Delirious (3 page)

Tugging at the hem of his shirt, I pulled it over his head, and my palms slid along his hardened muscles.

Lying back, he pulled me into a seated position on top of him, his thumbs tracing tiny circles along my inner thigh. “You’re so damn beautiful,” he whispered as his thumbs dipped beneath the edge of my shorts. “I think I’m gonna have to get out my stethoscope.”

Chapter 3

Stone

My hand rested on Dara’s lower back as she lay on top of me, her body pressed against mine. The room had darkened as the afternoon slipped away, and I knew she’d fallen asleep by her deep, even breathing. Damn, it amazed me just how precious she was to me. I lay still, listening to the television in the background, as my fingertips glided beneath the hem of her shirt, caressing the small of her back.

I pressed a kiss to her hair, breathing in her scent. I had a month to go until she was my wife, and part of me knew that it’d probably be the longest four weeks of my life. But I had waited so long to make her mine, to claim her in every way that a man claims a w
oman. A few more weeks wouldn’t matter.

As much as I didn’t want to think about the problems
revealed from last night’s meeting, I couldn’t get it out of my mind. I had pondered whether to tell Dara, but in the light of day, the answer to that question was much clearer. I wouldn’t tell her, not even if I had to lie to her. She’d been through too much already, and I would not be the one to cause her more pain. On the contrary, I would protect her from the truth at all costs.

I mulled it over in my brain while she continued to slumber peacefully. This was suppos
ed to be the happiest time in our lives, and I needed to ensure that it was—for her, at least.

How the hell was I going to solve this problem?

She squirmed, and the soft little groan that she made in the back of her throat melted my heart. I pushed away my problems and concentrated on her, on feeling her soft, warm skin, on smelling her faint fragrance.

Slowly, she stirred until she lifted her head and smiled at me. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep on top of you. I’m sure that was very uncomfortable.”

“I liked it,” I said, my voice low as I watched her.

She coyly shifted her eyes away from my face as she rose to a seated position, her body still between my legs.

She folded her arm and propped it on my bent knee.

“So what do you want to do now?” I asked. “You
sure you don’t want me to take you somewhere? Out to dinner? Dancing? This will be the last time we’ll be celebrating the anniversary of our engagement.”

“I like just hanging out
here with you.”

“
Me, too. I’m a pretty awesome guy.”

She lifted her arm to pummel me, but I grabbed her by the wrist, stopping her. “Kidding,” I laughed. “I think we’ve already been over the
fact that not only are you my favorite person in the world, you
are
my world.”

“
Spoken like a man who knows he’s about to get his butt kicked.”

“I like it when you’re feisty,”
I teased her.

A twinge of pain shot through my leg jest below the hem of my boxers.
“Shit! What’d you pinch me for?” I asked, laughing as I scooted a good foot away from her and rubbed my inner thigh.

“I just wanted to make sure you weren’t
dreaming, that you really were hanging out with someone as awesome as you.”

Feeling vulnerable, I stood up
and pulled on my jeans. “Now I owe you one.” Grabbing my tee shirt from the floor, I tugged it on. “Are you hungry?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll go get us something. Want anything in particular?”

She shook her head. “Surprise me.”

I picked up her car keys. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

I called in a to-go order from Awesome Sauce, and on my way back from picking it up, I stopped at Mr. Milton’s grocery store and picked up a dozen red roses arranged in a glass vase and accented with baby’s breath.

Carrying the food in first, I left it on the table, and Dara unpacked it. I ran back out to the car and grabbed the roses. When I entered the kitchen, I held the vase out to her. “Happy anniversary.”

She looked up at me, her vibrant green eyes widening as she smiled. “They’re so pretty.
” Taking the vase from me, she immediately lowered her nose to the nearest flower. “They smell good, too.” She set the vase in the center of the table, and her fingertips caressed the silky rose petals.

“You’re so thoughtful,” she said softly as she pressed a kiss to my lips. “I got you something, too.” She walked over to the counter and picked up a small box that was neatly wr
apped with a tiny blue bow.

I opened it.
“A gremlin bell.” It was the first gremlin bell I’d ever received. Legend had it that evil spirits or gremlins would hitch rides on motorcycles, just waiting to create havoc. A gremlin bell could be hung on a motorcycle close to the ground to catch the evil spirits before they caused harm. The bell would ring so loudly that it would make the gremlins go insane, and they would fall down on the road, creating a pothole. The legend also claimed that if someone bought the bell himself, he would only get a fraction of the benefit that he would get if it was gifted to him.

The pewter bell depicted a guardian angel
followed by a motorcyclist and the words “Never fly faster than your angel can fly.”

“You like it?” she asked, watching my face for approval.

“I do.”

“
Sometimes I worry about you on your motorcycle,” she said softly. “If anything happened to you….”

“
Nothing’s gonna happen.” I held up the bell. “I’ll put it on before I go home.” I shot her a grin. “And I’ll try not to outrun my guardian angel; although, I do hope she’s fast.”

And maybe while my guardian angel was at it, she’d help me get out of my current predicament without anyone getting hurt.
Who was I kidding? That would require more than a little help. That would require granting a miracle.

***

Dara

Monday morning came early, and I waved to Courtney, the receptionist, as I walked down the hall to my office. When Mr. Hamilton had contracted to have the headquarters built, he’d ensured that the offices were well-appointed without being too extravagant. The fashionable lobby boasted modern, comfortable furniture in neutral shades. The offices had large windows, plush chairs, and mahogany desks, and a low-pile, commercial-grade, taupe carpet quieted my footfalls.

I pulled up the graphic design that I’d been working on for the grand opening of the Cruze Salon in Atlanta. After I put the finishing touches on it, I sent it to various, regional magazines for our grand opening ads, and I emailed it to a local printer for flyers.

Finalizing the proofs of our radio and television ads, I emailed my approval to all of the appropriate agents.

Realizing it was mid-morning and I hadn’t seen Stone yet, I checked to see if he was in his office, which was located next to mine. I was surprised to find that his light hadn’t been turned on, which could only mean that he hadn’t come to the office yet.

I tried to call him from my cell phone, but it went straight to voice mail. While it was highly unusual for him not to notify me if he had an appointment, I thought perhaps it had slipped his mind with all that we had going on lately.

Returning to my office,
I began working on an ad campaign for the name change of the bookstore. We’d already expanded Quail Mountain Books to include three stores around the Quail Mountain area, but with plans of expansion to other areas, we’d decided to change the name to one that didn’t specify a region and to one that didn’t specify just books. Quail Mountain Books would soon be changed to Luke’s Place.

I began working on a logo, and once I’d immersed myself in the work, the morning passed quickly. I didn’t realize it was lunchtime until Stone came into my office.

“Hey, sexy. Wanna grab some lunch?”

“Stone!
Where’ve you been?”

“I had some business to take care of this morning.”

“For the company?”

He hesitated. “Um, yeah, it was some business my dad needed me to attend in his absence.”

“Oh.” His answer surprised me since it was usually Dylan who stepped in when his father was out of town.

“
Is everything on track for the opening of the Atlanta salon?” he asked.

“Yeah, I finalized everything this morning. I need to check in with Crimson and make sure she’s got everything under control at the store.”

“Dylan said he wasn’t going to make it to the ribbon cutting next week, and Dad’s still out of town. Looks like it’s gonna be the two of us and Crimson unless Scarlet wants to go.”

“Don’t count on Scarlet. She’s pretty adamant about not working until Isabella hits the six-month mark.”

“Then it’ll just be the three of us. How’s the logo coming along for the bookstore?”

“I’ve started on it, but I’m not finished yet.”

Stone’s phone rang. He looked at it, silenced it, and ignored it.

“You’re not gonna answer that?”

“Not somebody I want to talk to right now. I’ve got to take my girl to lunch. You ready?”

“Yeah.”
I picked up my purse and met him at the door.

Stone’s phone rang again, and he looked at it. “Dammit,” he muttered.

“You sure you don’t need to take it?”

“I’m positive.” He grabbed my hand,
threading my fingers with his.

We walked to a little café about a block away and order
ed sandwiches.

“Is Tom in the office today?” Stone asked.

“No. He’s at that corporate tax conference in Nashville.”

“Shit. I forgot about that. When’s he supposed to be back?”

“The conference is over on Thursday, so he won’t be back in the office until Friday.”

“Dammit.” Stone clenched his jaw, a look of anger crossing his face. Then, he masked it and took a bite of his sandwich.

I took a sip of my tea, watching his body language. “Is everything all right?”

Stone’s
icy blue eyes focused on my face. “Why wouldn’t it be?” he asked, holding his sandwich close to his mouth.

Wiping my hands with a napkin, I studied him. “I don’t know. You’ve just been acting a little strange the last few days.”

“How have I been acting strange?” He set his sandwich down, his full attention directed at me.

“I don’t know. You’ve been disappearing and getting strange phone calls.”

“Disappearing? I’ve had meetings, Dara. You know how my father is about business. You do whatever it takes to take care of business.”

“I know, but….”

“But what?” He glared at me, his eyes pinning me to my chair.

“
Something feels different.”

Stone took a deep breath and exhaled.

“Have you been talking to Tiffany?”

“
Seriously, Dara?” His hand slapped against the table for emphasis.

I shrugged. “I don’t know, Stone. Something’s going on.”

“I don’t need this shit right now,” he spat out caustically in a low, dangerous voice. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m sorry. I’m just under a lot of stress right now, and I thought that was behind us.”

“Are you having second thoughts about the wedding?”

“Why would I be having second thoughts? I’ve been ready to marry you for four years.” He held up the fingers of one hand. “Four years, Dara.” He reached across the table and laid his hand on top of mine, his warmth seeping into my skin. “I love you. I want you to be my wife. We can leave right now and find someone who’ll marry us if that’s what you want.”

I instantly regretted ever bringing it up. I had promised myself long ago that I wouldn’t be one of those insanely jealous gir
lfriends, that I wouldn’t be someone who constantly slung accusations without any basis. Maybe it wasn’t Stone who was stressing. Maybe it was me.

“We can’t do that
. We’ve invited three hundred guests to our ceremony. Not to mention that your mother would be devastated.”

“My mother would be fine.”

“I’m not gonna start our marriage by having your parents hate me.”

“My parents would never hate you. In fact, I think they like you more than they like me.”

“Then let’s keep it that way,” I said, smiling. “No need to run off and elope.”

After lunch, I continued work on the logo for Luke’s Place. This was an important project for me. Even though I’d never met Luke, Stone’s deceased twin, I felt like I knew him, and I
wanted the logo to be perfect.

When the day was nearly over, I thought I’d come up with a pretty good option. I walked over to Stone’s office, but when I neared his open doorway, I heard him talking on the phone.

“What the hell do you want me to do?” he asked, his voice low and deadly serious. “I told you I’m working on it.”

Ten different scenarios ran through my mind, and I admonished myself for letting my imagination run away with me. I didn’t know what he was dealing with, but he had assured me at lunch that our wedding was a go.