“We’re still on for tonight, right?” Bram lightly taps on my door and walks into my office.
“Yeah.” I look up at him and nod. “I got a text message from Ainsley a few minutes ago. She should be here in a couple of hours.”
“Awesome, I know Kiana is looking forward to it.” Bram sits. “It’s the first time she’s left the house since the baby was born. She’s going a little stir crazy.”
“I’m sure.” I glance at the picture of my grandson that is right next to the one from Bram and Kiana’s wedding. “It’s never easy to leave them alone for the first time.”
“No, but it has to happen eventually.” Bram smiles. “Thanks again for stepping up while I was out. You did a great job running the company.”
“Dan was a big help.” I nod. “He kept me sane when I was seconds away from losing my mind entirely.”
“He does have a way of doing that.” Bram chuckles. “Speaking of Dan, I wanted to ask you something.”
“What’s that?” I raise an eyebrow.
“How would you feel about him becoming a partner? He’s been here as long as we have and knows about as much as we do.” Bram shrugs. “Seems like he deserves it.”
“Technically he’s got more time in than I do, considering that I left…” I nod. “Yeah, I think he’d be a good fit. Why are you asking me anyway? You’re the boss.”
“That’s another thing I wanted to talk to you about.” He leans back in his chair. “I want to sell you your shares—the ones you sold me to pay Hudson’s debt.”
“Heh, no offense, Bram.” I look away and laugh. “I can’t really afford them.”
“You don’t have to pay me right now.” He holds up his hand. “I talked with the legal department, and they said we can set up a contract that will essentially let the shares pay for themselves. Ten percent of the earnings will go into an account until they’re paid off. The rest will go to you.”
“Bram, come on.” I shake my head. “That’s far too generous. I don’t deserve that, not after leaving you in a lurch like I did when I left.”
“The contract is already drawn up. It’s a done deal.” He shrugs.
“I haven’t signed it…” I raise an eyebrow.
“No, but your paycheck gets directly deposited every month. That’s where your portion is going whether you sign it or not.” He laughs. “I’m also going to start giving you about half of my workload—so you’re going to earn it, trust me.”
“I guess you do need to be there for Kiana and the baby.” I sigh. “Okay, I’ll sign the damn contract. The shares are going to Kiana anyway, after I’m gone.”
“You sure about that?” Bram raises an eyebrow. “Ainsley may want Kiana to have a little brother or sister one day.”
“Oh lord…” I lean back in my chair. “Another baby? I don’t know, man. I think I’m too old for that shit.”
“If I can do it, so can you.” Bram stands and taps on my desk. “Go ahead and get out of here. I don’t want you to be late for dinner.”
“Alright.” I stand and extend my hand. “Thank you, Bram. I mean that.”
We shake hands, and I watch Bram walk out of my office. I can’t believe I ever doubted he was anything other than my best friend. Yeah, it was shocking as hell to find out he was involved with my daughter, but she couldn’t be with a better man. I’m willing to admit when I make a mistake. I’ll torture myself more than anyone else ever could.
I leave the office and head to my apartment. There is an excitement inside me that I can’t quell. I always feel that when Ainsley is on her way. She texts me as soon as she gets to the parking lot, and I wait by the door until I see her through the peephole.
“Hello, gorgeous.” I smile as I open the door and pull her into my arms.
“Hello yourself.” She grins.
Our lips meet immediately. Every kiss between us is explosive, but the ones we share after being apart for a couple of weeks are always the best. I struggle not to pull her toward the bedroom. I want to so fucking bad, but we have to be at Bram’s house in an hour. We simply don’t have time.
“So, I was thinking…” Ainsley leans back as soon as our lips part. “You said we don’t have plans tomorrow night, right?”
“Nope, just tonight,” I confirm with a nod.
“What if we took another dance class? I looked it up online, and I found one that offers a variety of options. It won’t be just the two of us like last time, but it could still be fun.” She smiles and tilts her head slightly.
“We can do that.” I laugh. “As long as you are willing try something on for me after get back here.”
“Try something on?” She raises an eyebrow.
“It’s hanging on the back of the bathroom door. Why don’t you go have a look?” I point.
“Okay…” She gives me a side-eyed glance and then walks into the bathroom. “What is this?”
“You don’t like it?” I watch as she walks out of the bathroom holding a cheerleader outfit.
“It’s awesome, but…” She gives me a confused stare. “You usually aren’t the one suggesting this.”
“No.” I take a step toward her. “But you’ve been suggesting it less and less. I know you still enjoy it, and we said we were going to make sure we gave the fantasies and real-life equal time. I’m going to hold up my end of that bargain.”
“Thank you!” She smiles and gives me a hug.
“Just so you know…” I hold her close and press my lips to her ear. “You’re going to be in trouble with Principal Brooks and your daddy this weekend.”
“If you keep talking like that, I’m going to have to change my panties before we leave.” She exhales sharply.
“Then we better make sure they’re nice and dirty.” I pull up her dress and slide my hand between her thighs.
I feel like we’ve found equal footing with what we both need. It wasn’t perfect after she got out of the hospital. We still had some growing pains to get over, but it’s been months since we fought. It’s been weeks since Ainsley even asked if we could try one of her fantasies. I don’t want her to lose touch with them.
They’re a big part of who she is, and loving her means loving them as well.
Ainsley
It’s been one year since Sarah convinced me to trash Lawson’s office. Since then, I’ve shared so many of my firsts with him. So many that it’s hard to imagine another first without him in my life. Most of them are firsts that will never have a second, like the engagement ring he just put on my left hand, and the wedding ring that will join it.
I don’t get to experience many of Lawson’s firsts, but I get to experience him at his best. He’s an amazing man and a wonderful lover. He’s caring. He’s giving. He’s everything I could have wanted and more.
“Why do I have to keep my eyes closed?” I sigh as I feel the car make another turn. “You’re not driving me out to the middle of nowhere to kill me, are you?”
“Murder doesn’t usually follow the engagement.” He gives me a nudge. “That normally happens after the wedding.”
“Yeah, well, it’s pretty unfair that you put this ring on my finger and won’t even let me look at it.” I sigh. “Talk about torturing someone! I didn’t even get a chance to take a picture to show my mom!”
“Your mom saw the ring before you did.” He laughs. “Do you really think I would ask you to marry me without getting her blessing first?”
“Okay, I’ll calm down some.” I lean back against the seat.
Lawson continues to amaze me. Every day with him is an adventure, whether I’m the woman in his arms, or across his knee saying I’m sorry, Daddy. I didn’t even have to think twice when he asked me to marry him. I want to spend every single day with him that I can.
“You can open your eyes now.” Lawson squeezes my hand as the car comes to a stop.
“Finally!” I open my eyes and tilt my head in confusion. “Where are we?”
“A house.” He chuckles under his breath.
“Yeah, but why…” I look over at him.
“This is the first house the real estate agent is going to show us.” He points at a woman standing in the driveway. “She’s waiting.”
“You’re buying a house?” I finally put it all together.
“No.” He squeezes my hand again. “We’re buying a house. We have to have somewhere to live after we get married.”
“I just assumed we’d live in your apartment.” I raise both eyebrows in surprise. “It’s big enough.”
“For now.” He shrugs. “But I don’t really want to convert my office into a nursery, especially now that I have to work from home more than I used to.”
“Nursery?” I scoff. “I think I would know if I was pregnant.”
“I know it’s a ways off. You have to finish school first. This house does have more than enough room for a nursery; it has a pool, a jacuzzi tub, and there’s even a theater downstairs.” He smiles.
“Okay, I’m sold.” I reach over and open my door.
We hold hands as we walk to the house and get the grand tour from the real estate agent. Life is moving fast. It’s hard to keep up sometimes. A year ago, I was a foolish nineteen-year-old girl obsessing over every guy I met that checked a box in one of my fantasies. Now I’m back in school, engaged, and looking at the house I may be living in after we get married.
Am I ready to be a mom? I don’t know. Like Lawson said, it’s a ways off, but life will get me there at some point. Get us there.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned during my time with Lawson, it’s that real life is so much better than any fantasy I could come up with.
Cruel Temptations
Sample
Jaxon
Here comes the bride, all dressed in white…
I hummed the catchy, cliché tune as I attempted to make the perfect Windsor knot in my black tie. Black because weddings were just fancy funerals; a ceremony of marrying the wrong person and letting that person constrain the rest of your godforsaken fucking life by only doing what they want, slowly smothering you until you pray to finally be alone in that casket.
“Fuck this damn tie,” I sneered at my reflection in the mirror and, with a jerky motion, loosened the knot until I yanked the tie off from around the collar of the white button-up shirt.
“Need a hand?” Sebastian, my best friend, who was more like a brother to me, leaned against the wall with his hands in his pockets, smirking. I hated it when he smirked because it meant he could do something that I couldn’t. I didn’t like not being able to do something. I was the kind of man that made sure he knew how to do anything and everything.
But a tie? These damn things were my worst enemy, and that was saying something considering my profession and past. No matter how much I practiced, a tie always defeated me.
“No, I decided not to wear one. For your information.” It was a lie, and he knew it, but I didn’t like to admit weakness. He also knew that, so he never made me feel bad about that less than amazing quality about myself.
“Right.” He ran his fingers through his thick head of black hair and lifted his hand from his pocket to look at his Rolex. “We need to leave in five minutes.”
“I’m nearly ready,” I said, not admitting that out of all the jobs we have done together, this was the one I was nervous about.
We weren’t stealing art. We weren’t stealing diamonds, drugs, or money.
We were stealing a woman.
Someone who I have considered mine for an awfully long time.
Quinn Taylor. The only woman who has ever had my heart.
She was going to walk down the aisle today and marry the wrong man, the man who set me up and was the reason why I had to spend ten years of my life in prison for committing third-degree murder— something I did not do.
I got pinned for killing my pregnant sister. Tracy was my best friend. She was good. One of those people you could always count on. She was a much better person than I was. She didn’t deserve to die.
Ten years ago, I still got into shit I wasn’t supposed to, but I never killed anybody. I met Brian Marks, a guy around my age who wanted to get in the drug industry together and make a fortune. I didn’t do drugs, but selling them? A man could make millions. We decided if we went into business together, we would split profits fifty-fifty.
Everything changed when he met my sister. Brian got her pregnant, and when Tracy told him, he was high on cocaine and flipped out. She called me crying, and I got in my car and hurried over to calm her down, but when I got there, it was too late. She was dead.
I had run, what possibly could have happened, in my head a thousand times. It was simple. Brian was fucked up, then he freaked about being a father, and killed her, thinking it took care of a problem. It devastated me to lose Tracy. It was just us since I was eighteen and she was twenty when our parents died in a car accident.
Then Brian did the one thing I never thought he would do.
He sold me out to the cops. Saying he came home and found me strangling Tracy. His word held over mine because he didn’t have a record, and his daddy was in politics. So I did my time, held my tongue, and planned the day I saw him again.
Which would be today, and I couldn’t wait to see his face.
I have been out of prison now for about a year, staying underground with a few buddies and building up our reputation, our money, and waiting until we had the power to go after any personal issues we had.
Me and my friends, we weren’t like other felons. All of us are innocent. So we devised a plan. We couldn’t get a good job because of our records, and I wasn’t the kind of guy who didn’t enjoy the nicer things in life, so we stole.
But we only steal from other criminals.
Drugs, art, money, or whatever the hell was valuable, we planned a heist, and once we had it in our grasp, we sold it, whether it was illegally or at an auction, then we always donated a portion of the money because we were good people. We had hearts of black with flecks of gold.
A portion of the money. Keywords were important. Kindness didn’t pay the bills, so we kept a cut. Sebastian was an internet guru, and people thought we made our money because we got lucky in investing.
I guess, in a way, we did.
Now that we had our feet under us, we all had a bone to pick, and since I formed our little family, I got to go first. With all the heists we did, our revenge should be easy to accomplish.
We succeeded.
We conquered.
We lived like kings.
The Underground Kings. That was what the criminal world knew us as. No one knew our faces, no one knew where we lived, no one knew our reasons, so they bestowed us with the title of royalty, and we ran with it.
Life was fucking good, and for me, it was about to get better.
Not only did Brian Marks set me up, but he stole my girl, and today I was going to get her back. Not because I loved her anymore. This was about revenge. Brian took ten years of my life, and I was going to take ten years from theirs, stopping them from living happily ever after. And then, I was going to torture him until he confessed and cleared my name.
Maybe Quinn would see I wasn’t the monster she was made to believe me to be. We were each other’s first, everything. And when I was charged with murdering my sister, she broke up with me. Her lack of faith in me hurt, the fact that she didn’t know me better than that, so I let her think I did kill Tracy.
Quinn went and fell in love with the actual murderer, the traitor, and I didn’t fucking care about her happiness anymore. I wanted my ten years back.
Lie.
I knew deep down it was more than revenge, but love was a weakness in my world. It wasn’t what made the damn thing go round, money was.
“You ready yet? Jesus. We aren’t going to make it if you keep grooming yourself. You look pretty. Let’s go,” Sebastian said, snapping his fingers at me.
I hated it when he called me pretty. Men like me weren’t pretty.
�
��Everyone armed?” I asked, buttoning my cuff link as I strolled out of the hotel room.
“Is everyone armed?” Asher scoffed and opened the blazer of his suit to show he had a double holster strapped to his chest with a gun filling each. Asher Haven, also known as Heaven since is he was the pretty boy of the group and had a way with the ladies any time of the day, no matter where we were. Heaven was set up for assault and battery by an old ex. He only spent a few years in prison, so he still had an innocence about him I didn’t understand.
“What kind of question is that?” Owen, the oldest of the group at forty, shook his head. He was set up for murder too, only it was first-degree, and he spent twenty-two years in prison. And time really hardened him up.
“I was just checking. No need to get touchy about it,” I mumbled. I looked left and right down the hall. We were the only ones here. I made sure to rent out all the rooms so no one could bother us. The hotel was extravagant. Marble floors were under our Italian leather loafers and crystal chandeliers hung every few feet.
“Like we would ever forget to go into a job armed,” Grayson chimed in and shut the door behind him. He was accused of rape and served eight years. I knew his girlfriend accused him, and DNA evidence was there because they had sex earlier that day, so everything was against him. She cheated on him constantly, and instead of accusing the right meth head, she brought down a good man.
The group of us walked down the hall, dressed to perfection. We got onto the stainless-steel elevator, and I pressed the button for the lobby.
“Your nervous,” Owen eyed me up and down. “You are fidgeting.”
“I’m not,” I said weakly.
He gripped my arm and spun me around. I stared at where his hand gripped my bicep. I lifted a brow, wondering why he dared to touch me. The elevator descended, dinging every time we passed a floor. “Get your hands off me,” I said through tight teeth.
“We can’t do a job if you’re all jittery, Jaxon. Get your shit together,” he said.
Don't Call Me Daddy (Once Upon a Daddy) Page 17