Chapter 19

Finn

There were so many things I wanted to know about Elspeth, and so few places I could look to find that information. In my perfect world, she would just cast aside her past entirely and allow day one to begin the night I found her.

I wondered what Marty had learned. Just before he died, he seemed anxious to get back to the Traxton case, so I couldn’t imagine he had anything too revealing on her. Marty had tended to be very protective of me and would have chosen the greater threat—evidently, he didn’t see Elspeth as falling into that category.

I knew I couldn’t stay at the lake house forever, so although we were comfortable in our discovery of one another, I wanted to set up a routine that would help her relax and learn to trust me even more. Instinctively, I realized that her future depended on whom she trusted—in fact, it was possible she was running away and perhaps that was the greater threat to her. As much as I wanted to hide her away and keep her to myself, I recognized there could be danger in her past. Knowing what it was would be the only way I could protect her.

It was the coldest part of the year on Lake Michigan. While we ventured out from time to time, it was mostly to buy groceries or to pick up some incidental we needed. We visited the enclosed café regularly—it had become “our place.”

It was a Monday, and we were headed to the grocery. Elspeth had mentioned that she wanted to cook for me and had made a list.

“I’d love that,” I told her, anxious to allow her to return to her natural self. I hoped she might give me some clues as to who she was if I watched how she lived in an element of her own creation. We’d gone inside and she had grabbed a cart, so I knew this wouldn’t be two or three-item shopping. I asked no questions, but dutifully helped to bag and load her purchases into the car and we headed home. While our dinners were being delivered, she seemed anxious to make her mark on the other two meals.

“Go on in and get warm,” I told her. “I’ll bring in the groceries.”

She hesitated, seeming to want to help, and I wondered if normally she would have done the shopping alone.

I handed her a single, light bag and nodded toward the door. “Go on, now. I’ll get these and you can begin putting them where you like.”

This seemed to appease her sense of balance in what couples did and she went in, sliding off the black leather boots and shaking snow from the white, knitted cap that crowned that gorgeous head of waist-length hair. I wanted to get lost in that hair—to feel it slide over my stomach and let my dick be wrapped with it. I had to put these thoughts out of mind as they were having an instant effect on me—even in the frigid weather.

Having put away the groceries, Elspeth pushed at my chest with both her small hands. “Go away and do something else for now,” she ordered me. “I’m going to make lunch, and I don’t need a nosy man in the kitchen.”

I found this enchanting—another clue—or is it? Is she used to cooking for a man on a regular basis? It didn’t bear thinking about so I slapped her playfully on the ass and left the room.

I sat down at the desk in my study and flipped on the computer. Elspeth had been monopolizing my attention, and I wasn’t even keeping up with current events. While I would have loved to do nothing more than lie in her lap and suckle those beautiful breasts all day long, it was not only impractical, but not an element of our relationship. I would have to content myself with a more balanced existence until things changed.

I went through my email first. Leigh knew I wanted privacy so she wouldn’t be calling or texting unless it was an emergency. Instead, she forwarded necessary emails for me to review. Jerry was also under orders to blind copy me on all company emails, and Leigh was monitoring that as a backup. Leigh was loyal to me; Jerry was loyal to the rules. As long as the two didn’t conflict, he would be loyal to me, as well.

There was the normal back and forth communications between my office and various other companies I owned. I was well diversified—some banking, some retail, some manufacturing, and a good deal of mining of precious metals, gemstones, oil, and metals. I was also in the processing of developing an export arm that would give me a market for products around the planet. The Traxton possible acquisition was a major part of that plan and was what Marty had been involved with when he died.

Something was nagging me about all that. I thought back to that day in my office, when I’d returned from my trip to the UP and had discovered Elspeth. I remembered being very self-absorbed and hadn’t given Marty any attention, other than to issue him new orders to uncover what he could about her. He’d seemed disappointed, almost irritated, that I was dropping the priority of Traxton.

“Lunch is ready.” I looked up to see Elspeth standing in the doorway. “I knocked, but you didn’t respond, so I eased the door open to see if you were on the phone. I’m sorry if I should have left you alone.” Her voice was tentative and almost fearful. Another clue?

“No, it’s fine. I was deep in thought and didn’t hear you. Sorry.” I got up from the chair and followed her into the kitchen.

She had taken time to please me, and that effort pleased me more than I could have predicted. She’d laid out two place settings; red and white striped placemats with red cloth napkins held by white, bamboo napkin rings. She’d put together a centerpiece of red, white, and blue-tinted carnations held in a white earthen jar. I was surprised at her creativity and wondered where she’d gotten the materials. I didn’t remember owning any of this.

She must have read my mind because she pointed to the flowers and said, “You didn’t see me sneak those into the cart, did you?”

I shook my head. “Very nice, though. You seem to have a knack for decorating.”

Her head snapped as she stared at the table. “Actually, I do, don’t I?” I could hear the startled realization in her voice and knew she was pleased with her own efforts. “I thought you might like it and you’ve been so good to me. I don’t have any other way to pay you back.”

“You don’t have to worry about that.” I reached to lift her chin with my finger as I spoke. As I touched her, I felt the spark that moved between us. She leaned in toward me, standing on tiptoe to kiss me on the cheek. I couldn’t stand it. I pulled her entire body against mine and kissed her, long and hard on the mouth.

She pulled away. Not out of fear or distaste, but out of surprise, because she quickly came back to me and wrapped her arms around my neck. I felt the heat immediately as her skin touched mine. I had entered her world, a place that was perfumed with her scent and cushioned with the soft parts of her body. But this time, there was more. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but this time it felt right. As much as I’d enjoyed being with her before, on the trip back, this was different. There was a familiarity, an ownership—a full disclosure participation on her part. She was totally willing.

She must have felt it, too, because she finished the kiss with one last peck on my cheek before stepping back and pulling out a chair for me to sit.

“Lunch will get cold,” she said quickly, covering what I assumed was a tense moment for her, as it was for me. As far as I was concerned, I could have carried her off to the bedroom and to hell with lunch, but I knew she’d gone to some trouble and I didn’t want to rush her and scare her off. It was critical to me that she come to me of her own free will and not because she felt it was expected.

Smiling, she turned back to the kitchen and emerged again with two plates, one of which she set before me. I’m not sure what I expected, but it definitely wasn’t what lay on the plate before me.

Elspeth’s face was radiant and full of pride as she sat down and looked to me for a reaction. On my plate were two buns. Each held a boiled hotdog that had been sliced not quite all the way through, making them flexible bite sizes. They were thickly frosted with mustard and topped with what she must have intended to be decorative polka dots of red catsup. On one side of the hotdog lay a thick row of pickle relish, as though it was a hedge planted between the meat and the bun. Next to the hotdogs was a large dollop of boxed macaroni and cheese and a puddle of apple sauce. It took every ounce of my self-control not to laugh out loud.

“Wow! Look at that! You’ve outdone yourself, Elspeth… I don’t know when I’ve had a more creative lunch,” I choked out.

She beamed even more widely. If I’d been a four-year-old at a restaurant, the plate would have been perfect. However, I wasn’t. The result was that I would have to make the best of this and try to not hurt her feelings. Now this… this was definitely another clue. She was not a gourmet. That much was obvious. The food she had chosen was inexpensive, but filling—what some people would consider comfort food.

“Do you think I could get a glass of milk?” I asked.

She enthusiastically nodded and left for the kitchen.

I grabbed my phone and quickly snapped a picture of the meal; I thought I might take it up with the shrink at some point. One thing was obvious, I thought, as she returned with the milk. She had gone to lengths to make this nice for me and that thought warmed my heart. That also made me feel like a heel for the picture, so I pretended to check my email and deleted it from the phone.

I took a look at the plate and tried to decide which approach would be the least objectionable. I started on the applesauce.

“Do you like it?” she asked, her face filled with hope.

“Love it. Was always one of my favorites,” I assured her and stabbed a section of the hotdog, trying desperately to wipe some of the excess mustard off onto the bun before it made it as far as my mouth. She was watching me intently.

“Trying to watch how much bread I eat.” I pointed at the bun with my fork and nodded approval. The macaroni and cheese wasn’t completely cooked, and the noodles were crunchy. I nodded enthusiastically and went back to the hotdogs. When I figured I’d obscured the food groups enough, I put down my fork and exaggeratedly patted my stomach. “That was really good, sweetheart. Thank you!”

She nodded, and I noticed she’d eaten very little of her own. No wonder she stayed so tiny.

“By the way,” she mentioned casually, “I called the restaurant and canceled the order for tonight’s dinner to be delivered. I thought I might try my hand at that, too, just for tonight.”

My stomach didn’t like the idea, and I wondered if I’d created a nightmare for myself. “Oh.” I nodded and ambled off to the study.

I went back to my email and as I sorted through it, I could hear Elspeth cheerily whistling and cleaning up lunch dishes. I was completely out of my element. I thought I had all the bases covered and now this fresh-faced sweetheart had put me in a corner I couldn’t see my way out of.

My attention was grabbed then by an insider news site to which I subscribed. It seemed I had been out-maneuvered. Traxton had just been acquired by a company based in New York City—one that I knew had definite ties with a money-laundering operation. Its financial situation made it the perfect vehicle for such activities, and I cursed aloud. There was no way I could buy it now – its reputation was forever ruined. I was pissed. I’d been counting on that move in the chess game that was my business life.

Did Marty know about this? Of course, he had! Nothing got by him. It suddenly became obvious why he’d been perturbed when I’d interrupted his investigation to find out what he could about Elspeth.

I flipped off the computer and left the study, headed downstairs to shoot some baskets. I’d always used exercise to bring balance to my life, and right now I needed about six hours of it! I tried not to think about Marty as I punished the net with strong-armed heaves at the backboard. There was no finesse, no athletic jumps—it was pure, anger-motivated frustration.

I knew Traxton was behind Marty’s death. Something told me it was just too coincidental. I’d put him in that position; in fact, I might have pulled him away at a point when he’d been trying to save himself. It was just possible that I was responsible for Marty’s death.