“Then by all means do it.”She sat down when he stood up.“Do I need to say it back to you tomake the promise true?I don’t want to mess this up with us when we’re just beginning in our lives together.”
“Yes, you do say it back to me.Sharon Taylor Valley, I pronounce on this day that you are my mate, and I give you all that I have from this day forward.Standing here in front of a witness, I proclaim you as my mate.”She asked what she said to him in return.“The same.My middle name isn’t important, but you have to mean it, or it won’t give you any magic that I can share with you.And any magic that you have, and you do have a bit, you’ll share with me.”
“Good.Kendrick Charles Valley, I pronounce on this day that you are my mate, and I give you all that I have from this day forward.That would include my love for you.Standing here in front of a witness, I proclaim you as my mate.”She looked up at him and smiled.“If you don’t kiss me right now, I’m going to be very upset with you.”How could he not kiss her when she really wanted it?
Pulling her into his arms, he lifted her chin up.She wasn’t as tall as most of the women he knew, but he loved that her head fit under his chin.Brushing his lips over hers, he did that twice before her tongue came out between her lips and moistened them.He wanted that taste and took her mouth with his own.It was more than he could have hoped for this time as well.
He could taste the honey that she’d had in her tea at dinnertime.The taste of the chocolate scone that she’d eaten too.Pulling her in closer to deepen the kiss, her body molded to his like they were meant to be.Then he remembered his brother was there and pulled back slowly.
“I wondered if you’d remember me or not.”He said it was difficult, but if he wanted to leave, that would be just fine with them.“I’m not leaving just yet.You’ll just have to cool your jets, as they say.I really do want to get this cleaned up with you so I can get my end-of-year report to all of you on time.You know how I am about deadlines.”
“I do know.”Reluctantly, he pulled away from Sharon—who seemed to be just as shaken up as he was, but not before having to adjust himself.Sharon’s face was as red as his when his brother laughed.“So what do you need from me about these investments that I have that you can’t wait?”
There turned out to be several, and even though Yuri had them all lined up in order of need, it still took them nearly three hours to get them taken care of.He’d not realized how complicated his brother’s job was in keeping them all in money for the rest of their lives.The next time he had an investment that he wanted Yuri to look at, he was going to have a bit more information for him, rather than just the name and address of a place.He was going to do his own research from now on, too.It wasn’t a burden he was putting on his brother, he told him, but it might save him time in the long run.
By the time they were finished with the files, he was ready for bed.Kendrick had never been one for a lot of numbers.He could add and subtract well, but looking at future percentages that he might make on something wasn’t what he did for a living.He was going to pay more attention to that as well.
Chapter 4
Richard waited on hold with the post office in his hometown to tell him who the Valeria family was.She said that she couldn’t remember their name but would look it up for him.He’d been on hold for the past ten minutes and was starting to get aggravated.She was the post office worker; didn’t she know everyone in town?Finally, she came back on the line, and he was ready to blast her when she laughed.Damned woman.
“I found the article in the newspaper.It’s not Valeria like you were told, but Valley.Your daughter married Kendrick Valley.I guess about a week ago now.”He asked if the paper said where they lived.“It doesn’t, but I know they’ve been house hunting.They’re using my sister-in-law as their realtor.She does a good job, too.”
“Now this Valley person?”She told him again his name was Kendrick.“I don’t care about his first name.But he’s one of those rich boys, ain’t he?One of them shifter things that lives out by the Smith estate?”
“They’re very generous with the town and their money.I don’t know that there are any other ones around.”He was already plotting to get to Ohio.“I do know that they didn’t have a big wedding.Just the justice of the peace married them off, and now they’re house hunting.She’s a good girl, that Sharon.I’ve seen her in here a few—”
He simply hung up on her.He had all the information that he needed, and that was that his daughter was rich.And by extension, so was he.Rubbing his hands together, he looked around his place to see if he had anything to sell to get him a ticket to the house they were buying.He’d be living with them by the end of the week, of that he was sure.
There was nothing left, of course, and he didn’t have any money.A one-way ticket would be expensive but well worth the cost when he was sitting pretty in the lap of luxury.Yes, siree, he was going to have it all, or by god he’d know the reason why.But he had to play this right.It was only he who knew what sort of plans he had, and he had a feeling that was why his wife had lied to him.He knew something was off about her, and now that he knew, he was going to make sure that she didn’t get squat when it came time for him to have it all.And he would too.He was a man who got what he wanted.
The only thing that he’d gotten out of his stay in prison was how to get what he wanted.And he’d had no trouble with that from day one.He was never bothered by the guards when he had a deal going down, and for the most part, they left him alone.He was fine with that.Richard had things going on that they didn’t need to know about.While he was sure that they did know some of the things that he was working on, they never bothered to take him to task.He wanted to think it was because they knew better, but he thought, too, that he was just too good at his job inside to get into much in the way of trouble.
He thought about calling her, but didn’t know how to do that.Everyone had a cell phone now, and as far as he knew, there wasn’t a place that you could get to those numbers.He knew that his wife had it—he refused to say that they were divorced until he said so—but he knew that she’d not give it to him even if he begged.Sometimes he hated that she was so far away.He’d like to slap her around right now to get what he wanted.Richard thought of something else.
If she had her number, she more than likely called her to tell her about him.That wouldn’t do him any good, so he would have to change himself around to be like someone that she could trust.He thought about how he was to go about that, and it went against everything that he could imagine.But that was the only way that it would work, so he had to go with that, or he’d be out of all her money.
Richard tried to remember if he’d ever heard how much money the Valley’s had.It had to be inthe millions right about now.Or even in the billions.He wanted that kind of money for himself, but he’d have to play his cards right.She’d not just want to turn it over to him, and he was sure that she’d have to have some convincing.He wasn’t above knocking her around to get what he wanted, but he was going to try to con her into thinking he was a great guy.He could do it too.
Now all he had to do was figure out a way to get to her and her money.Or his money, as he was thinking about from her.Laughing to himself, he had a smile on his face that he couldn’t get rid of.Money, so much of it that he could do what he wanted whenever he wanted.He might even have to move in with her so she’d not be spending his money stupidly.That was for him to do; hers was to make it for him.
He looked around his place three times before he came up with something of value.It wasn’t going to be enough for him to get to her; he only needed a one-way ticket, but it would get him to the airport.He didn’t have a car, so he couldn’t drive, even if he had his driver’s license.He thought about stealing one, but that wouldn’t work; he didn’t know how to get to the money without getting lost about a thousand times.No, he’d fly, and that was the only way that he could figure out how it would work.
Going to the airport and stealing a ticket was the only thing that he could come up with.He’d like to have first class, but he’d take what he could get for now.As soon as he was rich, he was going to never travel anything but first class from now on.He’d even have limo service to cart him around wherever he wanted to go.Even if it was just to the grocery store.
“But I’ll have servants to do that for me.”Richard was going to have servants do everything for him from now on.He didn’t care what it was either; someone was going to wipe his ass if he wanted them to, and that was the way things were going to go.“Damn, but I wish I had thought of this sooner.I would have had better plans to get to her.”
Of course, he didn’t know how that would work since he’d not known anything about her.She was his daughter in name only, but that didn’t matter to him.She was going to do what he wanted, or he was going to have to knock her around a bit.Or a lot, it didn’t matter so long as he got what he wanted.
Richard didn’t know what to do about her husband.He was a wolf, if he remembered correctly.And they were mean bastards.He’d have to catch him off guard or something.He wasn’t above killing him.Then he’d not have to worry about how he’d inherit the money if what’s her name got out of hand.He could see himself set up in their fine house for the rest of his life.
“I just have to figure out a way to get to her, damn it.”He had no idea how to get to the airport other than to tell some driver that he needed to get there.He’d never had the occasion to fly anywhere and thought that he’d be really good as a flyer.Maybe he’d get himself a jet so that he’d not have to wait in line at the airport.“That’s what I’m going to do too.Just get me something that I can go around the world in all by myself.”
He was going to have to spend his money better if he planned on it lasting until he died.Maybe he’d get the big wolf to change him into something like he was, and he’d live forever.That would be something to be able to be around forever.He’d have to make his money last, of course, but he could do that.As soon as he got the things that he wanted right off the bat, he’d be all right with waiting for the money to roll his way.
Packing himself a bag, he was out the door as soon as his driver pulled up.This was something that he could get used to, having his ass carted around all the time.Of course, someone would have to carry his bags; it was only fitting for a rich man as himself to have everything carted around for him.Laughing again, he told the driver that he wanted to go to the airport, and he was off.He was glad that he’d not asked him which one.He’d have no idea how to know which one of them would get him a ticket back to his home state.
Thinking he’d try and get his daughter’s number from his wife, he tried to remember what her name was.It was either Sharon or Rachel, but he didn’t know which.In his phone, it only said ‘wife’ like that was supposed to help him.As soon as he got to the airport, he realized that things were goingto be a lot harder than he thought.The only way he was going to get to Ohio was to read every one of the flights going out to see where he’d end up.
