***
The next three weeks flew by in a flurry of shopping, cake tasting, and picking out exotic and overpriced flowers. Oh, and having insane amounts of sex with Trevor.
Allie couldn’t quite keep the smile off her face. Even Brynn noticed. “You seem happy,” she said one afternoon after Allie picked her up from school.
“Things are going well. With the job, I mean.”
Brynn rolled her eyes. “The job, right. It has nothing to do with Trevor?”
“Nope.”
“I’d believe you if I didn’t see the same expression on Dad’s face.”
Allie’s smile disappeared. “Everything okay with you and Dad?” She hadn’t spoken to him since the night she drove Brynn home from Trevor’s house. It still felt strange and wrong, not living at home, not talking to her dad. But she couldn’t bring herself to call him.
“Ms. Castor’s okay, if that’s what you’re asking. She made dinner last night.”
“How was that?”
Brynn shrugged. “Weird. Not the dinner, that was meatloaf, but her being in the house was kind of awkward. She’s trying really hard.”
“Do you like her?” Allie asked.
“She’s okay.” Brynn stared out the passenger window for a minute. “Are you ever going to talk to Dad again?”
“Of course, don’t be silly.” But not right now, the pain was still too sharp. She felt betrayed, used even. It wasn’t right to feel that way, but she couldn’t help it. She’d given up five years of her life for her family, and he didn’t give a damn. She braked at a stop sign and closed her eyes, unable to shake the hurt feelings.
She wasn’t ready to talk to him. Not that he seemed eager to speak to Allie either. No, this was a two-way freeze out, and right now, she didn’t want to be the first one to thaw.
She didn’t speak again until she pulled through the mansion’s gate, waving at Carl as she passed the guard house. “Mrs. Hubert said you could help her make the tea today.”
“I love decorating those cakes.” Brynn opened the door and hopped out.
Every afternoon, Trevor took tea with Allie and Brynn in the conservatory. Sometimes Mags would join them. Brynn liked helping in the kitchen and had started making a little cake decorated with Trevor’s initials. After a couple hours at the mansion, Allie would drive Brynn home before dinner but never went inside the house.
Besides the fight with her father, Allie’s other worry was Monica. She hadn’t talked to her sister since she and Brad left the mansion that night. Allie called twice and left messages, but didn’t hound Monica like she had in the past. She worried about the lawyer and whether Mon was going to school. But Trevor was right, there was nothing she could do.
For his part, Trevor seemed more at ease than he had before. Even around his parents. Not that he wasn’t above making snarky comments. But there was a relaxed atmosphere around the house and Trevor seemed almost content.
After dinner each night, Allie didn’t know what Nigel and Mags got up to, but she and Trevor would politely excuse themselves, take a walk in the fairy-lit garden, and, when they couldn’t stand it anymore, run up to Allie’s room. They’d tear at each other’s clothes and screw like crazy for the rest of the night.
Trevor had her talking like a sailor, trying new positions, and she had even picked up a couple sex toys from the shop Mags had dragged her into. She’d never planned on using the furry, leopard-print handcuffs or the bright purple vibrator. But Trevor found them and put them to good use.
He spent each night in her bed, curled around her. His deep, even breaths lulled her to sleep. At least once in the middle of the night, Trevor would reach for her. He’d wake her with his talented fingers drifting across her breasts, her belly, her legs, before slipping them inside her. Then, he’d turn her on her side and, while nuzzling her neck, slide into her while he toyed with her nipples. It was addictive.
She didn’t know how long it would last, but she didn’t dwell on that. She’d pushed aside all thoughts of her temporary situation with Trevor and decided to enjoy the time she had with him, to live in the moment. It was hard for her to do, but she was trying.
***
Three weeks. He’d been sleeping next to Allison for three weeks and he felt… What? Content? Yes, that was it. He’d even picked up an annoying habit of humming. His attorney even commented on it.
“What’s up with you?” Alex asked. “Did you make another million or something?”
“Probably.”
“And why are we meeting on the terrace?” Alex glanced around the garden. “We’ve met out here four times in the past few weeks.” He reached for the sweating glass of iced tea. “Is this because of the girl you introduced me to? Allie, was it?”
Trevor raised a brow. “What makes you say that?”
Alex smirked. “That shit-eating grin you’re wearing? That’s what love looks like, my friend.”
“Don’t be stupid.” Love didn’t come into the equation with Allie. He just enjoyed her company. And her body. And holding her in his arms as he fell asleep each night.
That was lust, not love.
True, it was more powerful than anything he’d felt before, but it would pass. And while he was in the grips of it, he would enjoy it, enjoy her. Every lovely curve.
He forced his mind off Allie and focused on the business at hand. He loved his work. Breathed it. Lived it. But he had a surprise for Allie tonight, and like a schoolboy, he couldn’t wait to see her reaction.
“Trevor?”
He blinked at Alex. “Right, let’s run the numbers.”
***
After Alex left, Trevor decided to play hooky and take a swim with Allison in the grotto. He’d given Arnold strict instructions. Trevor didn’t care if the bloody house was on fire, they were not to be disturbed. And that especially applied to his parents.
He and Allie swam and splashed each other, playing like a couple of kids. Then she sucked him off beneath the waterfall. The cool water washing over him, her hot mouth on his cock. It’d made him crazy. And it was the most relaxing afternoon he could remember.
After dinner, he told her to throw on some warm clothes and a jacket. He’d given no other details, and she had been quizzing him ever since.
“What are we doing? Where are we going?” she asked for the fourth time.
“You’re like an annoying child, really.” He drove the sedan out of town, past the lights and the crowds, and into the desert.
“If you’re taking me to the brothels, you’re in big trouble.”
He laughed and snatched her hand, bringing it to rest on his leg. “Why would I take you to a brothel?”
“I couldn’t begin to imagine.”
He didn’t let go of her hand. “You’ll just have to be patient, love.”
After a few minutes, he pulled the car off the road. “We’re here.”
She turned to look at him. “Are you planning on burying me out here? Do I have to dig my own grave too?”
“You’re an idiot.” He leaned forward and kissed the tip of her nose. Then he hopped out of the car and walked to the trunk where he removed a large duffel bag.
“What’s that?” Allie asked.
“That is a telescope. You said your dad used to bring you and your sisters to look at the stars.” He closed the trunk and began walking away from the car. “I thought you might enjoy this. We’re meant to have a good view of Orion this time of year.”
Allie stopped in her tracks. It took Trevor a moment to realize she wasn’t walking next to him. He spun around. “What’s wrong, love?” He walked back and rubbed her arm through her down-filled coat. “Are you warm enough?”
“Um, yeah.” She cleared her throat. “I’m just surprised, that’s all. Come on,” she said, tugging on his hand, “let’s have a look.”
She didn’t seem like herself, yet she wasn’t angry or upset. He shrugged it off and allowed himself to be led further away from the road. He glanced toward the sky as he walked. It was a fine, clear night for stargazing. “You know, my grandfather used to have a telescope set up in his study. He always said if you think the stars look small, imagine how insignificant you appear to them.” Trevor pulled a flashlight out of his pocket. “Here”—he handed it to her—“hold this.”