Alveus (ABC's Inc. Romance #1) (19 page)

Lexi’s
heart lurched, it was too late. His warning came too late! If only… Oh, Daddy,
I’m so sorry.

I
know that I leave Alberton Technologies in capable hands. You have proven to
have a great instinct for business. I like to believe you inherited it from
your old man! Even so, there were times when your old man needed the wise
advice of friends, and the support of your mother. One other has proven to be
an invaluable help, especially now in these last days before your mother’s
demise. I’ve watched the two of you form a tag team, of sort (isn’t that what
you young people say?) Reginald Mangus has been as close as I’ve come to having
a son. I trust him with my life, and I now trust him with my most valuable
possession – my daughter. The two of you will be an unbeatable force as you
work together guiding Al-Tech into the future. Our legacy is in the very best
of hands!

I
close with one last request. Enclosed you will find letters addressed to my
dearest friends. It is with great remorse that I bowed to Alicia’s wishes which
resulted in shutting them out of our lives. I could not be there for Lee after
the tragic accident that permanently injured his eldest son and took his
beloved wife from him; nor for Marta when Henry passed. Do not follow in your
foolish father’s footsteps. They will welcome you with open arms. To aid in the
reunion, I ask that you call them together as you hand them my last words of
friendship and regret.

My
Angel, surely I am the most blessed man in the universe to have been given the
privilege of fathering you. Never once have you disappointed me, instead you
never ceased to make me proud. I love you.

As
always, Dad

Lexi
cried herself to sleep, clutching the handwritten pages to her chest.

Lexi
woke with a feeling of anxiety boiling in the bottom of her gut. She shifted,
pulling a pillow over her head with the desire to hide from whatever it was her
insides were warning her about. Her phone buzzed.

“Go
away!” she commanded. As if in defiance, it repeated the annoying alert.
Thoroughly awake, now, and totally aggravated, Lexi sat up to grab the
offending unit, promising herself that she would immediately change the
ringtone or better yet silence it permanently.

“What!”

“Whoa
girl, no need to get hateful with me,” Reg’s indignant voice countered. “Just
because you went to bed unsatisfied…”

“Reginald!”
Lexi chastised.

“What?
Girl, I saw the way you were glued to the hip of that tasty hunk of a man.”

“You
mean lips?” Reggie’s words mirrored her father’s –
your mother and I always
believed that you and the little Wellesley boy would remain attached at the hip
forever
– bringing his letter to mind. And the anxiety rose again.

“That
too,” he answered. “So, are we working at the warehouse today, or your home
office – please say home… please say home…”

“Home,”
Lexi sighed. “I’ll inform Edith that you’re coming, since I know you just want
some of her pampering.”

“Tell
her I’m in the mood for one of her bacon and cheese Danishes,” he replied
shamelessly.

Lexi
ended the call, shaking her head. At least he’d buffered some of the remorse
she carried after reading her father’s last words.

“No,
absolutely not!” Lexi’s tone was emphatic. “What are you supposed to live on?
As it is, you refuse to take a paycheck.”

“Then
say we call it a stock option,” Reg urged. “I’ll buy a thirty-seven percent
stake in Al-Tech.” Lexi shook her head.

“At
this point, you could use the loose change in your pocket to buy the entire
company,” she exaggerated. “No, we don’t even have assurance that the profit
from this house will put us on solid footing.”

“I
don’t think Alex would want you to sell the house!” Reg was being stubborn.
“It’s only right that I use the inheritance he left for me to help save his
legacy.” He wasn’t playing fair, and he knew it. Lexi’s eyes teared up.

“It’s
too late,” she informed him, “I’ve already texted Jean and the house is on the
market as we speak. I just need you to help me find an affordable apartment
near the warehouse. I’m afraid I’ve no experience in that kind of thing.”

Reggie
slammed his fist on the desk, startling Lexi. He’d never shown any hint of a
violent streak, before. “It can be taken off the market!” The phone rang as he
spoke.

“Lexi
Alberton,” she said into the receiver. “Wow that was fast.” She looked up at
Reg. “She has a buyer, and he’s willing to pay the asking price. Apparently
he’d already put the word out that he was interested, should the estate come on
the market.” She turned back to the realtor. “How soon must I vacate? Oh,
that’s very kind, thank you.” Lexi hung up the phone and faced her friend. Reggie
looked forlorn. “I’ll be okay, Reg… it will be okay,” she assured him.

“What
about Edie,” Reggie asked, “did you consider what she and her husband will do?”

“Of
course I did – the Jensens are family. They have a daughter in Georgia and
Daddy left them enough money to buy a house or condo near her. This is just a
house, Reg, with a lot of ghosts. Now…” her mind turned to business. “I think
we can go ahead and upgrade the modifications on the
3D
printers, and I want to talk to Fenwick about micro-robotics. Robots are all
over the internet and I think it’s something Al-Tech should look into.” Lexi
locked eyes with her friend. “Are you with me?”

“Robots?”
His eyes reflected boyish glee. “Yeah, I’m in.”

Lexi
let out her breath, good because she definitely needed him.

»ɞ»ɞ«ɞ«

“She’s
busy and would like you to leave,” Edith hesitantly informed him.

This
wasn’t the first time the poor woman was forced to send him away. Dane had
dropped by several times, hoping to have that promised talk with Lexi. On his
first visit he was given an enthusiastic welcome by the Alberton housekeeper. With
each subsequent visit she became more apologetic. He’d tried calling Lexi, but
she refused his calls. Well, he was through playing games and tired of waiting.

Dane
came prepared this time. He sent Edith away with two tickets to a dinner
theater, guaranteeing privacy, and marched up the stairs to Lexi’s bedroom.
Barging in, he strolled determinedly to the bathroom door.

“Lexi
if you don’t come out here, I’m coming in there,” he threatened, banging his
fist on the door for emphasis.

“Go
away, Dane,” she said, almost pleading. Dane hesitated, but only for a moment.
He turned the knob, stepped into a cloud of steam, and closed the door behind
him.

The
room was softly lit with candles, while mellow saxophone music streamed in
through speakers, mingling with a light floral scent to complete an atmosphere
of serene calm.

“Not
locked?” he observed, surprise in his voice. His eyes moved to the large marble
tub secluded in the far corner. It presided over its own walled alcove apart
from the main portion of the bathroom. The subject of his attention was
ensconced amid a mountain of fragrant bubbles. Her red hair, loosely piled atop
her head with tendrils escaping into the steamy froth, added bright color to
the pastel tile background. His body responded with desire.

“I’ve
never found a reason to lock the door in my own home,” Lexi answered crossly.
Although her voice held resolve, Dane watched her posture stiffen with discomfort.
He crossed the room to teasingly flick a few of the bubbles with his fingers.

“I
gave you fair warning,” he said, his voice husky with passion. Dane pulled his
shirt off over his head and tossed it out of the alcove. Slipping off his
shoes, his hands immediately began working on the fastenings of his pants.

“What…
what are you doing?” Lexi stammered. Her wide eyes melded to his exposed chest.
“I… I’ve never…”

Fully
unclothed, Dane watched Lexi as she soaked in the sight of him. Seeming to
forget her own discomfort, her eyes slowly eased to his lower torso as if
controlled by some unseen force. He grinned inwardly as she moistened her lips
with a stroke of her tongue. She had no idea how she was affecting him. He
followed her gaze to his stiffened manhood – or maybe she did.

“Never
what,” he asked, “…seen a naked man before?” he supplied, finishing her
sentence. She hastily turned her head away.

“Of
course I have,” she said, lifting her chin in indignation. Still, her gaze
remained averted.

“Pictures…
paintings?” he guessed. “But not in the flesh,” he stated with certainty.

Dane
wanted to goad her heated gaze back onto him. Not in an exhibitionistic way.
Actually he’d never really considered himself modest, either – hadn’t thought
about it one way or another. He just felt chilled, almost vulnerable, repressed
from her desire.

“I’ve
seen nudity before,” she retorted. He sensed she was trying to portray
indifference, but gave her true feelings away by continuing to keep her eyes
averted. “I think you’d better leave now, before I embarrass you
further
by asking the Jensens to call the police.”

God
she was beautiful. His body reacted, sure, but there was something more. A
magnetic pull to his core, a possessiveness, a knowing that this woman was his
by rights. By every rule of nature – of God – this woman had been appointed to
him from the day she first opened her eyes to this world. He realized that he
loved everything about her – her stubbornness, her naiveté, her fierceness, and
her intelligence. Beauty was just the icing on the cake, and he wondered what
he had done to deserve the adoration she had always placed on him. Even now he
could see her struggle to tamp the old feelings down and he vowed to never let
anyone harm her again. She had been damaged, and fury rose up in his gut at the
thought of what she had gone through and his part in it. Determination to put
things right became his focus. Dane stepped into the deliciously warm,
delectably large pool of bubbles.

»ɞ»ɞ«ɞ«

Lexi’s
peripheral vision worked just fine, even so, she found it hard to believe that
she was seeing a very naked, very virile Dane settling himself comfortably
across from her. In the bathtub. Naked! Apparently the sight of a nude Dane
sent her brain on hiatus. She scrambled to pull up a complete sentence −
find words − English, anything. Her mouth was dry, she licked her lips
and tried to speak, but no words came out. Just a strange sound which brought a
cocky grin to his face. Indignant, her temper took over. She reached for her
wine and took a sip. Swallowing, she found her voice.

“What
are you doing?” she breathed. Had she been holding her breath?

“You
already asked me that,” he said. Leaning forward, he slid the glass from her
hand and sampled it. Raising an eyebrow in appreciation, he helped himself to
another swallow. Was he was mocking her?

“And,
you never answered,” she huffed. Lexi tried desperately to regain the upper
hand, it was her bathroom, her refuge − he was the unwelcome intruder.
Remembering her earlier threat, she reached for the intercom button.

“Won’t
do any good,” he said in a lazy voice. “They’re out enjoying an evening of fine
food and entertainment.” His eyes lowered to her breast, exposed from its
bubbly nest by her raised arm. She hastily brought it down, crossing it to
cover herself. Dane took another sip of wine and graciously held it out to her.
“This is really quite nice,” he said, gesturing to encompass the room. “Do you
do this often?”

“It
was
my sanctuary,” she replied pointedly.

“Yes,
I can see where you would have needed one, not being able to stray far from
home.” Dane deliberately misunderstood.

Fine!
Lexi made a decision. One moment of embarrassment would be easier than sitting
across from a smug, arrogant, sexy, naked, masculine, sexy… Crap, she had to
get out of there! She turned and started to stand when a hand grabbed her and
pulled her back down. Only this time she was seated between his legs with her
back against his chest and his arms wrapped snuggly around her. He breathed
into her hair.

“What
are you afraid of, Pips?”

“Don’t
call me that!” She struggled to free herself, but she was at a disadvantage.
And he felt so good…

“You
trusted me before,” he continued. “I’m still the same person you knew as a
child. We’ve both gone through… things that have affected us, but we’re still
the same people down inside.” Lexi relaxed in his arms.

“I’m
not afraid of you, Daney,” she insisted. “I’m just not in the habit of holding
conversations without wearing clothing.” He chuckled in her ear.

“You’re
the one who chose the venue,” he pointed out. “I gave you every opportunity…”
Lexi slapped his arm.

“I
did not! At least, I didn’t expect you to barge in here. A gentleman would
have…”

“What?
Come back at a more convenient time?  I followed all of the protocols. I
called, and because you wouldn’t talk to me, I left message that I would be
coming by and at what time. It was up to you to inform me that the time was
inconvenient.”

“I
tried to get someone to call you, but they all refused,” Lexi admitted.

“Six
times?” Dane accused. “I came by here six times!” He tickled her ribs.

“Well,
then you should have gotten the hint,” she huffed out, squiggling from his
fingers. He kissed her neck just under her ear, sending shivers up her spine.

“Well,
I’m here, now,” he whispered huskily. He pulled her in closer his arousal
obvious, but his hands never strayed from her abdomen. “To talk… to apologize.”

“To
apologize?” she repeated, wishing his hands would stray, just a little. She
settled back against him.

“For
never looking back, after leaving for university. That is probably my greatest
regret.” His index finger stroked thoughtfully back and forth on her skin.
“Leaving you and the twins, out of touch. I would have known who you were,
when… actually, it probably never would have happened. I could have been here
for you when your parents died. I could have seen what a conniving bastard your
uncle was. I could have prevented so much of your pain.” Lexi squeezed his arm.

“You
can’t be sure of that, Daney. We all drifted out of touch from the family
tragedies thrust upon us. We all have regrets and should-haves. You can’t beat
yourself up over them.”

“Why
didn’t you tell me who you were, Pips? What kind of a monster did you think I’d
turned into?”

Lexi
was quiet. How should she answer? She’d never really thought about it in those
terms. Deciding that the truth was the only solution, she sighed, and turned
slightly to look him in the face.