Happily Ever After Collection

by Melanie Moreland

  “Then don’t.”

  “You’ve already been hurt—your marriage…”

  She shook her head. “Craig and I weren’t right for each other. The divorce was a relief.” She laughed ruefully. “He wanted a life of fun and glamour. He never wanted to grow up and be responsible. I thought he was what I needed to be less serious. I was serious enough for both of us.”

  “But?”

  “I learned there was a difference between being serious and being responsible. His constant need to party and lack of ability to keep a job became very tiresome. I tried. I honestly did. I worked, he played. It just became too much, and when I told him to grow up, he told me to take a hike.”

  “He’s an idiot. He should have taken better care of you.”

  “Hank would agree with you.”

  “I want to take care of you.”

  “I want to care for you as well.” She hesitated. “What about you, Jackson? Dad mentioned you were divorced.”

  I nodded. “Much like you, I got married for the wrong reasons. We’d been dating a while, and all our friends were getting married. It seemed…the right thing to do.”

  “What happened?”

  I shrugged. “We were too young. We changed, and what we wanted changed.” I chuckled dryly. “Or what Wendy wanted changed. She hated everything I did. My job, my life—everything. She wanted a businessman—someone who carried a smart attaché case and drove a BMW. Not someone who wore a hard hat, dragged in dust at the end of the day, or drove a truck. We parted ways after a couple of years.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. She wasn’t right for me.”

  “Since then?” she asked.

  “I’ve dated—I’m certainly no monk. But I’ve never connected with anyone the way I connect with you. It’s as if…” I trailed off.

  “As if?” she prompted.

  My mouth hovered over hers. “As if I’ve been waiting for you.”

  “Jackson,” she breathed out.

  As soon as my mouth touched hers, I was lost. Minutes passed as we shared the same breath, our lips melded together, tongues dancing and stroking, learning the taste and scope of each other. Slowly pulling away, I rested my forehead against hers.

  “What do we do now?” I asked. “Tell me what you want, Laura. I’ll give it to you—I’ll give you anything.”

  She tossed her head defiantly. “We’re both adults, what we do in private is our business—no one else’s.”

  “Your father?”

  “Just us for now—we’ll deal with him when we’re ready…when we know how it’s going to end.”

  “How do you want it to end, sweet girl?”

  Her eyes were fathomless. “With forever.”

  With a groan, I pulled her to my chest and covered her mouth with mine.

  That was exactly what I wanted.

  I shook my head, clearing my thoughts of memories, as I sat down. Hank bent over his desk, handing Laura something. “You left this in my truck.”

  Laura’s hand closed around her cell phone. “Thanks, Dad—I wondered where I’d put it.”

  “I didn’t see it until this morning. I hope you didn’t miss anything important.”

  “I’ll plug it in and see.”

  I wasn’t sure if I imagined the glance Hank shot me, but I remembered my text, which Laura obviously hadn’t seen. She had no idea I’d tried to contact her—but suddenly I wondered if he did.

  “Couldn’t break my password, Hank?” she teased, and I relaxed when he shook his head.

  “I would have tried, but the damn thing was already dead. If you refuse a house phone, kiddo, you need to remember to keep it charged—and remember where it is.”

  She nodded, running her finger over the screen. “I usually do, I just forgot.” Then she slipped her phone into her pocket. “What did you need Jackson and me for?”

  “Harris has some more questions, but I think he’s going with us. I want both of you to work closely with him. He’s going to need a lot of hand-holding, I think. Put our best people on it, Jackson.”

  “All our people are the best, Hank,” I countered.

  He laughed. “The best of the best, then.”

  I gave a curt nod. “Will do.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “You have a problem with Harris?”

  “Besides the fact that he’s arrogant, a know-it-all, and I have a bad feeling about him? No, nothing.”

  I didn’t add the fact that I didn’t like the way he’d looked at Laura when he was here last time—as if she were the star in some twisted fantasy in his head. I didn’t have the right to say that, I reminded myself.

  “Work with him. He has a lot of projects on the go. We do a good job with this, it could be the start of some new business. Lots of it.”

  I nodded, hating the idea.

  “Kiddo, I want you in on all the meetings. He liked your ideas last time. Develop a rapport with him.”

  “Sure, Hank.”

  I hated the idea even more now.

  I stood. “Anything else?”

  Her brow furrowed. “No. I expect both of you to be on top of this.”

  We both nodded and walked out of his office. “Jen,” Laura called over to our new assistant. “Tell everyone ten minutes in the boardroom. I just have to get my notes and go over them.” She turned away, and before I could stop myself, I grabbed her arm.

  “Tell them fifteen minutes,” I instructed Jen, leading a startled Laura to my office. “I need to go over this file with you before the meeting, Laura. It’s important.”

  Ignoring Jen’s surprised expression and Laura’s glare, I pulled her into my office, shutting the door and flicking the lock. Seconds later, I had her pushed against the wall, trapping her between the hard surface and my chest.

  “What are you doing?” she hissed.

  “Talking to you.”

  She pushed on my chest. “It doesn’t feel like talking. You’re the one who said no touching in the office.”

  “Screw the rules. I’m tired of them,” I growled, grasping her thighs and lifting her up, forcing her to wrap her legs around my hips—exactly the way I imagined them.

  She gasped when she felt me hard and pressing into her softness. “Jackson.”

  “You didn’t get my message,” I murmured into her ear, slowly thrusting my hips forward, making her quiver.

  “You…you sent me a message?”

  “Yes. I wanted to apologize. I came to your house—several times—but Hank was there. I asked you to call me.”

  “I didn’t see it. We went for lunch, and I left my cell in the truck. I looked for it after he left. When I couldn’t find it, I sent you an email saying I was sorry, but you didn’t respond either.”

  I quirked my eyebrow at her. “I didn’t check my computer.”

  “You need to embrace technology and add email to your phone, old man.”

  I grinned at her teasing, relieved to know she was no longer as angry with me. She knew I hated all that technology shit. She loved it.

  “I like my private time, sweet girl.” I pushed closer, stroking her upper thigh with my fingers. “I especially like my private time with you.”

  She whimpered, and I covered her mouth with mine. I kept the kisses light and indulgent, gentle sweeps of my lips against hers, tiny nips of my teeth to her bottom lip, and tender passes of my tongue over the plump flesh. Small, silent symbols of apology.

  “I’m sorry, Laura. I hate arguing with you. I hate not being able to talk to you.”

  Her eyes glimmered.

  “Don’t cry. Please don’t cry.”

  “I’m sorry too.”

  “We’ll talk tonight? You’ll come over?”

  “I have a business dinner with Hank.”

  “Come after.”

  She smirked, arching back into me, making me groan at the contact. “It’ll be late, Jackson, and we both know if I show up late, coming will be all that will happen—there’ll be no talking.
You’ll be all sleepy and sexy. Your cock will be all smirky and winky… There won’t be any talking—we’ll end up making love instead.”

  “You think I’m sexy when I’m sleepy?”

  “Definitely. You get all tousled, and your voice gets all growly. I love it.”

  I filed that piece of information away for later use. I grinned at her. “My cock…winks?”

  “Smirks too—flirty little bugger does it constantly.”

  I lowered my mouth to her ear, tugging on her lobe. “Obviously, it’s been too long since he winked at you. Otherwise you wouldn’t be referring to him as ‘little bugger,’ Laura. I think you should come…over later tonight so I can remind you how not little he is.”

  She sighed, her hands caressing the back of my neck. “I love you,” she whispered fervently, her hands pulling me close and my cock closer. “Maybe he’d like to wink at me now.”

  “Baby, we have to go. Jen will knock any minute.”

  “We have seven minutes.”

  I fingered the bow on her hip, desperate to feel her wrapped around me. “We shouldn’t.”

  “I want you,” she breathed.

  “You’d have to be quiet,” I warned, yanking on the bow and slipping my hands under the fabric, groaning. “No underwear, Laura?” I bit her earlobe. “Naughty, naughty girl.”

  She moaned low as my fingers found her slick center, stroking her hard.

  “We have to be fast.”

  “Six minutes,” she panted as my pants hit the floor with a quiet thud.

  “I only need three,” I moaned, burying myself deep inside her. “I’m going to make you come so fast.”

  “Two,” she moaned. “I only need two.”

  She was right.

  It was the best two fucking minutes of my life, my orgasm hot and fast, my groan lost in the sweetness of her mouth.

  It left me four minutes to pull up my pants, help her retie her pretty bow, and then simply hold her. The tension had drained from her frame, her stiffness easing even more as I stroked her head—long passes of my fingers through her thick, wonderful hair as I whispered my adoration for her into her ear. She became fluid in my arms, and I felt myself calm and center holding her. She always did that for me.

  “Forgiven?” I murmured into her hair.

  “Yes.” A yawn escaped her mouth, and she sighed.

  “Good.” I chuckled. “I can’t believe we each tried to reach out and neither of us got the message. It would have saved some lost hours of sleep for both of us.”

  “What a pair,” she agreed.

  Regretfully, I tilted up her chin. “The best pair, Laura.” I drew in a deep breath. “And it’s time everyone knew exactly how great.”

  “Really?” she whispered.

  “We’ll figure it out. I’ll talk to your dad later this week.”

  “We should talk to him together.”

  “United front?”

  “Yes.”

  Affectionately, I ran my nose up her cheek. “Okay. He might not kill me if you’re there to witness the act.”

  Jen knocked on the door. “Everyone’s in the boardroom!” she chirped.

  I moved back, cupping Laura’s face, her gaze once again calm and tender.

  “Tomorrow,” I promised.

  “Tomorrow.”

  Chapter 5

  Jackson

  Two hours later, her eyes were anything but calm or tender. They shot daggers at me as Hank yelled, his face almost purple in rage.

  “You better have a good fucking explanation, Jackson. You just cost me a huge amount of business!”

  I stood, slapping my hand on the desk. “He was out of line, Hank! I couldn’t sit there and listen to that shit. He was hitting on your daughter!”

  Hank turned to Laura. “Is this true?”

  “I could have handled it. I was handling it until you went all caveman, Jackson!”

  I gaped at her, reminding myself she hadn’t heard the disgusting remarks he’d muttered when she left the room to grab a report from her desk. He’d actually winked in my direction as he had the gall to ask me if anyone in the office was “tapping that hot ass.” Then he went on to mutter some of the depraved things he’d do to her ass.

  I’d had him pinned against the wall, my arm pressing on his throat, when Laura walked back in, Hank following her.

  Chaos ensued; Vince Harris insisted I had attacked him unprovoked. He threatened not only to pull his business, but also screamed about legal action and insisted I be fired.

  I shook my head at her. “You didn’t hear what he said when you left. You couldn’t handle that shit. Trust me.”

  Laura’s eyes widened and her face blanched.

  I met Hank’s gaze. “I couldn’t allow him to disrespect her, or you, like that.” I straightened my shoulders. “Fire me if you want.”

  He ran a hand over his face and stood. “I’m not going to fire you. You said you had a bad feeling about him. I had just hoped he’d be a pain about budgets. Not hit on my daughter. I don’t want his business.”

  “You want me to call him?”

  “No, I’ll take care of it.” To my surprise, he reached out his hand. “Thanks for looking out for her.”

  I shook his hand. “You’re welcome.”

  Hank left the room, and I sighed. “I suppose you’re mad at me again?”

  “What did he say?”

  Quietly, I told her. “I couldn’t sit here and listen to that, Laura. Even if you weren’t…mine, I couldn’t. But the fact that you are…I couldn’t risk him ever trying anything. I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you because I held back and played it safe for the sake of some business.”

  Her hand slipped into mine. “I’ve never seen you like that.”

  “I’ll do whatever I need to do to protect you.”

  She bit her lip and grinned a little. “That’s rather hot, Jackson. No one has ever wanted to protect me, apart from my father. I hope you don’t go to jail for it. Your face is too pretty for that to happen.”

  I chuckled, grateful she wasn’t angry. “Let me get this straight, Laura.” I lowered my voice. “You think I’m sexy, growly, and pretty? And my cock is smirky?”

  “And winky.”

  “Right. Winky, too.”

  She nodded. “That about sums it up.”

  “Wow, a man finds out a lot of things on a Monday he never knew before.”

  She stood up, dropping a quick kiss on my mouth. “Wait until you see what I show you later.”

  “I can hardly wait.”

  A few days later, I sat at my desk in the trailer, trying to concentrate on the file in front of me. It wasn’t working. All I could think about was Laura. About us. Telling Hank. Wondering if the past few days would make what I had to tell him easier or harder. He had calmed Vince Harris down—no charges would be laid, but there would be no business happening between them either. When I told him what Harris had said, Hank paid him a visit, and after that, the matter was closed. An angry Hank was a scary Hank—I knew this from experience. I also knew Hank was discreetly making some calls to other companies, warning them about Harris.

  The door opened, the loud noise of the site flooding the trailer, and Hank stepped in. I accepted the cup of coffee he offered me.

  “Hey,” I muttered. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

  “Laura needed one of the new guys to sign some papers.”

  “So, you brought them down?”

  “Nah, she came with me. She’ll be here in a moment. She said something about needing a conversation outside the office and wanting you involved.” He sat down heavily, taking a deep swallow of his coffee. He looked out the window with a sigh. “I think she’s fixing to leave, Jackson.”

  I shook my head. “No, she isn’t.”

  “If she does, it’s your damn fault!” He slammed his hand on the hard wood in front of him. “Why can’t the two of you get on?”

  “Hank—”

  He interrupted me. “S
he’s my daughter, Jackson! You’re my right-hand and my goddamn friend! Why can’t you get along? You came to her defense the other day, so you must like her a little.”

  I took in a deep breath. “Are we friends, Hank?”

  “What kind of fucking question is that? Of course we are. I’m as close to you as anyone—you know that.”

  “Why?”

  “Why what?”

  Resting my arms on my thighs, I studied Hank’s irate face, an idea forming. “Why are we friends?”

  “Again, I ask… What kind of question is that? What are you on about this morning?”

  “A fair one. Aside from the fact that you’re my boss, you’re fourteen years older than I am. What could we possibly have in common?”

  He looked at me as if I were crazy. “What the fuck does age have to do with friendship? We have lots in common, we enjoy the same things, we get on well… I don’t care if you’re four years or fourteen years younger than I am.”

  “What about other relationships?” I asked quietly.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Does age have to play a role in any relationship as long as it’s a good one for both parties? Despite what other people may think?”

  He frowned and had just begun to speak when all hell broke loose outside. Shouting, yelling, and the sound of some catastrophe happening, had me leaping to my feet and racing to the door, flinging it open.

  My eyes flew open in horror at what I saw, my blood freezing in my veins into icy shards of glass that pricked and stabbed at my flesh.

  The large crane that was lifting equipment had clearly malfunctioned, the load now swinging freely, pieces of building supplies flying like debris in a windstorm. The crew was scrambling, yelling and trying to clear the area.

  And knocked off her feet, frozen, in the middle of the chaos, her hard hat lying on the ground beside her, was Laura.

  Behind me, Hank cursed and yelled for Laura to move. The only words in my head, though, echoing time and again: not her—dear God, not her.

  There was no thought. In seconds, I was off the steps, moving faster than I thought I was capable of, screaming her name.