“I’m going to go over there and sleep,” she said as she got to her feet. “Sounds to me like you two need to have a discussion about your born again virgin question.” She quickly left them. He knew it was her way of putting distance between them so she could pull herself together and get her emotions under control. The only place to escape when on the plane and in the air was to go over to the larger area and sleep on the couch.
“Jocelyn, you have to learn there are some things you shouldn’t ask people. There are some things that might be painful for them.”
She nodded. “I didn’t think about it at the time, but I’m thinking about it now.”
He saw the way Jocelyn looked over to the other area where Bambi was curled up in a near fetal position on the couch.
“Next time think before you speak. Process it through in your mind and ask yourself do you have the right to know or should you yield to their right to privacy.”
She nodded.
“Now about this born again virgin thing, what’s going on?”
She sighed. “Rochelle and I were talking when she came over to visit so we could study for school. I would have preferred to go to her place, but her mother wasn’t going to be home so she had to come to ours. Anyway, she has been with her boyfriend like that. She says I should date and have sex too. I told her I wanted to wait. She said if we did it while in high school then we would be born again virgins if we waited until after college to do it again.”
“Sounds like her mother needs to talk with her about some hard life facts.”
She nodded. “Yeah, she didn’t even know how to protect herself. I told her though. Thanks to you I know about this stuff. But Jordana overheard the conversation at that point and she called me a slut. Now she calls me a slut cunt or just a cunt. I really hate her, Dad. I know she’s supposed to be my mother, but I hate her.” She curled up against him with her head on his shoulder. He repositioned his arm around her to hold her close as he placed the palm of his hand on her head.
“I’ll talk with your mother when I get back. She won’t keep this up. I will do whatever I have to do to protect you, even if the protection you need is from her.”
Jocelyn looked back to Bambi. “Do you think she’s okay? Should I go over there and apologize?”
He gave her a crooked smile. “Give her some time. Go in my office and play on the computer—you and I both know you want to.”
She laughed. “So true, Dad.” She jumped off the couch and did a brisk jog back to his office. Everything that needed to be secured was. He never left confidential and classified files unlocked or in the open.
He looked over to Bambi and then walked over to where she was. He sat down and stared at her. Her breathing wasn’t shallow as it would be when she slept. He had watched her enough to know the difference. “You can stop pretending now. I know you’re awake.”
“You know me too well.”
Obviously he didn’t know her well enough. He had done a background check on her before he even offered her the time of day for a meeting. How had he missed something as big as what happened to her? How had a skilled man who could find anything on anybody miss that?
“I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”
“Then we’ll talk about something else.”
“Sterling Lancaster giving up,” she sat up and stared at him. “I don’t believe it. That was easy.”
He shrugged. “For now,” he eyed her posture and noticed the air of discomfort within her. “I can give you some time, but we are going to talk about this eventually.”
“Why? Just let it go. I have.”
“No you haven’t.” He could tell she knew he was right. “But for now let’s talk about something less hostile. Let’s talk about filming. Are you ready?”
A genuine smile lit up her face as she nodded fervently. That was what he wanted to see—her smiling like she owned the world and nobody could take it from her. She talked incessantly about her excitement and he found himself hanging on to every word until she stopped and looked at him earnestly.
“What?”
“You’re dying to ask, aren’t you?”
He chuckled. Of course he was. He was trying to give her some space on the topic, but he had questions and he wasn’t a man who did well waiting for answers.
“Ask,” she granted him permission.
“Why didn’t I find anything on this when I did the background check on you?”
“Money, money and more money,” she shook her head. “The DA said it would be best for everybody involved if I dropped any insistence that he prosecute a case that wasn’t “winnable” and while I wanted to press forward I knew the chances were slim that I would get justice. With the DA ready to sell me out I figured a judge would be next. So in exchange for my silence, I got him kicked out of school. They dismissed him and all of the paperwork on the case magically disappeared,” she sighed. “I found out later that the dismissal wasn’t much of anything. His parents bought his way into another major high end university and his records weren’t tarnished. He left and the paperwork listed it as being due to a family emergency.” She snorted. “Some good my efforts did. But you know, at least I was able to finish school without having to see him on campus or fearing that one day he would sneak up on me again. So I’m okay. I wish things had been different, but I can’t change any of that now.”
He nodded. “I wish I had known you back then. I would have protected you.”
Her lips turned upward. “I wish I had known you back then too. Things would have been different.”
She had no idea just how different they would have been, not just for her, but for him too. Life could have been some kind of wonderful for both of them.
“Jocelyn is growing up so fast. I can’t believe it because it seems like just yesterday she was that twelve year old wide eyed girl you had me pick up from band practice.”
He laughed. “Time flies. I can’t believe how fast either. I’m getting old.”
She laughed hard. “Oh please. You’re still young yet. Thirty-five is not old.”
“I turn thirty-six in two weeks.”
She shrugged. “Still not old.” She patted his leg. They touched more frequently now. At first they were business only, but somewhere from beginning until now they had gotten comfortable with each other. A shoulder rub, a gentle pat on the arm or leg, and his signature move of softly placing his hand on her lower back whenever the opportunity presented itself. He knew she liked that spot, her hot spot, and he loved turning up the heat.
They were laughing and talking when the captain alerted them to their near landing status. Sterling went and pulled Jocelyn away from the computer. She was there watching more fitness videos. He was near certainty that she was going to go into the fitness and nutrition program just like Bambi because she seemed to love it so much. Whenever she could ask Bambi questions or pick her brain for new workout routines she was doing it and then, his little girl, had taken that information with her back to her friends. She was basically doing a three day a week workout routine during the year with them. He hated to keep her away for a month from her routine activities, but she had left her friends with nutrition and exercise plans and had promised to do video workouts from wherever she landed. He had promised to make sure she had access to his technologies so she could do it. She was going to love this. He had arranged everything with her and Bambi in mind. While Bambi was filming on the beaches of Tahiti, Jocelyn could be conferencing with her friends from her room at the beach home he acquired for the month. He, of course, would be working most of his stay, but he was still going to take some time off to spend with his daughter while at the same time, saving time for seducing Bambi. By the time they made it back he wanted her to know he was ready to turn up the heat on their relationship and go from friends to lovers, to partners in everything. He wanted her to be his wife, and he planned to see that she became Mrs. Lancaster by the end of the year. The problem was he wasn’t sure she would want
to be Mrs. Lancaster.
“Tahiti!” Jocelyn bounced up and down as Rick, their driver, loaded the bags into the executive car. Bambi had always wondered why Sterling had set up a hub in Tahiti until he told her that even rich people loved the beach with his Sterling signature smile that could melt a woman’s panties off her and the wink that could ignite a firestorm of need inside her.
He had said it was a hot spot for a lot of their clients to either vacation or take on second homes. While the hub wasn’t a big one like the main division or even some of the other International locations, the Tahiti connection was fully equipped to handle everything. With ten employees, both administrative and security personnel included, Tahiti had been hooked up. Their best assets in the Tahiti location was Trenton and Emerson Hildegrant—the twins that nobody with half a brain messed with.
Trenton was only five nine, his brother five eleven. Trent had the black hair that came down in a ponytail that hit between his shoulder blades. He had that smooth near cream meets hint of island caramel skin that screamed island. He was born in the Bahamas and loved everything about the island life. He, just like Sterling, had gone into the Army which is where they met. Only Sterling came out whole while Trent had been broken on so many levels. He had gotten back on his feet thanks to Sterling and Emerson. Sterling had provided the career that allowed him to feel like he was needed, making a difference and still protecting the innocent—relatively innocent, while Emerson had been the one to pull his brother out of the bottle.
Both men had muscles, but Trent looked like he gained muscles from working manual labor like lifting bags of dry cement, while Emerson had the body of a man who definitely lifted weights—religiously lifted them. He was bulky, but still kind of attractive even though she didn’t personally go for the look of bulk on a man. She liked the runner’s meets climber’s body like Sterling had.
Emerson differed from his brother. He still kept the military cut, while Trent had been determined to rid his mind of his military life. Emerson had gone into the Air Force and while he loved the life he loved his brother more. He left active duty to take care of Trent. These brothers were family strong. Each would die for the other. Emerson’s hair was more brownish blond. He and Trent both had gray eyes from their father’s DNA. They both had more of an islander’s skin tone because of their mother’s DNA. Both had been born in the Bahamas so taking the job in Tahiti had been their ideal location. They led the Tahiti hub making sure all employees remained trained and ready for whatever their job required. They were handling things just fine and Sterling could have handled their meetings over video conference, but instead he booked an entire month in Tahiti. Bambi figured he wanted to split work with giving Jocelyn a summer vacation to remember. From the excited giggling and chatter Jocelyn had done from the airstrip to the beach home she was sure this was a trip the young woman would remember forever.
“Your place is back here,” Sterling picked up one of her bags and led her down one of the halls, through the entertainment area and out the back door. He walked with her down the bamboo pathway and then, after passing lush tree after lush tree, they came to a smaller guest home. He was putting her in the guest home? Wow, she hadn’t expected that. She thought she was like family. Of course she wasn’t family. She was just an employee and employees, no matter how freely they associated with their boss, did not get to live in the same house with the family.
“Thank you,” she tried to keep the disappointment out of her tone. It was crazy anyway. Jocelyn was not her daughter even if they were close like mother and daughter meets best friends. Sterling was not her husband no matter how much she wished he was.
“I wanted you to have some privacy so you can rest. And I wanted us to have some privacy…for when we need to talk,” he said as he placed her suitcase on the rack in the corner of the bedroom.
“Talk? We can talk in the house. Jocelyn always gives you privacy when you need it for your business and you know it.”
He mumbled something she couldn’t understand. Fine, he wanted her in the guesthouse—she got it. She heard his unspoken words loud and clear and even though they hurt it was as it should be.
“This really is great,” she decided to be thankful he hadn’t stuck her in a hotel far away from them at least. She walked over to the near wall to wall sliding glass doors and pulled the wooden blinds back before sliding the door partially open and stepping out onto the deck. She didn’t have a view of the beach, but the view she did have was beautiful. The trees with fruits and flowers and birds perched on the branches reminded her she was home. Tahiti was always going to remain in her blood no matter how far away she went.
“I thought you might like it here.”
She nodded. “Reminds me of growing up here. I can’t believe I stayed away this long.” She felt Sterling come to stand behind her. He was so close if they were more than boss and employee it would feel like the move of a lover. She tightened her hands on the banister the moment his arms trapped her in her position. He had outstretched his arms and placed his hands on the banister on either side of her causing his body to brush against hers. Good lord what she didn’t want to do with this man right here, right now. The thoughts going through her mind were not good thoughts to be having about her boss, especially not with his daughter just a bamboo walk away. But she couldn’t stop the mental image of him removing her clothes piece by piece and taking her right there with nature surrounding them. The place was so secluded nobody would see them—except there was Jocelyn to worry about.
Rick had already gone back to the main hub and they had their own jeep to get them wherever they needed to go. Trent had been sure to get the best for Sterling. They were mostly alone. Mostly wasn’t the perfect setting, but she still couldn’t help thinking what it would feel like if he placed his big hand on her stomach and caressed her while sliding it lower. She couldn’t help thinking what it would be like to have him kiss her neck while he unbuttoned her pants, pulled down her panties, took her right there. Yes, she wanted him to take her body because she was ready to offer it to him.
“So um…” She couldn’t think with him this close in this setting that was so perfect for lovers. She couldn’t even fathom the words.
“Yes?” He leaned his head lower and closer to her ear. His warm breath fanned against her skin and she took a sharp inhale of air. She hadn’t meant to giveaway her lustful thoughts but there was no mistaking what he was doing to her while the veins in her hands were throbbing from her hold on the banister and her body was trembling. She could feel it and she was sure he could too. “What do you need, Bambi?”
Oh what she needed was him, but she couldn’t tell him that. She had to find a way to play down her body’s need for betrayal. She had to get her head back on straight and stop lusting after this man. “I…” She wasn’t likely to stop lusting after him if he kept breathing on her ear in such a seductive way. It was almost as if he were waiting to taste every inch of her. No. It couldn’t be that. She had to be imaging it. Sterling did not mix business with pleasure.
“Tell me what you need?”
His voice was so low and sexy. Had it ever been that sexy before? Or was she just doped up on island hormones and her need for release? Just looking at the man could make her want to reach down and touch herself, but having him this close with the tropical breeze and the Tahitian heat caressing her already warmed skin and the ache between her legs was growing stronger and stronger by the second.
“Dad this is so awesome!” She heard Jocelyn yell from somewhere within the house. Sterling put distance between them swiftly. He was back inside her bedroom tinkering with her other case before Bambi could even pull her head out of the sexual fog it was in.
She turned to see Jocelyn coming inside the bedroom. “Oh, there you are,” she skirted past her father and out to the patio area. “This place rocks. We should move here,” she laughed. “Hint, hint, Dad,” she spoke up so her father would take the hint. He laughed and shook his head as he
set the last case on another rack. She had packed for a month of business plus working out. She knew she would be filming, but she also knew Sterling had wanted her to speak with the employees at the hub about the importance of good nutrition and fitness so she was going to need more than just her workout apparel. She also brought her own makeup for the makeup artist because she had sensitive skin and anything harsh on her face was going to make her look like a hormonal teenager with the breakout sent straight from hell. She wasn’t a fan of wearing makeup, but whenever she had a big meeting, an important meeting or outing, she covered up some of the scars she acquired over the years with some of her Magic Concealed and Magic Photo Ready foundation and powder. She would admit, even with the cake painted on her face she still felt beautiful, sometimes even sexier, when she wore what she called the cake with icing on her face. Makeup might not have been her thing, but it did wonders for her looks. More men looked at her with makeup on, not that they didn’t look before, but they looked harder and more of them paid attention. The problem wasn’t getting a man to notice her. The problem was getting the man she wanted to do it. Sterling Lancaster was her love and he didn’t even know it. No other man would ever come close.
Trouble in Paradise Page 3