Rage (4 page)

nouncement, and she paused to search his features. “I bought a

couple of apartments.”

“A
couple
? When? Where?” He pulled away from her and

sat up fixing her with a challenging gaze. Steph didn’t move an

inch, effectively frozen by the shift in his mood. She’d been so sure he’d be thrilled to have her closer. She felt her frustration rising, but she took another deep breath.

“One in Paris and one in Milan. Christopher and my ac-

countant advised me to invest in real estate since I spend so

much time in both cities.”

“Christopher?” He spat the name, his face turning red.

“Who the hell is Christopher?”

“My agent.” Steph explained quickly. The last thing she

wanted was to fight with him. His intense reaction had her

floored. “Most of my jobs are in the big four: New York, Lon-

don, Paris and Milan. Of course I already have an apartment in

Manhattan. So investing in real estate in Paris and Milan just

makes good financial sense.”

“Why didn’t you buy an apartment in London?” He

snapped. Steph could feel his anger continuing to build, and it

was the opposite of the reaction she had expected. Her temper

flashed white hot. She sat up to face him head on.

“What the hell, Phillip? Why the hell would I need an

apartment in London?”

He raked a hand aggressively through his gorgeous hair.

“Oh, I don’t know, perhaps because I live in London!”

Steph felt her whole body relax as his words made her melt.

A smile bloomed on her face. She leaned closer to him and

rocked his shoulder with hers. “That’s why I figured I wouldn’t

need one. I was hoping to crash with you…have some little

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TAMMY COONS & MICHELLE PACE

sleepovers.”

He blinked at her a few times. and she could almost hear

him manually cranking back the time machine and reprocessing

everything she’d said since she’d left the bathroom. Leaning in, he fisted her tawny hair, and kissed her tenderly. When he pulled away, he looked embarrassed. “I’m sorry. Of course you’ll stay

with me.”

“What’s going on in that head of yours, baby?” She placed

her hands on both sides of his scruffy, centerfold-worthy face.

The apples of his cheeks were still red from his angry outburst.

and she felt her eyes scouring his face for hints about his unusual behavior.

“I’ve just been really stressed lately, love.” He sighed and

brushed one of her fiery tendrils off of her cheek. “I need a vacation.”

She pulled his mouth to hers, and after several wet, explora-

tive kisses she pulled away. “I thought we were supposed to be

on one of those.”

“Indeed we are.” He tossed his keys to her apartments onto

the bedside table and pushed aside her spaghetti strap aside, nipping at her shoulder. She squealed and squirmed happily beneath

him. His sapphire eyes darter over her face, and his expression

turned somber again. Stephanie stared unflinching back up at

him, lovingly tracing her thumb across his lips. It would be a

new adventure, living close enough to date him for real. She

wondered if they’d last a month once he got to know her and

witnessed all her quirks and idiosyncrasies. He turned his face, kissed her thumb, and then pulled it into his mouth sucking on it.

She purred when she felt his growing hardness pressing against

her thigh.

“So just how much did you miss me?” Stephanie whispered.

He was grinding against her and she found it distracting as hell.

He abruptly pulled away. and she started to object, but she re-

leased a contented sigh as he descended her body, skillfully pull-18

RAGE

ing off her panties with his teeth. When his mouth returned to

hers, he wore a fiendish grin. A desperate moan escaped her as

he gently tugged at her lip with his teeth.

“Oh, about nine inches.” He growled, pushing one of his

muscular thighs between hers. She gasped and clawed his ass

with both hands as he roughly entered her.

19

“Aren’t you going to eat that?” Phillip nodded to Steph’s

peanut butter crescent. He’d been watching her disapprovingly

all through breakfast as she pushed fruit around on her plate. To pacify him, she’d forced herself to eat more fruit than she’d intended to. She wrinkled her nose and shook her head. He

snatched the crescent off her plate and ripped into it with his

teeth.
My caveman.

“I’ll take more coffee, though. With cream.”

He picked up the French press and warmed up her cup with

a wry smile. “You’re quite a fan of the cream.”

“Charming.” Steph quipped as she dumped an indecent

amount of half and half into her coffee. She would never be a tea drinker, and silently thanked God that Phillip was a coffee afi-cionado. “So when we’re back from your grandparents’, will you

show me around the grounds?”

“With pleasure. I’ve always wanted to do it in the great out-

doors.” Phillip mused. She giggled and rolled her eyes.

“Mr. One Track Mind…” She leaned across the table and

gave him a lingering kiss. When she pulled away, she lowered

her eyes in a bashful manner. “Are you sure this outfit is okay

for meeting your parents?”

He looked her over in her sleeveless navy dress with a

blinding smile. “That dress, love? Is
anything
but okay.”

20

RAGE

His announcement late last night that his parents would be

at the estate had caused her to toss and turn so much that she’d barely slept. Now her stomach felt like it was tied in double

knots, making it nearly impossible to keep down her food. The

latter would normally have been a good thing—diet and all—but

the thought of Phillip’s parents hating her filled her with dread.

She knew she was not a people person, and the impending doom

of this afternoon’s tea hung heavy over her like a midnight black veil.

Her sense of foreboding steadily increased as they pulled in-

to the stately drive of his grandparent’s picturesque estate. She took in the immaculately groomed grounds in the sunshine and

knew she should have been overjoyed to be back. His grandpar-

ents’ home was as impressive the second time around, and in

anticipation of its splendor. she’d had her camera out before it had even come into view. Sophia and Paul had been the most

welcoming people she’d ever met, so she felt slightly puzzled

over her leeriness. Still, Stephanie was no fool—she knew her

gut instincts were not to be brushed aside or blown off. She

glanced at Phillip who chewed on a toothpick nervously and

seemed to be wearing his pre-show game face. She wondered if

he was as nervous about having her meet his parents as she was

to about meeting them. A pain gripped her mid-section, and she

inhaled through her nose and exhaled through her mouth. It

passed quickly, and she noticed she’d dug her nails into her

palms. She fanned herself with her hand and took a long swig of

coffee from her travel mug and hoped it would counterbalance

what was she prayed was jetlag.

Phillip parked in the exact same spot he’d parked on their

first visit. He hopped out and rushed around to her side of the

car. She couldn’t help but drool over how handsome he looked in

khakis and a camel colored summer jacket. He opened her door

and waved his hand theatrically.

“My lady.” He tossed the toothpick aside and offered his

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TAMMY COONS & MICHELLE PACE

hand to her.

She took it and allowed him to pull her from the sports car.

Her wry smile was uncontainable. “My liege.”

He slammed her door then aggressively pressed his tower-

ing frame against her, pinning her to the car with his body. Steph had always loved the way he manhandled her, but this time she

winced at the pressure of him against her midsection. His face

fell, but she covered with a small smile and pushed him back

away from her.

“Your parents might be looking out the window.” She

murmured.

His eyebrow twitched, and his sly smile made her moist in

unmentionable places. He leaned in, and his kiss was thankfully

light and gentle. When he whispered in her ear, his breath sent a shiver throughout every inch of her.

“Come along then. Don’t want to keep the family waiting.”

As they climbed the ancient stone steps hand in hand, Steph

tried to fight the feeling that Phillip was leading her down death row toward the electric chair. Releasing her hand, he turned to

her and wrapped his muscular arm around her waist, pulling her

to his side.

“I love you.” His delivery was concise and matter-of-fact,

though he’d never said anything of the sort to her before. Steph was still gaping at him when the door swung open and Nana and

Grandad’s beaming faces appeared before them.

“Lippy! We were beginning to think you got lost. Oh! There

she is!” Nana clapped her hands together and reached out for

Steph’s cheeks. Though still reeling from Phillip’s sudden declaration, Steph couldn’t suppress a genuine grin. Phillip’s grand-

mother, Sophia, had a glow about her that was infectious, and

she and Steph had immediately bonded the first time they met.

“Sophia, Paul. It’s lovely to see you again.” Steph mur-

mured, and she leaned against Phillip as she felt a wave of pain again. She was very warm and couldn’t see how he could stand

22

RAGE

wearing his jacket when she was sleeveless and boiling. Thank-

fully she’d had the foresight to wear her hair up, or she’d be in a puddle of her own sweat by the end of tea.

“I knew you’d be back, Darlin’.” Sophia kissed her cheek.

Steph noticed Sophia moved a bit slower than the first time

they’d met, but her eyes were as vibrant as ever. Sophia frowned at her. “Are you ill? You’re pale as a wraith.”

“I’m just getting used to the time difference.” She replied,

but she was glad Phillip was still holding onto her as they

crossed the threshold, as dizziness consumed her once more.

She’d be humiliated if the first image Phillip’s parents had of her was her sprawling on the floor like a clumsy newborn colt.

“Are you sure you’re feeling alright?” He stopped in his

tracks and turned her chin to him so she was forced to meet his

eyes. “You feel a little warm.”

“Yeah, it’s just these damn shoes.” She forced a semi-

convincing chuckle. As they entered the grand foyer, two young

women rapidly descended on them, carrying what appeared to be

mimosas. Both were blonde and lovely, though Steph noticed the

one who handed her a drink had a fading, jagged scar down her

cheek. Remembering Phillip’s story about a broken beer bottle

during a fight at a show, realization dawned on her. These were

Phillip’s sisters.

“I’m Danielle,” the girl with the scar offered her hand to

Steph. She had a sweet soprano voice and a friendly grin. Tall

and waifish, Danielle was a knock-out, regardless of her facial

disfigurement. Steph felt like a short, fat Oompa Loompa stand-

ing next to her. Phillip had once mentioned that his baby sister Danielle wanted to be a teacher, and she certainly seemed to

have the disposition for it. “I can’t believe we finally get to meet you!”

“No doubt. It’s as if Phillip’s been hiding you from us. I’m

Linda.” The other blonde shook Steph’s hand forcefully. Linda

bore a much stronger physical resemblance to Phillip than Dan-

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TAMMY COONS & MICHELLE PACE

ielle. She was also tall and had his golden brown skin and smile.

Even in her sundress her athleticism was obvious. Phillip had

mentioned she was a triathlete and that she planned to attempt to swim the English Channel soon.

Phillip rolled his eyes at his sisters. “I’ve told you two cows

more than once she’s never here. And when she.. ”

“Ugh, we know, we know. You have
better
things to do.”

Linda groaned, and Phillip gave Steph a naughty look. Red-

faced, Steph wanted to murder him. Had he not just stunned her

with those infamous three little words outside, she likely would have stabbed him with the closest sharp object. Instead she took an overly large gulp of the drink which thankfully was cold and

contained alcohol.

“Shall we?” Phillip’s grandmother obviously saw her em-

barrassment and grasped Stephanie’s arm, leading her toward the

west wing. They entered a vast space that Sophia called “the