Next to Always: Shattered Innocence Trilogy Book Two (42 page)

“This is fucking unbelievable. I wasn’t even with Chloe then. Tell her to get in touch with me. I’ll prove she’s a lying cunt.” Rade’s pulse was on overload when he hung up the phone.

He couldn’t even see straight, he was beyond pissed. Needing something to calm his nerves, he walked to the liquor cabinet and poured himself a tumbler full of Glenfiddich. He didn’t care that it was only nine in the morning. His anger was about to bust at the seams. How could this be happening? Just when he thought things were finally going his way. He was with the woman he loved more than life itself. He was successful. He wanted to share everything with Dylan. Now this.

Grabbing his suit jacket from the chair in front of his desk, he swallowed the rest of his scotch and headed out. He was about to step onto the elevator when Gwen’s voice rang behind him.

“Mr. Matheson, your nine o’clock should be here any minute. Will you be back?” Gwen reminded him looking concerned at his demeanor.

“When he gets here, reschedule,” Rade ordered with a clinched fist.

“But sir, we have already rescheduled with him three times,” Gwen informed him.

“I don’t give a rat’s ass how many times we’ve rescheduled. If he won’t reschedule, tell him to fuck himself.” With those being his last words, Rade entered the elevator. He was so enraged that he took it out on everyone around him. Gwen didn’t deserve his wrath. She was the best thing that happened to his company. When he found her, he found a pot of gold. Taking his cell from his pocket, he contacted Veronica to make sure a bouquet of flowers was sent to Gwen with his apology.

*****

Dylan wasn’t sure what to think when Peter showed up at her office to take her home for the evening. Her concern began to set in when she asked him where Rade was and his response was that he didn’t know. Pulling her cell from her purse, she found Rade’s contact info and pressed the small green telephone. She let it ring five times before it finally went to voicemail.

“Rade, it’s Dylan. I was surprised to see Peter pick me up from work instead of you. Call me when you get this… Love you……. Bye.”

Dylan hoped that her message to him didn’t sound too desperate. She was getting concerned. He would have called her if he wasn’t going to be able to get her after work. Something didn’t feel right.
He would have called.
Taking a chance, she called his office.

“RIM Global, how can I help you?” Gwen greeted her.

“Gwen, it’s Dylan. Is Rade still in his office?” Dylan asked as she waited for Gwen to respond.

“I’m sorry, Dylan. He left shortly after he arrived this morning. He seemed to be really upset. He wasn’t his normal self. He must have felt bad because a beautiful bouquet of roses showed up an hour after he left,” Gwen confessed.

“Do you know where he might have gone?” Dylan asked.

“Sorry, sweetie, I don’t,” Gwen said with regret.

“Okay, thanks, Gwen. If you hear from him, would you call me?” Dylan hung up the phone feeling worse now than before. Hopefully Gwen would hear from him and call her. She tried to think of where he might have gone. The last time he was upset he went to his home in the Hamptons, maybe that’s where he would be. Instead of having Peter drive all the way out there, she decided to try Richard. Certainly he would know where Rade was.

More frustrated than ever, Richard came up empty. The last time he spoke to Rade was this morning and he seemed fine. He told Dylan not to worry. This didn’t comfort her. The last time she heard those words, Rade ended up being kidnapped. Going against her instinct, she took his advice and let Peter drive her home.

Dylan waited for Rade to show up at the penthouse. She finally ended up falling asleep on the couch when her exhaustion took over. Dylan had tried several times to get in touch with him with no luck. Even her numerous text messages went unanswered. It was about two in the morning when she finally gave up. If he wasn’t back by daylight she would send the posse out to find him.

Dylan was in dreamland by the time Rade walked through the doors. He looked as shitty as he felt. He guessed he shouldn’t have had that last double. Dropping his suit jacket to the floor, he stumbled as he began discarding the rest of his clothing. He quickly stopped when he saw movement on the couch. It was Dylan. He could never mistake her small frame. Staggering towards her, he clumsily grabbed the blanket that was draped along the back of the couch. Careful not to wake her, he covered her body with the soft blanket. He stood back and watched her for a moment, in awe of her innocence and goodness. Whispering to her he said, “How could one person fuck up so badly?” His words were slurred and barely coherent.

Dylan began to stir and her eyes began to flutter. Focusing, she saw Rade standing in front of her. She jumped to her feet and embraced him with all she had. “God, Rade. Do you know how scared I was that something happened to you?” she declared. “Why didn’t you answer my calls?”

“I don’t deserve you, Sweetness. I’m such a fuck-up,” Rade slurred.

“Rade, are you drunk?” Dylan asked as she held him at arm’s length.

“Not near enough,” Rade replied.

“Come on, let’s get you to bed. We can talk in the morning,” Dylan said as she slung one of his arms over her shoulder.

*****

Waking up the next morning rid of his clothing, Rade couldn’t remember how he got to bed, let alone how he even got home. He only knew that his head hurt like a son-of-a-bitch. Rolling on his side, he saw Dylan laying beside him. His worries hit him the minute she opened her eyes, whispering, “Hey there, my beautiful man,”

“Don’t call me that, Dylan,” Rade spat as he struggled to get out of bed and to the bathroom.

Dylan was about to object, but he closed the door, which caused her mouth to fall open in shock. No way was he going to do this to her. He had some explaining to do even if it killed him. Pushing from the bed, she stomped to the bathroom. Flinging the door open, she was on a mission. Looking at his gorgeous frame, she drank him in as the drops of water beaded on his perfect body. His back was to her so she opened the shower door and turn the knobs so that the only water hitting his perfect body was ice cold.

“What the fuck, Dylan? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?” Rade yelled.

“I need you alert and ready to answer some questions, Rade. I’m tired of putting up with your sad ass. I want answers and I want them now,” Dylan commanded. “Where the hell were you last night that you couldn’t give me the decency of a call?”

“Isn’t it pretty evident? You’re smart. I’m sure you can figure it out,” Rade stated, turning the water back to the desired temperature.

“Don’t be a smartass, Rade. I’m not in the mood. Where were you?” Dylan asked again.

“I was at a fucking bar, Dylan. I needed to figure things out.”

“So you thought getting drunk would help you do that?”

“Yeah, but I guess I was wrong, because all it accomplished was a fucking hangover.”

Dylan didn’t want to fight with him. All she wanted to do was take him in her arms and comfort him. Something was hurting him and she couldn’t stand to see him this way. Stripping off her nightgown and panties, she opened the shower door and walked in behind him. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she said softly, “More than anything in this world, I love you, Rade. It just kills me to see you this way. Please let me in.”

Rade turned to face her. “I can’t, Sweetness. Please don’t ask me to, not yet. Give me a little more time to figure this out.”

Lifting her chin, Rade lowered his lips to hers. Gently he kissed her, nipping at her bottom lip, then her top. She had him the minute she wrapped her arms around him. Their kiss deepened with a hunger he never felt before. His kiss was demanding, but gentle as his tongue laced with hers. Raising her off her feet, he guided her sweet pussy down on his engorged shaft. God, what she did to him. Slowly he began lifting her hips and lowering them, feeling the soft warmth of her channel consuming him. Using the shower wall as leverage, he lowered his hand to her breast, tweaking her perfectly pink nipple into a taut peak. He loved the way she responded to his every touch. Kissing her, he could feel her body give way as her movements up and down his cock began to increase. Sliding his hand between them, he pinched her clit between his fingers while taking her nipple in his mouth.

Her hunger satisfied him as he heard her moans of pleasure ricochet off the shower walls. Dylan could feel the onset of her orgasm as she squeezed her vagina tighter around Rade’s cock. She knew he was close to as his thrusts became more powerful. Both of them screamed in ecstasy, feeling the release of all the tension that had built between them.

Dylan and Rade ended up making love three more times before they decided they needed to move. It was almost noon by the time they escaped from the bedroom. It was a good thing that it was Saturday. Dylan had promised to meet with Lilly at one o’clock, which Rade cheered for the reprieve. Not only because he needed to find a way to tell Dylan the truth, but also because he knew how important it was for her.

Just as Dylan was ready to leave the apartment, there was a call on Rade’s phone. When Rade answered, Dylan knew that it was Dr. Foster he was talking with. With everything that had been happening, it slipped her mind that Rade and Evan had taken blood tests to find out they were brothers, well, at least half-brother.

“Yes, Doc, I understand,” Rade began. “You’re sure there’s no mistake.”

Dylan waited to leave until Rade hung up. She was pretty sure she knew what the news was, but she needed to hear it from him.

“Rade, what is it?” she asked hesitantly.

“The blood tests came back. Evan is my brother,” Rade said with no expression.

“This is good news. Right? I can break my lunch date with Lilly, if you need me to stay,” Dylan said not sure how Rade felt about the news.

“No, you go. I can handle this. This is going to be more of a surprise for Evan than it was for me. You go to lunch with Lilly and I’ll go see Evan and let him know of the news,” Rade insisted.

Dylan left on her way to meet Lilly for lunch while Rade finished dressing. He wasn’t looking forward to seeing Evan about what he just learned. One thing about it, at least he had a sibling. Maybe they could be close like brothers.

By the time Dylan got back from her lunch date with Lilly, she was in tears, Lilly just informed her that her parents decided to buy the struggling galley in Paris, which meant she would be living in Paris for awhile. Dylan was happy for her friend, but she was also sad because she was moving far away and wouldn’t be here when Dylan needed to talk. Lilly reassured her that she would always be there to talk whenever Dylan needed her. All she had to do was call. Everything happened so fast. Lilly’s parents even arranged for Lilly’s apartment to be sub-let until she returned. That at least gave Dylan some hope that her friend would be back.

Rade was in his study when he heard Dylan come home. Looking down over the railing at her, he could see that something was wrong. Jogging down the stairs, he was by her side within seconds. Pulling her to him, he asked, “Sweetness, what’s wrong?”

“Lilly is leaving,” Dylan cried.

“It’s okay Sweetness. She’s going to be back,” Rade said, holding her close.

“She’s staying indefinitely. Her parents decided to buy that gallery in Paris. They want her to run it. Who knows when she’s going to be back?” Sobbing uncontrollably, Dylan pressed her face into Rade’s chest.

“Oh, Sweetness. Don’t cry. We can go to Paris as much as you want and stay as long as you want,” Rade said affectionately.

“How am I suppose to do that, Rade? I have a job. I have responsibilities,” Dylan sighed.

“Well…” Raid said as he gently pushed her back so he could look at her. “I want you to quit your job at BlackStone. There’s no need for you to work. I can give you whatever you want a million times over.”

Dylan looked up at Rade in surprise. “I can’t quit my job, Rade. I’ve never depended on anyone. I’ve always worked.”

“Then come work for me. You could choose your own schedule, work as much as you wanted,” Rade offered.

“I can’t do that,” Dylan argued.

“Just think about it, Sweetness,” Rade replied as he pulled her close again.

Dylan wasn’t sure if she could leave her job with BlackStone and work for Rade. It did sound tempting though. If she could work her own hours, then it would allow her to go to Paris when she wanted, at least when she had enough saved for a plane ticket. She couldn’t allow Rade to pay for it, although he did have a private jet.

Consumed by her own drama, Dylan remembered that Rade was going to see Evan and break the news to him. This time she pulled away from Rade’s body. “How did your visit go with Evan?” Dylan inquired.

“A lot better than I expected. He was actually glad that we were brothers. With his mom gone and his step-dad gone from his life, he doesn’t have much family other than me,” Rade admitted.

“What about your dad? How does he feel about knowing he has a father?” Dylan asked.

“He wants to have a relationship with him. I told him it was his decision, but not to hold his breath on our dad having a lasting relationship with him,” Rade confessed.

Rade knew Evan was in for a rude awakening if he thought Garrett Matheson was going to be any type of father to him. Rade knew his father enough to know his only objective was to take what he wanted and leave.