Which sucked some major balls.
“I’ll take care of it for you. I’m assuming it’s still in the breakroom at Dreammaker’s, but I’ll call Malcolm and see if he knows for sure. I should probably give him an update too. He’s probably lost his mind with worry.”
So many people. So much drama. God, I really hated Daniel and his entire family.
“Anything else you need?”
My stomach rumbled again, and I smirked. “Yeah, some veggie egg rolls and pot stickers would be great.” At least my appetite was returning.
He laughed and brushed his lips over mine, heating my body faster and hotter than I knew the bath water would.
Pulling back, there was still humor in his eyes as he licked the taste of me off his lips. “You’ve got it, princess.” He flicked two fingers at me from his forehead, giving me a smartass salute and then strolling away.
Once he was gone, I dumped capfuls of the eucalyptus bath salts into the water, inhaling deeply as the scent filled the air while I stripped out of my clothes and sank in, hissing at the heat and adjusting the water.
Heaven. It was absolute heaven to be able to stretch out, close my eyes, and rest my head against the back of the tub while the minty scent filled my lungs and the warmth soothed my knotted, tense muscles.
I was relaxing in the tub when a knock rapped against the door. “It’s Shawn, can I come in?”
With my eyes still closed, I didn’t bother to cover up or move. I had no idea how long I’d been soaking but the water was still warm, and I almost, almost felt relaxed for the first time in weeks. “Of course.” The door opened, and with my eyes still closed, I murmured, “How’s the planning for world domination going?”
A soft tap hit the edge of the tub, and Shawn’s scent invaded my senses. “World domination is another day,” he whispered at my ear, making me jump. My eyes opened right as he kissed the hinge of my jaw. “I brought you a glass of wine. Food should be here soon, but I have to be honest and say I wouldn’t mind eating what’s in front of me for lunch. You’re so damn beautiful.”
Oh dear. A rolling rush of lust cascaded down my limbs. “Shawn,” I whispered, and realized I had nothing else to say.
He wanted to have me for lunch? I’d absolutely let him.
“Later.” It was a promise, sealed with another kiss at my jaw, and he stood up from where he’d crouched at the side. “I called Malcolm. He has your purse and is bringing it by as soon as he can.”
For a moment, I’d been able to pretend I was just taking a relaxing midday bath. At the mention of Malcolm, that popped like a balloon.
“Okay.”
As if he knew where my thoughts had gone, Shawn flinched. “Sorry. I’ll let you get back to relaxing.” Like I could do that now.
“Any more word on my mom?”
As I asked, I pushed to my feet in the bathtub. Might as well get dressed and back to reality now that it’d already re-entered my thoughts. I stood in front of Shawn, butt naked, water sluicing down my skin, and as his eyes heated as his gaze roamed my body, a chill swept across my skin.
“Focus,” I teased, grabbing the towel he’d hung up on a hook by the tub.
“Right.” The lust in his expression vanished with a blink, and he met my eyes. “She’s still at home. We’re torn between moving her up here to be with you and leaving her there. She could either be used as a pawn to get your dad or you to fall in line, or her leaving her home would mean she could be tracked. And unfortunately…” His voice turned soft. “It’s not safe enough for you to contact her again. It was one thing to risk it at the hotel, but until we can get someone in there to check for bugs and tracking devices on everything she owns, let us keep an eye on her and our ear to the ground.”
My eyes closed and a heavy breath escaped my lips. This all kept getting worse, more twisted, and more sensational. When had my wealthy upbringing in one of the richest and oldest families in the city turned into a life that felt more like a movie made for the big screen?
The ring of the doorbell echoed through his home, and he stepped back. “That’s going to be lunch or Malcolm. Dry off, and I’ll have everything waiting for you when you get downstairs.”
Once he left, I pulled the drain on the tub, climbed out, and wrapped my hair in one towel while I grabbed another for my body. I made quick work of drying off then getting dressed in comfy yoga pants and an off-the-shoulder, cropped sweatshirt that had the phrase “Harvard Law: Just kidding” stamped on it.
By the time I got downstairs, my mouth was watering from the smell of my Chinese food delivery, and I hurried to the kitchen to find Shawn setting out white cartons with thin metal handles.
He plopped one of the boxes in front of where I stood at the table. “Come on, enjoy your lunch. Malcolm should be here soon, and then I want to spend the rest of the day trying to relax as much as possible. Trust us to keep you safe, and focus on what you need to do to stay calm.”
He always seemed to know my thoughts, and for Shawn, maybe it was his training. Maybe he just naturally had that kind of intuition with people.
Or maybe I had somehow started allowing all my thoughts and feelings and emotions to be plastered clear on my face after a lifetime of keeping a mask on.
Perhaps I’d washed it off in the bath.
Perhaps being so close to death had cleared it from me.
Maybe…it was because I liked Shawn too much to feel the need to hide anything from him.
Regardless, I liked that he knew me so well.
And I was starving.
I grinned at him. “You too. Sit. Eat.”
“Your command…” he murmured, but he did what he was told with a lingering smile.
So I counted that as a win.
“Holy shit, Adrianna! Are you okay? I’ve been freaking out!”
Jillian’s voice rang so loud through the phone I yanked it from my ear. I wasn’t surprised.
Malcolm had showed up with my purse a few minutes earlier, handing it off to one of Jaxon’s men standing guard on the front porch. Lincoln was as buff and brawn as the rest of the men on his team, and he stayed on the porch, not even attempting to look inconspicuous—not that he could with his size and his scowl. Malcolm had said he couldn’t come in as he needed to get back to his office at his dance club, Glitz, so Lincoln brought the purse inside and handed it to me. As soon as he did, I turned my phone on, surprised it still had a charge. As soon as the home screen appeared, it was filled with the texts and missed calls from Jillian I’d suspected I’d have.
I wasted no time calling her, and her scream made me cringe.
There were only a handful from my mom, all sent before I contacted her the day before.
It was pathetic. I went missing, my father did as well, and my fiancé’s father was arrested, and only two people in my entire life bothered enough to call to check on me.
That thought didn’t last long as I took the glass of wine Shawn had refilled for me and nestled into a corner of the couch.
“I’m good. I swear, but it’s…well, it’s been a really shitty couple of days.” I laughed coldly. Shitty was a massive understatement for what I’d been though, but I wanted to talk about it with Jillian less than I wanted to relive it. If laughing about it could help her believe I was really okay, I’d laugh my ass off.