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  “Hah…”

  “Uh…”

  Our sounds of lovemaking merged like a song of pure rapture until his “Oh” resonated, deep and guttural, as his body trembled.

  “What does that feel like?” I asked after he rolled me over to lie on top of him. My cheek rested on his neck as we waited for our hearts to slow.

  “What does what feel like?”

  “When you have an orgasm. The way you tremble and grunt, it seems like the best thing since sliced bread.”

  Jamison chuckled. “You’ve been with a guy who blows. Don’t we all do the same thing?”

  I chuckled. “Yeah, but this is the first time I paid attention.”

  Jamison placed a kiss on my lips. “Yeah, it feels better than sliced bread, and even better because I’m with you.”

  I beamed down at him, but before we could kiss again, my alarm chimed. It was time to get ready for work.

  I tried to roll out of his arms, but he held me tighter. “Not yet, baby. It’s your turn.”

  “My turn?” He’d already come. There was no way he could get it up that fast.

  “Mm-hm,” he said, smirking.

  Jamison rolled me onto my back. His skillfully silky tongue sucked my right and then left breast deep into his balmy mouth. I moaned and wriggled as his teeth grazed my nipples, which sent strokes of pleasure through my pussy. He indulgently licked and nibbled his way down my sternum, then stomach, and then…

  I quickened, gasped, and dug into the sheets when his tongue first lapped my clit.

  One Hour Later

  I stared up at the elevator’s ceiling, hands on my hips, tapping my foot. The thing wasn’t moving fast enough. Jamison had given me multiple orgasms. He said he could eat my pussy for breakfast with a cherry on top all day long if I’d play hooky and send Alana and Alex to Eden’s for the day without me. His proposal was tempting, but I couldn’t do anything to jeopardize spending the weekend with the kids. Alex and Alana wouldn’t make much headway without me being there, at least not on that day.

  “Tomorrow,” I whispered. We were going to stay in all day and make love like horny Greek gods.

  A slow smile came to my lips as I thought about our bodies against each other. It seemed unreal that I would have a normal, non–fucked-up boyfriend. Not that I’d had many fucked-up boyfriends, but Dale had been my one and only boyfriend, and he was fucked up enough for the ten I’d never had.

  I wondered what he would be like that day. Maybe he would stay away from me, since he would be licking his wounds from the previous night. I hoped so.

  As the doors slid open, I began to question my last thought about Jamison. Was he truly sane? Only time would tell.

  “There she is,” Alana said from across the room as she jumped to her feet. She and Alex were sitting on a sofa in the lobby, both messing with their cell phones.

  I threw up a hand. “I’m sorry I’m late.”

  “Well, it’s not like we don’t know why,” Alana said, reaching down by the foot of the couch for her computer bag and purse.

  Alex was holding the samples box. “I put everything else in the SUV already.”

  They seemed so distant from each other, which was strange given what had happened between them on the way home from dinner.

  “So…” I said, grinning like a Cheshire cat. “Last night?” My curious gazed bounced between them.

  They both looked at me as if they had no idea what I was talking about.

  “You two were making out in the back seat. You don’t remember that?”

  Alex looked down at the floor as Alana shrugged. “Yeah, but we’re processing that right now. So… let’s just pretend it never happened,” she said.

  I grimaced, hoping the two weren’t going back to square one, which would mean bickering and fighting their attraction for each other. However, I was certainly not one to force a conversation that no one else wanted to have. “Well, then, let's hit the road,” I said.

  And we all diligently and professionally headed off to work.

  Jamison Cox

  Bryn’s alluring scent soaked the linens. I pulled the top sheet over my head and inhaled. Damn, her skin was so damn soft, warm, and flawless. She had a small brown mole on her shoulder. Pressing my tongue against it made me horny as hell. Being with her was making me lose my mind. She’d left for work, but wanting to be inside her gave me an aching erection.

  “Shit,” I muttered and clenched my dick.

  Too bad she wasn’t there. She’d left the room less than fifteen minutes before. I battled the urge to call her, ask her to pretend she’d left something behind. Bryn would return to our room, then to our bed, and I could make love to her once more.

  I tossed the sheet off me and grabbed my dick again. Fuck. “Get ahold of yourself, dude,” I whispered.

  The thought of her curves, round ass, and soft clit against my tongue made me shift my dick as I remembered all the ways in which I’d fucked her.

  “Shh… uh… oohh…”

  Ring. Ring. Ring.

  I jumped and looked toward the house phone sitting on the nightstand and then scrambled to answer, thinking it was her. “Yeah,” I said.

  “Is this Mr. Jamison Cox?”

  The woman’s formal tone concerned me, especially hearing it that early in the morning. “Yeah. What can I do for you?” I made my tone brisk on purpose.

  “There’s a Miss Bree Lovell here to see you. She asked me to ask you to meet her in the lobby within five minutes, or else she’ll follow Miss Christmas and her team to the jobsite.”

  I scrambled to sit on the side of the bed. “Is this a joke?” I asked, rubbing the inside corners of my eyes.

  “Sorry, sir?”

  No. It wasn’t a joke. “Forget it. Tell her okay.”

  I slammed the phone back on the base and covered my face with my hands, sighing into my palms. It wasn't that I couldn't believe what was happening, because I could. It was the story of my life. When things were going well, I could expect my father to blow my contentment to pieces. Bree being downstairs was his doing.

  I dropped my hands from my face and punched the mattress. “Shit!” I shouted at the top of my lungs. “Fucking shit!”

  The truth about what couldn’t be avoided forced me to take a long, deep whiff of the sheets. Bryn had eased into my nostrils, expanded in my chest, and sat there. I couldn’t take her with me. I couldn’t linger either. I got up, dressed, packed my shit in my overnight bag, and walked out the door, refusing to look behind me. I couldn’t. It hurt too fucking much.

  When I made it downstairs, I stopped to notice Bree standing near the front entrance, arms folded, staring out the glass doors. She looked the same—tight skirt that stretched to her calves, snug jacket, and high heels. I could smell her perfume from where I stood. I didn't know if my nose had picked up her scent or I was experiencing olfactory memory. Nothing about her settled me. There was a rumor she was fucking my father. I knew for certain that it wasn’t just hearsay. But Boomer fucked many women. My parents had a strange relationship, one that I was hell-bent on never emulating.

  Bree twisted her body around to see me before I could walk toward her. Her expressionless face reminded me of that video Bryn had showed me two days before.

  Bryn…

  I had a choice. I could tell Bree to go straight to hell and take my father with her, but then I’d lose more than I already had. I had to be smart about the next move I made.

  Think, Jamison. Think.

  Bree strolled toward me. I liked the idea of her coming to me and not the other way around. It convinced me that I hadn’t chosen her.

  “We have a flight to catch,” she softly said.

  I thrust my chin upward. “How did you know where to find me?”

  “Your father found you.”

  “Then why are you here?”

  Her stare was emotionless. “You know why I’m here.”

  I sighed sharply, rubbing my eyes. When I’d run into Bryn at
the airport that weekend, she had me pegged. I had gone to Newport, Rhode Island, to be with a woman—Bree. The situation was complicated, though, and I hadn’t made any promises or commitments.

  I shoved a hand toward the door. “After you.”

  She turned and strolled forward, having no doubt that I would follow. She shouldn’t have been so confident. Me leaving with her wasn’t yet set in stone. I would be fine without my family’s money, and my mother would always love me no matter what. And truthfully, I was perfectly content with cutting ties with my father, both professionally and emotionally.

  But Boomer had warned me on many occasions that he had enough insurance on me that if crossed, he could send me to jail for a long time.

  “Like what?” I had asked.

  He’d winked. “Try me, and you’ll find out.”

  What kind of shit is that for a father to say to his son?

  If I told him to take his failing business and fuck off, he would use whatever evidence against me he’d acquired over the years to take me down. One thing was for certain—I knew his threats weren’t empty. And even though he was my father, he wouldn’t hesitate to send me straight to jail if I turned on him. Not only had my instincts warned me about that fact, but so had my intellect.

  But more than ever, I wanted to be with Bryn Christmas. I wanted to have her and to hold her until death did us part. I’d given her up once, but I wouldn’t do it twice. And for that reason, I followed Bree Lovell to the parked sedan to be driven to the airport.

  Bree and I sat in the back seat. She gazed straight ahead, keeping her posture straight and chin up as if she were a department-store mannequin. She liked me. I knew she was hiding the fact that she was happy as hell our parents wanted us to get married. I’d kissed her once just to try her on. I didn’t like the smell of her skin or the taste of her mouth. Her cold heart made her lips icy. But I had to get her talking so I could learn more about what was going on.

  “All right. I get on the airplane, and then what?” I asked.

  She continued facing forward. “It’s not for me to decide what’s next.”

  “Then why the hell are you here?”

  Finally, she turned to look at me. Behind the coldness, I saw hope in her eyes. “You’re not happy to see me?”

  Be careful, Jamison.

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. Should I be?”

  Bree grunted and shook her head. Fuck. She knew I was trying to soften her up, make her hopeful enough to drop her guard.

  She faced forward. “I’m not talking to you like this.”

  I glared at her profile. There was no use in trying to play her. She was too shrewd for her own good. Like a cat tossed off the roof, she knew how to land on her feet. It hadn’t benefitted her to reveal why she’d shown up to collect me. Plus, her allegiance would be toward my father, since she saw him as the dominant figure in our father–son duo. Also, as far as Bree was concerned, marriage wasn’t about love, and had nothing to do with pleasure.

  Power. Control. The rules. That was what sex and marriage were about. She wanted a man like me to fuck her and validate her. I was a prize to Bree Lovell. And Boomer was going to hand me to her on a silver platter while dipping his dick in her whenever he wanted. Therefore, the time had surely come to accept all of that as glaring fact so that I could find my balls and fight for what I wanted. I had to be on my guard, keep my wits about me, and be ready for the battle of my life. I repeated that to myself as the car stopped next to a private airplane.

  Just because I loathed Bree didn’t mean I’d forgotten my manners. I invited her to walk up the ramp first. I went up behind her. When I stepped into the cabin, I stopped. There he sat, Boomer Cox. My father’s thin lips were molded into the permanent frown he always greeted me with, and he glared at me with eyes dulled by the bitterness that ate him up from the inside. It hadn’t always been so contentious between us. He loved me, I was sure of it, when I was a boy. Then one day, I came to the realization that I could never please him, not even if I was doing shit his way. I had friends who were carbon copies of their fathers. They'd repeat the shit their fathers would say as if their words were gospel. That was never me. I was born a thinker and a watcher. I saw what no one else was paying attention to. I was very young when I saw my father clearly. I’d observed whatever conditions and matters caused him to hesitate. I was able to see the parts of Boomer he couldn’t see for himself. I knew what made him want to fight. And in the airplane, I knew by the way Boomer was looking at me that he was at war with me.

  “Did you enjoy your piece of ass?” he asked. That was his first shot—to cheapen a beautiful and rare specimen like Bryn Christmas and make it seem as if she wasn’t worthy of me or him, when in fact she was better than the both of us.

  Bree sat in the seat next to Boomer. She crossed her legs, casually pulled a laptop out of the side pocket, and opened it. She was good at behaving as if she was alone and calm in a room that was on fire.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked. “And how did you find me?”

  “If you don’t want to be found, then you shouldn’t use my resources to get around.” He pointed at the seat directly across from him. “Sit.”

  My insides cringed. I had to fight the urge to do the opposite of what he ordered. This wasn't about my ego or my broken heart. I wanted to stand strong and brave and show Boomer he would have to go some hard rounds with me to win. But that would be a losing move.

  Expelling a loud breath, I gazed longingly out the exit just as the crew closed the door.

  “Sit,” he barked.

  I quickly put my focus on him again. Shoulders back, I followed his orders.

  “Buckle up. You’re not going anywhere,” he said.

  Calmly, I did that too. Bree was typing on her computer as if the air was light and cheerful. Looking at her, even for a second, I knew there was no way I could do what my father had been trying to convince me to do.

  “Okay, so what the hell is this about?” I asked, deciding to show a little resistance. If I gave him both my balls, Boomer wouldn’t believe my performance for long. He was used to me defying him in my own way. That was why I was in Vail. And deep down, I believed Boomer liked my defiance, because it was the part of me that was like him.

  “We’re going to Washington to meet with Alice Templeton. We have a new client,” he said.

  I tilted my head, feigning interest. I was done working with Cox and Cox. I was dead set on striking out on my own. But that wasn’t the moment to let him know it. “Who?”

  He turned his lips up in a fierce grin. “You.”

  I jerked my head back. “Me?”

  “You.” He rubbed Bree’s thigh, his hand coming mighty close to her pussy. “And this here beautiful, proper woman is going to be your first lady.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Bryn Christmas

  When we arrived at the house, Dale was out of sight and out of mind, and I was happy about that. Eden had asked about Jamison’s whereabouts, and I informed her that as of the previous night, he’d been fired as my assistant.

  “But he was so good at standing there, all strapping and striking and feeding a girl’s wildest dreams.”

  I frowned because I’d sort of had enough of her lusting so openly over my guy. Her behavior was disrespectful, and I knew if Jamison was the type to fall into her clutches, she would have banged him by then.

  “What about Dale?” I asked. “Aren’t you two in love?”

  She glanced at Alex as he helped Alana place the textiles that we were going to use in that room in position.

  “I don’t think anyone can be with Dale because of love. I mean, did you used to love him?”

  My eyes widened. I was shocked by her answer. “I thought I did.”

  “Well, I guess I know I don’t. We’re together right now at least, but who knows what tomorrow will bring.” Her eyes smoldered as she pointed her chin at Alex. “What’s his story, anyway?”

  Nausea bubble
d in my stomach. Eden wasn’t the first client to salivate over Alex, but I feared she would be the first to make a serious effort to bed him.

  I stepped in front of her, blocking her view of Alex. When I had her complete attention, I folded my arms. “Eden?”

  She shook her head. “Yeah?”

  “I want you to stop sexually harassing the men that work for me and my boyfriend. Got it?”

  Her mouth fell open as if not only had I offended her, but she also had no idea what I was talking about. That was fine. I didn’t care. However, my warning was real, and we both knew that I didn’t need to finish her house. There were more than a hundred clients clamoring to take her spot.

  “Fine,” she finally said. “I’m sorry.”

  I nodded sharply. “I accept your apology.”

  From that moment onward, we got down to some serious business and made remarkable headway. Alex made a lunch run to the same sandwich shop where Dale had bought the hero sandwich for me the other day. However, I had Alex get me the roasted turkey on toasted rye with Dijon mustard. We ate as we worked.

  We made it to the third floor, and as we packed to leave, I went to the toilet. I was finished and washing my hands when I heard the doorknob turn. Stiffening, I watched in horror as Dale slipped into the bathroom.

  Time stood still as we stared at each other. His cloudy gray eyes were glossed over, his skin was patchy red, and he was staring at me as if he wanted to eat me alive.

  “Finally, we’re alone,” he said.

  I wondered what had changed. The others must have moved downstairs, leaving me alone upstairs. I’d avoided putting distance between me and Eden. I knew Dale like the back of my hand. He wouldn’t try to make a move on me if she was near.

  “What do you want, Dale?” I heard myself ask. It was as if I was having an out-of-body experience.

  “Is this really how we’re going to end things, Bryn? I still love you, you know.”

  I was speechless as so many words were forging a traffic jam in my head. “Why are you here?” I finally asked.