A loud crash woke Rachel up and her eyes flew open with alarm. She could tell instantly that something was wrong.“What was that?” Derek asked groggily.“You heard it too? It sounded like something breaking,” she said and began to get out of bed.“No, you stay here and I’ll go and check it out,” said Derek, getting out of bed.“You go to the kitchen and I’ll go and check on Zoe and Elaine.”They quickly put on their dressing robes and ran out of the room to investigate the strange noise and make sure that the other occupants of the house were ok.Rachel was relieved when she was that both Elaine and Zoe were still asleep in their room and they hadn’t been disturbed by the crash that woke her up. She quietly closed their bedroom door and moved to Yasmin’s door, but as she raised her hand to knock on it, Derek showed up with a barely conscious Javier leaning on him. The chef’s head was bloody and he looked dazed.“Oh, my God! What happened to him?” Rachel asked, hurrying over to the hal
“This can’t be happening,” Derek muttered incredulously after a frightened Elaine came to announce to him that Rachel had been abducted at knife-point by Sam. “Oh, God! What have I done?” Yasmin wailed. “Calm down, Mom. I’ll call the security guys at the gate right away,” said Derek briskly. “He can’t have gone very far with her, so we can still find them.” “We should call the police too,” Elaine suggested. “What’s their emergency number here?” “Where the heck is that ambulance?” Yasmin demanded irritably. “Javier has slipped into unconsciousness. He needs to be taken to the hospital immediately.” As they scrambled around the house to make phone calls from different phones, Zoe who was now awake, walked across the room and placed her favorite stuffed toy, Binky, on Javier’s chest. “Don’t be scared, Binky is going to help you,” she whispered to the unconscious chef. Just then, they heard the wails of an ambulance siren as it sped through the driveway. “Finally!” Said Yasmin, thr
It was Rachel’s 28th birthday and she was having the time of her life with her girlfriends who had organized a surprise birthday party for her at The Black Hat. It was a popular nightclub in town which she’d been looking forward to visiting but had never had the opportunity to, so she was delighted to find out that it was the venue of her party. She hadn’t planned anything special for herself for the day, and that was why this unexpected gettogether brought happy tears to her eyes. “You girls are the best,” said Rachel, emotionally. “I didn’t see this coming, but I appreciate your thoughtfulness and love. Thank you, babes.” “Hear, hear,” said Brittany, raising her glass with a big grin. She was the brain behind this surprise party and being an event planner, she had no problems setting up the little bash within two days with the help of her other friends. The four friends sat at one of the VIP lounges in the club, enjoying their drinks and occasiona
Rachel left her friends in the lounge cheering after her as if she was on her way to secure a treasure chest.Meanwhile, Derek was scrolling through the contact list on his phone to find Cassie’s number when someone tapped him lightly on the shoulder. He turned around to find out who it was and he was delighted to see Rachel standing there with a bright smile on her pretty face.“Hey,” he said. “You came back.”“I sure did,” she replied with a laugh. “It occurred to me that I didn’t take your number and didn’t give you mine either, so I came to fix that.”He blinked.“Except, of course, you don’t exchange phone numbers with strangers, which would be understandable,” she babbled, trying to hide her embarrassment. Why had she listened to that silly Fiona? Now, this guy was going to think she was some sort of ‘easy’ girl who was desperate for a hookup. Crap!“No, no, that’s not it,” he said with a smile. “I’m just amazed at how lucky I am tonight. It’s not every day that a pretty lady wa
Derek found her excitement infectious and he couldn’t help but laugh. The ladies he usually brought home always did their best to act unimpressed whenever they came around, but he could literally see the effort it was taking them to maintain their composure. He liked how original Rachel was and how she was comfortable with showing her true emotions because that made him feel at ease. He didn’t even have to try to impress her and to him, that was the real definition of peace of mind.The elevator stopped in front of his penthouse apartment and they got out of the car with an equal measure of excitement. He couldn’t wait to show her around his place, while she couldn’t wait to feast her eyes on all of the beauty waiting inside. When they entered the huge four-bedroom apartment, Rachel was not disappointed. She oohed and aahed as she followed Derek around as took her on a tour of his home.“This place is phenomenal,” she remarked after they finished their tour. “I’ve never been inside a
“Easy there, tiger,” she laughed against his lips. “No need to rush, darling. We’ve got all night.”“Are you sure?” He asked uncertainly. “What about your friends?”“What about them? I’m not their babysitter. They’re all probably at home already by now, sleeping off all that margarita. I’ll give them a call later.”“Good. I don’t want the cops beating down my door on allegations of a possible kidnapping.”Rachel laughed. “Stop being dramatic. They know I’m out here having a great time.”“Are you?”“I guess I’m about to find out, aren’t I?”It was a challenge, and Derek loved challenges. He carried her off the ottoman and took her to the bed where he laid her on the soft surface like a delicate flower. First, he took off her figure-hugging T-shirt before taking off her ripped cut-off denim pants. He took a moment to admire her voluptuous body and wondered what the hell made him prefer skinny women all these years? This woman on his bed was a masterpiece with her sexy curves and rounded
As soon as Rachel left, Derek felt like an asshole. Why had he behaved that way like a jilted teenager? Ok, so it was shocking to him that she had turned down his offer to meet again, but so what? Men got turned down every day, so why did he think he was too good to be rejected? Because he had more money than most men?Disgusted with himself, he threw back the covers and got out of bed then marched angrily to the bathroom. Inside, he got a faint whiff of Rachel’s perfume and his gut tightened involuntarily. Perhaps it was just as well that things had ended sourly between them this morning because that woman was trouble, plain and simple. He didn’t quite believe in love, but Rachel looked like the kind of woman that might make him start thinking about that strong emotion.He had seen what love does to even the strongest and most level-headed men, how it turned them to mush and made them do stupid things. His father was an example of a victim of love – the older Fraser had made the mist
Derek spent the rest of his morning working out in the gym until his muscles were sore and begging for mercy. It was the only way to successfully obliterate his encounter with Rachel from his mind permanently. Feeling invigorated afterward, he took a shower, got dressed, and took his favorite Lamborghini for a spin.While in the car, he put a phone call through to Cassie but she didn’t respond, so he scrolled through his contact list and found another woman who might be available for him. His call was answered on the second ring.“Hi, Derek!” The woman on the other end of the line said with a high-pitched voice that showed how excited she was to receive his call.“What’s up, Gwen. How are you doing?” He said casually.“How are you doing, babe? I thought you’d forgotten all about me.”Derek chuckled. “You know that’s not possible. I’ve been very busy.”“That’s what you always say,” said Gwen sulkily.“All right, let me make it up to you. Where are you right now?”“At home.”“Why don’t