Uncovering You: The Complete Series (Mega Box Set) (99 page)

“Sounds…suspicious,” Robin says. He stands up beside Fey. “Was Jeremy Stonehart involved?”

“What? No!” I say, too quickly. Fey eyes me in that way of hers when she knows I’m not telling the truth. I blunder on. “Why would you even think that? I’d tell you if he were.”

“Fine, fine.” He holds up his hands. “I’m not questioning you, Lilly. This is just another of those things that seems like too much of a coincidence to be simply swept aside. But since you’re back, I won’t take issue with it.”

“How considerate of you,” I say, my voice dripping with sarcasm. Fey raises an eyebrow at me.

I back off. “I’m sorry,” I say. “I’m just tired. It’s been a long day. Should we go find a hotel?”

“I thought we were here to meet Jeremy?” Fey reminds me.

“It’s too late for that. I texted him. He’s working. In fact, he’ll be working all weekend. So, until then…I’m all yours.”

Fey looks suddenly hesitant, and slightly less sure of herself. “I do have class on Monday,” she admits.

My frustration and anger with her suddenly boils over. “Hey, whose idea was it to come out here in the first place?” I demand. “Things aren’t always going to be smooth, Fey. I have work on Monday, too. But I’m missing it, all for your sake. So don’t give me that shit now.”

Robin steps in. “Easy, now. She didn’t mean anything.”

“I hope not,” I snap, “because it’s too late for doubts and second-guessing now. This is what you wanted, Fey. So this is what you get. There’s no backing out.”

And with that, her spine snaps back into place. “I am
not
backing out,” she hisses at me. “I’m here for your benefit, Lilly. Don’t you forget that!”

I teeter on the edge of laughing at her. But I’m conscious of the fact that I’m looking more and more like a bitch in her eyes, so I fight the temptation.

Instead, I just shake my head. “I didn’t ask you to,” I say softly.

“I know,” she steps up to me and rubs my arm. “But that’s what friends do for each other. Isn’t it? I’ve got your back, Lilly—even when you don’t know you need it.”

“Thanks,” I mutter. I wish with all my heart that her confidence in our friendship was enough to have her take me at my word when I tell her that everything is all right.

But, it’s not. I don’t entirely blame Fey. In fact, I shouldn’t be blaming her at all. There’s only one person responsible for this mess, and that’s Jeremy Stonehart. I don’t know what he thought when he decided to block Fey’s calls. E
specially
after the heartfelt message I left on her machine—which he obviously could have heard by virtue of having all my calls bound through his cell.

He said he did it to protect me. From what? If this is the outcome of that decision—
and
it’s something he says he anticipated—what could the alternative have been? How much worse could this situation possibly be?

I shudder to think about it.
That
is the scary part. The hole I find myself in right now is bad enough. The facade I have to put on about my life with Jeremy in front of Fey and Robin is bad enough. If this was the better of two options…Well, I have no idea how much worse the other one must have been.

“It’s late,” I say. “I think we’re all pretty much exhausted. Let’s just find some beds before we rip each other’s heads off. We can figure out what we’re going to do next in the morning.

“Yeah, okay,” Fey says, linking arms with me. “Come on, Robin. It’s time to go.”

***

It took a fair bit of haggling on my part. But an hour or so later, the three of us are sharing two adjacent rooms at the Revere Hotel Boston Common.

The issue of staying here came down to cost. I said that I would pay for our rooms. Robin wouldn’t hear of it.
He
wanted to pay, as the only man.

Of course, he does not have the income to afford even a night’s stay at a place like this. I know it. Fey knows it. And Robin definitely knows it.

So there was a bit of an argument when I first named the hotel. It was one of those uncomfortable situations where nobody wanted to address the issue directly: Robin said the he had said to Fey that he would pay, before I suggested where to stay. It was the first I’d heard of it—mentioned only
after
I named the hotel. I insisted that I would do it. Fey, of course, understood what was going on. Trying to help Robin save face, she suggested going to a hotel that was closer, had great reviews on Yelp, and was decidedly cheaper.

That last bit was never spoken out loud, though.

But I was firm in my conviction that we would stay at the Revere. I
needed
to be close to Jeremy. I
needed
to be able to sneak off and have a secret rendezvous with him, if I got the chance.

And so, cue the fireworks and impending explosion. The argument in the back seat must have sounded quite comical to our cab driver. Or maybe not. Maybe he’s used to this sort of thing.

In the end, however, I achieved my goal by guilt-tripping them about ripping me away from my job in California—Oh! If they only knew the irony behind that reasoning!—and pointing out that among the three of us, I was the only one with an appreciable income.

Robin still insisted he would pay half. I let him. If only to appease his stubborn man-pride.

“Good night, guys,” I call out, just before closing the door linking our two rooms. “See you in the morning.”

“Night, Lilly,” Fey says. Robin mumbles something with a toothbrush in his mouth.

The door clicks shut. I turn the lock. Then, I just lean my forehead against the frame and try to take in everything that has happened in the last twenty-four hours.

My life is never what’s expected. That’s for sure. When Jeremy left for Boston, I thought I’d have the weekend free to catch up on some sleep and recover from the intensity of the previous week. Little did I know that I would never get the chance.

Just over two weeks ago, Fey had called me with news of Jeremy’s interest in me. That precipitated everything. A few days after that—just when I thought I’d recovered—Jeremy came along and staged that elaborate stunt with his father—whom he keeps on his Board of Directors. Why? The incident made me question my sanity. Then he became cold and dismissive to further the illusion. I went to Maine, got robbed, met my mother, and repaired things between us—for a time—before fucking them up again. I came home. Demanded answers from Jeremy. Faltered in my resolve. Fell for my emotions. Fell for him. We fucked. I forgave him. In a way. I found out my mother’s boyfriend was on Jeremy’s payroll, found out her entire life was a lie, took issue with it—but not enough. I caved in to Jeremy’s pressure and relented on the promise I’d made him swear. The one revolving around the “L” word. That seemed to change him, again. To change his whole attitude toward me. That’s when he became caring and sweet again. I let myself think that things were on the right track…

Then he left and I ran into Robin. And
that
began the whirlwind of events and revelations that led me here.

I sigh and push myself off the wall. I’m exhausted. It’s late. I eye the bed, knowing that I need a shower but wanting to sleep so much more.

Can I sleep, knowing that Jeremy is somewhere in this building, somewhere around me, right at this very moment?

Then again, maybe he’s not. Most
likely
he’s not. He made it sound like he wouldn’t get a moment’s rest until the deal he’s working on either succeeded or fell through.

Fuck it. I’m just going to sleep. There’s no need to be fresh for anyone. I’ll shower tomorrow morning to kick off the day.

I turn off the lights and climb under the covers. My head hits the pillow. I’m about to close my eyes when I realize that I forgot to shut the blinds. Light from the city filters through the window. Light from the cars far below me and light from the other buildings in the downtown region.

Grumbling to myself, I pull another pillow over my eyes. I’ve gotten used to sleeping in pitch blackness. Nothing else feels right anymore. But I’m too lazy to stand up and walk all the way across the room to fix that now.

My thoughts turn to Jeremy. I wonder about the acquisition he’s working on. I wonder—for my own curiosity, and nothing more—what all the constituent parts of Stonehart Industries might be. There are probably hundreds of them. Hell, if you get all the way down to the small, boutique subsidiaries, like Corfu Consulting, there are thousands. In all types of different industries, most likely stretching through dozens of countries throughout the world.

And one man is at the center of all of it. One man, who built it from the ground up. It’s astounding to think about, really, that
I
am the only person in the world he’s chosen to share it with.

How much does he himself know about all that goes on in all the different branches of his company? He can’t know it all. There’s not enough time to know it all. He obviously delegates.

But, to whom? Who are his trusted advisors? Who does he value in his professional life? If I am to get back at him, eventually, those are the things I must know.

But revenge now seems a long way off. I’ve got to deal with the present situation. I have to do away with all the surrounding uncertainties and carve out a firm, permanent spot for myself. In both Jeremy’s personal
and
his professional life. All these little surprises, revelations, uncertainties. All of them need to be dealt with. Only then, after I’ve reestablished some stability in my life, will I be in a position to consider the important things. Like vengeance. Like my father. Like my future, and exactly how it will continue to revolve completely around a single man.

Chapter Five

I open my eyes when I feel a presence in the room.

A shadow moves across the wall. My heart leaps into my throat. Fear takes a stranglehold on my chest.

The bed shifts. A weight is lowered next to my foot. Blood is thundering in my ears, drowning out all other sounds. I am consumed by the terror of nightmares.

And then I hear his voice. Low, deep, and masculine.

“Lilly.”

The panic vanishes. But the same cannot be said for the adrenaline that has me wide awake.

“Jeremy,” I breathe. “What are you doing here?”

“Making good on my promise,” he says, “to come see you.”

There’s just enough light in the room for me to see the reflection of his eyes.

“How did you get in here?” I ask.

He tilts his head to one side. “Isn’t it obvious?” he says, turning his body toward me. “It’s my building. I have the key.”

Well, duh.
I think.

Maybe my mind is fuzzy from too much sleep—or not enough sleep. I don’t understand what he’s doing here until his hand comes under the covers and slides up the length of my leg.

“I’ve missed you,” he says. The hand stops just inches from my core. “I’ve missed…this.”

His fingers brush over my pussy. I shiver as thin tendrils of pleasure snake over me from his touch.

He lies beside me. His hand continues up, grazing over my lower tummy, up the side of my hip. It’s a light touch. That makes it all the more erotic.

“Relax,” he whispers. “You’re so tense.”

“I can’t help it,” I say. Blood is still pounding in my veins from being so abruptly woken up.

“I can,” he says. His hand slips back down. His touch feels sinful on my skin.

He probes me with one finger. My breath hitches. His fingers are cold. I take his wrist in both my hands and try to push him away. “Jeremy…not now.”

“Yes, now,” he growls. He starts rubbing my clit. “Now, because I came for you, Lilly. Now, because I’m here. Now, because
I said so
.”

I yearn for his touch. Why am I fighting it? There’s no point in resistance. I have no desire to fight. It’s probably just a remnant of the memories from when he came onto me like this last time he locked me away in the dark.

He starts working his hand between my legs. Sure, persistent, and steady. He knows exactly what I want. Better yet, he knows how to give it to me.

His fingers rub me up and down. My body starts to melt into the sensation. I arch into him, losing myself in the feelings he elicits. My mind goes blank. Nirvana takes over.

Jeremy’s breathing deepens as he strokes my core. I look over at him, there beside me. There’s a stark focus in his eyes, a deep intensity as he works to get me off.

“Oh, Jeremy.” I close my eyes and bring my head to him. My forehead rests against his shoulder. I squirm, pressing my legs together, feeling the first hints of the oncoming orgasm.

Jeremy’s efforts intensify. He strokes me harder, faster, deeper. I bring one hand to his face, running my fingers over the stubble covering his powerful jaw. My fingers tangle in his hair. I push his head toward me. “Kiss me,” I say, in between gasps.

“Come for me,” he counters. “Come for me first.”

The raw power, the unapologetic command of his words, opens something within me. A void, kept locked away and out of consciousness for my entire life. His voice reaches in and pulls it out of me. Like the rays of the sun hidden behind a fortress of clouds.

The clouds part. The rays shine through. In an instant, the climax floods over me, spurred on by Jeremy’s words.

Then his lips are on mine. Before I can even come down from the high his fingers brought me, my mouth is being consumed by his in a toxic mix of passion and unabated fury.

He pulls back. His hand comes up between our faces. “Taste,” he commands.

I suck his index finger and his ring, licking my own juices off. He draws his hand from my mouth slowly, and does the same.

“Delicious,” he comments. Then, without another word, he rolls off the bed and stands up.

“Wait!” I say, suddenly reeling. “Where are you going?”

“Back to work,” he tells me. He adjusts his suit, straightening the jacket. It’s hard to tell in the dark. But I’m pretty sure I can see the bulge of his impressive erection straining the confines of his perfectly tailored pants. “Consider this…a chapter in the education I aim to give you. You did well, Lilly. I’ll see you soon.”

With that, he walks away.