Newmar, Lola - Unzipping Levi [Scarlett Rose and the Seven Longhorns 4](Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Forever) (2 page)

Chapter 2

“Oh, sugar honey iced tea!” Scarlett Rose cursed angrily. She’d
just gotten out of the shower, and she loved to keep her robe on while
doing her makeup. One of the horses had walked by the window on her left, and its shadow nearly gave her a heart attack. She’d jumped
so hard she smeared the eyeliner she was applying.

What was frustrating was it was the third time in the last ten
minutes that something harmless spooked her. Paranoia
threatened to drive her mad.

Since being pushed from the cliff across the ranch six nights ago
by her gold-digging stepmother, it seemed danger and death were
constantly knocking on her door. She’d also been poisoned by another
mystery woman and discovered her apartment in Dallas had been
completely wiped out of personal possessions and with them any
evidence they could have hoped for.

Grunting in frustration, she vigorously rubbed the black smear
beneath her eye.

Oh, how she couldn’t wait to have all this crap behind her. All the traumatic experiences were getting to her brain. But she tried to keep in mind that once it was all finally settled, she could finally live happily with her seven new mates, make a home, a family, a life…

A smiling, lightly tanned Denzel appeared in her reflection as he walked in the door holding a steaming-hot cup of black coffee, no cream or sugar—just the way she liked it. It was in the ceramic burnt orange University of Texas mug she’d come to prefer since moving in a house full of die-hard ESPN watchers. Being in hiding during football season apparently had its perks.

“Good morning, Scarlett,” greeted Denzel in his smooth, husky Southern drawl. He always said her name so formally, as if it were a royal title of some sort.

Denzel’s towering six-two frame took up the entire doorway, and his short, dark hair was freshly groomed. But even as he spoke, she could hardly keep her eyes off his naked, tan, chiseled torso when he walked through the door. His dark-washed jeans clung to his thick, muscular thighs, and her nipples immediately responded, hardening against the soft cotton of the robe she wore. Desire pooled in her fresh panties. Knowing he’d likely be able to smell her soon, she instinctively pressed her knees together.

When she looked up in to his jade-green eyes, he gave her a knowing smirk, the faint lines around his eyes only slightly appearing. The Lenox brother signature. Then she licked her own lips as she looked down at his, so full and tempting and—

“You’re staring, darlin’. Again.”

She snapped her attention away from his inviting mouth. “What?” His words registered, and she shrugged before turning back to the mirror. “Surprised you’re not used to it by now.” Then she returned her attention back to the mascara she had been applying before he walked in.

“Are you ready to make that phone call to your father?”

Scarlett turned back to her reflection and grabbed a tissue to wipe away more makeup that had smudged under her eyes during sex. “I’m ready. So far, we know my father works at that tall building across
from the Nasher Sculpture Center.”

“The Trammell Crow Center.”

“Yeah, that one. Well, I need to contact him to let him know I want to talk to him. I need to tell him about his evil wife. Once he finds out she hired his male nurse to kill me, whom she also happens to be screwing on a regular basis, he’s sure to kick her to the curb. Do we have enough to go off of?”

He tilted his head to his bedroom. “If you’ll follow me.”

They walked into his light-blue-and-gray-themed bedroom. Denzel’s room reflected his cool exterior, the colors relaxing and precise. He sat at his corner desk and opened his white laptop. Then he typed the words “Rose, Trammell Crow Center, Dallas” into the search engine, and several links popped up.

The very first one was a link to Dallas Rose Public Relations, and Denzel clicked on it. It was a very elaborate, sophisticated Web site.

“Click here, please,” she asked, pointing to the “About” tab. A picture of the man in her locket popped up, and underneath the caption read, “Charlie Rose, CEO and founder of Dallas Rose Public Relations.”

“Looks like we found your pops.” Denzel smiled over his shoulder at her. “Now what?”

Scarlett released a long sigh and straightened, crossing her arms over her full chest as she stared at the computer screen. “I’ll call him and ask if I can see him tomorrow. Can I use your cell phone?”

He pulled the phone out of his back pocket and handed it to her. She dialed the number given on the computer screen and waited for it to ring.

“Thank you for calling Dallas Rose Public Relations. How may I direct your call?” asked a chipper, feminine voice on the other line.

“Yes, ma’am, can I be transferred to Charlie Rose, please?”

“May I ask who is calling and what this is in reference to?”

“This is Scarlett. I want to talk to him about something very urgent. It concerns the business.” She focused on choosing her words carefully as she spoke.

“Good morning, Miss Scarlett. Your father has been looking for you since yesterday. I’ll get him on the line for you. One moment, please.”

Denzel gave her a questioning look, and she gave him a thumbs-up to let him know it was going smoothly so far. He motioned for her to hand him the phone, and then he set it to speaker so he could hear it, too.

“Scarlett, my dear?”

For a moment, she froze at the sound of the elderly man’s voice. Having contact with someone she knew before the cliff fall was much weirder than she had thought it would be. But she had to admit to herself that it felt good, nonetheless.

“Hello? Scarlett, can you hear me?”

“Scarlett,” Denzel whispered low and touched her hand, pulling her back from her thoughts.

“Y–Yes. Hello, Father.”

“Father?” he asked in a surprised tone then chuckled. He sounded amused and a bit confused. “I believe you’ve called me ‘Daddy’ since it was your first word as a baby.”

A dry, nervous knot formed in her throat, and she struggled to swallow past it to speak. From now on, she needed to be much more general with what she said to others from her past until she had most of the facts of her previous life straightened out. Denzel got her attention then pointed at the phone, indicating for her to continue.

“Of course, Daddy. How are you?”

“I’m doing okay, baby. How’s the new deal going in the Hamptons?”

“The Hamptons?”

She looked at Denzel for an answer, and he nodded and mouthed, “Good.”

“The deal’s going good, Daddy. But I plan to come back to Dallas tonight. Do you have time to see me?”

“Tonight? Hmm, well, Alisa needs me to sign off on a few invoices tonight. We’re meeting with the wedding planner.”

“Wedding planner?” So he and this Alisa witch
weren’t
legally married yet…

“Yes, baby. Now keep in mind the wedding is only five days away. You don’t have much more time to figure out what you’re going to wear. And Alisa wanted me to remind you to please respect her wishes when it comes to the dress code.”

Denzel gave her a confused look, and she shrugged her shoulders. Oh, this she just
had
to hear. “What dress code, Daddy?”

Her father let out a frustrated sigh before replying. “Scarlett, my dear, have you been using that leather Marc Jacobs planner I bought you for Christmas? You’ve only begged for it every year since you started working here five years ago, and now you don’t even use the damn thing. You really have the worst memory. ”

Denzel covered his mouth to muffle his chuckle, and Scarlett softly slapped his shoulder and rolled her eyes.

“Alisa wants all the women in long, black turtleneck dresses with long sleeves. She thinks it will be elegant,” he continued.

With that, Denzel all but ran back to the restroom to break out into hysterical laughter. All she could do was shake her head. This woman was much more unbelievable than she had thought. On top of being a psycho, evidently she was also a bit of an attention whore.

“Yes, Daddy, that does sound quite elegant.” Denzel walked back into the room with a grin still spread across his face. “How about tomorrow? Will you be free for lunch?”

“That will be great, baby.”

“Crispy tacos, right? With guacamole?” she asked, recalling the vision she’d had the previous day. She had seen them dining on Mexican food in his study.

“You’re too good to me, Scarlett, dear. I’ll see you tomorrow around noon.”

“Good-bye, Daddy.”

Denzel took the phone from her and pressed the red button. “That actually went pretty well.” He sat in his desk chair and pulled her on his lap. She collapsed on his hard, masculine thighs and let out the nervous breath she had been holding. Although the phone call was over, her adrenaline was still pumping through her veins as she focused on settling her nerves.

“I guess I’m going
back
to Dallas tomorrow.” Her head rested on his wide shoulder, and she wrapped her arms around his thick neck. “I can’t wait until this is all over so we can start our lives together.”

“Just like fate planned.” His long fingers combed through her hair lovingly as he allowed her to rest on him like that.

“Just like fate planned,” she repeated, smiling. “Then I won’t have to constantly look over my shoulder, I can move my stuff in, I can officially become a Lenox, and we can start…” Her words trailed at the sweet image that popped in her mind. Would they have a boy or a girl?

“Trying for a baby?” he finished for her. When she nodded, he placed his large hand on her head. “I can’t wait.”

Chapter 3

The teal teakettle whistled from the kitchen stove. She’d just waved goodbye to the twins, who were going into town for ranch supplies. Leo and the triplets had all headed out as well while Byron slept in his bed.

“Scarlett!” Levi called from outside. He sounded excited about something out there, so she placed the kettle on a cool burner then turned the stove off. Her afternoon tea would have to wait until she found out what her blond cowboy was up to. If there was anything to stop in her tracks for, it was to see what would get her flirty mate so excited.

She walked to the front window and peeked through the thick burgundy curtains. There was no one there when she tried to look around the pastures, so she stepped out onto the porch and down the steps. A whistle came from behind the house, and suddenly Levi rode toward her on top of Wayne, giving her that amazing smile of his.

“You’re soaking wet,” he pointed out as he brought the black stallion to a stop in front of her. He laughed when she arched an eyebrow suggestively. “I mean your hair. Wanna hop on with me and air dry in the sun?” His attention shifted to her exposed upper chest peeking through the robe.

“Of course I would. But I need to go change.” She was still wearing her robe twenty minutes after getting out of the shower.

“Just come like that. All the boys think you could use a little fun today, so they left us alone until dinner. Come on,” he urged and held out a hand.

She took it and allowed him to hoist her on top of the horse to sit in front of him. Before she could settle her butt comfortably on top of the saddle, Levi pulled her robe down her shoulders, exposing her from her hips on up.

“Levi!” she scolded as she whipped her head over her right shoulder to give him a dirty look. Levi’s hands held her arms down before she even realized he had moved. “Let me go, Levi. I’m not comfortable like this at all.” Her struggles proved useless against his incredible strength.

“Darlin’, can you just do me a favor and give it a chance?” he whispered in her ear, his warm breath sending tingles down her spine.