Melody Anne's Billionaire Universe: Roadside Assistance (Kindle Worlds Novella) (8 page)

Pulling back, she tore open his shirt, satisfied at the sound of buttons tearing from the fabric.

“That was my favorite shirt.”

“Buy another one,” she suggested as she dropped to her knees and pulled his belt from the buckle. Impatient and burning for him, she popped the button, but took care in lowering his zipper. The back of her hand brushed against his boxer briefs. He hissed and she smiled, relishing the little victory.

His pants fell to the floor, but she made no move to help him step out of them. This was better. He stood there at her mercy, unable to move. The hardness straining his underwear called to her, and she did something she had never done before. She opened her mouth on him, biting down gently on his length.

“Son of a —”

Her sultry laugh sounded foreign to her ears. “Take off the rest and get on the bed.”

He scrambled to do as he was told and took a seat on the edge of the bed. “Come here,” he said.

“No.” She stopped, and flicked the button on her pants. Keeping her eyes on his, she dragged the cotton over her hips nice and slow. “Lie down, Lathan.”

“I’m not sure I like this side of you.”

“In the bedroom, it’s the only side you get.”

He tilted his head. “Really?”

She nodded to the nightstand next to the bed. “Yeah. You have condoms in that drawer?”

“Sure do. Help yourself.”

With every stitch of clothing stripped, she climbed up over him, tore the condom wrapper open with her teeth, and rolled it on. His teeth clenched and he let out a hiss. Jack smiled with satisfaction.

Poised over him, holding herself there, she let the tip of him graze her wet heat. Sharp pleasure surged through her, almost stealing her breath, but not yet. She wouldn’t let her body take control yet. She took his large hands in her much smaller ones, raised them over his head, and wrapped his fingers around the posts of the headboard.

“Hands stay just like that. Trust me… I know what I’m doing.”

And there it was again, the smile, those dimples. His gaze flickered to the nipple that hovered within inches of his mouth. “It seems I’ve heard that before. You’re a repetitive one.”

“I prefer ‘consistent’.”

“You would.” He thrust his hips up, bumping her forward, where he sucked that tight peak into his mouth.

Jack closed her eyes, a low moan vibrating in her throat. She pulled back and took him deep in a long, slow slide. She opened her eyes to find him studying her. When he thrust up again, hitting her in all the right spots, she bit her lip to keep from crying out.

“Show me what you’ve got, Jack.” Letting her eyes slide shut again to block out the way he looked at her, looked into her, she began to move. She executed a slow, torturous roll, sending spine-tingling pleasure shooting through every part of her.

Memories from the day shuffled through her mind: his friends who’d welcomed her, his aunt who’d declared her part of the family, his parents who’d accepted her as Lathan’s choice for wife and cared about giving her a wedding she would love, and Lathan himself, who’d treated her as a capable and irresistible woman.

Something she had never had.

She railed against the feelings tangling inside with every slide. The caring. The affection. All emotions that would suck her in as surely as they did her father with her unreliable mother. Jack’s heart was her own; would always be hers and hers alone. She’d do anything possible to keep it that way.

When her orgasm screamed through her, she opened her eyes and locked on his hazy ones. His fingers had gone white where they clenched the rails. A sheen of sweat rose on his skin. His eyes became narrow slits when she sank her nails into his chest. She threw her head back, thrusting harder, her muscles squeezing tighter and tighter. Everything inside her went off, everything so sensitive she froze, and cried out with the power of it.

While locked against him, her back arched, Lathan grasped her hips and thrust harder and harder. The pinch of his fingers on her hips stung, exciting her, sending her soaring into another lung-seizing release.

He sat straight up, a shout on his lips, as he buried his face in her neck and rode out the spasms moving through him. She held on while he lost himself in her.

She prayed to God that, despite her best intentions, she hadn’t just lost herself in him.

6

Lathan rose early, unable to sleep. He had fallen asleep with Jack’s warm body tucked against his, but woke up in the middle of the night to her sneaking out on him. He let her go and spent the next couple hours feeling pissed off and cheated.

She didn’t give him a damn inch and made sure she didn’t give one single piece of herself to him during their time in bed. He wouldn’t say they’d made love. Hell, he would barely call it sex. After all, didn’t sex involve two people? Well, last night was ninety percent Jack, and ten percent him. Even though he got off, he definitely wasn’t satisfied.

Jack had some explaining to do.

So instead of tossing and turning, he showered, dressed, and got the coffee going. He shouldn’t have been surprised when Jack joined him just moments later, also showered and dressed for the day. Jack wouldn’t hide. She didn’t have it in her. She would take him on, head held high in the air.

He sipped his coffee and told himself he would not throttle her. “Good morning, Jack.”

She smiled and headed right for the coffee pot. “Lathan.”

He allowed her one sip before he slipped the mug from her fingers and set it on the counter. He clasped her legging-clad hip and, snaking his other hand around to her lower back, his fingers brushed the warm skin he discovered under her sweater.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she asked with an arched brow.

He hadn’t missed the way her hands curled over his shoulders. Her mouth questioned his actions, but her body spoke a whole other language. Maybe she wasn’t as capable of keeping him at arm’s length as she thought. And maybe he should try a different tactic. “Just saying good morning to my beautiful fiancée, before my family whisks her away and tries to turn her into someone else entirely.”

She cupped his cheeks in her hands and pulled him in for a kiss, just the briefest touch. “It’s a spa day. It’s not like they’re going to change who I am as a person.”

He swatted her behind and handed her back her coffee. “Why did you agree to this? Spas don’t seem like they would be your thing.”

She shrugged. “They aren’t. I don’t do my nails, hardly ever wear makeup, and I certainly don’t spend every six weeks in a salon; but this is important to your mother, and she’s trying.”

He scoffed. “You call this trying?”

“When I first arrived, she was almost stern, definitely unsure, but she warmed up. Then, she was sweet to me. Clearly, she doesn’t know what to do with me, but she’s trying and I appreciate that.”

“Well, you’re more understanding than I expected.”

“What’s there to be understanding of? They’re just being who they are. They don’t have to be like me, I don’t have to be like them, but I can play in their world and appreciate the effort they’re making. Maybe it’s time you cut them a little slack and gave them a little credit.”

“I don’t know if I would go that far.”

“Lathan, you brought home a tow truck driver named Jack, and within hours they treated me as family.”

“At least they treat one of us that way.” The words slipped out before he could stop them.

“Lathan—”

The pealing of the doorbell startled them both. “We’ll talk about it later. That’s probably my mother, which means you’d better suck down that cup of coffee because she’s going to be ready to roll.”

For once, he was grateful for his mother’s arrival. His mother whisked Jack away and he headed for his office.

Everett joined him within the hour and they got down to business. Lathan tried to focus on the contracts he had to review, but every grunt, shuffling of papers, and glare out of Everett had him wondering what the hell he had missed.

Everett dropped his glasses to the desk and scrubbed at his eyes. “You have a major problem on your hands, Lathan.”

“Hit me with it.”

“About six months before your brother passed, I told him about an investment opportunity in a chain of resort communities Markham Properties planned for along the East Coast. He jumped on it and has made a solid profit ever since. You’re missing money because Davis Conroy, your Chief Financial Officer, authorized the sale of your brother’s percentage in the company.”

Lathan shot out of his chair. “What the hell gave him the idea he could get away with that?”

“Conroy wasn’t on board with the decision. He’s old school, or just old. Anyway, Conroy worked with your dad. He’s a smart man, but he doesn’t like anyone younger coming in and telling him how to do things. He was used to Bradford following his guidance. Liam followed his guidance, too, until the Markham project. Conroy didn’t like my recommendation. He flat out didn’t trust me at all. Liam disregarded his advice and took mine. Made some serious money when he did, which, now, you’re losing.”

Lathan paced behind his desk. “Let me ask you something…do you know someone who can take over a CFO position? Someone I can trust implicitly?”

Everett slid off his glasses and pinches the bridge of his nose. “I do; she’s one of my people. Her name is Emilia. She’d be an asset if she’s willing to leave Harden Financial and take a chance on you. She’s the best I’ve got.”

Lathan flattened his palms on his desk and leaned on them. “I don’t want to leave you short-handed.”

Everett shook his head and slid his glasses back on. “Don’t worry about it. She belongs in a company like yours. Right now, she’s just a numbers wizard for me and my clients. She’s capable of a hell of a lot more. I wouldn’t recommend her if I didn’t think she had what it takes to do the job.”

“I’ll need her soon.”

“I’ll call her right now.” Everett pulled out his cell and scrolled through his contacts. Before he hit send, he glanced back up to Lathan. “You know, you didn’t authorize the sale, so it’s fraudulent, which means it can likely be undone. Just a word of caution: we don’t know if Conroy involved your corporate attorney. Not without seeing the paperwork. You may want to consider hiring an outside attorney to look into it.”

“You’re right. I’m willing to bet the company that you have the name of someone I can trust.”

Everett laughed. “Never bet the company, but, yes, I do; he’s also on my payroll. I’ll call him, too.”

Lathan came around the desk and held out his hand to Everett. “I can’t thank you enough for this. I don’t know how I missed this, but I’m going to make it right.”

Everett took the offered hand. “You know, I sense that you feel a bit like you’re chasing your tail running the family business. A piece of advice…you care about the details, and I would guess you care about people. That’s your strength. You don’t have to be a carbon copy of your brother to run this company successfully. You just need to delegate what you hate to others, and focus on your strengths. Build a team of people you can trust and you’ll thrive at the head of this company, as much as, and possibly more so, than Liam.”

“I’m not competing with him.”

“I’m not so sure about that. Think about it. I’m going to make those calls.”

Everett was right. Lathan knew it the minute the words came out of his mouth, but acknowledging it made him feel stupid and childish. Which meant he needed to change that shit. Competing with a ghost was ridiculous. At this point, he wasn’t even sure why he was doing it. Sure, his parents were never going to accept him as an equal, but he was going to meet their criteria, and he was going to head this company; not just to the best of his ability, but successfully. It’s the least he owed his brother. After all, if it weren’t for him keeping Liam’s secret, his brother might still be here.

Jack had never ridden in a limo before, but was beginning to think she could get used to it. Annette had arrived, and they got into the luxurious vehicle loaded with snacks, drinks, and two sisters, glaring at each other.

“Good morning, ladies!” Corrine chirped as if Edie and Francine weren’t shooting daggers with their eyes.

A lifetime of manners must have kicked in, prompting Francine, at least, into ending the glaring contest and plastering a bright, albeit fake, smile on her face. “Good morning, Corrine.” Francine nodded. She then locked eyes with Jack. “Jack.”

Well, that was chilly. Good thing Jack didn’t judge her self-worth by the measuring stick of others. “Good morning, Francine.”

Jack turned her attention to Edie. “How are you today, Eddie?”

Edie hitched a thumb toward Francine. “I was fine until this lump decided to go with us.”

Annette shook her head. “Edie, please behave.”

“Someone capable of handling you had to come along,” Francine said with her chin hitched into the air.

“I behave just fine, thank you very much!” Edie crossed her arms and huffed.

“You run roughshod over everyone, and they let you get away with it because they’re terrified those loose lips of yours will spill that stockpile of secrets you store, like a squirrel does nuts.”