“I’d never do anything to hurt you. In fact, I paid a hell of a lot for that room this weekend. It won’t be nearly as much fun without you there.”
Her face relaxed, and a teasing glint sparkled in her eye. “This is turning out to be an expensive weekend for you all around, isn’t it, Nicholas Webster?”
His full name sounded damn good coming from that mouth. His cock twitched. “I like to think of it as an investment, not an expense.”
She raised her eyebrow. With a spontaneity that he knew could easily backfire and ruin everything, he took the chance. He laid his cards on the table. Hell, he was a gambler, wasn’t he?
“Move in with me.” Part one.
She blanched, then immediately blushed. She bit her lip, she fiddled with her earring. “Nick, we barely know each other. Not only that, but the entire time we have known each other was not exactly a normal situation.” She searched his face, but he didn’t alter his serious expression.
“Okay then. Move into my guest house. I’ll court you the old fashioned way. I’ll even charge you rent.”
“Guest house?”
“It’s a few hundred yards from my place. It just sits empty. I think you’ll love it.”
“I don’t know…” She chewed on her lower lip, but the light in her eye told him she found his suggestion exciting.
Not that he’d accept her “no” for an answer, and as in business, he knew a “no” when he heard it. That wasn’t one. He grinned, tasting victory. “Did you plan on living in Lottie’s Place while you run your flower shop?”
“Well, no, but it’s too soon for you and me to—I mean I can’t—it would be…impulsive!”
He laughed. He’d have her. If she didn’t agree today, she would tomorrow. She would be his. He never gave up when he wanted something, and he never wanted anything as much as he wanted Maureen Sullivan. “Impulsive?” He lifted his hands, indicating their surroundings. “Maureen my love, welcome to Vegas.”
“Nick, you’re crazy.” She leaned over the table, exposing her deep cleavage.
He glanced around the patio where they’d taken their lunch. Inside, the restaurant was busy, but few braved the heat of the outdoors as they had. When he was sure no one would see, he leaned close to her and traced the enticing curves below her necklace with one finger. “Crazy for you.”
He was rewarded with a bright smile. “I’m pretty fond of you too, Mr. Webster. Last night was…” Her gaze danced across his face for a moment, before she snapped her mouth shut and blushed. Christ, that blush was sexy. After all they’d done together, both last night and in the early hours this morning—and later this morning…and again in the shower before lunch—she was still virginally shy.
He reached out to stroke her cheek. “It was the best sex I’ve ever had, baby.”
She giggled, and that blush deepened, and spread to her chest. “Me too.”
He kissed her. He couldn’t help it. It was awkward and somewhat dangerous the way they practically fell out of their chairs, but it was worth it. He released her when the waiter cleared his throat. He’d forgotten that they’d ordered ice cream. Nick watched her take two bites, and tried to keep his thoughts away from the erotic things her chilled tongue could do to him.
“Tell me why.”
The spoon froze in her mouth. She looked at him curiously, then pulled it through her lips. “Tell you why what?”
“Why you’re still a virgin at twenty-four.”
“How soon you forget.” She winked.
He ignored her attempt to change the subject. “And why you sold it to the highest bidder.”
Her teasing smile faded. She stirred her ice cream around as it melted. “My mother—” She cleared her throat, and began again. “Mom was a teenage mother. She had to raise me alone. We struggled most of the time.” She spoke so softly, he had to strain to hear her. “Her parents—my grandparents helped us out a little bit; mom and I had to move in with them for a year or so when I was in grade school.” She glanced up at him, then back down to her mushy dessert. “I think I made the decision early in my teens that I wouldn’t make the same mistakes that my mother did. Of course she’d never call me a mistake,” Maureen rushed to say, “but I came to realize that her life would have been a lot different had she…and my father made different choices. That was one reason. There were other reasons too, like STDs.” She lifted her lashes to reveal those beautiful green eyes. “But mostly I just hadn’t met anyone that made me want to.” She gripped his hand. “Until you walked across Tito’s that night.”
He winked at her, encouraging her to continue.
She took a deep breath. “And as for why I decided to sell my…virginity. That has a lot to do with my mother too.” She looked at him, and he couldn’t mistake the seriousness of her eyes. “I love her to death. She did the best she could, but she…well, she didn’t learn some basic things about being an adult before she was thrust into motherhood.”
Nick took a long drink of his water. He tried to imagine what Maureen and her mother went through, but he’d never gone without. Not without the hottest toys, or the best clothes, or even the best schools. As he grew, so did his toys. He was presented with cars, European vacations and speedboats. Like his parents and grandparents before him, he donated huge amounts annually to one charity or another, and claimed to empathize with those less fortunate, but until now he never really understood what life must be like for someone who had to struggle to survive on a daily basis.
“Mom made some bad decisions,” Maureen continued. “She had to choose between paying property taxes on the little place my,” she threw up air quotes, “father begrudgingly helped us buy…or food. I was too young to know it at the time, and the only reason I found out when I did was because I’d moved home after graduation and I brought in the mail one day.” The more she talked, the further her chin dipped. Nick’s gut clenched, and he almost stopped her, but she went on.
“Two hundred and sixteen thousand dollars in late payments, back taxes, penalties and interest,” she laughed, “on a six hundred square foot home.”
“Shit,” he hadn’t meant to say anything until she was done, but he could swear his bedroom suite was over six hundred square feet.
She chuckled. “That’s what I thought. Mom barely made forty thousand a year as a secretary. That letter was bad enough, but the next envelope I opened that day was my student loan payment schedule. I’d applied for as many scholarships as I could, so I guess it could have been worse. I’d planned on taking out a small business loan to open my shop but no one would lend me money with all of this. I’d already signed on the house when we took out a second mortgage on it a few years ago, so I was in deep right along with mom.” she laid her spoon down and pushed the bowl away. “Anyway…I took everything I had out of the bank, which wasn’t much. I sold my car, my computer and anything else that would fetch a price. I came to Vegas to live with Aunt Lottie. The only plan I had was betting all my savings on blackjack and winning big. My mother never told me what my aunt did for a living, just that she was a business woman.” She laughed, “I hope that answers both of your questions.”
“Ahh, Maureen,” he gripped her hand. “I didn’t know it would be such a painful story or I wouldn’t have asked.”
“I’m glad you did. I wanted to tell you anyway.” She bowed her head. “Maybe now you can write last night off as charity.”
He used one finger to lift her chin back up. His eyes were narrowed, and his lips were tight, “I’ll let that one slide Maureen,” he stood and brought her up against him. She landed so readily in his arms, and fit so perfectly. “But never again refer to yourself as charity, especially when we make love.”
She snuggled closer, if that was possible. “I’d feel better about this whole thing if you just gave me two hundred and sixteen thousand dollars instead of that astronomical amount.”
He laughed at her pouty tone. “You can’t back out of the contract now. The money’s already in your
account.” He slid some cash beneath his untouched ice cream bowl and walked her out of the restaurant, with his arm around her shoulders.
Back in the room, he held her on his lap and kissed her with leisure. He couldn’t get enough of her. She tasted so sweet, like chocolate ice cream, and spicy like…arousal. He intentionally kept his kisses from turning into foreplay. He wanted to spend the next few hours like this, exploring every corner of her mouth until their lips grew numb.
“I love the way you kiss,” she groaned when he let her up for air.
“The feeling’s mutual baby. I’ll never get enough.” He lowered her down on the couch and followed, settling himself in the warm cove of her thighs. He threaded his fingers through her dark hair, and brought a strand up to his nose.
“I’ll need to check with the front desk for my luggage.” She smoothed his eyebrows with a soft touch.
“Nice of Lottie to drop that off.” He captured her hand and kissed her palm. “I’m surprised she didn’t pound on our door this morning.”
Maureen laughed. “I’m not. I’m surprised she actually stayed in the room across the hall last night, knowing I was here with the man I—” Her eyes widened, then she hid them by looking at his chest.
“Go ahead, baby.” His heart was thudding with excitement. A pleading chant echoed the beat in his head. Say it…please say it. “The man you what?”
“The man I…uh…trust. She must have known you wouldn’t take advantage or hurt me.”
Fuck that. “Do you love me?” He knew she was scared to say it. He didn’t blame her. He focused on her mouth, not sure he’d be able to hear her through the pounding in his ears.
She didn’t speak, but she nodded.
“Ah, Maureen. I love you too.” He barely had time to see the relief and joy on her beautiful face before she pulled him against her and laughed.
“It’s crazy Nick,” she kissed his neck, “It’s happening so fast.”
Screw the idea of keeping this from escalating. He found the buttons on her shirt and made quick work of releasing them. “There’s no timetable here. It’s right…I know it…lift up a little bit…ah, yes…”
Shirts were off, and pants were next, but they were working around fused mouths that refused to part.
When her phone rang, he tuned it out. The next ring he mumbled a string of curse words and fished in the couch cushions to find the thing and toss it away, but she found it first.
“Hello?”
Okay, so her mouth was busy. He’d keep himself entertained while she talked. He nibbled a trail of kisses down her neck and unhooked the front fastener of her bra.
“Hi mom…yeah I know I promised, but it’s not over yet.” She laughed. “Aunt Lottie told you who it was? Just a minute mom, Nick is distracting me.” She slapped the back of his head where he had it buried in her navel. “Yeah, he’s right here.”
The phone was shoved against his ear. Reluctantly he lifted his head away from her smooth flesh where he was in the middle of painting his name across her ribs with his tongue.
“Hello?” He scooted up to rest his chin between her breasts, and took the phone.
“Be good to my girl, Mr. Webster.” Her voice sounded a lot like Maureen’s, even if the tone was stern.
“I’ll treat her well, I promise.” He winked up at his lover.
“You can’t believe how happy I was to hear that it was you that…well…bought Maureen. That’s the only thing that kept me from going insane the last two days. Ever since she told me that she was in love with you, her little project bothered me even more.”
He kept his eyes on Maureen while he spoke. “She told you that, huh?” He grinned.
“I called my sister to beg her to call it off. That’s when Lottie told me that Maureen’s highest bidder was the man she loved,” she sobbed. Nick’s smile widened. She cried over the phone like Maureen, too. “It’s just so be…beautiful Mr. Webster.”
“Call me Nick. I can’t wait to meet you.” she’s crying, he mouthed to Maureen, who immediately teared up as well.
“I don’t know when I’ll get out there. I’ve got my job, and…” she hiccupped.
“I’m bringing her home next week. We need to pack her things. You should see her new house.” He ignored Maureen’s disapproving scowl, and enjoyed her mother’s quiet string of joyful blubbering. “Here’s Maureen again. I’ll talk to you later, mom.”
That brought on another wave of happy bawling, so he handed the phone to her equally leaky daughter, and resumed his original project.
By the time she was done on the phone, he’d divested them of the rest of their clothes.
“You’re wonderful, you know that?” she sniffed.
He kissed away her happy tears. “You’re just saying that because I’m about to make you scream.”
The End
COMPANY INK
By Olivia Brynn
ISBN 978-1-4659-4645-4
Copyright © 2012, Olivia Brynn.
Published by Dark Mountain Books.
Smashwords Edition
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.
Manufactured in the United States of America.
Editor
Cassandra Carr
Cover Artist
Michael Hart / Booknibbles.com
This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.
Chapter One
“You’re such a dear.” Carol sat in her office chair, looking around her new work space with a grin.
Sidney couldn’t help smiling back. “I’m sorry it’s so far away from your department. You might end up hating it.” She straightened a framed photo of Carol’s grandchildren.
“Oh, pooh. I could use the exercise.” Carol flexed her crooked fingers. “I feel better already.”
“Then it’s already worth it. I’ll send an email out to let everyone know that I moved you.”
“Thank you so much, Sidney. So very much.” Carol’s eyes twinkled with such pleasure that Sidney had to curl her toes in her new Jimmy Choos to resist the urge to hug the older woman. Hugs weren’t allowed at Pritchard and Redland. Not since the last sexual harassment claim five years ago.
“You’re very welcome. Now kick out some reports. I need your revised Lawson quote on my desk by five.”
“Of course. I’ll get right on that.” Carol rubbed her knobby hands together and straightened P and R’s Oasis digital devices on her desk. Many of the customer service representatives liked to have the actual device handy when taking calls, but some relied on the computer prompter. Seeing the top-of-the-line technology in the arthritic hands of a grandmother never failed to make Sidney smile.
Sidney turned to leave the padded cubicle. She made it two and a half steps before running into a crisp white shirt. She didn’t have to look up to know who she’d encountered. She recognized the tie as the one he wore during their year-end recap six months ago, and she’d faltered over a direct question when he’d interrupted her daydream of unknotting the red silk with her teeth. She recognized his height. His breadth. His powerful presence. Most of all she knew his scent.
She relished each passing whiff. Although she didn’t have the guts to actually ask him the brand of his cologne, she greedily sucked in lungfuls of the stuff whenever they shared space. Like now. Reluctantly, she stepped back to look up into the eyes of her boss. The man was six feet two inches of sexy. Dark brows shaded dark eyes. His face might have been carved from stone if she hadn’t seen him smile. His smile was the thing that made her knees weakest.
But he wasn’t smiling now.
“Something you want to tell me?” Grant’s low,
rumbly voice sent tremors through her.
Sidney licked her lips. “Oh. I moved Carol.”
“I see that.” He raised one brow. Surely he knew how sexy that move was. Surely he did that just to weaken her knees.
“I’m sorry, I should have covered this with you first, I just—”
He raised one hand. “I pay you and the rest of the management team here to make decisions. If I have to approve every move you make, I wouldn’t need you, now would I?”
His upper lip thinned to almost non-existent, a clear sign that he was annoyed. Sidney swiped her tongue across her lips again, then she took a closer look at the crinkle in the corner of his eye. He was playing with her, like a big tomcat batting at a tiny mouse. He enjoyed getting under her skin. Every time she squirmed under his authoritative attitude she caught a glimmer of amusement behind those eyes. Crossing her arms, she met his gaze without faltering. She’d worked with him for almost two years, and she knew exactly what put burrs under his saddle too.
“No, sir.” Two little words, always enough to steal any laughter from his eyes. As predicted, nostrils flared. She tried like the devil to hide her smile.
“Follow me.”
With pleasure. She walked behind him, with thoughts of the company picnic, when he showed up in a pair of loose-legged jeans that defined his ass with more love than the suit pants she saw him wearing five days a week. At least on “Casual Friday” he went without a suit jacket.
He led her down the hallway until the carpet changed from industrial to plush, muffling their footsteps as the chatter from the customer service calls faded. He stood aside at the door to his office, gesturing her in ahead of him. Ever since her sex dream three months ago—which began with that very move—Sidney couldn’t stop her libido from perking up each time she entered the masculine space.
Olivia Brynn Collection Volume 1 Page 15