“That’s why you give everything so much thought? You want to make sure you’re on the right side of it.” She paused for a moment and then smirked. “Even though that’s dumb and impossible.”
“Yes. Even though.”
“I believe you when you say you’ll help make things right at West Oil. I know you can. But you’ll have to do it during business hours because you promised me a week to convince you I’m right and you’re wrong.”
“I don’t believe that was the purpose of the contest. I was supposed to show you it’s all right to trust me and that giving in to some exciting, over-the-top adventures would be good for you”
“Semantics,” Jessica said, shooing off his opinion with a wave of his hand.
“James and Libby are back in a couple days. It’s basically smooth sailing until then. I’m all yours. Just tell me where to be and when.”
“Meet me at this address after work. Dress casually.” She slipped a piece of paper into his hand and accepted the long slow kiss he offered. Rising to her tiptoes, she pressed her body to his. “You could just stay,” she said, coiling her arm around his neck. It was a tempting offer, one he struggled to turn down.
“I have to get to the office,” he groaned. A gorgeous seductive woman was waiting for him on the other side of the day, and he knew it would be painfully long to endure. “But I’m looking forward to finding out what you have planned for us.”
“You might not be all that excited. It’ll be a departure from what you’re used to. There won’t be a single scoop of caviar or anything beautiful.”
“If you’re there, then I’ll be looking at something absolutely beautiful.” He kissed her once more and headed down the four flights of stairs that led to the street. He couldn’t believe the eyes-shut, head-first dive he was taking into a woman like Jessica. Dangerous. A departure from his normal calculated approach, but she felt entirely worth it.
Jessica closed the door to her apartment and fell backward onto her bed as though there was snow waiting to be turned into the shape of an angel. The euphoric excitement seemed to grow smaller the farther Mathew got from her apartment. His absence made room for reality. Reality was a bitch.
When a job ended in her area she would normally find something else quickly even if she had to travel for a bit. Nothing too far or exotic like she used to with Pierre, but she’d do what she had to do to stay working.
It was the benefit of not having roots. No relationship. A tiny apartment without a single plant needing water or a pet needing food.
She put aside the worry as she remembered there were plans to make. No point in sulking about the uncertainty of her ever-dwindling bank account. She had a bet to win. She’d prove that a normal life could be as fulfilling and exciting as an over-the-top one, fueled with buckets of money. If you were with the right person, nothing else mattered. Her theory was solid, something she truly believed in, but suddenly it felt important that she should convince Mathew of the same thing.
The day crept by slowly. Like a snail trying to cross the desert. Jessica visited Libby’s mother, sitting together as they listened to the record Mathew had magically found for her. All the nurses poked their heads in to ask about the astonishingly handsome man who’d saved the day. Jessica would laugh off their teasing, but every time she thought of Mathew’s actions that disastrous day with the broken record, she felt a flutter in her chest.
Soon Theresa slipped into her afternoon nap, and Jessica made all the calls and plans for their date. And finally, it was time.
“Sorry I’m running behind,” Mathew apologized as he jogged up to Jessica in the parking lot of her favorite Chinese restaurant.
“No problem. I just grabbed the takeout. Are you ready?”
“You do remember my rule, right? I can’t eat that in your bed.”
“Not my bed, no,” she smiled playfully. “Come on. This is my date. You just have to try to make the best of it.” She pulled open the door of the pickup truck and watched a wave of worry fall over him.
“Whose truck is this?” The truck had more rust than paint, and the tires were balder than her great uncle Phil, but it was just what she needed for tonight. If she was going to prove her point, why not go all in?
“I borrowed it from a friend. Just hop in.” She glanced at him across the front of the truck as he slid in apprehensively.
“This is an old truck,” he said nervously. “You know how to drive a stick?”
“How hard could it be?” She shrugged, looking at the stick shift as though she were trying to figure it out. “Does the R mean really fast? What’s the third pedal for?”
“Let me drive,” he insisted as though he was already picturing the accident they’d get in with her at the wheel.
“I’m kidding. Of course I know how to drive a stick shift. Just relax. I promise you’re going to have a good time. We’re heading for the coast. Have you ever been to the gulf shore?”
“No,” he said, watching her intently as she put the truck in reverse, having to force the old stick shift hard into gear.
“I spent a lot of time in Galveston when I was a kid. One of my uncles owned a house out there.”
“Is that where we’re going? Your uncle’s house?”
“Nope. Stop trying to guess. Just enjoy the ride.” She fluidly shifted the truck as they sped onto the highway. It would be a lie to say she wasn’t nervous. Mathew had likely spent his life indulging in the best of everything. She’d had a taste of it, but it was never really hers the way he owned it. Her foray into the lap of luxury had been more like a vacation, one that ended abruptly.
“Are we sleeping there? I just want to make sure I’m able to get to the office tomorrow. It was crazy in there today. I want everything squared away before James gets back.”
“Tell me about your day,” she said, offering him a sweet smile. “What was going on at work today?”
“You don’t want to hear it. You know it’s boring.”
“It is,” she admitted with a laugh, “but I still want to hear it.”
“All right.” He shrugged. “I feel like we’re chasing this mythical beast, trying to get a meeting with Asher Barrington or Brice Henderson. Those are the men in Boston at the charity event.”
“The guy who proposed and wrecked all your plans by being madly in love?”
“Yes, that guy,” Mathew said in a deadpan reply. “He had to go and fall in love right when we were trying to approach him about a business deal. Very selfish. But I do think I have a lead on a way to get in touch with Brice, and I’d like to try to do it before James is back.”
“That’s good. What are you thinking?”
“His brother Dean is running the Henderson family business right now. We haven’t done much with them, but they make plastics we could purchase for some of our rigs. I’m going to approach him about sending all our business their way. Rumor is the company is under some kind of pressure. The stock is falling. Something is going on over there. If I shift our business over to them at a time when they need it, maybe he’ll put me in touch with Brice.”
“That’s a good plan,” she said, and he could see she was trying not to look completely bored. “Will Dean be as hard to get hold of as Brice and Asher? What’s with all these guys?”
“When you operate at that level, run a business of that size, you can’t take every call that comes your way. Everyone is looking to get something from you. Time. Money. Deals. You have to screen as much as you can and assume if someone gets through all the road blocks they deserve your attention.”
“You don’t have to work so hard for my attention.” She winked coyly at him as she slammed the gearshift forward. “And I’ll have you home by midnight so this old truck doesn’t turn into a pumpkin.”
Jessica rolled her window down and stuck one arm out, catching the wind under it like a wing. He leaned down and did the same. The sun was beginning to sink low and the rhythmic thudding of the wind filling the cab of the truck was a
ll the sound they needed. No more words. No radio. Just the straight stretch of road ahead of them and the promise of a night together.
Chapter 10
If he were being honest, this was not relaxing. Mathew much preferred to be in control. Surprises were the opposite of what a guy like him enjoyed, unless he was the one giving them. You couldn’t calculate success when you didn’t know what was going on. But the sight of the sea over the crest of a hill did something to calm him. They’d arrived and there was nothing like the ocean to settle his restless mind.
“It’s beautiful,” he said, raising his body some to get a better look as they approached the water. The sun was nearly gone now. Just barely peeking up over the trees. She pulled the truck down a small dirt road and Mathew was certain they were trespassing. “Are we supposed to be here?” he asked, looking around as the dirt road opened up to a few large dunes and the sea in front of them. He pushed boundaries, pissed people off, and broke the rules when the risk outweighed the consequence. But this was Texas, and he was pretty sure every gun-toting southern good old boy probably had the right to shoot them for trespassing.
“We’re supposed to be wherever we want,” she said, putting the truck in park and turning off the engine as they reached a secluded inlet.
“It must be nice to be such a free spirit. Can we park out on the beach like this?”
“We’re fine here. Trust me. I know the area well. No one comes out here. No houses for a mile in either direction. Everyone hangs out at the pier this time of night with the Ferris wheels and carnival food.”
She hopped out of the truck and pulled off her sneakers. “Get undressed,” she instructed wryly through the open window.
“Right now? We’re doing this now?” He wasn’t protesting as he stepped out and pulled his shirt over his head. Sex with Jessica had been mind-blowing. She was the perfect partner. Confident in her body, willing to submit for the promise of pleasure but willing to yank the power back when it was time to give. It clouded his mind in every quiet moment. If she was ready to go, so was he.
“No,” she laughed. “I brought you a change of clothes.”
“What’s wrong with my clothes?” he asked, looking down at his jeans and T-shirt he’d thrown to the sand. “You said dress casual.”
“You forget I know fashion. Those jeans cost over three hundred dollars and that causal shirt you have on isn’t much cheaper. You need to wear these.” She was in the bed of the truck now digging through the many bags stuffed there. She tossed him a set of cotton pajamas with little dogs all over the matching top and bottom.
“Excuse me?” he asked, catching the pajamas and looking them over as though she’d just thrown a live squid into his hands.
“Put them on. They are so comfortable. Look I have a matching pair.” Jessica held her set as she slid out of her clothes.
“It’s my date. You have to do whatever I want,” she reminded him as she gestured at the clothes in his hands.
“Don’t forget I get the same blank check next week. Tread lightly. My dress code for the week will be strict. Naked. All naked. All week.” He huffed, but her heart swelled as he yanked his shirt off and slid the cheap cotton pajamas on. Even if he was apprehensive, he was obliging, and that counted.
She began pulling open the other bags and spreading the pillows and blankets out in the bed of the truck. “Help me, will you?” she asked, tossing him a sleeping bag to unroll. After a minute they’d set up a comfortable makeshift bed over the hard metal of the truck. “Grab the Chinese food out of the insulated bag. It’ll still be hot,” she said, gesturing for him to hand it to her.
Reaching in through the back window of the truck she flipped on the radio to the local country station and started humming a song. “Hop in,” she said, waving for him to join her in the bed of the truck on the cloud of blankets they’d layered.
Cracking open two beers, she waited for him to settle in next to her. The apprehension was still covering his face. He wasn’t convinced this was fun at all. But he’d feel it soon. She knew it.
Drinking their beers and passing back and forth the Chinese food containers they laughed at the memories Jessica recounted of her summers on this beach. “I had these terrible braces and head gear,” she chuckled. “Yet I still thought I’d be able to make out with Tommy Longwillow. We came out to the beach and I gently slipped out of my head gear as seductively as I could.”
“Are we going to overlook this kid’s name was Longwillow? How tortured was he in middle school? The nicknames are endless. Stop, you’re killing me,” he gasped through his laughs. “How could this story get any worse?”
“He sat on my headgear and impaled his ass. I literally had to pull it out of his butt cheek. Needless to say, we did not make out. Don’t leave me hanging here. You must have an embarrassing story.”
“I do,” he said, composing himself and sitting up on his elbows. “There was this girl, this really crazy girl, and I couldn’t figure her out. It was like up was down, black was white, but I couldn’t get her out of my head. All I knew for sure was I wanted to see her smile. When she smiled I smiled. So I figured that must be what it was all about. If I could make her happy I could do anything.”
“That’s so sweet. What did you do?”
“I had a friend of mine swing by with his helicopter and pick her up,” he said with a straight face as he stared into her eyes. “She went running for the hills. That’s something, huh?”
“You just wanted to make her smile?” Jessica asked, her voice catching in her throat.
“When she smiles I smile.” And for a long moment that’s all either of them did.
“This is nice,” Mathew said, breaking the silence as he ran a hand against her cheek. “You were right. This was a nice night.”
“It’s not over,” she grinned knowingly. Shoving all the discarded food into the bag and tossing it out of the bed of the truck, she fluffed their pillows and they lay back staring up at the sky. The waves were lapping loudly against the shore and the wind made a hushing noise through the long grass as though the two forces were speaking with each other, one calming, the other challenging. She could relate to the relentless thudding and moving of the sea, and he felt a lot like the shushing grass reminding her it was safe to let go.
“Wow,” he said, eyeing the sky in wonder. “I’ve spent most my life in big cities. I forgot how many stars there are when you shut off all those lights.”
“There are always a dozen shooting stars here if you look long enough.” The music continued to play in the background as they stared up. His hand crept toward hers, lacing their fingers together. “There,” she said, shooting her free hand up to the sky. “Did you see that one? It was amazing. So beautiful. It takes my breath away every time.”
“I agree,” he said and his words were against her ear. He wasn’t looking at the shooting star. His eyes were fixed on her. “Breathtaking.”
“What would you wish for?” she asked, not turning to look him in the eye, pretending the sky was forcing her to stare upward. It felt safer to imagine the depths of the cosmos than to stare into the endless pools of his eyes. At least in this moment.
“Not sure,” he sighed, now focusing on the stars again too. “To relax. Ever since my father walked out I’ve worked. Not to make money, we had that, just to keep the money. I never wanted to have less than he left us with. I always felt like that would be him winning. But in the process I’ve worked more than I’ve slept. More than I’ve laughed.”
“I feel like I could help your wish come true.” Her hand slid down his stomach as she rolled onto her side. “But not yet.” She rolled back suddenly and checked her watch.
“What exactly are you making me wait for? Do you just enjoy torturing me?” He took her hand and moved it back to his body, sliding it down until she could feel his pent-up excitement trying to break free of his pants.
“You are ready,” she hummed as her hand began to stroke him through his silly co
tton pajamas. “It must be awful to want it so bad and have to wait.”
“You’ll have to let me know,” he grunted, turning the tables suddenly as he found her center and began to tantalize her with the rhythmic swirling of his finger.
Jessica arched her back and slammed a hand down onto his. Initially to stop him but eventually giving in to his touch, holding him there. It seemed impossible that he already knew what pace it took to quickly bring her to ecstasy, but he had figured her out.
“Wait,” she said halfheartedly as he freed her from her pants and started undoing the large buttons on her silly pajama top. “Just a few more minutes. Not yet.”
“You want me to stop?” he asked before his mouth crashed down on her breasts and nibbled at her peaks.
“I’m trying to make this special,” she protested, but the way she heaved herself closer to his mouth said otherwise.
Mathew quickly removed his pants, parted her legs and hovered above her. “So you don’t want me inside you?” he asked, grazing his firmness against her wet core. “You don’t want me to fuck you right this second?”
She threw her legs up high and around his waist, grabbed his back, forcing him down on top of her. “Oh fuck it,” she blurted as he entered her frantically. “I can’t wait.”
“There’s nothing worth waiting for when I could be inside you this deep.” He breathed into her ear as the rough plane of his stomach drove against her most tender pleasure spot. “Nothing better than this.”
Like she’d just remembered the importance of the timing, she slapped a hand to his chest. “Stop,” she ordered, sitting herself up some. “I want to ride you.”
With a wide smile he obliged, flipping their positions quickly, easing her down on top of him. The way his eyes took her in gave her the sudden urge to hide. He looked on with such lusty fire in his eyes she felt unworthy.
“You are a goddess,” he said through gritted teeth as she moved her body up and down his shaft, his hands grabbing for every piece of her he could. Her black hair fell back as she tipped her head up at the sky. It was nearly time.
Wild Eyes (The Barrington Billionaires Book 2) Page 8