“Do you think that’s wise?”
“That’s what we were discussing before you came down. I think it should be Jaden’s decision. As long as Miles still thinks she is the foretold one, I don’t see him being much of a threat. He might have turned to the wrong side, but he wouldn’t harm his own child.”
“I don’t know,” Leif said. “I don’t like the idea of Jaden around the bastard.”
Jaden gave her mate an exasperated stare. “He’s still my father. I think Aunt Saskia is right. I don’t think my dad would harm me. You didn’t see the look on his face when he first saw me and called me by my mom’s name. He might be a bastard, but he truly cared for my mother. And since I’m the last living connection to her, he won’t do something stupid like try to attack me.”
“And,” Saskia said, “it isn’t as if we’d let you see him alone. Since you are supposed to be the foretold one, we have to act the role of your Protectors. Most, if not all, of us should be there.”
“What about Roxie?” Roan asked. “We can’t leave her totally unprotected. She is the real foretold one, after all.”
“I’ll watch her,” Skylar quickly said. “Roxie pulled me off rotation this morning, but I don’t think she’ll mind spending some time with me and my mate.”
Saskia nodded. “Then it’s settled.” She looked at Jaden. “That is if you still want to see Miles.”
“I do,” Jaden said. “If anything I want to learn how he and my mom met and what caused them to break up before I was born.”
Saskia stood. “All right. I’ll call Miles back and arrange a time and place of my choosing. Once I get off the phone with him we can make further plans.”
Skylar wasn’t sure if this was a good idea or not, but it wasn’t his place to deny Jaden the chance of getting to know her father. He just hoped it wouldn’t blow up in their faces.
Chapter Seven
Braelyn made it back to her parents’ house from setting her plans into motion with only twenty minutes to spare before Skylar was to arrive. She raced inside the house and yelled a quick hello to her mother. Before she reached the stairs to the upper level, her mom stopped her.
“Wait a second, Braelyn.”
“I’m in a bit of a hurry, Mom. Skylar will be here soon.”
“This won’t take long.” She held out a plain white envelope. “I found it in the mailbox this morning while you were out doing your running around. It has our address on it but no stamp.”
A sense of unease washed through Braelyn when she took the envelope from her mother. On the outside, she tried not to let it show. “I guess the person thought it would be faster to drop it by the house instead of putting it in the mail. I’ll look at it upstairs.”
With the letter clutched tightly, she ran up the stairs and into her room. Braelyn shut the door behind her and crossed the room to her bed. She sat and tore open the envelope, hoping it wasn’t what she thought it was.
Her hands shook when she unfolded the single piece of paper and read the message printed out in a large font. It was from the same person who’d sent the other letters. She read the similar threats, but this time they’d escalated by calling her a whore and saying her sickening public displays with a man needed to stop, permanently. And that her type of woman needed to be cleansed from the face of the Earth.
Braelyn forced herself to take deep, steady breaths and not to hyperventilate. Not only had the person who sent this letter more than likely watched her with Skylar, he or she also knew where her parents lived, and that she was there. She picked up the discarded envelope, and as her mother had said, there wasn’t a stamp on it. The letter had indeed been hand delivered.
After shoving the letter back into the envelope, Braelyn put it inside her purse. She couldn’t ignore these threats any longer. She needed protection, and who better to provide it than Skylar? At some point during their date, she’d show him the latest letter. Given the business he was in, surely he’d know what she should do to handle this situation discreetly. Making this public knowledge would only give the sender notoriety he or she didn’t deserve.
That decided, Braelyn changed into a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and a tan short-sleeved silk blouse. She pulled on the new ankle boots she’d bought the day before. She’d just finished putting on a bit of makeup when she heard her mom call up the stairs to her.
Giving herself one last look in the dresser mirror, and satisfied she didn’t look white as a ghost, Braelyn snatched up her purse and walked out of her room. Once she reached the bottom of the stairs, she ran her gaze over the man who waited for her just inside the front door. Skylar’s gaze found hers, and he smiled.
The mere sight of him caused her body to react. For the rest of last night and then all this morning, he hadn’t been very far from her thoughts. If she didn’t know any better, she’d say she had become obsessed with him, something she’d never done over a man before. It was also during the small hours of the morning—not able to sleep because he dominated her thoughts so much—she had come up with the plan of how she wanted her day with Skylar to go.
“All set?” he asked when she’d walked over to him.
“Yes.”
With a shouted goodbye to her mom, Braelyn let Skylar guide her out of the house with his hand on the small of her back. Being near him, the last of the unease she felt because of the letter drained away. When she was with him, she felt as if she were safe, protected. Maybe it had something to do with Skylar’s large size. All Braelyn knew was she felt more comfortable with him at her side.
Once they were inside Skylar’s Infiniti, he put the key in the ignition and said, “So have you had a chance to think about where you want to go out to eat?”
She put on her seatbelt and turned her head to look at him. “Actually, I did better than that. I already have a reservation at the Roots restaurant at the Orchard Garden Hotel. It’s for twelve-thirty, so we have plenty of time to get there.”
Skylar smiled. “It would seem you were more on the ball this morning than I was.”
“I figured it would save some time if I went ahead and made the reservations.”
“Sounds good. And since you said we don’t have to hurry,” he said as he leaned toward her, “I can take the time to do this.”
He kissed her, taking her lips in a gentle exploration. When she returned it, moaning into his mouth, Skylar became more demanding. In a matter of seconds, the passion between them raged into a conflagration. The rest of the world seemed to disappear, leaving only the two of them in it. They were more than good together. The desire Skylar’s touch caused inside her just reaffirmed she’d made the right choice with the plans she’d made for them after lunch.
Then in the middle of the heated kiss, Braelyn remembered what the letter had said about public displays. She stiffened and put her hand on Skylar’s chest to push him away. Once he broke contact with her mouth, she scooted away as far as her seatbelt would allow.
Skylar gave her a confused look. “Is everything all right, Braelyn? I didn’t do anything wrong, did I?”
She shook her head. “I’m fine, and no, you didn’t do anything wrong.” She put on what she hoped was a sexy smile. “If we don’t stop now, I doubt I’ll be able to get through lunch without mentally undressing you.”
His eyes took on a heavy-lidded appearance. “We’ll have to see about continuing this after we eat then.”
“I’m game for that.”
When they arrived and parked in the hotel’s parking lot, Braelyn got out of the car and met Skylar at the front of it. They walked into the hotel and headed for the restaurant situated off the lobby. Since she’d been here earlier to make the reservation in person, the host smiled brightly when he saw them.