Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

Phillip sighed and leaned back in his chair, staring out at the four men before him. Damon and his brothers. They were meeting in a smaller room in the back of the house.

“What do you have to report?”

Damon and his siblings were the men he’d hired to make sure no one went after Fyre again. While he had shown the town Damon, he had been very sure to make sure those in the town didn’t know there were four of them to watch her.

When it came to this woman, who did his books and ruled his heart, even if he wasn’t ready to admit it to himself aloud, there wasn’t any line he wouldn’t cross to keep her safe. Even if it meant keeping her safe from herself because she was still holding on to the belief that her brother wouldn’t really harm her.

He disagreed.

“Her brother is getting pushier about trying to get closer to her. This hurts her, not seeing him.” Phillip opened his mouth but Damon raised a hand and gave a sharp shake of his head. “I know, boss. He doesn’t get close. I know the job. I am just reporting as you asked. The sister-in-law is a real gem. She is getting some on the side while Elonne is out working. Not sure who watches the children while she is with any of the five men she sleeps with, but she has her routine.”

“And Caulfield?”

The brothers all shared a look. “He is not taking kindly to the fact Damon is with her.” This from Kolby as he crossed his arms.

Phillip stared at them, close enough to pass as the same man if one wasn’t looking for the differences. He understood why they were so good at their jobs. Well worth what he was paying them. Damon was the spokesman and typically the most outgoing, while Kolby, well, if he were to be completely honest, Phillip didn’t want to meet this man if he was pissed off at him. Any of them really.

“Good, I want him unhappy.”

“He continually tries to get me to wait out of the room when they are working.”

Anger pulsed beneath Phillip’s skin like a living entity. “I am sure he does.”

The brothers exchanged another look.

“What are you not telling me?”

“Miss Gwen is not getting a lot of sleep.”

Jealousy rose. “How do you know this?” He focused on Damon.

“Her light is on until the late hours and she is up early.”

He groaned and grabbed up his schedule purely for something to do with his hands. For it wasn’t like he needed to look at it to know where she was. She was here with him at the moment, setting up to work in his study while he finished up here.

“Okay, thank you.” He got to his feet. “Grab some food. She will be done here in about two hours.”

All four of them nodded. Damon, Archer, Kolby and Zander. He left them there knowing they would get what they needed and be ready to leave when Fyre was. Right now, he had a woman to see.

A footman was at the door to the study when he reached it and he took the tray from him before walking in. Already, Fyre was working.

Not at his desk this time but at the small desk to the side. She’d begun setting up there, even though his desk had far more space. He walked up behind her and placed the tray down at her left.

“Thank you,” she muttered before her body stiffened.

He didn’t move back, instead he braced his arms on either side of her, lowering his head to sniff her neck. Brushing his lips along the scarred skin, he reveled in her slight shiver.

“Hello, beautiful.”

“Wha…what are you doing, my lord?”

He smiled and kissed her neck. “Making my intentions clear.”

“Intentions for what?”

“Mmm. I am sure you can figure that out. Why are you not working at my desk?” He moved to the other side of her neck and provided it with the same attention.

Her gasp pushed lead into his cock, yet he couldn’t stop his arrogant smirk when she tipped her head, offering him better access. Not a lot, but hell, he’d take anything.

“This desk is adequate.”

“I like you at my desk.” He nipped her skin and a low moan rolled from her lips. “I have fantasies of you there. With me.” God, he couldn’t get over how she smelled. “One of my favorites is when you are sitting on the desk and I am in the chair.”

Her breath caught and he tugged on her braid enough to make sure she still listened.

“I slide your dress up, exposing those incredible thighs to my gaze. Push you back and get between your legs.”

Her grip on the pen in her hand tightened to the point he could see white in her knuckles. The pulse beneath his lips skittered.

“Then I spread you wide, move aside that cotton hiding your treasure and put my mouth—”

“Lord Edais,” she gasped.

He smiled and kissed her cheek. “Oh, so you know that one and how it ends then? I have many others. Would you like to hear them?”

She nodded even as the words from her mouth contradicted that.

He didn’t take offense, understanding she was still fighting what was obvious to him. They belonged together. “I am happy to share them if you want to hear. Better yet, I will show them to you.”

“We have to work, my lord.”

Turning her head so they were eye to eye, he stared at her. Phillip loved the flush to her skin, and it didn’t hurt to know it was there because of him. This woman was going to be magnificent when he got to make love to her. He couldn’t wait to see how flushed she got.

“One kiss, Fyre.”

“Were you not just kissing my neck?”

“I was sampling.”

She laughed and tried to stop but he took possession of her mouth, eating her joy. Stiff one second, the next, Fyre melted into him. Alarms went off in his head but he couldn’t focus on them because everything he had paid attention to the woman he was kissing.

The subtle shifts she made, getting closer. The way she whimpered when his tongue thrust deep. How she mewled in disappointment when he withdrew. And how she purred when he nipped her lower lip.

Nothing else mattered. He closed his hand around her neck, holding her there as he upped the intensity of the kiss. He slid his left hand around her side and cupped it over one breast.

Her gasp shattered him.

The air in the room shifted and he pulled himself back under control. Tweaking her nipple, he released her breast and flattened one hand on the desktop, his other still around her neck. Another nip to her lower lip and he drew back just enough to see her hazy eyes refocus.

“One taste will never be enough of you, Fyre.” He tightened his hold on her neck and loved the flare of passion in her eyes. “We have work to do, or your bodyguard will drag me off you.”

“Damon?”

He narrowed his eyes. Another fast kiss and he shook his head. “No other man’s name leaves your mouth when we are kissing or doing things.”

“That does not even hold any logic—”

He kissed her quiet. “Ever.”

“Has anyone told you that you are a very demanding man?”

He smirked and cupped her cheek. “Yes. But with you, I’m possessive.”

“How is that fair? You can be possessive, but if I see you with Miss Asherford or whomever, I have to just walk by.”

He put them nose to nose, pride thrumming through him. “Are you saying you want to be possessive as well?” Phillip barely breathed as he waited for her response.

“Yes.” She swallowed. “I want to be allowed to be possessive as well.”

“With?” God, his heart pounded as he waited for words he so desperately longed to hear.

He watched her thick, curved lashes lower, pause, then lift, allowing him to see her eyes again.

“With you.”

“Then be fucking possessive.” Breathing had become a serious chore. He stood straight and stepped back. “You want me, Fyre. Come get me.”

Phillip’s words echoed in her ears and her heart. Beyond him, at the door, she saw Damon standing there. She liked the man and had invited him into her place a few times to eat something. She felt bad he had to watch over her.

Damon gave her a small nod and she put her attention back on the man standing out of her reach. Phillip Vallence, Earl of Edais. Allowing her gaze to move over him as she sat in the chair, she took stock.

Lean muscles that had begun to bulk up as he worked on the plantation. His sandy brown hair now hit his shoulders and sometimes he wore it back in a queue, which just made her want to pull the tie free and sink her fingers into it. Then his eyes, those gray orbs that saw so much.

“Come get me.”

Was she brave enough to go after what she wanted?

Yes.

Fyre got to her feet and watched as he licked his lips but didn’t move. She wanted him to hold her. Wanted his arms around her, his strong, warm hand around her neck, anchoring them together.

One foot in front of the other brought her to stand before him. She tipped her head back to stare up at him. He watched her with unerring honesty, not hiding his emotions. He was waiting for her to make the decision.

With one hand, she reached out, but she hesitated before actually laying her hand on him. What was she doing?

He is an earl.

She read it in his gaze—he wasn’t going to eliminate the distance between them. The choice had to be hers.

And in that moment, she made it. Closed the rest of the space between them and placed her hands on his chest. She curled her fingers in the soft material of his shirt before releasing him and sliding her hands higher.

When they got to the collar of his shirt, she grasped again and pulled—down this time, on him and the shirt—as she rose up on her toes. He bent and met her part way.

Her world exploded again as he kissed her. Or she kissed him. Either way, all she knew at that moment was his touch, smell, and presence. Phillip wrapped his arms around her, lifting her off the floor as he moved them backward.

His kiss was ravenous. As was hers.

More.

The single word pumped through her veins, intermingling with the raw need that flowed. She tugged his hair tie free and moaned into his mouth as his silken strands fell over her skin.

“You chose me,” he rumbled against her lips. “You are mine, Fyre. Mine.” The bump of the wall behind her came as a shock and she gasped. He paused and looked down at her. “I did not think you would come get me.”

“How could I not? I have wanted you since I first saw you.”

He framed her face with his hands, even the rough skin there, making her feel protected.

“In the shop?”

She shook her head. “That was not the first time, I had seen you many times before.”

He gave her a mock frown. “You were spying on me?”

“No, I was avoiding you.”

“Why?” His hand graced her neck and gripped again. She breathed more easily.

“I was not supposed to be doing my brother’s work. Especially without your permission. So I tried to make sure I was leaving whenever you were there.”

“And now?”

Emboldened, she pushed up again and nipped his bottom lip. “Now I have claimed you.”

With their foreheads touching, she just stayed that way for a few moments, getting hold of her ragged breathing. Pleased that he appeared to have the same difficulty as she in accomplishing that.

“You have claimed me, Fyre. Of that, there is no doubt. And God, I want you so much my dick hurts. But I will not push you. We have work to do.”

She nodded, not wanting to lose his strength. “You have to move, my lord. You have me against the wall.”

His chuckle was decadent. “Not how I want to have you against the wall.” A deep breath. “Behave.”

She blinked up at him. “What did I do?”

He squeezed her throat briefly before releasing her. “You are tempting me.”

“I would apologize, my lord, but I do not think you would believe me.”

“I would not. You are correct.”

She let him lead the way back to the desk and she didn’t say a word when it was his larger desk he took them to. She sat and he carried her things to her. Fyre glanced at the doorway to find Damon had stepped from the room, but she could see his shadow out there.

“What?”

Phillip sat beside her, making sure their legs touched.

“How much longer will you insist on Damon following me? Him and his brothers?”

“Until you are safe. And how did you know he had brothers?”

“I see a lot more than people think I do.”

“I know you do, Fyre.” He pushed the plate of food in her direction. “Eat. We have work, then we have to talk about our picnic.”

Fuzzy feelings streamed through her. “Picnic?”

“Yes. I want to take you on a picnic.”

Oh, how she wanted that too. Her stomach clenched, however, at the thought of her brother stumbling upon them.

Phillip covered her hand with his and gave it a gentle squeeze. “You are safe with me, Fyre.” He tipped her head so he could look her in the eye. “Tell me you know this.”

“I know.”

His smile was sad when he bent closer and gave her a tender kiss. “I cannot wait until you mean that.”

Flushing, she pulled back from him and turned her attention to the books she needed to look at. Instantly, she frowned, cocked her head and skimmed over the latest entries once more.

“What is it?”

She tapped the third line down on that page. “From here down, this is not my writing. I did not make these notations.”

“What?” His roar shook the space between them.

Fyre didn’t flinch. She wasn’t scared. At least, not this time.

He shoved away from the desk and went to the door. Meanwhile, Fyre reached over the desk and grabbed another of his books. The same thing—there were discrepancies.

“Well?”

She glanced up at his growl. He stood there with Keating, both men scowling.

“Well what, my lord?”

Thankfully she had enough sense to address him properly when there were others in the room.

“What about the other books?”

“Same thing, my lord. Looks as if the changing began after last week’s entries were made.”

“Why was there no mention of this when you were here last time?”

“These changes were done since I was here last, my lord. On all the books, the dates they started the changes are around the same time, but if you check each book”—she slid one toward him—“you can see there is a page that was cut out. This is why the writing is close to mine, they had some practice and came in to fill it best they could.”

Fyre figured they had to practice on the actual ledger to make sure they could get the right look on the different paper.

“Keating?”

“No one has been in your study, my lord. Not other than you and Miss Gwen.”

“So no one has come in to clean?” Phillip lifted an eyebrow.

“Of course they have cleaned, my lord.”

“Then there have been others in here. I am not saying it was a staff member, but I am saying more people than myself and Miss Gwen have been in here. It was not either of us who cut out a page or tried to copy her handwriting back into the books.”

“As you say, my lord.”

Fyre bit her tongue when all she wanted to do was yell that she was innocent. It appeared that Phillip was on her side, believing her, but she was the outsider when it came to Phillip and his staff.

“Gather the staff, Keating. I want to speak to everyone about this. Come get me the moment they are gathered. I do not care what they are doing.”

The butler nodded and slipped out.

Fyre shook her head and started to get up from the chair. She had no desire to sit through this and subject herself to what was coming.

“No, no, love. You are not running. I know you did not do this. But someone is trying to set you up and make me believe you did. Can you tell what they got information wise? I know Elonne had mentioned that people were snooping and that is what I believe this is. Someone trying to find out things about my businesses. And trying to set you up to make it look as if you are not capable of doing your job.”

She wanted to throw up what she’d eaten earlier. Fyre wanted to be anywhere but here. “You think you know who it is.”

He grinned at her and dragged his finger along her cheek.

“I think it is your wannabe boyfriend. If I fire you, he has more access to getting what he wants. You.” His gray eyes grew tumultuous. “And he has another think coming if he believes his prank is going to drive a wedge between us.” He captured her chin and took possession of her mouth. “I am not letting you go.”

The dance her stomach did was just as intense as it had been the first time, yet she wasn’t avoiding it or pretending it didn’t exist. Her lips followed him as he started to move away, demanding more. And he gave it to her with a low growl.

She curved her fingers into the papers on the desk, uncovering the courage to take what she wanted, and she knew this was a man she would fight for.