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

  I can’t help but throw myself into Merc’s arms, and I have no idea where the tears are coming from.

  “Leigha, it’s all alright, you’re alive, you’re breathing. You know I’ll always have your back,” Merc’s voice is uncharacteristically soft.

  All I can do is shake my head and bury myself against his t-shirt.

  “What’s wrong?” Merc whispers.

  “Everything,” I manage between sobs.

  “Not everything. Your dad was cleared by the FBI, and so were you,” Merc reasons.

  “Me?” I gasp.

  “I may have called in a favor,” Merc says with a smile.

  “You owe me one, Bergmann,” he says, grinning.

  His perfect teeth gleam at me.

  He looks predatory, hungry, again.

  I feel myself getting aroused, by his presence, his masculinity.

  “You did that for me?” I ask.

  He looks at me, his eyes igniting with that fire.

  “Of course,” Merc says.

  He sits down on the bed, and I sit beside him.

  “Why wouldn’t I do that for you?” Merc asks.

  “I don’t know,” I reply honestly.

  “You’ve always been a big part of my life, Leigha, whether you knew it or not. I’m just sorry I couldn’t stop the FBI from taking everything away when they did. I tried, Leigha, you have to know that I really tried. They almost thought I had gone rogue, when I was just trying to tell them the truth,” Merc explains.

  Merc’s face has wrinkle lines drawn across it, his mouth drooped slightly, and the fire shines from those eyes of his.

  Chocolate eyes I where I lose myself, every time.

  “You tried for me,” I whisper.

  It’s not a question.

  “Oh, Leigha, you’ve always known how I feel about you! When I heard you and Evan, all that you said to each other, right before…” he tries to explain, but he stops himself.

  “Evan wants to forget about that, and so do I,” I tell Merc firmly.

  Though in reality, I’m not so confident that I want to forget Evan’s admission.

  He’s just not ready for a real relationship.

  Not with me.

  Not with anyone.

  I’m so tired of him pulling me in and then having to pull myself back.

  “Really?” Merc asks.

  He looks slightly hopeful.

  “I’m so glad you’re alive,” I tell him, hugging his strong body.

  His muscles are hard and firm beneath his t-shirt, and I run my hands over his back.

  He sits there for a moment, enjoying the sensation.

  Then, he looks at me again, with those eyes.

  “I’m glad you’re alive, too, Leigha. So that I can do this…” Merc says.

  I’m about to ask what he means, but suddenly Merc’s lips are pressed tightly against mine, and without hesitation, I’m kissing him back.

  I don’t know what’s going on.

  I’m kissing Merc!

  There’s a part of me that knows I should pull away from him, but I just can’t, as he takes my face in his hands and kisses me thoroughly.

  This is something I won’t surely forget any time soon!

  When our lips finally part, I’m stunned.

  “What, what was that?” I stammer, stumbling through the words.

  “I don’t know,” Merc says honestly.

  “I’ve wanted to do that since the moment I laid eyes on you again, Leigha,” he admits.

  Can I bring myself to tell him that I’ve missed his lips?

  No.

  I’m so confused, and it’s so entirely impossible to keep my head on straight!

  “Leigha, after this is done, just come with me. We could use you. You’re brilliant, you have such a keen sense of people and logic! We can work together. We can build a life together,” Merc insists.

  “What about my father?” I ask.

  “You can work through the agency, Leigha. You can have a desk job, and still have the life that you want. We can have our lives, and…” Merc says, eagerly.

  “I don’t know,” I interrupt.

  He looks at me, wondering what is going on inside my head.

  I wish I could let him know.

  But, I am not even sure of it myself.

  “Just promise me, you’ll think about? I’ve got money put away. We could just go somewhere, and leave all of this behind for a bit, whenever you want,” Merc says.

  “Oh, Merc,” I sigh.

  I hug him, again, even more tightly.

  He feels like a man made of iron.

  And, his scent goes straight into the animal, passionate part of my brain, and then straight to my womanhood.

  My nipples engorge, in spite of my mental efforts to prevent them.

  I don’t care, I finally decide.

  I like how this feels.

  I love this feeling of safety when I am in Merc’s arms.

  “Please tell me you’ll think about it, at least? I can’t lose you again Leigha, I just can’t! It would be absolute torture to have you in my life and then have you ripped out of it again,” Merc tells me.

  “I need you,” I tell him.

  But, there are words still left on my lips.

  “But, you need Evan too,” Merc says.

  I can only nod at this.

  How could I possibly ever lose either of these men?

  I’m genuinely torn.

  Merc has offered me the world, whatever he can.

  Evan has offered me nothing but himself.

  And, that is something to be reckoned with.

  I don’t expect him to do offer me anything else, though.

  Not for a while.

  He needs time to grieve and process the whole ordeal of losing the woman he loved.

  Besides, how would Evan ever truly love me when he’s had someone like Victoire, who was so perfect?

  I am fighting the same argument over and over in my head.

  Merc and Evan both are so fantastic, how could they both want me?

  I’m just Leigha.

  I lay back on the bed, and Merc wraps his arms around me.

  I just need to close my eyes for a little bit.

  This is all too much, and I feel sleep deprived.

  I want to get up, take a shower and feel refreshed, but at the same time, all I want to do is hide from the world.

  “Take a nap, I’ll watch over you,” Merc whispers.

  “We will,” Evan says from the doorway.

  I don’t look over because I know Evan is going to crawl into bed with us.

  “Thanks, man, again,” he says.

  He crawls in beside me, and wraps himself around my back, his legs around my thighs and waist.

  Merc moves around to allow him to fit, properly.

  He grins, grunts, and then shrugs.

  “The Three Musketeers, together again!” he sings.

  He looks at Evan.

  “Seriously, I don’t know what we’d ever do without you,” Evan tells Merc.

  Then, he lays his head against my back, right below my shoulders.

  With Evan spooning me, and Merc’s arm wrapped around my waist, I feel at peace between the two of them.

  Merc moves closer to me, his head resting on my chest.

  Evan’s head moves closer to my neck, and all I can think is how much I need both of them.

  We all need each other.

  All three of us.

  “Leigha, come on, the jet leaves in an hour, and we’re going to be late!”

  Evan’s voice jogs me out of deep sleep.

  When I look around Merc is already gone, and I’ve got imprints in my skin from the sheets and how we were laying together.

  I can’t remember the last time I slept so deeply.

  I stumble off the bed, rubbing the sleep from my eyes before I find my glasses and slip them on.

  “Just let me…” I start.

  “No time! Come on, Leigha!�
�� Evan persists.

  He takes me by the hand and drags me all the way off the boat and towards the car, where Merc is waiting.

  The others have already left apparently.

  I get in the front seat for the short ride to the private airstrip, but I am not prepared for the reporters.

  I get out of the car and the reporters immediately rush towards us.

  Evan and Merc put their arms around me and push us through the crush of reports.

  “Evan, is it true you married Leigha Began?” I hear one reporter shout.

  I almost stop dead in my tracks, but Merc yanks me forward.

  Another reporter yells at Evan.

  “Evan! Evan! What about your ex-fiancée!”

  “Evan are you having kids anytime soon!”

  Another woman screams at him, and it’s a madhouse of questions.

  All of this leaves me dizzy until finally, I feel Lucius’ firm grip around me as he snarls at the reporters and leads me onto the waiting jet.

  Evan and Merc follow, arguing.

  I board the plane, where Noah is sitting in First Class, a glass of Scotch in the holder of his armrest.

  “Is there really no way to fix this?” I ask him.

  Noah studies me for a long moment.

  “It will fix itself in due course, Leigha. In the meantime, I wouldn’t worry too much about it. It’s not like you’re wearing a ring on your finger,” Noah reminds me.

  Right.

  No ring.

  There’s a sudden pang deep in my stomach, and I realize that I’ve gotten absolutely nothing.

  Merc promised me the world.

  Evan promised me nothing but himself.

  Neither of them can deliver, because I can’t disappear into Merc’s world with him, and I can’t wait around for Evan to decide what he wants.

  Would Evan and Victoire still be together if she hadn’t died?

  I lie to myself to convince my stupid brain that I would never be able to believe that Evan and I could actually be together.

  Then there’s still Merc…

  Merc, who’s done his best to never break my heart, and put me first on more than one occasion.

  The truth is they’ve both proven themselves worthy, if I were to be truly honest.

  Fuck.

  I take the seat across from Aidan, and beside Lucius, with the intent to be as far away from Evan and Merc as possible.

  Evan has other plans.

  “Lucius? Want to trade seats?” he asks.

  “Sure,” Lucius nods, getting up from his seat.

  Evan takes the seat that Lucius has vacated.

  “I’m really sorry about all this Leigha, and I didn’t want to drag you into another mess,” Evan apologizes.

  “I can’t pretend to be your wife, Evan,” I tell him flatly.

  “Would you be surprised if I said I knew that, and I don’t expect you to? It’s just tabloid bullshit, one more thing in our way, don’t let it bother you,” Evan says.

  “What about the fact that the world thinks you got married so suddenly after Vic’s death?” I ask him.

  Evan sighs heavily, and connects his lap belt as the pilot prepares for taking off.

  “Can we please, just remove Victoire from the equation, for once?” he whispers.

  “Why?” I whisper back fiercely.

  “Because it’s done, it’s over, there’s no going back, and I would appreciate if you would stop tip-toeing around the subject! Yes, I loved her! Yes, maybe I thought about marriage at some point. But, I’m not about to spend the rest of my life mourning her loss, Leigha. I’ve done my grieving. You didn’t see the mess that our relationship became,” Evan tells me smoothly.

  “I did, and I do,” I remind him.

  “Remember, I was there for you every step of the way,” I add.

  “I know. What I can’t figure out is why you didn’t just tell me to move on, Leigha? Normally, you would tell me to cut her loose and forget about it. Suddenly, you wanted me to make it work with someone that you just had to have known was an impossible match?” Evan asks.

  The answer to that question isn’t one I am ready to give him.

  If I say it now, that I just wanted to see him happy, he’ll call my bluff.

  I know why I pushed Evan towards Vic: because at the time I was committed to a man for a long enough time that I knew I couldn’t leave him for Evan.

  I didn’t even know if that was an option.

  If Evan were tied up in a relationship with Vic, I would never have to worry about it.

  And, of course, it didn’t work out that way.

  “I think I know the answer, you just don’t want to admit it,” Evan whispers in my ear.

  His lips are close to that little sensual spot just under my ear, and the wisp of his breath caresses my neck in such a way that I close my eyes, involuntarily.

  It’s like falling back into an infinity pool of refreshing cold water.

  Evan’s closeness makes a shiver run all the way down my back.

  He’s right.

  Evan knows the answer, and I refuse to admit it.

  I was scared of what would happen if Evan and I were both single at the same time.

  We were everything to each other at one point in time, and now I’m afraid that if we reach that point again, I will lose him.

  I can feel myself slowly falling into the endless cascade of emotion that comes with knowing Evan and I could possibly be together.

  But, there are eddies of negative energy, too.

  Too many close calls.

  Too many wrong times.

  No chances.

  And one other thing: we could fail miserably.

  I’m jolted awake by Evan’s hand on my shoulder.

  “What?” I ask through the haze of sleep.

  “We landed,” Evan says softly.

  “Come on, we need to go,” he says.

  I nod and move to grab my bag until I realize I don’t have anything but the clothes on my back.

  Thank God Levi handled the passports.

  The ride to the hotel is short and silent until I notice Evan’s eyes widen.

  We are escorted to the check-in desk, across a little pond with fish, lanterns lighting the way at dusk.

  Instead of joining the group, I walk a little forward towards the luxurious multi-level pool area.

  The sun is just setting, and it’s as though someone has dumped a bucket of colors into the ocean; everything is soft oranges, yellows, and pinks.

  “It’s gorgeous,” Evan says.

  I yelp and jump about a foot in the air, because I wasn’t aware that Evan was even beside me.

  The sunset is that captivating!

  “This is the resort Vic and I stayed at,” he tells me, monotone.

  “Oh. Are you okay?” I ask.

  “Surprisingly, yes,” Evan nods.

  Then, he breaks into a smile.

  “You’re going to love it here,” Evan says.

  I bite my lip and wonder if I should prod further regarding Victoire.

  Part of me doesn’t want to pry.

  We’re only staying a couple of days anyway.

  Noah demanded that we relax; it wasn’t a request.

  How am I supposed to relax when Elizabeth is out there threatening Evan’s family?

  Threatening my family?

  Tearing my people apart?

  I tell myself to let those thoughts go, and just relax.

  Until we reach the suite, and I realize I’m sharing it with Evan.

  And Merc…

  27

  Evan

  March 19, 2018

  I thought being here again would hit me hard, but instead, I don’t feel anything but a small mournful moment.

  I’ve lost a lot since Vic and I were here last, so much.

  But I just can’t dwell on what I don’t have, because it’s pointless to me.

  Everyone expects me to take Vic’s death harder, but somehow, when I think
of her at peace, I can’t bring myself to wish her back to life.

  Vic had been through so much, and she deserves her rest, now.

  I grab beer from the fridge for Merc and me, and bring his out on the patio.

  “I need to go shopping,” Leigha announces.

  She grabs my beer and takes a sip, then hands it back to me.

  “I’ve only got this sweater and my tights, and I need clothes,” she says, smacking her lips.

  “So, do I,” I admit.

  “Well, let’s go then,” Merc suggests.

  Leigha seems to ponder this for a moment, then she nods.

  We rent a jeep because that’s what Merc always used to drive, though this one is far nicer than his beat up one from home.

  His mother could never bring herself to sell it, so now that same jeep sits in my dad’s garage back home.

  I don’t even know if he wants it.

  Should I ask, or does it hold too many memories?

  We go for a short drive before we hit the stores.

  “Isn’t there anything not designer?” Leigha asks, as we scan the storefronts.

  I just laugh.

  That’s Leigha.

  She hates spending money on designer clothing, thinking it a waste.

  “Don’t worry,” I tell her.

  “I got it,” I add.

  Leigha makes a face.

  “You can’t go around paying for everything, Stone, you know,” she argues.

  “I do, indeed, Bergmann, but right now you have no choice, so deal with it,” I tease her.

  She crosses her arms angrily, and I burst out laughing.

  Leigha cracks a smile and Merc just shakes his head.

  This is the first time I haven’t seen Merc in a suit, which is different compared to the way I remember him.

  In a t-shirt and jeans, he looks like a guy I used to know.

  A guy I still know…

  I pick up a few t-shirts and some shorts along with a suit, just in case, and wait for Leigha in the changing room.

  “Evan, can you tell me if this looks okay?” she calls.

  “Yeah,” I reply.

  Leigha steps out of the dressing room in a black bikini.

  It cups her breasts and pushes her cleavage up in such a way that I want to get my mouth on her body.

  The bottoms sit just so on her waist.

  I enhances the curvature of her body tenfold.

  I’m speechless.