Worshipped (Worshipped Series Book 1) (9 page)

I go into the kitchen, hoping that a big glass of wine will help settle my nerves. I have no clue how to handle this. I know I’m in deep shit and there is nothing I can do to change it. I know I’m falling in love with both Conner and Isaac. It scares me to death, knowing that any moment they could be taken away from me by this Dominic Lufrand. I grab my wine and head to my study.

Turning on my laptop, I try not to lose all the courage I gathered to Google this man. I need to know what he looks like. Any kind of information I can find will be helpful to all of us. I realize that my dream was some sort of premonition. I couldn’t see Dominic’s face because frankly, I don’t know what he looks like. How am I going to protect myself or Conner and Isaac without knowing the simple things first?

I type his name in the search bar, waiting for the results. I quickly realize I should’ve just left this one alone. Dominic Lufrand is a killer. He is known for his vicious and brutal killings. He is even more terrifying to look at. He’s very muscular; bald with tattoos everywhere. You can tell this man gets what he wants through force.

His black eyes terrify me to my core. He is death walking around. The police suspect him in over fifty unsolved murders. The most interesting information I found is the fact that he has a child. How can this monster have a child when I have been trying for years?

His daughter’s name is Caroline Lufrand. She’s beautiful; she has long blonde hair with gorgeous blue eyes. She’s tall and slender, but she also looks dangerous. Not as much as her father, but still dangerous. I see she was killed ten years ago.

I close down my laptop then. All the dots were connecting now. Isaac and Conner had been Caroline’s lovers. And I suspected Dominic killed his only daughter because of this. Maybe I had my facts wrong, but something in the pit of my stomach tells me I’m right. I hope I don’t suffer the same fate as Caroline.

I finish off my wine; it definitely wasn’t enough to calm my nerves. I head back into the kitchen to refill my glass, when I see Isaac and Conner on the back patio. They’re arguing. I want to know what they are arguing about, but instead I open the patio door, letting them keep yet another secret from me.

“I wish you two wouldn’t fight. We will figure something out. For now, we need to make the best of this situation. Please come inside, and I’ll fix us some dinner,” I tell them. I don’t bother waiting for them. I know they will do what I asked them to.

Starting dinner, I also open a new bottle of wine. I hum to myself, thinking about Isaac and Conner while I prepare our food. Isaac and Conner sit in silence while I cook for us. I decide to make fried chicken; I’m in the mood for some soul food. Plus, it’s quick and easy.

I have dinner ready forty-five minutes later. The silence between the three of us is starting to get to me. I don’t know what to say to either of them. Maybe it is best to keep my mouth shut. After we eat, Isaac and Conner clean the kitchen. I noticed they are still arguing, just very quietly. Instead of trying to listen in, I call Karen. I need to hear her friendly voice.

“Hey, Riley!” Karen answers. She is always happy to hear from me. “How have you been? I feel like I haven’t heard from you in ages.”

“I’ve been better, to tell you the truth. I have a lot to tell you, but I don’t want to get into it right now. Let’s meet for lunch later this week and I’ll catch you up,” I promise her.

“That sounds great. Are you sure you’re okay? You know I can always tell when something is wrong,” she tells me. That is just like Karen to pick up so easily on my emotions.

“I’m all right, Karen, just going through a rough time right now. Please don’t worry, I’ll be fine,” I reassure her.

“Well, if you change your mind before our lunch date, you call me.” We make our plans for that week and I let her go. I feel mentally drained after all this. I feel as if I need a vacation from all this drama.

That’s when it hit me; why not take a mini vacation? Maybe getting away from all this bullshit will help all of us. I already feel better just thinking about getting away from all of this. I decide to find Isaac and Conner, hoping they will agree on this.

I find them in the study. Stopping before I open the door, I don’t intend to hear what they are saying. “Conner, why in the hell did you tell her? That wasn’t something I wanted her to know. Do you honestly think she could trust us, knowing we got Caroline killed? What the fuck were you thinking?”

“Unlike you, I don’t want to keep anything from her. She should know the truth. Being with us is a risk, and I don’t want her to think we didn’t give her a choice to leave. Caroline saved us, Isaac. If it wasn’t for her, we would already be dead,” Conner shoots back.

I’ve heard enough. I’m too distracted to tell them about the mini vacation now. So I was right. Caroline died for them. Only Isaac feels guilty about it, but why doesn’t Conner? This day just keeps getting worse and worse.

I go outside to be alone for a while longer. I know eventually Isaac and Conner will come looking for me. A thousand thoughts race through my head. I know for sure of one thing: I can’t leave them now. I can’t just walk away from them. So much has happened in such a short time. Maybe that is why I feel so overwhelmed. All I know is I want them, and I will do what Caroline did; I will die for them if necessary.

About an hour later, Conner comes outside. “Isaac left, there was a problem at the company. He should be back in a few hours.”

I’m not surprised he didn’t tell me this himself. Isaac comes and goes as he pleases. “Riley, please don’t be upset with us. We are just trying to figure a way to protect you. I don’t know what I would do if anything were to happen to you.” I know he is telling me the truth. I’ve known for a while they care for me; maybe they are falling in love with me too. My stomach does a flip at the thought. “Let’s go inside,” Conner tells me.

We go into the living room where Conner lights the fireplace and grabs a blanket from the closet. We sit on the floor, soaking in the warmth coming off the fire. Conner pulls me close to him. It’s comforting to have him so close.

Today I have felt nothing but distance from both my lovers. He caresses my back, rubbing my shoulders. He knows how much I need to be touched; Conner is always the gentle one.

“I am sorry for today. It seemed no matter what Isaac and I did, it never got easier for you. We should have never got you involved in this. It’s too late for us to walk away.” He turns me around and says, “You mean so much to us, Riley.”

Staring into his grey eyes, I believe every word he says. He caresses my face, bringing me closer to him. He kisses me so passionately. He’s telling me how much he adored me as he deepens the kiss. He lays me down, holding my head, placing me ever-so-gently on the floor. His lips never leave mine.

When he lets me up for air I ask him, “Should we wait for Isaac?”

He doesn’t seem to mind that I asked, and he responds, “No. I want you all to myself tonight.”

I’m glad he didn’t get offended by my question. He doesn’t seem jealous of it either. He begins to kiss me again, his hands running all over my body. He takes off my shirt, then my shorts.

Once I am completely naked, he looks me over and over, as if he is memorizing my every curve. I’m ready for him. It doesn’t take but one touch from him to get me soaking wet for him. I hurriedly take off his clothes, eager to have him inside me.

I don’t want to wait another second. He gently puts himself inside me, stretching me, filling me to the point of pleasure/pain sensations. It’s incredible. He’s slow this time, wanting to savor every second. His eyes never leave mine. I knew then he is making love to me. I’ve never felt so much emotion from a man. Conner is giving me everything I have ever wanted.

His pace quickens. He kisses me tenderly and says, “Riley, come with me.” We come with each other, breathing heavily, before he whispers to me, “I love you.”

I touch his face, making him look at me. “I love you too, Conner.”

It’s still a shock to me that I feel love for Isaac and Conner so soon, but I don’t regret telling Conner how I feel. Now, if only Isaac would come home to me, I could tell him how I feel as well.

We lie in front of the fireplace, talking and laughing. I feel so connected to Conner. I’m not sure how long we lie there we’re so caught up in each other. I have never felt so connected to someone like this. I love the way Conner makes me feel: confident, and loved. I know he cares for me and that is something I haven’t felt in a very long time. I realize how lonely I’ve been since my divorce.

I must have been lost deep in my thoughts because I didn’t hear Conner ask me a question. “Riley? What are you thinking about?”

“I’m sorry, I was just in a daze. I was just thinking about how happy I am.” Conner smiles at me; I can tell he is just as happy as I am. Even though I’m feeling so happy, I feel like something is missing.

Isaac.

He has been gone for a while now. “Have you heard from Isaac? He has been gone for a long time,” I ask Conner.

“He should be back soon. He’s just blowing off some steam. We got into a huge fight today. We usually don’t fight. I’m sure he’s just working through our differences.” I know they were fighting all day. They didn’t exactly hide their differences.

“Why were you two fighting today?” He sighs and sat up. I could tell by his body language he really doesn’t want to tell me. “Conner, please talk to me about this. We talk about everything and I don’t like when you keep secrets from me.”

“All right, but Isaac won’t like this. He doesn’t want you to know. This whole situation with Dominic has both of us on edge. I think we should let the cops do their jobs. Isaac, on the other hand, wants to risk his life to go find this madman and kill him. I know he wants to protect you and me of course, but how can I let him go through that? I don’t want him to turn into Dominic. If he kills him, what’s to say he won’t suffer for that? There are so many risks.”

He turns to me. I can tell something is killing him inside. There are so many emotions in his eyes. Fear, regret, and pain. All I want to do is take that away from him. “Isaac blames himself for Caroline’s death. I know she was trying to protect us from her father, but he thinks she would still be here if it wasn’t for us. He doesn’t want that to happen to you. We both know you would die for us in a heartbeat. We can’t have that happen again.” He gets up and disappears into the bathroom. I know he needs some space to work through his emotions.

I’m glad as well for the space. I know what Conner said is the truth, and I’m honestly surprised he even told me. I wish I could help Isaac and Conner with their predicament. I lie by the fireplace, trying to figure out a way to help my two lovers. I can’t come up with a thing. I need a distraction. Just as I am about to go find Conner, Isaac walks in. My heart does a flip and my sex throbs from just seeing him.

I still don’t understand why or how my body knows who he is, but I don’t want to understand. I love feeling this way. “Isaac, I missed you. Come over here.”

He smiles at me. I thank the Gods he is in a better mood. He tosses his jacket on the couch and takes off his shoes, then his shirt, followed by pants, and finally his boxer briefs. This is a nice surprise.

“You like what you see?” he asks me. Okay, I know I am staring a bit too much, but how can a girl resist not to?

“I do, very much,” I respond.

He smiles at me and lies beside me in front of the fireplace. He faces me and caresses my face. He kisses me and says, “This is nice. I shouldn’t have left earlier. I just needed to think about what Conner said to me. He is right. I should think more on the matter, instead of running off. I want to enjoy being with you and spending every second I can with you. Riley…I…I love you.”

My heart melts. I know it took a lot for him to admit his feelings for me. I give him my best smile back, and say, “I love you too, Isaac.” He kisses me again, deeper this time, more passionate than the others. I thought he would take things further, lord knows I want him to, but instead all he wants is the intimacy tonight.

Conner eventually comes back and lies beside us as well. Both my lovers hold me, comforting me. I am so happy things are back to normal, for now, at least. I just want this feeling to last forever.

As we lie by the fireplace, I have a feeling I should finally tell them about my mini vacation idea. “I was thinking we should go to Santa Barbara this weekend. How does that sound?”

I know they both agree when they light up like kids at Christmas. Isaac kisses me and gets up to go to my office to plan the trip and Conner follows right after to go help. I inwardly do my happy dance knowing I, in some small way, helped both my boys out of their bad mood.

The next morning I decide it is time for me to go to work. I have been taking way too much time off these days. Plus, I need to make sure everything is going to be taken care of while we head out of town tomorrow.

I wake before Isaac and Conner. Quietly, I take my shower and get ready for the day. As I am making coffee, Isaac comes into the kitchen. He greets me with a deep kiss that sends a tingling sensation all over my body.