Sarasota Bride (3 page)

She spotted a side table with a couple of carafes perched on the end. “Yeah, if they have decaf. I’m too jittery for regular.”

He kissed her forehead. “I’ll be right back.”

She leaned against the wall, pulling out her phone and pretending to check messages. All the while, she zoned in on Jared and Trey’s private conversation.

“How many times has Dr. Ramah expressed concern over my kidneys?”

“Kidney, singular, remember?” Jared said. “If you wait much longer, the strain of surgery might be too much for the only working one you have.”

“No more surgeries, I told him this.”

“Your pain.”

“I can deal with it,” Trey scoffed. “It’s not as though I’m taking painkillers constantly. What have I really needed, one or two prescriptions a year?”

“In the shape you’re in, you should be treated at the pain management clinic.”

“I can handle it,” Trey growled.

“That’s just it, why are you?” Jared implored. “It’s only a matter of time before your spine gets worse, and with that other kidney straining…I guess you’ll figure out what you need to do. After all, what do we specialists know?”

Trey cursed a blue streak right before Libby heard something hit the floor. “Fine. I’ll start pouring through my advanced schedule so I can make this happen. But this is the last surgery, the last fucking one. If this doesn’t work, I’m done.”

Libby moved across the room, meeting Noah halfway. “Thanks.” She took the coffee from his outstretched hand.

“What’s wrong besides the obvious?”

“The past,” she said simply.

CHAPTER THREE

Noah pressed his forehead to the glass separating him from Payton. “I would have liked more time with her,” he whispered to Libby.

Libby squeezed his arm. “Payton was doped up, didn’t even recognize us.”

He glanced at his watch. “It’s already five. When are they releasing her?”

Payton looked so small and weak in the center of the sterile bed, her hair braided down one side. Avery was on one side of her, bandages dotting his big body. Dylan on the other, holding her undamaged hand carefully in his. She could see his lips moving, but couldn’t hear his words. If Libby were to guess, she imagined a thousand apologies were shooting out of his mouth.

“Dylan is taking her home, or wherever he’s taking her. And Avery’s cousins are hauling his ass, forcefully if necessary, home so he can rest. There’s nothing else we can do here.”

“Dylan doesn’t own her.”

“Neither do you and I,” she reminded gently. “But no matter how you feel about Dylan Easton, I don’t think you want to come between him and Payton tonight of all nights.”

“Look at them.”

“I see them.”

“No,” he implored, “really look at them looking at her.”

“I see love.” She nodded, turning away to give them privacy with their thoughts. “That’s what I see. And from where I’m standing — unconventional relationship or not — it looks pretty damn pure.” She wondered if anyone would ever look at her the way Avery and Dylan looked at Payton, but this wasn’t about her.

“Maybe,” Noah reluctantly agreed.

Evan and Julian turned the corner, both greeting Libby with chaste kisses on her cheek. She hardly knew them, but they seemed genuinely concerned. “If you’re here for Avery, good luck.” She tilted her head to the glass.

Evan smiled crookedly. “The doctor gave us sedatives to slip in his drink. He’s going to bed whether he likes it or not.”

Julian’s green eyes darkened in marked concern. “You’ll have to sit on him all night
, Evan. Remember, I have to work.”

“Oh, thanks so much for the help,” Evan replied dryly. But when Evan opened the door, Avery walked out reluctantly, without giving them trouble.

When he passed Libby, he pulled her in for a hug. “She’s going to be fine,” he whispered in her ear.

“Payton’s tough,” she agreed. “Though I can’t believe she knocked one of that asshole’s eyes out with an old garden tool.”

Avery nodded, his face pale. “Something like that.”

“Go with your family, sleep.” Libby encouraged.

Julian moved in front of Libby. “I’ll be at The Easton Hotel tonight, working.”

“Okay,” she replied, unsure of his meaning.

He ran his tanned fingers through his blonde hair, pushing it away from his face. “Trey told me you would be staying there until your firehouse is ready.”

“Oh,” she said, glancing at Noah. “I figured I was staying at Hytel Plume with Noah.” Stephan had already phoned her half a dozen times. She couldn’t avoid him forever, but Libby knew she could no longer stay at his place.

Julian glanced meaningfully down at Libby’s hand, where her engagement ring was flipped around, but he didn’t make it obvious. “Trey may be called to France.” He handed her his card with his personal number scrawled on the back. “You will call me if you need anything or if you need to talk.”

Tiny hairs prickled across her skin. Libby knew a Dom’s voice when she heard it. “Thank you, I will.” She slipped the card in her purse.

Avery pegged Noah with a look Libby couldn’t decipher. “When all of this is settled, Wyatt, we need to talk.”

Noah’s jaw clenched. “The sooner the better.”

Evan and Julian herded Avery away, and Libby steered Noah in the opposite direction. He looked like he was going to take Avery out, Noah’s eyes following him across the corridor with grim determination.

“Not here, not now,” she warned. “You’ll only hurt Payton more if you act on your jealousies.”

“I know.”

Drake was talking to the others, but he looked over his shoulder, keeping an eye on her. She didn’t know how she felt about that. “Noah, you smell like smoke,” she said, staring up into his ocean blue eyes. “I thought I was only smelling Dylan earlier, and then Avery, but it’s you, too.”

Noah brought his attention to her. “I went to the Easton estate. Payton had invited me, but I couldn’t even… get to her.”

She reached up to his streaky blonde hair and carefully flicked away ashes she hadn’t noticed earlier. “I’m confused. I thought you had an early audition with Stellan Hudson.”

“My cock had an audition with Stellan Hudson and his submissive sidekick.”

She raised a brow. “Oh, I have to hear this.”

“I need to sit down.” He gave her a pointed look and nodded at a small leather settee facing the window, where they could whisper.

When they settled onto the settee, Libby put her hand on his knee, rubbing in circles. “Talk to me, please.”

“I phoned Payton early this morning,” he whispered, “explaining my disastrous audition with Hudson.”

“It couldn’t have been disastrous,” she scoffed quietly. “You’re talking to someone who has heard you sing.”

“My vocal talent wasn’t what he was after, but my moves on some sub he wanted to share inside the sex club one of those Easton men own. Julian, I think.”

“You went to Level 69?” Libby asked curiously.

“Was summoned there, more than likely.” His eyes narrowed. “I think it was Dylan. He was getting rid of me in two ways: One, I would be hired by Hudson and travel the world, a far cry from staying inside Sarasota limits. Two, Payton would find out I fucked another woman after claiming to love her.”

“So did you…fuck the woman?”

“No, I wanted no part of that scene.”

Libby nodded. “But you still managed to send those pictures of Dylan and Marla to Payton.”

“They were on the internet headlines.” He shrugged. “She would have seen them before the day’s end.”

“From my perspective, the whole deal is getting a little shifty between you men. Dylan and Avery pull Payton one way. You try and pull her another.”

Noah slid his arm over the back of the settee, cupping her shoulder in his hand. “I didn’t pull hard enough or soon enough. If she’d never met those men, Payton would have never been hurt. They’re no good for her.”

Neither was Noah, Libby mused. She’d argued with Payton often, wanting her to give Noah a chance.

However, she knew deep down that if Noah didn’t end up cheating on Payton, it would be a miracle. But she had to agree with Noah’s assessment. “I’ll admit things have been a mess since we’ve crossed paths with the Eastons.”

“Yes, this whole fucking mess is their fault.”

They still needed to stay on track. “Trey said the gas lines are being fixed at the firehouse. We’ll have the renters in soon.”

“We’d be opening the entire firehouse this week, if it weren’t for the Eastons and the people who hate them.” He stared out the window, a faraway look suddenly clouding his eyes. “I thought she was going to die,” he said thickly. “The cops held me back, when I tried to get past the entry gate. I just thought she would…burn like Helen Savon.”

“It’s okay.” Libby turned in her seat and hugged him fiercely. “After you found Payton in the firehouse, nearly beaten by her attacker, today must have been so hard for you.”

He buried his face in the back of her hair. “Like you, she’s my best friend.”

“Not that you only wanted to be best friends, though, right?”

“Did Payton tell you?” he whispered against her ear.

“Tell me what?”

He recounted an intimate encounter he’d had with Payton behind his father’s beach house, leaving out embarrassing details. But then explained how Avery had walked up on them.

“She didn’t tell me,” Libby said softly.

“I feel like I’m in high school again,” Noah whispered, “kissing and telling.”

Now, she knew why Avery was so intent on having it out with Dylan. “You need to get it out,” she countered. “Tell me what’s bothering you besides the obvious - Avery and Dylan.” There was more; she sensed.

“I’m sure I love her. I even told her I loved her this morning. When we were intimate, we were intense yet relaxed,” he trailed off, not finding his words.

Libby could hear doubt there. “Familiar? Companionate?”

“She turns me on, and I love her.”

“Of course she does, Payton’s beautiful and the two of you have a shared history, more so than we do.”

Noah met her eyes. “Pay kept saying I wouldn’t give her fidelity when I wanted to move forward with our relationship.”

Libby tilted her head, studying him. “Fidelity’s something you’ve never managed with a woman, so I think her assumption was…understandable. If that were to happen, your faithlessness would ruin one of the best friendships I’ve ever known.”

He didn’t argue the fact. “This is a selfish discussion I’m having while she’s in a hospital bed.”

“No,” Libby second-guessed him. “I think you’re having this conversation for a reason.” She knew he was trying to figure out whether or not he should persuade Payton to step away from Dylan and Avery for good. That he was also questioning what he could possibly offer her in return. And a permanent relationship with him was a big deal, a lot to offer anyone. Could he do it? She didn’t think he was ready.

“What if we don’t share that deep love those lucky couples share for their eternities?”

“There’s a lot of work involved in long-term relationships, Noah,” she chided gently. “It’s not magic.”

He shifted in his seat, bouncing one knee the way he did when he was writing a new song. “I’ve used women to escape my past, so I could forget. But I also used them as a crutch, as an excuse to why I couldn’t commit to a relationship.”


“This is nothing new.”

He shook his head. “But what if Payton was also my crutch?”

“I’d be the first in line to kick your ass for hurting her.”

“I’d let you,” he concurred.

Libby pressed, “I’m thinking about everything that’s happened since we renovated the firehouse…and I’m wondering what was really your dream.”

“You know the firehouse is our dream, Lib.” He patted his chest. “Ours.”

“I’m no longer convinced it’s yours.” She received another call from Stephen and shut off her phone. “Your band, your music, you play several nights a week no matter how tired you are from the renovations. And you keep walking away from opportunities.” She held up her hand when he started to argue. “I’m not referring to Stellan Hudson trying to audition you
r dick, I mean the real stuff, the gigs that would have taken you away from Sarasota. The dreams that got away.”

“But you and Pay are my family.”

Libby kissed his cheek. “And you can count on us wherever you are. And if there’s ever an emergency, that’s what planes are for. So before you decide to chuck everything I just said, ask yourself this: Should you ask Payton to walk away from the only men she’s ever loved, the men who love her unconditionally and have promised to commit themselves to her eternally, when you’re not even sure of what you want?”

Chapter Four

Libby stepped past Trey and entered a parlor suite at The Easton Hotel. “I don’t understand why I can’t stay at Hytel Plume with Noah, or why he can’t come here.”

“And I’m tired of explaining myself.” Trey added under his breath, “You were always tenacious, Elizabeth. I’ll give you that.”

She’d rather be tenacious than a complete an
d utter asshole, but she kept that thought to herself and studied the suite she was expected to occupy for a few days. Pale beige floors anchored Florida blue walls. To her right, fourteen-inch diagonal tile filled an opulent dining room centered with a granite table that could easily seat ten. Above, an oddly sedate chandelier warmed the area, making it feel a touch cozy. French doors led onto a balcony complete with a small bistro set. Directly in front of her, a blue, crushed-velvet sofa offset two low back chairs in matching fabric. Behind the sitting area, three sets of French doors stood open, long white sheers faintly billowing in and out with the sea breeze.

“Two bedrooms are to the right of this parlor,” Trey explained, his cane quieting when he reached the carpeted area where she stood gazing into the water. She wanted to plunge into the aqua depths and maybe not come up for air. “One is a master, the other a guest, though I had the bed removed and a desk and chair brought up so you could work.”

Surely, he didn’t expect her to thank him, so she didn’t. Libby followed the narrow forked hallway. One door led into the makeshift office, which he’d outfitted with every office gadget known to man. She passed the small bathroom next door and found the master suite. It stole her breath, and she knew this wasn’t the best suite The Easton Hotel had to offer. No matter how beautiful and plush her surroundings were, Libby still preferred the firehouse she and her best friends had renovated from nearly bare studs.

She addressed him blandly. “I still need my clothes and necessities from my loft at the firehouse.” Stepping to the bed, she ran her fingers across the duvet, stroking luxury she hadn’t felt in so long that it felt so good. But it wasn’t a necessity of her life. Happiness was. Libby sensed him behind her, and she turned around.

“I took the liberty of ordering you a few things.” He squinted, studying the room. She decided early on that the light bothered him, and this room was full of light.

“Where are your glasses?”

His lip lifted, those beautiful green tourmalines trying to focus on her. “You wouldn’t care if I completely lost my sight.”

He was ninety-nine percent wrong about that. “You’re right.”

In a dressing area, she finally noticed wrapped boxes and several shopping bags from local, luxury department stores — some of which were located downstairs in the lobby — sitting next to a round table centered by a large spray of fresh flowers. As she approached the small three-walled room housing an adjacent walk-in closet, the flowers were almost sickly sweet, nearly overpowering the room, or that could have been her nerves talking. After all, Trey was behind her, once more.

“If you need anything else, just call downstairs.” His sex-husky voice rumbled through her. “Staff knows to be at your beck and call.”

Again, she refused to thank him. “I guess I won’t lack for…anything.” From a small round window she noticed a designated adult area, a grotto pool complete with lovers’ secretive alcoves. She wondered what it would be like to take Stephen into one of those hidden spots, letting him take her hard and fast even though others could easily catch them. Then she realized that would never happen unless she found a way out of this startling predicament.

“I can’t help but notice you’re a little grouchy,” he murmured silkily, closing every available space between her back and his chest without pressing against her.

“I’m tired.”

“It’s only six.”

“Julian said you may be called to France at any moment.” She thought of his jet just waiting on the tarmac for him, and also the fact that he was going to take her without even asking first.

He trailed his fingertips down her arm, in a delicate way as though he were reading braille. “I intended on taking you, but after what happened on Dylan’s estate. I want you here under lock and key.” His palm stopped on the outside of her hand, his fingers sliding between hers as he lifted her hand to his lips. “My lock.” He kissed her fingertips one by one. “My key.” Trey brought their combined hands to her stomach, just above her sex, and held it there. “Protected.”

“If you think someone can do something to your plane, you shouldn’t ride in it yourself.” Why did her voice sound husky?

“Again, like this morning, I’m getting mixed signals from you.” He slid his whiskered jaw across hers, his mouth landing at her ear. “Perhaps you want more than our daily kisses.” Sucking her earlobe between his lips, he bit gently. “Tell me.” Her pussy echoed the movement, clenching when he took another nip. “Do you?”

“Nope.”

He lowered his mouth, growling against her throat, “Watch them, Elizabeth.”

“Watch who?”

“Down below,” he said, keeping his mouth on her throat, but lowering their joined hands to just above her clitoris, “in the grotto.”

How could he see the lone couple in the hot tub fucking? She swallowed hard. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” But Libby couldn’t tear her eyes away from the primal sight. The woman had her bikini bottom pulled to the side. The man was heavy between her legs, moving his tight ass in and out.

“I don’t have to see them to know they’re there. Someone is always fucking in that grotto. You’re a terrible liar.”

“That’s not such a bad trait, is it?” A shiver went down Libby’s spine. She’d trade places with that woman in a heartbeat, spending a few minutes in fantasyland with a primed cock between her legs sounded sublime. “I’d rather be a terrible liar than a good one.”

Dipping his head, he bit her shoulder, his hand moving even lower. A slow stroke rolled intimately over her bundle of nerves and a telltale tremor rippled through her vagina. “Why, Elizabeth, are you getting righteous on me?”

Wiggling out of his hold, she argued, “I’m not getting anything on you.”

“I won’t push.” He dropped his hands from her, stepping away. “But just so you know, you won’t be taking Stephen’s cock while you wear my ring.”

Okay, so that really pissed her off, but she caught — ‘while you wear my ring’. She chose her words tactfully, though never forgetting he was a crafty fox. “And if you decide not to get tied down with little-ole-me, do I still get the land around the firehouse without going through more court battles?” She had no funds left for any future court battles. Payton, Noah, and Libby would have to cut their loses and allow the bank to short sell or auction the place. Sometimes, on days like today, she wanted to do just that.

He laughed at her. “Why would I answer such a loaded question, Elizabeth? For you to find reasons to turn me off from you, so I won’t go through with it.”

She lost her temper in a sudden and stupid way, whirling around and glaring up at the face that haunted her dreams for years. And on some nights, it still did. “We both know you’re not marrying me!” In that split second, she realized she never stopped loving the gorgeous, tortured man staring down at her. God, the realization drilled her bones, and she almost lost her breath right in front of him.

Something unnamable flashed across his face. His hand came up, cupping the side of her face. “If I didn’t know better…”

“I think she’d be more comfortable at our place,” Drake walked in, carrying a familiar satchel.

Libby pushed Trey’s hand away and stepped around him. “Is that mine?”

“Yeah. I picked up your laptop at the firehouse while checking on the repairs.” She almost said thank you but caught herself. Instead, she stretched out her hand as he gave it to her. “You may be in there a day sooner than we anticipated.”

“I won’t get my hopes up.” She closed her eyes. “But that would be great.” The sooner she was home, the better. When she opened her eyes, Drake was leaning down, his lips near hers. She skirted him. “What are you doing?”

He raised a censoring brow. “I want a kiss, but if you’re going to be a prude…” He shrugged, his tiger’s gaze encircled with sooty lashes locking onto her lips. “Don’t worry about it.”

“I’m taking this to the desk,” she muttered quickly and bolted from the testosterone-laden room. Entering her temporary office, she unzipped the satchel, removing her laptop and, thankfully, her charger.

“I’ll see you in the morning, Elizabeth,” Trey called from the door, his fingers strangling his walking cane. “Unless you want me to stay the night.”

The time was just past six, so she guessed Trey had other plans, probably other women to do. And she hated the way that thought made her feel. She gestured around the room, where he’d had the extra bed removed. “There’s only one bed in this place.”

“Precisely.”

She glanced over her shoulder and worked up the best sneer she could muster on short notice. “Morning, it is.”

His voice dropped a seductive octave when he said, “Since you can’t go to another man without breaking our agreement, you may want to reconsider your frigid attitude.” She inhaled sharply, but no words formed on her tongue. He nodded as he walked away. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

Drake walked into her office. He sat his tight ass on the edge of the desk, waving a hand over the desk phone. “Room service is 24/7. Anything you need or even want is merely a phone call away.”

“Does that include happiness?” she asked sarcastically, running her fingers over the phone buttons. “I don’t see that option here…”


He took her hand gently in his. “Believe it or not, I’m sensitive to your situation.”

She wasn’t falling for good-cop-bad-cop. “Right.”

He released her hand and stood. “If you don’t want my comfort, fine. Avery’s been hurt, my family’s shook up. I’m told Gilda is clutching her chest as we speak. So I need to see her personally, and tell her things are as right as rain.”

She wondered if that’s where Trey headed off to, but fought her curiosity. “Does Gilda Easton know what little bastards she’s raised?” She regretted the words the second they flew out of her mouth.

“Your father is the bastard in this, though you refuse to see it that way.”

She placed her hands flat on the desk. “I never refused to see it that way. My father should have never done…I don’t have words to express how I feel about the horrific mistakes he’s made. But…I don’t want him to go to jail.”

Drake ran his fingers through his hair, the inky strands falling over his forehead. “If it were up to me, I would have turned in your father.
If not for the insider trading, he still ruined Trey’s body and a chunk of his mind. There are days he can barely walk, much less see. If he’d gotten medical treatment right after the attack…presently, that’s neither here nor there.” He leaned over the desk, pressing his fingertips against hers.

“It’ll always be here or there. What surgery does Trey need?”

He dragged in a deep breath. “He needs a spinal fusion, which would be commonplace, but his body is limited to one kidney that is weakening from year to year.”

“Resulting from my father’s beating?”

“Yes.”

“Then maybe you should let Daddy go to jail.”

“When I first encountered you…I had the wrong impression. I thought you were the spoiled rich bitch who cared for nothing but herself. But I’m easily seeing that’s not the case where you’re concerned, Elizabeth Bailey. So my advice to you is to remember people and things aren’t always what they seem to be, particularly Trey.”

She wondered if a small part of Trey still loved her. “You share women with him, just like Avery and Dylan share, don’t you?” Payton had divulged the secret of Avery’s injuries, the reason that he and Dylan originally shared women.

“We started for similar reasons, yes,” he replied curiously. “Trey used to be more of a mess than he is now. But for us to commit to a wife, to marry someone as Dylan and Avery are hoping to commit their eternities to Payton, Trey and I would have to love the same woman. I’m not ready to marry. I doubt I ever will be.”

She had to laugh. “Spoken like a true playboy.”

Drake stared at her for a hard moment, visibly pondering. Then his phone caught his attention. He read a text, wincing, and then ran his fingers over his screen. “It’s your turn for internet speculation.”

“What are you talking about?” She stood, gripping his wrist and staring at his screen.

He enlarged a picture of Trey helping her from the SUV. The next shot zoomed in on her colossal engagement ring, with the headline screaming: Another engagement for the firehouse girls?

She groaned. “Great.”

Drake was texting someone back. “Evan will have our public relations handle this. If for some reason the paps get past hotel security, don’t answer any questions.” He looked up from his screen. “No communicating with them, got it?”

“I got it.” He didn’t have to tell her twice. She hated those vultures.

“While were discussing pertinent rules, don’t go anywhere outside of the grounds. In fact, we’ve posted two bodyguards on you.”

She held out her hands. “I’m expected to work at the theater.”