by Ivy Nelson
“You got it. It will be good to see you again, even if I do only get to wave from the stage. We’ll get together sometime soon for a drink.”
Garrett sucked in a breath. “What do you know about Maddox being on the guest list?”
Paul was silent. “Your brother? That’s the first I’m hearing of it. I didn’t think you two were on speaking terms.”
He stood to pace. “He hasn’t spoken to me since I shut down the jewelry sector of our company a decade ago.”
Paul whistled. “That’s what I thought. I’ll get you a copy of the guest list.”
Garrett chuckled. “Pretty sure Regina already has one.”
“Of course she does. Our assistants are always one step ahead of us, aren’t they?”
They spent a few minutes catching up before Paul was called into his next meeting. “Oh hey, before I go, I saw you locking lips with a pretty woman at the gala in Dallas. Who is she?”
Garrett grinned even though Paul couldn’t see him. “You’ll meet her on Friday if you’re lucky.”
When he ended the call, he debated whether or not to reach out to Maddox to find out what the hell was going on. Was his brother trying to undermine him? Before Maddox’s accident, they were supposed to inherit equal shares in the company, with Maddox running day to day operations, but circumstances changed.”
He stood and paced, feeling restless. He wanted to pull Isabelle away from her work and take her to his hotel room, but he had a feeling she would object. Instead, he called his driver and asked him to bring his gym bag upstairs. When it arrived, he quickly changed into jogging pants, a t-shirt, and expensive running shoes.
When he stepped into the outer office a few minutes later, he laughed. She was on the floor in front of a filing cabinet with folders spread all around her.
“Can I get you something,” she asked, setting aside a folder.
“Don’t get up. I’m going for a run. Do you need anything while I’m out?”
“A run sounds nice in theory. Maybe you can bring lunch back.”
He chuckled. “I’m sure I can make that happen. Text me if I need to cut it short for any reason.”
She nodded and returned to her pile of folders.
• • •
Isabelle flipped through a stack of folders looking for anything that needed to be filed under J. Reorganizing the mess Darren had left was a tedious chore, but she was happy to have the task. The sense of fulfillment she would get when it was done would be worth it.
While she sorted, images of Garrett running, sweat dripping down his body, droplets falling from the ends of his gorgeous dark hair, floated through her mind. She bit her lip as she pictured it.
The ringing phone startled her out of her little daydream and a folder went flying as she jumped up to answer it.
When she finished her greeting, a silky voice came across the speaker. “What a lovely name, Isabelle. I was wondering if you could help me with some information.”
She blushed. “I can do my best. May I ask who’s calling?”
“You can call me Max. I’m calling with the Colorado Business Bureau and I’m wondering if your company would be willing to fill out a business census.”
She frowned. “I would have to ask my boss, but it seems easy enough.”
“Excellent. Can I ask a few questions about your company and then email you the census form and you can fill it out if your boss says yes?”
“Sure, Max.” She rattled off her email address.
“Got it. I’m sending it now. Can you tell me when you get it?”
She clicked over to her email and waited for the message to arrive. “I see it,” she said when it popped up at the top of her inbox.
Max asked a few questions about the number of employees they had, how many trucks they had, and whether they experienced high turn-over. She didn’t know the answers to most of the questions and apologized for not being helpful.
“Don’t apologize, Isabelle. You’ve been extremely helpful. It will be even more helpful if you fill out the census. Give Mr. Oliver my best if you speak to him.”
She frowned. How did he know Garrett was her boss? Making a mental note to ask him about it, she went back to her stack of folders.
A few minutes later her cellphone buzzed. It was Garrett.
“How is your run going?” she asked.
“Did you just get a call from that reporter?”
She frowned. Was he tapping her phone or something? “No. Why?”
“After the video got emailed to Lance and you got that call from the reporter, Lance put a trap on my office lines to try and catch more information if they called back. He said he just got a ping and you got a call that lasted a couple of minutes. Are you sure it wasn’t the reporter?”
Her heart jumped into overdrive as she thought about the call from Max.
“Yes, Sir. I’m sure. I did get a call from someone named Max asking if I would fill out a business census for the Colorado Business Bureau. What’s going on?”
“God fucking damn it. How much did you tell him?” Garrett asked, fury in his tone.
“Nothing, really. I told him I would have to ask you, so he asked for my email address and sent me the form. Then he asked a bunch of harmless questions about the number of people who work here. Did I do something wrong?” she asked.
“Besides give personal information to someone who doesn’t need it you mean?”
“I’m sorry,” Isabelle whispered. “He said all the right things, asked the right questions, and none of what he asked seemed like private information.”
“Have you opened the email he sent?”
“Yes, Sir,” she whispered. “I’m really sorry.”
The door flew open, causing her to jump. A furious Garrett was towering over her.
Her lip quivered as she tried to hold back her tears.
“Please don’t be mad at me. I’m so sorry if I fucked something up.”
Garrett’s face fell as a tear slid down her cheek.
“Christ, Isabelle. I’m not mad at you, baby. I’m sorry. I’m fairly sure you just had the pleasure of speaking to my brother, and yeah, he would have said and asked all the right things. I’m not mad. I promise.”
He shut the door softly and crossed to where she sat. Dropping to one knee, he lifted her chin, so she was looking at him.
“I don’t like upsetting you,” she murmured.
“You haven’t.”
He sat fully on the floor and shoved a stack of folders to the side and pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms tightly around her.
“Is your brother really that much of a rotten guy?” she asked as she felt herself calm in his embrace.
He grimaced. “It’s complicated. I didn’t use to think so, but things changed.”
“Will you tell me about him?”
He frowned. “Maybe some other time.”
She ran her fingers through his hair. “You don’t have to, but it might help to talk about him.”
He nodded and pressed his forehead into hers. “I will. Just not right now. Right now, I need you to get me the email address he used so I can send it to Lance.”
She scrambled from his lap and wrote the email address on a sticky note. “I hope it helps,” she said.
“It’s probably a junk account we can’t trace but it’s something to work with anyway. Excuse me, Doll. I need to call Lance.”
She watched as he disappeared into his office before bending to rearrange the stack of folders he’d shoved aside.
She heard a loud cracking sound come from inside his office a few minutes later.
“Everything OK?” she asked, poking her head through his doorway. He was rubbing his fist.
“Sorry. I’m just frustrated. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“Would you like me to get us lunch?”
He clenched and unclenched his fist. “Fuck. I’m sorry. I was supposed to feed you.”
“It’s OK. I don’t mind going.
”
“No. Get your things, we’re leaving,” he said curtly.
“Where are we going?”
“My hotel. I’ll feed you there.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Garrett kept an arm around Isabelle the entire ride to his hotel. When he’d first ordered her to the car, he was riding high on rage at his brother and planned to take her to the hotel to fuck her hard. Now, with her soft feminine scent floating into his nostrils and her head resting on his shoulder, he’d calmed some. He liked that she had that effect on him. That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to fuck her. After his explosion during his run and in the office, she needed to see that he was still in control and they needed something to bring them together. He was going to dominate her and remind her that she was his, and then he would feed her lunch.
They were alone in the elevator, so he backed her into the corner and kissed her deep. When he pulled back, she was breathing heavily.
“When we get to the hotel you have about sixty seconds to lose the clothes and get your ass on the bed in proper presentation position or I’ll punish you, are we clear?”
She bit her lip and wrapped her arms tighter around his neck.
“Yes, Sir,” she whispered as the elevator doors slid open.
In the room, Isabelle wasted no time removing her skirt and blouse, but he still tapped his watch as if he were actually keeping time while she rolled her panties down her thighs.
She chucked her bra and scrambled onto the bed. Her ass was soon high in the air and her legs wide open.
“Are you satisfied with my test results?” he asked as he stripped out of his own clothes.”
She nodded and he landed a hard smack on her bare ass. “Is that how you answer me, sub?”
Her head shot up at the pain of his hand and she whimpered, “No, Sir. I’m sorry. Yes. I’m satisfied with your test results, Sir.”
“Good,” he said as he let his hand drift between her legs. “I’m about to fill your tight little cunt with my cum. What do you think about that?”
She whimpered as a finger fluttered over her clit. “I can’t wait, Sir,” she moaned as he increased the pressure of his finger.
He wasted no more time and climbed onto the bed, settling behind her with his cock at her entrance. “God, you’re soaked. How long have you need for me to take you this way?”
He pushed inside her, and she groaned. “Answer me, Isabelle. How long have you needed my cock inside you?”
She whimpered as he dragged himself almost fully out of her again.
“Since you walked into my room last night,” she finally whispered when he threatened her with another smack on the ass.
“From now on you ask for what you need, Isabelle. If you need me to pin you down and fuck you I will. You need me to be slow and gentle I’ll do my damnedest to control myself and give that to you. Right now, though, I’m going to fuck you hard and I want you to scream for me.”
With no further preamble, he slammed into her with punishing force and began fucking her fast and hard. She cried out as he moved.
He leaned forward and fisted her hair in his hand, tugging her head upward. “Scream for me, Isabelle.” He knew she would be sore and likely bruised by the time he was done, but neither of them cared.
She screamed his name as he slammed against her. The sound of wet flesh slapping against flesh blended with her screams.
“Christ, Isabelle,” he bit out as he thrust into her one last time and came with a groan.
He let her hair fall from his grip as the orgasm shook him.
When he pulled his cock from her, he nearly became hard again at the sight of his seed dripping from her.
“Put your hand between your legs and feel me running out of you,” he commanded.
She took his command a step farther and dipped her finger into her slick entrance, then brought it to her mouth, tasting their blended essence.
“Fuck, Isabelle. Are you trying to get me hard again?” he asked.
She giggled as she collapsed onto the mattress. “That was really hot, Sir,” she said with a grin.
“Roll into your back,” he said, sitting on the bed next to her.
When she did, he spread her legs and let a finger drift over her clit. “Let me make you come, Doll,” he murmured.
“You don’t have to do that. Sometimes sex without an orgasm is enough for me. Especially if I know I’m giving you something you need.”
He smiled. “Well, what I need right now is for you to be a good girl and come for me.”
She nodded and closed her eyes, one of her hands drifting to her nipple.
He gently massaged her clit in soft circles until she was writhing beneath his hand. “Come, Isabelle,” he said softly as he continued moving his fingers.
He felt her pussy clench and she pinched her own nipple as the orgasm rolled over her in slow waves. There was no crying out or screaming, just gentle moans as he continued to massage her, prolonging her pleasure.
“That’s a good girl,” he murmured. “You’re so beautiful coming undone in my hands.”
A shudder flowed over her, and he laid down next to her, stretching his body out against hers.
“Thank you, Isabelle,” he murmured a few minutes later.
“For what?” she asked quietly.
“For putting up with me. For letting me have you the way I needed.”
She giggled. “You’re pretty easy to put up with, Sir. Especially when I get fucked like that.”
“Oh, so my girl likes it rough? I’ll have to keep that in mind.”
With a grin, he sat up. “Now I have to feed you, so go get in the shower.”
At lunch, they talked quietly, but she didn’t press him about his brother, and he was grateful.
“George has arranged for me to go see Carmen again next week,” he said. “Do you want to come with me?”
“I’ll let you go on your own. If I’m not there to defend her from your grumpiness, she might answer more questions. Or she might clam up. It’s really hard to say.” She twisted her hands as if she had something more on her mind.
“What is it, Isabelle?”
“I have a weird request. Can you promise not to do anything to get her out of prison? Maybe offer to shave some time off her sentence but don’t outright free her.”
He raised an eyebrow. “I’m flattered that you think I wield that much power. I promise I won’t, but I would like to know why.”
“Helen Peters,” she whispered. “After she got out of jail, she died. I know there’s no proof it was anything more than an accident but…” she trailed off and he reached for her hand.
“I understand, Doll. You have my word, OK?”
She seemed to visibly relax, and he felt bad. He wanted so badly to take away all the things that caused her stress.
The thought tickled the back of his mind that she was only in danger right now because of her association with him, but he did his best to tamp that down.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Friday afternoon, Garrett and Isabelle rode to Jasmine Darlington’s boutique in the back of an SUV. He had apparently warned her they were coming this time and she already had a selection of items picked out. Garrett worked quietly on his tablet while Isabelle read up on the university program she would be starting soon.
When they walked into the shop, Jasmine scooped her into a bear hug. “I’m honored to get to work with you again, my dear.”
Isabelle snorted. “I’m pretty sure you’re doing all the work, Ms. Darlington.”
Jasmine swatted her hand in Isabelle’s direction. “Please, call me Jasmine. My last name is so pretentious.”
Isabelle grinned. “OK, Jasmine. I’m excited to wear another one of your gorgeous dresses.”
“You are by far one of the most gorgeous creatures I’ve ever had the pleasure of dressing. Come now, let’s get you into something that will make Garrett here want to undress you.” The eccentric dressmaker winked at Garrett wh
o just shook his head, his expression mostly stoic, but Isabelle caught the subtle gleam in his eyes when he looked her way.
She made a note to ask how he’d met Jasmine. She didn’t seem like the type of person Garrett would meet through work and his only socializing was at fancy political events and Club Solitaire.
When she stepped into Jasmine’s back room, the woman immediately began picking up garments she’d had strewn about.
“I loved the yellow on you, but I want to go a little more subtle this time. Something that will let your beauty really shine.”
She handed her a variety of gray dresses, but Isabelle gravitated to one that had hints of yellow embroidered on the bodice.
Jasmine smiled knowingly. “I had a feeling you would be drawn to that one.”
She let Jasmine help her into the dress. It was gorgeous and fit her almost perfectly. Had the woman altered these dresses with her measurements from before? Nothing should surprise Isabelle about the things Garrett’s money could get done, and yet it did.
When she stepped out to show Garrett the dress, his eyes lit up as he set his tablet aside. “It’s perfect, Doll. You look stunning.”
Jasmine clapped her hands behind them. “I knew it would be the one. I have a hair and makeup artist arriving shortly. Let’s go play in the clothes while we wait. I have something special for your high protocol dinner,” she said as she pushed Isabelle back into the dressing room.
Her heart skipped a beat and she felt her face go pale. How did Jasmine know about the high protocol dinner?
“Oh dear,” Jasmine said, “You don’t know. My dear, don’t worry. I’m a silent member of the club. I just never get to attend. A vast majority of the corsets and lingerie stocked in the club gift shop are my creations. You haven’t met me, but you have met my boy, Simon.”
Isabelle’s eyes went wide. “Simon is your sub?”
She nodded. “Yes, but he has more free time than I do on the weekends, so I let him go have his fun. We’re what you might call polyamorous, though I rarely get involved with anyone else.”