by Marie Force
“I’m sorry, Father,” I say out loud, practicing. “I respect and admire the business you and Grandfather built, but finance is not in my blood. I’d be the worst possible person to take the helm after you’re gone, and I’m sure you’d prefer to leave the business to someone who actually knows what he or she is doing. You should talk to Gwen. She’d be fantastic, and I think she might actually want to do it.”
I pause to consider that last part. I can’t say that about wanting to do it. He’s never cared what I wanted. Saying that will only open me up to yet another lecture about duty, obligation and responsibility. I can almost hear what he’d have to say to that: “Do you think Prince William and his pretty wife want to go to all those ribbon cuttings? They do it because he understands his responsibility to history.”
Prince William is a better man than I am. So too is his brother, Prince Harry. No question about it. I couldn’t live the way they do, in the giant fishbowl with my every move scrutinized by reporters assigned to cover me. I’d go mad. Though I’ve enjoyed some fame thanks to my work in the film business and my association with Flynn, Hayden, Marlowe and Kristian, for the most part I’m left alone to live my life, with only the occasional picture showing up in the celebrity rags. I’m a low-level celebrity compared to them, and I like it that way.
I have no earthly idea how they can stand the paparazzi, who pursue them so relentlessly. The firestorm that ensued after Flynn met Natalie is a classic example of the kind of thing that would take me right over the cliff. Her painful past was laid bare for the world to consume, as if they had some sort of right to it. It’s a disgusting part of celebrity, one I’m more than happy to avoid.
Hayden carefully managed the announcement of his engagement to Addie, and the betrothal of one of Hollywood’s most notorious bachelors was the talk of the town for the last week. But he’s gone out of his way to keep her sheltered from the storm, even going so far as to put extra security on duty at the office and at his homes in the city and in Malibu.
With the details of my trip seen to, I turn my attention to work, knowing I’ll be out of the office more than in it over the next week. We’re gearing up for the shoot of a new action film in Europe this summer, and I’ve just received the final script and director’s notes from Hayden. I spend the rest of the afternoon lost in the new story and thinking about how we’ll capture the various scenes on film.
The advance work is one of my favorite parts of the job, even more so than the actual shoot. It’s at this stage that my creativity comes into play as I add my suggestions to Hayden’s notes. We’ll go back and forth a hundred times before we actually shoot, and the collaborative process with him has taken on a recognizable rhythm after working together for so many years.
It’s one of many things I love about being part of Quantum. We know each other so well that we can almost finish each other’s sentences. They are more than my professional colleagues and my personal friends. They are my family. I’m ready to fight for my family, the one I already have at Quantum and the one I desperately want with Ellie.
I leave my office and go to hers, knocking on the closed door.
“Come in.”
This is the first time I’ve seen her since I left her early this morning, and the memories of our incredible night together come rushing back to me. From the club to the confessions to the exquisite magic we created in her bed. I’ll never forget a second of it. I close the door behind me and lean against it, drinking her in.
Her face flushes adorably, and I’m completely gobsmacked once again by the fact that she wants me as much as I want her. How did I get so lucky?
“Did you need something?” she asks after a charged moment of silence.
Nodding, I go over to her and draw her chair back from her desk. Turning it to face me, I bend over her, caging her in with my body. “This,” I whisper before I kiss her. I was intending a quick kiss until her hand curls around my neck and her mouth opens to my tongue. I’m utterly lost in her, swept up in the madness that takes me over whenever I’m close to her. I can’t get enough of that madness. I’ll never have enough.
We withdraw from each other slowly, tentatively, until our lips are barely touching.
“I was actually getting something done for a change until you showed up,” she says.
Smiling, I rub my lips back and forth over hers, loving the sharp inhale of breath that lets me know she’s every bit as affected by this as I am. And thank God for that. “I’m going to London tonight.”
“You are?”
“I am. I’m doing it, Ellie. I’m going to tell him that I can’t—and won’t—be the heir to his business.”
She caresses my face, and I turn my lips into the palm of her hand. “How do you feel about it?”
“Determined. I should’ve done this years ago.”
“I’m so happy for you.”
“I’m happy for us. Are you?”
“Of course I am. I keep thinking this whole thing has to be a dream, because surely it can’t be actually happening.”
“It’s happening, my darling, and it’s the best thing that’s ever happened. At least to me.”
“Me, too.” She gazes up at me with her heart in her eyes, and I can’t resist kissing her again. “Could I… maybe… come with you?”
“Do you want to?” I ask, flabbergasted and delighted at the same time.
“I really do.”
“I’d love to have you with me, especially because we had plans for this weekend that I haven’t forgotten about, but I can’t promise I’ll get you back in time to watch the kids.”
“Flynn will do it if I tell him something’s come up. He won’t mind.”
I drag a finger over her cheek. “You were looking forward to your time with them.”
“I can see them any time. You need me, and I want to be with you.”
Dropping my forehead to hers, I close my eyes and breathe in her unmistakable scent. “I’ve never wanted anything more than I want to be free to love you, Ellie.”
“I can’t believe everything that’s happened.”
“But you’re happy about it?”
“God, yes, I’m happy,” she says, laughing. “How is it possible that you’ve been right here, all this time…”
“I’ve been right here wanting you and wishing for what we have now. And this is only the beginning, my love.”
“What if your father won’t let you go? What if—”
I raise my head so I can see her eyes and place my finger over her lips. “Shhh. Don’t worry. There is nothing he could say or do that would make me change my mind about you or us. Nothing.”
She blinks back a sudden onslaught of tears. Laughing, she brushes them away. “You’ve turned me into a hot mess in the office again.”
“You could never be a hot mess. You’re stunning.” I tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear and caress her cheek.
“You’re rather stunning yourself. I used to close my eyes and just listen to you talk.”
“When?”
“At parties, meetings, Christmas Eve at my parents’ house. Your voice is right up there at the top of my list of the sexiest things ever.”
“Mmm,” I say in a low growl, “I’ll have to remember that at critical moments in the future.”
“And your face,” she says, cupping my face in her hands, “is tied for first with your voice. I never get tired of looking at this face.”
“You’d better cut out the compliments if you don’t want to be ravaged at work again.”
Her gaze drops down to where J.T. is standing tall and proud, wishing he could be buried inside of her rather than stuck behind a zipper.
She licks her lips, drawing a groan from me.
“Don’t do that if I’m expected to behave.”
“Jasper…”
“What, darling?”
“Last night was so amazing. It felt…”
“How did it feel?” I’m fairly breathless with the need to kn
ow.
“Different. Special.”
“For me, too. It was everything.”
“What if…” She looks up at me, madly vulnerable and exquisitely beautiful. “What if we made our baby last night?”
“Do you think we did?”
“I don’t know, but I’ve felt sort of tingly all over today and light-headed and…”
I’m instantly alarmed. “Do you need a doctor?”
“No, no,” she says, laughing. “Nothing like that. I was going to say I also feel elated in a way I never have before. It’s probably too soon, but…” Flashing a goofy smile, she shrugs.
“I hope we made a baby last night. That would be the most amazing thing to ever happen to me.”
“Me, too.”
“Until this, until you, I never allowed myself to hope for kids or a family of my own or a life that included someone like you. But now…” I have to take a moment to gather myself or run the risk of losing my composure. “Now, everything is possible because of you.”
She pushes her chair back a few inches and stands, wrapping her arms around me. “I’m not going to wake up and discover this was all a lovely dream, am I?”
I hold on tight to her, pressing her body against mine and probably leaving no doubt as to what I’d like to be doing right now. “No chance of that.” I hold her for a long time. I have no idea how long, and I don’t care. We come back to reality when the extension on her desk rings. I let her go, albeit reluctantly.
“This is Ellie.” She shifts back into professional mode even as her cheeks remain flushed and her eyes bright with excitement. She listens and then says, “I’ll be there in five.” After putting the phone down, she gives me a regretful smile. “Duty calls.”
“No problem. I’ll let you go—for now. I’ll pick you up at eight tonight? Is that all right?”
“That’s fine.”
“What about Randy?”
“I’ll take him to my parents’. They’re used to last-minute dog-sitting requests from me. I’m always going somewhere to scout locations. They won’t think anything of it.”
“What’ll you tell your team here?”
“I’ve already scarred poor Dax for life by telling him I’m having ‘stuff’ done over the next week to try to get pregnant.”
I wince. “Ouch.”
“I know,” she says, sighing. “I felt terrible, but it was the only way I could be sure he wouldn’t ask any questions. I’ll just tell him I had to leave earlier than expected for my ‘appointments.’”
“I’ll remember this when he requests hazardous-duty pay.”
“I won’t blame him if he does.” She draws me into another kiss but doesn’t let this one get out of hand, much to my dismay. I want to beg for more. I want to plead with her to leave with me, right now, so we can have more of everything. But I’ve already crossed the line with her at work once before, and I don’t want to do that again. Not today anyway.
“I’ll see you at eight?”
“I’ll be ready. Do I need to pack anything special?”
“Nope. Go for comfort over style. We’ll spend most of our time flying.”
“I can do comfortable.”
“I need to invest in bigger pants if I’m going to be spending all this time with you.” To make my point, I adjust J.T.
She giggles at my obvious discomfort. “Don’t you dare get bigger pants. I like your pants just the way they are. They leave very little to the imagination, although I now know my imagination needed to think a little bigger.”
“Stop. I beg of you. Just stop.”
Cupping my cock, she looks up at me. “I’ll never stop wanting this.”
“I’m shocked to my core to discover that Estelle Godfrey Junior is so forward, not to mention cock hungry.”
She squeezes me a little too tightly for comfort, which I suspect is her goal. “Call me Estelle, and your parts won’t see my parts ever again.”
“It’s such a sexy name.”
“It’s my mother’s name.”
“I’m not thinking about your mother right now.” I’m literally about to say fuck it all to hell and take her right here and now, when her extension rings again.
She picks it up. “I’m coming. Right now.” She puts down the phone and kisses my cheek. “See you later.”
I watch her walk out of the office, knowing there’s no way I can follow her. Not for a few minutes anyway. So I take a seat at her desk and study the family photos she has framed. One set of dark-haired children whom I recognize as her sister Aimee’s kids and a group of blond boys who belong to Annie. There’s a photo of Max and Stella Godfrey with their youngest daughter between them, all three wearing big smiles, and another of Ellie with Flynn on his wedding day.
I love the Godfrey family, more so than my own, if I’m being honest. There’s something so warm and welcoming about them. After being raised with stiff British reserve, I much prefer the Godfreys’ way of doing business. Will they still treat me like one of their own when they find out that Ellie and I are trying to have a baby together? I know how I would feel if she were my daughter, but anyone who knows Ellie well—and they know her better than anyone—understands that she only does exactly what she wants.
I’m still trying to believe that I’m what she wants. I’ll have to make sure her parents and siblings know how much I love her and how I’ll take care of her and our child for the rest of my life.
Her phone, which is lying on her desk, dings with a new text. I glance at it and see it’s from someone named Serenity about the dating service she talked about joining. That’s all it takes to remind me that Ellie and I are a long way from having everything sorted. The good news is that the text takes care of what’s left of my ardor.
I’m about to get up to leave her office, when a knock on the door precedes Hayden’s entrance. He stops short when he sees me where Ellie should be.
“What’s up?” he asks.
“I was just leaving a note for Ellie.” The moment the words are out of my mouth, I wish I could take them back. Who leaves actual notes for anyone these days?
Hayden steps into the room and closes the door behind him. Uh-oh. “Are we gonna talk about what happened last night?”
“What happened last night?”
“Don’t play dumb with me, Jasper. You took Flynn’s sister to a sex club. You don’t think you need to explain that?”
“I took Ellie to a sex club—at her request, I might add—and no, I don’t feel any obligation to explain myself to you or anyone else.”
His gaze turns stormy. “Flynn would fucking flip his lid if he knew you’d taken her there.”
“Did he flip his lid about you taking his assistant there?”
“That’s not the same thing! She’s my fiancée!”
“Was she your fiancée the first time you took her there?” I have no idea whether they’ve been there before last night, but judging from the way his eyes narrow with annoyance, I’ve hit a nerve.
“That’s none of your business.”
“Just like it’s none of yours what Ellie and I were doing there. Leave it alone, Hayden. It doesn’t concern you.”
“What’re you doing with her?” he asks in a more conciliatory tone.
“Also none of your business.”
“It’s my business if it’s going to cause trouble in my business.” He waves his hand to gesture to the Quantum offices.
“Pulling rank, partner?” While Kristian, Marlowe and I are partners in the business, Flynn and Hayden are the founders and managing partners.
“If I have to.”
“What does that mean?”
“That if you don’t talk to Flynn about whatever’s going on with you and Ellie, I will.”
“You’re threatening me? Did I threaten you when you were spending time with Addie without telling him?”
“Addie isn’t his sister.”
“She may as well be.”
“Look, Jasper, I don’t want any
trouble here, and I don’t want any trouble with Flynn. I have information that I’m now keeping from my best friend and business partner. That’s a problem for me, so it’s a problem for you, too.”
“Believe it or not, I understand where you’re coming from, and all I’ll say is Ellie and I are working things out. When there’s something to tell, Flynn will be among the first to know.”
He stares at me for a long moment before he says, “Fair enough. Just don’t wait too long.” Without another word, he exits the room, leaving me fuming in his wake. I really do understand where he’s coming from, but I don’t appreciate being threatened by a man I’ve always considered a close friend. Nice to know where I stand with him, although I shouldn’t be surprised. He and Flynn are closer than brothers, and he’s just proven that he’ll put his brother ahead of me any day.
I leave Ellie’s office feeling dejected after the conversation with Hayden, but my spirits lift considerably when I think about the trip I have planned with Ellie—the trip that’s going to set me free to live the life I want rather than the one that was planned for me.
Chapter 16
After getting stuck at work later than expected, I’m running around throwing clothes into a bag ten minutes before Jasper is due to pick me up. Thankfully, Flynn and Natalie agreed to take over my babysitting gig tomorrow after I told him I had a conflict. I’m free and clear to go with Jasper on this important trip, and I’m so excited about the time away with him that my usually formidable packing skills aren’t up to par. Thankfully, I don’t need anything fancy. At this rate, I’m apt to end up without a toothbrush.
Randy rubs up against me, letting me know he’s worried about where I’m going. Suitcases always freak him out, the poor guy. My dad is coming to pick him up after we leave, so I take a moment to reassure him. “I won’t be gone long this time, buddy, and Pappy is coming to get you in a little while.”