For the Night: Complete Box Set (63 page)

‘Never, angel. I’m in this until the universe
implodes and everything ceases to be. Even death won’t diminish my love for
you,’ he uttered sincerely, making my eyes fill with tears at the emotion in
his voice.

‘
Lucas.
That’s so … beautiful.’

‘Just like my girlfriend,’ he smiled as he kissed
my forehead. ‘So what were you wanting to tell me?’

‘Do you remember how you told me you were falling
for me, and asked me to tell you that you weren’t in it alone?’

‘Yes,’ he nodded, a faint smile curling the edges
of his sexy lips.

‘Well, you’re not. I’m right where you are too,’ I
smiled, with a nervous bite of the inside of my lip.

‘Blissed out from impeccable sex and curled up in
bed?’ he winked, mischievously.

‘Stop teasing me, I’m … I’m trying to …’ I closed
my eyes and took a deep breath.
You are twenty-four years old, Summer
Beresford, you can do this,
I told myself, as I reopened them to look at
him. ‘You don’t have to wait forever to hear it, Lucas, because I’m in love
with you too.’ I bit my lip harder as he blinked at me a few times, then slowly
sat up and back on his heels as he stared at me. ‘Say something,’ I whispered.

‘I’m not sure I heard you right,’ he whispered in
return. ‘I’m thirty now, I’m getting on and my hearing’s not as good as it
was.’ I smiled and shook my head, I was always teasing him that he was an old
man, given he had a few years on me. I pulled the duvet back and knelt in front
of him, taking his hands and placing them over my heart, letting him feel how
out of control it was.

‘I’m in love with you, Lucas. I panicked about you
saying it to me earlier, but as soon as I got home I realised I was making a
mistake trying to run from it, I was far too late to be running, because it had
already caught me. You caught me, Lucas. I’ve been in emotional freefall since
Antony tried to hurt me, never knowing who I could trust, but this morning as I
sat here crying, I realised that I trusted you. That I
loved
you. You
healed me with your patience and respect. You’re my best friend, my lover and
my heart and soul. I need you like I need oxygen. Tell me that you won’t hurt
me? I couldn’t bear to lose you now if we’re really going to do this.’

‘Angel,’ he groaned, as he grabbed my hand this
time and kissed it. ‘You’re my oxygen too. From now on we’ll breathe for each
other. Nothing in this world will ever make me hurt you, or I’d just be hurting
myself. You own my heart, Summer. Completely.’

‘And you mine.’ I smiled as I watched some tears
of happiness roll down his face. I reached out and wiped them away with my
fingers. ‘So what now?’

‘So our relationship begins and nothing’s ever
going to come between us.’ He grabbed me and pulled me back down onto the bed
with him, holding me tightly, planting kisses all over my hair, as I responded
with ones on his firm smooth chest. I was so happy. I bit my lip as I grinned
like a teenager. I had a boyfriend. My first boyfriend. A
seriously
hot
boyfriend with a capital …
everything
, as my best friend Mandy would
say. Lucas Steel was as much mine as I was his.

After a hot shower to clean up, as well as get
dirty in again, we finally got dressed and went to make a late breakfast. We
discussed meeting each other’s parents officially. Lucas had met mine when he
helped move us all into our new homes, I’d told them he was just a friend. Mum
I was sure didn’t believe me. She knew we’d slept together that first time,
then again when I spent the night with him after the premiere, but I hadn’t
lied when I’d told her friendship was all we had since that moment. Until last
night at least. I hadn’t met his parents yet though and that filled me with
nerves. He was very close to them, what if they didn’t like me? He distracted
me by telling me that he wanted to take a trip up to Scotland, when filming
ceased, to introduce me to his best friend and his wife. I suggested us going
to see my parents today, as I was due there for Sunday lunch anyway and Mum
always cooked too much.

‘I’ll need to go home and change,’ he stated, as
he looked down at his dark blue jeans.

‘You look fine,’ I tried to reassure him.
Mighty
fine, I thought.

‘I’m not meeting your parents, not officially as
your boyfriend, dressed in my jeans. Let’s head over to mine, we’ll stop on the
way for you to buy some spare stuff to leave in my wardrobe.’

‘Ok,’ I nodded with a smile and jumped up as my
intercom rang.

‘I’ll go and get my jacket,’ he smiled, pecking me
on the lips before disappearing. I headed out to the lobby and looked on the
monitor, smiling to see Albert with a box in his hands.

‘Good morning, Albert,’ I beamed, as I opened the
door.

‘Good morning, Miss Beresford. This just arrived
for you, it looked expensive, so I thought I’d better not leave it down in
reception.’

‘Thanks so much.’ I took the white box off him and
smiled even more. It was from Parkers, London’s most expensive florist and it
was tied with a black ribbon.
Lucas.
When had he arranged these? Albert
winked at me before heading back to the lift. I shut the door and headed into
the kitchen, placing the box on the island as I pulled the ribbon apart and
lifted the lid. I frowned, the flowers inside were beautiful, very unusual, but
so not what Lucas normally got me. He always got me calla lilies, my
favourites, or red and white roses nestled in electric blue silk, as he said it
matched my eyes. In this box, lined with jet black glossy satin, were five
black roses. It seemed a little morbid and creepy. I pulled out his card and
dropped it when I read the short message, horror coursing through my veins.

It looked like someone already knew we were a
couple, which was incredible given that we’d only got together last night. We’d
never kissed or held hands in public. Not that it mattered, me having a
boyfriend wasn’t going to hurt my career, especially not one as hot as Lucas.
What would hurt it, and my family, if I was reading this message correctly, was
that someone knew he was Logan Steele, former escort for hire.

Logan

I pulled the envelope out of my jacket as she went
to get the door, this bliss of the last few hours suddenly being washed away by
a horrible sinking feeling as I looked at the printed “Mr. L. Steele” on the
envelope. Maybe I was reading into things, maybe someone had just spelled it
wrong, but how would they have known to leave me a message here? Today of all
days as well. I rarely came here, in case the paparazzi took pictures. We’d
agreed that as we were just friends, we shouldn’t be seen too much together,
we’d tried to be careful when we met up. I guessed that was something we’d have
to discuss now, if we were going to go public with our relationship. I ripped
open the envelope and pulled out a small white card, my frown deepening as I
saw it had white tape on with embossed black writing.

Logan? Fuck! So it wasn’t a spelling mistake on
the envelope. Someone knew me as Logan Steele. It didn’t exactly matter that
someone seemed to be threatening to out me to Summer, given that we first met
when she booked me to take her virginity, she knew my history already. What
mattered was that someone was making threats full stop. What was this, a
disgruntled former client? Was someone looking to blackmail me in exchange for
their silence? I turned the card over, but there was nothing else on it. It
looked like one of those blank business cards you could buy in a perforated
sheet to print your own cards at home. I shoved it back in my jacket, resolved
to question Albert fully when Summer wasn’t with me. There was no point in
upsetting her, not when I didn’t even know if this was just someone messing
around, clutching at straws, or even what they hoped to gain from this. I
strode into her open plan room to see her looking shaken, as she gazed down
into a box on the island.

‘What is it?’ I asked, as I hurried over.

‘Did you send these?’ she asked, as her eyes
flicked down, directing my gaze to the box of black roses. I recognised them as
being from Parkers immediately. I used them for all of my flowers for her and
my mother.

‘No of course not. Black roses is a bit creepy.’
She nodded her agreement and took a deep breath.

‘I didn’t think they were yours, but I had to ask
in case you were messing with me. Someone knows, Lucas,’ she whispered, her
voice shaking as she looked up at me, her bright blue eyes wide with fear as
she handed me a small white card.

‘Knows what?’ I asked, trying to keep my voice
calm as I looked down to see the same white tape and black writing and read the
message.
Your boyfriend is not what he seems.
This wasn’t someone
messing around. Someone had it in for me. That in itself I could handle. What I
couldn’t handle was them dragging Summer into it too. She was too gentle and
innocent to be played with.

‘Someone knows what you are.’

‘What I
was
,’ I corrected. ‘If that’s what
this is even implying. It’s probably a practical joke by a crazy fan. We’ve had
our picture taken together a couple of times, speculation was high after the
movie premiere. Don’t let it upset you.’

‘It
has
upset me. If it got out about your
former life, or that I booked you, it could end my career.’ Her voice was still
shaking and I was inside, with anger at whoever was doing this. I pulled her
into my arms and kissed her forehead. No way was I telling her about my note as
well, not if she was this upset. I pocketed the card she’d given me.

‘Let’s just ignore it and go for lunch at your
parents. If we get anymore like this I’ll get someone on it,’ I reassured her.
The minute I was alone I’d be ringing a Private Investigator. There would
probably be fingerprints on the card and with Ian’s computer hacking skills, it
shouldn’t be too hard to match them up to someone. No one was threatening my
girl’s career or upsetting her and getting away with it.

No one.

Lucas

It had been a month since
we got together, the best month of my life. Summer had just had a two week
break after wrapping up on
Broken Promises
, before starting training for
her next leading role. Much to her Dad’s relief, mine too, it was an action
thriller, not an erotic romance movie. It had been bad enough watching her
faking it on screen with Daron before, but now we were a couple, I’d want to
rip apart any guy who laid his hands on her. We’d been up to Scotland to stay
with my best friend and his wife. Summer had loved it there and they’d
absolutely loved her, as I knew they would. I smiled to myself as I adjusted my
shirt collar in the mirror, memories of sex with her yesterday morning playing
through my mind. Not only was my angel a quick learner when it came to all
things sexual, she was coming out of her shell, becoming more vocal in her
demands, more sexually aggressive. And I had the scratch marks on my back to
prove it. We’d spent Christmas Eve apart, which I’d found harder than I’d
expected. We were spending today with my parents, as they hadn’t met yet, then
Boxing day we were spending with hers, but she’d wanted to have Christmas Eve
with them, it was a tradition and while she’d asked me to come, I didn’t want
to intrude. We’d have plenty more Christmas Eves to spend together. I hadn’t
done this couple thing in forever, definitely not the meet the parents thing.
Sex aside, or watching Summer smiling and happy, one of the happiest moments
for me was when I was watching Football or Rugby, a beer in my hand, and her
head in my lap. Just being a normal guy, doing normal things. I grabbed my
phone and smiled to see a message from her.

Happy Christmas! Dad’s just dropped me home, I
forgot to pack the dress for meeting your parents, I’m a bag of nerves. See you
here in a while. Love you, S x

Happy Christmas angel. They don’t bite you
know, they’re going to love you, just like I do. Calm down and deep breaths.
Leaving now, see you in a while x

I grabbed my overnight bag and the large bag of
presents and headed out, locking up behind me. I loaded up the boot of the car,
before climbing in the driver’s seat and adjusting my rear view mirror. I was
about to reach for my seatbelt, when I noticed an envelope tucked under my
windscreen wiper. I was parked in one of my two spaces, outside my warehouse
apartment, so it wasn’t a parking ticket. I grabbed it and got back into the
car as I opened it. My stomach dropped as I pulled out a familiar white card,
with a message applied in tape.

‘She already fucking knows,’ I hissed, anger
igniting me as I looked around, to see if anyone was nearby, or watching. How
the
hell
did someone know where I lived? I rubbed my forehead as I tried
to process it. Ian had found me one of the best Private Investigators in
London, he’d worked the famous Campus Killer case in Westhampton a few years
ago, saving the life of my lawyer’s daughter-in-law in the process. Mason had
confirmed that the original cards sent to Summer and I had no finger prints
anywhere on them. The florists advised that a few months earlier she’d received
an envelope, put through her letterbox, containing cash and a small sealed
card, with instructions not to open the card but attach it to a delivery when
requested.  She was instructed to hold the cash until she received a call from
a Mr. Black, requesting five black roses in a black satin lined white box, tied
with black ribbon, to be delivered to Summer Beresford, address to be
confirmed.

Apparently this “Mr. Black” had also enclosed a
£500 tip to ensure that she followed his demands. She hadn’t kept the envelope
and Ian had hacked her phone records for the morning the order was placed, but
the number that seemed to fit the timeline was no longer in service. Ian was
sure it was a burner phone. Someone had gone to a lot of trouble to cover their
tracks. None of us had any clue why at the time. We’d worked on the assumption
that if they wanted money, they’d have threatened to out me with the first
warning and demanded something for their silence. Or at least give us some damn
evidence that they could backup their claims. But this second card seemed to
imply that it was all about Summer, not me or money. And that got me
seriously
angry. I headed back into my apartment and grabbed a freezer bag, carefully
putting the card and envelope into it, trying to preserve any trace of evidence
for Mason to follow when I got it to him. I shook myself down, it was Christmas
bloody day, I wasn’t going to get wound up today of all days, not when Summer
was meeting my parents for the first time. Besides this warning was hardly a
valid threat, when she already knew about my past and had accepted me regardless.
We loved each other, some arsehole with a bloody Dymo label maker and too much
time on his hands, with cash to burn, wasn’t going to change that.

Summer

‘Dad, I really need to get ready, Lucas will be here soon,’ I warned him,
as he showed no signs of moving from the armchair he’d positioned himself in.
He’d spotted the contract for my new film on the coffee table and had taken it
upon himself to read the fine print.

‘I can’t say hello to my future son-in-law on
Christmas day?’ he winked.

‘Very funny, you know we’re nowhere near marriage,
Dad. We only just started dating.’

‘Took your damn time getting there,’ he chuckled.
‘I told you he was eyeing you up at that premiere two years ago. Dads can sense
these things, like sharks smell blood. Anyway, I like him. He seems a really
decent guy and anyone with half an eye open can tell that he worships the
ground you walk on.’

‘Dad,’ I protested, as I felt my cheeks blush.
Lucas wasn’t shy in demonstrating his affection for me. Not that I was
blameless, I couldn’t keep my hands off him either, even if it was just holding
hands or slyly touching digits under a table wherever we were.

‘He does, no arguing the fact. Your mother and I
couldn’t be happier for you. So, we’ll see you both tomorrow morning?’

‘It may be closer to lunchtime sorry, Dad. His
parents live out in Kent and we’ll need to drive back once we’ve had breakfast
with them.’ I gave him an apologetic smile. It was hard for me too, this was
the first Christmas Day I wasn’t spending with them. Probably the first of
many, now I had Lucas in my life.

‘Just make sure that you make it. Your mother will
be heartbroken if you don’t. You may be twenty-four and some big hot shot movie
star, but you’ll always be our little girl, Summer,’ he advised, as he stood up
and kissed my forehead. I smiled and gave him a tight hug.

‘I know, Dad. Have a lovely day and we’ll see you
tomorrow.’ I walked him to the door and kissed him goodbye, almost tearing up.
Then raced back to my bedroom, to try to make myself presentable. I hopped out
of the shower and shimmied on a black lace thong, I didn’t need a bra, the
dress I’d chosen was more than supportive. It was a cream tulip style dress,
stopping just above the knee, but had a daring slashed bust area, where the
built in black lace trimmed bodice showed through. I thought it was slight
overkill, and too sexy, to meet Lucas’s parents. Zoe, my wardrobe stylist, and
Mandy had insisted that given my new found fame, I was expected to dress like
this all the time, that his parents may be disappointed if I showed up looking
anything less than glamourous. I left the zip at the back undone as I couldn’t
reach and pulled on a pair of sky high black heels. I’d done my black nails at
Mum’s last night, so just put on some tinted moisturiser, lashings of black
mascara, a bit of blusher to offset my pale skin and some nude gloss. I quickly
blasted my long hair and did it in a loose chignon at the back, just how Rachel
my hairstylist had taught me to do. Becoming an actress had meant that I’d quickly
had to learn how to look my best at short notice, especially with the odd
photographer following me around, trying to get candid shots of me. I heard my
intercom go and blew out a quick calming breath before going to answer it,
surprised to find Albert the security guard, instead of Lucas.

‘Morning,’ I smiled.

‘Morning Miss Beresford, happy Christmas.’ He gave
me a near toothless grin.

‘You too, Albert. Don’t you have the day off?’

‘I’m only on until lunch time, then someone else
is taking over. You look lovely this morning, are you going out for lunch?’

‘I’m going to meet Mr. Steel’s parents, I’m very
nervous about it,’ I nodded, as I confided in him.

‘No one could fail to like you, Miss. In fact
you’re liked so much I have a few deliveries for you.’ He bent down and picked
up a number of packages, passing them over to me. ‘Have a wonderful day.’

‘You too, Albert,’ I smiled, making sure to back
away, rather than turn around and show him my bare back.

‘Let me get the door for you.’ He reached in with
one hand to grab the handle, saluted with the other and shut it for me. I made
my way back to the kitchen and put the packages on the kitchen island. One was
from my neighbour Sam, a snow globe from New York, with his business card
saying to ring him if I wanted a night in, or out, with him. He’d put a winking
face next to the word “in” and I had no doubt what he was implying. I laughed,
no way was I showing Lucas that. I quickly binned the card, but set the pretty
snow globe on the side. The next was a Thornton’s chocolate reindeer with a
message from a fan, I reluctantly had to bin that as well. I’d been warned
never to eat or drink anything that was sent to me by someone I didn’t know,
just in case. It was a little scary that fans had already learned where I lived,
coming and leaving gifts at the reception desk for me. My heart started beating
a little faster as I looked at the white Parkers florist box with the black
ribbon, and not in a good way. Until an hour ago, Lucas had thought I was at my
parents, and his boxes usually had the blue ribbon to match the interior and my
eyes. It was his thing. I lifted the lid and took a shocked breath to see I’d
been sent more black roses. Four of them this time. I reached with shaking
hands to open the small gift card inside and my stomach churned as I read the
message.