Lost in Distraction (Lost #1)(48)
Author: B.J. Harvey

Our contact in Los Angeles has not been able to find any more dirt on Brimstone and we haven’t been able to flip any of his staff members either. I still go straight through the boss man with my information updates, bypassing Gibbons wherever possible. After Shay was taken to Boston and Gibbons missed it, both Shay and I decided that we can’t trust him. But, because he is still our supervisor, we have to report in to him now and then. We have just been withholding any detailed information.

I stand and watch Elle, smiling when she starts fidgeting and tapping her toes against the bed. She’s concentrating on the book and looks so damn cute while she does it. I quietly walk up to her feet and run my hands up her legs slowly, but firmly. She jumps when I first touch her, but as I get higher up her calves, putting my weight on her as I ease up her body, I hear a soft groan come from her mouth and god dammit if that doesn’t change my original plan to only snuggle up to her.

“You’ll have to be quick, lover. My boyfriend will be home any minute,” she says seductively.

“I’m never quick when I’m with you darlin’,” I whisper roughly in her ear.

I roll her over underneath me, making sure to touch and kiss every inch of skin I can reach on my way up to her mouth. When I reach up to her face, she turns and gives me a sly smile.

“Hi to you, too,” she says before brushing her lips against mine.

I groan as she deepens our kiss, teasing and taunting me with her tongue as we explore each other’s mouths. She’s completely unravelling me, she has turned me inside out and back around again. I can’t imagine how anyone could want to hurt her.

I turn on my side so I can look right into those exquisite green eyes of hers.

“Would my lady like to accompany me to dinner?” I say in a fake English accent. She giggles in response, making it all worth it.

“Of course. It’s my turn to choose where, though,” she says, bouncing off the bed with a smirk before walking into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

“Why’d you lock the door?” I ask.

“To keep you and your dirty mind out of here. We’ll never get to dinner if I let you come in here,” she says teasingly.

“I could easily break the door down and carry you back to the bed, caveman style,” I add with a growl.

“Damn,” I hear her curse behind the door. I can’t help but laugh. I always manage to switch the tables on her, every time.

I’m all dressed and just waiting for Brax to finish getting ready. He’s taking me out for dinner, to a local Italian restaurant I’ve been dying to go to. We’ve been together almost eight months now and they have been the best eight months in my life. Apart from the creepy notes and the creeper in the black Honda, life has never been better.

I feel safe when I’m with him, like he is my anchor. I’m okay as long as he is close by. I can’t drift away or get lost when he is around, and I love that feeling. I love belonging to someone again. I’ve had too many years drifting through my life alone. It may be co-dependency at its worst, but knowing Brax feels the same way about me cancels any concerns I have about being too dependent on him.

Certain parts of my life may have been pre-planned, but in making the decision not to sell to Uncle Harry I feel like I’ve taken back a bit of the control. Once I graduate, I can take over Brightlight and Brax and I can live our lives without Harry Brimstone breathing down my neck.

Aunt Sylvia rings me while I’m waiting, I haven’t told Brax I keep in touch with her because I didn’t want to upset him. He seems to get angry whenever Uncle Harry is mentioned and things have been going so well lately, I haven’t wanted to ruin his good mood.

She has always kept in touch, especially after her divorce from Uncle Harry, and she has a special place in my heart. After my mother died, not once did she try and step into the mother role. When I moved in with them she opted to take the friend route instead. It was nice to have someone I could rely on after having everyone else wrenched away from me. She stood by me when I was intent on self-destruction. She never scolded me like Uncle Harry did, she just wanted to know that I was being safe and that I knew I could go to her if I needed someone or something. I would always try to reassure her that I was coping, but the sad look in her eyes always told me she knew the truth, even when I couldn’t admit it to myself.

“Hey, Aunt Sylvie. How are you?” I say when I pick up the phone.

“I’m great, Elise. Are you well? How is that boyfriend of yours?” she asks with a chuckle.

I talked to Sylvia before asking Brax to move in. I wanted to make sure that I wasn’t asking him for the wrong reasons, mainly the fact that I feel safe when he’s around.

“He’s wonderful. I’ve never been happier. Finally someone has filled up the hole in my soul,” I say with a smile. She always told me that I would find someone that would put me back together, even when I didn’t know I was broken.

“That is fantastic. You deserve nothing but happiness and love,” she states emphatically. “And how is school going?”

“It’s a lot of hard work, but it’s interesting. I’m really enjoying it.”

“I’m so glad to hear that, dear. I’ve been worried about you being so far away,” she adds lovingly.

“I know, but it’s something I had to do. I had to break free. Did I tell you that Uncle Harry came to visit me before Christmas? He was in the area and wanted to check in with me to see how I was settling in,” I continue.

“Is that so?” she says skeptically

“Yeah but he wasn’t so friendly when he called me in January wanting an answer on his takeover bid,” I add, knowing Sylvia knows about Uncle Harry’s bid to takeover Brightlight.

“Elise, dear, you must not sell to him. That was your father’s company and it is your legacy. You must keep it,” she says with a pleading voice.

“It’s okay. I told him that the answer is no. He got quite nasty, but I haven’t heard from him since then. Everything goes through my lawyer now. Why do you sound so scared?” I ask, worried about her.

“It’s nothing, dear. I just don’t want you to be railroaded by that god awful man,” she says, trying and failing to hide the shakiness in her voice.

I laugh. “You know he has never been one to scare me. He may give me the creeps sometimes, but I’m not scared of him. I have my father’s will and the company rules in my favor, remember?”