Then & Now (23 page)

“He was always childish.”  Mytrice stated as she came out of the master bedroom, looking perfect as always.

“Though childish, you’re house was set on fire. You shouldn’t wait to see what else has happen—”

“Wait.”  Mytrice stopped Jace with a wave of her hand.  “And why should I care what you have to say?”

Appalled at her sister’s behavior, Thea jumped in.  “Jace is the CEO of Eagleridge Security.  And you
should
care about what he says because he is probably the only one qualified enough—”

“Eagleridge Security?
  Well, why didn’t you say something sooner?”  Mytrice beamed with a sugary sweet smile.  “Come in.  I’ll get you some coffee. Why didn’t you tell me you were such good friends with the CEO of Eagleridge, Alethea?”

“I…I…”

“Stop stuttering and get your friend some coffee.”  Her sister ordered as she directed Jace into the living room.

“Can’t you make coffee?”  Jace asked Mytrice with a raised brow.

Her sister gave a flirty giggle.  “Of course I can.  It’s just that you and I need to talk.”

Jace sent Thea a refuted look while Mytrice moved some of her bags out of the way.

“It’s okay.”  Thea smiled.  “This is important.  The sooner you can help her, the sooner I get my house back.”

“Why can’t she live with your parents?”  He asked with a disapproving glance in her sister’s direction.

Gasping in horror, Mytrice covered her throat in a melodramatic response to his question.  “Live with my parents?  Do you have any idea what that would do to my career?  It will be bad enough to live with my brainy sister.”

Mytrice’s modeling career was pretty set.  She had already been in several magazines and a music video. Now it seems to be the at most importance that no one finds out that she was living in the guest house of her parents property, because apparently if someone found out then her career would be over.

So in retrospect Mytrice was going to make this hell for everyone.

“Haven’t you considered how this will affect your sister?”  His voice was deep and controlled while his dark eyes seemed to take on a challenging glare.

Mytrice gave Thea a quick look.  Utterly confused she turned back to Jace.  “How can this possibly affect her?  This has nothing to do with her.”

“Wrong.” Jace’s intimidating tone boomed through her home almost shaking her walls, and startling her and her sister.  “You have come into her home demanding her space without care.  The audacity you have to
come in here, when your parents have plenty of room, worried solely about your so-called career, when an obviously delusional person wants to harm you. They set your home on fire.  Who knows what else their capable of?” 

Completely shocked, Thea blinked several times as she tried to take in everything he said.  No one had ever stood up for her before. 
She was always the quiet one, the one who just went along with whatever to keep things easier.  Even when there were times that she would have loved to have freaked out like her sister, she never did.  She kept her cool and handled things with grace. 

Man, she hated that about herself. 
Though she justified it with the fact that homes function better with only one pain in the ass.

But, now with him bearing down on her sister who was suddenly speechless, she couldn’t help the feeling that rapidly consumed her.  It was as if he took all her emotions that she had ever felt in the last twenty-six years and screamed them for her.

“I am not staying with my parents’.”  Mytrice demanded as she folded her arms in front of her like some kind of four year old brat throwing a tantrum.

“If you want Eagleridge Security, then you will do as I say.”  He ordered, knowing that she wouldn’t back down from the name.  “I will place you with a bodyguard.”  He stated simply.

Jace’s deep voice made her once comfortable home seem suddenly tiny.  She had never thought her house small before, and yet with him inside it had seemed to shrink almost instantly.  His intimidating size took up her entire entry way, as his presence took up all her awareness.  Man, he was beautiful.

Her sister’s eyes widened with excitement.
“So is my guard going to be huge?  I want a big guy, like the one Britney Spears used to have.”

“Aren’t you exaggerating this a little?”  Thea asked quietly. “You really think her ex will try to do something else?”

He shook his head. “I’m not putting anything past him.  Trust me.  I have seen this enough to know.”

She swallowed hard feeling disoriented.  Her sister might be trying at times, but she was her sister.  The thought of someone trying to harm her
only sister made her insides quiver.  Especially when that someone once declared their undying love.

“I don’t mean to scare you.”  He said softly as he took her chin between his thumb and forefinger.  Tilting her face up to meet his, he whispered. “I deal with this on a daily biases, and it won’t go away. But don’t worry I will keep it from getting worse.”

“Hel-lo!  What about me?”  Mytrice waved. “This guy is after me. So can we please get back to the guards?”

Jace turned to face Mytrice head on. “Has it ever occurred to you that you are not the only person involved here?”

“Well, I know you haven’t.”  She scoffed eyeing Thea.

It was a
peculiarly wonderful feeling to have someone put her first.  It was even stranger that her sister was the one put in second.

“I will have my security team here within the hour.”

“Within the hour?” Thea asked, glancing at the clock on the wall.

“That’s not okay with you?”  He asked tucking a lose strand of her hair behind her ear.

“Of course, is okay.” Her sister beamed waving Thea off. 

Shaking her head Alethea tried to pull out of her sister’s ego-made web. “
Yeah, I guess so.” Her school work would have to wait.  Mytrice wasn’t going to shut up about this whole thing until it was taken care of.

Eyeing her carefully Jace nodded. “Until then, Mytrice I want you to move in with your parents.  It will give my man more room to work.”  Before she had a chance to complain he added quickly.  “You staying with your parents will cause major press.  I don’t know if that’s something you want to deal with, but that’s—”

“Really?”  Mytrice asked excitedly.  “You think this will great good press?”

“Well, yes.  At least it did with
Christina Lima, it did.  Our men couldn’t keep them away.”

“
Christina Lima? Victoria's Secrets top fashion model?”  Her eyes grew wide with excitement.  “I’ve got to pack and get everything to the main house. Wait!  Before I do that I’ve got to talk to mom and make sure I get my room remodeled. I can’t stay in a room with pink hearts and ponies all over the walls.”  Her sister rambled as she took off for the main house.

Once she was gone Jace turned to her with a wicked smile.

“What you told her wasn’t true was it?  You said it to get her out of my house.”  Thea realized instantly.

He shrugged.
“Maybe.”

“I guess I was that perceptible?”

“A little.”  He chuckled.

“Well, thank you.” She smiled back, feeling a tiny quiver in the pit of her stomach.

Pulling her into his arms, Jace whispered provocatively over her lips. “I couldn’t keep my mind off of you all night.”

“Really?”
  She asked trying to get air into her lungs.

He made one curt nod before he covered her mouth with his making the
room suddenly disappear.  Much like the dinner had the night before.  The feel of his arms wrapping themselves around her caused the tamed vixen in her to spring free.  She didn’t want the wild game he was playing with her mouth to end.  Squeezing him tighter to her, Thea greedily rubbed her tongue against his and was rewarded with a deep male growl.

“Now that’s more like it.”  Leya’s approving voice slithered between them causing them both to back away from each other.

“Oh, don’t stop because of me.” Leya teased while eyeing Jace.  “Well, I never thought you had it in you, Thea.  But I’m glad.  You needed a good lay.”

Utterly mortified, Thea quickly corrected her friend.  “This isn’t what you think.  Jace didn’t spend the night.  He’s here on business.”

“Hey, call it what you will.  I’m the last person to judge you on this.” She giggled.

“No, really.”
  Thea tried again, unable to look at Jace.

Laughing wholeheartedly, Leya waved her hand between them.  “Calm down.  I heard about your sister.  It was just nice to see that you’re taking full advantage of the situation.”

Feeling the deep blush cover most of her face, Thea turned away from her much too forward friend.  Jace’s unfathomable chuckle had her head snapping up to meet his gaze.  She shot him a questionable look.

He gave a playful shrug and then leaned in to whisper.  “I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t hoping for such affection.”  Kissing her cheek he stepped back.  “If you will excuse me ladies I have some things I need to take care of.”

The shock and slight amusement of his earlier statement had her smiling like a fool as she watched him disappear out her front door.

“I saw that.”  Leya tsked mischievously.  “Please tell me he’s good at guarding your body.”  Wigging her eyebrows wickedly, she giggled naughtily.

“Oh, stop it.”  Thea scorned unable to hold her own laugh in return.

“So, tell me what’s going on with your sister and this whole burning down house thing.  You know how I love a good Mytrice Drama.”  Leya said sarcastically, as she made her way into the kitchen.  Leya stood on the same ground as Thea did when it came to her sister and the overdramatic.

Thea quickly filled her in on the fire.  “Now, Jace wants to send one of his guards here until this guy is caught.”

“I see.”  Leya said slowly. “So….Jace believes that this can turn into a stocker thing?”

“He said that things like this can get out of hand fast and he doesn’t want to take any chances.  He also advised that my parents and brothers take caution as well.”  She informed, still feeling off about the whole situation. 

“How did your dad take all of this?”  Leya asked as she helped herself to some coffee.

“He freaked.” Thea rolled her eyes.

Leya laughed at that. “Mytrice is a Drama Queen, and extremely obsessive about her
career
or should I say lack of.  I heard she hasn’t had a decent job offer in months.  Maybe she thought that this would better her chances.  You know, make her look more desirable.”

“What do you mean?” 

Shaking her head Leya answered honestly. “I don’t know.  A part of me doesn’t think she would go that far.  But, another part of me thinks that something is way off with this whole thing.”

“You think she started the fire in her own home?”  Thea asked a little shocked at the accusations.

Leya shook her head. “No. But I wouldn’t put it past Mytrice.”

Although Thea would have loved to stand up for her sister, she knew Leya was speaking the truth.  Unfortunately, the more she thought about it the more it made sense.

The night of her brother’s engagement party came without a hitch.  Though, unlike most family parties Mytrice was not the center of the attention.  Of course everyone wanted details on her new guard and the drama surrounding the man who had set fire to the eldest Eneas sister’s home.  But the real talk of the night was Jace.  He was obviously the ladies favorite eye candy and the men’s hero.  Even her brothers stood in awe at his side.

“Kamber?  Your father is Greek?”  Her father asked, visibly pleased.                           

“Yes, sir.
  My grandfather came here from Greece.”  His voice was sexy-smooth as the rest of him, which caused several sighs from the women surrounding him, including her mother.

Her father
spoke a few words in Greek and Jace replied back without missing a beat.  Just like that he had the approval of her father as well as the rest of her family.  Several members of her family turned and gave her approving smiles and nods.

“Well, it seems that your man is definitely catching the attention of the family.”  Mytrice scoffed.

“Easy, Mytrice.” Leya warned as she came up next to Thea. “People might think you’re jealous.”

“Please,” Mytrice laughed while she tossed her perfect hair over her shoulder.  “I’m relieved to have the attention drawn away from me.  It gets old after a while.”

Thea heard Leya’s soft murmur of ridicule.  Thankful that her sister hadn’t heard the same mockery, she stepped more in the middle of them. Regrettably, she knew her sister and her best friend would love to strangle each other given the opportunity.  All she could do was hope to sustain mediator.  

“I really should enjoy the peace tonight.”  Mytrice continued with an exaggerated sigh.  “It will only be a matter of time before everyone will be drawn back to me.”

“Well, now I’m suddenly
c
laustrophobic
.
”
 
Leya announcedas she stepped around Thea.
 
“Mytrice’s ego is taking up to much room.”