'I was gon for a minute, now I'm back with the jumpoff'
Lol, but no seriously... I had a lot of stuff going on and I needed a break. Now that I'm done with unclogging my brain, here are these late updates. This and the other two stories will stay on the site and be finished up(don't worry, we're not even halfway through... on any of them... *sigh*) but I'll be releasing new/longer stories in ebook format per request of a number of wonderful readers. Look for the first in time for Valentine's Day.
I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday Season no matter what you celebrate or if you celebrate at all.
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I spent the whole day lazing around in the guest house's master suite. Eventually I made it to the bathroom where I soaked in the over-sized claw foot tub, only my eyes and nose above the water. There were jets in the side but I didn't turn them on, just floated in the stillness. Occasionally I'd swish my arms under the surface to hear the rushing of the water.
The door opened slowly and I watched Phillip come in balancing a tray. "You've got to eat...."
I popped my head up, feeling the water run down my neck and as I raised higher, down my breasts. He stared at me, frozen in the moment, tray in hand. I don't know why, but I smiled at him. It was probably the fact that I'd never been appreciated like that. No one stopped what they were doing just to watch water drip off of me.
"What did you cook me Phillip?" I put my chin on the edge of the tub, pretending in my head that I was a coquette temptress.
He snapped out of it as if it never happened and walked towards me. "Scrambled eggs, slightly runny, buttered toast, and earl grey with Saigon cinnamon. Your mother said it was your favorite breakfast."
I winced at the mention of my mother. There was no getting over the fact that I was lying to her. As if he could read my thoughts, Phillip interrupted them with a clicking tongue.
"It's best not to dwell, now where do I put this tray?"
I motioned to a stool in the corner of the wall. "What?" He pulled it from the corner and sighed, setting down the tray. "How does that even make sense? What is it even for? Rich people... my god...."
"I'm not rich." I corrected him as I relaxed back against the tub again.
He motioned around the expansive bathroom and then more vigorously to the stool. "Really?"
"I mean it. It's all in trusts. My cousins, yeah, they're Van Barts --well technically- but I'm not. I mean Victor left money for Granny Glo, don't get me wrong, but it's not Van Bart money. There are trusts to keep up the house, trusts to pay taxes, trusts for living expenses, but I'm not an heiress or a socialite. I work."
"In a museum, cataloging things." He teased and held out a forkful of egg for me.
I rolled my eyes but ate. "And? It's still a job." I readjusted to eat as he fed me toast. "I've been a good girl, tell me something."
"What do you want to know?" He smirked, wiping my lips gently with a napkin between bites.
"What's your real name?"
"You haven't earned that yet. Ask something else." He continued to feed me, even when I narrowed my eyes at him.
"Fine...." I thought as I ate another bite. "Where are you from?"
"California."
"Parents too?"
"All the way back to the internment camps."
I wrinkled my nose and stopped his hand from picking up more toast so I could hold it to me. "I'm sorry that happened to you."
"I didn't see your ass driving a truck, or holding a clipboard to sign in my family in any of the pictures, so why are you apologizing?" He raised an eyebrow at me.
"Because it still sucks." I licked a smear of butter and a few crumbs off his thumb before sucking the tip, eyes locked with his.
His expression softened and he sighed. "Cut it out, your food's getting cold."
I pulled his hand to press against my cheek and spoke around his thumb. "Feels warm to me."
"Stop it." He pulled his hand from me and covered my mouth before I could answer. "A whole day and night, isn't that what you asked me for? You can play hot and cold but we've set the rules between us as honesty first, correct?"
I was tempted to bite his hand for being such an ass about it but I just nodded.
"Then I'm keeping my word." He uncovered my mouth and handed me my mug. "Drink your tea."
"Did I offend you or something?" I sunk down beneath the water, hiding my breasts once more and drinking deeply.
He sighed. "No."
"Just no?" I watched him over the rim of the mug.
"Vinisha.... What do you want from me baby? You wanted a break; I'm giving you a break. I don't know whether I want to climb into that water and hold you or snatch you out, bend you over the sink and devour those holes until your legs give. I may be a killer and an asshole, but let me be the good guy for today... since we're on a break."
I stared at him before slowly handing him the empty mug. "OK."
"Just OK?" He placed the empty mug on the mostly finished plate.
"I'll do my best."
He looked surprised by that response; the truth was that I was too. Phillip made everything foggy and I never seemed to know where I stood with him. I gave him a small smile before sinking back into the water until I returned to just my nose above the surface. He sighed and came back, leaning over to place a gentle kiss on my forehead. I flushed and looked up to watch him leave and shut the door.
I soaked until the water turned cold and shivered as I pulled myself up and out of the draining tub. The towel warmer was another thing I missed about the house. The heated fabric dried my body and comforted me.
Wandering back into the bedroom, I could see that he'd left. I was tempted to follow him back to the main house but I wasn't ready to face another Mama and Phillip bonding session. I put on some boots and jeans and looked for a hoodie. He didn't buy me one but I unzipped his bag and dug through khakis and button downs until I found a plain back one at the very bottom.
It must have swallowed him because it fit me well but I guessed that was inevitable with his long frame. I pulled up the sleeves and pulled down the hood before heading out the bedroom and through the hallway. There was a backdoor just past the bedroom that led to a small wooden porch. A hammock tied to two of its beams swung ever so slightly in the breeze of twilight.
I walked down the two stairs, listening to the sounds of my footsteps on the wood before they became the gentle crush of grass. The land of my family stretched out before me. Not too far off was a path between the trees that went to the lake and boathouse.
The path was covered with crunching gravel. Whoever my mother was using to maintain the grounds really took pride in their job. There wasn't a blade of grass growing between rocks. It was the same gravel that decorated the shore.
As I walked closer, I could see the overturned paddle boats, kayaks, and canoes, waiting in silence for the next wave of grandkids and great grandkids of Odette to float across the waters bought for her by Victor.
I shoved my hands into pockets of his hoodie and walked across the shore to the pier, walking down to the dock and boathouse. My mother was never one for boating but my great uncle loved it and made us all do the same. I came up to the door of the boathouse. It was painted a stark white to the soft seafoam green of the rest of the structure, only the window frames matched it. There was a small keypad beside the knob and I put in Odette and Victor's wedding date and listened to the door unlock.
There was a small kitchenette, freezer and fridge inside. It was perfect for cleaning and storing fish after some time on the water. There was also a nice leather bench beside the boat. I stretched out on it and looked up at the ceiling and the hanging lights. The soft sounds of the water lapping in the hull softened the silence of the room.
I let my mind wander as I laid there. I was getting married in two weeks to an amazing man whose real name I still didn't know but my mother was overjoyed. The Russian mafia could have found out already that I was involved. I mean, it was suspicious enough. They had to be coming here if he was that big of a priority. I'd endangered my mother and any member of my family who came for this sham wedding.
Groaning, I covered my eyes and sighed. I heard the faint beeping of the keypad and wondered why my mother was showing him the boathouse already. Instead I only heard his long whistle. "Not rich... right...."
I rolled my eyes and sighed. "Mama gave you the code?"
"Nope, I just pay attention." I could hear him coming closer to me.
"You tracked me?" I pulled one hand from my face to look at him.
"From the second you left the bathroom." He stood over me.
