Clarity (The Seductors #3.5)

by B. L. Wilde

  “You really are smitten, Oliver,” he chuckled, taking my note. “I’ll see to everything. I presume you’ve taken care of her travel arrangements?”

  “Yes, it’s all explained in the note.”

  “This power core…all your research has been destroyed, is that correct?” he suddenly asked in concern. I was a smart man. I had informed the World Leaders and the general of the prototype, not the real core. It still had enough power to worry them, though. Regardless, I didn’t trust anyone with the true information. Only Jade and Macy. Not that it mattered now. Macy had destroyed everything. I’d been wrong to fund the testing for so long. If it hadn’t been for the hope of finding a better energy source, I would have pulled the plug years ago.

  “Yes. I need to reacquire the prototype from Imogen Windom, though.”

  “I can see to that. You go, make your preparations. It’s all in good hands.” Grinning from ear to ear, I left. I trusted General Johnson with my life. He’d been a wonderful friend to my father and a huge support to me over the years.

  Now all I had to do was get my ass to London before Jade arrived.

  It still felt surreal holding this precious woman in my arms. I needed to pinch myself just to be sure I was here.

  “That was even better than the first time against this wall,” Jade whispered into my ear. I’d never seen her eyes look so alive before. Her cheeks were flushed, her breathing erratic. She’d never looked more beautiful.

  “You wait until I get you in the bedroom,” I hummed, playing with the zipper on her dress. I was such an animal when it came to her. I hadn’t even bothered to undress her while I’d fucked her against the wall. Having to remove her panties would have wasted precious time, so I just pulled them to the side.

  “What are you waiting for, then?” I loved a challenge. Taking her hand in mine, I led her into the bedroom.

  “I’m going to show you what it’s like to be truly mine.” Slowly, I pulled the zipper down on her dress, pushing it off her body. No bra…heaven! She was so perfect, my cock was leaking at the thought of being inside her. As I ran my fingertips down her bare back, her breath hitched. “Go and sit in the middle of the bed,” I ordered. She did as I asked, which surprised me. I’d learned how forceful Jade could actually be in the bedroom, and I was looking forward to watching the dynamics of our relationship. It was clear we both liked to lead.

  “Are you joining me?” she purred, hugging her knees as she tried to act innocent. I now knew she was far from that, and I loved her even more for it. Quickly, I stripped in front of her. Her eyes were fixed on me as I crawled up the bed. My cock was already standing tall and proud. She was still wearing her panties, but I planned on ruining them like all the others before.

  I came up behind her, pulling her flush against my chest.

  “I’m going to caress every inch of your skin with my fingers and lips,” I whispered, sucking on her earlobe. At my words, she went slack against my chest. I began at her shoulder, exploring my way across her back to her other shoulder. My hand moved around to her front, massaging her breasts, teasing her nipples by rolling my thumbs over them. Her head fell back and rested in the crook of my neck as I moved my hands lower over her ribs. “Spread your legs, Beautiful.” I couldn’t wait to see how wet she was for me already. I moved closer, using my own legs as leverage to keep hers apart. I was about to drive her crazy, and I wanted her legs open as wide as possible for it. I wanted her orgasms to ripple through her entire body.

  My hand snuck into her panties while I continued to place soft kisses against her shoulder and neck. She was gloriously wet.

  “O…oh, Oliver,” Jade moaned, lifting her ass slightly as she rocked to the gentle rhythm of my fingers stroking her clit.

  “I’ll spend every single day worshipping you like this if you want.”

  “Yes!”

  “I’ll fuck you raw some days, too. You seem to have that effect on me.” I chuckled, pulling on her earlobe with my teeth, which caused her to inhale sharply. Even now it amazed me that I could have this kind of power over her. I mean, she was a Seductor, or had been a few hours ago. Surely she’d met many CEOs in her line of work, but I must have been different. I’d seen it in her eyes when I found her in San Francisco…maybe even sooner. Jade loved me. I may have gone to the extreme in setting her free, but she was it for me. I would never want anyone else.

  Jade began to fight against my legs holding hers. She was close, I could feel her body begin to convulse as I continued to tease her clit. “You’ll need to absorb the pleasure, Beautiful. I’m not going to let you move.”

  “O…Oh, please,” she begged. I held her tighter, quickening my pace. Then she fell, screaming out my name while she struggled to control her orgasm.

  “That’s what it feels like to be truly mine,” I purred into her ear moments later.

  “I’m an extremely lucky lady,” she panted, turning to look at me while she caught her breath. We were both lucky. Jade had a playful look in her eye. Something told me it was payback, and I’d suffer gladly, all in the name of love.

  “What?” my uncle bellowed. “You’re taking her back again! After everything she has done?” He didn’t know the half of it. That Jade was hired to steal from me. He didn’t even know the power core and machine had even existed. It was dangerous giving my uncle too much information. After all, he was greedy when it came to the Kirkham wealth. My father had always warned me to keep our total profits concealed from Richard. It was more to protect my uncle than the business. Wealth can become a dark obsession to some people and affect their judgments. Father had always been wary that would happen to my uncle, and I was in the same predicament.

  “We’ve worked through our issues. We love each other, which is all I care about.”

  “She isn’t right for you!”

  “Yes she is! I didn’t invite you here for your advice. I invited you to tell you that we are back together and it’s for keeps this time.”

  “Until she runs again.”

  “She won’t run,” I snapped. “We’ve confided in each other.”

  “What the hell does that mean? You are a fool, Oliver!”

  “She’s been running from her family. Her real name is Jade Phillips, not Gibbs.” I had to give him a few facts and make him understand. I wasn’t about to let him treat her the way he had before. He had no idea what she had done for me, or the entire world. Jade and I had spoken about this earlier.

  “Running from what?”

  “That isn’t any of your concern. I’m trying to make you understand. You can’t judge Jade when you don’t know the whole story.”

  “Which I’ll never know, it would appear.”

  “I love her, Uncle. Can’t you just be happy for me?”

  “I don’t like her! She always makes you keep things from me!” He began storming off. “That woman will destroy you!” he spat, turning to look at me with hate-filled eyes before slamming my front door behind him. His voice echoed around my New York apartment. I was hoping it would have gone a little better than that.

  Jade and Mrs. Davis were out shopping so I could talk to my uncle alone. We had only been back together for a few weeks, and I’d kept putting off talking to him about her. I was so blissfully happy, I didn’t want him to taint that. He’d be angry—I knew that—but even I was shocked at his outburst. I couldn’t understand what his problem was. It was my life, not his!

  Leaning on the balcony that stretched the entire length of my penthouse, I heard my front door open and close. Jade was back.

  “It was that bad, huh?” she commented, noticing the glass of red wine in my hand. It wasn’t like me to drink wine in the afternoon.

  “He was angrier than I expected him to be.”

  “It’s because he cares.” She wrapped her arms around me, hugging me tightly against her.

  “No, it’s because he thinks he can dictate my actions!”

  “Have the two of you ever sat down in a room and talked ab
out your issues with each other?”

  “My uncle…talk?” I snorted. “I’d get more understanding from a brick wall.”

  “You can be just as stubborn at times.” She watched me cautiously.

  “Me? Stubborn?” I teased with a glint in my eye.

  “Yes, you! Give him some time. Once he sees that I’m not going anywhere this time, he’ll come around. I’m sure of it. He’s doing all this because he loves you.”

  “I’m so lucky to have you.” I nipped at her neck, wary of my wine glass as she shuffled in my arms. “You calm me so quickly.”

  “You held a meeting with the world leaders to save me. I’d say I’m the lucky one.”

  “And how are you enjoying your freedom, Miss Phillips?” I loved watching her eyes light up when I used her real last name.

  “Truthfully?” she whispered, drawing her lips closer to mine. I swallowed hard, nodding. The power this woman had over me… She intoxicated me. “This is the happiest I’ve ever been.”

  “Good, Beautiful. That’s what I like to hear.” I pressed my lips against hers, and all my worries about my uncle faded away. Jade was happy, and that was all that mattered to me.

  I was restless. Jade had been in Washington DC all week, settling into her job. I’d been too tied up with my own work to join her, though.

  “You could come home, you know,” I mumbled over the phone, playing with my pen. I was sulking. She could probably tell.

  “I would if I could, but I have a job to do. You don’t know how cunning Sonia—I mean Jennifer—can be. I’m doing this to keep you safe, too. I’m not taking any chances.”

  “Have you found anything yet?”

  “She seems to be behaving herself right now, but I still have their backup files to check.”

  “You are being thorough.”

  “She’ll already be planning to take you down. That’s how she works! She is ruthless! She’s lost the control of her company because of you, so she’ll be after your blood!”

  “You don’t know that. And besides, she can’t touch me. I have eyes and ears everywhere, but more importantly, I have you.”

  “It will take more than me to keep you safe, Oliver. That’s why I need to use all the resources I have.”

  “Beautiful, stop worrying. It’s all under control. We have other things to worry about first, anyway.”

  “Have you set up our meeting with Imogen?” She knew me so well.

  “Yes. It’s next Monday.” Jade was excited to be attending the meeting with me. Honestly, I was looking forward to seeing Imogen's face when she saw us walk in together.

  “When are you flying home?”

  “In a few days,” Jade chuckled. “You asked me the same question this morning.”

  “And you can’t come home now?”

  “It’s only been four days!” she giggled.

  “Exactly! That’s why you should come home.” She was going to say something when a male voice called her.

  “I have to go.”

  “Who’s that?”

  “Miles. He’s helping me check the backup files.”

  “Shouldn’t he be inventing something? That’s what I pay him for, isn’t it?”

  “The government pays for him, too. I asked if he could help me. There’s a lot to go through, and I’m still learning. You can’t drop a job like this on me and expect me to just be able to cope.”

  “You need to have more faith in yourself. You don’t need that nerd helping you. Besides, it wasn’t me who hired you.”

  “You know that isn’t easy for me, and you recommended me to General Johnson, remember? That’s kind of the same thing." She moved away from the phone. “I’ll be there in a few minutes, Miles. Hang on.”

  “Does he know you’re talking to your boyfriend?”

  “Yes,” she snorted. “You’re not getting jealous, are you?”

  “Of course I am. He’s there with you and well, I’m here.”

  “You could fly to me. You have a private plane.” Could I? I’d already attended all the important meetings this week. Maybe I could surprise her. It would only be for a few days. I could put Miles in his place, too.

  He didn’t like me because he had feelings for Jade. It was written all over his face when we first met. I’d told him that I was releasing her from The Seductors. He didn’t seem to like the idea at first, until I explained that he would be moving, too.

  “I wish I could, Beautiful,” I sighed, pulling up my appointments on my computer. I only had four tomorrow, and I was sure Sylvia would be able to reschedule them for next week. Most were overseas conference calls anyway. I could do a few on the jet if I had to.

  “Shame. My bed is awfully big here. It was so hot last night that I had to sleep naked too.” The little minx.

  “Miles better not still be listening.”

  “He’s not. I’m alone.”

  “You’re not the only one that can tease over the phone.”

  “I don’t have time for your dirty mouth right now. I need to focus.”

  “My dirty mouth wants to do a lot of things to you. In fact, it wishes it was in between your legs right now.”

  “Oh God!”

  “I miss tasting you, Beautiful.”

  “I need to go. Bye.”

  “If you must,” I snorted, knowing she was getting flustered. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too. You’ll call me before you go to sleep later, right?”

  “Of course. I can’t sleep without hearing your voice. I’ll speak to you later, Beautiful.” Jade sighed, saying goodbye before we both hung up.

  I reached for my intercom. “Yes, Mr. Kirkham?” Sylvia asked.

  “I need you to cancel all my meetings until Monday, and can you arrange the jet please?”

  “Where will you be heading?”

  “Washington DC.”

  “I’ll get to it right away.” To an outsider, I may have looked like a lovesick fool. Oh, who was I kidding? I was a lovesick fool. I needed to see Jade. A week was too long to be without her.

  “This is a pleasant surprise, Oliver.” General Johnson greeted me once I’d gone through the security checks.

  “How is Jade doing?” I asked, shaking his hand.

  “You were right about her. She’s invaluable. She’s given us so much information already.”

  “Where is she?”

  General Johnson motioned toward one of his staff. “Jones, can you escort Mr. Kirkham to Miss Phillips’ office, please?” I followed the guy down corridor after corridor. How did Jade not get lost in this place? When we got there, her office was empty. After asking around, I discovered she’d gone to get some fresh air.

  My heart was racing as I followed my guide outside. I could see Jade in the distance with her back to me, sitting at a table with Miles. This guy was starting to piss me off. He must have alerted her to my presence because she suddenly turned around. She quickly got up and rushed over to me.

  “You came!” she gasped, falling into my arms as I picked her up off the ground and swung her around, kissing the breath out of her.

  “You seem to have an effect on me. I can’t keep away,” I whispered as our lips parted.

  “What about your appointments?”

  “There was nothing that couldn’t wait until Monday,” I smirked, running my hands through her hair. Miles had finally reached us. “It’s good to see you again, Miles.” I greeted, holding a hand out to him while my other arm was still wrapped securely around Jade.

  “You, too, Mr. Kirkham,” he mumbled. “If you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”

  “Was it something I said?” I frowned at Jade once he’d gone. Secretly, I was pleased that he had run off.

  “You intimidate him,” she grinned. “Though I have no idea why. You’re not that scary. Even I could beat your ass.”

  “I have no doubt that you could.” Pulling her toward me, I brushed my lips against hers. “But let’s leave the dominating behavior for later�
�preferably when we’re in bed.”

  “Mmmm…that sounds like a great idea.”

  “Are you going to show me around your office? How are things going?”

  “Sure. I need to talk to you, anyway. I think we have a slight problem. One I should have thought of ages ago.” Jade knew me by now. I didn't do problems.

  “That’s it?” I mused, leaning against her desk, trying to hide my amusement.

  “Oliver, if any of these men find out that I’m with you, it’ll make you a target. I stole from them.”

  “At someone else’s request,” I pointed out. “I don’t understand why you’re so worried.”

  “Some of these people were politicians and businessmen. What if we run into them? Not to mention the crime lords and drug dealers. Here I was worrying about Sonia—I mean Jennifer—when there was a even bigger threat.”

  “I saw your mission files before I came for you in San Francisco. There were only ten men dangerous enough that I needed to put a tracker on them.”

  “Y...you put a tracker on them? All ten of them?” she gasped.

  “I needed to make sure you were safe once you were free of The Seductors, Jade. You really don’t need to worry, okay? There were a few that easily took a pay off, so I didn’t bother putting a tracker on them. I’ve spoken to the Politicians that you’re concerned about, too.”

  “When?”

  “Before London,” I smirked, taking a sip of water. Did she really think I would have let any of those assholes near her again? Watching her with Mr. Stone in San Francisco was more than enough for me. I didn’t want any of her past catching up with her again…ever!

  “Jesus, Oliver! Why didn’t you tell me? I’ve been going out of my mind! I was trying to work out a way of telling you so you didn’t freak out!”

  “I’m sorry. It must have slipped my mind. I’ve also set restrictions with the press. I don’t want your face all over newspapers and gossip magazines now that you've snapped up the hottest bachelor in New York.”

  She gave me a look of disbelief before speaking. “That ego of yours is showing again.”