Beginnings (Brady Trilogy) (15 page)

“I’m, uh sorry.” Luke finally broke the silence. He pushed himself away from her not daring to touch her again. “I don’t know what came over me. I hope I didn’t hurt you?” he tried to release a laugh but failed. His mind was too clouded for humor.

“Umm. No I’m fine.” Head still swimming with pleasure, Isabel grabbed Luke’s arm. “Just give me a minute to regain my balance.” This time she laughed. “For a moment I forgot we were outside.”

Luke took a look of their surroundings and cursed. They were parked in the middle of the road just a few miles away from his father’s home. “Shit,” he sighed, “Me too. We should head back.” He said but made no attempt of moving or taking his hands off her hips. Somehow his hands had found their way back to her body. He stared at her swollen lips and lowered his to hers again and kissed her softly. “Last one for the road.” He grinned and helped her into the car.

The drive back home was in silence as neither of them wanted to discuss their situation. They both mutely feared if they talked about it they might agree against their own wants and needs and keep the relationship platonic and professional. It would be the rational thing to do. But at this state of mind, with this much pent-up sexual turmoil clouding their judgment, neither one wanted to be rational.

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The smell of fresh pine filled the room. The tall tree that towered towards the ceiling was dressed in oversized ornaments and glittered with white lights. This year’s colors were royal blue, forest green and bright turquoise. The stunning shades resembled the remarkable feathers of a peacock. The long anticipated day of the Christmas Gala had finally arrived. Isabel, in dark denim jeans and a thin black sweater stood center stage in the ballroom hacking out last minute details. She had pulled back her long layered, brown hair into a loose braid. The guests would arrive in an hour and she wouldn’t leave to get ready until everything was as perfect as she had planned.

“Hey Jack can we have more lighting on the ice sculpture?” Isabel spoke to one of the workers hired to help her with arrangements. “I want it to be bright in that corner. And let’s push some of these tables further back so the center can be wide and open.”

“I was hoping you’d wear something a bit more formal,” someone spoke directly from behind.

A bit startled Isabel turned around to face Luke. “I, uh, I’m almost done here I promise.”

Luke was already dressed in his black trim fit tuxedo. He looked deadly gorgeous and her heart began to pound profoundly. Every time she looked into his very green eyes she was quickly reminded of how it felt when he held her close and kissed her. She had loved his tender soft kisses but after yesterday she had to admit she could easily become addicted to the taste of his impatient, eager and demanding lips taking over hers.  

Luke noticed her tense as he leaned closer. He knew he was attracting a few wondering eyes in their direction but at the moment he didn’t care. As if challenging himself more than her he lightly pushed a strand of hair away from her face and neatly tucked it behind her ear. It was becoming more and more difficult to not touch her.

“Not as though those jeans don’t look great on you.” He watched her blush as he sent her a wide grin. “But I’d like it if you’d stop working and go get ready. Guests will be here soon. Besides doesn’t it take women hours to get ready for these types of formal events?”

“I’m not like most women.” Isabel said and noticed his eyes become more serious as if he all too quickly agreed with her. “I mean I don’t take as much time as most women do. But you’re absolutely right I should go get ready.” She stepped away from him and couldn’t get out of the room any faster.

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Half an hour had passed as Luke and his father began greeting guests that were escorted into the grand ballroom and compliments were given for the extraordinary décor. Guests indulged in Champaign and 
hors d'oeuvres
while enjoying the pleasant symphonies played by the orchestra.  

Kathryn, dressed in an exquisite royal blue gown, joined her husband and son in welcoming new clients and old friends. Her eyes met Thomas’ and implied him to look towards Luke. The uneasy look was back into his son’s eyes. He noticed Isabel hadn’t yet joined them and Luke’s eyes continuously shifted to the entrance door.

Where the hell is she,
Luke impatiently thought. He cursed himself for acting worse than a love sick teenager.

“Where’s your lovely assistant?” his mother asked reading his thoughts.

“Oh, Isabel? She should be here shortly she was working late.” Luke attempted to play off his anxiousness of seeing her. Was his impatience that noticeable? Why was he even waiting for her? She should be there soon enough. But his eyes froze at the door when he saw Isabel effortlessly glide into to room. Dressed in a cream chiffon gown with a ruffle-edged skirt that flowed to the floor, she was a vision worth worshipping. When she turned to greet a guest he saw her back was slightly exposed through heavy patterns of lace that ran from her shoulders all the way down dangerously low. Luke felt his own breath choking him. He watched her possessively as she greeted others while certain male guests were quite delighted to meet her. This didn’t settle well with Luke but he was a professional at keeping his composure.

Isabel gracefully made her way towards Luke and his parents and couldn’t avoid noticing Luke’s heated gaze watching her.

"Oh Isabel everything looks marvelous." Kathryn took both of Isabel's hands in hers.

"Yes you've
certainly outdone yourself.  Such a fantastic job, we've never had exquisite décor such as this before." Thomas nodded in agreement.

“Trust me the pleasure was all mine. I enjoyed every minute of it.” Isabel smiled but her eyes nervously flickered to Luke’s who had yet to speak.

"Kathryn my dear, why don't we take a spin on the dance floor I feel like dancing." Thomas said as he led his wife away.

"You look incredible.” Luke rasped with such intensity it earned him a blush.

"Thank you." Isabel let out a nervous laugh. Just the day before the man had his hand up her shirt and she still managed to flush from his compliments and yearning green gaze. 

Luke’s lips twitched with amusement. God how much he loved putting that shy look on her face. “Live orchestra, snowflake ice sculptures, walls decked with boughs of holly. I must say Isabel I'm quite impressed." Luke nodded with approval while glancing around the room. He grabbed two flutes of Champaign from a passing butler and handed one to her.

"Like I told your parents it was entirely my pleasure.” Isabel said as she accepted the glass. “I hadn’t realized how much I had missed Christmas. I had so much fun planning these events. For certain reasons earlier this year, I thought I would never enjoy the holiday seasons again.”

"And what reasons would that be?" he asked in a serious demanding tone.

She realized she had spoken too much. Once again the uncomfortable look was back in her eyes as she glanced away. He saw her hand slightly shake and took the Champaign from her hand before she could spill it. It greatly irritated Luke that he still hadn't figured out what motive had made her pack her bags and move to San Diego. A pang of jealousy told him he wouldn't like finding out if she had ran away from a lover to nurse a broken heart. 
What if she was still in love and had feelings for some jerk that had hurt her?

Isabel didn't want to face Luke so she tried to roam her eyes towards the guests. He gently grabbed her chin and turned her head forcing her gaze to meet his. She knew the questioning look would be back in his eyes. "I know you’ve ran away from something Isabel.” He lowered his voice. “It’s just a matter of time until I find out what exactly.” He promised.

“Uhh it's nothing Luke. Just some complications earlier this year that had somewhat left me thinking I would forget how to enjoy the greater things in life." She gave him a warm smile but he wasn't fooled nor satisfied with her answer. He still stared at her through a narrowed glance as though she was a difficult puzzle he was constantly trying to solve.

"I'm fine now Luke. Alright fine I admit I wasn't fine before but after meeting you and joining your company I got better. I'm happy here." she smiled again and thanked God when she noticed him relax. His eyes became more sincere at her small confession.

“Uhm uhm.” Someone cleared their throat to catch their attention. Luke took a step back from Isabel not realizing he had enclosed the distance between them again. His gaze locked with Jake’s very amused eyes. “I knew if I found Isabel I’d easily locate you Brady.” He said with a smirk on his face.

“Jake. What’s up man how you doing? When did you get here?”  Luke babbled and Jake grinned at him.

“Just right now. Guess you were too busy to notice.” He turned his attention to Isabel. “You look absolutely beautiful Isabel.” Jake leaned in and gently kissed her cheek. “Merry Christmas.”

Isabel flushed. “Thank you Jake. Merry Christmas.” She smiled. “Are you wearing an ear piece?” she noticed the security device in his ear.

“I’m on duty.” Jake confessed.

“Jake handles security and surveillance at our larger functions.” Luke informed. “We tell him to lose the ear piece, enjoy the party and let his team handle it but he refuses.”

Isabel looked at Jake who just shrugged. He was dressed in a trim fit black tuxedo with a black shirt underneath. No tie. He looked like a dangerous James Bond with a daring edge. The black attire brightened his icy green eyes bringing out the little scar on his left brow.

“We need to head towards the security room Brady. Something I need to show you. I’ll see you around Isabel.” Jake gave a curt nod and headed for the exit.

Luke narrowed his eyes watching his best friend leave.
What was that about?
“I’ll be back soon.” He assured Isabel and gently touched her cheek. She smiled and nodded as Luke followed after Jake.

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“What’s so important Callaghan?” Luke asked as he entered their surveillance room that Jake had built himself.

Jake let out a harsh breath and scratched his chin. “I think your girl is in more shit than you know Brady.”

“What?” Luke snapped. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“I went over to her house two days ago to check on her outside surveillance. Just to make sure everything’s working properly.” Jake paused.

“And?” Luke asked with raging impatience.

“I noticed large finger prints on her kitchen window from the outside.
Now I know Isabel isn’t tall enough to touch that window from the outside and her hands aren’t big enough to leave such large prints. So my curiosity got the best of me. I tapped into her system and logged on from my lap top. I’ve already told her she can easily access the cameras from any location through a computer but realized she hasn’t logged on even once to check. There wasn’t even a pass-code setting on her account so it didn’t take me too long to access her cameras.”  Jake confessed.

“Where are you going with this Jake?”

Jake paused then shook his head. “How about I just show you.” He moved to one of the computers and began typing on the keys. In matter of seconds the outside of Isabel’s house was displayed on the screen. Jake selected a date from a few days ago and clicked play. Luke watched with anticipation as a man, close to their age, with a jacket zipped up all the way to his chin, began roaming around Isabel’s house. He was caught from various angles in all five cameras. He placed his hands on the kitchen window attempting to look inside. He began trying to nudge open the window with a tool when he turned around and came face to face with the surveillance camera. Instantly realizing he was staring into a security camera, the unknown man stumbled back and disappeared from view.

“Who the fuck was that?” Luke yelled.

“I’m not sure.” Jake shook his head. The glare in Luke’s eyes made his anger very evident. “I took a sample from the finger prints and a copy of this video to one of my guys. He’s going to run this through his files to find a match. We’ll know soon enough.” Jake assured him.