10. Robert
ROBERT
I’m in my office staring at paperwork I haven’t actually read in twenty minutes when I hear tires crunch outside.
At first, I ignore it.
People are constantly coming and going from the estate. It could be Cole, Bennett, Knox, or anyone on security detail. One thing I know for sure is that anyone that got past the front gates is permitted to be here, so I don’t think much of it.
But then Paul appears in the doorway, and his expression immediately puts me on alert.
“What?” I bark.
Instead of answering, he steps aside, and I suck in a breath.
Eleanor walks through the office door, and then more of the security team comes in behind her, carrying her matching suitcases.
My gaze locks on her, and emotion hits me square in the chest. My Ellie has come home.
I stand up from my desk and practically run to her. As soon as I reach her, I’m lifting her in my arms, swinging her around. She wraps her arms around me, and I hold her against me like I never want to let her go.
I let her feet touch the ground as I bury my face into her neck. “I love you, Ellie. Fuck, I’m so glad you’re home.”
Her hand slides up my belly and rests on my chest. “I want you to know that I already made the decision to come home before uh, everything. Luna and I had dinner, and we were going back to the apartment to pack when, well…”
Her voice drifts off, and that’s when I notice her trembling. I pull back to really look at her and see that she’s pale.
I grip her shoulders. “What happened?”
Before she can answer, Luna storms into the room, talking on the phone. “I’m walking in now. See you soon, love you, Cole.” She hangs up the phone and points at Eleanor. “She got flowers.”
Instantly, every muscle in my body goes rigid. “What?”
Paul reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small card. “There were roses on her kitchen counter. This was attached to them.”
He hands it to me, and I read the card once. Then again.
“When this is over, you’re going to be mine.” Signed with only a V.
Silence fills the room.
I stare down at the card, and rage simmers inside me.
“Paul.”
He steps toward me immediately. “Yes, sir.”
“Get every camera feed from that apartment building.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I want names of everyone that has been in that building today. I want someone to go to the florist and find out who bought the flowers and who delivered them. I want to know everything.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And find out where Victor Sterling is and put a detail on him. I want to know where he is every second of every day, and I’m going to handle him when he least expects it. He will never have my wife. Never.”
The room goes completely still. I’m pissed, and I can feel my heart racing and anger rising until I can barely stand here.
Eleanor leans into me. “Bobby.”
I look at her and can now place the emotion on her face. She’s afraid, and I think it’s the first time in thirty-five years that I’ve seen her look that way.
I take a deep breath. In the past, I would have raged. I would have sent her to our room, gotten a meeting together, and come up with a plan. Then I would have left, ready to take on whoever and whatever. But looking at her and knowing all I know now, I can’t just walk out.
I wrap my hand around Eleanor’s and look over at Paul. “Handle it.”
Surprise flashes across his face briefly, but he nods quickly.
I gesture to Luna. “Make sure Luna gets home safe.” I turn to my daughter-in-law. “If Cole is working tonight, you can stay here in his old room.”
Luna nods, and I release Eleanor just enough for her to hug Luna.
I then put an arm around Ellie’s waist. “Come upstairs with me.”
Her eyebrows lift slightly. “What?”
I grab her suitcase with one hand and pull her to the stairs with the other. “Come on, baby.”
She comes with me, and I lead her upstairs. This is a first for me, but right now, I don’t give a damn about Victor Sterling.
I care about my wife.
The second we step inside our bedroom, Eleanor stops.
I watch emotion move across her face as she looks around the room she hasn’t slept in for months.
Everything is exactly like she left it. I’ve told the cleaning lady to leave everything where it was and clean around it. I couldn’t make myself change a damn thing. Her makeup still sits on the bathroom counter, and her books still rest on the shelf beside the bed.
I set her suitcase down quietly.
“You kept everything the same,” she whispers.
I pull her to me. “I wanted everything the same when you came back.”
Her eyes immediately fill with tears, and fuck if that doesn’t wreck me.
I cup her face gently. “Hey. Don’t cry.”
“I’m sorry.” She laughs shakily. “I don’t know why I’m emotional.” She shakes her head. “Yeah, I do. It’s been a hell of a day.”
“I should’ve never let you stay there alone.”
Her forehead creases. “Bobby—”
“I mean it,” I say roughly. “You needed space, I understand that now. But not at the cost of your safety.”
She searches my face carefully. “You really mean that?”
“Yes.” I sigh and lean my forehead against hers. “I’ve spent so many years trying to protect you from this life that I forgot you were supposed to be living it beside me.”
Emotion flashes across her face again, then softly she whispers, “I missed you.”
Something inside me snaps.
I kiss her instantly. My hands slide into her hair, and I hold her to me like I’m afraid she’ll disappear again.
She melts against me, and relief crashes through my body so hard it nearly drops me to my knees. My wife has come home, and she’s going to be sleeping in our bed next to me. I won’t screw this up again now that she’s back where she belongs.
I walk her backward slowly until the backs of her legs hit the mattress. She looks up at me with flushed cheeks and swollen lips, and I swear to God I’ve never seen anything more beautiful in my life.
I kneel in front of her and slowly slip her heels off one at a time.
Her fingers slide through my hair. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I want to.”
I toss the shoes aside and slide my hands up her calves slowly. “You know what I kept thinking about while you were gone?”
“What?”
“This,” I murmur. “Taking care of you.”
Her breath catches.
I stand and unzip her dress slowly, pushing the material down her shoulders. My gaze drifts over every inch of her bare skin.
“I missed looking at you.”
She shivers under my hands.
I kiss her shoulder gently. “Victor Sterling sends you roses like he knows you.”
Anger flashes through me again, but I force it down.
“He doesn’t know a damn thing about you,” I murmur against her skin. “He doesn’t know you hate roses. He doesn’t know you sleep with one foot outside the blanket or that you steal the covers.”
A laugh escapes her.
I slide my hand beneath her chin and force her gaze to mine. “He’ll never know you like I do.”
Emotion shines in her eyes.
Then she reaches for my tie and slowly loosens it. “Come to bed, Bobby.”
And I swear to God there’s never been a command I’ve wanted to follow more.
No matter how much I try to take control, she doesn’t want to give it, and it’s then I realize she needs this. She needs to be the one in control. So after she helps me out my clothes and pushes me back onto the bed, I lie here and try not to come as her hands and mouth explore my body.
Each time I reach for her, she puts her hand in mine and holds it away from her.
I don’t argue with her because I know we have the next thirty-plus years for me to touch her, and if she needs to lead us right now, I’ll sit back and let her.
When her lips wrap around my engorged cock, my hips jerk.
She smiles around my shaft, and our eyes meet as she bobs up and down on me.
I groan, and my hands pull at the covers below me. She takes me deeper, and before I can stop myself, I’m pumping my hips, trying to go deeper.
She pops off me and finishes undressing as she climbs up my body, straddling me. She’s in full control and wraps her hand around my cock, positioning it at her core.
She slowly impales herself on me, adjusting to the pressure.
I wait for her to be ready, and when she is, she starts grinding against me.
She’s a woman on a mission. She doesn’t want slow. She wants it fast, and she wants to be in complete control.
Her hips go front to back, then side to side. She’s grinding her clit against me, riding me as her breasts sway with each movement. “Yes,” I groan, about to come.
She throws her head back, and I reach up, cupping her breasts in my hands, kneading her, stroking my thumbs over her erect nipples. She gasps and arches, and her thrusts take me deeper.
Her orgasm hits her fast and hard, and the way she clenches on to me takes me over the edge. I grunt and thrust up into her. We’re both panting, and she tries to get up, but I hold her to me, wanting to relish the feel of having her in my arms and in our bed again.
She playfully pats me on the cheek. “I’ll be right back.”
Reluctantly, I let her go. She gets up and walks into the bathroom and then comes back a few minutes later.
She comes straight to bed and lies down next to me, and we curl around each other.
“I love you,” I whisper into her hair.
She kisses my chest. “I love you too.”
It’s only a few minutes later that her breathing starts to even out, and she sighs softly, letting me know she’s asleep.
I’m not tired. There’s no way I can sleep right now.
Even hours later, with Eleanor curled against my chest, I’m just staring up at the ceiling.
My fingers trace slowly up and down her bare back while rage simmers in my gut. Victor Sterling threatened my wife. I reach for my phone on the nightstand without waking her. Then quietly, I make the call. “Paul.”
His voice is quiet and alert. “Yes, sir?”
I stare down at Eleanor sleeping in my arms. “Get me everything Victor Sterling owns in midtown.”
After a slight pause, he responds. “Yes, sir.”