“I love the interaction and my team. We do good work. However, I’m getting buried in reports and your requests for summations of reports. Jimmy, I read everything that comes across my desk, I want you to know that. I feel like you’re assigning me tasks because you don’t trust that I’m keeping up my end, monitoring the business.” She sat back in her chair and took a drink of water.
“That wasn’t my intent.” Jimmy shifted in his chair, putting both arms on the table.
“I’m burning out. The sixteen hour days are more than I can handle. They are more than I want to handle. I work and I sleep, that’s all.”
“That’s no life,” he scanned her face. “You do look a little tired, honey.”
“I am tired. Plus, I want to have a life, some time to enjoy things. Right now, I’m trapped.” She dropped her eyes to the table, while she fought for composure. “You have good people in place, Jimmy. People who can write great summaries and run numbers for you.”
“So you’re telling me to use them.” His voice was quiet but still held so much authority.
“I’m recommending that you utilize their skills and experience. Together, we can make The Red Rose even better.”
Jimmy sat silently for a few beats. “I’m spoiled. You are brilliant, and you know what I want without me having to ask.”
She gave him a gentle smile. “Well you did pay for my fancy education, and I think you started my training when you adopted me.”
“Honey, your training started when your father drove us in the mornings and dropped you off at nursery school,” he chuckled.
“I need to cut back, Dad.” Her voice broke.
“Baby, I want you to have a life. I never intended for work to take over yours. It sounds like I’ll have to make adjustments. It’s going to be hard; you’ve spoiled your old man, having your brain and good sense available all of the time.” He sat back in his chair. “However, what you ask is fair and you have my word that I will try.”
A hundred pounds lifted from her shoulders. “Thanks.”
“Would your interest in Remington Cooper have anything to do with this request?” His twinkling eyes stared into hers, now the dad inquisition began.
“Perhaps,” she played with the base of her wine glass. “Let’s just say that since the Chicago conference, I’ve learned that there’s more to life than The Red Rose.”
***
Team 2 stepped up and were shouldering more responsibilities, and they ensured she left work after nine hours.
She missed Remy. They talked every day, but she found that she missed him physically. She missed the intimacy and the sex. During this extended period apart, there had been a few disagreements. The biggest being over Trevor.
Somehow, the man had found her cell number. He began texting her soon after she returned from Denver. When she mentioned it to Remy, he wasn’t pleased. Obviously, Trevor didn’t get her number from him, and when she asked how he could’ve found it, Remy answered, “Trevor has his ways.”
Lacey and eight of her friends had spent last weekend at The Red Rose and had a very good time. In fact, Rico and Francesca had to bail two of the ladies out of jail for urinating behind bushes in front of Caesar’s. Of course, this wasn’t the first time they’d made the trip to take care of wayward guests.
Lacey had gone into hysterics. She’d placed a panicked call to her fiancé, who in turn called Remy.
Some issues had been festering between them for weeks. They’d gone back and forth earlier in the week over the phone, and she had said without thinking, “I think we could iron this out if we were face to face.”
Two hours later, he’d sent a text. Saturday, meet me at the Marriott in Kansas City.
She had replied, Are you serious?
He’d answered immediately. Say yes, Frankie, and I’ll send you the info. We need this.
She had been walking the casino floor with Hadley when the text came in. Of course, her best friend started making arrangements for her to go. So here she was waiting in the hotel room for Remy to arrive. His flight had landed forty minutes ago, and he was in a cab.
She was nervous. Stupidly nervous. Unable to stay still, Francesca walked to the mirror over the in-room desk and checked her appearance again. The first thing she had done after checking in was change into one of Remy’s dress shirts that she had borrowed during her stay in his townhouse. It was light blue oxford cloth, and she had buttoned only two buttons below her breasts, and wore a pair of navy satin panties underneath it.
She heard a keycard unlock the door, and Remy’s big body filled the doorway. He was in a white knit shirt and faded jeans. He let the door slam shut behind him as he dropped his duffle bag. She ran into his open arms.
Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled his head closer and kissed him hard. Her tongue licked the seam of his lips, and as soon as he granted her access, their tongues met. His hand cradled the back of her head and the other palmed her ass. The kiss was hot and hungry.
She needed him, to touch him and to taste him. She had missed this man. She lowered her hand, stroking over his hard chest then moving lower to his belt. She grasped the leather and unthreaded it from the buckle. She pulled the belt loose, and then unbuttoned the denim.
He took a small step, turning so that his back rested against the wall. Remy made a sound deep in his throat. His hands had dropped to his zipper. “Careful Frankie, I’m so hard, I ache.”
“Need you, now.” She felt the denim open and separate, and her hands were on him. His cock was so hard, and yet the skin was so satiny soft. She ran her index finger over the head.
He sucked in a lungful of air.
She pushed his jeans down his hips so that she had total access to his cock. She dropped to her knees and took him into her mouth. She sucked him as deeply as she could.
“Fuck, Frankie, you’re killing me,” he groaned.
A sizzle of excitement spread through her body. She backed off and ran her tongue along the vein on the underside. She resumed sucking him, hollowing her cheeks. She palmed his balls gently, rolling them in their sac.
“Babe, I’m almost there,” he panted as his hand grasped her hair.
She moved her hands to his hips, holding him tightly to her face as he fucked her mouth. She loved it when she broke his control. He was close, and she sucked harder, taking him deep.
She felt the muscles in his thighs flex, and his balls were drawn tightly.
“Frankie,” he growled as he came, his hands tightening on her shoulders painfully.
She slowly released his cock then sank back onto her heels. She panted and rested her cheek against his thigh, giving him time to recover.
“Jesus, babe, I didn’t even get into the room.” He chuckled as he fought to catch his breath.
“I missed you.” She hid her smile against his thigh.
“Glad to hear it.” He ran his hand over her head. “How far is the bed?”
She stood slowly, using his arm to assist. “Bed sounds good.”
He followed her to the king-size bed and tore his shirt over his head. He dropped to the edge of the bed to pull off his boots, shucked off his socks, and lost his jeans.
She admired how he was so comfortable naked. He pulled her to stand between his open thighs, looking up into her eyes.
“I loved the blow job, but we’ve got to get some shit straight between us. You know that, right?”
She did. She stared into his steady gaze, seeing his concern. “I know.” She also knew that his cock was stirring. “I also know that you’re naked and on a bed. I suggest you fuck me—and then we can talk.” She ran her hands through his hair.
His hand stroked up her right thigh to the elastic of her panties. “How wet are you?”
She widened her stance as his finger breached the elastic. “Very. For you.”
His finger found her outer lips. “Nice,” he hissed. “I love it that you’re always ready for me.” His finger stroked her, moving closer to her
core.
She moved to pull her panties down.
“No.” He stopped stroking and pulled his fingers away. “I’m in charge now.” He pulled her head closer and kissed her with heat.
She was lost in his kiss. He did some kind of wrestling move, and suddenly, she was under him on the bed. He straddled her hips wearing a huge smile. His hands moved to the buttons on her shirt.
He arched a brow. “The shirt looks familiar,” he said as he opened the last button.
“I borrowed it when I was in Indy.” She ran her hands over his thickly muscled shoulders.
“Keep it, it looks much better on you.” He pulled the shirt apart, and then his hands were on her breasts. “Missed your tits,” he said, and gave her nipples a twist.
She smirked. “Missed having your hands on them.”
“Feeling a little sassy?” He smiled and bent toward her breasts.
“Maybe a little.” She squealed as his lips closed on a nipple.
He sucked her nipple into his hot mouth, pulling hard on one and then switching to the other.
She loved how he used his mouth on her. She squirmed under Remy’s weight. The torture was so exquisite, she didn’t know if she was moving away from his mouth or toward it.
He moved lower, placing openmouthed kisses down her stomach.
She grabbed a handful of hair and yanked. “Remy, fuck me now. I need you.”
“Babe, I wanna taste you. I’ve been dreaming about having my tongue in your pussy.” He continued to move, nearing his goal.
She loosened her hold on his hair. “Well, if you insist,” she ground out and heard his deep chuckle.
He spread her legs wider to accommodate his shoulders. She couldn’t wait to feel his mouth on her. He pushed her legs over his shoulders, tilting her hips so that she was more open.
She felt his hot breath on her sensitive tissue before he touched her. He licked her from bottom to top, and she let out a cry. “Oh God, Remy,” she whispered, feeling her orgasm building just from the touch of his tongue.
He wasn’t messing around today; he was going all in. He focused on her clit, rubbing it with the flat of his tongue, and then backing off and blowing on it.
She felt as though her body levitated off of the mattress. She thrashed her head side to side, trying to chase the feelings that were almost overwhelming her.
He used his hands to hold her hips still as his tongue entered her body. He fucked her over and over as his strong hands held her still.
She was close to coming, but then he pulled back. “What the fuck?” she cursed, furious that he had backed off when she was so close.
He moved over her body again and kissed her, his tongue thrusting in her mouth.
She could taste herself on him. She loved the mix of their flavors.
Again, he pulled back. “Put me inside you, Frankie.”
With a shaky hand, she took his cock as her other hand separated her inner lips and cleared the way for him to slide into her channel.
When he filled her completely, he stilled.
She was stretched and felt so full. “Oh God, Remy,” she whispered in a rough voice.
“Christ, you’re so hot and wet. I love this, being inside you.” His blue eyes had darkened with hunger.
He pulled out then pushed back inside, then repeated the movement, hard and rough.
She loved it. She looped her ankles around his waist and tilted her hips so that he stroked something really good every time he pulled away. She felt the pressure build again, this time stronger, her body was on fire.
“God, babe, you’re squeezing me so tight. I’m gonna blow.” He panted with each thrust.
“Now, Remy, now,” she shouted as her orgasm took over.
He added a twist to his hips as he buried himself deep and came.
***
Remy was pretty sure that if they kept this up, he was going to die. They were both out of breath and covered in sweat. He glanced to his side. Francesca’s eyes were closed, but she was smiling.
“You okay?” he asked, wanting to know what she was thinking.
Her eyes stayed closed. “Better than okay. I’ve got to start hitting the gym. I’m dying here.”
“I hear you. I’m gonna add more miles to my run.” He smiled. He rolled onto his side and moved her hair off of her face.
Remy watched as Francesca slowly opened her eyes then studied his face. She beamed, looking satisfied and relaxed, so beautiful. Her hair was spread out over the pillow and her cheeks were still flushed.
His chest filled with warmth. “I’m glad you came, Frankie.”
“I’m glad, too.” Her eyes sparkled. “Oh, did you mean traveled here? Yeah, I’m happy I did that, too.”
“I think you want me to spank your ass tonight.” He liked the idea of Frankie over his thighs, her ass rosy from his hand.
“You throw out these warnings, yet you never follow through,” she teased and stretched her arms over her head, making her breasts bob enticingly.
He made himself look away from her body. “I need a beer. Want one?” He rolled to his side and sat on the edge of the bed.
“Yes, please.” She shimmied on the bed and kicked the comforter down.
He forced himself to walk to the fridge to grab the beers, instead of continuing to gaze at her lush body. When he returned to the bed, he handed her the cold bottle.
She waited until he was comfortable, and then she tapped her bottle against his.
For a few minutes, they drank in silence.
“Were you serious when you said that one of Lacey’s friends hit on Rico?” He didn’t try to hide his smile.
She nodded and laughed. “Oh yeah, she was one of the girls we had to bail out of jail. We picked her up, and she took one look at Rico and tried to crawl into the front seat and onto his lap.”
He smirked. “I bet he loved that.”
“She was still a mess and so mouthy. I finally pushed her back into her seat and told her that if she didn’t settle down, we’d take her straight to the airport. She called me every name in the book and a few that I’d never heard before.”
“Lacey sent me an e-mail saying that she and her parents were going to get you a special gift to make up for her friends’ bad behavior.”
“I just hope I don’t run into Gia at the wedding. I don’t appreciate being called a camel-fucker, repeatedly.”
He laughed. “That’s a new one. Where did that come from?”
“I have no idea. The other girl was a crier and kept apologizing. She sobbed the entire ride to the hotel. She was afraid her mug shot would be released on social media.” Frankie shook her head in disbelief.
“Well, you have a fan. Lacey thinks that you walk on water. You rescued her friends. Plus, she said the suite was great, and that you picked up the tab for their dinner.” He gave her a sideways look. Francesca considered it her job to take care of the guests, but he knew she had gone way beyond that for his friend’s fiancée.
Francesca shifted under his scrutiny. “Lacey seems sweet, and those things happen sometimes.” She shrugged.
“But you went out of your way to be nice to her and to take care of her party. You even enlisted Rico’s help.”
“Well, she’s marrying your friend, so of course I would take care of her.” She giggled. “Rico tagged along because he didn’t think that I could handle two drunk girls.”
“Seems Rico is always there to offer the assist,” he said, trying not to sound bitter.
“Rico has really stepped up and taken on more of my workload since our breakfast talk. He claims they set me straight. He really got my attention when he told me he didn’t want me to act as his back-up. That stung, but it hurt more because he was right. I was exhausted and that could have made me a liability.”
“Do you miss going out and mixing it up with the perps?” He was curious about this side of her.
“No, not really. I did it mostly because I couldn’t reconcile asking my pe
ople to put their safety on the line while I sat back and did nothing. It didn’t seem right.” She took another drink.
“That’s why you’re such a great manager. Your people respect you because you care about them.” Back at the Chicago conference, he’d listened closely to her during discussions about what happened on the floor. She was a businesswoman, but she never took for granted the people that she worked with.
“I trained, but when Rico took the position, he showed me what he wanted from me. When I work with him, I know what he expects and what he anticipates from me.”
“The guy knows what he’s doing. I might not like the way he looks at you, but I like that he’s there to watch over you.”
Her eyebrows drew together in a worried frown. “He’s been really supportive of us, so you should give him a break.” She bumped her shoulder into his, teasingly. “You’ve got nothing to worry about between me and him. I do love him, but I could never be in love with him. He’s got too many demons. I don’t think that I could make them go away. He’s a good friend to me but that’s all.”
He switched topics. “So have you heard from Trevor again?”
Her frown deepened to a scowl. “Nope.” She sighed loudly. “Look, I agreed to tell you every time that he’s messaged. Don’t make this into an issue, Remy, because it’s not.”
He raised his hand in mock surrender. “Whoa, I don’t want to fight over this.” He left off the “again” part.
“I didn’t want to fight about it the first time.” She chewed on her bottom lip as her eyes narrowed.
“I’ve been honest with you. You’re with me, and I’m possessive. Another man comes sniffing around, I’m not going to like it.” He knew that Francesca didn’t appreciate this side of his personality, but knowing that Ochoa worked with her, and now Trevor was texting, made him burn.
“I don’t even know how Trevor got my phone number. My phone beeped one day and the message said, ‘Hey, it’s Trevor.’ I was surprised. I told you that.” She was wiggling her foot, a sure sign she was aggravated.
“Trevor has his ways. If he wants your phone number or your credit report, he can get them.”
“He’s a hacker?”
All In (Casino Nights #2) Page 8