SOAR (The Indigo Lounge Series Book 4) (23 page)

Willoughby
had dirty blond hair and had once been passably handsome in a way that Noah
supposed could turn heads when he was cleaned up. And not overweight from
eating too much shitty prison food. The arms restrained behind him showed cheap
prison tattoos. When he saw Leia’s name in red ink down the bastard’s neck,
Noah’s stomach roiled.

Paddy
had already introduced him to a few fist sandwiches, judging by the thick cut
on his upper lip.

An upper lip that curled in a sneer when he saw Leia.
“There’s my little baby
whore—”

Noah’s
foot, propelled into the Willoughby’s chest, stopped him from finishing the
sentence. He crashed into the wall. The back of his head gave a sickening
crutch when it connected with hard concrete. Taking a couple more steps, Noah
placed his booted foot on the guy’s throat and leaned over him. “Now, is that the
way to greet your stepdaughter?”

Willoughby’s
eyes bulged, and he tried to wriggle away.

Noah
picked him up and slammed him back down. “Let’s try again, shall we?”

Wheezing,
Willoughby spat out blood and stared at Leia. “Did you feed him the same lies you
fed the court?” He switched his gaze to Noah. “She wanted it.
Same as her mama, this one.
Cock-hungry little—”

Leia’s
boot caught him in the nuts.

Willoughby
squealed.

She
smiled. “I think I’ll let you get up so we can catch up properly.” She stood back.
When he just grunted, Paddy grabbed him by his arms and hauled him up. The
moment the PI let him go, Willoughby lunged at her.

Noah
moved to intercept, but Leia was faster.

She
crouched, spun on her heel and slammed her elbow in her stepfather’s face,
followed by a sharp jab in the ribs. Noah barely managed to stop himself from
applauding. When Willoughby crumpled into a heap, she bent down and spat in his
face. “This time when they lock you up, I hope they throw away the key.”

She
was trembling when she walked into Noah’s arms, but the remorseless fire in her
eyes made his heart sing.

She
would be okay.

And
if they were lucky,
they
would be okay.

He
turned to Paddy. “Make sure he hands over every copy of the pictures and
videos. Then find out everything he knows about Snyder, whether he sent those
dolls, and where we can find him. And do it before our detective friend gets
here, in case he decides to play hard to get later.”

Paddy
smiled and nodded.

Halfway
across the parking lot, they heard Willoughby squealing for mercy.

TWENTY-SEVEN

“I
have to fly out of town for business this weekend.”

Noah’s
heart leapt in his chest. How in the hell did his world stop just from those
simple words?

Hoping
his panic didn’t show, he tucked his hands behind his head and watched Leia
from the bed. She crossed from the bathroom to the closet in nothing but an ice
blue garter and matching thong. “When and for how long?” he asked.

“I
leave on Sunday night and get back on Wednesday morning.”

Today
was Friday. He’d planned a leisurely weekend for them, perhaps even a double
date with Damon and his wife, Birdie, since Gabe and Angela were fighting again
and had headed out of town to fuck knows where.

Now,
he was supposed to contemplate four days without Leia? No fucking way was that
going to
happen.
“Where are you going?” he asked
nonchalantly.

“Hong
Kong. Production hit a snafu. I need to make sure things get back on track ASAP.
The launch is creeping up fast. I can’t afford to sit back and let the stupid
bureaucracy sort itself out.”

Unable
to lie there and pretend he was okay with it, he got up from the bed and paced
to his closet. Pulling out a pair of shorts, he stepped into them.

“Is
there any reason you’re attacking your shorts like you want to rip them apart?”

He
whirled to face her. At the amused smile on her face, he exhaled. “Yes, dammit,
I can’t keep an eye on you from halfway across the world.”

She
dropped the silk shirt in her hand and slid her arms around his waist. “Noah,
my stepfather’s back in prison. We don’t need to keep our guards up so much
anymore—”

“Yeah,
but Snyder’s still out there. He wouldn’t have gone underground if he didn’t
suspect we knew he orchestrated that fucked up delivery to your place. Wishing
he’s gone quietly into the night will be fucking naive.” Worry made his voice
harsh.

She
leaned back and glared at him. “I get that, but don’t bite my head off for
wishing the danger was over, Noah.”

He
forced calm into his body. Waking up to her this morning, sexily tousled, warm
and so fucking ravishing, he’d let himself entertain that same wish. But
wishing was foolish when the reality was so much more unsettling.

During
the police investigation, before he’d been sent back to jail a week ago, it had
become clear very quickly that Willoughby had been a puppet controlled by
Snyder.

When
Stephen was sixteen, Warren Snyder had turned up out of the blue at the
Willoughby’s family ranch looking for work. Willoughby Senior had offered him a
job as a ranch hand.

Within
months, the Willoughby family had been destroyed. Stephen’s mother had walked
out and his father had hung himself. Snyder had taken Willoughby under his wing.
It was during that time that another underage girl had been sexually assaulted.
The cops had never managed to pin it on Willoughby. Snyder had stuck around
until the inheritance money ran out and then disappeared overnight.

He’d
only contacted Stephen again after Logan Michaels died. He hadn’t directly
introduced them, but he’d made sure Stephen was
well-positioned
to meet the newly widowed Mrs. Michaels.

The
psychopathic long game he’d
played,
was what made Noah
wary of Snyder.

With
him still out there, no way in hell was Noah letting Leia out of his sight.

“What
exactly is going on with production?” he asked.

She
relaxed back against him, her long nails lazily raking his back. “I’m not sure.
My last half a dozen emails and phone calls have gone unanswered. I know there
was some sort of labor strike last week but indications are that it’s over.
Besides, the strike had nothing to do with La
Carezza
or any overseas company as far as my people could tell. Which is what’s
puzzling about the whole thing.”

He
leaned down and brushed her lips with his. “I have contacts out there. Want me
to sniff things out, see what I can find?”

Her
tongue snuck out and brushed his. His body thrummed and he almost groaned when
she pulled away. “I’d rather go see for myself what’s going on.”

“Hmmm,
but you do know there’s no way I’m letting you go on your own, don’t you?”

A
mutinous look entered her eyes. “Noah…”

He
clenched a hand in her hair and pulled it tight. “It’s non-negotiable,
sweetheart. I come with or you’re not going.”

Her
mouth dropped open in surprise. “
You
? I thought you were going to sic me
with Paddy again.”

Noah
chuckled. “I wouldn’t do that to Paddy. He hates to fly.”

Her
answering laugh warmed his heart. “Small mercies, I guess.” She gave a long
moan when he massaged her scalp. “Can you really come with me?”

Bending
his head, he trailed his mouth down her throat
,
then
lower to graze the top of her breast. “It’ll be a good opportunity to test the
waters for new deals by day and indulge my insatiable sex slave by night.” He
caught her nipple into his mouth and suckled. Her whole body shuddered.

“I
think I can…work with that.” Her nails dug deeper as she tried to hold on.

Noah
smiled and flicked the hard nub. “Great, I’ll make the arrangements.”

***

About
sixty hours later, Leia rolled over in bed, sat up and was hit by another
skewed sense of déjà vu.

She
was back in Noah’s suite on the Indigo Lounge jet. He handed her a glass of
champagne, then sipped his whiskey while flicking through the list of onboard
and off-board activities on the screen.

When
he said he’d make the arrangements, she thought they’d fly to the Far East on
his private jet or even commercial. Another trip on the Indigo Lounge had been
an unexpected and thrilling surprise.

“Are
you scheduling in any sleep into this trip at all, or are we going to survive
on sex and booze?”

He
turned his magnificent body toward her. “We never finished our list of highs.
If we time it right, we can work the last three in there somewhere.” His grin
was wicked and borderline savage.

Leia
wondered which ailment she’d expire from first - overwhelming love or
wall-to-wall sex with Noah. She raised her glass and took another mouthful.
Either way, she supposed it was a good way to die.

A
bout of turbulence hit the plane, and he laid a hand on her thigh to steady
her.

Her
heart lurched with elation. Noah took care of her in big, possessive ways, but
it was the little, almost absent-minded, gestures of protectiveness that she
treasured most.

He
made a selection and clicked. She peered around his broad shoulder, but the
screen disappeared.

“What
was that?”

“If
you didn’t see it, then it’ll remain a surprise.
Wanna
order in?”

About
to nod, she tilted her head. “Have we actually had dinner out before? I mean
with other people in a restaurant, like normal—” She stopped when she
realized what she’d been about to say.

Dropping
the remote, he turned to fully face her. “The masked ball dinner in Prague
doesn’t count?”

She
grimaced. “I was too nervous about how you’d react to my past to enjoy it.”

He
shrugged. “Then we’ll dress up, go out and pretend like we’re normal.”

“You
mean we’re not?”

He
winked at her. “Baby, we’re fucking extraordinary. But we won’t tell anyone.”

She
dressed in a long, black leather-sleeved dress with a thigh high slit and
strappy silver
Louboutin
heels. Noah chose a silvery
grey shirt, which did incredible things to his blue eyes, dark pants and a
black jacket. Foregoing a tie, he left the two top buttons of his shirt undone.
His hair had grown an inch longer and gave him a rakish look that made her
heart stutter.

“Ready?”

Watching
his long sexy stride as he crossed to where she waited by the door, she
swallowed, unable to pry her eyes from his arresting body.

“Umm
hmm.”

Smiling,
he offered her his arm.

The
Indigo Lush restaurant was as normal as one could get on a flying sex palace.
Cozy privacy booths with white linen tablecloths and exquisite silverware made
her feel like she was on a proper dinner date with Noah. Until she sat down and
realized the booth held a compartment housing sex toys, and that the candle set
into the solid silver candelabra was giving off a scent that made her head swim
and her pussy clench with ravenous need.

“What
is
that candle?” she blurted, after five minutes spent talking herself
down from jumping Noah and humping him like a wild rabbit.

His
strained smile indicated he hadn’t escaped the effects of the aphrodisiac.
Picking up the candelabra, he brought it to his nose, sniffed, and set it back
with a deep chuckle.

“What?”
she demanded.

“I
detect a distinct whiff of a certain weed.”

Her
eyes widened. “Oh my God. Is that why…?”

“You
suddenly feel like my cock is the only meal you want to devour?” he rasped.

She
looked down at his crotch—his very full and tight crotch—and nodded
jerkily.

“I’m
sure there are other mood enhancing properties in there, but yes. You’ve never
tried weed before?”

“No.
I took half an E once, when I was sixteen. All it did was make me horribly
thirsty and not-in-a-good-way spaced out.”

A
loud crash sounded behind their booth.

A good-looking couple, clearly feeling the effects of their surroundings,
were
letting their inhibitions fly. The woman lay naked and spread eagled on the
table, her nipples clamped with tiny silver pegs, while her partner drove into
her with thick grunts.

Two
waiters approached, swept away the broken china on the floor,
then
discreetly withdrew.

A
sharp tap on her wrist snapped her round. Her face flamed at Noah’s narrow-eyed
look. Swallowing, Leia tried to block out what was happening behind her.

Noah
beckoned a waiter over, gave their food and wine order, and sat back, watching
her with hooded eyes.

“We’re
going to enjoy our meal like a
normal
couple, then I’m going to take you
back to our room and introduce you to your surprise.”