by Parker, Ali
The sounds of ecstasy echoed around us in the vast kitchen space. The bright overhead lights could have been a distraction but there was far too much passion in the room to be quelled by the lighting. It was only him and me and the exquisite pleasure our bodies gave one another.
“Don’t stop,” I demanded when I felt the spiraling and tightening of nerves in my body.
“I couldn’t if I wanted to,” he grunted.
“Shift,” he murmured. I found myself a little lost, confused by the haze of desire wrapping me up tightly. I slid back a little. He held on to my left hip with one hand and pushed his other hand against my chest. “Lay back.”
My eyes widened and I was suddenly very clear about what he was asking. I looked into his eyes and the initial panic evaporated. It was Tyson. I could trust him in this. I did as he asked, laying my body over the counter with my head touching the opposite edge of the wide expanse of granite.
I looked at him from my new vantage point. He looked so much bigger and so much more dangerous. So much more everything. My eyes dropped to the point where he was joined with me. Seeing it in the bright light was the most erotic thing I had ever witnessed. He began to move, both his hands on my hips as he held me in place. I couldn’t take my eyes off the scene before me.
When I managed to pull my gaze away, it was to find him watching what I had just been focused on. Every vein in his neck stood out. The muscles in his arms were flexed as he concentrated on that one spot. I couldn’t stop the physical reaction. I briefly closed my eyes as my body shattered into a million pieces.
“Oh shit,” he whispered.
I opened my eyes and found him holding on for dear life. It was seconds later when he found his release and exploded inside me. We were both groaning and grunting as we rode out the joined orgasm. I felt like I had been turned inside out by the time my body stopped spasming. He reached for me, pulling me up to a sitting position once again. I fell forward, collapsing against him as I held him close.
I didn’t want to think about anything else. Not yet. I wanted to enjoy the beautiful afterglow for just a few more seconds. I sighed, knowing it was time to get home. Without a word, he helped me off the counter. We both dressed in silence. There was a hint of awkwardness.
Once dressed, I looked at him—really looked at him. “I didn’t come here to do that,” I told him.
His boyish grin warmed my heart. “I didn’t invite you over to do that.”
“Why did you invite me over?”
“I wanted to talk about the business matter,” he said.
I slowly nodded. “Maybe we should do it at your office or mine or in a public place. I’m not sure we can be trusted to get much business done in a setting like this.”
“I think you are right,” he said with a laugh. “I promise, this was not my intention. It’s just—well, shit. I get around you and I want you naked.”
“I get it,” I said with a laugh.
“Can I call you tomorrow?”
“Please.”
I looked at him again, trying to figure out what else to say. There wasn’t a lot to say. “I should get going. Hayden will be at home alone.”
He nodded. I didn’t know if I should kiss him goodbye or make a clean getaway. The decision was taken from me when he stepped forward and jerked me against him.
“Don’t think so hard about it,” he whispered before kissing me.
When he finally released me, my legs were shaking. He had a way of turning me on and firing me up with very little effort. He was dangerous to be around.
“I should go.”
He grinned. “You said that. I’ll walk you out.”
We walked to the door, but he didn’t stop there. He walked me all the way to my car, even opening the door for me. I got in and waved before pulling away. My heart was pounding. I felt warm all over. I could go from hating him to loving him in the blink of an eye. He was the only man that could piss me off and turn me on in the span of five seconds.
I smiled. That was one of the reasons I liked him so much.
Chapter 52
Tyson
I was trying to figure out the best way to approach the merger subject with Mae. Last night, I had a talk all planned. That plan had gone out the window the moment I saw her.
I told myself to just be natural. Unfortunately, my natural inclination was to touch her and do other things to her. I couldn’t be natural, or we would end up horizontal on my desk or her desk. Or up against a wall or any other way that I could fuck her.
I didn’t get much time to dwell on the matter. Between fielding phone calls and returning emails, the morning flew by. Just when I thought I would have a second to plan my conversation, I was greeted by an unexpected visitor.
“Busy?” Patrick asked, popping his head inside my open office door.
I looked around at the clutter on my desk. “Nope. Not at all.” I was lying. I was swamped but I could make time. It was all about building a friendship, and apparently, that required me giving some time to the situation.
Patrick walked in and flopped down in the chair. “Your desk is a mess,” he commented.
I smirked. “I’ve got a lot on my plate. I’m running a multi-million-dollar business almost all on my own.”
“You should hire some help.”
“Gee, thanks for the good advice. I wish I would have thought of it.”
He was unbothered by my sarcasm. “How is it going with your competition?”
That caught my attention. “My competition?”
“Mae. Is she kicking your ass yet?”
“Hardly,” I answered in a cocky tone.
“Does it piss you off at all that she is hyping up the unveiling of that statue?”
I shrugged. “Why would it? Museums hold grand unveilings all the time.”
“But she is your direct competition. She is trying to make her museum bigger and better than yours.”
“Not really. Have you seen my museums?” It was a cocky, arrogant thing to say but I was putting on a front. I felt like we were back in high school and I was trying too hard to pretend I didn’t care. It always amazed me he never picked up on it.
He chuckled. “Good cover. I know it sucks she did what she did. You know Mae. When she gets pissed, she goes after revenge.”
“And she is damn good at it.”
He was grinning like a proud father. “Yes, she is. I think she will run the industry one day. She’ll own your museums.”
That statement was a little too close for comfort. “There is nothing to say we can’t have several excellent museums. The more history being retold, the better.”
“Bullshit. You know it’s pissing you off.”
“No, it isn’t. Her museum is great, and it specializes in a very different time period than mine. You do know that history stretches back thousands of years, right? We have many, many different cultures and civilizations to talk about and dig into their history. Mae could own twenty museums and I would not be worried my own would suffer.”
He was laughing, acting as if I was just talking shit. I meant it. I wasn’t worried there would be too much competition. Not by any means.
“Sure, good story. Keep telling yourself you don’t care. You will care when she walks in here and tries to buy your company out from under you.”
“It will never happen.”
“Don’t be so sure of that,” he said, still laughing. He was starting to piss me off. Only because he was getting a little too close to my one true fear. It was very possible it could happen, and I really did not like the thought of it.
I played it off, shrugging a shoulder. “You seem to be enjoying early retirement. Maybe I will as well. I’ll buy a yacht and set sail for somewhere tropical.”
“Have you spoken to her?” he asked.
For a brief moment, I thought I was busted. “What?”
“Do you and her talk?”
I shrugged. “On occasion.”
“Did she tell yo
u about Benjamin?”
Ice followed by green jealousy raced through my veins. “Who?”
“Benjamin. Some dude at the museum that is sweet on her.”
I hid my reaction. I would not let him see how pissed the thought made me. “Really?”
He nodded. “She talked about him a lot.”
“I’m surprised she is talking to you at all.”
“You and me both,” he muttered. “Baby steps. She’ll forgive me. She has to. Besides Hayden, I’m all she has in this world. And Benjamin.”
I put aside my own feelings on the matter and decided to focus on him. “Why do you hate the idea of Mae being with anyone?”
“I don’t hate the idea of her being with a man,” he argued.
“I think you do. You have worked very hard at keeping her away from anyone and everyone. You have approved of no one. Don’t say you have because I have been around when you scared them off, one by one. Some with a little more force than others.”
His smirk told me he didn’t care. “There has yet to be a man worthy of her.”
“How would you know? You never let anyone get close to her to find out.”
“I know. Big brothers know these things.”
I raised my eyebrows but didn’t say what was really on my mind. Patrick didn’t know shit. That was my opinion. He thought he did, but he didn’t. He didn’t know Mae as well as he thought he did. He didn’t know what she really liked or what made her laugh.
“I see,” I commented.
“I’m going to have to see what this Benjamin character is all about. I don’t want her falling all over some dude that is only using her.”
“Why would he be using her?” I questioned, genuinely interested. If that was the case, I would beat his ass. Hell, I wanted to beat his ass in general for flirting with her.
“I don’t know. Guys look at Mae and they see her beauty, but they don’t give her the respect she deserves. She dated a guy a while back. I hated him. I could see right through his bullshit, but she didn’t. He wanted one thing from her.”
“How do you know that?”
I could see him growing a little irritated by my questions. I wasn’t necessarily questioning his judgement, but I wanted to know what he saw that worried him. I wanted to know if I was giving him those vibes.
“Because I don’t trust men in general.”
I scowled, shaking my head. “That makes zero sense.”
“Think about you and me back in our wild youth.”
Again, I had to keep from saying what was really on my mind. My youth was nothing like his. He was the one that was a serial dater. I did date a few girls, but the rest of my stories were made up. It was all a cover to hide my relationship with Mae. She was the only girl for me back then. I didn’t cheat on her. I never would have cheated on her.
“I don’t think I ever mistreated anyone,” I told him.
“I did.”
“Well, you shouldn’t have,” I lectured.
“Nope, I shouldn’t have, but I did. Just like the guys she has dated. They should have respected her and treated her like a queen.”
I slowly nodded. “But they didn’t?”
“Nope. More than once, I was the one to console her and tell her there would be other guys. I tried to tell her to stay away from guys like me and you.”
Now he was pissing me off. I never treated women like he did. I didn’t call them back, but I wasn’t disrespectful to them. At least, not like he was. “Good luck with that,” I muttered.
“I don’t need luck.”
I said nothing else. I was done with the conversation. I was done listening to him talk shit about me when he didn’t know the real truth. “Can I call you this weekend?” I asked with the hope he would get the hint and leave.
“I’m headed out of town for a couple of days,” he answered.
“You aren’t going to the unveiling at Mae’s museum?”
He shrugged. “No. It’s not a big deal. Not to me anyway. I’ve seen statues. This is her thing. She wanted to do it on her own and I’m going to let her.”
“I see. Cutting the apron strings a little.”
He grinned as he got to his feet. “Just a little. I still intend to find out what this Benjamin dude is about.”
“Good luck. Give me a call when you get back into town. I’d love another day on the boat. I’ll bring something good to eat.”
“I’ll do that. See you later.”
He walked out the door. I waited several seconds before I let down my guard. I always felt like I had to keep my guard up when he was around. I didn’t dare let him see my true feelings for his sister. If Mae and I were going to have a real relationship, I was going to have to come clean. I couldn’t keep hiding. Patrick would get pissed. I knew that, especially considering how little he thought of me.
I tried to tell myself not to take what he said personally. He was only going off what he thought he knew. He didn’t know shit, but I wasn’t about to correct him and tell him I had been sleeping with his sister back then. I would not be the least bit surprised for him to come after me. Technically, I supposed I probably deserved it.
I had lied to him for a long time. Not technically lied, but I never told him the truth. Mae wasn’t honest with him either, which wouldn’t just piss him off. It would hurt him. I didn’t want him to feel betrayed.
“Fuck, Tyson,” I groaned. “You really stepped in shit with this one.”
Before I made any decisions about telling him or not telling him, I needed to figure out the business situation with Mae. I was convinced she and I could be together if we could settle the merger. I thought about withdrawing my offer but then she would take that as a sign I didn’t want her to have the controlling interest. That would piss her off and I wouldn’t see her again.
If I signed, we were tied together for a good, long while. I wasn’t sure she was ready for that. I was. I would gladly spend the rest of my days with her. It was difficult not knowing what she wanted. I knew there was only one way to find out. I had to grow a pair and fucking ask her.
I pulled open my desk drawer and stared down at the contract she delivered. The document had been sitting in the drawer for days. I pulled it out, dropped it on my desk, and began to read it all over again.
There was a knot in my stomach that refused to go away. It just killed me to think about giving up a portion of my company. But it was more painful to think about Mae not being a part of my life. I knew it was up to me to choose the lesser of two evils.
Chapter 53
Mae
I gently blew on the steaming coffee before taking that first, glorious sip that always made it feel like I was drinking rocket fuel. I could feel my body coming alive. All the little neurons bounced off each other and my senses heightened. It was great coffee. I looked across the small table in the coffee shop and watched Carrie stare out the window. She did that sometimes. I knew she was thinking about her late husband.
I stared at her profile. The pixie cut highlighted her feminine features. On some women, it made them look sharp and harsh but not Carrie. It softened her. It made her look vulnerable and youthful. She was a very pretty woman and I hoped one day she would find new love.
“Why are you staring at me?” she asked.
I blinked, forgetting she could actually see me. “I’m sorry. I was just thinking about you and Ben and how I hope you find someone to love.”
“I already loved.”
I slowly nodded. It was a delicate conversation. It was one that was essentially off the table unless she broached it. I respected her wishes. She was the one grieving. I could not begin to understand what she was going through. I was following her lead. “I know.”
“What about you?” she questioned. “You’ve been awful quiet on the Tyson front.”
“Not all that quiet,” I confessed.
She groaned. “You banged again?”
I gave her a dirty look. “You make it sound dirty.”
She shrugged. “Isn’t it a little dirty? You two have this very strange love-hate thing going on.”
“He invited me to dinner at his place last night. I thought we were going to talk about the deal. We didn’t get to it.”
“Because you were banging,” she said with a nod.
“We are not sixteen,” I snapped. “It isn’t banging.”
“You hooked up.”
I wasn’t going to win, and truthfully, I supposed that was all it really was at this point. “I guess we did.”
“What about the deal? Do you think he is actually considering it?”
“I have no idea.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Be reasonable, Mae. Your museum is nice, and you do have that new statue, but be honest with yourself. Your entire museum does not come close to being worth even half of his company. If you were in his shoes, would you give up your huge company? It’s a big ask.”
“I know it is. I honestly don’t expect him to sign the papers. It was more about me making a point. He thinks he can just buy me or anything he wants. He can’t. It isn’t right. Plus, I promised Benjamin that Tyson would never own his museum. I can’t go back on that now.”
“Why not just tell Tyson no?” she questioned. “Why make it a big thing?”
I released a long sigh. “I don’t know. I have thought about that a lot. I think it was a knee-jerk response. I should have taken some time to think about it. I shouldn’t have jumped right to the part where I demanded he give up his company. It really was just about making a point.”
“And protecting your heart,” she said with a soft smile.
“What do you mean?”
“You want to know if he wants you or your museum. I get it, but don’t you think an ultimatum is a little beneath you?”
“Nope.”
She softly laughed. “Oh, Mae. You and Tyson have such an odd connection. I wish you guys could just drop all those walls you have built around yourselves and give in to what you both want. You want each other. I think you guys could be very happy together if you let go of the past.”