I waited till we were alone again and I heard the door click. Then I asked, “Are you invited to the London wedding?”
She waved her hand and picked up her fork. “Of course. My sisters and I are all close. Ridley, the nurse, works too much and I wish she’d take time off for her health. I hope she doesn’t blame herself for mom’s passing or anything like that.
“Nicole, the blogger, is amazing at following her dreams. She makes me wish I had some bigger dream besides my business plans. And Olivia became an elementary school teacher because she’s honestly lost and never had a clue about what she wanted to do. She’s probably the most like my mom.”
A mom, a dad, a nurse, a teacher … The rest of her family sounded like … like the family I’d always wished for, if I were honest. All my life, I’d been alone. I sipped my champagne and then reached for my cake fork as I said, “So you were the one that went after the money.”
She scoffed and then said, “Someone needed to.”
No. That wasn’t true. The families I idolized were the ones where they spent every night together after work finished at five. I kept that to myself and finished my cake in small bites. Done, I said, “I go after resources for completely different reasons, and it has nothing to do with family loyalty. But I read your cousins are also close?”
“Jasmine is one, and she’s great to have work for me. She doesn’t have the desire to be running her own team though.” She finished her entire dessert, which meant she had a sweet tooth. Then she took a sip of champagne and once she put it down, she said, “And yeah, my parents took in my cousins for various reasons. Our home was often the base for all the Steels. Phoenix Steel is probably the most famous of us.”
I’d heard him perform as a teenager and snapped my fingers. “He’s on the radio again.”
She finished her champagne and her eyes had a gleam in them. “Yes, with his new wife. I went to the wedding a few months back.”
Family was important to her. In an ideal world, every child should have people who cared for and supported them. She’d agreed to marry me for money, but I had a feeling she had a soft heart under her practical exterior.
I asked, “Anyone else you want to mention?”
She shrugged her shoulders and said, “Not at the moment.”
The mysteries of Indigo might never be solved entirely. She was fascinating. This was temporary, and we’d both agreed to no emotional involvement, thankfully. But I wanted to know more, either way.
I stood and said, “I’ll get more from you later. In some ways, I’m jealous.”
“Of what?”
I’d never told this to a soul before, but my fingers connected with hers and I wanted to trust her. So I didn’t blink as I shared my secret. “That you had family around you when you were growing up. All I had was a mother. She struggled every day to keep us a float and happy, Once she died, all I had was a father who didn’t care if I starved, froze or died on the streets until he became legally responsible for me.”
Her lips parted. “You can’t mean that.”
She had zero idea. People like her were surrounded by love. I never had anything like that. I didn’t even blink, but my lips thinned when I said, “I do. I experienced all that and more because he hated my mother.”
Her eyes softened and she motioned toward the door. “Let’s head back to the hotel now.”
“Yes.”
Now we’d go to our honeymoon suite. She stood beside me and curled her hand under my elbow and sparks raced through me.
Without asking permission I quickly kissed her.
She approved, and ran her hand through my thick hair. And unlike most women, she made me pause and forget myself with her lips.
Chapter 5
Indigo
Men have never made me nervous, but the zip in my veins with Jacob wasn’t normal. It couldn’t be. Seriously. I wasn’t okay at all, near him. My skin and body jumped with anticipation when he was close to me, which was why I rushed into his bathroom instead of enjoying the view from the penthouse.
Seeing myself in this dress only added to the thrills he sent through me and the wishes I’d never normally acknowledge. I needed to stop my racing heart and get it back to calm, rational and normal.
I tugged the dress off, but that didn’t stop the butterflies in my belly as I wondered what would happen next. I shimmied out of the dress and stood there alone in my bra. I could see how my hairs all stood on their ends. Damn. I wasn’t ready for Jacob tonight.
I hung up the dress and told myself to live up to my name: Steel. I was supposed to be so tough no one got to me.
Ever.
Twenty-five million was why I was here, not love, or even lust. Love wasn’t real. And all this desire in my veins was for a man I hardly knew.
Right. I wiped my brow. Cold sweat raced up my spine and I gripped the edge of the sink like that might hold me together.
Jasmine had told me not to marry Jacob, but then she didn’t have these zaps of electricity coursing through her. I don’t know why. He’s the hottest man I’d ever seen. Either way, I hadn’t listened to Jasmine, or been smart about setting conditions, like waiting. Now … part of me wanted to run, but I refused to be weak.
Jacob knocked on the door and asked, “Do you need help getting out of your dress?”
I glanced at the door. I was undressed already, not that he knew. And he wasn’t fighting off physical jolts, like I was from years of suppressing my sexuality.
Tonight, he expected me to live up to the contract that included sex. And he’d been fucking … nice … about everything. Mr. Ruthless was confined to work, it seemed. And I wanted him bad enough to marry him immediately and not ask for time.
This was on me. I traced the beautiful dress with the tiny rosebuds on the bodice that I hadn’t even noticed at the store. Now the small detail made this feel real.
I let out a long sigh and took a deep breath. I had to stop this crazy overthinking. I opened the door a crack and said, “One more minute. I’m almost ready.”
I locked the door fast before he said anything. It was easier to get air in my lungs if I wasn’t soaking in his woodsy cologne.
He called out, “I’m happy to help if you need me.”
The sound of his voice made me melt a little, but I said, “Just wait.”
I rolled my shoulders and grabbed my cotton sleepwear. Once I put it on, I looked like I was ready to walk the co-ed halls of a dorm to get to the showers. As I took a quick look in the mirror, my phone rang.
I saw the number and glanced at the door. I’d married Jacob to help people like my cousin, so I answered quickly. “Mary?”
“Is this a bad time?”
My wedding night. Where I’m hiding in a bathroom. It wasn’t exactly something I could say to her. I curled on the marble floor and saw the huge tub that would be amazing to soak away my fears in—or share with the muscular, sexy man who made my knees weak.
Damn. The dream was so visceral. His kisses made me weak, which I never was. He didn’t need to know he got to me this bad, though.
I said, “I’m … it’s fine, Mary. What’s going on?”
“My face is better now, and I called Georgie.”
The black and blue and swollen eye she’d had a week ago weren’t just a one-time deal, though I hadn’t pressed her for more information when she’d checked in to the shelter with her baby. She’d been beaten for months, clearly.
And the sight of her infant son in tears still broke my heart. I let out a sigh of relief and asked, “What did Georgie say?”
“She’s sending Ridley to come and get me and Bruce.”
Good. I cared about helping all the women at the shelter, but Mary was family, and like another sister to me. So was Jasmine, but she hadn’t been like Mary. When Mary met her loser ex, she’d pulled away from us. So I said, “I’m glad you trust your family to help.”
“But I don’t want to go if Arthur can find us.”
The ex. I’
d run him over with my BMW if he came near my house. I whispered, so Jacob wouldn’t hear me, “Even if he figures out you’re with your family, we’re not letting him in anyone’s house. Besides, we all have security.”
“I’m still scared.”
The Steel family stuck together. If she needed to be shipped out to California, Phoenix would have her back. Or she could just go home. Her brother, Joseph, would move closer in a heartbeat. I said, “Don’t be. You’re with us again.”
“You’re right. Thanks for letting me stay at your shelter.”
Technically, she’d checked in without calling me first, but the front desk recognized her as my family. Not that she needed a reminder right now. Instead, I quickly said, “When you’re feeling up to it, maybe you can help the other women there, like my mom used to.”
“I’m not ready for that.”
“No pressure,” I said. From my experience, battered women shouldn’t be pushed for work. “Totally fine.”
I heard talking in the background where she was and I perked up.
“Is that Ridley I hear?” My sister, the nurse, was great at fixing people.
“Yeah, do you want to talk to her?”
Questions about what I’d done today would follow. I stood up from the floor and said, “No. I’ll call everyone tomorrow with news. Take your son and go.”
“And Indigo … thanks for not calling my brother.”
Joseph had already threatened Arthur and gotten into a major fight with him because he’d thought Arthur was abusing her. Mary didn’t know that yet. Now my sisters would handle that reunion. I said, “Your life is your life.”
“I never lived it by making smart choices before.”
“Time to start. Your son deserves better,” I added, and glanced at the door. I needed to follow my own advice.
We said goodbye and I put my phone back on charge.
Then I closed my eyes and told myself I’d be fine.
Jacob was a sexy man, but so what? I’d had sex. Now, my exes didn’t stir anything inside me like he’d done with his mind-blowing kiss. My hair had never stood on its ends before. But this was good.
I nodded to myself in the mirror and stepped out.
He stood up from his seat at his desk, where he’d been reading papers, and asked, “Who were you on the phone with?”
This was how I’d felt when the teacher called on me and I saw other students giving me the side-eye for talking too much. I glanced down as I said, “A cousin. She was in trouble, but my sisters have her now.”
“I’m glad she’s safe, then.”
I had a trembling inside me, and I patted his muscular shoulder as I said, “I’m slightly nervous.”
“We’re just talking.”
He pointed me to his dining area, which was much larger than mine, but I redirected us to the living room.
I was a big girl and a couch was fine, even if our thighs touched. Once we were both seated, I said, “I’m nervous about what happens next.”
He patted my knee and stood. He walked to the dining area and picked up glasses as he said, “We don’t know each other. Let’s have more champagne and talk.”
He brought the glasses and the bottle back, popped it open and poured me some champagne while I held out my glass.
“Okay,” I said.
“Why was your cousin in trouble?”
With what Jacob had already told me of his life, I thought he’d probably understand a little. I said, “My cousin was with the wrong guy. He hit her and she went to a shelter. Her face was in bad shape when I left for this trip.”
“I’m glad she had the courage to leave, but living in a shelter is not easy.”
“Did you?”
“We stayed in a few homeless shelters, yeah. Counselors always got legal aid involved, like some poor lawyer might be able to make my father bleed. No one ever helped us.”
“I’m sad for you.” We both sipped more champagne, but I couldn’t have had more than a drop when I said, “Mary left when her ex tossed her son against the wall. I get so mad when I think about it. He was only a week old. I’ve been letting her hide out from family until her face healed, but her brother has been looking for them and he’s been upset, understandably. I’m glad it’s all being fixed now.”
He stared at me and now I could drink. I needed to cool down, but the bubbles in my throat only mimicked the bubbles in my belly that ached for him.
He said, “You’re a good person, Indigo.”
Guess it was time to open up. “No, I’m not. That’s why I need the money, though. I run two nonprofit shelters, one for battered women and one for battered women with children.”
“That’s admirable.”
No. Admirable was being able to manage my dreams and my responsibilities without putting a price tag on what I assumed was a pipe dream—until I’d met Jacob.
I shook my head and said, “It’s giving back. And I hate to be blunt, but I married you. So when do I get the check?”
He took his phone out of his back pocket and pulled something up. “Tomorrow, when the banks open. It’s already been drawn up.”
He handed his phone to me and showed me the page for his business bank account that listed the pending wire transfer in my name. I returned his phone and said, “Thanks for showing me.”
He tucked it back into his pocket, sipped his champagne, and then cupped the glass as he leaned forward and said, “Look, my mom took me and left my dad when I was a baby for a similar reason as your cousin did. My father spent years finding ways to hurt my mom, over and over again. It was a sick game he played. But I also know that not all women have that strength, so if I can do anything for your cousin, just tell me and it’s done.”
The air was scented with his expensive, woodsy cologne and my sex drive for him revved up. Jacob looked yummy as a protector type.
I said, “She needs space, and time to breathe.”
He shrugged and finished his glass as he said, “Well, if you can think of anything, I’d love to help.”
I emptied my own glass and then he refilled both of us. Goosebumps grew on my arms from a simple brush of his hand on mine. Once I had a firm grip, I quirked my lips and said, “Maybe I should call you Mr. Sweet instead of Mr. Ruthless.”
He pressed his hand to his heart like he was offended. “I’m not that.”
I clinked my glass with his and then sipped. As I finished, I saw how his brown eyes practically undressed me. I ignored the lust in my veins and said instead, “It’s okay if you are.”
“I’m not being sweet. A real man doesn’t hurt a woman, ever.”
Now that made me weak. I glanced into my glass and said, “My dad told my mom the same thing.”
He let out a small laugh. “He sounds like a good man to me. Where would you like to go for our honeymoon?”
Home to Pittsburgh to tell my family in person what I’d done. But for now I shrugged and said, “I don’t know, but I have a feeling you have a plan.”
“I’d like us to go to Florida.”
I hadn’t expected that answer and my eyes widened. “Florida?”
“There are people on the golf course in Palm Beach that I need to see to get my next marker—the next step that helps me topple my father’s dynasty. Do you play the game?”
My stomach knotted. My old boss often made deals in the same place. I’d been there once or twice to represent the agency. But I said, “Not really … I mean, I have played golf, but I don’t generally, no. What are you after exactly, on the golf course?”
“An invitation to a party.”
Who wouldn’t invite Jacob Donovan to their party? I sipped my wine and said, “I’m sure you can just show up.”
He winked at me and said, “I prefer to be invited, and I will be, if they know I’m there—especially if I’m with my new wife. Social visits usually make it easier to get what I want than formal takeovers.”
He obviously had an objective. I wasn’t stupid. I asked, “What�
��s the angle?”
His shoulders were wide like he was wearing angel wings—not that he ever would—as he asked, all innocent, “What?”
I leaned closer and didn’t care that I felt electricity zipping through my veins as I asked, “Why do you want to be invited to some party? How does this play out for you?”
He leaned in and whispered, like he could share some deep secret with me, “The announcement that I now own Sun and Moon trust will hit the papers that night. Grant, one of my father’s biggest stockholders will be there, and I’ve already made him an offer so he can buy me out of his company.”
This was all part of his big plan, part of the reason why he needed to marry, but I kept that to myself and just asked, “And?”
He took my hand, kissed it, and said, “I told you. I will destroy my father’s company, Frozen Assets Inc.”
I put my glass down. I’d never be actually ready, but this was the start. “You’re back to Mr. Ruthless now.”
I must have given off a scent or something. He put his glass down next to mine and brushed against my knees as he said, “Let me show you how I’m actually Mr. Hard right now.”
I laughed to ease the tension in my body.
And then he kissed me and I wanted more. I wanted everything.
Chapter 6
Jacob
Her lips transformed me into an addict, way worse than chocolate-covered snacks. And her kiss made my adrenaline race more than conquering every business I’d ever taken on.
Unlike work though, Indigo was all mine.
As we made it to the bedroom, I’d already torn off my tuxedo shirt. She touched the muscles of my bare arms and made them pulse. But then, after a breathy kiss, she said, “Can we wait?”
My dick was rock hard, but I backed off and stepped back against the wall behind me to give her and myself space. I said, “I won’t force you.”
Ruthless Financier (Steel Series Book 3) Page 5