AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My little spitfire slams her little fists against his back and kicks her feet trying to get away. “Let me goooo!”
“You were supposed to get her down for me, not waste my time encouraging her to play more. The Don will hear about your insubordination,” Frank throws over the shoulder that isn’t holding the outraged child.
I hurl a fistful of sand in his direction, knowing it wouldn’t reach their retreating forms. I’d never want to hit her even if it wouldn’t hurt. Goddamn bastard could have let her have a few minutes. It wouldn’t have hurt anything.
Standing, I shake out the sand clinging to my pants and brush off my hands. A curse sounds from the direction of where Frank is trying to shove the tiny girl into the vehicle. It’s not the first time I find myself wondering why she doesn’t come to the park with her mother or even a nanny. Why is Frank the one always watching her? He clearly doesn’t like children either.
“Sonofabitch,” Frank shouts. Drawing my attention this time, my head snaps up, instantly focusing on where he’s bent over grasping his shin. The tiny smiling child runs right for me, her arms stretched out so I can lift her up as soon as she’s close enough. I kneel, waiting for her, but all of a sudden, a car comes ripping down the road.
It happens so quickly… One second my sweet Reginetta is grinning ear to ear, running right for me, and the next her eyes are popping open in surprise. She’s lifted into the air and whisked backward like a yo-yo that’s reached the end of its string.
Either the fear on my face tips her off, or she instinctively knows the danger looming behind her, but she starts screaming at the top of her lungs. The shrill screech sets me into motion. My shoes slap the ground with every step as I power my way to her, praying to every god imaginable that I can get to her in time.
No! They can’t take her! This can’t be happening!
I didn’t hold a hope of reaching her though. Before I know it she’s pulled inside the car and I’m watching her terrified face peering out the back window as she screams for me to save her. Tears track down her face while her small fist pounds on the window.
“Frank! What are you doing standing there? Help me get her!” I demand furiously. Why is he simply standing there?
I don’t pause to try and force him into movement, it could cost me valuable time. Running into the middle of the street, I chase after the car. My arms pump along my sides, willing my feet to move even faster. It’s no use, though. The car pulls farther and farther away, taking my sunshine with it. But I don’t stop running. There’s a chance they could hit traffic, a stoplight that will give me time to catch up. Maybe they’re only driving a short distance away, to a safe house or to switch cars. There has to be some clue I can find that will lead me to finding her.
My lungs burn, each breath feels like swallowing glass, and my muscles are pure lava. And yet I still run. Desperately searching for my Reginetta. Until the moment I’m no longer scrutinizing the horizon, but falling face first into asphalt.
Chapter 2
Remi
There’s a lightness to my steps as I walk toward the final moments of my old life. I’ve already mentally moved past this phase of my existence, chasing after the freedom anonymity provides. I won’t have to worry about being under a constant watchful eye of the people surrounding me.
Freedom.
It’s something I never thought I’d need in my life, the repression having gripped me silently in the night…
Jasper holds the door open for me as we approach the main entrance to the corporate office, and I glance over my shoulder to where Vander is standing. He’s staring at his phone as if he dreads speaking to whoever is on the other end. It’s completely at odds with the person I know him to be. The man is still keeping secrets from me, and I know they go much deeper than I previously assumed. He won’t be able to keep them from me for long, though. We’re about to be on a yacht for several weeks. He can’t hide from me on the high seas.
“Can you show Cole where the server room is?” I direct my question to Jasper who tilts his head in response before striding off in that direction, my tech genius following closely behind. Cole already told me it would be better to have direct access to the servers versus the security room. Which is actually better since there won’t be anyone there asking questions. The server room isn’t guarded aside from a lock that very few personnel have access to with a keycard. I already gave my spare to Cole, so they won’t have any issues getting in.
Grayson presses his palm to the small of my back, guiding me toward the elevator. “Fuck, it feels like I’m counting down the minutes till Christmas. I don’t think I’ve been more excited about anything in my life.” We enter the elevator, and I press the button for the top floor. Grayson immediately pulls me into his arms leaning his forehead against mine. “Knowing I’m about to get a true chance at starting a life with you means more than anything, butter snap.”
Mischievousness dances in his gaze. “Do you google the world’s worst nicknames?” I laugh at the thought, picturing him keeping a list on his phone waiting with glee for the next opportunity to use one. He smirks, trailing his palms down my sides and gathering my skirt in his hand trying to reach for my hem. “What are you doing?”
“I think we should defile this elevator before we fuck on every surface in your office,” he murmurs seductively against my lips. His tone is mostly teasing, but there’s a thread of neediness behind it. I haven’t forgotten how we were interrupted earlier, precisely when I was about to beg him to fuck me. The bell dings a second before the doors slide open announcing our arrival on the top floor.
Grayson doesn’t let me move. He drops the progress he made with his left hand and holds my face, guiding me into a teasing kiss. The softness of his lips pull at mine before his tongue licks the seam and his teeth nip at my bottom lip. His other hand finally finds the bottom of my skirt and trails his fingertips up the outside of my thigh, pulling the fabric with him as he goes.
The doors slide closed as he deepens the kiss even more and runs his hand down my leg to grip my knee. His firm hold digs into my skin, sending a rush of lust straight to my clit before he pulls my leg up, guiding it into wrapping around his hip. The teasing touch of his fingertips travels along the back of my thigh this time, and I have no doubts of their destination.
The distinct sound of a throat clearing draws my attention to the doors having opened again, a sound I had purposefully ignored until now. Grayson reluctantly pulls away, annoyance clear in the pinch of his brow. My leg drops from his hip, and he smooths a hand along my skirt to make sure it’s in place before his arms wrap around my waist.
We turn to find downcast eyes and red cheeks. “Ma’am, I’m so sorry to interrupt, but I stopped by your office to drop these off for you, and I didn’t want to leave them with guests waiting in there. I wasn’t sure if you knew they were there or not and figured you might want the heads up with the direction…” His voice trails off, the blush spreading down his neck and into his ears. File folders are thrust toward us, his panic to get rid of them so he can walk away from a situation he finds awkward clear as day. Grayson grips them with a smirk, and the moment they’re taken from his hold, the man rushes toward the staircase, wanting to escape us as quickly as possible.
“What did you ever do to make him so terrified of you?” Grayson questions with amusement.
I glance at his smiling face, joy radiating from it once more as we stroll down the hall. “Who says it was me? Maybe it was the death glare you sent his way for interrupting.” I can’t help but smile at his display of faux shock. Leaning my head against his shoulder, I let out a sigh. Life is fixing to be greater than I ever imagined. I can’t help but tease him even more. “I’m really glad I didn’t let your shitty bedroom skills push me away.”
Suddenly Grayson freezes in his tracks leaving the space where he was touching me with a chill of cold air. Someone’s taking what I said a little too dramatically… When I turn around to ask what the fuck his problem is, I find him white as a sheet. He looks like he saw a ghost before the expression is wiped away entirely, replaced by pure rage.
“Grayson?” I prod him gently, confused by the sudden array of emotions flashing across his features. He doesn’t answer, lost in his own thoughts, jaw clenched and hands fisted by his sides. He remains silent, and I question if he even heard me. I finally follow his line of sight through the window showing the inside of my office where three people are waiting.
