Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
JASMINE
“Do you have to do that in here?” I sigh, looking up from the sofa to see Sean working on his laptop.
“What exactly am I doing, Princess?” he smirks, not looking away from the screen.
“You know exactly what you’re doing. It sounds like you are hitting each key with a hammer.” My head’s pounding, and all I want to do is sleep, but the sound of the keys on his keyboard makes it impossible.
“I thought you didn’t have a hangover?” he teases. The bastard knows exactly how hungover I am. I might have felt fine when I got home, but when I woke up this morning, my mouth felt like a sand pit, and a brass band had decided to take up residency in my head. Not that I would ever admit it, as I often tease them when they are hungover and don’t want the tables turned. I also don’t want them to go into Daddy mode and stop me from going out in the future.
“I don’t, but I’m so tired it's giving me a headache,” I lie. I close my eyes and pull the blanket up to my neck as I snuggle underneath it, desperate to be warm and cosy. I don’t open my eyes as I listen to Sean chuckle to himself as he stands and heads over to me.
“Go to bed, Princess. You had a busy day yesterday, and we were up until the early hours of the morning.” He runs a hand over my head lovingly, and I sink further into the sofa, wishing he would stay and just play with my hair while I sleep. However, he’s already told me how much he needs to do today, so I could never stop him from doing that. No matter how much I want to. So, instead, I shake my head.
“I want to be here when Daddy gets home.” Christian won’t risk waking me if I’m in bed.
“Okay, I’ll work from the office. If you need me, send me a text.” He leans in to kiss my head and starts to walk away.
“My head thanks you, Daddy.” I grin as he looks over his shoulder, laughing, and leaves the room. Finally, I have the sitting room all to myself, bar Embry curled up beside me.
The second the room falls silent, I regret making him leave. I don’t like it here when I’m alone; I prefer to have one of the guys with me whenever I’m home. For some reason, the house feels bigger when I’m alone.
Curling under the blanket, I keep my eyes closed and listen to the sounds of the house outside this room. As usual, there is silence. All I can hear is Embry snoring lightly on the floor in his bed. Sean will have gone to find somewhere else to work, Jason and Maximus have gone to one of their bars to sort out a few things with admin, and Christian won't be home yet.
I missed him when I woke up with the others this morning. I hate it when he has to work away, and I wish he had been here last night when I returned. As amazing as the sex was with the others, I always know when one of them is missing, and lately, it always seems to be Christian.
I know he is the one who deals with most of the shit that gets thrown at them, but just for once, I wish someone else would deal with it so I could have all four guys with me for more than a day at a time. Not that I would ever tell them that. I would never expect them to put me over their work; I know how much they have to put in to ensure that they don’t need to work much this week before the wedding or the week after when we are on our honeymoon. I asked them once why they didn’t have assistance, and Christian told me he won’t pay someone and do most of the work himself. In other words, he is a control freak and doesn’t trust someone to do everything to his standard. Maybe it’s something I could bring up while on our honeymoon?
The thought of the wedding being so close causes my heart to race and my stomach to come alive excitedly. I can't believe I’m about to get my happily ever after, the thing my mother told me I wasn’t worthy of over and over again. She made me feel like no one would ever love me, but here I am about to marry not one but four remarkable men who make me feel like the luckiest woman in the world. The love they show me is unlike anything I thought possible. There is nothing they wouldn’t do for me, and I would do absolutely anything for them.
Embry starts to whine beside me, and I look to find him staring at the closed door. He whines and lies back down, his paws under his face as he continues to watch it.
“Who’s out there, baby?” I ask, looking at the door, trying to hear who it is. Embry must hear him seconds before me as he jumps to his feet and rushes for the door, just as I hear his voice on the other side.
Embry barks and yelps the second it opens, desperate for Christian’s attention.
“Daddy!” Christian looks at me as I rush from the sofa and leap into his arms. He laughs, holding me tight while I wrap my arms and legs around him.
“Anyone would think you missed me, Sweetheart,” he grins before I kiss him. I hold his face to mine before leaning back in his arms.
“That’s because I have.”
Christian smiles as he walks over to the sofa and sits with me on his lap, the puppy still jumping up and down, trying to get his attention. I reach down and pick him up, holding him up for Christian to stroke him. As much as he says he dislikes the dog, I have yet to see any confirmation on the subject. As I lower the pup to the floor, Christian leans his head back against the sofa as he unfastens the top button of his shirt.
“Hard night?” I ask, leaning forward to rest my cheek on his shoulder. He tightens his arms around me and sighs.
“Yeah, but it's dealt with now.” He doesn’t go into detail, and as much as I want to know what he was dealing with, I know it's best to keep quiet until he tells me. Especially when he is looking this exhausted. Christian buries his nose into my hair and takes a deep breath. “How was your day yesterday?”
I sit up, smiling.
“It was amazing, just what we all needed. Verity did a great job organising it all.”
“You have a good friend there,” he smiles. Reaching over, he tucks some hair behind my ear.
“She's the best, just like my fiancés.” I may be teasing him, but I mean every word.
“Did you enjoy yourself after when your Daddies looked after you?”
“We had fun, but I missed you.” Leaning forward, I press my lips to Christian’s, wanting him after missing him. For a moment, he kisses me before leaning back. I run my hands up his chest seductively.
“Sweetheart?” There’s a question in his voice, which makes me smile at him. I lean in to press kisses to his neck, but he takes my hands and moves so I can't reach him. “Not now, Sweetheart. I’m not in the mood.”
Those words hit me in the gut. Christian has never turned me down before. He must see the shock and pain on my face as his eyes change.
“I mean-” Christian gets cut off when there is a knock at the door. I instantly climb off his lap and go to sit next to him, but when he stands, the pain from his rejection hurts deeper. “Come in,” he calls, straightening his shirt. I watch him take a deep breath and want to be anywhere but here.
Alasdair McIntire walks into the room, and I see Christian looking concerned about his presence.
“I made it back as soon as you emailed. What's going on?” Christian asks as he walks further away from me and towards the bar to grab a water bottle.
“I need to discuss something with you that came to light this morning,” McIntire says, looking from Christian to me. “Morning Jasmine, I hope you had a pleasant day yesterday.”
“I did thank you,” I reply, forcing a smile. I look at Christian and find him watching me. “I’ll leave you to it.” I turn to leave, But Christian grabs my hand to stop me.
“We will head to my office, stay here and rest. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Placing a kiss on my head, he walks out, followed by McIntire, and I feel the rejection sink into my gut. I want to run to my room and cry, but instead, I sit on the sofa, curl up under my blanket and try to ignore the dread that fills my stomach with rocks.
* * *
Christian
Shit, I fucked up. I wasn’t able to explain that I was waiting for McIntire. Because I’m exhausted, I didn’t word it well, and now I’ve hurt her. I try to think of any time I’ve turned her down, but I don’t think I ever have. Not in the way I did today. I make a mental note to make it up to her as soon as I find out why McIntire is here.
We walk to my office in silence, and I let him go in first before closing the door. Walking into the room, I round my desk and sit in my chair as he sits in front of me. It's not the first time he has been here. Ever since Geralt Young's murder, McIntire has been working closely with the family, and as I know them well, I have been assisting when needed.
I have spent many years avoiding all dealings with the man before me. He is dangerous, and upsetting him would be a mistake, as I have seen proven on many occasions. But he is also fair, and if you show him respect, then you will receive his respect in return.
“What's going on?” I ask, sitting back in my chair and trying to seem as relaxed as possible.
“I’ve heard that there are still people trying to take you down, and I thought you should know that they have contacted Nicholson and asked for his input.”
“Fuck,” I curse, sitting forward. That is the last thing I expected to hear. “What do you know?” McIntire runs his fingers through his short grey hair and sighs.
“He’s been approached and asked if he would consider rising against you. They didn’t give him details other than you are overstepping your mark.”
When I think things can't get any worse, the hits just keep on coming.
“How do you know this?”
“He called me this morning wanting to know if I was working with you and if I thought you were a threat to him. I told him the truth, that we have a mutual interest in the Youngs, which has been brought around by the morons he hired.”
“The bastard is the reason Geralt was killed,” I point out, but McIntire shakes his head.
“That whole operation was put together by his brother, who has been missing since. No one has seen hide nor hair of him. When I approached the topic, he told me that he had not sanctioned the retrieval of the drugs and had dealt with the person who had.”
“He could be lying, knowing you would have no choice but to go after him if he admitted it,” I point out, and McIntire shrugs.
“We both know that, and all I can do is take his word for the time being until I have proof saying otherwise. Why do you think I haven’t dealt with him since it occurred.” It makes sense that McIntire should have killed whoever was responsible for Young’s death, as Young was under his protection, but without any hard proof, it’s been difficult to pinpoint who set the wheels in motion with the raid or the murder of Young and kidnapping of Chelsea Hughes.
“So, what do you suggest I do?” I ask, leaning on my desk. McIntire leans back in his chair again and sighs.
“I don’t think there is much else you can do for the time being,” he answers. “Have you upped security?” I nod in confirmation. “Good, keep it in place and ensure the others are aware of the latest developments so they know to keep an eye out for any danger. Nicholson has no interest in getting involved at the moment, and that could go in your favour, as they may see that it's best to leave you be.”
I slump back in my chair and let out a deep sigh.
“The wedding is in less than a week; we are already walking on eggshells, waiting for the bomb to drop after everything that happened at the stag party. I’ve had to hire extra security as our numbers aren’t enough to ensure Jasmine always has at least two guards with her. I nearly had a heart attack last night worrying about her at that bloody hen party. I wanted to get her to cancel it, but she refused, and she was right when she said she deserved it.” I rub at my face, feeling defeated once again.
“Don’t cancel the wedding; you all deserve this marriage and some happiness. I will do my best to deal with things on the outside whilst you are all dealing with the wedding stuff.”
“You don’t have to do that,” I sigh, but McIntire shakes his head.
“I have become quite fond of young Jasmine, and I think she has dealt with enough. I also dread to think how Abigail would react if I let anything happen to her.”
I smile, knowing how close Abbie and Jasmine are.
“I keep telling the others that we need to watch those young women as they will spill our blood if anything else were to happen to their friend.” I try to joke about it, but the fear of anything happening to Jasmine terrifies me and haunts me every minute of the day. He pinches the bridge of his nose and lets out a sigh. “Abigail Young hates me enough and is determined to make my life hell. If I let anything happen to her friend, I might as well dig my own grave.” He looks lost in thought for a moment before snapping out of it.
“Well, I’ve come here to do as I wanted. I will leave you in peace if you have just gotten home.” McIntire stands from his chair, and I stand and walk around to the other side of the desk.
“Thank you for giving me the heads up; I appreciate it,” I say, holding out my hand. McIntire shakes it and gives me half a smile.
“I don’t think you have anything to worry about, but it’s better to be ready for anything now.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” I answer, walking towards the door to see him out.
“Whilst I’m here, I wondered if you knew how Abigail was yesterday at the spa?”
I turn, frowning as we walk from the office.
“I haven’t heard anything, but I haven’t had a chance to speak to Jasmine properly about her day. Would you like me to ask? Or would you like to speak to her yourself?” I offer. McIntire seems to think about it for a moment, then nods.
“I’d like to speak to her if that’s okay?”
“Of course, follow me.” I lead him back to the sitting room, hopping that Jasmine is still there waiting as instructed.
When we enter the room, I find her sitting on the sofa, hugging the puppy. She looks sad, and it hits me that I’m the reason she has lost her smile again.
“Sweetheart, McIntire was asking how Abbie was yesterday,” I say, standing beside the sofa she is sitting on and running a hand over her head.
“She was happy considering everything.”
“Was she drinking much at the spa?” McIntire asks. I don’t miss the concern in his voice, plus it's evident in the way he is frowning.
“Umm, yeah, but she wasn’t the only one.” Jasmine squirms in her seat, and I can see she’s uncomfortable being asked about her friend. “Well, you saw how she was by the end of the evening” she adds quickly as if to prove that her friend did nothing wrong.
Looking back at McIntire, I can see he is deep in thought, as if something isn’t sitting right with him.
“Thank you, Jasmine. I hope you had a lovely day. From what I hear, the girls had plenty of surprises planned for you,” he smiles. Jasmine seems to relax and nods, smiling back at him.
“They were amazing and went above and beyond what I ever expected.”
McIntire looks between the two of us and nods, still smiling.
“That’s wonderful to hear. I will leave you in peace now and see myself out. Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and if you need anything before the big day, don’t hesitate to call.” He nods at me once before walking out of the room, closing the door behind him, and giving me only a brief second to thank him for his kind words.
As soon as the door is closed, Jasmine stands and places the puppy on the floor.
“I’m going to let him out,” she says quietly as she goes to walk past me. I take her hand and force her to turn around so she is looking at me.
“I am so sorry, Sweetheart. I didn’t mean to upset you before. I am tired and have been awake all night dealing with some pretty nasty stuff. I wasn’t turning you down; I just wanted to hold you and relax for a moment before McIntire was due to arrive.” Before I can continue, Jasmine's whole face changes, and I see nothing but concern in her eyes. She steps forward and places a hand over my heart as she looks deep into my eyes.
“You don’t need to apologise. I was just so happy to have you home. I didn’t think about what you needed at that moment,” she whispers, lifting on her tiptoes and lightly kissing my lips. “Why don’t I let Embry out? Then I will run you a bath while you have something to eat. Afterwards, we can relax together in bed or down here. Whatever you want.”
Running my knuckles down her cheek, I can’t help but smile.
“That sounds perfect, Sweetheart, but there is one thing I want to add to that.”
“What’s that, Daddy?”
“That you join me in the bath, and we relax together before I take you to bed and show you just how much I missed you.”