47
Joe
“There’s still a lot left to do, Maggie,” I said, lazily twisting a strand of her hair around my finger. She smiled, looking sexy and satisfied, the sheet draped over the curve of her hip.
“Jackie’s got the flowers handled,” she said, with a relaxed sigh. “And Ryan’s handling the classy invitations.” She dropped her cell on the nightstand.
“Last minute phone calls…” I looked at her and lifted an eyebrow. “Are you sure this is what you want? We could put a fairy tale wedding together in a matter of weeks, sweetheart. I don’t want you looking back and wishing…” She cut me off with a kiss, sweet and lingering and damnably tempting…
“It’s not about the wedding,” she said. “It’s about the marriage. And I can’t think of a more perfect place. Cozy and intimate… and right here, where I fell in love with you…”
“I don’t expect Bess will trouble herself to walk down the hill,” I said with a sigh. “But I suppose if I expect her to accept my choices, I have to accept hers.”
“Dean will be here,” she said, smiling and running her finger along my jaw. “For now, I think that’s victory enough. And Ryan is bringing Henry.” She kissed the tip of my nose.
“I still don’t understand why he never told me.” I shifted onto my side and propped my head on one hand. “Didn’t he trust me?”
She pursed her lips and gave me a look. “He trusts you,” she said firmly. “But he grew up in the same family you did, Joe. He always felt the same weight of expectation that you did. Differently, maybe… but just as heavily.” A few quiet moments passed, and I drew a line along her brow with the tip of my finger.
“What did you mean when you told Ryan that Bess had blinded herself to your father’s faults?” Maggie put her cool hand on my chest. “What was in that box you gave her?”
I cupped her face in my hand and looked deeply into her lovely, dark eyes and took a breath. “Your father wasn’t the only one who had a problem with alcohol…,” I began. The words felt uncomfortable against my tongue, but there was relief, too…
“What he drank was more expensive,” I went on, “and he managed to hide it better, under a thin veneer of social propriety. Your father drank out in the open, Maggie. Mine did it in boardroom meetings and locked away alone in the library. They were both alcoholics, sweetheart, but my dad was also a coward. For all those years, he made us all believe that he was the one who had come to your father’s rescue. But it was all a lie from the start…”
“But he gave my family a place to stay… He fought Bess to do it…”
“He wanted to see himself as a hero, Maggie. And he didn’t want anyone to find out the truth. That it was your dad who saved mine, back during the war. Dad was nothing but a coward… and it was your father who prevented him from deserting… and bringing shame to the grand Decker name.
Dad owed your family… far more than he ever actually gave. And, no matter his faults, your father had enough honor to never betray his secret.” I ran my thumb across Maggie’s soft, parted lips. “I only found the letters a few months ago. Written years ago, before you and your family ever moved into this cottage. Your dad was sober when he wrote them, and I believe he was a good man… It came through in the letters very strongly, Maggie…
That he loved you very much…”
“Incredible, Jackie…
How did you find a string quartet with only a few hours’ notice?” I looked around the lawns surrounding the cottage. The sun was just starting to drop in the sky. “Magnificent…”
“I had help,” she said back, pleased with herself as Dean came up and curled his arms around her waist. “It’s the reason Maggie loves me. I’m great in a pinch.” Dean whispered in her ear, and she giggled and blushed.
Truckloads of white flowers had been coming in all afternoon, and more than a dozen of Maggie’s coworkers had arrived to arrange them. The old oak had become the perfect backdrop, and mounds of blooms were heaped at its base. Long swags of flowers draped its spreading branches. Even the old wooden swing had tendrils of white winding its ropes.
“Nervous?” Dean asked, tucking a bloom into my buttonhole. I pulled on the back of my jacket and stuck a finger down the collar of my shirt.
“Perfect,” I answered dryly. “Where the hell is Maggie? She disappeared hours ago.” The guests were already arriving and beginning to take their seats.
“She had a dress to buy, Joe,” Jackie shot back. “And she got back twenty minutes ago. No matter how casual she wanted this to be, a girl still wants to look like a bride on her wedding day.” She gave Dean an exasperated look. “I’m going to go give her a hand.”
“Maggie told me about Dad,” Dean said quietly, brushing at my jacket. “It doesn’t change how we grew up… but it helps somehow, just to know…”
“He had a hard life and fought lot of battles… both inside and out,” I said. “But underneath it all, he was an honorable man.”
“Growing up, you were the one I looked up to, Joe.” His dark eyes were sincere, so much like his sister’s. “I’m sorry… for not accepting… for not seeing it sooner. How much you love Maggie. And how she could never have loved anyone else…
But life isn’t going to be easy. Maggie’s a handful on her best day. She’s going to push the limits, every chance she gets.”
“I know,” I admitted with a smile. “I love her… and her passion is part of the reason why.” I took Dean’s palm in mine. “After all, what’s life?... without an occasional storm to break the calm...”
I gripped his hand, pulling him to my chest, wrapping our forearms together in a strong and solid bond. “I love you, too, Dean. We’ve always been family… we always will be.
I swear it.”
“Swear it to her,” he said, with a smile and a tilt of his head.
“...Here comes your bride…”
48
Maggie
Tomorrow’s forecast: Unseasonably mild, with high clouds and clear skies.
It had taken most of the afternoon, but it had been worth it… to see the look on his face.
I’d buckled to convention, giving in to the salesgirl’s insistence on white. The dress I’d chosen had long, elegant lace sleeves and a neckline that swept modestly from one shoulder to the other. But it was hardly traditional. The skirt was daringly short, edged with a delicate fringe, and exposed the long length of my legs… And I’d found the perfect pair of tiny, white leather boots…
Dean took my arm and walked me the last few steps down the grassy aisle. I stood next to Joe and was rewarded by the tremble of his lips and the hungry glimmer in his eyes. He looked down at me and smiled. I saw the tip of his tongue sweep discreetly across his bottom lip, and it was my turn to tremble…
“I adore you for those,” he whispered lasciviously. His lips touched the curve of my ear and I felt my knees weaken. “I’ll show you later how much… I have a little gift for you…”
I slipped my hand into his and looked around, at all the friends and family who surrounded us. I turned and gave Jackie a grateful smile, finding her damp-eyed and smiling, too, next to my brother. Ryan was at Joe’s side, looking pleased and proud.
But as the ceremony began, it felt like Joe and I were the only two people left in the whole world. There was music I could barely hear… words that swept past us in a whisper. Everything that happened around us seemed soft, and distant. The one real thing was Joe. He held my hands in his, never letting go. He held my eyes with his gaze, as if I was all he could see.
A thousand memories of us filled his eyes.
I looked around, at the only home I’d ever known, the only man I’d ever wanted. I saw the only future I’d ever dreamed of… there, in his strong, beautiful face. He slipped the ring on my finger… and we made our solemn vows. But it was the bond in our hearts, strengthened by the joining of our bodies, that had already made us one.
He drew me into his arms and kissed me. And the joy that
filled me was like the very first time…
Hours later, after we’d said our goodbyes and waved the last of the guests away, I collapsed gratefully into his arms. We sat together on the front porch steps, his legs spread wide, and I nestled comfortably between them. I rested the back of my head in the curve of his shoulder and sighed deeply.
He held up my hand and turned it in under the gentle, yellow porchlight. My ruby sparkled, spitting tiny flames, and the diamond band glittered cooly beside it. “Mrs. Decker,” he said against the side of my head. “I like the sound of that.”
“Blake-Decker,” I corrected, butting him gently with my shoulder. “How about… Joseph Decker-Blake?” I teased.
“Hmm… I’ll have to think on that one,” he replied, kissing my neck and getting to his feet. “I almost forgot… I have a wedding present for you.” He disappeared inside the screen door.
“Bring me another piece of cake…?” I called out. I looked up and took a long delicious breath of cool night air. The stars were finally out, shining like tiny points of celebration in the dark. The white flowers from the ceremony seemed to light the yard, as well. Everything had been so beautiful.
He handed me a paper plate with an indulgent smile. “What...? I like cake…,” I said, as he sat back down beside me. He held a wide, shallow box in his hands.
“For my wife,” he said, dipping his finger in my frosting. “This is how I spent our wedding day, while you were out finding those fucking delicious boots…” He ran his finger up my thigh, leaving a trail of sweet, white sugar… “Open it.”
I lifted the lid. “An album?” I asked, pulling the book out of the box. “Pictures from the article you published…? Oh…, Joe…”
I turned the cover back, excited at the idea of having all the originals put together into a collection. As I flipped the pages, my excitement turned to wonder. I felt my jaw go slack as I turned page after page….
“I wanted you to see what I see,” Joe said, tucking his face into the curve of my neck. He looked over my shoulder and turned the pages for me slowly, as I sat stunned and staring. Each photograph was of me. Holding a child, or holding a hand. One image after another, creating a larger whole… the bigger picture. I saw myself through Joe’s eyes, and what I saw was love.
“All grown up, Maggie. A woman with enough courage and strength to give us all hope. That’s who I see when I look at you, sweetheart. You reminded me what it feels like… to have passion… to have purpose. Don’t ever stop, Maggie. No matter what our tomorrows bring…
Don’t ever stop…”
He reached into the bottom of the box and drew out an envelope. I opened it and took out two tickets…
“I didn’t think an ordinary honeymoon laying out on a beach would satisfy you,” he said. “But I thought perhaps Africa might…
A little honeymoon… maybe a little foundation work mixed in, too…” He caught me into his arms as I held his hands tight. “I don’t know if we can change the whole world, sweetheart. But if anyone can… it’s you…”
He stood, pulling me against him and kissing me until my blood was pounding in my veins. He looked down at me, his eyes filled with love and promise. The heat of his body and the challenge in his eyes made me hot and shameless in the cool night air. I could feel his eyes on my flesh… my legs… His jaw tensed and that muscle twitched, pulsing deliciously. I bit into my lip and smiled my most wicked smile…
I took his hand and led him under the wide, sprawling branches of the old oak. I gasped, needy and breathless, as I sat down on the rough wooden seat and felt his delicious warmth behind me. His scent filled the air as I lifted the tiny skirt of my gown, bending forward and baring my naked, waiting flesh. I looked over my shoulder, met his dangerous gaze and smiled boldly…
“Push me?”
Bonus Book: The Baby Contract
Marriage and promises and white picket fences…?
Mistakes I’ll never make again. I’m over that fantasy.
So is Libby, and that’s why she’s the perfect surrogate for my baby.
She gets paid, and I get an heir to the Mason family name.
No fuss, no muss. Easy, right?
I need a woman who’ll let me impregnate her for pay. Libby’s got zero interest in babies or a husband. She needs money, not complications.
But when artificial insemination fails, there’s only one thing left to try.
F*ck the fertility clinic, and f*ck the doctors. I’ll knock Libby up the old-fashioned way.
My lawyers create a contract. Legal, straightforward… Shatterproof. After she gives birth, she’s gone for good.
But once Libby’s got my baby in her belly, simple gets complicated.
Ripe and luscious, with fertile curves that beg me to plant my seed, damned right I’m going to spread Libby’s thighs and put my rock hard plow to work… Over and over again.
Nine months? I’ve got to have more.
Her body is my responsibility, my possession, my addiction.
F*ck the agreement… This is gonna get dirty.
1
Jack
I stare out into the steel grey sky of the city, through the crystalline wall of glass that separates me from the clouds… and the sixty floor drop to the concrete below. My office is on the top of the tallest structure in Asheville. Mason Steel Corporation. From here, I can look out over this city like a king. Or a tyrant.
I'm Mason, The Jack Mason. So I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth. It was pure grit and determination that saved this company from ruin. What allowed my parents to keep the family manse in Biltmore. Decades of overly conservative business moves and dwindling capital had almost brought Mason Steel to her knees. Then I took over. And it wasn't our old-money name, or even my Ivy League education that had been responsible for bringing her back over the last fifteen long years. That had been me, my sheer force of will. Along with seventeen-hour work days and a thousand sleepless nights.
Lights flicker at a distance from the surrounding buildings and a few shine up from the streets below. The clouds shift thick and thin as the cold evening breeze shapes them. A thin mist of rain collects in tiny rivulets and runs down the enormous windows. It reminds me of the past. The painful past… and I work hard to push it down a little deeper.
I'm not a man who knows how to fail. Not ever. From the outside, it looks like I have everything I could possibly want. Fuck, I pretty much do. All except for the one thing I've wanted my whole life, the one thing that matters more than anything. And no amount of money or success can make up for that kind of emptiness. It's my one real need. My one true weakness. The only thing all my fucking ambition and determination ever failed to force into reality.
I stare into the endless grey night and it all comes flooding back…
"Goddamn it, Jack," she screamed, "did you ever think for One. Fucking. Minute… that it just might be your fault?"
Elaine was angrier than I'd ever seen her, and had more than a few drinks on board. It was a pattern that had been repeating itself for far too many months now. I ran my hand through my hair, forcing myself into a calmness I couldn't feel. I knew the last two years had been fucking hard for both of us.
"Lainey, honey," I reached out to touch her hair and she turned away, a curtain of sleek bottle blonde falling between us. "This was never about fault. Lots of couples have trouble conceiving. What matters is that we're both committed to this… that we both want to have this family." I took a step closer and ran my hand down her back. The tension in her body made the bones just under her skin feel sharp, angular. "I don't care if our baby comes from my body… or from yours… That's the only reason I brought up the idea of a surrogate."
I reached down to take her hand. Well-manicured nails bit into my palm, her fingers cold in mine. "This isn't about fault, or about giving up on our dream, Lainey. It's about making you a mom. And making me a dad." I swallowed hard, feeling a painful squeeze in my chest. "It's about becoming a family together, ho
wever that can happen for us."
"We tried for two goddamn years, Jack. If it had been meant to happen it would have." Her voice was oddly calm as she turned to face me. "And you were never even home. It was always work with you, wasn't it? Always the fucking business and your goddamn family honor." She stepped toward the desk by the windows and sat down behind it. "Well, congratulations," she said, looking me squarely in the face. "You saved your family business. Mason is everything it ever was, and more. You're positively filthy rich again, and now I get what I really wanted all these years…"
"Exactly, honey," I began. "The long hours are over for me now. Mason's stable and performing consistently, and there's nothing that Blake and Bennett can't handle." Two of my three brothers had been in with me neck deep for the long haul and knew almost as much about running the company as I did. "I can work three, four days a week tops now. We can go on that cruise you've been wanting. We'll make things right between us again." I looked into her eyes, made startlingly blue by her contacts. "We're secure now, baby. There couldn't be a better time to focus all our efforts on a family of our own."
Elaine dipped her head, her hair shielding her face as she fiddled with the locked drawer and pulled out a thick cream-colored envelope. She straightened and looked up to meet my eyes. Her jaw was crisp, her chin as sharp as her gaze. She pushed the envelope toward me with the tips of her perfect nails. The edge of her lip turned upwards, but she wasn't smiling.
"As usual," she said softly, "You weren't listening to me." She blinked and leaned back in the chair. "I said, it's time for me to get what I wanted." She looked at the envelope and then pointedly back at me. I took a step forward and picked it up, sliding my thumb under the flap. "I stuck it out, Jack. All those years with you working day and night. Recreating the fucking family empire."
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