Loving Pierce (Heart & Soul Series Book 4) Read online

  Pierce considered himself a saint for not rolling his eyes. “I doubt you suffered from a bout of bad luck as much as overindulgence in alcohol, which we’ve discussed before. I called before coming here and the rehab facility I researched still has a place for you. Just say the word and I can help you get sober.”

  Jonas’ eyes flared into heightened fury. “I’m not a drunk!” he snapped, spittle flying from his lips as he tried, and failed, to sit up. “I like my bourbon just fine, thank you very much, but I’m not a drunk. So just take your high and mighty self right on back to your fancy office and leave me alone!”

  Pierce noticed the tremors in his father’s hand, the sweat forming along the neckline of his hospital gown, and the untouched food sitting on the rolling table, now pushed away. All signs of long term alcohol abuse and the physical symptoms of withdrawal.

  “I can’t do that,” he sighed and pulled a chair closer to his father’s bed. “Why didn’t you tell me that your housekeeper quit several weeks ago?”

  Jonas sneered, staring at the end of his bed. “Because it wasn’t any of your business.”

  “Other than the fact that I pay her salary?” he pointed out.

  The old man shrugged. “She was a nosy pain in the ass anyway. She kept trying to feed me healthy crap and even tried to water down my bourbon. I don’t know who gave her the right, but I kicked her out. She didn’t quit.”

  Pierce pressed his fingers against the bridge of his nose, trying to dig deep and find a bit more patience. “Dad,” he finally said, “I instructed Gladys to water down your alcohol. If you’re not going to get help, then at least slow down on the drinking.” He lifted his hand when his father drew breath to argue. “I’m taking your car away too.”

  “Who gives you the right to do that?!”

  “It’s my car, dad. I own it. I never signed over it to you. So, if you want to go buy your own car, that’s a whole different situation. But Gladys told me that you went out driving one day after you’d been drinking all afternoon. I’m not allowing you to drive drunk, Dad. So, until you get help, no car. And I’ve spoken to the police chief. Apparently, you don’t even have a valid driver’s license. It expired several years ago.”

  Jonas turned an ugly shade of red as his temper flared higher still. “I can drive just fine! I don’t need anyone to tell me what I can or can’t do!” he roared. “Don’t you dare try and get around me about this, son! I’m your old man! You can’t tell me what to do.”

  “I’m not telling you what you can or can’t do, Dad. If you want to drink yourself into an early death and be miserable until that point, then go for it. I can’t stop you. But there’s no way I’m going to facilitate you breaking the law and possibly injuring someone else when you drive drunk. Not happening.”

  “Get the hell out of here!” he shouted.

  Pierce didn’t argue this time. He was sick to his stomach. But he paused in the doorway, looking back at his father, who looked small and weak now that his anger didn’t have a target. “The doctor told me that you can be released tomorrow. I’ll be back to pick you up. You have my cell number if you need anything.”

  And with that Pierce walked out of the room, ignoring his father’s bellows of anger over being abandoned. Pierce ignored it, wishing that he could fix his father. Wishing that his father had a small shred of dignity left. But over the years, Pierce had learned to just let Jonas live his life the way he wanted to live it. Pierce had offered rehab several times over the years, only to be insulted every time. The only thing he could do now was to ensure that his father wasn’t a threat to himself or others.

  Heading out, he slipped into the waiting limousine. “The Lodge,” he instructed. He could stay at his father’s house, but there was no way that was going to happen. His father’s house was most likely filthy. And if his father was coming home from the hospital, Pierce didn’t want to be around for more of his father’s vitriol. Especially not when Pierce owned the luxury resort only a few miles away from his father’s house.

  The Mind, Body, and Soul Resort was one of the more famous boutique resorts that Rossen Resorts owned. He’d bought this property several years ago when it had been nothing more than a crumbling grouping of log cabins.

  He’d transformed it into one of the premier health resorts in the country. The lobby itself was impressive, with the tall birch trees lining the stairs that led up to three story windows that looked out at the mountains. The structure gave off the appearance of strength and power, which was exactly what he wanted the guests to feel as they moved from one exercise class to another.

  But instead of pausing to take it all in, he just wanted to get to his room and maybe head out for a run before dinner, clear his head and get rid of the bad aftertaste from that visit with his father. He walked up to the reception desk where the resort manager rushed out, greeting him with a subservient bow.

  “It’s an honor to have you back with us, Sir!” he gushed.

  Pierce nodded, scanning the area, automatically looking for anything out of place. He didn’t see anything at first glance, which was good. Rossen properties was known worldwide as providing luxury and excellent experiences.

  “The resort looks good. You’re doing a good job, Bernard.”

  The manager smiled, nodding his head. “The staff here make things easy for me.”

  Good answer, Pierce thought. “What is the current occupancy rate?” he asked, even though he knew the figures off the top of his head, having reviewed them earlier today on the flight from his Boston headquarters.

  For the next fifteen minutes, Pierce walked with his resort manager through the compound, looking around and asking questions. For a brief moment, he caught sight of a dark haired woman with round, soft hips and…sad eyes. Not Kaitlin. Kaitlin’s eyes could light up a room, he thought. Except for that last time together, her eyes had never been sad. Kaitlin had been one of the liveliest women he’d ever known.

  How could he still think he saw her, six months after she’d left him? It was infuriating that he couldn’t get the woman out of his head! Every other woman that had drifted through his life had been easily dismissed from his consciousness as soon as the relationship had run its predictable course. Not Kaitlin. From the moment he’d met her, he’d known that she was different.

  Different and beautiful and more dignified than he’d expected. She had pride, which is why she’d left him. She’d wanted it all, the kids, the house, marriage…and he’d rejected her.

  Damn his past! Damn his father’s bitterness and damn his mother for walking out on their family! Intellectually, he knew that his mother’s abandonment and his father’s bitter resentment over the years had left scars on him. And yet, he couldn’t seem to stop himself from pulling back, even though he knew that Kaitlin was…well, she was gone, he reminded himself.

  Bernard was saying something, but Pierce hadn’t heard anything since the sighting of that dark haired beauty.

  “That’s fine. You’re doing an excellent job,” he said, interrupting Bernard midsentence. Pierce hadn’t been listening anyway, so why waste the man’s time? “I’ll be here for a few days, until my father is released from the hospital and settled in his home.”

  “Very good, Sir,” Bernard said, bowing again. “Since it is Sunday, we had a large turnover of guests. But we are back up at full capacity.” Bernard looked anxious for a moment. “We…uh…”

  “Spill it,” Pierce urged, wondering what his manager was worried about.

  “Well, sir, this is a bit unorthodox, but…” he looked down at the floor, then back up at Pierce. “I hired a snuggling professional, sir!” the manager announced, looking almost defiant. “I know that a professional snuggler sounds odd, but sir, she is one of the most sought after vendors to date! She’s very nice and…”

  Pierce lifted his hand, stopping his manager. “Bernard, what the hell is a professional snuggler?”

  The shorter man laugh nervously. “Well, she hugs people. Or she…snug
gles with them. She’s absolutely wonderful. But maybe you should think of her more along the lines of touch therapy.”

  A dark, cynical eyebrow lifted at the description.

  “Nothing sexual!” Bernard assured him quickly. “Her name is Zoe Daniels and she’s amazing. She offers comfort and kindness. She’s…” he blushed and shrugged. “She’s pretty wonderful. Sir.”

  Pierce stared at the man, shaking his head. “As long as everything is legal, I don’t care. Just…keep it clean,” he snapped. “Anything else?”

  Bernard seemed to relax slightly. “Well, Mr. Trevor Chase checked in today.”

  Pierce blinked. “The football player?”

  “Yes, sir. He’s…well, there was a bit of a ruckus when he checked in, but we’ve added some additional security in order to ensure that his stay with us is stress free. There were a few ladies who appeared to be somewhat relentless in their interest. I had a private word with each of them, explaining that they would be asked to leave if they interrupted Mr. Chase’s resort experience in any way.”

  “Good. Tell Trevor I said hi.”

  Bernard’s mouth fell open. “You know him?”

  “Of course. He’s a great football player. A good man too.”

  Bernard chuckled. “I’ll take your word for it. He’s a bit intimidating.”

  “You’re doing a good job here, Bernard. I’ve received excellent feedback from guests. Whoever is doing your event planning should be praised as well. He or she is…”

  “She,” Bernard interrupted. “Cali George. She’s impressively creative.”

  “Good. Hopefully, I’ll meet her over the next few days and can tell her myself.” He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck wearily. “Right now, I’m going to find my suite and go for a run.” Exactly what he’d planned to do over…he glanced down at his watch…an hour ago.

  Bernard practically bowed. “Very good sir. I’ve sent someone ahead to ensure that everything is the way you prefer it, sir.”

  Pierce ignored the subservience, abruptly irritated by it. “Have dinner sent to my suite in an hour,” he ordered, then walked away, still thinking about Kaitlin’s soft skin and the way she’d sigh when she climaxed in his arms, her soft breasts rising and falling, her nipples…!

  “Damn it!” he snapped, startling a couple walking down the hallway from the pool area. “Sorry,” he mumbled, then stepped into the suite that he kept on hand for his exclusive use. Closing the door, he stared out at the shadows, thinking about Kaitlin, wondering what she was doing right now. Was she safe? Was she eating enough? Was she getting enough sleep? He knew that she didn’t sleep well when she was writing. Those damn horror stories she wrote were amazing! But they scared her, keeping her from sleeping well. She was so intense when she wrote, that the scenes from her books infiltrated her dreams, frightening her awake.

  How many nights had she woken up in his arms, scared out of her mind by whatever she’d been writing earlier that day? Too many to count, he thought. Whenever that had happened, he’d pulled her back into his arms and soothed her to sleep.

  Or made love to her, so that she was thinking about him instead of her novel.

  It wasn’t so bad when she edited because her mind was a bit more relaxed, focusing more on the details and not as intently on the creative aspect of the novel. Chuckling, he thought about her curled up on his couch, not hearing anything he said to her because she was so focused on whatever she was working on. But with a single touch, he could gain her attention, her eyes lighting up with delight just because he was next to her. She’d toss her computer to the cushion beside her and throw herself into his arms, squealing with excitement.

  That was the thing about Kaitlin - she could be excited about anything and everything! And she was always excited to see him. Her smile could banish all of the tensions and frustrations from his day, allowing him to simply revel in her presence, be with her and talk with her, hear about whatever she’d written and promise to hold her at night so she could sleep.

  He missed that. He missed her! Hell, he missed her smell, her smile, the way she snuggled next to him on the sofa when they worked together during the evenings. He’d never snuggled before. Women had always been separate in his life. But with Kaitlin…she hadn’t realized that he wasn’t a snuggler. That brought to mind Bernard’s “professional snuggler” and he snorted in disgust.

  Then again, thinking about how incredible it had felt to have Kaitlin next to him…maybe there was something to that Zoe What’s-her-name.

  The thought of Kaitlin echoed through his thoughts. He wanted her soft curves cuddling against his side. No, that wasn’t quite accurate. He wanted her curves naked, so that he could run his hand over every inch of her, kiss her, taste her…feel her body tremble when he touched her…when he brought her to a climax that tightened her body and then sent her being spiraling into a pleasure so intense that she was practically boneless. He missed that about her, the way she gave her whole self to him every time he touched her.

  Turning away from the window, he muttered a curse and spotted the files on the desk. Marjorie, his ever-efficient assistant had arranged for his work to be ready for him when he arrived.

  Work. There seemed to be a never ending list of things to handle, decisions to make, issues to fix. Before Kaitlin, he’d thrived on those details, never resenting the time needed to run his hotels. But without Kaitlin to come home to at night, those details had become…heavy. She’d made the world a lighter place to live in. Just having her rest her head on his shoulder in the evening had been nice.

  Instead of working, he turned away from the stack of files, pulling on workout clothes and running shoes. He’d do what he’d done for the past six months – try to get her out of his mind. Maybe someday, his efforts would work. Maybe if he pushed himself hard enough, he would be too exhausted to notice that she wasn’t curled up beside him tonight.

  Chapter 3

  Kaitlin peered through the gathering darkness, trying to figure out where she was and, more importantly, how to get back to the resort. It was getting dark and scenes she’d created for her mystery stories over the years were starting to filter into the surrounding shadows. The darkness was deepening and the evil characters were lurking, ready to pounce.

  Why in the world did she love writing crime and suspense? What was wrong with a nice, sexy romance?! Oh, for the simple joy of writing a steamy sex scene! The creative focus a writer would need to describe two people having sex without actually using the medical terms for each person’s anatomy! Trying to distract herself, she turned left onto a path that, she hoped, would take her back to the resort. What would she call a man’s penis if she wrote a romance? What did romance writers use? Kaitlin never read romances, too eager for the next horror story or crime drama. From the moment she’d discovered books, her mind had craved the intensity of that spine-tingling suspense, the next villain who was going to do something horrible to the world…or the man simply walking down the street, thinking about how to do horrible things to the people he passed.

  Romance would be easy, wouldn’t it? How hard could it really be?

  Probably easier than finding her way through the thick woods.

  “Tennessee really knows how to grow trees,” she said into the increasing darkness. Kaitlin pulled her cell phone out of her back pocket and turned on the flashlight app, shining the light into the shadows.

  “Pokey thing,” she said out loud and relaxed slightly, trying to come up with terms for a penis. The sound of her voice helped to keep the horror away. “His lust driver!” she continued, because listing different ways to describe a penis helped keep her thoughts from the various ways her villains had killed people in her novels. “Lust pole!” she announced, then laughed. “Yeah, that’s a good one.” Was that the pathway?

  “I think I like pokey thing the best. But what about….” She stopped, closing her eyes. “Okay, that’s not someone’s hand!” she said of whatever was touching her leg. “Nope! Just a
branch! It isn’t a cold, creepy hand and it is NOT going to jerk me into a bush and do horrible things to me! No no no! Ummm, throbbing member!”

  “Kaitlin?” a deep voice issues from the deepening shadows.

  The scream that rent the air was far superior to anything her characters had ever produced. And the fact that Kaitlin had that thought even as she was positive that she was about to die a horrible, painful, merciless, and mysterious death was absolutely ridiculous and she’d never admit it to anyone.

  A warm hand touched her arm and her next scream was even more impressive. Although, the freakish way she’d jumped, as if there were a hundred or so spiders on the ground and neither of her feet could touch said spider-covered-ground spoke volumes for a future prosecutor’s insanity defense.

  “Kaitlin! It’s just me!” the deep voice was much closer now.

  She abruptly realized that her eyes were closed. Right! As if closing her eyes would stop some horrible person from dismembering her body? Stupid! She’d have to remember that for her next novel. No closed eyes! Face death straight on with wide eyes.

  Well, one eye at least, she thought as she carefully, slowly, opened one eye. But only because that voice, the voice owned by her killer, sounded suspiciously familiar…

  The shadows were definitely playing tricks on her. That was the only answer. She straightened up because it is really hard to crouch in suspended horror for a long period of time when one’s body isn’t used to any sort of physical movement.

  “Kaitlin, what are you doing out here in the woods after sunset, honey?” that achingly familiar voice asked softly.

  She slowly opened her other eye. Pierce was here? He was hot and sweaty and right here in front of her! “Pierce?” she whispered uncertainly. Just in case he wasn’t the man she’d loved but was actually a paranormal apparition that had transformed into her heart’s desire in order to trick her.

  Goodness, she really needed to get out into the real world more often!