Chapter Twenty One
He was going insane.
It was past one a.m. and he was slowly and painfully going insane.
The cool air from the central air system brushing against his bare skin didn't register in his mind. The early morning moonlight streaming into his room through the open drapes didn't ever reach his line of vision. The rumpled sheets of the dominating bed served no purpose for him. The ticking of the Movado clock over the doorframe of his room and the silence of the first floor of his penthouse were the sole focus of his attention.
Dressed in only a pair of black boxers, Jason paced the length of his room in long, brisk strides. The muscles of his body knotted and his breathing labored, he paced. He had been pacing since Johnny had called to inform him that his charges would be running late. His best friend had been perfectly fine with the change of plans, but Jason was anything, but comfortable with the thought of Elizabeth out of his sight with Brenda and Emily as her companions within reaching distance of alcohol.
The cherry hardwood floor beneath his feet grew warm from the friction his bare feet created with every step. Jason was known for his patience and ability to remain calm under any circumstances, but at the moment he didn't live up to his reputation. His patience had fled the minute the clock had struck one and anxiety had started to gnaw away at his conscience the first of a dozen times that he had reached Johnny's voicemail.
Striding to the patterned windows in his room, he paused to crack his knuckles. Watching the moons reflection on the water, Jason rolled his neck on his shoulders and then proceeded to relieve the kinks in his shoulders. Despite trying to relax his muscles, his body remained taut and his stomach twisted in knots.
The apprehension coursing through him reached epic proportions at the cackle of the clock echoing in his room, announcing that it had just turned two. He had no reason to feel the anger that coursed through him, but the side that cared and wanted Elizabeth by his side brought the emotion screaming to the surface. Walking into his living room to spot his scantily clad nanny had sent his blood racing south and kissing her had only made the last six hours hell to get through. Realizing that she wasn't coming home early the minute the clock had turned ten had only agitated him to no end. Knowing she was out with two troublemakers didn't help ease the tangled knots in his stomach.
Of course, being the genius that he was and kissing her seconds before she left didn't help the situation. His mind on its own accord keep wondering back to the few seconds that he had held her in his arms. Her warm, delicate body pressed up against his larger frame. The feel of her silky locks twisted around his rough hands. The surprise that had passed through her body moments before her lips had joined him in battle for control. Despite the cold showers and a long run, Jason couldn't forget the desire he had tasted on her supple lips or wash away the thoughts of releasing her from the confines of her ridiculous idea of an outfit and leaving her in just her stiletto heels. It didn't help that his mind was able to conjure up the images of wrapping her slender thighs around his waist and feeling her stiletto heels digging into his back as she withered in his arms.
Feeling the tension increase in his muscles and blood rush south, Jason groaned and was glad no one was around to see him in his obvious state of arousal.
"What could they be doing out this late?" he muttered fiercely to himself, he resumed his pacing. He knew what they were doing out so late. Brenda and Emily had come up with one of their brilliant plans and had some how talked Elizabeth into it, which meant Johnny had possibly bitten off more than he could chew for the night.
Muttering gibberish under his breath, Jason reached his bedroom door and sent it flying open. The doorknob crashed into the wall and marched straight through. He thundered into the darkened hallway to only start silently cursing at himself. Quickly closing his bedroom door quietly behind him, he breathed in a calming breath and quietly made his way down the hallway.
Reaching the only decorated door in the long hallway, he hoped his idiocy hadn't woken up his daughter. If he had woken up Lil, his problems would only grow more complicated. Holding his breath, Jason grasped the bronze doorknob tightly and turned slowly, making sure it was completely turned before softly nudging the door until it was slightly open. Hesitantly peering through the opening, he was greeted with the image of his daughter continuing to sleep peacefully despite his insensitive actions.
Inhaling the sweet aroma that filled his daughter's room, he watched her sleep and in that moment the rest of his worries faded away. Her pink butterfly nightlight cast a soft glow over her small form. Cheek resting on her sky blue pillow with her golden locks spread out around her head and arms wrapped around Mr. Floppy, she was an angel in Dora the Explorer pajamas.
His angel.
His precious little angel.
And in a matter of six days he was going to have to break his angel's heart.
Swallowing roughly, Jason replayed the recent bedtime conversation with his daughter. Lil had a generous heart. A heart that deserved to have its every desire fulfilled. He knew she longed for a family. He saw it in her eyes every time she was around the Corinthos clan. It broke his heart to see Lil's piercing blue eyes dim in luster and the corners of her lips slightly dipped whenever she saw Brenda with her children. His daughter dreamed of having a family. She dreamed of waking up every morning to have breakfast with her stuffed animal sidekick and her parents. She wanted to help with taking care of a sibling. She wanted a mother's unconditional love. And at the moment it all hanged in the balance.
Lil had never received a mother's calming touch or familiar loving words that a newborn found comfort in. She had been deprived of all the precious moments. She had been deprived of the bond between a mother and a daughter. A piece of her had been missing the moment her young mind realized that Sam was gone. Elizabeth had not only been the missing piece, but she had also taken a place in Lil's heart that would forever remain. It was the love that Lil had for her nanny that would crush her and Jason couldn't bare the thought of being the reason behind it.
The harsh slam of the penthouse door brought Jason crashing back to reality.
Instantly scowling, the young father quickly yet quietly closed the door of his daughter's room. Without a second thought, Jason marched down the hallway and straight to the first floor of his penthouse. The hushed words that were exchanged amongst the intruders reached his ears causing his frown to darken. He could barely make out there words and there was a great deal of familiar giggling.
Stepping off of the last step, Jason adjusted his vision in the dark to make out four figures. Two petite female forms and a much larger male figure with a slender woman in his arms all stood clustered in front of his now closed door. Squinting, the enforcer attempted to decipher who was who in the pitch dark. Without a warning, one of the females flicked on the light and suddenly light washed through the room. Throwing his arm over his eyes, he blocked his vision from the blinding light.
Adjusting to the light, the young father slowly lowered his arm and immediately his blood turned to ice at the sight that greeted him.
Standing in the middle of his penthouse was the second to youngest musketeer and in Johnny's arms was his nanny. It wasn't the sight of the bodyguard holding his nanny that had halted all blood flow in his body. The sight of Elizabeth's talented digits—hours ago desperately clutching at his shoulders—dancing a little low on Johnny's torso sent his blood running cold. Slowly the instant reaction wore away and his blood scorched with controlled fury.
"What the hell is going on?" Jason growled menacingly, loud enough for the silent crowd surrounding him to hear and low enough that it didn't disturb his daughter.
Emily and Brenda exchanged startled glances before they both shifted their attention back to the livid enforcer.
Tilting her head to the side, Emily observed her towering as well as gloomy brother. Fists tightly clenched at his side Jason remained motionless at the foot of the steps. Pursing her lips, the young brunette attempted to suppress her urge to giggle at her brother's appearance. Clearing her throat and swallowing her laughter, she smiled sweetly at her brother, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Nice choice of attire," Emily teased, not bothering to answer Jason's question.
Stunned for a moment, Jason shot his sister a sharp look before lowering his gaze to his body to realize he hadn't thought to pull on a pair of sweats in his hurry to deal with the rowdy visitors. Shrugging off his lack of formal wear, the enforcer brought his attention back to his nanny.
Her hands were no longer on Johnny's abdomen instead her arms were hooked around his neck and her face buried in the crook of his shoulder. She was whispering something to the young guard making the musketeer blush beet red. The pleading look in the Irish man's green eyes spoke volumes regarding his discomfort. Johnny shuffled his feet and shifted Elizabeth, jerking her lips away from his ear.
Signaling the Irish guard with his pointer finger to stay put, Jason moved into the middle of the group. He looked over both Brenda and Emily. Scrutinizing them, he realized that both of them were as sober as they had been earlier in the evening. Turning to the oldest of the brunettes, the enforcer gave her a lethal glare.
"Want to explain how you let this happen?"
She returned his glare with equal intensity. "Don't mess with me tonight, unless you want to be castrated with my tire iron."
Johnny threw Brenda a curious look. "You know where that is let alone what it is?"
"Yes, I know what a tire iron is and where it is," she answered him, placing her hands threateningly on her hips. "And I'm not afraid to use it."
Confused, Jason glared at her. "Exactly, why are you being snippy with me when you got my nanny drunk?" he asked gesturing to Elizabeth's intoxicated state.
Emily winced at her brother's harsh tone and peeked a look at her sober best friend. The narrowing of Brenda's eyes and her stiff back only meant Jason was in for it.
Infuriated, Brenda dropped her hands to her side and clenched her fists. "Emily isn't the reason that Elizabeth is drunk," she began, seething. "Nor am I or Johnny the reason that your precious nanny decided to get smashed." She closed the distance between her and Jason and poked him in the chest. "You should take a good look in the mirror because you're the reason why that poor girl drank herself to oblivion tonight. You better figure out what you've done wrong, Morgan." With each word she said she poked his bare chest to emphasize her message. "Before it's too late and you lose her forever."
His clear blue eyes widened in surprise, moments before all of Brenda's words sunk in. Dumbfounded, the enforcer turned his questioning eyes onto his sister. Emily simply shook her head at him. Her sad yet hopeful brown eyes stared back at him, the message in her eyes vague. Something had happened. His instincts told him something had pushed Elizabeth to turn to the bottle for solace, but how was he the reason behind it?
Frustrated, the enforcer glowered at his best friend's fuming wife. "Would you like to elaborate?"
"Hmph, not at all." She raised her chin sharply in defiance. "Figure it out for yourself."
His fingers itched to wrap around Brenda's neck and strangle her, but the sound of Johnny's yelp of surprise followed by the musical giggle he loved to hear drew his attention away from the stubborn brunette. The brunette beauty that had plagued his mind all night was in the arms of another man and being a little too friendly for his liking. Eyes narrowed into slits, Jason observed his drunk nanny and favorite guard. One hand clasped over her mouth, Elizabeth laughed uncontrollably while Johnny's face grew a darker shade of red with every passing moment.
A terrible taste invaded his mouth at the sight of the two together. Mustering up all the self-control he possessed, Jason flexed his hands before moving until he was standing in front of a skittish Johnny and thoroughly drunk Elizabeth. Without a word, the enforcer held out his arms to his favorite bodyguard.
Relieved, Johnny all but threw Elizabeth into Jason's arms and immediately retreated to the door.
Slightly calm now that his nanny was no longer cuddling with a musketeer, the enforcer prepared himself for whatever a drunk Elizabeth was prepared to dish out. She shifted around until she finally settled down with her cheek pressed against his bare chest and her arms wrapped around his neck, giving him a view of only the top of her brunette head. He felt the gentle pressure of her body against his all the way to his toes. Shuffling his feet, Jason attempted to rearrange the brunette in his arms and immediately regretted it. In his effort to make his nanny comfortable, the young father only succeeded in causing his body to react to the woman he was already lusting after.
His palms rested on skin.
Warm, smooth, flawless skin that belonged to Elizabeth.
Stifling a groan, he briefly closed his eyes and moved his hands until they both rested on top of fabric. Ignoring the heat that threatened to engulf him, Jason opened his eyes and forced them to remain on the aerial view of Elizabeth's head. His nanny picked that precise moment to test his self-restraint. She moved her cheek against his bare chest until her head was tilted back and her expressive cobalt eyes locked with his.
Instantly, the air disappeared from his lungs. She stared up at him with hooded bedroom eyes. Her cheeks flushed and her breathing raged. His only thoughts became of capturing her slightly parted supple lips with his and picking up from where they had left off. His heart raced in his chest as his head slowly dipped on its own accord. The rest of the world melted away. Her glazed over cornflower blue eyes his only focus and the desire he read in them.
"Hi," she whispered a breath away from his lips.
His gaze flickered from her lips and then to her eyes. "Hey," he murmured back, licking his dry lips in anticipation.
"And that would be our cue to leave," Emily announced loudly.
Jolted back to reality, Jason looked around the room and immediately had the urge to crawl under a rock and die. He had been so entranced by Elizabeth that he had forgotten about the room full of guests they stood amongst. Cheeks flaming, the blonde enforcer roughly cleared his throat and threw a nasty scowl at a very smug looking Johnny.
Scuffing his feet, he looked to his sister and best friend's wife. Neither one of them ordered him about or scolded him. Frowning, Jason tapped his bare foot. "Are either one of you going to say anything?"
"Good night," Brenda said, pivoting on her heels.
Johnny without hesitation reached for the door just as Jason released a low menacing growl.
"And where do you think you're going?" he erupted.
Cocking her head, the older brunette threw the enforcer a confused look. "Home. You know the place that's across the hall. The penthouse I share with my husband."
"I got that much," Jason said on a heavy sigh. "But why?"
Brenda gawked at him in disbelief before exchanging an encrypted look with her sober partner in crime.
"To go to bed in her home like a normal person," Emily offered, throwing her brother a puzzled look.
"Not if—" Jason's sharp objection was cut off by the lightest contact on his skin. Elizabeth's talented digits drawing patterns on his bare chest had Jason sucking in a tortured breath and struggling to remember what the conversation was about. Forcing his concentration on the people around him, he continued with his protest. "You're not leaving me alone with her," he growled, very well aware of Elizabeth's ministrations on his heated skin.
"Yes, we are," Brenda announced with a devious smile. "Johnny, would you be a dear and drive Emily home?"
The Irishman threw Jason a sympathetic glance before reaching for the doorknob.
"You're responsible for getting her drunk," Jason argued. "So, you're going to help me take care of her."
"Not exactly," his sister patted his cheek gently before turning for the door herself. "You drove her to the bottle so you're going to be playing babysitter tonight."
"Make sure to change her clothes before tucking her in," Brenda advised, already in the hallway.
"And don't forget the coffee and aspirin in the morning," Emily suggested, standing in the hallway with her hand on the doorknob. "Adios!" she bided him goodbye and promptly closed the door in his face.
Staring wide eyed in astonishment, it took Jason a moment to realize that he was alone in his penthouse with a sleeping child upstairs and a very tipsy nanny in his arms. Releasing an agonizing groan, the most feared enforcer on the Eastern border looked to the heavens for mercy. "What did I do to deserve this?"