Secret: A Stone Billionaire Series Novel (The Stone Billionaire Series Book 5) Read online

  Leigha smiles back, and there’s a familiar sensation in the pit of my stomach that sets my nerve endings on fire.

  I know what it is: jealousy, and I don’t have to spell out why.

  Residual feelings for Leigha have cropped up once again, but I know it’s more prudent to push them down.

  “Evan,” Leigha jogs me out of my thoughts.

  “What?” I ask.

  “Levi,” she says.

  I turn my head and then I notice Levi standing a few feet away.

  I take a deep breath, and down the rest of my whiskey.

  I motion for Levi to join us.

  Levi joins us at the bar and takes a seat on the other side of Leigha.

  “Whiskey,” he tells the bartender.

  Then he turns to Leigha.

  “Can I get you another?” Levi asks politely.

  “Sure,” Leigha nods.

  “Another for the lady, please,” Levi says to the bartender.

  He drops some money on the bar and tells the bartender to keep the change.

  The man behind the bar seems really happy, and I know he’s probably over-tipped him on purpose.

  Levi says something in Portuguese and hands the bartender another bill.

  The bartender leaves with a smile on his face.

  “I asked him to give us some privacy,” Levi explains.

  “So, we could talk about next steps,” he adds.

  All business.

  “Go ahead,” Leigha tells him.

  “I was hoping one of you had an idea,” Levi laughs.

  “Merc what do you think?” he asks.

  “Well, where could your mother possibly have run off to?” Merc asks.

  Levi thinks about this for a moment.

  “I can’t imagine they’ve gone far,” he says.

  “She did take off on a boat, but they could’ve gone to an airstrip anywhere. I wouldn’t rule anything out,” I reason.

  “There’s a compound in Cape Town, it might be best to start there,” Levi offers.

  “Why do you say that?” Merc asks.

  “Because it’s probably the most secure compound I’ve seen so far. My mother invited me once, and they have more security there than anywhere I’ve seen so far. If we’ve spoiled her plans, I’m assuming they’re going to need to regroup. That would be the best place to do it,” Levi says.

  “We should leave Noah out of this. He doesn’t need any trouble with the baby coming. It might be best for them to go somewhere other than London,” he adds.

  “I can’t say I disagree,” I admit.

  Levi finishes his drink and reaches over the bar for the bottle to pour himself another glass.

  “I’ll take some more,” I say.

  Levi passes me the bottle, and I pour myself a good amount before I replace it where it was on the bar.

  “So, South Africa,” Merc says.

  “It’s the best place to start; they tend to hide out there. What I can’t figure out is why they came here with the twins? If their Cape Town compound is so protected, why wouldn’t they go there?” Merc asks.

  “Maybe they had other business here?” I offer.

  “Other business,” Levi says, and slowly repeats the words a few more times.

  “I’ll think on it. I need a rest,” he says.

  He quaffs the rest of the whiskey and disappears back into the hotel.

  “I’m out too,” says Merc, when the bartender returns.

  Leigha sips her martini quietly for a moment.

  “So, we’ll go to South Africa, then,” she tells me.

  “Do you really want to follow me?” I ask.

  “Please, if you think you’re going without me you’ve got another think coming,” she says with a little flourish of her hand.

  “We’ve come this far, Evan. Elizabeth is still out there, I’m not giving up just yet. Not on her, and definitely not on you,” Leigha tells me.

  I appreciate that.

  If she hasn’t given up on me yet, she’s not going to give up on me anytime soon.

  There’s some music playing in the background, a slow beat and the bar is beginning to fill up with other guests.

  I get up.

  “Come here,” I tell Leigha.

  “What?” she asks.

  “Let’s dance,” I say.

  Leigha shakes her head, but she drains the martini anyway and takes my outstretched hand.

  I twirl her around and away from the bar.

  She elegantly takes my hand, her other arm on my shoulder as I lead her to the slow beat of the music.

  “Do you remember prom?” she asks.

  “Do I?” I laugh.

  “Merc and Tara fought the whole night, I had to physically keep them away from each other to prevent her from slapping the shit out of him,” I add.

  “I forgot about that!” Leigha laughs.

  There’s something else I remember: slow dancing with Leigha, her arm on my shoulder as she rested her head against my chest.

  She does that now, and a tingle runs down my spine.

  Neither of us says anything, but the tension is palpable when she looks up at me, her grey eyes tinged blue in the light.

  There’s an overwhelming urge to kiss her, and my lips hover for a moment before I decide better of it.

  Instead, I spin her away from me and back into my arms.

  Only our lips are closer now, my hand on the small of her back.

  Leigha’s lips part slightly, and I lean in a little more.

  Is she going to stop me?

  17

  Leigha

  March 6, 2018

  He can’t do this.

  Evan can’t kiss me!

  I don’t know how to react, but I can’t pull myself away from that familiar magnetism I feel when I’m wrapped in his arms like this.

  Then, as Evan leans in a little more, I feel my foot suddenly touch nothing, and then I fall backward, right into the cool water of the pool.

  Evan falls with me, and I close my eyes as I sink under the water.

  When I resurface, Evan is laughing.

  “You’re still as klutzy as I remember!” he laughs.

  “You’re telling me,” I reply.

  I hold my breath, plug my nose, and sink back down under the water for a moment to collect myself.

  When I resurface the look on Evan’s face is something else.

  He’s focused on me.

  Suddenly, I’m thrown back in time.

  Evan splashes me one more time before he swims the distance between us and pulls me into his arms.

  “Evan,” I laugh.

  I wrap my arms around him anyway.

  “We shouldn’t be here,” I remind him.

  The pool on campus is completely empty because we’ve managed to get in after hours.

  Evan and I are alone.

  I sigh, content to be in his arms.

  That’s when it happens, and I don’t expect it.

  Evans' mouth is suddenly against mine, and I’m weak against the crush of his lips as I melt into him.

  His grip on my waist tightens as we continue to kiss and I fall into the abyss.

  Whatever was running through my mind stops completely.

  It’s a long, satisfying kiss that makes me tingle all the way down to my toes.

  I’ve kissed guys before, but none of them kiss me like Evan does: with a wild abandon, no holding back, as he presses me against the wall of the pool.

  In the back of my mind, I hear a door open, and Evan pulls away suddenly.

  “Come on!” he yells, laughing.

  We both jump out of the pool and grab our clothes before we run for the door we came in, stopping outside in the crisp April air to pull our clothes back on before we make a run for it back to my dorm.

  Evan and I stop outside my door.

  I don’t know what to say, and Evan kisses me again.

  Nice and slow until we’re wrapped up in each other pressed against my door
.

  “I should go,” he whispers.

  I nod.

  “Goodnight, Evan,” I whisper back.

  I disappear into my room.

  Leaning against the door, I press my hand against my mouth, truly confused as to what just happened.

  What am I not confused about?

  The fact that I want more.

  It’s an honest choice.

  I open the door to find Evan, and he’s still standing there, his hand against the doorway.

  He presses his lips together.

  Our eyes connect.

  “Fuck it,” he says.

  Then we’re kissing again.

  “You look tired,” Evan says, a bit unkindly, and it jogs me back to reality.

  “Yeah, I am,” I admit.

  My voice is a little too loud, a dead giveaway that I was thinking about something.

  “What’s on your mind?” he asks.

  I immediately shake my head and smile.

  “Nothing important,” I lie.

  “Come on, I need sleep,” I say, to try to distract him.

  Evan and I make our way back to the room.

  I strip down to my bra and underwear since my clothes are soaked, but then I realize I have nothing else to wear.

  Oh well, I reason, he’s seen me more naked than this I guess.

  I crawl under the covers in a soaked bra and panties.

  It’s uncomfortable.

  After a few minutes of shifting under the blankets, Evan sighs.

  “My boxers are soaked,” he says.

  “It’s uncomfortable,” I add.

  “Fuck,” Evan swears.

  He shifts under the covers, and I realize he’s removing his boxers.

  Goddamnit.

  It’s not that I’m uncomfortable, I’m just unsure if we can really control ourselves naked.

  I’ve had enough to drink that my mind is wandering there again.

  Evan isn’t over Vic, there’s no reason to go there, I tell myself.

  I strip off my bra and panties under the blankets and let them drop to the floor.

  There’s more silence as I pull the blankets against my body and stare at the ceiling.

  I was tired, but now I’m completely wide awake.

  “I can’t sleep,” Evan says.

  “Let’s talk,” I say, and I try to keep my mind busy.

  “Isn’t this whole thing crazy?” Evan replies.

  Somehow, I don’t think he’s talking about his mother, or Levi, or anything else.

  “Yeah,” I said unsteadily.

  Evan shifts and I can tell he’s looking at me.

  Do.

  Not.

  Look.

  At.

  Him.

  I command myself to continue staring at the ceiling.

  “Does it hurt?” I ask.

  “A little bit,” comes his reply.

  Evan knows what I’m talking about.

  “My mother hasn’t just betrayed me though, somehow I think that makes this easier. I never expected much from her though,” he admits.

  “I think you learned not to,” I tell him.

  “At a very early age,” Evan agrees with me.

  I close my eyes and try not to think about the fact that we’ve had this exact conversation before, and I know we’re both attempting to distract ourselves.

  Evan moves his arms over his head, and I feel his fingertips brush against my skin.

  By accident or on purpose I don’t know, I don’t care.

  I’m burning to touch him now.

  I turn over on my side to face him, and my fingertips brush against his chest.

  It’s a total accident, but a shiver runs up my spine.

  Evan is warm and welcome.

  He’s comforting to me, and when he moves a piece of hair away from my face, I have to close my eyes and try to fight this.

  I have to remind myself that sex is just going to complicate things like it did last time.

  Evan shifts, the blankets on the bed around his waist with his chiseled chest exposed.

  Fuck, why does he have to be so Goddamn sexy?

  Evan has always gotten every woman he wants, and I know why.

  It’s the charm and his attitude, along with his incredible looks.

  He’s made me weak in the knees more than just once.

  All I can think about is the crush of his lips, the way he takes control without any hesitation.

  Bu,t we both hesitate long enough that I can’t bring myself to say anything at all.

  I’m afraid that if I open my mouth, I will say something I don’t want to say.

  It is going to come out.

  It’s a natural reaction, to someone you’re so close with.

  To want them.

  At least that’s what I tell myself.

  The sun has set, and the moonlight illuminates Evan’s chest and the handsome profile of his face.

  For the first time in what feels like forever, I know I’m safe.

  18

  Evan

  March 7, 2018

  “You need to focus on Sebastian,” I tell my father.

  He holds tiny little Sebastian in his arms, like a proud father, like he once held me.

  “I know,” my father says.

  Tinsley rests against the bed, exhausted, with a huge smile on her face.

  My father rocks Sebastian back and forth.

  “He’s amazing,” my father whispers.

  “He’s perfect,” Tinsley says.

  The way she smiles at my father makes me melancholy.

  I’m sure that I want this, a family and someone who loves me unconditionally.

  No restrictions.

  Still blown back by how I didn’t make a move on Leigha last night, I’m thoroughly confused.

  I woke up with my arms wrapped around her, and she was sleeping so deeply I had to actively stop myself from waking her up with a kiss.

  This is trouble, I told myself.

  Leigha and I don’t need that kind of complication.

  We don’t have to cross that line.

  It’s a bad idea.

  I want to figure out what exactly is between us.

  None of my reasons seem to hold weight, however.

  Then, as though she read my thoughts, Leigha shows up looking refreshed.

  Her skin is dewy almost, no make-up on her face, but her long hair is curled around her face as she walks in the room.

  She’s wearing tight jeans and a loose top in a blue shade that brings out the hue of her eyes and sits on her cleavage just so.

  Enough for the shirt to be sexy, but modest.

  Enough to make me want her.

  “Is this Sebastian?” Leigha asks in a soft voice.

  “This is him,” my father says proudly.

  “Do you want to hold him?” Tinsley asks her.

  “I’m okay,” Leigha says.

  “Babies make me nervous, to be honest,” she adds.

  “Ditto that,” I agree with her.

  My half-brother is so tiny and small he feels breakable in my arms, but my father and Tinsley are right at home, passing him back and forth.

  Tinsley holds tiny Sebastian in her arms as my father settles on the hospital bed beside her, his arm wrapped around her waist.

  They’re the picture of a perfectly happy family.

  It’s touching, to see them like this after all this time.

  The way Tinsley looks at my father hits a sore spot somewhere that I didn’t even realize existed.

  “I’ll take care of Elizabeth,” I tell him.

  My father studies me for a moment.

  “You’ll do me proud,” he says.

  Then, he adds something frustrating.

  “With Levi and Merc’s help, I’m sure this will all be over in a matter of time,” he says.

  “Shortly,” I add.

  “We’ll go back to London?” Tinsley asks my father.

  He nods.

&nbs
p; “In a few days,” my father says.

  “We’ll go back today,” I offer.

  “Give you two some time, then send the jet back,” Leigha adds.

  My father is barely paying attention.

  With his business otherwise taken care of, my father is focused solely on Tinsley and their son.

  “Come on,” I whisper to Leigha.

  She nods.

  They need some privacy.

  Once we’re out in the hallway, I’m reminded that the last thing I need is to be alone with Leigha.

  “We should go, before my father decides that he wants to follow us,” I tell Leigha.

  “He won’t. I think he has his priorities in order. He trusts you, and with Merc and Levi on our side, only good can come of this,” Leigha responds.

  “What about me?” I ask.

  “You’re the most important one,” she replies.

  I suck in a breath and run my finger along my bottom lip.

  “To them or to you?” I ask.

  “Wait and see,” is all Leigha says.

  The music is pounding in my ears as Leigha leans over the bar to scream something in the bartender’s ear over the music.

  I didn’t even know she speaks Portuguese.

  The bartender produces a round of shots.

  Athena begins to pass them out.

  Aidan first, then Lucius and Levi.

  “To Sebastian!” Levi shouts over the music.

  This was the closest bar to the hospital, playing lousy music from years ago.

  Like a quaint European country, the bar hasn’t lost its quaint attractiveness; it’s packed tonight.

  “Sebastian!”

  We all shout over the music.

  I toss the shot back, and it tastes like straight Vodka, Leigha’s favorite.

  “Since the day I left Milwaukee, Lynchburg and Bordeaux France!” Aidan screams along with the music.

  Athena rolls her eyes because apparently, Aidan has reached the point of inebriation before anyone else.

  In response, he leads her onto the dance floor and to the amazement of all of us, she dances with him.

  “Jesus Christ, the world really is ending!” I laugh.

  Lucius laughs along with me with the dark laugh he has.

  “Let go for a bit; you can relax,” he tells me.

  Up until now, I didn’t realize that I was tense.