The Guardian of My Soul (Soul's Desire) (18 page)

CHAPTER TWELVE

Adjusting my nightgown, I pulled myself higher in bed, worried as hell. “Answer him...” I barely whispered.

“He must know I’m not in my room,” he said before taking the call. “Yes? Dad, I went for a walk. I needed some air. I’m sorry. Why would I inform you? No, I’m not seeing anyone. And even if I were, it’s none of your business. Fine, I’ll see you in the morning...” he said and hung up annoyed. “Damn it!”

I moved closer and kissed his cheek before putting my arms around him. “He must have been worried when you weren’t in bed.”

“He was never worried when I was a kid. He shouldn’t worry now!”

“Maybe he’s changed and wants to reconnect with you.”

“It’s too late for that.”

I used my index finger to flatten the creases between his brows. “You resent him that much?”

He shrugged. “Nothing ties me to him.”

“You still call him Dad, though...” I pointed out timidly.

He clenched his jaw and looked away.

“It’s okay, you can talk to me,” I whispered, caressing his hair and cheek. “I love my mother too, in spite of her craziness and tendency to control. Some days I love her more than others, but...she’s still my mom no matter what.”

“I can’t forgive him for walking out on us. Mom suffered, we suffered...it’s not something I can erase from my memory so easily...”

“I don’t know what happened between your parents and I don’t even want to know, but...give him a chance to make it up to you. You won’t be able to move on and be truly happy if you remain stuck in the past. I still haven’t managed to get over my father’s death and it hurts so much. I don’t want you to suffer like this. Make peace with him while he’s still around.” I filled his face with kisses to appease him.

“I have to go.” He pulled me into his arms, his head resting on my shoulder.

“I wish you didn’t have to.” I sighed. “Can you stay with me until I fall asleep?”

“All right.” He accommodated himself on my pillow and I settled on his chest under the covers. His hand moved from my hair to my face and lightly stroked my cheek.

I blushed at the memory of his lips on my breasts and my mouth pleasuring him, wondering how far we would have gone if his father hadn’t interrupted us. Bothered by my still wet panties, I reached for them under my nightgown and tugged them off.

“What are you doing?” he asked, sounding amused.

“I...” I tried to toss them to the floor, but he caught and squeezed them in his hand.

“Oh...I see...” He smirked before stuffing them in the pocket of his pants.

“Alec!” I giggled, flushing scarlet. “Give those back!”

“No, I’m taking them.”

“What for?”

“As a reminder of tonight...”

I gave him my most innocent look. “Tonight was great...” With one last kiss, I settled my head in the hollow of his neck and wrapped my arm around his waist. I let my eyes fall closed as I drifted off to sleep in his arms, exactly where I wanted to be.

*  *  *

He was no longer by my side in the morning, but his scent was still present on my pillow. I buried my nose in it and breathed deep. Last night’s events came back to me and I couldn’t stop grinning. Tingling with excitement and desire, I was almost giddy. I’d been brave, but I needed him to know how I felt about him. I wanted to show him a good time, to mark him as my own.
If only we hadn’t been interrupted.
Taking a deep breath I was able to shake off the momentary arousal, but couldn’t put a damper on my eagerness to have him all to myself again and explore every bit of his perfect body.

I was deeply immersed into my fantasies when Megan called to invite me for lunch with her, Ana and the boys. I gladly accepted, feeling the need to go out and spend some time with my friends. I couldn’t recall the last time I’d been in such a good mood.

I knocked on Alec’s door when I was ready to go. He opened it promptly and the edges of his mouth tipped up into a smile at the sight of me standing there.

“Hey...” he murmured before stealing a kiss.

“Hi, handsome.” I grinned. “I’m going out with the girls...”

“Okay, give me five minutes to change.” He stroked my cheek, lingering for a moment, then rushed to his bathroom.

I was tempted to follow him, but resisted the urge and went looking for Mother to let her know I was leaving.

Mom welcomed me with a bright smile when I entered her bedroom. “Hey. How’s my lovely kitten today?”

I raised an eyebrow at her. “Wow, you’re in a good mood. You haven’t called me that in years.”

She giggled and beckoned me with her hand to approach her. “You made me so proud last night. All my friends congratulated me. You stole everyone’s attention.” She paused, searching my face. “Honey, you’d make a fabulous model.” Clasping my hand in hers, she was all smiles, but when my shoulders slumped she sobered. “I know, I know, it was a one-time only to get me out of a jam. I truly appreciated your gesture, Kris.” She got up and hugged me tight.

“I’m glad I could help out, Mom,” I said, returning her embrace. “Um, I’m going out. Alec’s taking me, so you’ve got nothing to worry about.”

“Have a good time, dear.”

Alec was already in the driver’s seat when I got to the car. “I never get to drive my own car anymore,” I complained.

He smiled. “I’d rather do it.”

“You don’t like my driving.” I stuck my lower lip out playfully.

“It’s not that. I simply enjoy driving you around and taking care of you.” He assured me.

My gaze dropped to his jeans, remembering how much of a man he was. My mouth watered at the memory of how amazing he’d felt in my palm, that velvet skin encasing his hardness. Wishing I’d seen it better last night, I squinted my eyes at I stared at it, trying to conjure its form.

“Kristen?” An ear-to-ear grin spread across his face. His green eyes flashed with mischief and I felt my cheeks redden.

Biting timidly on my lower lip, I shook the naughty thoughts out of my head. “I…I want you to have lunch with us. At our table,” I said quickly to save the appearances.

He chuckled, turning back to the road. “Won’t they start suspecting if I do?”

“I don’t care. And the girls like you anyway. Maybe you could become friends with the guys too.”

“They’re coming?”

“Yeah. Please stay with us, okay?”

“All right. If that’s what you want.”

I smiled triumphantly. “Alec…what did you do with my panties?”

“I stored them in a safe place,” he replied, unable to hide his playful grin.

“Crazy!” I laughed. “I didn’t know when you left last night.”

“I watched you sleep for a couple of hours before I finally returned to my room.”

“Seriously?” His words moved me.

“Yeah...watching you sleep is my new hobby,” he confessed, squeezing my knee gently.

I placed my hand over his and smiled. “Hey...um...did you speak to your dad?”

His joyful mood dissipated at the mere mention of his father. “He came to see me this morning,” he said flatly, letting me know he didn’t enjoy talking about him.

“And?” I insisted.

“He reprimanded me for leaving the house at night without telling anyone. He wanted to make sure I wouldn’t get him or myself in trouble with your mother. Apparently I’m not allowed to leave unless she sends me somewhere.”

“Do you want to go out by yourself?”

“Not necessarily. But I don’t want to be treated like a prisoner either. This job shouldn’t control my entire life.”

“I don’t want you to go out without me.” I said the words out loud without realizing it.

“Is that so?” he asked, causing me to blush again. “Are you afraid I might do something?”

“You’re safer at home,” I said simply, staring out the window to avoid him seeing my flushed face.

“Safer from what?”

“From anyone...” Women, I meant women.

He chuckled, but said nothing more.

*  *  *

We greeted everybody when we arrived at the table and I was pleased to see the boys shaking hands with him and making room for him to sit with us. We spent the first half hour of our lunch talking about Mom’s fashion show and my appearance in the end, to my misfortune.

“I wish I’d known about your modeling debut. I would have come to see you for sure,” Megan said.

“You didn’t miss anything,” I replied. “And it wasn’t a debut. I saved her bacon this time, that’s all.”

“What happened with Ian?” she asked unexpectedly.

“Ana!” I scowled.

“It’s not my fault! Sam told Matt and he told Megan.”

“What? You were planning on hiding it from me?” Megan eyed me with feigned annoyance.

“Come on, guys, don’t make such a big deal out of this. I’m over him and would truly appreciate it if you stopped mentioning his name.”

“Fine, no more Ian.” She put her hands up in defense.

“What are the plans for tonight?” I asked after a moment of silence, chewing on my last bit of salmon.

“How about we go to a strip club?” Matt smirked. I could feel Alec tense by my side. He’d been awfully quiet throughout the entire lunch and something told me he was not very comfortable in the presence of my crazy friends.

“Seriously, Matt?” I laughed out loud, surprised by his proposal. “I see why it would be fun for you men to gawk at naked women all night, but what the heck are we supposed to do there?”

“Learn some tricks, maybe...” His rakish grin amused me even more.

“I don’t think there’s anything Meg could learn from such women. As far as I know, she’s a master in the art of seduction.” I winked. Looking at her, I wondered if she’d talked to him. She just shook her head at him and crossed her arms over her chest.

“She is, but there’s always something new to learn.” He chuckled, seemingly in a good mood.

“Jeez! Meg, you should put a leash on your man and shove something into his mouth to keep him quiet.” I smiled, cocking my head to one side.

“Hmm...” She put her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. She then kissed him hotly, using her tongue to silence him.

I laughed at her sudden display of affection. I felt relieved to see they were okay with one another. I just hoped they weren’t acting just to save appearances. “That is certainly not what I had in mind!” Their wanton make-out session brought more memories of last night to mind and I had to stop myself from turning to Alec and kissing him the exact same way.

*  *  *

We opted for a club where we could dance and enjoy some drinks, but Alec chose to seclude himself at the bar from where he could keep a close watch on me. As much as I would’ve liked him to be by my side and have fun together, I knew it wasn’t possible and I couldn’t help but feel a little down.

After slowly sipping a couple of drinks I finally began to relax and allowed the girls to take me to the dance floor, letting myself move to the pounding rhythm of the music. The magnificence of the rich sound freed my mind, activating every cell in my body.

When I glanced over at Alec, I found him flanked by two girls. They were hanging all over him and whispering in his ear. I could feel jealousy burn in my veins like hot acid. The flame was growing bigger and bigger, my anger like a knot in the pit of my stomach, burning and churning, trying to get out.

I quickly swallowed another drink, fighting the urge to go over there and kick them away from my man. Ana and Megan distracted me with their energy and good mood, but I still glanced at him whenever I got the chance.

“Put that drink away,” Alec said loud in my ear, coiling his arm around me from behind.

I quivered when I felt him behind me, but leaned into his arms, taking advantage of the fact that Matt and Sam had confiscated their girls and were now kissing shamelessly right in the middle of the dancing crowd.

He took the glass from my hand. “You’d better stop drinking, Kris. I don’t want you to get drunk again. You know how sick it made you last time.” His voice was serious when he spoke.

I turned around and fisted my hands into his shirt. “And you’d better stay away from other women,” I warned, my mouth a couple of inches away from his.

There was a ghost of a smile on his face. “Jealous?”

I stepped away and hugged myself defensively. “No.”

He chuckled. “Come, let’s go home.”

“Why? I was having fun.”

“It’s late, come on.”

“It’s not even midnight yet.” I protested.

He gave me a look which let me know in no certain terms that he thought it was high time for me to be out of this club and on my way home.

“Fine, let me say goodbye to my friends.”

Alec was quiet on our return journey, hiding his emotions from me once more.

“What’s wrong? I know there’s something bothering you. Tell me what it is,” I pleaded, rubbing my temples to fight the dizziness in my head.

“You’re different when you’re with them.”

I blinked several times, not sure what to think of his words. “What do you mean?”

“You transform into this vampy party girl who likes to drink.”

“What? I don’t drink that much,” I retorted offended.

“I’ve seen you drunk twice already.” He reminded me. “And your friends...they talk nonsense and act crazy. When they’re around you turn from the sweet girl I’ve come to know into one of them. Into the girl I first met.”