The One Adored (The One Trilogy Book 3) (5 page)

     
No one knew of my proposal. There was no ring, no engagement party, and most importantly no plans for our future.

     
I pray she still wants me after everything she has been through. Our nights in The Maldives feel like a lifetime ago.

    
I stroke her hair, which tumbles across the pillow in shining dark brown locks and instantly a cloud of her scent fills the air. God, I miss her. I feel disgusted with myself as my cock springs to life. Always alert. If I could bury myself inside her now, without hurting her - ahh! I need to feel her legs around me, lips on my neck, mouth, dick. I need to be close to her again, intimately. Feel like she wants me as much as I need her. It’s been so long since we’ve lost ourselves in one another but I’m not sure she’ll welcome me back into her bed and then her body. I feel so responsible for the pregnancy and subsequent miscarriage. I’d taken advantage of her lush body on two many occasions without protection.
 

    
The two of us are carrying around a lot of guilt. I just pray that we can overcome it, together.

    
When I get back from Paris we can start again and hopefully she’ll re-evaluate informing people of our engagement. I want to shout it from the fucking roof-tops but I’m trying to understand her reluctance to focus on the wedding right now, no matter how frustrating and hurtful - I just have to take it one step at a time
 
- the
here
and
now
, was all about Lu.
 

    
*****

Six fucking weeks!
 

Six f’in weeks he’d been waiting to get inside her abode - to see his love properly. Silver had been all over the scene like some dirty diseased rash, waltzing around like he owned the place, owned
her
, leaving little to no chance for him to enter the property, be it invited or secretly. Meddling fucker!

Since the accident, his plans had slowed somewhat, which was to be expected, but it meant that his hopes to take his relationship with Lucia to the next level had had to be halted for the time being. His teeth grind down hard at the thought of the time lost.

That bitch of a witness hadn’t helped matters.

The original plan had been to ingratiate himself further into Lucia’s life, whilst she recuperated from her devastating loss and subsequent injuries, showcasing his gentler side and encouraging a deeper side to their existing friendship. He was tired of holding her at arms length and Lu seemed to like the whole ‘friends to lovers’ story, so why not be the understanding mate - a shoulder to cry on, who isn’t Sebastian, maybe someone who isn’t so close to the situation?

Unfortunately the witness had put the kibosh to all this - sending Silver into stealth-mode, fucking showy prick. He takes a bite of his sweet pecan danish and reviews his emails, annoyed that he can’t listen in on private conversations at No.41 Rose Avenue. Perhaps it was time to send another rose? Surely he had left it long enough to raise suspicion? He hated not having contact with her - needed to be close to her, even it was by way of sending a gift. It was his God damned right!

If he was honest with himself he was a little disappointed that it had taken Lucia so long to figure out that she was being watched by someone. He’d figured that she was brighter than that, but maybe not? Maybe after all his hard work and efforts, and financial investment he’d realise that she wasn’t
THE ONE
? He shakes his head vehemently, “No! She is the one - she fucking has to be! I’ve come too far this time - there’s no going back!”

He would like to know when he’d fucked up though?
 

What had made her question things and get suspicious?
 

Now with this witness statement, the police were on high alert and Silver was watching her every move. Jeez she needed to look closer to home for obsessed men.

The cameras in her bedroom and lounge had been no good once their batteries had died, a week after the accident and with Lucia in the hospital at this stage, he had tried to access her home to replace them with new ones. He’d waited for Sebastian to leave first and headed to the back, as he’d done on many occasions, it was the best way to enter without being spotted, having high walls to either side of the back yard. He hadn’t accounted for Silver’s well-built driver casually reading the paper, at the kitchen island, all dressed in black, like a bloody Russian Mobster. There was no way he was getting past him anytime soon, not without a gun and that was too messy. He’d returned each day consecutively for the next week to find the same thing, sometimes Sebastian was also there - his car hidden further down the street.
 

“Trying to trick me? You bastard! You think I’m stupid? You’ll see…” He laughs indulgently into the empty office “Ah but that’s just the point, isn’t it? You won’t see, you won’t see me coming - coming inside your beautiful Lucia but only after I’ve done what I am here to do. Then and only then we’ll have play time.”
 

No, cameras were now out of the equation…for the time being. This blip had altered things slightly but he was still on track, his end goal in sight. Nothing was going to stop him from making Lucia Myers his own - his desire for her grew every day. The chase, the thought of taking her from a man such as Sebastian Silver, and now that she was truly recovered physically she would be ready to return to work and daily activities again making it nigh impossible for her over-possessive boyfriend to be with her at every waking moment.
 

Bring it on!

*****

The drive to work is surreal, for many reasons; I’ve done the same God damned journey every working day for a year before the accident and now it feels like I’ve not been away - like the last six weeks had never happened. The fact that I have a Silver Range Rover Sport tailing me is more than a little disconcerting but I salute Sebastian’s ever faithful Limo / bodyguard, as I zap my car. I’m also driving a sporty little gunmetal Audi R8 from Sebastian’s collection - my own faithful Audi having been a complete right-off in the accident.

“Morning, Ralph, traffic wasn’t too bad, was it?”

He nods but maintains a straight face, his angular cheekbones that any woman would die for on show with his profile to me. I’d really warmed to this strong, rough and ready Polish man, who would do anything for Sebastian and now myself and Finn. He’d been under SilCon’s employment for 3 years and in that time proved himself to be loyal and adept at many roles outside of his job description. Driver was just the tip of the iceberg and I sensed that there were many many layers to peel back on this handsome and insular man.
 

“You’re not going to wait here all day are you? Surely not? I’ll be absolutely fine. We spoke about this.”
 

“Mr. Silver. has asked me to keep an eye on things whilst he is out of the country, and that means you. Until he says different I will be doing exactly that, at certain times throughout the day. I would have preferred to drive you but…”

“Not a bloody chance. I’m back driving again, Seb insisted I ‘get back in the saddle’ and he was right. I need to maintain some independence here.”

He watches my gesticulating, calm and collected, then completely ignores my behaviour and comments. “Call me if you have need of my assistance, Ms. Myers.”

“I won’t. And its Lucia -
please
.”
I’ve cooked you dinner for goodness sake - chill the fuck out! I was starting to like you.

“Have a good day back at work, Lucia.” He turns and nods at me, a hint of a smile of his lips.
 

God, the man had charm in there - buried, but it was there. “Thank you. I will.”

I wave at him, irritatingly over my shoulder and head into the building. Seb had become ridiculously protective since the accident, and I get that entirely but I didn’t and would never require a freaking bodyguard. I am not Whitney Houston and I’m
not
a celeb. I wish I’d never said anything about feeling like I was being watched, or rather Abby hadn’t - I was now being stalked by a bodyguard supplied by my own boyfriend, and that was far far worse and utterly claustrophobic.
 

I honestly believe that with hindsight my previous concerns about someone watching me, had been sent into overdrive by my pregnancy hormones running rife at the time. In fact I’m certain of it now. I’d not had a thing happen since the accident - since I’d spoken of my fears, aloud. In fact if it wasn’t for the eye-witness who’d reported to the police that they had seen the other driver of the car, deliberately pushing me into the path of oncoming traffic, and causing me to veer off into a wall, I’d have figured I had imagined it all or at least exaggerated it a little - it had all happened so fast. There was definitely a car, I had definitely been scared out of my wits but maybe the driver of the car had just been in a hurry, or a just bloody terrible driver? Maybe they hadn’t intended to cause me harm? I was seriously beginning to question my sanity.

My mind is eternally filled with unanswered questions but as the days go by with no further information, I begin to question everything. Especially when my missing favourite black stilettos are found in the utility and the other odd little goings on become coincidental or random rather than concerning. I’m sure that I had just overreacted at the time, now I just had to convince Sebastian, that everything had just been a terrible and unfortunate accident, so we could move forward with our future.
Good luck with that one, love.

Within an hour of walking through the office all those feelings of familiarity from the drive to work and general daily grind have gone. With the exception of my amazing staff, Jackie and Colin there are so many new projects on the go and new clients on our rota, my head is spinning; I feel completely out of the loop.
    
“So, how you settling back in, babe? You look a little ‘
deer in the headlights’!
” Colin settles in next to me, dropping a much needed cup of tea on my Idris Elba coaster. “Don’t be overdoing it!”
    
“I’m good, Col - a bit all over the place but I’m catching up. You and Jackie have been your usual reliable and trustworthy employees and friends. We’ve a load of new clients though? I’m impressed.”
    
“Er yeah - what did you expect? You scared the shit out of us, boss. Least we could do was run this place on your behalf. You know I’ve always got your back, and as for the clients, they’ve been totting up, each week ever since The Ashton launch - that was THE best advertising we could have asked for. Word of mouth has travelled - you did good, girl.”
    
“I’m so pleased people love that place much as we do - it’s special but it really is a fabulous framework for our portfolio.”
    
“It bloody is - just a lil place I like to call home.” His coy flick of pretend locks is smug.
    
“You are incredibly lucky - don’t forget it. Still lording it up,
Count Colin
?” I snigger.
    
“Of course, although I’m playing around with the title, Duke Duttine at the mo, I think it has more a regal ring to it, don’t ya think?
 
I’m considering getting a crest made-up for Jamesy and I, that we can have adapted onto matching pinky rings. Anyway, James has allowed me to have free rein re-designing our suites and I’m having fun spending his money. I do need your advice though, now your not being such a,
drama queen
- I mean anyone would think you’d been in a major car accident the way you’ve been milking things lately.”
    
I roll my lips on a lop-sided grin. He was just the tonic I needed today. His droll sense of humour was perfect - no pussy footing around me and always straight to the point - the focus always on him - brilliant as long as it isn’t on me.