by Vanessa Vale
4
NORTH
* * *
“You have a call with Mark Andres at eleven, lunch at the rotary at twelve, a meeting with the board at two. Accounting wants to be squeezed in sometime so they have a five minute spot before your three o’clock call with the cattlemen’s association.”
My assistant, Julian, recounted my day as he stared at his tablet. It was my second day back at the office since the funeral and I was as booked as ever.
I was at my desk. It wasn’t the corner office, but the space was big. I swiveled my chair around to look out the windows. The view was north, the buildings of Billings and then the brown buttes and crags in the distance. I was on the fourth floor, and I could see for miles. I could take over the huge corner office that had been my father’s, but I had no interest. That space was tainted, just like everything else he touched.
“You have the board’s agenda?”
“In your inbox,” he replied.
I had to reassure the group that while things were going to change at Wainright Holdings, it was all going to be for the better. The company had been under my father’s ruthless thumb for too long. It was finally time to steer it the way I wanted. There were going to be some holdouts, those who were still loyal to my father even though it was unwarranted. They were no longer going to get favors or perks or bonuses. They could vote me out as CEO even though I was the primary stakeholder, but my brothers and I combined held more than fifty percent. I wasn’t being replaced because South, East, and West wanted nothing to do with the place.
“I need you to start to merge my father’s meetings in with my own. Connect with Janice,” —his assistant who was ridiculously loyal, meaning he’d either been fucking her or well-compensating her, or both— “to make it happen.”
“I have. The first one should be here any minute.” He didn’t tell me there weren’t enough hours in the day for two schedules worth of meetings, but it had to be done. I had to tackle Macon’s business and make it my own and I studied my calendar on my tablet trying to figure out how to make it all fit.
“Call Mrs. Sanchez and coordinate a moving company to empty my father’s bedroom completely. All the furniture, clothes. Donate it to a charity.”
The woman had been the ranch’s housekeeper for over a decade. She handled the cleaning staff, the cook, food. Anything that happened inside the main house, she dealt with so I didn’t have to.
I’d work through the rest of the house later, like figuring out how to get rid of all those animal head trophies while honoring the animals’ lives needlessly taken solely for my father’s amusement. It wasn’t as if he’d eaten the meat from any of those kills. At least someone in need would be wearing his clothes and shoes. My father would be rolling over in his grave. He’d probably rather burn the expensive things instead of seeing someone else use them. Perhaps it was payback what I was doing, but it felt hollow. Like I was never going to win.
“On it,” Julian said, not even blinking at the request. “Dinner with your brothers at the ranch means I’ve scheduled your ride for five-fifteen.”
“Right.” East hadn’t returned to Bozeman but had been scarce. All three of them had, which wasn’t a surprise. We’d all decided to hang tonight before he left.
“Can I help you?”
I spun my chair around at Julian’s question. There in the open doorway was Jed Barnett. My pussy clenched at the sight of him. God, he was handsome. Now that I knew what he was like—intense, demanding, surprisingly gentle—I was excited to see him.
Not that I’d let him pick up on that.
The last thing I needed was a man who thought they could walk all over me. Even one who gave me incredible orgasms.
I stood. “What are you doing here?”
The corner of his mouth tipped up as his gaze raked over me. I wore a dress, as usual, this time in a forest green. He couldn’t see the matching heels behind the desk.
“I’m your nine o’clock,” Jed said. That deep rasp made my nipples harden.
Come. I remembered how that one word he’d murmured in my ear sounded. I didn’t like to be bossed around but found it hot when he did it.
I looked to my assistant who looked a little surprised Jed had snuck up on him. No one got past his desk… usually. I was coming to understand that Jed Barnett was different.
He looked relaxed in that casual way that screamed he had no fucks to give. That it didn’t matter that Julian was my gatekeeper. He was coming in anyway.
Jed’s boots were polished, but his jeans were worn, which only meant they molded to his thick thighs and butt… and package that much better. His shirt today was red plaid with the sleeves rolled up.
After I took a blatant few seconds just to ogle him, I realized he was the first appointment Julian had mentioned.
“You had a meeting with my father,” I said, tipping my chin up.
“I did.”
Two words that changed everything. No one had a meeting with Macon Wainright for fun. It had been all business, all the time.
Which meant his laser focus at the wake had been intentional. A plan of his that had me bent over my father’s desk.
The plan had worked, too.
“Thanks, Julian,” I said, dismissing him but not looking away from Jed.
Julian gave Jed a bland look before shutting the door behind him.
I stood, refusing to look anything but powerful. I’d learned one didn’t sit when others were standing. “You’re an asshole.”
All he did was quirk a brow as I came around the desk.
“What was my dad’s plan?” I asked.
“To die so I’d come onto you at his wake?” he asked, making me sound ridiculous.
I shook my head. “You had opportunity, so you took it.”
It was subtle, but I noticed the way his jaw clenched. Just for a second. Fuck.
“Let me guess. The plan was to fuck me so I’d be distracted and miss some deal for a crony? Get me to fall in love with you, and then what? That’s a little extreme, but I’ve seen my father in action.”
He frowned but stayed quiet.
I paced back and forth and considered all the options. It gave me a minute to pull myself together, to try not to let him see how much of a fool I felt. I’d thought of him for two days. How he’d touched me. How he hadn’t gotten his male pride dented because I couldn’t come without doing it myself. For a short time there, I’d thought he was different.
“Or is it because the deal with your dad fell through when I was seventeen and Macon’s been trying again?”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” he asked.
I ignored him. All these ideas had me on a path to the truth. I stilled, realizing what it was. “It wasn’t him. It was you. You came to the wake because you want payback for what I did to your brother.”
“You done?” He took off his hat, tossed it onto a chair, but didn’t look away from me. “There’s a lot to unpack here. You think your daddy sent me to fuck you?”
I crossed my arms, leaned against my desk.
He studied me, narrowed his eyes, seemingly figuring out what he wanted from my lack of response. Moving close, he crowded me, setting his hands on the wooden surface on either side of my hips. It brought his face right in front of mine. I could see the red in his beard, the depth of his gaze.
I swallowed. Refused to look away. I would not show weakness.
I didn’t see anger there precisely. It was something, but it didn’t seem directed at me.
“I’ll take your silence as a yes. The fact that you even suggested it means he’s done it before. I remember my parents had a deal for their land that fell through, but I was in DC at the time. I never heard more about it before they died. There is no deal now with your father, princess. The land’s mine. I’d know.”
“Then why are you here?” I asked.
He didn’t step back, didn’t give me room. I wasn’t afraid of him, but he made me uneasy. Uncomfortable, becau
se he was actually looking at me. Seeing me. Hell, hearing my words.
“I work for Marshall Industries. Your daddy did have a deal going. With them. I’m here to see it done.”
I blinked, surprised. I knew John Marshall. Total sleaze. I hadn’t expected Jed to work for him, but I hadn’t thought much about him besides how talented he was with his hands. How he smelled. How incredible he could kiss.
I should’ve looked into Jed, but I hadn’t. A stupid mistake on my part.
“And you thought you’d do that at the wake while I was bent over a desk?”
“Jesus, you’ve got issues. I went to the wake to pay my respects to the family. Maybe talk about the deal. But one look at you and that all changed. I might’ve kept my distance when you were a kid, but not any longer.”
My mouth fell open. He’d wanted me all those years ago.
“What?” I whispered.
“You heard me. I want you and I take what I want.”
I wasn’t sure if I should be insulted at the way he was talking about me or turned on. The way my panties were getting wet, it was definitely the latter.
“I… I can’t go over the Marshall deal with you. I don’t know the details since I haven’t caught up on my father’s work,” I admitted, as if that explained why my thoughts had gone the directions they had. Although I’d given away more than I wanted.
He pushed off the desk, stepped back. “That’s fine. We can meet another time to go over it, answer any questions you have about the contract. In the meantime, I have a deal of my own.” He picked up his hat, dropped into the chair. “Between you and me.”
His long legs crowded me so I went around my desk, sat across from him. Had this been his plan? “Land? Cattle? A loan?”
His gaze narrowed. “Holy fuck, princess. Everyone’s after you for something, aren’t they?”
“Aren’t you?” I countered, leaning back in my chair, wary and suddenly feeling fragile. I’d let him in the other day and I hadn’t thought through the why of it. Not then and not the time since. An error on my part.
He shifted forward, rested his forearms on his thighs, as if following me, not wanting to lose any space between us. “You forget who got off the other day? It sure as shit wasn’t me.”
I frowned. His dick hadn’t come out of his pants. He hadn’t asked for a handy or a BJ. Nothing.
I blinked. Lost. “I… I don’t understand.”
“Yeah, I can see that. Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to teach you to trust someone. To let those huge fucking walls down because that version of you I saw the other day, no thought in her head, no worries, only pleasure, was the prettiest fucking thing I’ve ever seen.”
I blushed. I couldn’t help it. My cheeks heated and it spread down my torso. All of me warmed by his words. His intense stare.
Was he actually telling the truth?
“Why?” I asked. “Why are you doing this? You have to have a reason.”
“You mean an ulterior motive.”
I raised my hands, frustrated. “Everyone does.”
“Not everyone.”
We stared at each other. I was… caught. He made no sense. He wasn’t like other men. I had no idea what to expect from him, especially when he said he had no ulterior motive for wanting me.
“The deal is what? To be my fuck buddy? No thanks, I already have one.”
His eyes narrowed. His jaw clenched.
“You have a boyfriend?” The words were laced with ice, as if angry he’d put his hands on a woman who was claimed.
I laughed, not because it seemed he had honor, but because the idea of me having a boyfriend was hilarious. The last one I had was his brother. Thirteen years ago.
“No. A no strings scheduled appointment for sex.”
His eyes widened and he looked at me as if I’d sprouted devil horns.
“That’s pretty fucking sad.”
I bristled. If he intended to hurt me with that, he had. “Why is it that a woman can’t get what she wants without attachment?” I practically snapped.
“There’s nothing wrong with that, but that’s not you.”
I laughed at the idea he knew more about me than I did. “Oh yes, it is.”
He stood, loomed over me. “No, it’s not. You want sex, you get it from someone who thinks of you as more than a transaction. And not any of those vibrators you mentioned either.”
I tipped my head to the side. “And that’s you?”
“I see you, princess.”
I froze. My breath caught. I didn’t even blink. He sees me. I wasn’t sure if that was good or the scariest thing ever, because no one saw me.
Ever.
I licked my lips and his dark gaze dropped to watch the motion. “What… what are you proposing?”
Fuck, I hated there was a catch in my voice.
“That pussy’s mine.” He looked down as if he could see it through my desk. “Hell, I don’t even know why we’re having this conversation. You gave it to me the other day. I don’t share. No fucking way can you go off and see some… escort now.”
He was right. I craved him and I hadn’t done that… ever. Had I been longing for him all this time? Had I always wanted Jed Barnett since the first time I saw him?
Maybe I gave away some emotion or he was somehow a pussy whisperer because the corner of his mouth tipped up.
“We’ll fuck until you get tired of me. Your rules, princess.”
My eyes widened. “My rules?”
He outright grinned now. His straight white teeth stood out against his dark beard. “Your rules, but I’m in charge, remember? I’m going to break down every one of those walls you’ve built up. Now give me those panties.”
I looked around, as if the people working for me could see through the closed door. “What?”
He came around the desk, tugged so I stood directly before him, then turned so I was caught between him and my desk.
“You don’t trust. I can see that.”
“I—” He put a finger over my lips.
“You need to trust me on one thing. That I won’t hurt you.”
That was a big one. He wouldn’t hurt me? Who hadn’t? Even my brothers, unknowingly.
“Not in this. You trust me with your body, with your pleasure. I’ll keep you safe. No one will harm you when you’re with me. No one will see you. See the person you’re trying so fucking hard to protect.”
He pulled his finger away, but I couldn’t tell him to fuck off. I couldn’t do anything but say his name.
His eyes flared because he heard the weakness in my voice. The… hope that he wasn’t lying.
“I don’t know what this is between us,” he added. “No fucking clue, but I’m not afraid to find out. Give over, because I have. Give over, North, because you like it.”
He said my name instead of princess.
Again, he somehow saw me when he looked at me. As if I was more than just a Wainright. More than just my bank account. My land. My inherited power.
I had no idea what this was between us either. I felt it. Electricity. Chemistry. Something unexplainable and intangible. I couldn’t grab the feeling, but I could reach for him. Hope he’d catch me because I felt like I was falling.
I was the new North Wainright. I was no longer under my father’s thumb. Word wouldn’t get back to him that Jed had been in my office for the past ten minutes. That we were going to start something, something that didn’t have an agenda. Because it didn’t even make sense.
My father wasn’t going to hold it against me, blackmail me with it.
“Okay.”
He’d been patiently waiting. When his eyes flared with surprise, it seemed he was expecting me to say no. To knee him in the balls or smash the top of his foot with my stiletto. Anything but submit.
Leaning in, he kissed me. It was the lightest brush of his lips against mine, then he pulled back. “Now give me those panties.”
“I’m not having sex with you in my offi
ce,” I said.
“If that’s a rule, fine. But if you’re saying no because you think you’re in charge, then I’m shutting that shit down now. If I want you on your knees sucking me off right here, you will. If I want to bend you over your desk, I will.”
“You’re an asshole,” I muttered, but didn’t argue.
He caught on to that because he said, “Maybe, but I make you wet. Wanna know why?”
I only arched a brow. Boy, did I want to hear this. “Because you like it when I tell you what to do. But I’d never do anything to hurt or humiliate you, including letting anyone in your office see you in a way you consider weak. Remember, while you might get on your knees for me, princess, you hold all the power.”
I stared at him. He was right. I could kick him out. Tell him no. Hell, have him arrested for some stupid charge because my last name held a lot of power. Whatever we did was on me.
“Yeah, you’re smart,” he continued. “You know exactly what I mean. Now give me those panties.”
He stepped back and I lost his heat.
Inwardly, I grumbled. Planned his demise. Hated his guts. All the while I reached beneath my dress and tugged my panties down and off, then handed them over.
He stared at the lavender lace, so feminine in his long, work-worn fingers, then tucked it into his shirt pocket.
“I’ll see you later, princess.”
I watched as he cut across the room.
“Wait! That’s it?” I bit my lip, realizing I sounded desperate. I didn’t do desperate because it made me appear weak. And the weak were preyed upon. Still, I had to know. “You expect me to… to just go without panties at work?”
He winked. “You won’t be able to think about anything else. See you around.”
With that, he turned and left. I stared at the open doorway, a little confused about what just happened as I felt cool air on my pussy. His pussy, the one that was very, very wet.
I went to the door, spoke to Julian. “Get me everything there is on Jed Barnett. And find out what deal my father had with John Marshall.”
5
JED