Until death, p.14
Until Death, page 14
“I tried the bathroom,” Tia pouted then frowned. “I hope they didn’t go to bed without telling me.”
The group of men at the bar gave her a strange look, but she didn’t seem to notice.
Tia offered a polite smile and pointed to the kitchen. “I’ll check the kitchen for them,” she announced then turned and walked away.
Otto and his friends exchanged bewildered looks, considered the comment, and then shook their heads while holding back their snickers.
“No, that can’t be what she meant,” one of the men announced.
Despite that they laughed, none of the men seemed convinced it wasn’t exactly how it sounded. The men brushed it off and resumed their assassination of one another’s characters, finding it fun to berate their friends to their faces. Otto laughed with his business associates and finally waved his hands at their drunken antics since they no longer seemed to make sense.
“Okay, enough,” Otto announced. “This is my wedding night, and I have better things to do than argue business with a bunch of lushes.” He grinned almost deviously. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must find my bride and retire for the evening.” He waved them away. “Go home.”
They laughed, waved him off, and headed for the bar with the remaining crowd. Even though the bartenders had left at midnight, the bar remained open with one of his friends playing bartender. There was no telling how long some of his friends and business associates would hang around. Since most had limousines waiting for them, they could stay and drink as long as they liked. Otto left the ballroom and headed down the grand hallway in search of his bride, who wanted to show her friends some new antiques in the lounge that she’d found on their last trip abroad. Otto walked along the hallway and stopped to see Levi and Sloan outside the closed library door attempting to listen through the thick wood.
He eyed them suspiciously. “What are you two still doing up?”
Both waved their hands without looking back and shushed him. Neither was aware they were shushing their boss, and they didn’t seem to care either.
Otto appeared surprised then offended as he approached his staff listening by the door. “What are you doing?” he now demanded.
Despite now knowing it was their boss behind them, they remained glued to the door. It was obvious they knew he wouldn’t be upset by their behavior.
“Someone’s getting it on in the library,” Sloan whispered without taking her ear from the door.
“Oh?” he asked then smirked, joining in on the fun. “Are we taking bets on who it is?”
“It has to be Nole,” Levi insisted in a whisper. “He was flirting with a few of the caterers an hour ago in the kitchen, and no one’s seen him since.”
“Thirty bucks says it’s the redhead,” Otto announced while grinning.
“I’m going with the blonde,” Levi remarked.
“I think it’s Jimmy Love,” Sloan interjected.
Otto and Levi gave her surprised looks. She shrugged without explaining herself. Otto waved them away from the door. Several guests had been passing by and stopped with curious looks regarding the three standing outside the closed library door.
“So let’s find out,” Otto announced while grinning like a schoolboy and opened the door.
As Otto stood in the library doorway, his expression immediately dropped. Nole had Otto’s blushing bride bent forward over the library desk. Callie’s wedding dress was pulled up over her backside, and Nole’s pants were around his ankles as he grunted while banging against her from behind. When they heard the door creak, Nole jumped away from Callie and hastily pulled up his pants while Callie screamed and pulled her dress down. They were too late since everyone had already seen everything there was to see. Levi and Sloan stared past Otto with their mouths hanging open. Several guests stood behind them, strained to look into the room as well, and gasped at what they had witnessed.
§
Otto stormed through the grand hallway toward the kitchen with Callie attempting to chase after him as she fumbled with her bulky dress. Her white lacy panties hung from her left ankle. She hadn’t taken the time to pull them up after she was caught in a compromising position with Otto’s best friend. The stunned guests watched the bride chasing after her angry groom with her white panties flopping around her foot. Levi and Sloan followed at a safe distance then paused to see the underwear discarded on the floor.
“Otto, wait, let me explain!” she cried out in panic as she ran after him.
He suddenly stopped and turned to face her with an explosive look on his face. “Explain? Explain what?” he cried out in anger and rage. “You were fucking my best friend at our wedding reception! How can there possibly be anything to explain?”
She stared at him a moment and was unable to speak. Otto turned and stormed into the kitchen. The kitchen door struck Jimmy Love and tossed him into one of the caterers, who had been carrying the top of the wedding cake. The cake top splattered on Jimmy Love’s rhinestone-studded jacket and expensive, white satin shirt while the caterer fell backward onto the floor. Jimmy Love stared at the icing covering him and appeared almost paralyzed at the mess on his clothes. He then watched Otto storm across the kitchen. Several caterers who were still buzzing around leaped out of the angry groom’s path. Jimmy Love grimaced and shook cake from his jacket while muttering colorful curse words. Nole stormed through the door after Otto and cast Jimmy Love forward. He slipped in the mangled cake by his feet and fell on top of the caterer who had fallen to the floor. Jimmy Love screamed as shrill as the female caterer had.
“Otto, listen to me,” Nole called after him.
Otto ignored him, grabbed his car keys from the pegboard located alongside the back kitchen door, and stormed out of the house. Nole hurried after him. Levi and Sloan entered the kitchen and looked at the mess. Jimmy Love sat on the floor alongside the caterer and pouted. Levi grimaced and hurried Sloan past them.
§
Jenna played poker on the hood of one of the stretch limos alongside the garage with the four remaining limo drivers. They used one of the driver’s jackets placed on top of the hood to keep from scratching the expensive limousine. Jenna puffed on a cigar alongside the men and drank booze from the flask being passed around while they bet on their current hand. Once the last man in the game called, Jenna grinned and set down her winning hand containing all four aces. There was a loud round of groans followed by laughs from the four neatly dressed chauffeurs.
“I’m afraid this isn’t your lucky night, boys,” Jenna announced while chuckling through the cigar clenched in her teeth.
As she collected the change and bills from the pot on the limo hood, Otto stormed past them. All four men jumped with surprise and pretended to be doing something other than gambling. Jenna stared with surprise, immediately picking up on the groom’s emotional state. The drivers realized he wasn’t interested in their game or what they were doing to pass the time. Otto opened the first bay door on the eight-car garage to reveal the black Ferrari. Nole soon appeared and hurried past the limo drivers after Otto.
“Otto, listen to me--”
Nole caught up with Otto just short of the first garage door. Otto turned and punched Nole in the mouth, knocking him onto his backside in the driveway. All four chauffeurs gasped with surprise and watched the explosive scene with anticipation of a fight. Otto stormed into the first bay, started the Ferrari, and burned out in reverse. One of the chauffeurs pulled Nole from the driveway to avoid the speeding sports car as it backed out. The Ferrari whirled around, burned out on the pavement, and rocketed down the driveway past the mansion. Jenna, the four chauffeurs, and Nole watched him speed away.
“What the hell was that all about?” Jenna gasped and watched as the car disappeared out of sight.
Nole roughly pulled away from the chauffeur who had assisted him. He then straightened his jacket and hurried back for the house.
Chapter 26
WTF?
Eight o’clock Sunday morning. Raina slept peacefully beneath the covers on the bed while curled on her side. She woke to sunlight poking through the sliver of an opening in the curtains. She groaned and felt her head pounding. As she attempted to move, she felt some resistance. Raina looked down at her naked body and saw a man’s arm clinging to her abdomen. She then realized that the man’s naked body was pressing snug against her from behind. For a moment, she was paralyzed with fear and realization that she’d done something unthinkable, but she couldn’t even remember where she last was and whose company she’d kept. As her head pounded in rhythm with her heart, Raina again looked at the man’s arm and recognized the expensive watch on his wrist.
“Oh, my God,” she cried out as she pulled away and sat up in the bed.
She immediately regretted the action while clutching her pounding head as she held the sheets to her naked body. Dane jumped with alarm and looked around his bedroom in the staff wing.
“What? What happened?” he gasped then clutched his head as well and groaned with pain as he fell back onto the bed, revealing his naked body to where the covers just reached his hips.
There was a brief moment where neither moved and held their pounding heads. Dane slowly lowered his hand and looked at the disheveled woman sitting in the bed alongside him where he lay. His expression dropped, and he groaned, again covering his eyes with his hand.
“Ah, hell--”
Raina looked around the spinning room with disorientation while holding her aching head. Once the room stopped spinning, she looked back at Dane and his partially naked body. Although she took in a sweeping gaze of his excessively toned body with the perfect amount of chest hair, she couldn’t bear looking at him knowing what they’d done. He peeked out between his fingers, eyed her, again groaned, and looked away.
“Oh, God,” he gasped now unable to look at her.
“Tell me nothing happened,” she gasped while clutching the sheets to her naked body.
Despite not remembering anything from last night, she knew waking up with no clothes alongside a naked man almost certainly meant something happened.
“I am so sorry, Raina,” he timidly announced.
“I’m drawing a blank after the foot massage,” she informed him while having a difficult time looking at him even though his eyes were covered. “Maybe nothing happened.”
She couldn’t believe she actually suggested waking up naked together was possibly all a misunderstanding. When she briefly looked at him, she could see the thin sheet clinging to his naked body. Obviously, something had happened!
Dane kept his eyes covered and shook his head with shame. “Oh, I am so sorry.”
“You remember?” she gasped and cast a quick glance at him, although she still couldn’t look at him.
Dane groaned in response with his hand over his face, which told her more than she needed to know.
“I don’t want to know the details,” she groaned in response then looked around the room for her clothes as her anxiety increased. “I have to get out of here before someone finds me here.”
Despite that he didn’t get up, Dane removed his hand from beneath the covers. Raina looked back at him. His head was turned away while extending her black panties toward her. She snatched her panties from him with some hostility and slipped them on while remaining under the covers. She scanned the room for her clothes and saw her dress on the floor not far from the bed. She tugged on the covers to keep them over her while reaching to the floor for her dress. Raina didn’t even care that she couldn’t find her bra. She slipped into her dress while managing to keep herself covered then sprang from the bed to pull it the rest of the way down. As she frantically attempted to zip the back, Dane grimaced and peeked at her.
“I’m really sorry, Raina.”
She glared at him while struggling with her zipper. “Stop saying that,” she launched as her cheeks reddened. “It’s freaking me out!”
Dane was about to get up when he pulled back the covers and hesitated as if suddenly remembering he was naked. Despite her embarrassment, Raina had to sneak another peek at him. His body was more athletic and muscular than she had ever imagined. His suit hid it well. She also noticed several glaring scars along his upper torso, shoulders, and arms. He certainly had more scars than the average man, particularly someone considered refined. Dane pulled the sheet back up to his waist and scanned the room for his briefs, which was Raina’s cue to dash into the bathroom.
§
Nine o’clock Sunday morning. Sloan and Jenna sat the island counter in the kitchen while Levi and Dane stood on the opposite end near the main counter. They were seemingly engrossed in gossip hour. It was almost shocking how quiet the mansion was considering the circus just ten hours earlier. Raina appeared on the back stairs and paused at the bottom, unnoticed by the staff and Jenna whispering at the island counter. Raina remained out of sight by the back stairs and allowed her eyes to fall upon Dane. She still couldn’t remember much beyond the foot massage in the library. She recalled some slow dancing, but it was all pretty hazy.
As she studied him, her heart skipped a beat. Although she hated admitting it, she’d had intimate thoughts about Dane from the first day they’d met even in spite of their attempts to berate each other. A small part of her wondered what she missed. Did she enjoy it? Was he passionate? Maybe she was lucky she didn’t remember any of it. She certainly wasn’t going to ask him for the details. Her thoughts strayed as she studied the handsome butler. Her curiosity was killing her, but her disappointment in herself trumped that curiosity. She approached the island counter from the back stairs and avoided looking at Dane.
“You’re kidding,” Jenna gasped and couldn’t tear her eyes away from Levi.
Raina stared at the others as if she’d walked in on something monumental. For a brief moment, she was concerned it had to do with her irresponsible night with Dane.
“What’s happening?” Raina asked as her heart pounded with concern.
Jenna looked at Raina with a shocked expression. “I can’t believe what I’m hearing.”
Raina felt panic sweep through her and glanced at Dane, who appeared unusually tense. He hadn’t told anyone about their drunken fling, had he? Dane caught her look and fidgeted.
“Your father walked in on Callie and Nole,” Dane gently informed her.
“Walked in on them?” Raina asked with confusion. “What do you mean?”
“Doing the nasty right there in the library,” Levi informed her with less tact than Dane had used.
Raina’s eyes widened with shock and near horror as she stared at Levi then looked at Dane and Sloan, who obviously knew something about what had happened.
“Levi and I were standing right next to your father when he caught them in the act,” Sloan informed her. Her eyes widened as she shook her head. “I’m still in shock over it. I can’t imagine what your poor father felt when he saw that. Not to mention there were about ten other guests who’d seen it as well. Naturally, your father stormed out.”
“I was hanging out at the garage around midnight last night,” Jenna informed her friend. “I saw your father punch Nole then take off in the Ferrari. I didn’t know what had actually happened until just now.”
“We didn’t want to say anything in front of the caterers,” Sloan remarked and shook her head. “We felt terrible for Mr. Steele.”
“I’d better check on my father,” Raina gasped as clear thinking returned.
“He hasn’t come back yet,” Levi announced. “The Ferrari is still gone.”
Raina stared at the others with alarm. “Someone should look for him, don’t you think?”
“When we saw he wasn’t back this morning, we sent Titus out to look for him,” Sloan informed her while appearing sympathetic. “I’m sure he’s okay.” She then glared at Dane. “When all hell breaks loose, that would be the one time you decide to sleep in.”
Dane eyed her with surprise and fidgeted. “I wasn’t the only one drinking last night,” he snapped at her while attempting to hide his embarrassment.
Raina tensed not wanting the others to drag Dane’s drunken evening into the current situation. She impatiently eyed Levi and Sloan.
“Has anyone seen Miller this morning?” Raina asked with concern.
“He’s probably still sleeping off his drunken stupor,” Sloan replied then shook her head. “I certainly didn’t want to disturb him with this.”
“I feel so bad for my father,” Raina remarked while sinking into a mild depression.
“I’ll never forget that image as long as I live,” Levi announced as he stared at nothing and his eyes widened. “I mean, they were doing it right there on the library desk. All I saw was her wedding dress and his bare bottom thumping like a jackrabbit.”
“Levi!” Dane scolded and gave him a stunned look at the vulgar comment.
“It’s not his fault, Dane,” Sloan interrupted. “It’s burned in my mind too. Poor Mr. Steele. We should get Callie out of the house before he returns. He’s liable to kill her. I know I would if I were him.”
“Is her sister still here?” Dane asked while attempting to regain his composure.
“Yeah, they’re sleeping it off in the crimson room,” Sloan replied. “I don’t know if she heard what happened. I think she and Keefe turned in early last night.”
“Okay, Sloan,” Dane announced taking command of the situation. “I want you to check on Callie. If she’s sleeping, wake her. I don’t care how you do it, but you have to convince her to leave with her sister. I’ll talk to Mr. Steele when he returns and gauge his state of mind. We’ll make sure he’s completely calm before we let him see her.” He turned his attention to the cook. “Levi, go to the sister’s room and explain the situation. Make sure Elana takes Callie away from here until we’re sure there won’t be a problem.”
“I should wake Miller,” Raina announced then hurried for the back stairs.
