Taming Her Tycoon

by Yahrah St. John

  “That was what I was going for.”

  “How long have you had that getup?”

  * * *

  Naomi shrugged as she playfully let the robe slip from her shoulders and strolled toward him. “Oh, I don’t know...awhile.” She twirled a curl between her fingers.

  When she reached him, Lucius growled low in his throat and pulled her to him, kissing her, hard and quick. His body was on fire with a need to have her.

  She undressed him, first his shoes and then one piece of clothing at a time. As each item fell in a pool at his feet, desire took over. And when she finally reached his waist, she relieved him of his belt, pants and underwear in one fluid movement until he stood naked and completely aroused.

  “Is it my turn?” he asked, stepping away from his clothes, unashamed of his erection jutting forward.

  She nodded. “Oh, yes, you can unwrap your gift.” She backed away from him and slid onto the satin comforter on his king-size bed.

  Lucius moved forward like a panther, sliding onto the bed and over her.

  Naomi’s body trembled as Lucius unclasped her bustier and garter belt and slid her barely-there thong down her legs. Once he’d relieved her of her ensemble, he made sure she was ready for him by pushing one finger inside her. She was already wet for him. Would always be. She’d always wanted Lucius. And that would never, ever change.

  * * *

  Lucius fished a condom out the drawer of his nightstand and made quick work of rolling it on and rejoined her on the bed.

  She wove her hands around his neck and kissed him deeply as he moved back into position over her, poised to take possession of her body, of her soul. She parted her thighs for him, and he glided inside her with one erotic thrust. Naomi focused on the pleasure that was building inside her, but this time it was different between them. It was deeper, more intense because they had confessed their love for one another.

  As Lucius kissed her neck, her collarbone, and lowered his head to take one of her nipples into his mouth while his other hand molded the other breast, Naomi arched to meet his thrusts.

  “More, Lucius...” she moaned.

  He obliged and his thrusts became faster, harder. Naomi wrapped her arms around his neck holding him to her as her orgasm hit her with full force.

  “Lucius!” she shouted.

  * * *

  Lucius’s control was slipping. His hands moved to Naomi’s hips as he tried to slow down his movements, but Naomi was gyrating her hips and taking him deeper and deeper inside. And when her entire body contracted around his shaft, he was lost.

  And when she slid her tongue over his jawline, every vestige of control he’d been trying to maintain, to make it last between them, vanished and Lucius’s body began to shake. A loud groan escaped his lips.

  Pleasure.

  Happiness.

  That’s what Naomi brought to him. And would always bring. He didn’t move; he didn’t want to extricate himself from being entwined with her body. He could stay like this forever. And now they always would be. Naomi was his forever.

  * * *

  Much later, after they’d succumbed to sleep, Lucius awoke with Naomi’s head lying on his chest. He stroked her damp curls and she glanced up at him.

  “Hey, sleepyhead,” he whispered, looking down at her.

  “Hey, you. You’ve exhausted me.”

  “I could say the same,” Lucius responded.

  A wide grin spread across Naomi’s face. “Well, I had to get your mind off the reading of the will tomorrow and onto more important things.”

  Lucius frowned. “You heard?”

  Naomi nodded. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but when you raised your voice, I was concerned.”

  “Well, you don’t have to worry. I’ll deal with it on my own. I’ll go there tomorrow and face my new family, who probably wish I’d go back under the rock I crawled out from under.”

  Naomi slid up toward Lucius. “But you don’t have to, honey. Not anymore. You’ll never be alone again, because you have me. I’m coming with you.”

  “You are?”

  “Absolutely. We’re a family now. You and me.” She pointed to his chest.

  “I guess I never thought about it like that—because I—I’ve never been in love before, Naomi. Never been this happy. Never thought I could be.”

  “Neither did I, but I am so happy and I can’t wait to be your wife and your partner. And it’s why I will always be here for you, because you’re the one for me, Lucius.”

  “And you’re the woman for me.”

  Epilogue

  The next morning, Lucius wasn’t nervous about attending the reading of Arthur Knight’s will. Why should he be? He hadn’t even known the man. Sure, he’d read the dossier Adam had drawn up, but it told him nothing. He was certain that his presence would cause an uproar among the Knight clan. They were a tight bunch, or so he’d read. None of them interested him much except Maximus Xavier Knight, heir to the throne.

  Maximus Knight was Lucius’s half brother, a brother Lucius had known nothing of until that fateful night at the hospital when Charlotte Knight let the cat out of the bag about Jocelyn’s longstanding affair with her husband. But it was Maximus whom Lucius longed to know. He’d always wanted a brother, someone to talk to and, in this case, since Lucius was older, look after.

  But that had never happened, thanks to his mother’s machinations. Much, he was sure, to Charlotte’s disdain, he was here with his mother, Jocelyn, since she too had been named in the will along with him. But he wasn’t alone—his fiancée was by his side.

  What would he do without his Naomi?

  Lucius certainly wouldn’t have come here to this mausoleum the Knights called a house, but he also wouldn’t have found the love of his life. How could he have known that hearing about that IPO a year ago would cause him to buy up stock in Brooks and Johnson and lead him to this moment? Lucius certainly wouldn’t have thought it.

  He’d been content with his bachelorhood until a feisty curly-haired beauty had entered his life. Meeting her was the single best thing to ever happen to him, and it was because of her that he would get through this day, no matter how hard.

  “Ahem.” A loud cough echoed from the front of the room as Robert Kellogg, Arthur’s attorney, stood in front of the small gathering in the library of the Knight family home. “Thank you all for coming and attending the reading of the will for the late Arthur Knight, one of my oldest and dearest friends.”

  Lucius rolled his eyes upward. When he did, he caught sight of Maximus watching him warily from across the room as he sat with his mother, Charlotte, holding her hand. He sat rigidly upright in his chair in a classic suit that spoke of old money.

  “Well, let’s get right down to it,” Robert said. He pulled out the legal document from his briefcase and began reading. “‘I, Arthur Knight...’”

  From his side, Naomi squeezed Lucius’s hand, and he gave her a sideward glance. She mouthed, You okay?

  He nodded and lowered his head. He wished Kellogg would just get on with it. Lucius couldn’t care less about the old man’s bequests to charitable organizations or giving away his most prized jewelry, vehicles and horses. Why was he here? What was the purpose? Arthur Knight had never claimed him in life. Why should he claim him in death?

  He soon learned.

  “When it comes to the disposition of Knight Shipping, I bestow 49 percent equally to my firstborn son, Lucius Knight, and to my youngest, Maximus Xavier Knight, with 2 percent to my dear girl, Tahlia Armstrong, for always listening to an old man.”

  “What!” Maximus rose to his full height and glared over at Lucius. “What the hell, Robert? He—” he pointed to Lucius “—gets half of Knight Shipping?” He shook his head. “I won’t accept this. I’ve been groomed to run this c
ompany since the day I was born.”

  “He’s right.” Lucius rose from his chair, shaking off Naomi’s pleas to sit down. “This can’t be—you must have gotten it wrong. Why would he leave me stock? I don’t know anything about the shipping business.”

  “It’s true,” Robert advised. “It was your father’s wish that both his sons run his empire, Lucius. And you’ll learn.”

  “I can’t believe this.” Stunned, Lucius sat down with his head between his hands. “Why would he do this? What could it possibly accomplish?”

  “It was your father’s desire that you two—” Robert looked at both men “—learn to work together, to become brothers one day. He felt like he owed you that after keeping you apart.”

  “And how are we supposed to do that?” Maximus bellowed.

  “One day at a time,” a feminine voice said from behind them.

  Both Lucius and Maximus turned to stare at the quiet yet stunningly gorgeous woman standing behind them. “And who the heck are you?”

  “I’m Tahlia Armstrong, your partner.”

  * * * * *

  Keep reading for an excerpt from ONLY FOR YOU by Jacquelin Thomas.

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  Only for You

  by Jacquelin Thomas

  Chapter 1

  Jordin DuGrandpre stared out her office window, immersed in sights and sounds of the downtown business district. In 1960, her grandfather Marcelle founded the first African American–owned law firm in Charleston, South Carolina. DuGrandpre Law Offices was in its new location, four floors above bustling Broad Street. Marcelle’s esteemed legacy had continued with twin sons Etienne and Jacques DuGrandpre and their children.

  Etienne’s daughter Jordin loved this city of her birth and could never imagine living anywhere else. She adored everything about Charleston—the waterfront park, the food...everything.

  “I guess you heard the news about Boot Camp Gym.”

  Turning away from her office view of downtown, Jordin faced her twin sister. “Jadin, I didn’t hear you come in,” she stated.

  “I noticed.” She gestured toward the window. “This view is absolutely stunning.”

  Jordin gave a slight nod of agreement. “I did hear about the new gym. I actually went by there a few days ago. I’m really happy for Ethan.” She felt a warm glow flow through her.

  Jadin sat down in one of the visitor chairs. “I am too,” she murmured. “It’s good to see how things worked out for him.”

  “Ethan had a lot going on back then—more than any of us knew.” Jordin and Ethan Holbrooke had been friends since they were in middle school. She still remembered the day he left as if it had been yesterday, although eleven years had passed. She had been sixteen at the time and heartbroken over losing her best friend.

  “Are you still infatuated with him?” Jadin inquired, leaning forward in her seat, looking at Jordin as if she were trying to figure out what she was thinking. “You don’t have to say anything because I’m sure I already know the answer to that question.”

  “I will always care about Ethan.”

  A grin spread across her sister’s face. “I knew it. You still have feelings for him.”

  Jordin stared into golden-brown eyes that mirrored her own. “Drop it, Jadin. I haven’t seen Ethan in a long time. Besides, I’m sure he’s forgotten all about me. Especially since he never once tried to contact me after he left.” She swallowed the hurt she felt behind Ethan’s actions. He had promised to keep in touch no matter what.

  “But you haven’t forgotten about him though.” Jadin’s voice pulled Jordin away from her thoughts.

  She did not confirm or deny her sister’s statement.

  “Have you heard if he’s moving back here or just opening the gym?” Jadin inquired.

  “I haven’t,” she responded, “but I’m hoping that he will come back to Charleston to stay. I’ve missed him.”

  “This man is not the same boy and teenager you remember, Jordin. Besides, he may be married with a family. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

  She detected a hint of censure in her sister’s tone. “He’s not married,” Jordin announced. “It was mentioned in another article I came across.”

  “But it doesn’t mean that he’s exactly free and single either,” Jadin countered.

  “I know...” she responded with a soft sigh. “It’s not like I’m planning a wedding or setting my hopes and dreams on Ethan. I just want to reconnect with him. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

  “Not as long as your expectations are realistic.”

  A tall, slender woman dressed in a pair of navy blue pants and a crisp powder-blue blouse appeared in the doorway.

  “Mom, what are you doing here on a Monday?” Jordin asked. The only time Eleanor usually came by the office was for a weekly lunch date with her husband on Wednesdays.

  “Your father wanted to see me,” she responded. “He just informed me that another DuGrandpre is joining the firm.”

  Jordin noted her mother did not seem thrilled by the news. “Is it Andre? He’s been talking about leaving New Orleans for a while now.” Eleanor did not care much for her nephew’s choice in the criminals he often represented. In truth, Jordin felt the same way about her cousin.

  Eleanor shook her head no. “It’s not Andre.”

  “Then who is it?” Jadin inquired.

  “Your brother.” Eleanor’s tone was coolly disapproving.

  “Austin is coming to Charleston,” Jordin uttered in surprise. “I wonder how his mother feels about his decision to work with Dad.” Her father was married briefly to a woman named Irene and Austin was born out of that union.

  When Etienne DuGrandpre married Jordin’s mother, Irene left Charleston vowing that Etienne would never see his son again. Although she could not manipulate the court system in her favor, Irene was successful in alienating her son from his father by making him believe that Etienne loved his twin daughters more. By the time he was sixteen, Austin wanted little to do with his father.

  “How does Dad feel about this?” Jordin questioned.

  “He’s ecstatic, of course. This is something he’s always wanted.”

  “Mom, how do you feel about this?” Jadin wanted to know.

  “I’m not sure,” Eleanor responded candidly
. “I just find it interesting that a man who has had nothing to do with his father for years suddenly wants to work in the family law firm. I’m suspicious of his motives.”

  “I have to admit I’m feeling the same way,” Jordin confessed. “I was surprised when I heard that Austin decided to study law and now this...” She gave a slight shrug. “I don’t know. Maybe he really wants to connect with the father he barely knew.”

  Eleanor sat down in the empty chair next to Jadin. “Your father tried to be there for Austin but was rejected at every turn. His mother turned him against his own father. It still angers me to think of it.” She retained her affability, but there was a distinct hardening of her eyes.

  “Austin’s a grown man,” Jadin stated. “Maybe he’s ready to repair his relationship with Dad. He may not have any ulterior motives.”

  “All we can do is wait and see how this goes,” Eleanor stated. “I just don’t want your father to be disappointed.”

  Jordin nodded in agreement as she checked her watch. “I have to go. I need to head over to the courthouse to meet with my client. I’ll give you a call later, Mom.” She began placing documents into her tote.

  “I think I’ll go with you,” Jadin said. “I haven’t seen you in action in a while. Besides, I want to see how this case goes.”

  “I believe in our justice system, so I’m sure my client will win. We have a lot of strong evidence to support his claims.”

  “I’ll go get my purse.”

  Jordin grabbed her tote, and then said, “Meet me at the car. I am going to walk down with Mom.”

  Jadin rose to her feet. “I’ll be right behind you.”

  Eleanor looped her arm through Jordin’s. “I hope you are not spending all of your free time alone.”

  “I’m not, Mom. I’m not dating anyone, but I still manage to get out with friends and have a good time.”

  “I know that you want to have a husband and family at some point—it won’t happen unless you meet someone.”

  Jordin smiled. “I don’t just want to meet any man, Mom. I want the right one.” As far as she was concerned, there was only one man perfect for her. The problem was that she hadn’t heard from him in years.