The Executive’s Affair Trilogy Bundle (Trinity, Desire, Unconditional) (22 page)

“
I’m sorry, Trinity. I didn’t know Jason was such a monster. I shouldn’t have brought him back into your lives. I’m so sorry.” Natasha’s words blended with her tears until she became incoherent.

“
It’s okay. I know how charming he can be, how easily he lies and gains your trust. This isn’t your fault, Natasha.”

“
Yes it is. I hated you. I wanted to hurt you for taking Laszlo away from me.”

Trinity sighed and lowered her head. She hadn
’t realized just how much Natasha loved Laszlo or that she’d go to such extreme measures to be with him. Although, if the roles were reversed, Trinity couldn’t say with any certainty what she would do if Laszlo suddenly decided he no longer wanted her.

“
I love him. I’ve always loved him,” Natasha said through a sob. “When Jason approached me and said he wanted you back, I thought—”

“
Shh.” Trinity lightly placed her hand on Natasha’s arm to silence her. It was hard to sit there and listen to another woman say she was in love with her husband, to listen to her crazy rationalizations and schemes about how she was going to steal him away.

“
But he loves you. I see it in his eyes all the time. I know he’d give up everything for you.”

“
Why are you telling me this?” It’s not like Trinity didn’t know that Laszlo loved her. He told her all the time, and he showed it every time he touched her, kissed her, made love to her. Before Laszlo, Trinity never knew what it felt like to be loved.

“
Take care of him. And no matter what happens, don’t let Jason get between you two. Promise me, Trinity.”

“
Yes, of course. I promise.” She idly wondered if Natasha was delusional from her medication. Trinity would never allow Jason back into her life, or Laszlo’s. Nobody had to make her promise that, it was a no-brainer.

“
Thank  you.”

Trinity stood.
“Get some rest, okay? We’ll come back to see you.”

Natasha simply nodded and turned her face toward the window, away from Trinity. With a heavy sigh, Trinity left the room and rejoined Laszlo in the hallway. She stepped into his arms and hugged him tight. He kissed her temple.
“You okay?”

“
That was harder than I expected.”

“
Yeah, it was for me, too.” Laszlo put his finger under her chin and tilted her head up. Then he lowered his mouth down over hers, kissing her in the same way he had when he’d come out of Natasha’s room.

Pulling away, dazed from the emotion of his kiss, she said,
“She made me promise not to let Jason come between us. Why would she say that?” Trinity looked up into his eyes and immediately knew there was something he wasn’t telling her.

“
Are you ready to go home?” He put his arm around her shoulders and guided her down the hall toward the elevators.

“
I thought you had to go to the office.”

“I do, but first
we need to talk about some things. Not here, though. Let’s just go home, okay?”

Trinity
’s stomach dropped and her heart thundered in her chest. “You’re scaring me.”

He pulled her tighter to his side and kissed the top of her head.
“Everything is fine, love, trust me.” He smiled at her.

“
Okay.” They walked silently to the car and remained silent during the entire drive home. Trinity had no idea what Laszlo wanted to talk about, but she knew it had everything in the world to do with Jason. That terrified her. And it pissed her off to no end that Jason still had that kind of power over her and her life. But there was no way in hell she’d ever let Jason ruin what she had with Laszlo.

When they arrived home, Laszlo helped her out of the car and into the house. He tossed his jacket on the foyer table and walked into the living room. Trinity followed him.
“Lasz? Please tell me what’s going on.” She sat beside him on the couch and put her hand on his knee.

He sighed and took her hand into his.
“Jason is trying to take over my company. Once he’s in a position to do so, he’s going to make me choose between that and you.”

Trinity
’s eyes widened as a sense of overwhelming guilt settled on her. She never should’ve involved Laszlo in any of this. Now, because of her, he was going to lose his company. Or—it was a thought that landed in her mind like a ton of bricks—he’d been unusually quiet since they’d left the hospital. Oh God! Was he going to choose his company over her? She wanted to throw up.

“
He knows I’ll choose you. No matter how many times he asks, no matter how many chances he gives me, he knows.” Laszlo adjusted on the couch so that he was facing her. He framed her face with his hands, his thumbs caressing her cheeks. “I will always choose you, Trinity. Always. Jason knows that.”

“But. . .your company. . .what. . .
?” She tried to shake all the confused, jumbled thoughts from her mind, but it was useless.

“
He can have the damn company if that means he’ll leave us the hell alone. Money’s not an issue, but that’s not the problem.” He kept his hand on her face, keeping his gaze locked on hers.

She
’d never seen him so intense before. “Then what is the problem?”

“
He’s counting on me to choose you, and when I do, he’s going to come to you and try to make a deal with you. He’s going to convince you that if you go back to him, he’ll give me the company back and not kill me.”

Trinity gasped and pulled her face from his hands. Was there no limit to Jason
’s depravity? She stood and paced. Laszlo stood, too, and gathered her in his arms. She rested her forehead on his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist, letting them settle on his lower back.

“
Baby, I need to know that—”

“
Know what?” She looked at him incredulously. Was he seriously standing here asking her if she would give in to Jason’s demands? “Laszlo, you have absolutely nothing to worry about.” As she spoke, she felt the sting of tears in the back of her throat. “I love you. You and this baby, you’re my life and nothing will ever change that.”

He sighed with relief.
“I love you so much, Trin. I can’t imagine my life without you.” Laszlo leaned down and kissed her. She threaded her fingers into the back of his hair and held him to her, wanting to stay right there in his arms forever.  “Whatever happens, I promise you that I’ll take care of it. Please, trust me to deal with this.”

“
Of course I trust you,” she whispered, then smiled. “We’re in this together. Don’t forget that.”

“
Never.”

Three weeks passed since the day Trinity and Laszlo visited Natasha in the hospital. Natasha pulled through her injuries and was released. She’d decided to move back home to Oregon—far away from Jason. The only people who knew where she was going were Trinity and Laszlo. And the only reason they knew was because Laszlo was paying for her moving expenses. Trinity was glad that Natasha was leaving. Not only would it keep Natasha safe from Jason, but it would ease Trinity’s mind. No matter what Natasha had said in the hospital, Trinity still didn’t trust her not to make another play for Laszlo. Nope. The sooner Natasha was gone, the better.

Laszlo was spending a lot of time at the office lately. He
’d be gone long before Trinity woke up and be home right around the time she was ready to fall asleep. He kept reassuring her that he was close to finding a solution to their Jason problem and as soon as he did, he would take her on a fabulous honeymoon. She knew Laszlo had to deal with this, and she knew he’d make good on his promise, but she missed him terribly. She was tired of waking up to a cold bed, of eating alone, of just being alone in general.

“
Hey, have you heard anything I’ve said?” Becky asked.

“
No, I’m sorry.” Trinity shook her head. “What were you saying?”

Becky laughed.
“You’re a million miles away right now.”

Trinity sighed.
“I know, I’m not very good company. Sorry.” She frowned. Becky had been spending a lot of time at the house with Trinity this past week. Trinity had promised Laszlo she wouldn’t leave the house unless absolutely necessary. He was paranoid that Jason would try something. What, Trinity had no idea, but she wasn’t going to find out. So Becky was keeping her company.

The very first day Becky had come over, Trinity spilled her gu
ts about everything—the pictures she’d stolen of Jason; Laszlo paying him off; Natasha’s involvement with Jason; Jason’s pathetic hair-brained scheme to take over Laszlo’s company while keeping Trinity close; and Laszlo’s tireless efforts to keep Jason out of their lives. Becky had simply listened and let Trinity cry. It had felt good to get it all out.

“
You’re not blaming yourself again are you?” Becky asked, cutting into Trinity’s thoughts.

Trinity shrugged.
“It’s hard not to. Sometimes I think Laszlo would’ve been better off if I’d never—”

“
Stop it right now, Trinity. Don’t you dare finish that statement!”

She jerked around in her chair at the sound of Laszlo
’s voice. He’d walked out onto the back porch without Trinity or Becky hearing him. Trinity was out of her chair in one second and in the next, she was in her husband’s arms, her lips melded to his.

Becky cleared her throat and stood.
“Guess that’s my cue to leave.”

Trinity smiled at her friend.
“Thanks for everything, Becky.”

“
That’s what friends are for, right?” She winked, said a quick hello-goodbye to Laszlo, and left.

“
It’s only two o’clock. What’re you doing home so early?” Trinity turned her attention back to Laszlo, her lips finding his again.

“I missed you,” he said trailing kisses along her jaw. She tilted her head to the side and allowed his mouth to explore her neck. “And I had to see you.”

“
I’m not complaining,” she closed her eyes and moaned softly when he nipped at her earlobe, “but, what about Jason?”

“
I’ve spent enough time dealing with that asshole. Today, I’m focusing all my attention on you.”

Trinity smiled.
“If you’d never what?” Becky’s voice interrupted Trinity’s daydream.

Trinity frowned and fought back the tears that threatened to spill free. Of course Laszlo wasn
’t home. With a sigh, she said, “If I’d never come into his life.”

“
Oh, sweetie.” Becky patted Trinity’s hand. “You don’t really believe that, do you? Laszlo loves you. You and this baby are his world.”

“
I know. But you can’t argue the fact that it’s my fault he’s in this mess with Jason.”

“
No, he’s in this mess with Jason because Jason is a sick, controlling, fucking bastard. Jason has taken enough away from you. Do not let him take your trust and faith away from Laszlo, too.”

Trinity glanced at Becky and smiled.
“You’re right. Nothing or no one will ever take my feelings away from Laszlo. I love him more than anything.” Just saying those words made Trinity’s heart swell with emotion. God, she missed her husband.

“
Good.” Becky smiled. “Now, tell me honestly, how are you feeling?”

“
I’m tired a lot, but I guess that’s to be expected when I’m staying up all hours of the night waiting for Laszlo to come home. But, other than that, I feel pretty good.”

“
You should nap during the day.”

Trinity laughed.
“Yeah, I do sometimes, but I don’t want to become dependent on afternoon naps. When the baby comes, I won’t be able to do that.”

Becky looked at her with shock.
“You and Laszlo haven’t talked about hiring a nanny?”

Trinity laughed again.
“No. We haven’t talked about much of anything, really. He’s been so busy with everything else that when we do see each other, all we do is have sex.”

“
Oh, that’s such a horrible thing, isn’t it?” Becky rolled her eyes and laughed sarcastically.

“
Stop it.” Trinity playfully swatted at her friend. “Don’t get me wrong, the sex is. . .wow, but I would like to have an actual conversation with my husband, too. The baby will be here in six months or so. There’s a lot we still have to do.”

“
Well, I’m here if you need me. I’m more than happy to help you decorate the nursery.” Becky’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

“
I wanted to wait until I found out the sex of the baby. I’m hoping for a girl, but I think Laszlo wants a boy. He hasn’t really said one way or the other.” That thought had Trinity frowning again. She was beginning to wonder if it was the pregnancy hormones making her so emotional or her own delusional thoughts about how things were supposed to go once she got married and pregnant. It was probably a little bit of both. Either way, she really hated feeling this way all the time.

Becky nodded thoughtfully.
“So my editor is sending me to Egypt at the end of the month. There’s some archeologist there who made a new discovery about something,” Becky waved her hand dismissively, “I don’t know. I haven’t really done any research on the topic yet. To be honest, I really don’t want to go.”

Trinity eyed her friend suspiciously.
“Why not? You love to travel. It was the main reason you took this job.”

“
I know.” Becky sighed. “But things change. I mean, you’re married now and having a baby. I want to be around to see the little runt grow up.”

Trinity laughed. She wanted to ask Becky to be the baby
’s Godmother, but until she discussed it with Laszlo, she couldn’t. And now, hearing Becky talk about wanting to be around more, Trinity was afraid that asking Becky for this would make her do something drastic, like quit her job. Trinity did not want to be responsible for that on top of everything else.

“
There’s a position opening up in the local section that I’m thinking about applying for. It wouldn’t pay as much, but I’d be home a lot more.”

“
And what would you be writing for this local section?” Trinity raised a brow and waited for her friend to answer. That was one thing Becky hated about being a journalist—all the “fluff” pieces she had to write before she got her big break.

“
Business reviews and other local interest pieces,” Becky said, not meeting Trinity’s gaze.

Trinity knew what that meant.
“Sounds like a large step backward. You’re supposed to be climbing up the ladder, down going down it.”

“
I said I was thinking about it. I haven’t made up my mind yet. You know me.” She laughed nervously. “I guess I’m waiting for a sign of some sort.”

That
was another thing about Becky—she believed in fate, destiny, signs from a higher power. It amazed Trinity just how much faith Becky put into those things. There were no doubts that once Trinity presented the Godmother idea to Becky, Becky would take that as a sign and apply for the lesser job. Who was Trinity to judge her for that? If it would make Becky happy, that’s all that mattered.

“
Well, on that note,” Becky stood, “it’s time for me to get going.”

Trinity stood and hugged her friend.
“Thanks, Becky.”

“
Any time.”

They walked through the house and to the front door.
“Drive safe,” Trinity said, waving to Becky as she got in her car and drove away. Closing the door, Trinity looked around and sighed. She was once again alone in this huge house. Maybe she’d take Becky’s advice and take a nap.

***

When Trinity awoke several hours later, the room was dark. She’d left the blinds open, so she knew it must be night. Rolling over, she glanced at the clock—8:02 p.m. Wow. She’d slept a lot longer than she’d planned. Trinity stretched and got out of bed. There was no way she’d be able to go back to bed any time soon, which meant it was going to be a very long night. Especially if Laszlo had another late night at the office.

She shuffled into the bathroom, and then stopped. The hair on her arms stood on edge and her ears were fine tuned to listen to the noise coming from downstairs. It sounded like someone was in the kitchen. But who? Trinity had sent their housekeeper home before she
’d gone to bed. Her heart raced as she tiptoed out of the bathroom and down the stairs. With each step she took, she chastised herself. This is so stupid. Laszlo would kill me if he knew I was sneaking downstairs to investigate a strange noise. I should just go back upstairs and call him—or the police. But, she couldn’t get her body to respond to her brain and before she knew it, she was standing in the doorway of the kitchen.

Her jaw dropped. Standing with his back to her was Laszlo. He was wearing a pair of boxer shorts and nothing else. It looked like he was freshly showered, too. Trinity
’s gaze swept around the kitchen. On the island counter was a tray with two plates, two glasses of what she guessed was water, and a vase with a single red rose in it. “Laszlo?” she whispered.

He turned and smiled at her.
“Hey baby.”

She gasped—
actually gasped. God, he was a sight. She ran toward him and threw herself into his arms, hugging the life out of him. “Are you really here?” she asked, not loosening her grip on him. “Please tell me I’m not dreaming again.”

“
Again?” He laughed softly and held her out to look at her. “Are you all right?”

“
Yes.” She nodded adamantly as tears coursed silently down her face. “I keep dreaming that you come home, but it’s never real.” She laughed at how ridiculous that sounded.

“
Well, it’s real this time.” He brushed his lips over hers, parting them with his tongue, and kissing her slowly. She leaned into him and moaned. He cut the kiss short. “I was going to surprise you with dinner in bed.”

Trinity smiled.
“That’s sweet, but right now, all I want is you.”

Smiling against her lips, he said,
“Patience, love.” Then he stepped out of her reach and turned back to the stove.

Frowning at his back, she decided not to argue with him.
“Well then, I’m going to go back upstairs and freshen up. Then I’m going to climb back into bed and pretend that I didn’t just ruin your surprise.”

Laszlo winked at her over his shoulder and grinned.
“I’ll be up shortly.”

She calmly made her way upstairs, and once she knew she was out of earshot, she squealed with delight. Her husband was home! After a quick shower, Trinity dressed in a pink silk and lace nightie with matching thong panties. She got in bed and moments later, Laszlo entered carrying the tray of food he
’d prepared. It smelled delicious, but her mouth wasn’t watering for food, it was hungry for a taste of him.

“
You look comfortable,” he said, making his way toward the bed. Gently, he put the tray on the bed and sat next to her. “Hungry?”

Her stomach chose that moment to growl. She hadn
’t eaten anything since lunch. “Yeah, a little I guess.” She laughed. “What did you make?”

“
Your favorite. Grilled ham and cheese with a tomato slice and curly fries.”

The smell of it made her stomach growl louder. He handed her a plate and smiled. She picked up half of her sandwich and took a large bite, savoring the taste of the melted cheese on her tongue.
“Mmm, so good.”

They ate in silence for several moments; Trinity devouring her food in record time.
“Feel better?” he asked.

“
Yes, much better.” Trinity lay back on the pillows, her back resting against the headboard. She placed a hand on her belly and sighed.