Sahara (A Night Fire Novel Book 3) (9 page)

Chapter Fourteen

Sahara wasn't impressed at being passed around. She had one hell of a set of lungs and ensured everyone got a good listen at how well they worked. But there was lots of experienced mothers with lots of advice on how to settle a fussing baby. Which left me wondering why Fraser called me instead of them. He could have called El, she would have gladly helped.

You know why he called you
my mind chided me.

“You know, I don't think I've ever seen him so happy.” El said as she looked into the house.

The group had separated based on gender. The men folk were in the lounge room watching a baseball game, the women were out on the back deck drinking wine.

“I wonder why.” Lola said softly as she grinned.

That was not a question. That was a statement. Surely she hadn't figured it out.

“And why wouldn't he be happy? She is so adorable.” Abigail offered.

I was about to say something but I held my tongue, remember the child. Yes, the child is adorable. No, Fraser and Eden are not having sex so there is no reference to it being the reason for Fraser's happiness. Except that it totally is. Okay, so maybe fifty-fifty.

“It has to be.” Frankie put in her own opinion. “Can't imagine there would be one of the groupies that has managed to bring this kind of happiness.”

They all nodded in agreement, silence hit the table for a brief moment. I reveled in it, basking in it's quiet glory. I wished it had been longer.

“So you've moved in Eden?”

Lola looked at me with that same grin. Damn that woman.

“Until the tour, just to help out.”

“She's been here all week.” Frankie scoffed. “Why he had to keep it a secret is beyond me but he did.”

“It's because they are merciless with their teasing.” Abigail returned. “We've all seen it, we know it's all in good fun but I think they forget to stop.”

“I don't blame him really, I've told Evan to lay off when it comes to these sorts of things but I don't think he listens.”

Everyone agreed with Lola's statement. Evan looked a lot like her, the same bright green eyes and flawless tanned skin. She was blonde and he had black hair, though his looked like it was dyed.

My phone buzzed with an incoming message, I opened and nearly dropped it with shock. Restraining the rising heat in my cheeks I thought of the coldest thing I could. The freezer. It was enough to send a chill down my spine but not enough to hide the fact that I was blushing.

“Everything okay?” Heather, Austin's mother asked.

“Sure. Just over thinking something. Excuse me.”

Several sets of curious eyes watched me as I walked into the house. I was pretending to go to the bathroom, thankfully the area was hidden by the kitchen wall so none of them would know who was waiting for me.

“You took your time.” he whispered as he grabbed my hips from behind.

“I only just got the message.” I returned, equally low. “I'm being watched so if you want this to remain on the down low I would suggest you wait until everyone leaves.”

“Who is watching you?” Fraser grinned as he backed me into the wall.

“Lola.” I whispered. “I think she suspects.”

He said nothing, instead taking my hand and sneaking along the corridor. We approached the end of it, to the left was the lounge room where there was a room full of men, ahead of us was the door to the garage. Fraser quietly moved, tugging my hand along as he pushed through the door. Once it was closed and locked he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me up and onto his body. I wrapped my arms over his shoulders as we kissed, he stopped at the car.

“Short and sweet.”

He grinned wickedly as he pulled the condom out, pulling the zip of his jeans down he rolled it down the length.

“How are you going to keep quiet Eden?” he whispered the cheeky taunt.

“With great difficulty.”

Fraser pushed the skirt of my dress up and slipped my panties down, pushing me against the bonnet of his car. I gasped with the first push, still feeling so tender. Already I was flushed with pleasure, I bit my lip in an attempt to keep quiet. By the end of this I would have a permanent imprint.

He was doing his damnedest to keep quiet, barely making a sound with each movement. I missed the sound of our bodies hitting against each other. My eyebrows pressed together as I bit my lip harder, Fraser realized that I was about to orgasm and kissed me.

I wrapped my arm around him, moaning into his harsh kiss. His hands cupped my bare ass at the top of my thighs, pulling my legs wider. All I could do to contain the sound of me enjoying my orgasm was kiss him. I couldn't get enough of him as our tongues danced around each others, our lips wrangling. His groan growled into my mouth as his hips slowed.

Our little interlude in the garage had gone unnoticed, or at least I believed it had. No one said any different so I carried on believing it to be the truth. I was in the kitchen cleaning up, Fraser had returned to the lounge to watch the end of the game.

Abigail and Frankie swanned into the room, like two hens who had been clucking about me while I was gone. There was a conspiratorial smirk on both of their lips, their eyes narrowing as they climbed up onto the stools.

“We were just discussing the private lives of those around us.” Abigail started.

“Mm-hm.” Frankie nodded once, her voice filled with determination.

“In particular, yours.”

The plates clattered onto the dish rack, luckily they hadn't fallen far and there were no breakages.

“No time for a love life ladies. I have six babies to deal with.”

“Nonsense.” Frankie scoffed. “I'm thinking that you can come over for dinner tomorrow night.”

I looked at her dubiously, wondering what harebrained scheme these two were trying to hatch. My mouth opened to decline to her offer but Abigail stopped me.

“We're thinking that you and Pete might just hit it off.”

Through gritted teeth I gave a hesitant smile. Frankie's brother Pete wasn't that bad to look at, he was a nice guy and he had a good job as a police officer but in reality he wasn't my type. I'd spoken to him briefly at the dinner party Curtis and Frankie had and we didn't really hit it off.

“I appreciate the thought ladies, I truly do but I don't believe starting a relationship just before I go away for a year is a wise idea. Besides, I can't really leave the baby. Fraser has no idea what he's doing.”

“We thought you'd say that.”

Abigail nodded at Frankie, agreeing with her.

“So we decided that Austin and I would come around and help him. You can go off and have a nice dinner and I know that Pete would be up for a one night stand so you don't need to worry about the year away thing.”

Frankie peered past me. I turned with dread and saw Fraser standing there. His face was void of emotion as he stood still, empty beer can in one hand.

“Hey Fras, we were just suggesting to Eden that she comes over for dinner tomorrow night. We're going to play matchmaker with her and Pete. What do you think?”

His eyes darted to me, still no emotion. The grip around the beer can was slowly crushing and I knew exactly what he thought.

“I thought Pete had a girlfriend.”

“Nah.” Frankie grinned madly as she swiped her hand in the air. “It's a great idea, isn't it Abbey?”

“Yep.”

“I really don't think it's a wise idea.” I said, yet again.

“What's not a wise idea?”

My body tightened to the sound of Jaxon's voice, Abbey and Frankie beamed as they looked past me.

“We are totally setting Eden and Pete up for a one night stand. When she gets back he might be up for more but for now, it's cool. Right Eden?”

“No, not at all.”

Jaxon sidled up beside me, almost blocking Fraser from my view which was just as well. His glare could melt steel.

“Mommy two needs to get laid. I think this is brilliant. Get her ready before the tour starts, that way when were out there doing our thing and the male fans start pouring in back stage she'll be good to go.”

Behind him the can crinkled more, the soft metal crushing under the weight of a pissed off man.

“Mommy two is getting laid?” Evan strolled in, humor filling his voice. “I am crushed, I thought you only had eyes for me.”

“In your dreams.” I huffed with derision.

Frankie clasped her hands with delight.

“So it's settled. Dinner at six.”

“Can't wait.” Abigail cooed.

Casually I glanced at Fraser who looked like he wanted to find a punching bag and lay into it. Our mind games over his friends had just backfired on him in a way that he probably thought would never happen.

Chapter Fifteen

Fraser hadn't said a word. Not one mutter, not one whisper. Nothing. The frown was so deep that I thought he would end up with permanent wrinkles from it. We were eating leftovers, the crowd was gone now and Sahara was asleep. It was peaceful in the house but it was going to break soon.

“It's fine. I'll go to dinner and nothing will happen.” I offered, hoping to break the foul mood.

He said nothing.

“He's not my type and we barely spoke at the dinner. It's all good.”

Still nothing.

“I'll be gone a couple of hours. Austin and Abbey will be here to help.”

Silence.

“Come on Fraser, we agreed that mind games were fun. If you can't handle it then tell them, then there won't be any issues about dinners or set ups.”

As he chewed the food in his mouth he looked at me, probably the first time he'd done it since this afternoon. He swallowed it and his grip on the cutlery tightened and loosened, the frown was joined by a narrowing of his eyes.

“What? I said I didn't want to go. There is only so much resistance I can put up without it becoming obvious. God, it's not as if there is even a problem. Pete didn't seem the slightest bit interested.”

I huffed as I returned to eating my meal, sick of this conversation. Well, my conversation with the mute. Brick walls were more animated.

“You're wrong.”

As I looked back up at him I restrained the delight that he'd actually decided to start speaking again. I doubted he was in the mood for my sarcasm.

“How so?”

“Your name might have come up in a conversation after dinner.”

My eyebrows raised with surprise and Fraser let out a pained sigh.

“He might have mentioned having an interest.”

“Having an interest?” I said as I frowned.

“Damn it Eden.”

Fraser dumped his cutlery to the plate with a loud clatter, leaning back on his chair in frustration.

“He said he wanted to fuck you. I might add that there was a general consensus of agreement in the room as well.”

“Pardon?”

I could feel the color drain from my face as I stared at one angry man.

“Evan and Jaxon.”

“Oh don't be ridiculous Fraser. That's just man speak, big noting themselves. Maybe they suspect something and were trying to get a reaction out of you.”

I stopped for a moment, pondering that night. There wasn't anything noteworthy in terms of me and my love life. Curtis and his family well, that was interesting but me, no.

“How did you react Fraser?”

“I said they were a pair of losers and they shouldn't talk about an employee like that.”

“Really?” I said dryly. “Word for word, exactly the same?”

Fraser looked at me blankly and then rolled his eyes.

“Okay. So I said they were idiots who stood no chance with you.”

“Do you always lie to me Fraser?”

“Eden!” he huffed and as he looked at me he sighed. “Fine. I called them assholes. Then they started giving me shit for it, telling me that I was just jealous because I wanted to fuck you.”

“Well done Fraser.” I sighed wearily. “It's going to be fine. I will send them a message saying that I don't feel comfortable with the situation and apologize for bailing on them.”

Fraser shook his head with a lot of frustration.

“I don't think you can. Abbey seemed so excited about coming over here to help babysit. Frankie was planning dinner.”

“You know, if you just say something then none of this will be an issue. End the mind games and tell them.”

He didn't tell them and that was why twenty-four hours later I was sitting at Curtis and Frankie's dinner table. I was beginning to regret the mind games. Like some bizarre need to see it to some goal post, Fraser was determined to keep the secret. The reluctance on his part had resulted in a fight, one that had me walking away to hide the pain.

I had moved back into the spare bedroom. I had fallen asleep alone and in a morose state that there was no easy fix for. When I woke I was wrapped up in his arms I was surprised but said nothing. He'd slipped into my room somewhere during the early hours of the morning and snuggled into me. I didn't want to push him away, I wanted to keep him right where he was. So I pretended to stay asleep until Sahara woke, then there was no more pretending.

Fraser grumped his way around the house all morning, picking on every little thing I did. Nothing was good enough and I struggled not to bite back. If I bit back it would damage us forever. I didn't fight fair, not when my heart was on the line. At least with his nit picking it could be forgotten with time, what I might say in the heat of the moment would be forever.

He wasn't impressed when I moved my bags back into the spare bedroom. At least I was still in the house, I could have easily gone back to my apartment. Which was still a real possibility. I stayed for Sahara, not him. It was obvious he was struggling with the concept of opening up to his friends, exposing himself and his emotions. But until he did it, there never really was an us.

I told him that just before Austin and Abigail arrived. It was one of those moments where I was on the verge of telling him to stick everything up his ass and walking out. But I tried to keep cool and retain a little dignity as I calmly told him that he had until we got on the plane for LA to tell them. If he hadn't and we had reached the airport in LA, I'd be catching a cab back to my own apartment, I wouldn't be going on the tour and I wouldn't be returning to Las Vegas with them in a year.

So now I sat at a highly polished table that glinted under the light, gazing down into the Carbonara that Frankie had made. It was an amazing dish, one that made me want to gobble it up like a little pig and forget about anyone else that might be sitting at the table watching. When I looked up I saw the lowered head of Pete, clearly he liked his sister's meal as well.

He was at the door when I arrived. It was painfully awkward, Pete was a man of few words. Less than Fraser which was saying something. He smiled at me briefly as he held the door open. We'd had a short conversation in the entry, which was me telling him that this wasn't my idea. He said it wasn't his either. We both agreed that his sister was the devil in disguise and that neither of us were comfortable with the hidden agenda for this dinner.

Pete's words about being uncomfortable with tonight had made me curious, so I pushed him a little more. He did have a girlfriend, one that he hadn't told his family about because she had kids and he didn't know how his parents would react. Which made me even more curious about what Fraser had heard. Or had he heard it, could it have been a mistake?

He had heard Pete correctly, however it wasn't as Pete had intended it to sound. The men at that were at that dinner party who might have been getting a little drunk as they sat and watched television were talking women. They talked about some celebrity that had just graced the television screen in front of them. She'd somehow managed to have a sex tape released by an ex-boyfriend and so they all talked about how lucky the guy was to even get a look in with her. Apparently she was shit hot. So then the conversation turned to all of the famous women they'd want to fornicate with and somehow it turned to the regular folk, like me.

Yep, little old me had become the center of the conversation about sex with them. Fraser was right when he said that Evan and Jaxon wanted to, but Pete hinted that it was purely for show. He sounded like he was trying to gauge my reaction about something entirely different.

I was careful, wondering if Frankie had sent him on the snoop for information. By this stage we had made our way to the outdoor entertainment area, Curtis and Frankie were notably absent which from a fishing for information point of view, it was ideal. Pete seemed all too happy to part with any information I wanted to know and didn't look for a reaction or ask questions.

The dinner party was at a time when Fraser was still a free man, the box on the doorstep that contained his daughter was a few days away. So Pete said that he happily sat there and got drunk like the rest of them, except for Curtis of course. We both agreed that alcohol was great for loosening the mind and the tongue and whilst it was great for a good time, there was a certain responsibility to be had. And the cop in him was that responsibility. He had one beer and then offered to be the designated driver to the three drunken idiots.

So sober Pete got to listen to the drunken ramblings about movie and television celebrities, porn stars and the strippers from varying clubs, groupies and Eden. It was Curtis who slowly pushed them closer to discussing me, thinking it was funny. Pete said that between him, Evan, Jaxon and Fraser they all agreed that I was indeed very fuckable and that I was definitely a screamer. How right they were.

Pete said it was obvious that Evan and Jaxon were messing around but with Fraser he said there was an element of truth to it. He surmised that it was the cop in him that made him see the little facial gestures and body language that no one else saw. And then he smiled at me and I knew that he'd figured me out as well. I'd just been played.

And that was the end of Frankie's grand plan for getting her brother and I together for a one night stand. Pete stated that he was only there to shut her up and to figure out if he was right about what he saw that day. Happy with the way things had gone, he was now eating his meal in silence. It probably made Frankie wonder where it had all gone wrong. She did look a little perplexed.

Dinner was over and Pete walked me to my car, if only to shut Frankie up. He kept saying she was a pest for trying to interfere with his love life but he loved her all the same. I could only agree, sisters were a pest but still very lovable. Though I doubted that Reese would try and play matchmaker with my life, she knew better.

When I arrived back at Fraser's house, Austin and Abigail were still here. No doubt they would give me a quizzing over the events and I didn't know how to answer their inquisition. There was no garage door opening for me tonight, I pulled into the driveway and locked the car. I looked at the car sitting in front of theirs, wondering if Jaxon or Evan was here as well.

It wasn't a car that I recognized and as I walked to the front door, I knew it wasn't Jaxon or Evan. The front door was open for ventilation, the security door shut and locked. Thankfully I had a set of keys, otherwise I'd be stuck with the indignity of knocking on the front door of a house that I slept in. I pushed the key into the lock and turned it slowly, feeling an uneasiness in the pit of my stomach.

I didn't want to believe that Fraser would sink so low as to try and make me jealous but as I opened the door and listened to the laughter of an unknown woman, I knew he had. Carefully I closed the door and locked it again. My heart was hammering hard and my legs were so heavy it felt like I had bricks in my shoes. Abigail saw me first, her beaming smile made three heads turn. All I could do was grit my teeth and smile back.

“You're back, how did it go?”

“Dinner was lovely.”

“And Pete?” she grinned wickedly.

“Just friends Abigail, like I said from the start.”

I looked at Fraser who was on the lounge with the woman beside him. No, beside wasn't the right word. Let's try, on him. She was blonde and perky, skinny with long legs that were draped over his. The skirt sat too high and the shirt revealed far too much. Her arm was wrapped around his shoulder, his around her waist with the other on her knee.

“Really?” she whined.

I turned back to Abigail, disappointment on her face.

“Yeah, really. I'm not interested in him and I never was. I'm sorry Abbey, now if you will excuse me I've got some packing to do.”

“Packing?”

Ignoring her I turned away from the entry to the lounge room.

“Is that your girlfriend Fraser?” the woman asked as I slipped into the shadows of the hallway.

“No. Just my assistant.”

Tears trickled down my cheeks as I walked to the bedroom and slammed the door shut hard. So hard I had woken Sahara up. As I packed my bag I could hear Fraser stomping his way down the hallway.

“What the fuck is wrong with you Eden?” he yelled at me from the other side of the door.

I said nothing as I continued to pack my bag. Screw the tour, I was gone. Another city bites the dust. I might try New York this time. I stopped at the laptop, realizing that I wasn't going to get far in the car that was owned by the management company. So I called a cab and hastily continued with the last of my things. When I was done and the bags were by the door, I set the phone on the laptop along with the car keys.

Then with my big girl pants pulled up and my brave face on, I wiped the tears and opened the door. Fraser was still at the door looking like he was going to burst a vein. I could hear Abigail trying to settle Sahara down.

“Austin!”

Warily he put his head around the corner, looking at me.

“Yeah?”

“Laptop, mobile and car keys are on the bed. Good luck with the tour.”

I picked up the bags and pushed past Fraser.

“What? You can't go. Fraser say something.”