Chapter 22
Landon
Rainwater Bay is built on community and legacy, but those traits have become anchors, shackles instead of the inspiration they should be.
Renovating the Reeves estate will put an end to the stagnation.
Rainwater Bay needs a thriving, diversified economy to become everything it is destined to be.
That’s the best way to give Zoe the freedom she needs to be true to herself.
If the town can take care of itself, her anchor will be gone as well.
Maybe whatever is on the other side of the medieval door is the answer. Collin and Archer are in their truck behind me. After we talk to Lucky, I’ll ask them what they know about the secret stairs.
A maroon sedan is parked outside the house. As I climb from my vehicle, Lucky swings open her door. “Mr. Prince.” She waves. “Good to see you again.” Her head drops toward her shoulder, and she looks past me. “You brought friends?”
“It is their family’s estate.”
She claps her hands. “That makes this easier.”
We join her by the front steps. “You said this was urgent.”
“Doesn’t make sense for you to continue working when the plans have changed.” She wiggles her fingers toward the house.
I shake my head. “We’re not stopping construction. Mayor Winslow can’t prevent me from completing the renovation.”
She taps the tip of her nose. “Right you are. We’re expanding.”
“Excuse me?” Collin asks. “Care to clarify?”
“You overruled the cabins along the cliff.” She flutters her fingers toward the overlook. “That was smart because using the land behind the house is a much better idea.”
“We already moved the cabins.”
She wags her finger. “My cousin took her kids to Disney World a few years ago. Did you know there is an entire community of mansions adjacent to the theme parks? Dozens and dozens of them. Who wouldn’t want to live so close to that much excitement?”
Archer pinches the bridge of his nose. “Lucky, spit it out.”
“Mansions.” She throws her arms wide. “An entire subdivision of mansions built off the same blueprints as the original estate. It’s perfect. Exactly what Rainwater Bay needs.”
“No.” I cross my arms. Hell, no is more like it, but this is a fight she can’t win. My project, my money, my vision. Neighbors are not part of that vision.
She tsks. “I worried you’d say that, but unfortunately that’s not your decision, Mr. Prince.”
“I’m not building mansions.”
“I am. I own that land.” She flutters her hand over her head. “Or I will once my parents deed it to me. What I’m after is a partnership. I’ll let your friends have first crack at buying the coveted homes in exchange for you sharing your resort’s amenities. Everyone will love it.”
Archer steps forward. “Where did you get the capital for a project like that?”
“Capital?” She parrots the word like she doesn’t know what it means.
“How do you intend to pay for construction?” Collin asks.
“I won’t. The buyers will.” Mirth fills her voice.
“That’s not how communities like that work.”
“We’ll see.” She takes a business card out of her pocket. “Collin, call me, and we’ll work on the details.”
He steps back and tucks his hands in his pockets. “Find a different contractor.”
Her eyes narrow. “If you don’t work for me, I’ll make it impossible for you to get work in town.”
“Lucky, this isn’t the right project for Rainwater Bay.” Archer nods toward town. “This doesn’t solve our problems.”
“This is what the council wants, so you make it happen.” She stamps her foot.
“I’m on the council, and I call bullshit.” Archer flings his hand in the air.
“Lucky, you don’t have a deal.” I take her by the arm and guide her toward her car. “Get off my property before I personally remove you.”
“You’re making a big mistake,” she whines as she gets into her car.
“When it comes to business, I’ve never made mistakes.” I slam her door in her face.
“Can you believe her?” Collin shakes his head as her taillights disappear into the night.
Archer rubs the back of his neck. “She’s always cared more about what’s best for herself than for anyone else.”
“Will she really cause trouble?” I ask.
Collin and Archer share a look. “She can try, but we’ve got more pull than she realizes. Nothing will come of her mansion scheme.”
“Something I should know about?”
“You know everything that’s important. Let us handle Lucky.” Collin climbs into his truck.
It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask about the stairs, but I don’t. Picturing Zoe’s face knowing I shared my find with the brothers before her keeps me silent.
As they drive away, I’m not reassured that they can handle Lucky.
I need a plan to block Lucky’s scheme, but any plan I make requires Zoe’s input. This is her town. She needs to be in charge.
Landon
I know I promised dinner, but will you meet me at the estate?
Zoe
What happened with Lucky?
Landon
She wants to build a community of mansions. We told her no.
Zoe
I’m sure that made her happy.
Landon
Emphatically.
Can you leave your dad? I want to show you something.
Zoe
It will take me about an hour.
Landon
I’ll be here.
Zoe
I didn’t say it before and I’m sorry to do this over text, but…
I love you too.
Landon
The overlook outside of the estate where I first met Zoe is one of my favorite places. A smile tugs at my mouth as I remember the day we met. I knew then that her passion was magnetic. I didn’t realize it would reorganize my being like a compass pulled to its true north.
Gravel crunches over my shoulder, and I spy Zoe’s new baby-blue Jeep. The calming color doesn’t match the concern on her face.
I jog to her and cup her cheek. “What’s wrong? Is your dad okay?”
“You didn’t respond to my last text.” She sticks out her bottom lip in a little pout.
I smile. “Comet, I love you so much.” I press my lips to hers and pin her against the side of her car.
Today has gotten away from us. Life got in the way, but the moment right now is about us.
I slide my hands into her hair, along the edge of her jaw, trail light fingers over her sensitive nipples through her dress. She loved that last night.
She sighs against my mouth and bucks her hips with the teasing motion.
“More of that?” I scrape my teeth against her earlobe.
“All of it.”
I lift her from her feet, and she wraps her legs around my hips. Even through her dress and my pants, heat radiates from her core.
“I love you.” I rock my cock into her and she moans, tugging me tighter and tighter.
“I want you. Now.”
What better setting than this to show her how much I love her?
The wind tumbles through her hair, kissing her skin. The sky settles to a golden glow as the sun touches the horizon.
I reach under her skirt and slide her panties to the side, thumbing her clit as I plunge my finger between her folds.
She clenches around me on a gasp and throws her head back. I tease and fondle her, fucking her with my hand until her legs tremble. I hold her tighter, pinned between me and the car.
Her breathing accelerates, and I ravage her mouth. This is all about her pleasure. It doesn’t matter that she tastes like stale hospital coffee. She loves me.
She abandons restraint and urges me harder, faster, deeper. I oblige because nothing is hotter than Zoe as she rushes toward her climax.
Her body shakes, and her screams echo off the estate’s rock walls when her orgasm crests.
She goes limp in my arms. A satisfied smile on her lips. “Wow.”
“Love you, Comet.”
“I feel that.” She runs her hand over my erection. “My turn.”
I catch her wrist and pin her hand to my chest. “I promised you dinner.”
“We’re not done here.”
“I don’t have a condom.”
“But–”
I shut her up with a hungry kiss. “We have all night and the extra-large box of condoms back at your house, but we’re losing the light, and I need to show you something here first.”
She runs her fingers over my abs. “The adventure?”
I nod, forcing myself not to give into her teasing and plunge into her without protection.
I step back and hold my hand out. “Let me show you what I found.”
Her lips purse, but she slips her palm against mine, and I interlace our fingers, leading her through the entryway past a former office and dining room into the library where we spent the night.
“Is this to remind me that I tried to make you forget about that night?”
“No, smarty pants. I found something.” I gesture to the closet next to the built-in bookcases and the fireplace.
“The closet?”
“Not just any closet.” I open the door. Click open the lever and reveal the false wall. It swings into the cobweb-laden staircase. “Tada.”
“Where does it lead?”
I turn on the flashlight on my phone and hold my hand out again. “Shall we?”
“Have you been down there?”
“To the bottom.” I point to the toolbox by the fireplace. “We need tools to get farther.”
A smile tugs at the corner of her mouth. She spins me and shoves me toward the first step. “If there are spiders, I’m not going first.”
“I’ll protect you.” I grab a broken chair leg to clear the cobwebs, and we begin our descent.
Stale air breezes past us with a hint of ocean salt on the back end. Zoe’s grip tightens as we plunge deeper into the earth. The clock on my phone says we’ve been walking for about five minutes when we reach the door bolted into the rock wall blocking our path.
Zoe brushes her finger over the rusty, medieval-looking latch. She squeezes the handle, but nothing happens. “It won’t budge.”
I lift the toolbox. “I came prepared.”
Thankfully, it doesn’t appear to need a key. I don’t know what’s waiting on the other side of this door, but I’m not ready to share it with anyone but Zoe. I was right not to ask Archer and Collin.
This is our adventure. Her mom studied this house. If anyone should discover its secrets, it’s Zoe.
And I’m glad it helps her ignore the stress of small-town busy bodies who don’t appreciate her worth. They don’t get a vote when it comes to who Zoe is and what she’s worth.
She’s priceless.
If they don’t see that, they can go to hell.
She holds the light on the latch, and I chisel away the rust. With several hard whacks of the hammer, the latch spins free. It takes all our strength to budge the door open enough for Zoe to fit through.
“Do you see anything?” I ask.
“It’s a cave. Come on.” She sits on the ground and uses her legs to shove the door open the rest of the way, allowing me to follow her.
I kiss her forehead. “You’re brilliant.”
“We opened a door. Not much of an accomplishment.”
“You’re still brilliant. I never would have been able to open the door without your strength.”
She pokes my biceps. “Those muscles aren’t always helpful in tight spaces?”
I cup the back of her head and bring her ear to my lips. “You like me in your tight spaces.”
“Eww. Gross. No innuendo, please.”
“But you blush so beautifully.”
She shakes her head and grabs my hand. “Let’s see what we find.”
The narrow cave angles down, and the scent of the ocean intensifies. Rushing waves echo off the walls in the distance. “What is this place?” Awe fills her voice.
We follow the path toward the waves. Around a corner, visible in a trickle of light from another cave across the way, our path opens into a massive cavern the size of the ballroom upstairs.
An old wooden dinghy rots amongst half a dozen broken crates.
Zoe presses her hand to her chest. “Oh, my word. It’s here.”