Private Property

by Leah Braemel

  “That you’d be…you know…snoopy.” The words left him in a rush.

  “Snoopy?” Jodi laughed aloud. “Sam, I was reconnoitering for security flaws. Of course, I’d be snoopy!”

  Obviously relieved that she wasn’t offended, Sam let his shoulders drop and leaned back in his chair. “Sandy bet me that if she wrote the combination on the blotter—”

  “—I’d find it.” Jodi finished for him. “Which I wouldn’t have unless I actually cleared the desk when I dusted.”

  “How much d’you lose?” Mark asked. Jodi could feel his muscles rippling as he tried not to laugh aloud.

  Sam’s cheeks turned bright red as he mumbled, “I have to enter myself in the annual bachelor auction to raise money for the homeless women’s shelter.”

  Mark’s laughter exploded, nearly unseating Jodi. “Oh, that’s fucking perfect! Jodi, we have to go to that auction. I want to watch him squirm while all those women ogle his ass.”

  Sam looked up, a look of hope flickering in his eyes. “Hey, Jodi, maybe you could bid on me. You know, save a poor helpless bachelor from those biddies?”

  Mark shook his head. “Not a chance! You made the bet, you suffer the consequences.”

  “I don’t…” Jodi started, then hesitated as a thought struck her. But would her plan work, especially with the two huge egos these men had? “Maybe we could come to some arrangement.”

  “Jodi,” Mark groaned. “Don’t you dare buy into his ‘poor bachelor’ crap. I want to watch him strut his sorry ass down a runway like a frickin’ supermodel—it’s the perfect payback, babe.”

  Jodi bit her bottom lip. “I’ll make the highest bid on you if you promise me something.”

  “What’s that?” Sam eyed her as if she were a python ready to strike.

  She pushed herself off Mark’s lap, paced as she figured out exactly how to word her request so as not to offend either man. Finally she stopped and took a deep breath. “It’s about the merger. Mark loves Celada Security. He’s worked real hard to get it where it is, and I’m afraid that when you take over—”

  “Jodi,” Mark said quietly. “Sam and I are good. You don’t need to worry—”

  Sam held up a hand, stopping Mark. “Let her have her say, Mark. She’s just looking out for your interests. And I respect the hell out of her for that.”

  “If things don’t work out,” she continued, not wanting to meet Mark’s eyes, “the two companies revert back to the way things are now. And you’ll guarantee Hauberk won’t compete for any contracts against Celada in Texas.”

  Sam opened a drawer and pulled out a thick folder, tossed it on the desk. “If it sets your mind at ease, sweet pea, Mark and I already had something similar written into the contract. Here’s my copy—you can see for yourself.”

  Mark rested his hand over hers, his thumb gently stroking her wrist. “Considering he’s the buying company, Sam didn’t have to have that written in, babe. But he’s the one who suggested it even before we put anything on paper.”

  Sam shrugged and glanced away as if uncomfortable with Mark’s admission. “I treat my friends right.”

  “Thank you, Sam,” Jodi said.

  “Glad to see you lookin’ out for him, sweet pea. I’d expect nothin’ less from you.” The chair creaked as Sam stood and stretched. “Oh, and, sweet pea, just in case you need to keep that old hound dog in line, the code to the safe room is seven-two-six-one-nine. Maybe you could give Mark a turn being tied to the posts some day. Remind him who’s in charge.”

  He walked to the door then paused, a smile slowly blossoming across his face. “But you might want to phone first.”

  With a wink, he left.

  She finally looked up at Mark, worried that perhaps she’d overstepped the boundaries, but saw no sign of irritation or anger on his face. “I didn’t mean to stick my nose where it didn’t belong. Are you mad at me?”

  Mark shook his head. “No. As Sam said, you were looking out for me.” He laced his fingers with hers and tugged her back onto his lap. “Kind of nice to know you worry about me like that. Besides, as Hauberk’s new vice president of Western Operations, it’s a reasonable concern.”

  “Vice president?” A thrill shot through her at the title until she remembered Mark’s daily frustrations dealing with employees who were late or failed to show up at critical times. His anger when he caught several operatives smoking joints while on duty. And the mountains of paperwork that covered his desk. “Does that mean I have to sit behind a desk shuffling papers all day?”

  Mark snorted. “As if that’ll ever happen.” When she tweaked a handful of chest hair, he sighed. “All right, there will be some paperwork involved. But you can hire an assistant if you need one. It also means you’ll get to boss the guys around even more than you do now.”

  “I’m not bossy!”

  He raised one eyebrow. “You just bullied a guy who’s six foot six and weighs two eighty buck naked about the merger. That wasn’t bossy?”

  “That was…” she walked her fingers up his chest, “…a negotiation. On behalf of someone I love.”

  His hands slipped underneath the bottom of her shirt, cupped her breast with his palms, his thumbs brushing over the sensitive tips. “Hmm. I love hearing you say that.”

  She leaned into his touch, eyes closing. Talented fingers, she thought for what had to be the umpteenth time that night. “What? That I negotiated for you?”

  “No, that you love me. You’ve never said that before.”

  The distinctive sound of a Harley revved outside. Jodi rushed to the window just in time to see Sam tugging on his helmet. “I knew I’d heard a motorcycle! But how’d he get in without me seeing it?”

  She glanced back and saw Mark’s lips clamp together, a telltale twitch at the side betraying his urge to smile.

  “You! You came with him, didn’t you?” She poked him in the chest and thought back to when he’d arrived, and what he’d done. “And then you deliberately distracted me from watching the monitors, didn’t you? With that stupid vibrating egg!”

  “Didn’t take much effort,” Mark said. He stood behind her, wrapping his arms about her waist as they watched Sam glance back at the house. He gave a salute toward them, then roared down the driveway.

  Chapter Eleven

  Mark turned her away from the window until she faced him, then kissed her, his lips brushing over hers in a featherlight touch. “Te amo.”

  Jodi wrapped her arms about his neck, pulled him closer until her breasts brushed his chest. “I love you too.”

  Not knowing what was at the bottom of the chasm he was about to leap into, he teetered on the edge. He hated the strange feeling of fear curling in his bowels. But there was no going back after tonight, there was no way he could let her walk away with someone else.

  She nestled her head in the crook of his shoulder, rested her hand on his chest. Everything about her felt so right.

  “Babe? I, uh, have something to ask you.” He swallowed hard. She’d said she loved him, but that didn’t mean she wanted to marry him. What if she said no?

  She pulled back to look at him, her eyes wide, almost fearful, held her body still. “What?”

  He took a deep breath and leapt into his future. “Will you marry me?”

  Jodi stiffened in his arms. “M-marry? Marry you?” The words seemed forced, as if they’d stuck in her throat.

  Somewhere in the back of his mind, he’d wanted her to throw her arms about his neck and shout, “Yes, yes, yes! Of course, I’ll marry you.” Instead her hold on him loosened and blank shock filled her eyes. The bright light that he’d hoped would be his future turned out to be a heat-seeking missile racing toward him, its target his heart.

  “I still want you to be vice president of Western Operations, whether you say no or not,” he said quickly, wondering if she thought her answer might be tied to the promotion. “Sam and I discussed it already. I just hoped… I want to…” He stumbled on, unable to stop himself from b
abbling, knowing he was sounding like an idiot. “I love you and want to marry you.”

  She laughed, a half-hysterical sound he’d never heard from her before. Her head dropped onto his shoulder as her body rippled. Was she crying? Worse, she was laughing. No. Giggling!

  “You…you…you want to m-m-marry me!” Her giggles reached an almost hysterical quality.

  He’d bared his soul to her, asked her to marry him and she was giggling? His arms dropped as the missile hit its target and shredded his flesh, his soul. “I didn’t think it was so funny.”

  “Oh, M-Mark,” she choked out from behind the fingers she’d pressed over her mouth. “I’m sorry, I’m not laughing at you. I’m laughing at me.”

  Sure didn’t feel that way.

  “You see, tonight”—her giggles trailed off into a sigh—“tonight, when I was waiting for you in the van? I thought…I thought you were trying to brush me off, to dump me.”

  He felt his jaw drop. Dump her? After all he’d gone through to arrange this evening? Would he ever understand how women thought?

  “Why?” he finally managed to splutter.

  “Because you’ve been so distant lately.” She held up her hand when he started to protest. “It was like you were trying to avoid me. I-I thought maybe you’d gotten tired of me. I thought maybe you thought it was time to move on.”

  He scrubbed his hand through his hair. “I’m sorry—I’ve been busy arranging this evening with Sam, and hammering out the details of the merger. I never meant for you to feel like I was ignoring you.”

  “I know.” She released a breath and her voice wavered. “No, I didn’t know. I just kept remembering that agreement we made that either of us could walk away at any time, no questions asked.”

  He saw pain flicker through her eyes, realized she was remembering how she’d been treated by past lovers. Cursed himself for forgetting that beneath the tough exterior Jodi showed everyone else was a sensitive woman who needed reassurance that she could be herself without fear of rejection. He ran a finger along her jaw, marveling at how others didn’t realize her tough shell was just an act. “I’ve just been distracted. I’m sorry. If I wasn’t interested I would have told you straight out. I wouldn’t have just walked away.”

  “I wasn’t sure what you’d do,” she said softly, not realizing how much it hurt him that she might think he could treat her so callously. “I figured you just might not know how to tell me. After all, we did agree that we wouldn’t…you know…”

  “Fall in love?” He captured her hand with his, pressed a kiss to her palm. “Jodi, I’ve never felt like this”—he moved her hand to his chest, flattened her palm over his heart—“about any other woman. Ever. I love you. And I want to marry you. Will you marry me, Jodi?”

  She looked up at him, her bright blue eyes filled with tears. “Yes. Oh, Mark, of course I’ll marry you.”

  He released the breath he’d been holding and enfolded her within the circle of his arms, held tight, realized he was shaking with the fear that had engulfed him that she might say no.

  When he nuzzled his nose against the side of her neck, he frowned. He could still smell a trace of cigar—of Sam—in her hair. He silently cursed himself again for letting another man touch her, while thanking Sam for forcing the issue, for forcing him to acknowledge how much he loved the woman in his arms. His grip loosened from about her and he stepped back.

  “Come with me.” He held out his hand, waiting until she put her palm into his.

  Neither spoke while they walked down the hall. Mark led her up the stairs and to the bathroom they’d used earlier. When she’d brought him there earlier, she’d not wanted to let Sam between them yet. He wondered if she realized he felt the same way now.

  He reached into the shower and turned on the water. When he was satisfied with the temperature he turned back to her. He grasped the hem of her T-shirt and pulled it over her head and discovered she wore no bra.

  “So beautiful,” he murmured. He cupped her breasts with his palms, bent his head and licked, savored.

  Jodi arched, pressing her breasts deeper into his mouth. Her hands rested lightly on his shoulders, her thumbs caressing the sides of his neck. “Thank you for giving me a birthday I’ll never forget.” She chuckled. “It’s not a story we can ever tell our children, but—”

  “Children?” Mark breathed. His balls retracted in a painful clench. How had tonight gone from his planned night of debauchery to a discussion about marriage and kids? “You want kids?”

  She jerked back, the smile dropping from her face. “Don’t you?”

  “Yeah, yeah, I want kids,” he quickly assured her while wondering if he did. His eyes dropped to her belly, imagined it swollen with his child. Imagined having a little boy he could play catch with. Maybe a little girl he could carry around on his shoulders. Yeah, he could do that. “Yeah, I want kids.”

  Maybe that would stop his younger brother José’s ceaseless bragging about how he’d given their parents the first grandchild. Like the twerp had done it himself. His chest swelled as he pictured announcing to his brothers that he’d given their parents the first grandson—no, grandsons!—in the family. “Two. At least two.”

  Her smile returned. And with it his world returned to an even keel, although spinning slightly faster than it had been before the evening had started.

  “Let’s start with one and see how we do from there, okay?” Jodi wrapped her arms about his neck and pulled him close. “But it may take some practice first.”

  “Practice. Yeah, practice is good.” He pressed her against the tile wall. “For instance, I need lots of practice kissing you.”

  “Mmm.” She turned her head, captured his lips with hers. What seemed like an hour later, they both came up for air. “What else do we need to practice?”

  She caught her breath when she saw the dark embers deep in his eyes flare into wildfire. Why had she thought he didn’t love her? It was there plain in his eyes. It was in his calloused fingers as he cupped her breasts, rolled her nipples between his fingers with a delicious pressure. In his voice, the trace of Spanish accent betraying the depth of his emotion as he spoke, “If we’re going to have children, you’re going to want to breastfeed them, right?”

  She moaned as warm breath and warmer lips caressed her, teased her, tasted her. Cool air touched her bare skin when he pushed her jeans to the floor, his tongue never stopping its homage to her breasts. When he shifted, forcing her to arch her back, she dug her fingers into his shoulders and hung on. Hung on to the man she loved. Who loved her.

  His clothes abandoned on the floor beside hers, Mark carried her into the shower, held her beneath the pulsing streams of water and began to wash her, his soapy hands lathering her shoulders, her breasts, her belly.

  No inch of her escaped his attention. Where downstairs his lovemaking had been with a fierce desperation, now he took the time to caress her, to worship every part of her body. Every place he touched ignited until her blood boiled and her skin was ready to burst into flames.

  When his fingers dipped deep into her heat, she arched into his touch. The rhythmic pounding of the shower on her skin was no match for the conflagration he fanned deep within her.

  By the time he slid into her, Jodi was sure the smoke alarms would go off and the fire trucks would scream down the lane.

  The water had long since gone cold, and they’d moved from the shower to the bed when Mark wrapped an arm around Jodi, tugging her back against him.

  “I’m thinking we should look for a house in the Mid Cities, maybe Grapevine. One with lots of bedrooms.” His hand drifted to her belly. “And then I’m going to install a security system rivaling Fort Knox. After all, I can’t have anyone else getting their hands on my private property.”

  About the Author

  The only woman in a houseful of men, Leah often takes refuge in her office in an effort to avoid the dishes and dust bunnies. Writing about hunky heroes and hot sex is so much more rewarding
than housework.

  To learn more about Leah, please visit www.leahbraemel.com. Send an email to Leah at leah@leahbraemel.com or join her Yahoo! group to join in the fun with other readers as well as Leah at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Leah_Braemel.

  If you like Mark and Jodi’s story, you can read how they first started their relationship in First Night, a free download on www.thesamhellion.com/ebooks.htm

  Look for these titles by Leah Braemel

  Coming Soon:

  Personal Protection

  Marking one’s territory was never so naughty…

  Take Me Again

  © 2009 Mackenzie McKade

  Wild Oats, Book 2

  Dolan Crane would love to hate the beautiful new veterinarian who’s horning in on his territory. It’s tough when the flame-haired fantasy come true makes his body burn with just a smile. The smart thing to do is forget about her, so perhaps a threesome arranged by his old college buddy is just what he needs to get her out of his head.

  Divorcee Tracy Marx has followed her restless feet to Santa Ysabel to start a new practice—and maybe find someone to take her outside the boundaries of vanilla sex. Instead she finds trouble in the form of a cowboy whose dark, sexy gaze lights her up—and could also destroy any chance of success. The best thing to do is stay far, far away from him.

  When Dolan shows up for the promised night of fantasy, he’s shocked to find Tracy has traded her medical bag for a leather bustier and bondage gear. Tracy would like nothing better than to slap that smirk right off Dolan’s face, but the prospect of being sandwiched between two men is impossible to resist—even if one of them is her adversary.

  Besides…no one calls her chicken.

  Warning, this title contains the following: Ride-me-cowboy sex, hot, explicit ménage scenes, light bondage, graphic language, and a heated romp in the hay.

  Enjoy the following excerpt for Title:

  As the music ended, Tracy Marx stepped out of the cowboy’s arms. Damn. What was his name? Was it John? Paul? George? Ringo? A silent chuckle tickled her throat.