lips met his.
Finally he drew back and cupped her cheeks. “I want to take you somewhere.” He dropped his hands and took hold of her arm.
“Where?”
