What to Read After FSOG: The Gemstone Collection (WTRAFSOG Book 3)

by Lauren Hawkeye

  We stood in my entryway for what felt like an eternity, but I just didn’t want to leave that place where everything felt right in his arms. “Can we go to sleep?” I finally asked when I couldn’t take the bone-crushing fatigue any longer.

  He kissed my forehead. “Of course, baby.” He held my hand as we walked to the bedroom together. We lay down and Nick held me close as we both fell fast asleep.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The next morning, I awoke to the smell of bacon. I opened my eyes to see Nick standing over me, a tray in his hand with a plate of pancakes and bacon, orange juice, and a little vase with a single red rose in it. “Good morning,” he said as I opened my eyes.

  “So it wasn’t just a dream,” I smiled. He handed me the tray as I sat up in bed. He sat down next to me as I started eating.

  He grinned back at me, and his sexy smile reserved just for me set my blood on fire. He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “Not a dream,” he said. “I am right here, and I am so excited about what is ahead of us. You and me, baby.”

  “You and me,” I echoed, looking into Nick’s eyes that looked more well-rested and less haunted than they had the day before.

  He kissed my forehead. “Enjoy your breakfast. I need to run home and change, but I will see you at work a little later. And then I’ve got two weeks to find a new job.”

  He kissed me gently, sweetly, once on the lips. He gazed into my eyes and whispered, “I love you, Julianne.”

  My heart skipped a beat as he spoke those words to me again. They were words I would never, ever tire of hearing out his mouth. “I love you, too, Nick.”

  He beamed at me and smiled his beautiful smile once more, this time with that same touch of reverence that I had felt from him the night before as he made love to me. He kissed me gently and then walked out of my apartment.

  That left me alone with my thoughts. I put the tray of food to the side of me and leaned to the drawer in my nightstand. I took the picture of Nick and me out of it, the one that I had put away after he broke my heart. I saw his devilish handsomeness as he smiled in the picture. I saw myself looking deliriously happy. Suddenly I thought of Travis. It was the first time that I had any sort of extended time alone since I broke Travis’s heart. My emotions were completely conflicting. On the one hand, I was totally, head over heels in love with Nick. But on the other hand, Travis. My best friend, Travis. Is he ever going to talk to me again? Will he hate me forever? I had to call him, at least to see how he was doing.

  I called him only to arrive at his voicemail. Now what? I thought. He was obviously ignoring my call on purpose. “You have reached Travis. You know what to do.”

  “Trav, it’s me. I had to call to see how you are doing. I’m just… I’m sorry about everything. Call me. I need to hear your voice.”

  I hung up, still worried and feeling helpless in a situation that was totally my own fault. I got up to get ready for work, only to find another single red rose in a vase on the kitchen counter. A note attached to it simply read, “You and me.”

  I smiled at his sweet gesture. I showered and got ready for work, chose a black skirt and top, left my apartment, and arrived right on schedule. Nick held the elevator doors open for me as I made my way through our building’s entrance. My palms started to sweat as I took in his appearance. Man, what a difference twenty-four hours made. I couldn’t wait to get into the elevator with him. He was a little more dressy than usual, wearing a black suit and really nice shoes with a white shirt and dark gray tie. The dark circles were gone from under his eyes; he looked well-rested and happy. And it was because he was in love. With me. He looked good enough to eat. We were the only two in the elevator, and as soon as the doors closed, Nick backed me into the wall for a hot embrace, as was our ritual before the breakup. The elevator rose to our floor, forcing us apart and leaving me completely breathless and off balance. As we exited, we walked our separate ways panting. For the first time, the thought of Nick actually leaving this job fully hit me. He wasn’t only great to look at, but he was incredibly intelligent and very talented at what he did. I felt the full capacity of what he was actually giving up for me – a job that he really loved at a great company. I thought for a moment that he should be the one to stay and I should resign. But he had already turned in his resignation.

  I arrived at my cubicle and shuffled some papers to look busy. I couldn’t concentrate, but this time it wasn’t because of a broken heart. I felt guilty that Nick was the one that had to leave when we were both in it together. Just then, Dana walked by.

  “I heard Nick resigned. Did you hear?” she asked gossipingly.

  “Yeah, I heard,” I said.

  “Do you know why?” she asked. “I heard it was because he was going to get fired for some fling in his department, is that true?”

  “Dana, I don’t know. I’ve got a lot of work to do today.”

  “Sorry, sorry. But I gotta say, I will miss staring at that sexy ass all the time!”

  She walked away, leaving me more irritated than ever.

  Just my luck, Holly overheard. Suddenly Lucy and Holly appeared in front of me. “We need to talk,” Holly said, hands on her hips. Lucy glared at me.

  “Conference room?” I asked, hoping for some privacy for this dreaded conversation.

  “Fine,” Holly said. The three of us walked by Nick’s office on our way to the conference room that was right next to his office. He saw us in the hall and followed us in.

  “Ladies, we’re not having a team meeting right now.”

  “We are aware of that,” Holly said, glaring at him, too.

  “What’s this about, then?” he asked.

  It was sweet of him to try to protect me, but I could handle it.

  “Why don’t you tell us?” Lucy interjected. I had never seen her act angry toward her boss before. Ever.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.

  “We’ve heard the rumors, Nick. What’s going on?” Lucy asked.

  He looked at me as if asking whether or not we should tell them. I nodded almost imperceptibly, and he nodded back at me. Our unspoken message was understood.

  “Nick’s leaving McMillan,” I said. “He put in his resignation yesterday.”

  Nick walked to me and took me in his arms. Lucy’s jaw nearly hit the floor when he planted a kiss on my lips. Holly gasped. And I grinned.

  The kiss was quick – we were, after all, still in an office – but he knew that these were two of my best friends. His eyes never left mine as he held me close to him. “I am completely, utterly, madly in love with this woman. And if McMillan says that I can’t date her because she’s in my department, then I say, ‘Fuck McMillan.’ I’m out.” He kissed my lips once more.

  “Holy shit!” Holly exclaimed at the same time Lucy asked, “Why didn’t you tell us?”

  I pulled back from Nick to talk to my friends. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t tell anybody. Nick signed some stupid paperwork that said he couldn’t date anyone under him in his department, so we had to keep it a secret.”

  “So he is the ‘new guy’ we talked about like a month ago?” Lucy was staring at Nick, who was gazing at me.

  I nodded.

  “And you two are in love?” Holly asked.

  “So totally and completely, head-over-heels in love,” I said, gazing back at him, just as he said, “Yes.”

  “Wow, it’s getting freaking hot in here,” Lucy said. Nick finally broke his gaze from me and smiled at Lucy.

  “Don’t be angry with Julianne for hiding this from you. Our jobs were at stake. We couldn’t risk telling anyone at work.”

  “How could we still be mad when you two are obviously in love? I’m just sad that you won’t be our boss anymore,” Lucy said. “But, Jules, really, I couldn’t be happier for you. I know how long you’ve waited for this.”

  “It was almost exactly a year I waited. Did either of you see him on New Year’s?”

  “What?” they both sai
d in unison.

  Nick grinned.

  “That was a good plan,” I winked at him.

  “I found her at Mahogany on New Year’s Eve. Right at midnight. That was our first kiss.”

  At the same time, both Lucy and Holly cooed, “Awww!”

  “I never saw you, though,” Lucy said.

  “It was midnight. Everyone was busy with their own New Year’s kisses. I had to find Julianne, had to kiss her, and then I had to get back to my buddies down the street at West.”

  “And you’ve been together ever since?”

  We glanced at each other. “More or less,” I said, completely understating our relationship and the dramatics that we had been through over the past few days.

  “Is this why we haven’t heard from you in nearly a month?” Lucy asked.

  “Yeah. We’ve been… um, busy,” I smiled. Nick smiled, too. Well, more of a smirk, really.

  Holly and Lucy hugged both of us and congratulated us on finally getting together. Our secret was out, and neither of us could be happier about it.

  We all returned to our respective desks and went back to work. The thought of Nick leaving left me feeling very sad. I loved working with him, but I knew how much he loved me because of the very reason that I was sad. Deep down, I still felt a twinge of hurt that he destroyed our relationship the way that he did, but the hideous darkness was over. I was working to replace that hurt with feelings of happiness that we were back together, back where we belonged. It seemed logical that he did what he had to do at the time. He had to make a hasty decision, and while it was the wrong one, he righted it. I felt a rush of love for him at what he was giving up for me. It would take some time to build trust again, but we were soul mates, and we could and would weather any storm that life threw at us.

  I had to see him. I got up from my desk and walked to his office, where the door was not quite all the way closed. I heard voices inside, and I didn’t want to interrupt. However, the sheer volume of the voices made me curious. I leaned a bit closer to the door to hear what was going on.

  Although muffled, I heard Nick, and he sounded angry, his voice raised. “I’m sorry, Tom. I love her. I refuse to let you fire her to keep me. She is an asset to this company and she deserves to be here.”

  “She may be an asset, but you’re the best exec I’ve got, Matthews. I’m not going to let you run out of here for something that’s not going to last,” I heard Tom Davidson say.

  I knew they were talking about me. They were both quiet for a moment, and I wondered whether I should stay and listen a little longer.

  Nick finally spoke, his voice much softer. “I am confident that what I have with her is going to last. I’m not throwing that away for a job. I’ve done stupid shit before in relationships, and I refuse to fuck this one up. I almost lost her forever before I realized what I had.” Pangs of love swelled through my heart as I heard Nick stick up for me.

  “Nick, this is my final offer. I will pay you twice what you’re making now. Company car, company credit card, the works. I need to keep you here. I don’t want you going to the competition, because that will mean the end of this company. You are that good at your job,” I heard Tom say.

  “Really, I appreciate your offer. But I’m sorry. I’m not giving her up. All the money, company cars, and credit cards in the world wouldn’t buy what I have with her. Why can’t you just change the stupid policy?”

  I decided to leave then. I didn’t want to get caught eavesdropping, and besides, I had heard all that I needed to hear. I felt, once again, that I should be the one leaving, not Nick. Though I knew it wouldn’t be hard for him to get another job given his talent, I still felt bad that he was leaving this one. Not to mention the fact that our boss basically made me feel like I was disposable.

  Just like before, I had nowhere to turn. I obviously couldn’t call Travis, the person that I normally turned to in any situation. I couldn’t talk to Nick, because then he would know that I had been listening. I didn’t want to bother my sister with stupid relationship crap again, not when she was about to deliver a child. She had enough going on.

  I returned to my cubicle to get some work done, and not ten minutes later, my phone rang. “Julianne,” I answered, not bothering to glance at the caller ID.

  “Oh, God, your voice turns me on. I need to see you. Come to my office,” Nick said, hanging up.

  My heart skipped a beat as it always did when I spoke to Nick. I practically ran to his office, trying to keep my cool. I walked in and saw him in his suit, looking crisp and handsome. I wanted more than anything to rip his suit off of his body and make love to him. Especially after I had heard what I had. He stuck up for me and he turned down an amazing offer. All for me.

  He took my hand and shut the door behind me, locking it. He drew the blinds closed against his windows. He wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug, my head against his chest. He buried his face in my hair, taking in my scent, kissing me sweetly on top of the head. “I want you so fucking bad, Julianne,” he said in a sexy, straggled whisper.

  “I want you, too,” I said, lifting my head for one of his intense kisses.

  As he kissed me, he backed me over to his desk so that my backside was up against the back of the desk. He leaned over and passionately shoved all of the papers, files, and books on top of his desk onto the floor. God, if that wasn’t the sexiest cliché I had ever lived through. He lifted my rear onto the desk and hiked my skirt up my hips, still steamily kissing me as his fingertips found my thighs. I shivered at his touch, and then he moved his hands to my chest, pausing on each breast for gentle caressing. His hands explored my body as his tongue ran up and down my neck, making me hotter and hotter. I suddenly felt the need to have him inside of me.

  I pushed his coat jacket back and he slid it off in a swift motion. Not bothering with his shirt and tie, I went right for his belt buckle, knocking a porcelain pencil cup over in the process. As it shattered to the floor, we both quietly giggled, and then he brought his lips back to mine and suddenly we weren’t laughing anymore. Finally, I got his belt undone and his pants unbuttoned. I knew that this was going to be a quick one, and his hands moved slowly up my thighs until they found the hem of my panties. I leaned up to kiss him again, feeling a warm, burning emotion down low, deep inside.

  He yanked my panties down and his finger immediately found my wetness. I arched into his hand, wanting more of him, wanting to feel him everywhere on my skin. God, how I missed him.

  He pulled his fingers away and wrapped his arms around me, kissing me deeply and intimately. Then he slid himself inside of me. As he pumped inside of me, I could feel myself reaching the point of ecstasy with him. I tried to stifle my moans as his hands were everywhere. His hardness inside of me sent thrills throughout my entire body. “Fuck, baby,” he murmured against my ear, and then he sucked on my lobe. “I’m not going to last,” he said, and his words were my own undoing. I threw my head back as my body convulsed around him, and he pumped hard into me as he found his own release.

  We stayed connected, blissful and quiet for a moment as he held me in his arms. “Jesus, Julianne. I love you,” he breathed.

  His sweet sentiment, mixed with the perfect love that he had given me, was almost too much for me to handle. I kissed him gently, and then he pulled out of me. I felt cold without his presence inside of me.

  We gathered our clothes strewn throughout his office and began dressing. Nick was just about to buckle his belt when there was a knock at the door. “Dammit!” he whispered, fumbling with the buckle as I fixed my hair and tried to look like I hadn’t just been through some of the most pleasurable moments in my life.

  I went over to pick up the pieces of the broken pencil cup and try to straighten out some of the papers that had ended up on the floor in our passion as Nick went to answer the door. Standing at the door was Dana.

  She looked from him to me and back to him again. “Oh my God, Nicky. It’s her?” she asked, incredulously.


  “What’s her?” Nick asked, genuinely confused.

  “You’re leaving because of Julianne?” she asked.

  Nick turned the cutest shade of red that I have ever seen, looked sheepishly at me, and said to Dana, “That’s none of your business. Get back to work.”

  He shut the door in her face. I laughed out loud, standing up to give him a high-five. “That was awesome,” I smiled.

  “She’s so annoying,” he smiled back, coming over to help me pick up the rest of his papers. “I’ll take care of this. You should probably to get back to work.”

  “Okay, boss. I do need to get some work done.” I kissed him passionately one last time. “I’ve got a present for you that will help you think about me all day,” I said, as he opened the door for me.

  “I will be thinking about you all day anyway, but I love gifts. What is it?” he asked.

  I placed my rolled up panties into his hand so that no one could see, and I closed his hand around them. “Check that out when you get a chance.”

  I walked back to my cubicle, ready to sit down and get some work done, when the phone rang again. “Julianne,” I answered.

  “Why do you do this to me? I’m fucking hard for you all over again,” Nick said in a sexy husky voice.

  “Well you are just going to have to wait until later,” I replied, smiling as I hung up the phone.

  The day dragged on as I continued to think about what was going to happen later between Nick and me. I worked through lunch, hoping to get things done early so that I could get home and prepare myself for an evening of romance.

  I worked through mounds of projects, some of which had been neglected, especially in the short time that Nick and I had been apart. I had found it extremely difficult to concentrate on work when I knew he was just down the hall from me, and I couldn’t get anything done with him and my heartbreak on my mind. But now I was back, and I found that I had neglected far more than I should have. Replying to emails, starting market research, and setting up appointments kept me busy for the remainder of the day, and before I knew it, the day was over. I gathered my belongings and headed for Nick’s office. He was busily typing away on his laptop. I walked inside and knocked lightly on the doorframe. “Hey, gorgeous,” he greeted me with a smile.