Contents 13 страница

“Turn it off, ” I told Mason, who did so as quickly as he could, but not before the scene where I burst through the door and grabbed David to throw him off my girl.

“Kickboxing accident, huh? ” Scott asked. “Dude, you’re sick. I can’t believe you did that. ”

“Oh, don’t act all self-righteous with me, you prick! ”

“What the bloody hell have you done now? ” A new voice entered the conversation, and we all whipped around toward the sound. Harrison Stone stood in the doorway with that authoritative look that said we were all in trouble.

In front of his iconic father, David gaped like a fish out of water. “Pop, it’s not what it looks like. ”

Harrison waved his cane at his son. “Oh, save it. I already saw everything. Drugs, whores, attempted rape … Jesus, son. What do you do for an encore? ”

“I, um …” David paused for several seconds then finally closed his mouth. No way was he going to be able to talk his way out of this one.

I wished I could’ve claimed Harrison’s early arrival as part of my plan, but I couldn’t. As Robert Burns said, the best-laid schemes of mice and men often go awry. Sometimes we just need to leave it all up to the universe to right the wrongs.

Just then Harrison turned toward me, a wide smile on his face, and took my hand in a firm grip. “Noah, my boy! How the hell are ya? ”

I couldn’t help the affection I felt for the man. He was my father’s partner, his best friend, and he was family. How he had spawned someone as devilish as David was beyond me.

“I’m good, Harry, ” I answered, and because I just couldn’t resist, I added, “Finally met the woman of my dreams and somehow managed to convince her to be my wife. ”

The look on David’s face was priceless. He hadn’t heard about our impending nuptials.

“Well, ain’t that a kick in the pants! Congratulations, son! ” Harrison clapped me on the back a couple of times, and his strength would’ve knocked me on my ass had he not had a death grip on my hand still. “I damn sure better be on that guest list, ” he warned.

Then he said more soberly, “It’s no secret my boy’s been trying to pry your parents’ legacy from your hands. I haven’t exactly been an avid supporter of that, but he’s got a thick skull, ” he said, knocking on his own. “Can’t get a lick of sense through to him. ”

David growled in frustration. “You founded this company. It’s my legacy, too. ”

“Shut up, boy. Noah senior and I founded this company together. It was all his idea. And I can see you’re busting at the seams wanting to tattle something on Noah, but I think I’ll let him tell on himself. ” He turned back to me. “What’s he got on you, kid? ”

As embarrassed as I was to admit the truth, I knew it would eventually come out anyway. Better it be to Harrison than to the whole board, shaming the memory of my parents.

“I bought a virgin, and then I fell in love with her. ” The admission was quick, like yanking off a Band-Aid. And you know what? It didn’t hurt nearly as much as I thought it would.

Harrison didn’t look thrilled, but he didn’t look disappointed, either. Kind of indifferent, in fact. He shrugged.

“And? ”

“And isn’t that enough? ”

“Let me ask you something, son. Is she worth all this? ” He waved his cane around, indicating the shit I was having to put up with from his son.

“Yes, sir, she is, ” I said, meaning it. I’d endure David Stone on a daily basis for her if I had to. And then it clicked, as if I’d just put the last piece of the puzzle into place. I didn’t have to. Lanie was all that mattered. My happiness was the only thing my parents ever wanted for me. And it was probably something David Stone would never have. With that realization fresh in my mind, I turned to David. “You can have—”

“Hold on, now, ” Harrison said, interrupting me. “Don’t be so quick to throw in the towel, Noah. ”

“What are you doing, old man? ” David asked, flabbergasted. “You don’t have a say in any of this. ”

“The hell I don’t. I still control those shares when you get right down to it. All it takes is an announcement from me to the board and you’re out of here. You’re an embarrassment to the company, and you’re an embarrassment to me. I won’t stand for your shenanigans any longer. Grow the hell up. ”

Harrison leaned over the table and took the contract from a stunned David, who couldn’t react fast enough to stop him. He looked it over for only a second before handing it to me.

“Do you have any other copies? ” he asked David, who did nothing but shake his head. “Good. ” Then he turned toward Scott. “Why the hell are you still here? ”

“I have a stake in all this, it seems. ”

“And what would that be? ”

Scott nodded toward Mason’s laptop. “A video that can never see the light of day. If it does, me and your son are dead. ”

“If I can guarantee it won’t, will you swear not to ever have anything to do with my son again? ”

“I can do that. I don’t want any trouble. I have my own business to tend to. ”

Harrison turned to me with his brows raised in a question. I nodded my acquiescence. I wasn’t going to get everything I wanted out of the deal. As long as I had Lanie safe and sound, I’d let karma handle the rest.

“The video will be destroyed. Now get out of here, you’re stinking up the place. ”

Scott wasted no time finding his way out. I didn’t blame him. Harrison had this Clint Eastwood type of way about him that dared you to overstay your welcome.

“It seems the scales are now all tipped in your favor, Noah, ” he said, turning back to me. “What is it that you’d like to do now? ”

“He bought a whore! ” David yelled, clearly agitated by the turn of events.

Harrison lifted his cane to silence him. “One more word and I’ll disown you. ” He turned back to me. “Noah? ”

I looked up at the ceiling, seeing way past that to whatever great beyond was out there. This was for my parents. All of it. Because of the relationships they had forged in life, they were still looking out for me even in death. I would not allow their memory to be tainted, and that included their legacy.

I dropped my head to see David Stone in a whole new light. I almost felt sorry for him. Though his father was one of the greatest men I’d ever know, David had never seized the opportunity to learn from him. But he’d threatened everything I held most dear, so I couldn’t pity him.

“Listen to me, David, ” I seethed quietly. “Not only do I have the ability to release your little personal porno to the public and destroy you, but that video shows evidence of drug and human trafficking, and let’s not forget the other video of an attempted rape. You could spend a very long time in prison. ”

Dez leaned in and added, “And FYI, a big Mexican named Chavez already has you on reserve, bitch. ”

Harrison had apparently just noticed her for the first time, but judging by the look on his face, he was impressed. Dez had that effect on people. No doubt he’d be asking her out.

The expression on David’s face reminded me of a cornered rat who had nowhere to run, no hole to dive into. “What do you want? ” he spat through clenched teeth, clearly not liking the fact he had no other option than to admit defeat.

I gave him the same smug smile he had been wearing every day since I’d found him in my bathroom with Julie. And then I metaphorically reached out and snatched the little bit of cheese his tiny paws had been clutching. “Not much, just your half of the company. Seems like a small price to pay for your freedom. Don’t you think? ”

“How do I know you won’t expose the videos anyway? ”

“You don’t, ” I answered truthfully. “But as much as it pains me to do so, I give you my word. As long as you hold up your end of the bargain, I’ll hold up mine. You can thank Delaine for that. She’s far more forgiving than I could ever be. ”

“Or me, ” Dez interjected.

“What’s it going to be, Stone? ” I asked.

“Fine. It’s yours. It’s all yours, ” he conceded.

“Meeting adjourned, ” I mumbled triumphantly, and then led Dez and Mason out of the boardroom so I could go collect my winnings.

David’s half of the company was only an added benefit. Delaine was the real prize—one I had every intention of savoring, and none whatsoever of squandering.

“I still can’t believe it’s really over, ” Lanie said from the passenger seat of my Lamborghini as we drove down I-55 toward Hillsboro.

It had been nearly a week since the board meeting, and with all the drama we’d survived, we needed a break. Hillsboro was quiet enough to afford us that break while also allowing Lanie a visit with her parents. She thought we were going to get a hotel room. I didn’t make her think any differently.

“It’s over, kitten. ” I brought our joined hands to my lips and kissed her bare left ring finger before giving her a crooked grin.

“Aw, there’s the cottage, ” Lanie said when we came upon it.

When I released her hand so I could downshift and pull into the driveway, her brow furrowed—until she saw the expression on my face and knew I was remembering the last time we had been there.

“Noah, no. We’re not about to do that again. ”

I said nothing as I opened my door and got out of the car. When I walked around to her side and opened the door, she had her arms crossed over her chest defiantly. “No, Noah. We can have all the sex you want at the hotel, but not here, not again. We almost got caught last time. ”

“We won’t get caught, ” I assured her, then took her hand, pulling her from the passenger seat.

She came with me reluctantly. Linking my fingers through hers, I walked her around to the back of the house and kept going toward the pond and the gazebo.

“What are you doing? Are you insane? ” She was frantically searching our surroundings for any evidence that the neighbors had seen us.

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I am. ” I pulled her up onto the gazebo step and walked over to the swing. “And it’s your fault. You make me crazy. ”

I turned her so that her back was to the swing and lightly pushed down on her shoulders, encouraging her to sit. The sun was setting over the horizon and the orange and pink glow cast by its rays spilled over the perfect features of her face. The little family of ducks swam in an S-shaped pattern to the other side of the pond, their quiet quacks the only sound infiltrating our surroundings.

I kneeled in front of her, noting the confused look on her face. “I want to give you everything you desire, Lanie. Past, present, and future. And I will. I feel terrible for not doing this right in the first place, ” I said as I pulled the navy-blue velvet box from my pocket.

She gasped and put her fingertips to her mouth. “Oh, Noah. ”

“You know, for being the future Mrs. Noah Crawford, your ring finger sure does look bare. ” I smiled up at her and then opened the box to reveal her engagement ring.

It was a one-of-a-kind original, designed for one woman, but handed down to the next in what I hoped would be a very long line of tradition. Three carats of diamond clusters were set in platinum that was intricately woven in loops and swirls around a central emerald-cut sapphire. Nothing too extravagant; simplicity was its allure.

I took it from the box and reached for her shaking hand with a smile. “It was my mother’s, and now I’d like for it to be yours. ”

I slipped it onto her finger and looked into her eyes. Tears gathered and spilled down her cheeks. Her smile was the most beautiful I’d ever seen, and I wished I’d hired a fucking artist to be there to capture the moment in all its infinite glory, forever immortalizing it in time.

I gave her a tender kiss. “I love you, Delaine Talbot. ”

“I know. I love you, too, ” she whispered, and then she looked down at the ring on her finger. “It’s so beautiful. Thank you. ”

“You’re welcome, but there’s more, ” I told her with a devilish grin as I stood.

Her head snapped up. “More? What more? ”

“Come on, ” I said, taking her hand and pulling her to stand as well.

I felt like I was dragging her along, and I probably should’ve slowed down some so that she could keep up better, but I was too damned excited to show her the next surprise. When we reached the Lamborghini, I turned and kept going toward the front door.

“Where are you going? Someone’s going to call the police on us! ” She tugged on my arm to get me to go back toward the car.

I pulled a little harder on her hand, forcing her to collide with my chest as I wrapped my arm around her. “Calm down, woman. Nobody’s going to call the police on us, ” I said with a chuckle, and then I brought my hand from behind her so that she could see what I held: the key to the cottage.

It only took a second for that to register. She looked toward the front yard, finally noticing that the For Sale sign now had a Sold banner over it. “Noah, you didn’t. ”

I could feel the smile tug at my cheeks, unable to not show how proud I was of myself for giving the woman I had fallen madly in love with the home of her childhood dreams. “Welcome home, Lanie. ” She stood there stunned while I put the key in the lock and opened the door.

As soon as I’d returned home from dropping Lanie off at her folks’ house all those weeks ago, I’d made the deal on the cottage. It had been as good as sold, but when I offered four times the asking price, the owner had practically fallen over himself to accept my offer. Polly took over from there. I thought for sure she was going to spill the beans to Lanie, but I was damn proud of her for managing to keep her big mouth shut. And she didn’t even go overboard on the decorating.

I took Lanie’s hand and guided her over the threshold, closing the door behind me. Walking over to the mantle above the fireplace, I picked up the remote and pressed the button to set the gas logs ablaze.

“What do you think? ” I asked when she still hadn’t said anything.

She looked around. There had been some slight remodeling done, but I’d insisted that all the quaint nuances Lanie had gushed about were to be left intact. The floors had been stripped and polished and the furniture was all new, but earthy and plush. Every amenity she might ever want or need was there, complete with huge floor pillows that littered the space in front of the fireplace.

But Lanie still hadn’t said anything, and that made me nervous.

“You don’t have to keep it like this. I had Polly decorate it because I didn’t want it to be empty when I showed it to you. You can redo everything if you don’t like it. ”

She turned and closed the distance between us. “Shut up, Noah. You talk too much. ” She grabbed me by the shirt and yanked me toward her for a kiss that made my toes curl.

And she didn’t stop there, either.

Her tongue—so soft, so pliant—moved against mine, sweet like cotton candy. I held her to me, taking all that she gave and giving more in return. Her body molded to mine, and the way she moved against me … Oh, God, the way the woman moved was maddening. She had come to me a virgin, with no sexual experience at all. And although my original intention had been to teach her everything I liked, her real teacher had been her own body. She knew what she wanted, and all inhibitions dissolved when it came to getting it. And by answering her own body’s demands, she was answering mine.

Her nimble fingers drifted down the center of my shirt, freeing each button as she passed over them. She never broke the kiss, didn’t come up for air. She didn’t need to; every breath we took fed off the other’s. Her hands slid inside the opening of my shirt and pressed against my bare chest. Every muscle in my body went taut at her touch. When she finally broke the kiss, I felt the loss instantly, but her attention went to the side of my neck, and that was pretty damn okay, too.

Supple lips pulled and sucked at the skin there as her tongue tasted me. I pressed Lanie closer, meeting her questing hips and rubbing the bulge in my pants against her center. She moved to my chest, her tongue swirling over one very hard nipple while cupping the flexed muscle on the other side. And then slowly she moved her hands over my shoulders, pushing my shirt free to slide down my arms and onto the floor.

When she turned her attention to my other nipple, I weaved my fingers through her hair. Chills ran down my spine when I felt her fingernails scrape against my abdominal muscles to the waist of my jeans. She pulled at them, forcing me even closer, and then I felt her hand stroking me through my pants with the perfect amount of pressure.

“Kitten …” It was all I could muster through my heavy breathing, as I was trying desperately not to lose my shit before my cock had even been freed from its prison.

She kicked her shoes off and I found my hands at the hem of her shirt. My thumb caressed the bare skin beneath, but it wasn’t enough. So I lifted the shirt over her head to let it join mine on the floor. She was stunning in the frilly blue bra she wore underneath, the creamy mounds of her breasts spilling over the cups. I palmed them, squeezing and kneading through the thin material, the way I knew she liked it. My thumbs swept over her hardened nipples and she bit the skin on my chest in reaction. Yeah, she liked that. So much so that the button on my jeans popped open and her hand slipped inside for skin-to-skin contact.

I hissed when the heel of her palm swept over the head of my dick. “Christ, Lanie. ”

“You’re so hard, ” she said in lust-filled amazement. She moved her hand against me as much as the tight confines of my jeans would allow.

I looked down so I could see her hand shoved down the front of my pants because I knew it would look fucking hot. I was right. The head of my dick was poking out of the top of my waistband, and apparently she saw it, too, because she quickly took her hand from my pants and knelt before me. Her hot little mouth was all over the tip, greedily devouring it. My balls tightened instantly and I had to grab the tops of her arms to pull her up before I shot my load right there.

“You gotta slow down, or I’m not going to last very long, ” I warned, holding her at arm’s length.

A sultry gleam illuminated the baby blue of her eyes, and she pushed against my hold to tug on my pants. “I don’t want to slow down, Noah. I want you. I want to feel you, thick and hard inside me. I want to taste your come sliding down my throat. I want to feel your lips and tongue on my pussy. I want it all, Noah. I need it all, and you promised you’d give me everything I wanted or needed. ”

“Fuck, ” I groaned at her dirty talk. It was a weakness, and she knew it. She had me wrapped around her little pinky, knew how to work me just the right way, how to twist my words to work in her favor. And far be it from me to go back on my word. It was as good as gold—and damn it all if I didn’t want the same exact things she wanted. Except I had one more gift for her that was sure to make our evening together so much more pleasurable.

“Wait, Lanie. I have something for you, ” I told her as I reached into my pocket.

“More? But Noah, you’ve already given me a house and a diamond ring …”

I gave her a wickedly evil grin as I brought my hand to eye level and released my fist to let the string of pearls I was holding unfold. “Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend, but pearls are a hell of a lot more fun, ” I told her with a waggle of my brows. She looked confused, but it didn’t matter. It was merely a matter of minutes before she saw, or rather felt, for herself.

I grabbed Lanie and yanked her hard against my body, my mouth crashing onto hers as our lips met, our teeth clashed, and our tongues tangoed in a hard, hungry kiss. I sank to my knees on the floor pillows and she followed, never breaking the kiss. Her hands were everywhere, sweeping up my chest and over my shoulders to slowly drift along my biceps. I flexed them for her, knowing she loved it, and she moaned into my mouth.

While she was enjoying feeling me up, I made fast work of her bra, snapping it free to push the straps down her arms and toss it to the side. Her round, firm breasts pressed against my naked chest and my lips found the spot where her neck met her shoulder. She moaned when I ran the pearls over her hardened nipples and sucked at the skin of her neck. Leaving the pearls for a moment, my fingers deftly released her jeans and pushed them over her curvaceous hips.

I kissed along the length of her neck to the spot below her ear and cupped her ass while taking the pearls and exploring her beautiful mound with my fingertips and the satiny smooth roundness of the pearls. The slightest of pressure from the beads teased her, made her beg for more until I pressed harder, rolling them around her swollen clit. She gasped and dug her nails into my back as she sucked and nipped at my shoulder. It drove me crazy.

I pulled back to look at her, my cock becoming impossibly harder as I watched the expression on her face tell me everything I needed to know but still wanted to hear. “Is this what you need, kitten? ”

She confirmed my suspicion with a breath, “Yes, more. ”

“How about this? ” Sliding my fingers and the pearls between her wet, silky folds, I coated them in her juices.

She moaned and nipped at my shoulder again while rolling her hips forward. “Mmm, more. ”

“So greedy, Delaine, ” I murmured against her ear, and then I took her lobe into my mouth, just as two of my fingers found her opening and pushed the pearls inside to give her exactly what she wanted.

She gasped and her head fell back, giving me ample access to her throat. I ran my tongue along her jugular and inhaled deeply. The scent of her arousal mixed with the light perfume she wore, and I licked my lips, suddenly feeling feral and starved.

“I can smell you, Delaine. Your arousal smells so sweet, so enticing. ” I pushed more of the strand of pearls inside her. She moaned, undulating and helping my progress until the task was complete. Moving my fingers back and forth at a slow pace, I used the pearls to stroke her G-spot while my thumb applied the right amount of pressure to her little bundle of nerves. She pressed her hips forward, begging for even more still.

“Feels good, doesn’t it, kitten? You like it when I fuck you with my fingers? ”

“Yes. Oh, God, yes. ” She spread her thighs as wide as her pants would let her and moved against my hand. “Give me more. ”

“More? Like this? ” I pumped my fingers inside her with the pearls. She made this sexy little sound that made me want to rip those pearls out and shove my dick deep inside her. She was slick and silky soft, and I thought I was going to lose my mind. “Fuck, kitten. You’re so goddamn wet. I need you to lie back. I want to see. ”

Lanie held on to my shoulders and I slowly lowered us until she was lying on the floor pillows. She protested with a pouty groan when I removed my fingers from her to pull her pants the rest of the way off. I needed to see all of her, watch as I worked my fingers inside her. She spread her legs for me, an eager invitation to do as I pleased with her. And I would.

Her wetness glistened in the light of the fire, the string of pearls hanging from her opening to entice me even more. I licked my lips in anticipation of tasting her, but I pushed my fingers back inside her to stir the pearls again. “Fuck, that’s a beautiful pussy, Delaine. And it’s all mine. ”

Without warning, I hooked the strand of pearls and slowly pulled on them. A low groan came from my girl, growing louder still with the roll of her body. I nipped at her hip, entranced by the sight, but no longer able to help myself. So I ripped the strand out of her all at once.

“Oh, God! ” Lanie came, her body arcing off the floor. For a moment I thought maybe I’d hurt her, but she bit down on her lip hard to stifle a keening moan.

My fingers found their mark, plunging inside her to stroke the slightly rough patch of her G-spot, pushing her orgasm to extend beyond measure. She moaned and arched her back, and I leaned over and took one pebbled nipple into my mouth. My tongue flicked over it, back and forth, my teeth grazing it, oh so tenderly.

“Harder, Noah, ” she pleaded breathlessly.

I complied, on both ends. Thrusting my fingers in and out of her, sheathing them all the way up to the knuckles, I sucked and pulled at her nipple with my teeth. Her answer was a hard tug on my hair. I fucking loved the rough stuff, and she knew it.

“I need you inside me now. ” She rolled her hips against my hand. “Please? ”

Yeah, I felt her pain. I needed to be inside her, too, couldn’t stand not being there any longer. And that kind of pissed me off because there was so much more I wanted to do with her, but I figured, fuck it, we had the rest of our lives, so I pulled my fingers out of her.

Holding my weight up on one arm, I unzipped my pants and pulled my cock out. My lovely assistant swept her hands over my ass, pushing my jeans down enough to allow me movement. I should’ve taken the time to take them off, but the moment was there and I wasn’t about to press the pause button.

Lanie was eager, lifting her hips, but then I decided a little teasing would be fun. So I rubbed the head of my dick along her slit and then pressed it to her clit while rotating my hips. She moaned loudly when she looked between us to watch the head of my cock rubbing against her. I loved to torture her, build up the anticipation, so I slid it back down, pressed forward at her entrance, and then pulled away again to repeat the cycle.

“Please, Noah …”

Yeah, I liked to hear her beg for my cock.

I smirked down at her. “Please what? You want me to fuck that beautiful pussy? ”

She nodded and bit down on her lip, her chest rising and falling. To further drive home her point, she brought her knees up and held on to my ass with both hands to undulate beneath me. Yeah, that was enough of that shit. My woman wanted cock, she was getting cock. I looked between us and pressed the head of my dick to her entrance, slowly pushing into her. We both moaned out our pleasure at finally being joined, and I couldn’t help myself—I wanted more of that feeling.

“Goddamn, that feels good, doesn’t it? ” I asked her. “There’s just nothing quite like the first time I push into you. The way your pussy grips my cock—so hot, so soft, so wet. That feeling … it’s second to none. Let’s try that again, shall we? ”

I watched when I pulled out of her. Her juices coated my cock, and her opening, having stretched to accommodate my girth, melted back to the tiny hole it had been before I’d infiltrated it. It was an amazing sight to behold.

The glint of wetness on the pearls to my side caught my eye and a wicked idea formed in my head. I picked them up and wrapped them in a single layer around my cock, making it ribbed, for her pleasure. Lanie grinned at me when she saw what I’d done, the look in her eye reminding me once again of the night we’d traded tit for tat and I’d taken her virginity. She was game. And I was horny as fuck.

I pushed forward again, watching the head of my dick disappear as she stretched to take me in. My eyes rolled to the back of my head when I felt the pearls shimmy along my shaft. If the sound Lanie made at the same time was any indication, I’d say it was as good for her as it was for me. Knowing that, I couldn’t stop my hips from surging forward as I buried my entire length inside her. She squeezed my ass in her hands, holding me there while she undulated beneath me, rubbing her clit against my groin.

I encouraged her, wanted her to do what came naturally, because that was what got me off. “That’s it, kitten. Do what feels good to you. Use my body for your pleasure. ”

“You’re so thick, so hard, ” she moaned. “I love the way your cock feels inside me. And those pearls …” She growled the last word, her eyes closing in total bliss.

Fucking A. My million-dollar baby had turned pro on me.

I pulled back and slammed back into her. “Like that? ”

She dug her nails into the cheeks of my ass. “God, yes! Faster. ”

Moving inside her with five quick thrusts, I gave her what she wanted, and then I stilled, completely sheathed. I rotated my hips to give her the friction she needed against her clit. Plus it did some pretty amazing things to my cock when those pearls rolled around like that.