Alveus (ABC's Inc. Romance #1) (2 page)

Uncle
Richard had always been a bit of a gadabout, showing up for short visits before
leaving again for unknown adventure. Her father, expressing disgust over his
brother’s ways, tried his best to get him interested in the business. Lexi
suspected her uncle only appeared in his brother’s life when he needed money.
Although she was skeptical about her uncle’s belated interest in Alberton
Technologies, Lexi was pleased to have him in her life. The company had been bequeathed
to her, but she was grateful for his support. That is, until she realized that he
knew nothing about running the business.

He
thwarted her at every turn; canceling orders and buying cheaper quality
product, cutting out essential jobs to save money, and making business deals
with unsavory individuals. She had to put a stop to it, and was relieved when
he finally agreed upon a meeting to iron out their differences. The moment
she’d stepped into his office, she realized his betrayal. Lexi woke up in an
unfamiliar hotel room, drained of emotion.

Germany,
why am I in Deutschland? Lexi pondered her position while the shower washed off
the remains of her drugged lethargy. She knew her life was in the hands of
human traffickers; even so, she couldn’t bring herself to care. Was she still
drugged? She tried to conjure up fear, sorrow, hopelessness, anger, self-pity…
anything – but she felt nothing.

“Sign
here.”

Lexi
poised the pen over the man’s finger as he pointed out the preferred blank
line. She stared at the sham of a contract – did he take her for a fool?
Signing an agreement would be meaningless given that he literally owned her,
not to mention null and void since it’s against the law to own an individual.
She continued to read; perhaps he had her consenting to the ownership. No, it
was a standard pre-nuptial contract. So, he intends to force her into marriage.
Strange… Well, no reason for her to sign her real name. As far as she knew he
had no idea who she really is, or rather who she was.
Alveus Proditio
,
she signed.

“Alveus?
What kind of a name is that?” the man asked. She remained silent. “Doesn’t
matter,” he shrugged. “You do understand English, right?”

Lexi
nodded affirmative.

“Good,
I shall explain what you’re going to do for me, or rather for my friend, and
then illuminate on what will happen if you fail to obey my instructions –
clear?”

She
nodded again.

“First
I want to hear you speak,” he said. “What is your nationality?”

“I’m
an American,” Lexi answered.

“Ah,
perfect,” he smiled, “and a lovely voice for a lovely woman. You should do
fine.”

»ɞ»ɞ«ɞ«

Dane
road the elevator to the fourteenth floor and stepped out into the reception
area.

“Good
morning Mr. Wellesley; Mr. Ingram is waiting for you in his office,” the pretty
young receptionist sang.

“Thank
you,
liebling
,” Dane pleasantly flirted. He was in a fantastic mood.
Keith had come through for him! His friend had found a call girl willing to
take on the assignment. He also assured him that the woman had breeding and
class. Frankly he found it impossible to believe that the kind of woman his
friend had described would offer herself up for money, but who was he to judge
what brought a person to the point of demeaning themselves. He tapped out a
joyful rhythm on the door before opening it.

Taking
two steps into the office, Dane stopped and stood dumbfounded! The woman seated
stiffly in one of the leather chairs was breathtakingly beautiful. Her hair had
the color and silky smooth shine of newly polished cherry wood. The unusual color
coupled with her alabaster skin, mesmerized and drew him in. She glanced at him
through the thick lashes of downcast eyes… shy? He felt something stir within
him, penetrating through deep recesses.
Impossible.
Dane yanked his eyes
away from the woman and locked onto his friend’s smug face. Keith broadened his
smile.

“Dane,
I’d like you to meet your fiancée, Aly Pro… um, Prost,” he gestured to the
woman, who stood up and offered her hand. “Miss Prost, Dane Wellesley.”

The
woman seemed to falter for a split second, but her chin came up and a pair of
the palest blue eyes Dane had ever seen, locked onto his. The impact nearly
knocked him over! Why would such an exquisite creature put a price on herself? He
tried to imagine the kind of dire straits that could bring her to such a
decision.

Forcefully,
regrettably, he pulled his eyes from hers and inspected the rest of the
package. She was wearing a mint-green silk suit with a cream camisole, classy,
and yet feminine. Its pleated skirt did nothing to hide her curvaceous hips,
nor the shapely legs it caressed. Danes body responded as he imagined his hands
doing the caressing. His eyes retraced their journey upward, to linger on her
breasts. They prowled the thin fabric of the camisole, as if demanding it to
reveal its precious cargo.

“
Ah-hem!
”
The clearing of his friend’s throat succeeded in wrenching Dane back to his
surroundings.

“I
take it you approve, then,” Keith said. “Now, if you plan to get your fiancée
settled in Oma’s house, you’d probably better get going; especially, if it’s
your wish to introduce
Frollein Prost
to your grandmother
before she retires for the day.”

“Of
course, thank you, Keith,” Dane shook his friend’s hand, sealing the deal. He
turned to Lexi, “Your things?”

“Already
in the boot of the Phaeton,” Ingram said.

“Pretty
sure of yourself,” Dane teased, “and the paperwork?”

“Everything’s
in order,” his friend assured. “I didn’t get this position on just my good
looks, you know.”

“Looks
and brains, how did I get so lucky?” Dane was in a mood to fuel his friend’s
ego. It was beginning to look like things just might work out. Oma would be
kept happy with the challenge of persuading his
girlfriend
to marry her
grandson, and he might actually look forward to spending time with the
beautiful creature posing as the love of his life.  He couldn’t seem to wipe
the grin off his face. Yep, perhaps it’s time to look into a raise, or at least
a bonus, for his corporate lawyer.

During
the long drive to Oberstein, Dane tried to recruit his passenger’s help in
concocting a feasible story for their fictitious relationship, one which would
satisfy his wily grandmother. Unlike any of the other woman he’d spent time
with, Aly did not chatter on insistently about herself, offering up tidbits of
her likes and dislikes, family members and where she’d traveled. In fact it was
a challenge to get her to speak in more than monosyllables.

“Is
Aly short for Allison?” he asked.

“Okay,”
she shrugged.

“No,
I mean… never mind.” He couldn’t help grinning. She is definitely unique.
“You’re American, right?” He received a nod. “I make frequent visits to our New
York City office; I’ve even got an apartment there. It seems like the logical
place for us to have met. Are you familiar with the city?”

“Yes,”
Lexi replied.

»ɞ»ɞ«ɞ«

Lexi
had visited New York City with her parents when she was a child. More recently,
her friend Fani had lived there. They used to Skype, and Fani was full of
adventures to share with her. Lexi lived vicariously through her friend,
imagining being in her place. Especially on her mother’s difficult days, the
days when she would yell at her as if a stranger, cruelly demanding that Lexi
get out of her house. She glanced surreptitiously at her companion.

Dane
Wellesley was yet another chafe against the empty wall of her emotional core.
He didn’t recognize her. Daney had been her first love, her first crush at the
tender age of twelve. Actually, her feelings for him started years earlier when
she’d first met him. He and his grandparents had been guests in their home when
the business moguls got together. The Brightons and the Albertons had been
friends long before she and Dane had come along. Alex Alberton, Henry Brighton
and Fani’s father, Lee Carsten had risen into powerful businessmen at the same
time, and with the support of each other. They had called themselves the ABC’s.

Lexi
really couldn’t fault Dane for not recognizing her. She might not have
identified him, had he not been introduced by name. His arrogance was also
forgivable. He was, after all, a formidable businessman – if the media could be
trusted. God given, drop-dead good looks, added to the package. Admittedly,
Lexi had seen the pictures online of him escorting beautiful women around New
York City, but the photos did not do him justice. His light brown hair was cut
short and professionally styled, except for one rogue curl reaching down his
forehead toward amber eyes. Dressed casually, his blue long-sleeved Henley
emphasized the bulging muscles of his arms, not to mention a rippling chest. As
she scrutinized the man beside her, Lexi could envision the boy he had been, though
he had changed. She never would have dreamed that boy would grow up to treat
human beings, women, as objects to be bought and sold. Another dream crushed.

As
Dane drew a picture of their fictional love story, the irony wasn’t lost on
Lexi. She’d lost count of how many nights she had fantasized being in this very
situation.

Lexi
eyed the beautiful old estate as Dane stopped the car at the front entrance.
Handing the keys over to an awaiting servant, he quickly strode around to her
side of the car, opened the door, and reached in to assist her. Pulling her out,
he eased her against the car in an embrace.

“I’d
venture a bet that Oma is watching from the front sitting room,” he said into
her ear, proceeding to nuzzle her neck affectionately.

Lexi
wasn’t prepared for her physical response to the gesture. The tingle it ignited
spread through her body and brought forth an involuntarily gasp. Dane pulled
back and searched her eyes, a puzzled expression on his face.

“Don’t
be afraid,” he said, misreading her reaction to the intimacy. Leaning in close,
he placed his lips on hers in a gentle kiss. “Oma will immediately fall in love
with you. Anyone who can put up with me goes straight to the head of the class,
as far as she’s concerned. Come on.” Before Lexi could get a grasp on the startling
new sensations she experienced at his innocent gestures of intimacy, Dane took a
hold of her hand and escorted her into the house.

»ɞ»ɞ«ɞ«

“Guten
tag, Frau Brighton; it is a pleasure to finally meet you.”

Dane
hid his surprise as Aly greeted his grandmother in her native language. The
words flowed smoothly out of her mouth with barely an accent.

“You
are German?” Oma said, her brow creased in confusion. “I cannot distinguish your
accent.”

“No,
Oma,” Dane quickly intervened, “Aly’s an American.”

“But
you speak the language so well,” she persisted. “Your family is German?”

“Not
that I’m aware of,” Aly said, still speaking the tongue. “Languages come easy
for me. I spent some time in this country, as a child.”

“I
see.” Dane recognized the calculating look on his grandmother’s face.
Apparently his fake fiancée had peaked her interest. “You may speak English in
this household, Daney prefers it.”

Aly
shot him a teasing smile at his grandmother’s use of the childhood nickname.
The look caught him off guard – so in character, yet so real, so honest, so
intimate. It very nearly knocked his feet out from under him. He gave her an
embarrassed grin and kissed the top of her head. Noticing Oma’s scrutinizing
gaze on him, Dane suddenly felt like a child again. He’d met that look many
times whenever he tried to hide a misdeed.

It
seemed the tables had turned. With that one act, Aly had won Oma’s favor, and
now his grandmother would be putting his sincerity into question.

“You
must be tired from all of the traveling,
ein bisschen,”
Oma addressed Aly. “Bruna will show you to your room. I must speak with my
grandson for a moment, before I take my rest.” Aly took the elderly woman’s
hand in hers.

“Thank
you, Frau Brighton…” she began, but Dane’s grandmother interrupted her.

“You
must call me Oma,” she said. “After all, you are soon to be part of the
family.” She gave Dane a challenging look. Aly leaned down to kiss his
grandmother on the cheek, and then turned to follow Bruna.

“What
about me, liebling?” he asked, with an exaggerated pout. To his delight, she
changed direction and planted a tender kiss on his cheek.

“I’ll
see you later,
Daney
,” she cooed in his ear. Her husky voice sent wake
up signals to his groin.

Pulling
away, she met his eyes with a mischievous glint in her pale blues. After
throwing an embarrassed glance in Oma’s direction, Aly followed the housekeeper
into the corridor. Dane stood staring at the empty doorway. The room felt
vacant after her departure and he ached to run after her. What the hell was
happening to him?

Shaking
himself out of his stupor, Dane turned to face his grandmother.

“What?”
he asked, defensively. Her look was chastising, coated with a glimmer of
wickedness. “Does Aly not meet with your approval, Oma?”

“She’s
lovely, but not really your usual type, now is she?”

“And
what would you know of my usual type?” he quipped.

“There
is no need to take that tone with me,
jungen!”
Oma leaned her head back, as if weary. “Sitz,” she commanded, pointing to the
chair. Dane automatically obeyed, putting an end to his agitated pacing. “Danke,”
she sighed.

“To answer your
question – I am not now, nor have I ever been blind, Daney. Yes, she is
beautiful, as have been all of the females you’ve escorted, but unlike the
others this one has an unassuming beauty. Hers comes from within.”

“Okay, so then
what’s the problem?” Dane didn’t know why he was feeling so defensive under
Oma’s watchful eye.

“The problem is
you, jungen,” she answered sadly.

“ME?”

“When you entered
manhood, I watched as you hardened your heart. You allow no one to get close.
It has saddened me greatly and cut into my soul that you have made it
impossible to find what your Opa and I had. Liebling, your soul must soar, your
heart must be free to cherish and be cherished. That is why I desire for you to
marry. There is no living without love.” Oma coughed and pointed to her water
glass. Dane passed it to her and waited until she drank.

“Daney, this girl
you have brought home to meet me, I can see that she has already made progress
in cracking through the iron-clad veneer you have placed around your heart. Do
I approve of her? Oh, yes. She is special. So special, that she is oblivious to
it. A part of me already loves her, but my liebling, are you ready to allow her
in?

“This girl, this
Aly – she is already broken, Daney. If you let her in, you can heal the both of
you. If you keep her out you will both survive, but if you hurt her… well, I
don’t know.” Oma shook her head.

Dane wasn’t sure
what to think about his grandmother’s ramblings. It was a bit melodramatic. He
had always valued her ability to get into the soul of an individual. Hadn’t
Keith mentioned something about that? It’s true that she’d never cared for his
friend. Dane smiled. Keith avoided any opportunity to be around Oma. Still, she
was getting old and her health isn’t what it once was. Her mind is probably
failing as well.

“So, what rooms
have you put Aly in?” he asked, preferring not to comment on her dissertation.

“Those
across the hall, attached to the front sitting room,” she answered.

“What?
I’ll have her moved into my wing. We might disturb you here, with our comings
and goings.”

“She
will stay where she is; you know how I feel about your shenanigans under my
roof.” Oma closed the subject. “Now, before you leave me to my rest, do you
still wish my help convincing her to marry you?”

Dane
didn’t bother to answer as he stormed out of her room – she probably didn’t
expect an answer! If she was so smart you would think that she’d realize that one
woman messing with his head was enough!

»ɞ»ɞ«ɞ«

Lexi
was exhausted. Visiting with Dane’s grandmother had brought her back to a time
when she had been happy. When she was a child, the Alberton home had been
filled to the brim with people and laughter, especially during the summers when
the private schools were closed. Her parents would host the ABC’s and their
families. Dane and she had no siblings, but the Carsten’s had two sets of
fraternal twins! They called them the
Bobbsey Twins
after the
long
running series of children's novels, by Laura Lee Hope. Dane was the eldest,
three years older than Greig and Gretchen Carsten, then Lexi at two years their
junior, with Stefan and Stefani as the youngest, one year younger than Lexi.

She
kicked off her shoes and dropped across the bed. Lexi allowed herself a few
moments of contentment, feeling safe and protected in the familiarity of her memories.
As kids, they would swim, bike, camp out on the grounds, and oh the pranks they
would play on one another! One time the boys scared the girls into thinking
their tent was being attacked by bears – seriously in the suburbs of Washington
D.C.? The girls retaliated the next night by waiting for the boys to fall
asleep and then filling their tent to the roof with blow-up bears! The guys had
torn the tent down digging their way through them to find an exit!

Dane
was always taking up for Lexi. It evened things out somewhat when the Carstens
teamed up against them. Lexi was petite, even shorter than Fani, and she had despised
her red hair, especially when they began calling her Pippi after the
Pippi
Longstockings
books. The nickname turned into Pipsqueak, covering both of
the features she hated most about herself; but no one had dared call her that
to her face! Young Lexi had lived up to the stereotype of redheads with a
volatile temper. She suspected it was Dane that started the nickname, but just
couldn’t accept that he would be that mean. It seemed Lexi loved him from the
moment she could recognize his face, and it had torn the twelve-year-old up
when Dane left for college at the age of seventeen. She never saw or heard from
him again – until today.

Lexi
was startled awake with a kiss! She opened her eyes to Dane’s smiling face.

“Wha…what
are you doing?”

“I
thought Sleeping Beauty was supposed to be woken with a kiss,” he answered
coyly. His hand brushed her neck and stroked her collar bone. Lexi shuffled her
way to a sitting position, putting as much distance between them as possible
with him sitting on the bed. His grin only widened, as if enjoying a game.

Reality
slammed into her chest – Dane owns her!

Sure
it was against the law, but the threats Dane’s lawyer had spoken came rising up
in her gut like bile.

“You
will make yourself available to him for whatever he wants, do you understand? My
friend has needs and you will fulfill them. If he is dissatisfied, then I will
be unhappy. If I’m unhappy I will see to it that you’re unhappy. My friend will
get his money’s worth and mark my words, you did not come cheap. He will have
no qualms about returning you to the seller and it’s my understanding that the
next highest bid for you came from the Middle East.”

»ɞ»ɞ«ɞ«

Dane
watched as Aly’s eyes widened with fear and then became haunted. If possible,
her face turned even paler. What the hell just happened?

“Are
you okay?” he asked. She nodded. “Well, I just wanted to tell you that dinner
will be served in the sitting room. You have time to freshen up, if you’d
like.” She nodded again.
Weird chick.
He exited through the door to the
sitting room.

Dane
had entered Aly’s room with innocent intentions. She hadn’t answered his knock
so he peeked inside. When he saw her asleep on the bed he lost control over his
feet. They instinctively walked over to her and he tenderly kissed the
beautiful smile that was on her lips. She was so relaxed and happy – and God,
so beautiful.

He
reached in his pocket to pull out his phone – no, on second thought he wouldn’t
call and question Keith about her tonight. Maybe she’d just gotten
disorientated. He put the phone back in his pocket.

Who
is Aly Prost and, more importantly, why did he care? Dane paced the sitting room
and stared out the French doors leading to the balcony. No woman had ever taken
over his thoughts like the fragile little red-head in the next room. Did he
just describe her as fragile?
Broken
, Oma said the girl was broken. He
didn’t need this! She brought herself into the deal. She knew what she was
getting into! He’d made it clear that he was hiring a wife. Well, she damn well
better drop the excess baggage, he wasn’t running a clinic for the emotionally
distressed!

Dane
stopped pacing and drew in a breath. Business, I’ll focus on business, he
decided. His eyes lit upon an object on the floor. Bending down, he picked up
the lacey little cloth – Oma’s handkerchief. She always had one tucked into her
sleeve. So, he’d been right, she had been watching his and Aly’s arrival!
Smiling down at the evidence, Dane felt a warmth of emotion arise in his chest.
That wily old lady was the only one he allowed a place in his heart.

Aly’s
door opened and she stepped out, taking a quick scan of the room. She had
changed into black skinny jeans with a glossy turquoise tee. Her silky hair,
still damp from the shower, was pulled up into a casual ponytail and she wore
no make-up. Dane realized he was holding his breath. Even with no make-up, Aly
could give Miss Universe a run for her money. He felt his body responding to
the delectable curves the tight jeans called attention to.

“We
will be dining alone tonight,” he told her, gesturing to a small table set for
two. “You must be hungry, I know I’m starved.” He pulled a chair out for her,
inviting Aly to sit. As she complied he continued to speak, feeling like a
teenage boy eager to please. “Bruna’s a superb cook, which is a strong
incentive for me to visit Oma frequently.”  Dane sat down across from her and
gave her a wink of conspiracy. He received a shy smile in return.

And
so the evening went; just like the car ride from Frankfurt, Aly spoke in
monosyllables or nods. Although her mouth turned up in polite smiles, her eyes
retained the haunted look from earlier. After finishing off his glass of wine,
Dane decided he’d had enough of one-sided conversing and excused himself.

“I’ve
got to make a few phone calls,” he explained. “Business never takes a day off.”
He leaned over to give Aly a light kiss on her temple. “I’ll see you in the
morning, liebling.” As he escaped through the open door to the corridor, Dane
shook his head. Now, why had he felt the need to comfort her?

»ɞ»ɞ«ɞ«