Chapter 22

He was on the phone with Chad for close to an hour before hanging up.

Instead of going to the library, where he was supposed to meet Roxie, he headed to the family room, where he knew Thomas and Claudia would be.

On his way there, he saw Douglas and asked him to tell her to meet him there. He entered the room, and just as he thought, they were there, having their nightly cocktail.

She was wearing one of her low-cut tops that revealed a lot of cleavage.

Thomas looked up, greeting him with a smile. “I’m glad to see you joining us. Help yourself to a drink. And will Roxie be joining us?”

“She should be here any minute,” he answered, pouring himself a shot of scotch on the rocks. He turned back around to look at them. “I have something to tell all of you about Mr. Metcalf.”

“What about him?” Claudia asked, sounding worried.

Dexter turned to look at her and couldn’t help but wonder why Thomas hadn’t heard the worry in her voice. “I’ll wait until Roxie gets here. It’s something she needs to hear, as do the rest of you.”

When he saw her coming in, he smiled and asked her if she wanted something to drink. He poured her a glass of wine that she requested and handed it to her.

“Okay, she’s here. So what do you have to tell us about Joseph?” Claudia asked, finishing off her drink and getting up to get another one.

Sitting down next to Roxie, he turned his attention to Thomas. “It’s a good thing you didn’t sign any papers making him a partner until we had him investigated.”

“What gave you the right to investigate him? Surely you don’t suspect Joseph of trying to harm Roxie. He wouldn’t do that, since he was wanting to marry her,” Claudia snapped.

“Everyone is a suspect. Even you, Mrs. Greene. As I was saying, my friend from the FBI did a background check on him, and they’ve been watching him for months now. They found out quite a lot.

“It seems your boy has been getting in deep with the Mafia in Paris. They put one of their snitches to work for Joseph, and he has been reporting back to the FBI.

“Joseph was into drug smuggling, prostitution, and money laundering. You’re not the only one he was blackmailing. He’s done the same to others.

“He was angry when you wouldn’t go through with the marriage between him and Roxie. Once he had gotten into your business, his plan was to destroy you and all you’ve worked for.”

Thomas got up and went over to pour himself another drink. “I had no idea. I swear,” he said, looking back at Dexter. “Please. You have to believe me.”

“I do believe you. You were also being watched, and you’re clean. There was a big raid, and he was taken down along with the mob boss.

“But on the way to prison, some of the boss’s men tried to free them. Shots were fired, and Joseph was killed.”

They all turned their heads when Claudia gasped loudly. “I can’t believe he’s dead.”

Dexter looked at Roxie, and she seemed upset, which bothered him. He was wondering why she was so upset when she claimed she hated the man.

“Are you all right?” he asked, putting his arm over her shoulder.

“I’m fine. Excuse me. I need some fresh air,” she said and left the room and headed upstairs to her bedroom.

It wasn’t that she cared about the man in a romantic way. It was just sad that someone she knew had been killed.

She was sitting on the bed when Dexter came in, looking furious, and she watched as he started gathering up some of his clothes. “What are you doing?”

“I’m going back to my room,” he snapped, not looking at her.

She got off the bed and went over to him. “Why?”

“I saw how upset you got when I said Joseph was dead. You should have told me the truth about how you really felt about him, that you had feelings for him.

“I was made of a fool once, and I won’t go through that again.”

She pulled his clothes out of his hands and threw them down. “The only man I ever had feelings for, the only man I ever loved, is you.”

“Then why are you so upset about him being dead?”

“I’ve known Joseph for a long time now, so of course I would feel bad about him being dead. I would feel this way no matter who it was, even the person who is trying to kill me.

“That’s just who I am. A life lost, no matter what they’ve done, is sad. It’s you I love. You.”

He reached up and stroked her cheek. Looking into her eyes, he knew she was being honest.

“I’m so sorry. I never should have jumped to conclusions, and it’s not like me to do that. I think what happened to me in the past has caused me to distrust women. I’m so sorry. Can you forgive me?”

“I can, if you will trust me to never betray you.”

“I can do that,” he said, pulling her into his arms. He looked deep into her eyes. His love for her ran so deep.

“Are you going to kiss me or not?” she asked, looking back into his eyes.

“Oh, I’m going to do so much more than that,” he said, picking her up. He carried her over to the bed and laid her down.

He stood by the bed, looking down at her as he removed his belt and pulled down his zipper. “I’m so going to make this up to you.”

Two hours later, both panting like a couple of animals and sweating, he finally rolled off of her.

“Wow,” she said, turning her head to look at him. “You ought to get upset with me more often, if this is what you’re going to do to make it up to me.”

“If I keep this up, I’ll be an old man before you know it.”

“You’re an ex–Navy SEAL. You’re tough and can handle it. Sometimes at night you toss and turn like you’re having a bad dream. Do you want to talk about it?”

He stroked her hair when she laid her head on his chest.

“It was horrible, all the killing, the death. So many of my team were blown up right next to me.

“I know we did some good, saving people and stopping the bad guys, but still, I can’t get some of the images out of my head.

“The only thing that got me through it was thinking of going home to start a life with the woman I thought I was in love with.”

“You’ve never told me much about her.”

“It’s not important,” he replied.

“Dexter, tell me.”

“We dated for a while, and I thought she was the one. But I realize now I was wrong, because I found the one I was meant to be with.”

He climbed back on top of her, looking down at her. “I’ve got to warn you, I am the jealous type.”

She smiled up at him. “So am I. What’s mine is mine, and no other woman will be allowed to touch you, or she’ll have me to answer to.

“Just so you know, if you so much as look at another woman with lust or desire, you’ll find yourself missing one of your balls.”

He could feel himself getting hard again. Even the threat of losing one of his balls did not discourage him.

“Then I guess I better not look at anyone else but you, because I’m quite attached to my balls.”

Later, he was still awake while she slept in his arms.

Not being able to sleep, he slipped out of bed, pulled on his jeans, and walked out onto the balcony, staring out at nothing in particular, just thinking.

Out of the six suspects he’d had, he was now down to four, seeing as Ronald and Joseph were both dead. Four suspects remained: Claudia, Cathy, Sandy, and Carson.

He rubbed his hand over his face. It was driving him crazy, not being able to figure out who the culprit was. Or was he missing someone?

It couldn’t be any of the staff. He had Chad check them all out, and they all came out clean.

His gut was telling him that he was overlooking something, and he had a bad feeling that something was going to happen at the party next week.

He turned around and went back over to the bed. He sat on the edge, looking at the beautiful naked lady that was fast asleep under the covers.

There were times that he wished he hadn’t gotten emotionally and physically involved with her. Getting involved with the client could sometimes interfere with your job.

It was hard thinking clearly about what you should be when all you could think of were their lips, their soft skin, and how it felt holding them in your arms and making love to them.

All of his training in the Navy SEALs did not prepare him for what he was feeling now.

Roxie opened her eyes and saw him staring at her, and yet he wasn’t seeing her. “Dexter,” she said in a soft whisper and reached up to touch his cheek.

When he looked at her, this time really looking, she smiled at him. “You were so deep in thought. What were you thinking about?”

“Everything. You, the one who’s after you, but mostly how deeply in love with you I am.”

“Get back in bed and lie next to me,” she said, yawning before closing her eyes.

He got up and removed his pants and climbed back into bed, where she snuggled up to him. Kissing the top of her head, he closed his eyes and went to sleep.

The next few days were busy around the mansion, people coming and going. The place was being cleaned from top to bottom. The gardeners were busy mowing the lawn and trimming the trees.

Men were there setting up tents and making an area for the guests to dance.

With all these people around, Dexter was having a hard time keeping an eye on all of them, plus watching over Roxie.

The night before the party, they lay in bed talking.

“Claudia sure is going overboard arranging this party for you.”

She rested her head on his chest, her fingers moving over her chest.

“She’s not doing it for me. She’s doing it for herself. Claudia likes putting on airs, trying to prove to everyone that she has class, which she doesn’t.

“Sometimes I get the feeling that my father knows she sleeps around but is afraid she’ll leave him if he confronts her about it.”

“It’s possible he knows, but that’s between him and Claudia.”

She lifted her head to look at him. “Why do people bother to get married if they’re only going to cheat? I don’t think I could forgive someone for cheating on me.”

He grabbed a strand of her hair and began playing with it between his fingers.

“I want you to know that I’m not like that. When I’m with a woman, I’m always faithful. I’ll never betray you. I give you my word on that.”

“You say that now. But what happens later on?”

“If you remember me saying a while back, once this is over and you’re out of danger, then we’ll discuss our future together.

“But I want you to know I’m planning on one with you, and no matter what, I will always be faithful to you.”

She laid back down with a big old smile on her face. “Have you ever thought about having children someday?”

“I’ve not given it much thought lately, but yeah, I would like to be a father someday.”

“How many?”

“How many what?” he asked, knowing what she meant but just teasing her.

“You know what I mean.”

He chuckled. “It doesn’t matter to me, but more than one, for sure. I was an only child, and it was lonely growing up. I always wanted a sibling, someone to hang out with.”

He kissed her hand when he drew it up to his lips. “How many children do you want? Someday, that is.”

“I never really thought about it. I once asked Claudia why she never had a baby with my father.

“She told me having kids would ruin her figure, and no way in hell did she want a screaming baby in the house. Hell, she didn’t even want me around.”

He pushed her down onto her back and climbed on top of her.

“I say we stop talking and make love. We have a very long and busy day tomorrow, and since we won’t be able to sneak away for our own fun, I say we make up for it now.”

He needed her now, for tomorrow was going to be a stressful day for him, and he still had things to do before the party started.

“Then what are you waiting for?” she replied, pulling his head down to kiss him.

“For you to open your legs wider,” he answered, and grinned when he felt them spreading wider, ready for him to claim what now belonged to him and him alone.