Finding Her Fantasy (2 page)

“I remember,” Andrew replied.

“I’ve never seen her that drunk or that depressed. I often wonder what would’ve happened
if I hadn’t found her.”

Marcus thought back to that night. He’d found her on her living room floor, barely
conscious, tears streaming down her face. She’d been crying and drinking. She’d babbled
nonsense about sex and how bad it had been between her and her ex, now that she looked
back. She’d talked about her kidnapping fantasy as well. Marcus had cringed, but he
let her talk. She was so drunk it was doubtful she would remember telling him.

Unfortunately, she had.

He’d never seen his sister like that before. Even though they were twins, he considered
himself the older one since he’d technically been born first.

To him, she was his baby sister. He was supposed to take care of her, and look how
well he’d done it. He’d let some jerk slip into her life and break her heart, then
he’d let her go and almost drink herself to death. She still suffered. He could see
it in her eyes every day. Unfortunately, he didn’t know what to do to help her. He’d
hoped that with time, she would’ve gotten better, gotten more of her confidence back,
but Mel wasn’t what she used to be.

“Did I do the right thing?” Marcus asked as he looked over at his friend. “Is it wise
to send her off on vacation alone?”

“I don’t know. I’d offer to go with her and fulfill that kidnapping fantasy if I knew
it wouldn’t send you into a fit of rage.”

Marcus narrowed his eyes. “Don’t even go there.”

“Why?” Andrew asked with a half grin. “You can know about her kidnapping fantasy,
but you have a problem with me being the one to fulfill it? Your sister’s hot, Marcus.
It shouldn’t surprise you.”

Marcus pointed a finger at his friend in warning. “It’s different with you. I’ve shared
women with you. I know what you do with them. I don’t want to know you’re doing that
to my sister.”

“I’m not any different than any other Dom out there.”

“I don’t share women with them.”

Andrew chuckled and shook his head. “I wouldn’t worry about her too much. She’s a
fighter. She’ll pull through. She needed this vacation, and I know deep down she knows
it too,” Andrew said as though trying to convince him he’d done the right thing. “She’ll
forgive you when she gets back.”

“I know she will,” Marcus said with a sigh. He looked over at his best friend and
grinned as an idea came to him. He might not be able to help her, but he knew of two
men who could. “I think I know what she needs.”

Andrew’s brow furrowed. “I know that look.” He shook his head. “I wouldn’t, Marcus.
If she’s pissed enough at you now…”

Marcus waved his hand, dismissing his friend’s arguments. “Trust me. Like you said,
she’ll thank me for this once she gets back.”

“If I recall I said forgive, not thank.”

“Same thing.”

“No,” Andrew said.

Marcus waved him off. He picked up the phone and put a call in to a good friend. Someone
he knew would be able to pull off Melinda’s fantasy, have her screaming in pleasure,
and at the same time build her confidence back to what it used to be. It was just
what his sister needed.

“I do not want to be around when she gets wind of this,” Andrew murmured.

Melinda stormed into her private office and slammed the door shut with a
bang.
Her assistant, Stacy, looked up from her desk with wide, startled eyes.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

With a puff of exasperated air, Melinda nodded and leaned against the door. “I hate
my brother.”

Stacy smiled softly. “No you don’t. I take it he was serious about the vacation thing?”

Melinda’s lips curled. “Unfortunately.”

“This is a good thing, Mel,” Stacy said, her voice soft, her intentions good.

Melinda didn’t agree. All she could see was two weeks ahead of her with nothing to
do to keep her busy. Two weeks of boredom to think about her lonely life, her bastard
of an ex-boyfriend, her growing trust issues, and her sinking self-esteem. She tugged
at the waistband of her skirt and inwardly scoffed at the weight she’d lost. She felt
like she was wasting away, but most times she couldn’t bring herself to eat. She just
didn’t want to. All she wanted to do was work, drink, and sleep—in that order.

The busier she kept herself, the less she thought of the ex and how he’d devastated
her. How would she be able to trust anyone again? How would she know if they truly
cared for her or were only after her money? She hadn’t known with him. And she should’ve.
She should’ve known—should’ve been able to tell.

“I don’t see going off on vacation alone as a good thing,” Melinda mumbled, not looking
at Stacy.

She couldn’t. She didn’t want to face the pity she knew would be in her assistant’s
gaze. Stacy worried about her, and Melinda was okay with that. What she wasn’t okay
with was being felt sorry for.

“You could try one of those hedonistic resorts. The ones that have the ‘companions.’”

Melinda snorted. “You’ve been listening to my brother too much. Sex isn’t the cure-all.”

“No, but it doesn’t hurt,” Stacy replied.

Melinda looked over at her and couldn’t resist smiling at her wicked grin. Stacy may
be quiet, but she had a wild side that surfaced on occasion.

“What I really need is a whole new life.”

Stacy stood and moved around her desk. Sitting on the edge, she crossed her arms over
her breasts. “What you need isn’t a new life. Just a new outlook. Your ex destroyed
you, Mel. You’re not the same and you know it. You need to get your old self back.
Forget what he did. He’s not worth letting yourself go like this.”

Melinda blinked back the tears that threatened to spill. Stacy was right. She did
need a new outlook.

“Where do you want to go? I’ll call and set it up,” Stacy offered.

“I don’t know,” Melinda whispered as she continued to lean against the door and stare
out her office window.

Rain poured, hitting the glass with a soft pinging sound. Fog had begun to roll in,
giving the sky a hazy gray appearance. “Somewhere warm would be nice,” she murmured.
“Somewhere quiet where I can think.”

“You don’t need to think. You need to have fun.” Stacy moved back to her chair and
began to flip through her contacts. “I know where you need to go. You just go home
and pack and leave all the planning to me.”

“Will you at least tell me what to pack?” she asked, her lips twitching in the first
bit of amusement she’d felt all day.

“You said somewhere warm. Pack bikinis,” Stacy replied as if Melinda should’ve already
known that.

“Bikinis,” Melinda grumbled as she turned to open the door. “I don’t think I even
own a bikini.”

“Then go buy one,” Stacy called as Melinda headed to the elevator.

She shook her head, wondering if she would ever feel good again.

* * * *

Later that evening Melinda threw the last set of shorts into her suitcase and zipped
it closed. Looked like she was all ready to go. Stacy had just sent a text saying
everything was in place and her destination would be revealed shortly.

Weirdly cryptic
, Melinda thought as she stared at the text with a frown, then shrugged with indifference.

At the moment, Melinda wasn’t sure she cared. Maybe her brother was right. Maybe she
had been working too hard. She needed to get over what had happened. Accept the fact
that all men were jerks. She didn’t need a man anyway. She was half owner of a major
corporation.

If she wanted jewelry, she could buy it herself. If she wanted a sports car, she could
buy it herself. Same with a house, clothes, vacations. Hell, she didn’t even need
a man for sex. If she wanted an orgasm, she could use the toys and give herself a
better one than any man had ever given her. What did she need a man for?

Nothing.

Nodding in agreement with herself, she picked up the suitcase and set it by the front
door. In her current state of depressive fog, she was likely to forget it if she didn’t
almost trip over it while trying to leave.

Her phone beeped and she flipped it open, noticing the text from her brother. She
expected it to say “have you left yet?” or “all packed?”

Instead, it read,
Vacation begins with the knock at the door. Don’t be frightened. Enjoy.

Don’t be frightened? What?

Oh, no. No, no, no.

“Oh, God, Marcus. Please tell me you didn’t—”

The knock made her jump and she spun around to stare at the door. Her heart raced
wildly with what she believed her brother had planned.

A kidnapping.

Part of her became excited at the idea. Who would he have gotten? What would they
do with her?

Her phone beeped again, and she glanced at the screen.

Answer the door, Mel.

Was Marcus close by? He had to be. She stared at the door again, wondering what she
should do. If she ignored it, would they bust in?

Her question was quickly answered when the door was thrust open. Melinda gasped and
in reflex turned to run. Someone grabbed her arm and jerked her around. She slammed
into a hard chest and looked up into a masked face. His eyes were the only things
visible and she found herself staring into the prettiest pair of deep blue eyes she’d
ever seen.

She knew those eyes. And if they were attached to who she thought they were…

Shaking the thought from her mind, she shoved at his chest, attempting to break his
hold. His fingers only tightened around her elbow as he slung her around and into
the arms of yet another masked man. This one wasn’t quite as tall, but was definitely
as muscular as the other. When her back hit his chest, it felt as though she’d been
slammed into a brick wall.

“Who the hell are you?” she demanded. “Did my brother send you?”

She struggled against the man’s hold as his hands kept a tight grip around her arms
just above her elbows. He pulled back, holding her elbows against his sides as the
other masked man moved forward.

“Let me go,” she snarled. “I don’t have time for this. This isn’t funny, Marcus!”
she shouted around the man behind her.

He had to be somewhere close by.

“That depends on your perspective,” Marcus drawled.

She tried to see around the man’s wide shoulders and caught a glimpse of her brother
lounging in the frame of the front door.

“From your perspective, I imagine it’s not funny at all,” he replied.

The other masked man moved forward. Melinda noticed the cloth in his hand, and her
heart skipped a beat in trepidation. They planned to sedate her? Determined for this
not to happen, she lifted her foot and kicked toward the masked man. He caught her
foot easily, leaving her balanced on one leg.

He wagged his finger and shook his head, which only angered Melinda more. She’d kill
her brother the second she got free. Who would convict her after what he’d set up?

She jerked her foot from his grasp and attempted the kick again, this time making
contact with his hip. He groaned and leaned sideways just a bit. It wasn’t enough
to knock him down, but his grunt of pain at least gave her some satisfaction.

“I’m not going anywhere with you,” she snapped. “Damn you, Marcus. When I get free,
I’m gonna ring your freakin’ neck!”

“I’d like to see that, actually,” Andrew said as he came up beside her and covered
her mouth with a cloth.

The smell of the chloroform stung the back of her throat and she tried to turn her
head, but Andrew kept the cloth firmly against her mouth. He’d caught her by surprise.
Had that been their plan all along? She looked pleadingly into his eyes, but his response
was only a smile.

She wasn’t afraid. She knew Andrew and Marcus would never send her to anyone that
would hurt her. She was angry. Angry that she’d divulged something so private to her
brother and even angrier that he would use it like this.

“You needed this, Mel. You deserve to be happy, to be your old self again,” Andrew
said, but she struggled to hear him as she drifted into a deep sleep.

*

Marcus watched his sister sag against Jon, who raised his arms to wrap them around
her ribs to keep her from falling. The chloroform had taken affect and she now slept
peacefully against Jon’s chest. Erik removed his mask and bent to lift Melinda easily
into his arms. He’d known these two men for years. So had Melinda.

Andrew tossed the rag into a small bag and twisted the end closed so he could throw
it away. “I hope you know what the hell you’re doing,” Andrew murmured as he walked
past him out the front door.

For a split second, Marcus had a pang of regret but he pushed it aside. His sister
had been miserable. Her depression, her anger, had affected every aspect of her life.
She hated everyone. She’d always been hard-nosed at business, but now she’d become
uncaring, which she showed clearly earlier today in his office when she’d been angry
at him for keeping the other employees. That never would’ve bothered her before.

It was time his sister enjoyed herself, found some pleasure in life again.

He gave Erik a firm stare. “Take care of her.”

Erik frowned. “As if that even needs to be said.”

Marcus knew Erik well and knew he would never harm his sister. He trusted him, but
still. “It’s my sister. It needs to be said.”

Erik nodded in understanding and then brushed past him to carry Mel to the SUV waiting
in the driveway.

* * * *

Clark sat behind the steering wheel of his SUV and watched Erik carry Melinda from
the house. His eyes narrowed at the tall, muscular man. He knew that man, and Clark
knew exactly what he was there for. Apparently Mel’s brother thought she needed a
little action, a little kinky sex.

With a snort, Clark lifted his cell phone off the seat next to him. Damn bitch didn’t
have a clue how to be kinky. He’d wasted over a year of his life with that uptight
broad and for what? Nothing, that’s what. Thanks to that trust stipulation, he hadn’t
been able to get his hands on her money or the passwords to her Swiss accounts.