Chapter 14

As soon as they heard her scream, they all rushed to her side, and as she was crying, she threw her arms around Dexter’s neck, sobbing.

He held her, looking down into the box like the others were doing. The powder blue evening dress was covered in blood, with a note made up of cut-out letters from a newspaper.

It read, ~Next time it will be you, bitch.~

“Oh my God.” Claudia let out a muffled scream.

“Damn. What the fuck?” Joseph said, shocked.

“Who the hell did this?” Thomas said, reaching inside, but stopping when Dexter yelled out.

“Nobody touches anything,” Dexter said, holding onto her, his hand on the back of her head as she sobbed, her body shaking like a leaf.

“Call the police now, and have Douglas come in here right away.” He walked her over to the sofa and had her sit down. “Someone get her something to drink, something strong.”

Thomas poured her a scotch, with hands that shook, and bringing it over, sat beside her.

“Here, sweetheart. Drink this. It will help to calm your nerves.” His heart was bleeding for her. He hated seeing her this way. “It’s okay. You’re safe. We’re all here with you.”

She left Dexter’s arms and went into her father’s. “Dad, who would do this?”

“I don’t know, baby, but I’m sure Dexter will find out.”

He looked at the man his daughter loved and could see how worried he was about her. He knew then that this man would protect her and find out who was behind it.

When Douglas entered the room, Dexter looked at Thomas. “Stay with her while I go talk to your butler.”

“You wanted to speak to me, sir?”

“Yes, I did. I want to show you something,” Dexter said, walking over to where the box was sitting on the table. “Can you explain to me how this happened?”

Douglas looked into the box and gasped. “Oh my. This is so terrible,” he said, looking back at Dexter.

“I really don’t know what happened. A deliveryman dropped it off a few hours ago. As I said, I had forgotten about it, and I never looked inside. It’s not my place to do that.”

Dexter rubbed his chin. The butler did appear to be stressed over the whole deal.

“I’m going to need a description of the man that dropped it off, and anything else you can tell me, such as the type of vehicle he was driving, anything that might help me or the police.

“Who all was here when the dress was delivered?”

“Mrs. Greene, Mr. Metcalf, Miss Greene, and yourself, of course. There was also the cook, the two maids, and myself. Oh, and the guards, but they were all outside.

“I feel sorry for Miss Greene. I know how hard she worked on the dress, and she was so excited to wear it for the party. If there’s anything else I can do, please let me know.”

Dexter patted the man on the shoulder. “Thank you. Perhaps you can make her a nice hot cup of tea.”

“Right away, sir,” Douglas said, heading toward the kitchen.

Dexter turned and looked at everyone who was in the room, trying to figure out if it was one of them that had destroyed the dress.

Even his boss was home at the time, but he highly doubted that Thomas would do it. He loved his daughter too much and would never harm her. That he was sure of.

When the police arrived, they talked to everyone in the home and took the dress with them to get the blood analyzed.

They also said that they would be going to Thomas’s office building and talking to everyone who worked there, and especially to Carson, who was the one that sent her the dress.

Dexter couldn’t help feeling frustrated. He wasn’t any closer to getting answers, and things were just escalating.

He looked over at her, and his heart was aching for her, for everything she was going through. She had gone from sobbing to just lying in her father’s arms, looking so pale and sad.

Even Claudia and Joseph were looking at her with sympathy, but then again, it could all have been just an act.

He went over to her and sat down. “Maybe you should go lay down for a while.”

She slid out of her father’s arms. She felt so exhausted. “I think I will go upstairs and lie down. Will you come up with me?”

“Yes,” he replied, not caring what the others thought. He held out his hand for her to take and helped her up.

Before leaving the room, he turned to the others. “If any of you remember something, no matter how small, let me know.”

When they got inside her room and shut the door, she went over to the bed and lay down. “Will you hold me?”

He went over and got on the bed and lay next to her, putting his arms around her. “I’m so sorry about your dress.”

“I know you are. I can’t believe someone would do that. I worked so hard on coming up with that design and getting the dress made, only to have it ruined.

“I don’t know what I’m going to wear to the party. There’s not enough time to make another one.”

He thought about all of the clothes she had in her closet, and he’d even noticed some beautiful dresses that still had a price tag on them, and others looked as if they’d never been worn.

“I’m sure you can find something in your closet. No matter what you wear, you’ll look beautiful.”

“I know I have lots of dresses, but it’s not the same as the one I designed myself.”

He tenderly stroked the side of her head. It killed him to see her in so much pain and sadness. Twenty minutes later, he heard a knock at the door. He got up and went to answer it.

One of the maids was carrying a tray with some food and drinks on it.

“Mr. Greene asked me to bring this up for you and Miss Greene.”

“Thank you very much. It must be heavy. Let me take it from you,” he said, taking it from her hands.

When she left, he took it over to the bed. “You must be hungry. You never did get to finish your dinner.”

Even though her heart was breaking, smelling the delicious food, she realized she was hungry.

“Yes, I am a little hungry.” She looked at the tray of food and then at him. “There’s enough here for both of us. Will you share it with me?”

“I’d love to,” he replied, picking up one of the forks. They started eating.

Once they were done, he placed the tray on the table. Seeing her getting off of the bed, he thought she was going somewhere.

“Maybe you should just stay here and get ready for bed, since it’s getting late.”

“I was just getting my nightgown to put on. You told me that once we told my father about us, you would be moving in here with me. In my bedroom, that is.

“Are you still planning on it? I really hope you will.”

He walked over to her, taking the sexy nightgown from her hand. “Is this what you’re planning on wearing to bed?”

“Yes. Why do you ask?”

“It’s really sexy and see-through.”

“So?”

He cleared his throat. “If you wear this, I may not be able to keep my hands off you.”

A small smile appeared on her face. “If you prefer, I could sleep naked.”

“No, this will do,” he said, handing her back the nightgown. I’m just going to go back to my room and grab a few things. I’ll be right back.”

He left the room, closing the door behind him. He leaned against it, taking a deep breath.

He had no intention of making love to her tonight, not after all she’d been through, but she was not making it easy on him.

After grabbing some fresh clothes for the morning, he went back to her room and found she was already in bed.

Seeing she was asleep, he knew he had dodged a bullet. Now all he had to do was sleep beside her without being tempted.

This he found to be a very difficult task when he saw her body under the see-through gown. Her perky breasts had him drooling.

Pulling the covers over them, he closed his eyes and tried to go to sleep. He loved the sound of her even breathing as she slept.

When she woke up in the morning, he was getting dressed.

“It’s early. Come back to bed.”

“I can’t. I’m going to your father’s building to talk to Carson and the others. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Wait. You’re leaving me here?”

“I already talked to your dad and told him what I was going to do and asked him to keep you by his side. You’ll be safe here.”

She got out of the bed and went over to stand in front of him.

“You’re my bodyguard. You were hired to protect me twenty-four seven. How are you going to do that if you’re not here? You’re going to have to take me with you.”

“Roxie, you had a horrible shock, and you need to stay here and rest.”

“What will you do if something does happen to me while you’re gone? How are you going to feel then, knowing you left me here? I only feel safe with you, so I’m going.”

“Why do you have to be so stubborn?”

She smiled, knowing she had won. “Just give me twenty minutes, and I’ll be ready to go.”

He went and sat on the edge of the bed, running his hand over his face.

In a way, she was right. She was his responsibility, and if something were to happen to her when he was gone, he would never be able to forgive himself.

When she came out of the shower, he watched as she went over to the closet and took out a dress, a pink bra and panties, and a pair of heels.

Then, when she dropped the towel and started putting on the panties and bra, he couldn’t take his eyes off of her.

He wasn’t sure if he was drooling or not, so he used his fingers to wipe his mouth, and then he caught her watching him. His face started to turn red, so he looked away.

“I’m sorry. Am I embarrassing you? I could change in the other room, if you would prefer.”

He looked at her, his eyes twinkling. “You little she-devil. You dressed in front of me on purpose,” he said, feeling how hard he was getting below.

She started giggling as she pulled the dress over her head. “Well, it’s not like you haven’t seen me naked already.”

She turned her back to him. “Will you do up the zipper on my dress, please? I can’t reach it.”

He moved closer to her. He placed his hand on the zipper and slowly pulled it up.

“We have time for breakfast before we go,” he said. He lowered his face to the side of her neck and placed his lips gently against her skin. “God, you smell so good.”

She lifted her arm up, placing her hand on the back of his head, tilting her head to the side when he started kissing along her neck. “We could skip breakfast.”

She heard the low growl coming from the back of his throat as his fingers pulled the zipper on her dress back down.

She felt the tips of his fingers under the strap of her dress as he slid it down past her shoulders, letting it fall to the floor, leaving her in just her bra and panties.

She could feel his warm minty breath on the back of her neck as he slowly unfastened her bra. He removed it and placed his hands over her breasts and gently began massaging them.

She let out a loud moan when his arm went over her breasts and his free hand went around her front and under her panties. She began panting as he cupped her pussy, which was now wet.

She let out a squeal when he picked her up and tossed her down onto the bed.

He watched her as he started removing his clothes. She looked so incredibly beautiful, lying there naked except for her panties, which he was going to be removing very shortly.

Grabbing her ankles, he pulled her closer to the edge of the bed and got on his knees. He removed her panties and spread her legs, placing his face over his favorite place.

Using his tongue, he pleasured her, making her squirm as she called out his name. Just when she was about to cum, he stopped, causing her to whimper in disappointment.

“Don’t be upset. I’ve got something much better for you,” he said as he entered her slowly. He moved up, putting his lips on hers, kissing her passionately.

He could feel her fingers scratching down his back, her legs rubbing against his. He loved how it felt as her warmth wrapped around his cock.

She felt like she was in heaven. The way he was moving inside her felt so good, and she never wanted it to stop.

The way he moved up and down inside her, alternating his thrusts from fast to slow and fast again, she couldn’t take it anymore and begged him to stop teasing her.

They both came hard and fast, panting like a couple of wild animals, sweat coating their bodies as they lay there trying to catch their breath.

“That was amazing,” he said, smiling at her as he lay on his side, his hand over her breast.

She smiled, nodding her head.

“We better take a quick shower and get going. I had planned on being at the office before now.

“But this was so worth being late for,” he said. He moved off her and helped her up, and they headed into the shower together.