Just Me - M J Marlow (reading strategies book .txt) 📗

with someone who only wants to please you, Kerrigan.” He claimed my lips as his hand continued its work and I was moaning as he stroked me to madness. “My beautiful wife,” he sighed as he slid inside of my very willing and ready body as gently as he could. “How can you not be content?” We finished and he held me close and stroked my hair as I dozed off. When I woke, he left me to change while he attended to some business. He came in to get me for our walk to the photo shoot site and we walked hand-in-hand like any loving couple might. He might not love me, but he was very attentive and caring. We found a bench near the circus that was a photo shoot. “Maggie!” Liliana squealed as she caught sight of me. She set her brushes down and ran towards me, beaming. I was laughing as she spun me around. “Oh Lord! It’s so good to see you again.” She looked at Layton. “Is this your husband?” “Nathaniel Layton,” Layton nodded and held out his hand. “It is a pleasure to meet one of Kerrigan’s friends.” “Kerrigan?” Liliana asked in confusion. Then her mind cleared. “You found your birth parents, didn’t you?” “Kerrigan, darling,” Layton broke open a bottle of water and handed me one. “Have some water while I speak to your friend.” I saw him walk off with Liliana. She looked upset and glanced over at me and then she nodded. She came back to give me a quick hug and then went back to work. “I told her about your parents. I hope you don’t mind.” “Truth is always the best choice,” I said softly as I looked at him then and knew it had to be said. “You can be a very good man when you allow yourself to be, Nathaniel.” The phone rang and I frowned. “Layton,” he snapped into the phone. He was on his feet. He put his hand over the receiver. “Stay here, Kerrigan. If I’m not back in an hour, please ask your friends to keep you close.” “Nathaniel?” I was worried now. Something was wrong and I knew it. But he kissed me gently and with an emotion I could not quite place and left me sitting by the makeup table. I was shocked to realize that I actually cared what happened to him. When had that happened? I heard Liliana say something but I was too distracted to listen. She touched my arm and I looked up at her. “I’m sorry, Liliana. Did you say something?” “You actually care about that man, don’t you?” “Yes,” I admitted with some reservation. “I don’t understand how it happened, but it did.” I saw a man hanging around the fringes of the shoot and a chill went through me. I looked at the man with his slicked back hair and pencil moustache and a shiver went down my spine. Something about this man in his perfectly tailored tweeds screamed villain and I was glad of Liliana’s presence. This man was the type who would hurt people to get what he wanted. “I have a feeling that he is in some kind of trouble, Liliana.” “Well, you don’t need to worry about that one,” Nora said as she joined us. She picked up a comb and ran it through my hair. Then she raised it up on top of my head and moved it around. “Have you ever thought of modeling, Maggie?” She saw Liliana’s look and met my eyes in the mirror. “Your name might be Kerrigan on the birth certificate, but you’ll always be Maggie to me.” “That’s what I love about you, Nora,” I smiled at her. “Straight shooting all the way.” I stroked her hand and looked at both of them. “You both go right on calling me Maggie if that’s what you want.” I saw the man edging towards me and I shivered. “Do you want something from me?” I asked him as he came closer. “Mrs. Layton?” the man asked nervously. I nodded and he relaxed. “My name is David Foster. I’m a business associate of your husband.” “Mr. Foster,” I nodded. “I assume there is a reason for your introducing yourself to me?” The man was looking nervous again, but I also sensed an anger in him that frightened me. Layton had done something to make the man feel that way. I waited for him to say something and saw a gleam in his eyes that only increased my uneasiness around him. “Nora,” I called the woman, who had moved off a bit. I was on my feet when he grabbed my arm. I looked up at him and his anger was quite apparent now. “Let go of my arm, Mr. Foster,” I said coldly. “If you have a problem with my husband, take it up with him.” I pulled my arm free and went to Nora. “You were saying something about modeling?” I knew he was watching me as I moved off with Nora to go talk to Cheryl. She gave me a hug and explained what she needed from me. I smiled and nodded. It was such a small thing and I didn’t have anyone telling me not to. For the first time in months I was free to make a choice of my own again and I relished it. We got through the scene she asked me to be part of, but then the world started spinning around me and I had to sit down. “Maggie!” Cheryl cried as I fainted. She patted my cheeks and helped me to my feet. “Are you all right, darling?” “I’m sorry,” I said as I reached for a bottle of water and sipped at it slowly. “I just felt a little dizzy.” “You’re not pregnant, are you?” Cheryl asked bluntly. She made me look at her and I could see her concern. “He didn’t waste any time, did he?” “He’s my husband, Cheryl,” I said sadly. “Of course we’ve had sex. That’s what marriage is supposed to be like, isn’t it?” I burst into tears then and she wrapped her arms around me. “I need to go lie down, Cheryl. Could you please have someone take me to the hotel?” “We’ll be through here in another hour, Maggie,” Cheryl replied, stroking my hair like she always did. “Hang in just that much longer and Liliana and Nora and I will take you. We’ll order Chinese and we’ll make it a Ladies Night if your handsome man isn’t there. All right?” “I’ve missed you, Cheryl,” I sniffed and found someone handing me a handkerchief. I looked up to see Nora there. “You are such good friends to me.” “I have a feeling you can use all the friends you can get,” Nora said as she looked over my shoulder and saw Foster still hanging around. “That man makes me nervous.” She looked for the security chief. “That one,” she pointed to Foster. “Have your team keep an eye on him, please. He was annoying Mrs. Layton earlier and he has the appearance of a stalker if I ever saw one.” “That’s hardly fair,” I protested. “We don’t know anything at all about the man.” I had a sudden thought. “But we could.” I looked around and saw what I needed. “Could you have someone go with me? I have an idea.” “I’ll go with you, Mrs. Layton,” Tad Dalton, the big burly security chief, smiled. He turned to his assistant. “Nora will tell you who she’s worried about, Elwood.” Cheryl nodded and I knew I could trust Dalton. We went along the Square and I entered the electronics store. I bought the best PDA they had with internet capabilities, a cell phone, and a wireless program. The salesman showed me how everything worked and smiled as I pulled out the platinum card that Layton had provided me with. He programmed the phone for me with my number from Briarton and we returned to the shoot. I spent the next hour finding out everything I could about David Foster. What I read did not make me feel any better about the fact that he was hanging around me. He was one of my husband’s fiercest business rivals and most outspoken critics and they were currently competing on a big contract. That made me uneasy. “I used to be such a trusting soul,” I sighed as I rejoined my friends. “I hate losing that part of my self.” I glanced over at Foster and he was talking to two very nasty looking people. I saw him glance over at me and there was a look on his face even Layton at his nastiest had never had. I moved closer to Tad and he caught my panic. He looked over at Foster and caught him moving off with the two strangers. I was relieved when the director finally called a halt to the day’s activities. “So, Maggie,” Liliana smiled as she took my arm, “where are you staying in London?” I told her and her eyebrows lifted. “He really is upper crust, isn’t he?” As we waited for a taxi, we began a discussion about Chinese versus Italian. We did not see the car coming towards us. One moment, I was standing with my friends, feeling totally at peace. The next moment, a door opened and I was being yanked off of my feet. I saw the shock on my friends’ faces as I was pulled away from them. But then someone pulled me back and I was in Tad’s arms watching the car roar off without me. “Nathaniel!” I sobbed as I saw him coming towards me. He pulled me into his arms and I clung to him as the fear kept me shaking. I was shaking so badly I could not stay on my feet, but he did not mind holding me. I saw an expression in his eyes I had never thought to see there. He actually cared about me. When I recovered I looked for Tad. “Thank you, Mr. Dalton. You saved my life!” “Yes, Mr. Dalton,” Nathaniel nodded and held out his hand. “Thank you. I owe you dearly for keeping my wife safe.” He pulled out a business card. “Come see me here when you have time tomorrow.” He put his hands on either side of my face where I sat on a bench and his concern was sincere and touching. “Are you certain you are all right, Kerrigan?” I nodded and he pulled me to his chest. “I am not letting you out of my sight from this moment on.” “That’s not very practical,” I smiled up at him. “Don’t you have a job?” “I’ll work from home,” Layton smiled at me as he picked me up in his arms and carried me to the car. He stopped when I whispered something in his ear. He turned. “Ladies?” They turned. “We would be quite pleased if you would join us for dinner. You as well, Mr. Dalton?” “Please?” I begged them. The quartet nodded and we all got into the rental car. Layton held me close as we went to the best Chinese place in town. For the next two hours, I saw a side of my husband I had not known existed. He was actually quite nice when he let himself relax and enjoy the company he was with. I woke up later as cramps hit and slipped out of bed. Nathaniel didn’t move. When I was finally feeling better, I went to the kitchen to make myself some dry toast and tea. Nathaniel came up behind me and I leaned into him with a sigh as his lips pressed to my shoulder. “So, my precious wife,” Nathaniel smiled as he leaned his cheek against mine, “you’re not finding marriage to me quite as horrible as you once did?” “I am finding that