Jordan Price doesn't do well with men. She has steered clear for close to
six years immersing herself into her work instead. It's helped her focus
and forget the past - the horrors she had endured. Now she has the
biggest interview of her life and she must get the job.
What she's not prepared for her is her new boss. Chase Louise. CEO,
billionaire and convict all rolled up in one sexy, god damn
package.When their worlds collide, the chemistry between the two is
electrifying and neither of them can ignore it or the secrets they are
both hiding.
CHASE
By:
KYLIE WALKER

PROLOGUE
She felt like she was floating. Her body was suddenly weightless and
without the pain that she had come to know so intimately. At first, she
was confused. She was looking down at the scene below her, watching
it like it was a movie. There was a small crowd of people and they were
looking at something along the side of the road. In her confused state
she floated over and above where they were gathered as she looked
down. What she saw jolted her senses and it all came flooding back.
Axel had been in a rage, unlike anything she had ever seen before. He
was so quick that she didn't see the first blow coming. She felt his fist
slam into her head and her body being thrown backward. Dazed, but
still conscious, she had tried to lift up her head. Suddenly he was
straddling her and telling her to take a good look at his face because it
was the last one she would ever see. He threw another punch at her face
and then another. She kept lifting her head back up. If showing him she
was still alive was all she had left, then she was going to do it, until he
killed her.
The third punch rendered it impossible for her to lift her head, but she
was still conscious when he started kicking her in the stomach. She
tried to roll into a fetal position but it was too late. She heard the sound
of cracking bones in her arms as his foot connected with them. She
vaguely remembered him raising that same foot up and smashing it
down into the side of her head just before he knelt down to the floor
where she was and put his hands around her throat. She was
unconscious from the beating before he began to squeeze and now as
she looked down at the unrecognizable carcass alongside the road it
was hard to believe that was the body that she had lived in.
She searched the sad faces of the people standing around her just as she
heard the sounds of an ambulance approaching. She wondered which
one was unlucky enough to have found her body. Which one of these

good Samaritans would wake up screaming at night with visions of her
bloody, swollen, twisted carcass dancing in their head? She didn't
remember Axel loading her onto the bike. She wasn't sure how he kept
her from falling off before they got to this fairly isolated spot. Her
memory began again when he pulled the bike over and turned off the
ignition. He hadn't picked her up gingerly. Not that it mattered to him
but there was no point. She was already gone by then. She watched him
drag her off the bike and toss her limp body along the side of the road,
into the weeds as if she were a bag of garbage. Leaving her there meant
no more to him than littering. As long as no one saw him do it, he
would walk away guilt and consequence free.
The siren was loud and she turned and saw an ambulance and a police
car racing toward them. The crowd of people moved apart as the
ambulance came screeching to a halt. She watched the police officer
take a man and woman to the side and begin interviewing them. The
woman looked shaken to her core and her husband kept his hand softly
on her shoulder as she shook and sobbed and tried to tell the officer
exactly how she had discovered the lifeless body that the paramedics
were now working on.
The medics were a man and a woman. They ran to the body with a body
board and bags that looked like they weighed a hundred pounds. The
female reached the body first and she let her bag fall off of her shoulder
and dropped to her knees next to it. Her partner brought over the body
board and the female gently placed a gloved hand underneath the
matted brown hair stuck to its neck and another on the hip and she
rolled it up gently so that the man could shove the board underneath it.
She lay the body back down just as gently. Jordan wanted to tell her
that it didn't matter. She wasn't there any longer. She was already dead,
but she quickly figured that out for herself. She heard the woman tell
the man that she couldn't find a pulse. Without hesitation, the man took
hold of the bloody and already torn shirt she was wearing and ripped it
off of her. The bruising to her stomach and ribs was horrific. Deep
purple shoe marks decorated her sides and her stomach was swollen,
probably with the blood from the organs Axel had injured as he beat
her. The medics left her bra in place and began CPR. Jordan watched
curiously as the

woman compressed the body's chest while the man covered her nose
and mouth with a mask and began to squeeze a big blue bulb with his
hand, forcing oxygen into the no longer functioning lungs. Ironically
her thought at that very moment was that she should have left him a
long time ago.
She tore her eyes from the dramatic scene unfolding below her and
looked through the crowd. She knew he was there somewhere, she
could feel him. It was dark, cold feeling, just like the look in his eyes
just before she slipped into unconsciousness and he proceeded to kill
her. She spotted him about twenty feet away. He was standing across
the road in a clump of trees and bushes, watching. She wondered
briefly if he could feel her there too. But she quickly decided against it.
Feelings were not a part of his DNA. The only thing that pumped
through his veins besides the darkness was a strong sense of
self-preservation. She knew for sure that was the only reason he was
there now. He wanted to be sure that she was dead. He wanted to be
sure she could never tell anyone what he had done to her. She was
pulled back to what was happening to the body below her when she
heard the male medic say, "I still don't have a pulse." She immediately
turned to look back across at Axel. He seemed to be smiling and in the
chaos of the moment no one noticed as he climbed back on his bike
with a look of sheer relief on his face and pulled away.
"Come on honey!" the woman was yelling. "Please don't die on me.
Come on, not today, not on my shift." She seemed like a nice lady. I
would hate to be the one to tell her that it was too late. I'm already gone
and I don' t know how to get back. "Come on sweetie, breathe for me."
The man was talking to me too. They were both calling her sweetie and
honey because they didn't know her name. If she had one wish at that
moment, other than still being alive, it was that they at least knew her
name. Axel never used her name anymore. He called her all sorts of
nasty, vile things, but not Jordan because using her name would imply
that he had any respect for her existence and obviously he didn't.
The medics had put the sticky pads on her bare chest and they'd hit the
button each time the
robotic voice told them to. It had netted them nothing the first two

tries. She watched now as the voice from the machine said,
"Charging... Clear ....Administering shock." The body jerked up off the
ground as the pulse of electricity charged through it and then the
strangest thing happened. She could feel the pain. She could feel the
medic's fingers on the side of her neck and from her place on the
ground she heard the sound of a female voice saying, "I've got a pulse!"

Chapter 6
Jordan
Jordan pulled her eyes open in a panic. Sunlight flooded the room and
fear seized her chest. She was late! She sat straight up in bed and
looked at the clock on the nightstand. The neon numbers were almost
invisible in the face of the sun that came in through the window. She
squinted and finally saw that it said, '6:59 am.' With a sigh of relief, she
realized that she wasn't late at all and she smiled at her own silliness.
She had the biggest interview of her life today and of course, she wasn't
going to sleep through it. As if offering proof, the numbers on the clock
changed just as the first alarm she had set on her phone began to
screech. She had set four of them, each one ten minutes apart.. .just in
case. She reached over and picked up the phone and shut off the alarm.
She smiled again when she saw the text from her roommate Natalie that
said,
"Sorry about opening your blinds, but I wanted to make sure you didn't
oversleep. Good luck today!" She wished Natalie was there so she
could tell her she had woken up a minute before her alarm. so there!
She smiled to herself. She would stop by the coffee shop while she was
out and rub it in, just a little bit.
She let her feet hit the floor and stretched before getting out of the
comfortable bed and going out to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee. The
place was deathly quiet as it usually was first thing in the morning.
Their neighbors had nine-to-five jobs, so by eight o'clock the building
was virtually silent. Jordan enjoyed the solitude, it was her favorite
time of day. She loved sitting quietly and reading the paper or watching
the morning news while she sipped her coffee. She knew she would
miss it if she got the job with Louis Marketing, but it was a small price
to pay for a dream job.
Not if she got the job, but when, she corrected herself silently. She was
going to get the job. Natalie routinely reminded her that she had to start
thinking with a more positive attitude if she expected to get the

good things she deserved out of life. She developed a mantra as she
went through the motions of getting herself ready for the interview.
The job is mine. I have the job. My success is assured. She stepped
underneath the shower head as she said it and let the cool water
energize her. Cooler water made her skin tingle and awakened her
senses. She wanted to be wide awake this morning and clear headed.
She was going to get this job.
The job is mine, she thought again as she dried her wavy brown hair
and pinned it up in loose curls all over her head. She had let it set while
she finished getting ready. The job is mine, she said again as she went
over to the chair where she had laid out her outfit the night before. She
took a deep breath now when she looked down at it and remembered
that she had maxed out her last credit card to buy it. She shook off the
anxiety and told herself it would be okay because the job is mine. She
slipped on her white bra and panties before sliding her arms into the
fitted white blouse and buttoning it up the front. Then she stepped into
the pencil skirt. It was camel colored and soft to the touch. She liked the
way it felt against her skin. It was comforting. She tucked the blouse in,
zipped up the skirt and put on the black leather belt before she slipped
into her black patent leather heels. She turned to look at her reflection
in the full-length mirror attached to the closet door behind her. The
outfit was classic and simple and once she added her string of fake
pearls and the knock-off watch that she had gotten for Christmas last
year she would look professional and pulled together. The job is mine,
she said into the mirror with a smile.
Jordan was a photographer and she was proud of saying it was who she
was, not what she did. She had an eye for the human face and what
made it most attractive. That eye came in handy when she applied her
make-up. She didn't use much, just a little bit of concealer around her
forehead and beneath the line of her jaw and lighter powder on the
bridge of her straight nose and between her eyebrows. She blended it
all together and added a touch of mascara and lip gloss and then just a
gentle brush of light blue shadow across the top of her lashes to make
her blue-gray eyes pop. Once she finished she took the pins out of her
hair and shook it out. It fell down across her shoulders in gentle waves
and she ran her fingers through it and once again took a good look at
herself.

"Perfect," she whispered. She looked at the clock and smiled again. She
was ready to go with plenty of time to stop by the coffee shop and chat
with Nat. She grabbed her small tan purse and tucked her portfolio
underneath her arm and headed out. It was just a few blocks to the
coffee shop and the morning was beautiful. She enjoyed the quick stroll
and all the way there she told herself, the job is mine.
As she walked through the door of the little coffee shop she heard a
whistle and turned to smile at her friend. "Not bad, girl."
"Not bad?" she asked with a mock pout.
"Okay, fine. You look amazing."
Jordan smiled. "Amazing enough for a free drink?" She gave Nat a
wink and Nat rolled her eyes.
"Don't we have a coffee maker at home? You know the one I left coffee
for you in this morning because I'm such an incredible roommate?"
"I had one cup and it was greatly appreciated. But I have this big
interview today and I think just a little more caffeine would put me in
the right frame of mind."
Natalie chuckled and shook her head as Jordan waved to the other two
barista's, Rachel and Devon behind the counter before she took a seat.
Jordan sat down and a few minutes later Natalie brought her coffee
over and sat down with her friend.
"Are you ready?"
Jordan smiled. "I was born ready. I eat interviewers for breakfast."
"Did you eat breakfast, by the way?"
"Yes, Mom, I ate a healthy breakfast since it's the most important meal
of the day and I have to be ready for whatever the world hurls at me."
Jordan rolled her eyes before she took a sip of the latte her best friend
had made. Strong, iced, with plenty of soy milk. Natalie knew how she
liked it.
She twirled a strand of dark red hair around one finger, as she watched
Jordan with a concerned eye. "Sorry, but I know how you sometimes
don't take care of yourself when you're nervous about something."
"I' m not nervous."

"Bullshit." "I'm not!"
"So that wasn't you rushing around your room last night like a kid
before the first day of school, laying out your outfit and talking to
yourself about positive thinking?"
Jordan frowned. "The walls in that apartment are way too thin."
"Tell me about it. I was the one trying to sleep."
"Sorry." She offered Natalie some of her latte as a show of remorse.
"Like I didn't caffeinate the minute I walked in here," Natalie joked
looking around the space. "It's one of the perks of being a manager. I
tell the underlings to do all the work while I sit and drink."
"Gee, I can hear you," Devon said, rolling his eyes.
"Gee, I know." Natalie turned back to Jordan. "You've got this."
"I know I do."
"This could be the start of great things for you." "I know it could, and it
will. It will." Jordan added the second 'It will' to calm the nerves. "You
deserve this."
Their eyes met, and they gave each other a short, mute nod. They had
that sort of shorthand communication that all best friends did after
knowing each other for so long. Not only had they lived together for
years, they had been friends back in college. Natalie had been through
it all with her; the one always there.
Jordan pushed thoughts of the past out of her head as she stood. "Okay.
Time to go. I still look okay?"
"Except for that coffee stain on your blouse," Natalie said, pointing.
"What?" She looked down in horror. "Just kidding. Go knock 'em
dead."
Jordan scowled and shook her head as she left, the sound of Natalie's
chuckle faded behind her. Wouldn't that have been just like her? Get all
dressed up, feel great, and then spill coffee she had convinced her best
friend to give her for free. It would be best to get to the interview and
stop pressing her luck. She was already taking a

chance by walking down the street in heels. She was never the most
graceful or coordinated person though she tried hard to be.
She did deserve a break she told herself as she walked in the lobby of
the company she hoped to work for with her head held high. She had
talent, drive, and determination and she had worked so hard to get this
far. If she hadn't been derailed early on in life, she could have been
much further along. It had taken a long time, way too long, to accept
that she was worthy of more from life than the bare minimum. Only a
person who had been what she had been through would understand
that.
This isn't the time to think about it, she reminded herself as she walked
toward the reception area of the Louis building. I can do this. I will do
this. No doubt about it. The only worry she had at that precise moment
was that she would have to deal with Mr. Louis himself during her first
interview. She had heard that he wasn't easy to impress. That's okay,
though, she told herself. I've got this.

Chapter 11
Chase
"You're going to be in on the interview?" Brigitte's big, blue eyes
widened in surprise when he informed her of the change in his
schedule.
He nodded tersely before he corrected her, "I'm going to be conducting
the interview personally." He didn't have time to explain it to her and
since he was the boss, he didn't really have to. He felt generous though
and gave her a reassuring smile. "You know how important this
campaign is. Not just for us but for the client."
"Because of your relationship with the client," she mused. "Because of
my friendship with Trevor, yes." Chase and Trevor were best friends
since prep school and Chase didn't want to deal with Trevor's father's
disappointment if the campaign fell flat. Not like one of the world's top
luxury car companies needed Louis Advertising's help to grow, but
they did need to rebrand. They wanted a fresh image. The board of
directors was full of old men just a few years' shy of having to wear
adult diapers if they didn't already. They had run out of fresh ideas, so
they had turned to Chase. Louis Advertising had a great reputation
thanks to eight years of his hard work but he still felt the need to prove
he was up to this challenge.
"I'll reschedule your eleven o'clock, then," Brigitte said as she made a
note on her calendar. Chase nodded in dismissal and got back to work.
Or at least he tried. He couldn't help but wonder why he still felt like he
had anything to prove, to anyone. If he hadn't proved himself already
after eight years of taking over Louis Advertising and growing their
revenue every year, what would it take? No matter what he did, no
matter how many awards the company won or how many successful
campaigns they launched he couldn't shake the thought that he was still
being judged somehow. All the old clients of his father's generation
that he had done business with for years looked at Chase and judged
him. Most of them knew what a cold-hearted and brutal son of a bitch
Charles

Sr. was and still they judged Chase for what he had done. Or what they
thought he did.
What he let them think he did.
Trevor's dad was probably the worst of them all, which was why it was
crucial for them to get the campaign right. Trevor wouldn't admit it, but
Chase had the feeling his best friend had done more than his share to
get Louis Advertising that contract. He was always Chase's
cheerleader, his best friend, his brother from another mother. He had
prodded his old man into submission as soon as he found out about the
rebranding idea and for all Chase knew he had planted the idea in his
father's head.
He couldn't let himself think about that right now. There was too much
to be done and too many other clients to satisfy in the process. He didn'
t normally take an active hand in the lower-level deals of the company
like interviews for the artistic team, but sometimes as an astute
businessman, he knew it was prudent to check in every once in a while.
This was one of those times. The morning meeting was supposed to be
a catch-up session in which the artistic team would bring him up to date
on their latest work. He didn't have the talent they had, but he could
spot talent, and he had a knack for knowing whether an idea was good.
All of their most successful campaigns had gotten his seal of approval
in the early stages.
He read through contracts and signed documents Brigitte had left on his
desk, and when he looked up at the clock, it was time for the interview.
He slid his thick arms into his suit jacket and made sure the cuffs were
just barely showing at the ends. They covered the last tattoos he had
gotten while he was in prison. He straightened his tie and then ran a
hand through his short, dark brown hair. The girl he was about to
interview had come highly recommended. Her name was Jordan Price
and Trevor had suggested her himself.
The door opened at just eleven, and Chase's tall, blonde assistant led a
young woman into the corner office. The breath caught in his throat
when he took his first look at her. Was she the girl Trevor had
recommended? He had told Chase she was talented and that she had an
excellent work ethic. What he had failed to tell him was that she was
the most gorgeous woman in Manhattan. He actually grabbed the edge
of the

desk to steady himself when she stepped into the room.
He cleared his throat and reminded himself to stay in professional
mode. This was his business, not a pick-up bar. "Welcome," he said, "I'
m Chase Louis," he extended his hand out for her to shake. She took it
and her small hand disappeared into his massive one. She was a tall girl
with legs about a mile long and her bone structure was so fine and
delicate he couldn't help but think he could easily crush her. He shook
off that bizarre thought when she spoke.
"I'm pleased to meet you, Mr. Louis. I'm Jordan Price." Her voice was
feminine and husky and it seemed to go straight to his cock. He was
always a sucker for a woman with a husky voice. It made him imagine
what she would sound like screaming out his name in the throes of
ecstasy.
"Can I get you anything to drink?" Brigitte asked her. Chase tried to get
a grip on himself. What the fuck was wrong with him? He hadn't turned
into a drooling adolescent at the sight of a woman in years. Of course, it
may have been years since he had been in the same room as a woman
like this one.
"Just water, please," Jordan told Brigitte with a smile. She sat down
across from Chase and crossed her long, lean legs. He swallowed the
lump that formed in his throat and tried to ignore the light, floral scent
that assaulted his nostrils and drove him crazy. Every one of his senses
were suddenly in overdrive.
"Miss Price, I understand you have a working relationship with Trevor
Stilts," he said.
She smiled and he couldn't help but notice that her breaths were fast
and short and her hands clutched at each other in her lap. She was
nervous, or did she feel the electricity crackle in the air the way he did?
"Yes, I did a little work for a mutual friend a year ago. I was freelancing
at the time. You know Trevor?"
"Yes. It's his company that we're running a new campaign for, or rather,
his father's company. Luxury cars. That's what you would be working
on. He actually recommended you to me when we discussed putting a
team together."
Her smile widened. "So now I know why he made it sound so

important that I apply for the position when he called me last week. It
all comes together."
"Why do you think he recommended you?" He sat back in his chair and
looked her up and down. Thick, dark hair he could imagine sinking his
hands into and tangling around his fingers. Full tits that he wanted to
bury his face in. He could imagine them bouncing up and down while
she rode him, her plump lips open as she moaned and those long legs
and that tiny waist. He hadn't gotten a look at her ass and found himself
anticipating it when she left. He couldn't help but wonder if she knew
just how hot she was. He couldn't see how she could not if she had ever
possessed a mirror, but if she did, she probably wouldn't look so
nervous. She didn't exude the same confidence or arrogance that
women who looked like her usually did. Chase had known enough
beautiful women to know when one was full of herself. This one was
different somehow.
She shrugged and with a nervous little laugh she said, "He came into
the studio one day while I was conducting a shoot. He was visiting the
client who was a friend of his. We got to talking and I gave him my
card. Once the photos were published he called to tell me how much he
liked them. I guess he was impressed enough with my work to hope
that I'd do a good job on his father's campaign."
Chase had no doubts why she had stuck with Trevor. Trevor knew his
best friend's tastes, and he knew that she was the kind of girl Chase
would love to spend time with. I'll have to send Trevor a box of cigars
or a bottle of Scotch as a thank you gift.
"He must have been," Chase said, trying not to smirk. She had no idea
that his horny friend had been obviously impressed with the same
assets he was lusting after at the moment. She was really clueless and
he had to wonder how she could be so naive. The air of innocence did
make her sexier, though as if that was possible.
"I brought my portfolio if you would like to take a look. "
"Yes, please." She lifted it over the desk and while he looked through
the photographs his mind actually changed tracks from her insane
sexiness and moved on to admire her work. Maybe he had been wrong
about Trevor's motives. She really was good. "This is a great

shot," he said, pointing to one she took of a reflection in a puddle. It
looked like it had just rained, and there was a puddle in a pothole. In the
puddle was the reflection of a deep blue sky and the top of the Empire
State building. Most people would have just taken a photo of the
building. Another Empire State Building photo in a world of billions of
them. She captured a completely different side of it.
"I love that one, too," she admitted. "I was just walking down the street,
and there it was. I had to stop what I was doing to get it before it went
away."
"So you didn't actively go looking for this? You happened to stumble
on it and saw its value?" "That's right."
"Not everybody has an eye like that," he smiled, looking at more of her
work. A pair of nuns walking past the front of an old church. Two kids
eating ice cream on a front stoop. A few professional shots—a
headshot of a pretty redhead and an older couple beaming at each other
with obvious affection.
"I take my camera everywhere," she told him. "You never know when
something interesting will happen. I admire the work of Vivian Maier.
Have you ever heard of her?"
"Who hasn't?" he asked. "She was one of the best street photographers
of all time." He glanced up at her in time to see the serene smile that she
had on her face. He felt like he couldn't breathe for a few seconds.
"I'm impressed," she said. "Not many people I've spoken with know
who she was."
"I' m a Jack of all trades," he grinned.
"And a master of none?" she countered with a playful smile. Then she
must have thought she went over the line because her demeanor
changed. She seemed to draw inward, closing in on herself like a clam.
He wished she wouldn't. She was intelligent, funny and clever. How
rare it was to find a woman with all that and a body like a goddess too.
Then again, Chase had to remind himself to be professional. He cleared
his throat, just as Brigitte came back in with a bottle of water for
Jordan. He watched a little too closely as she uncapped the bottle and

brought it to her full, glossy lips. He felt his pants tighten over his
crotch as his cock filled with blood. He was relieved they sat down on
opposite sides of the desk. He shifted a little in his chair and tried to
refocus on the task at hand.
He liked what he saw, and not just of her. He wanted a fresh pair of
eyes for the job, which was why he was going outside the agency in the
first place. He explained this as she listened carefully with her eyes
locked on his. He almost lost track of himself once or twice, as he
stared into those blue-gray orbs. It was a shade he had never seen
before and they were wide and innocent and framed by long dark
lashes.
"I' m going to be working closely on this project. Does the thought
bother you at all? Working closely with the CEO of the company?"
She smiled. "Why would it?"
"Some people would rather not feel the boss breathing down their
neck," he reasoned, his cock twitched at the thought.
She shifted and uncrossed her legs to cross them again in the opposite
direction. He actually saw her pulse jump in her throat and a blush
began to color her cheeks. "I don't mind the idea."
"No?"
"Not at all." Did her eyes darken? Did she just flirt with him? It felt like
the temperature in the room went up at least ten degrees and his cock
nearly hit the underside of the desk. "I'll be gentle, I promise."
"Not too gentle, I hope. I don't want to let you down." She was still
blushing, but she held his gaze firmly just the same.
"I don't think you could do that if you tried. You've got the job."
A look of shock and pure delight colored her pretty face. "I do?
That easy?"
"It won't be easy. I can assure you that. You'll wish you'd never met
me." He grinned but he wasn't exactly kidding. He wasn't known for
being easy on his employees.
"I don't think that would be possible." She beamed, clasping her hands
together. "When can I start? Today?"
Chase laughed at her eagerness. She was all fresh-faced and happy, the
teasing temptress forgot for a little while. He hoped that side of her
would come out again, someday.

"How does tomorrow sound?"
"That sounds great. Thank you so much." She stood and he did as well.
She shook his hand again and this time he made a point of holding on
just a second or two longer than he had to. He relished the softness of
her skin. She averted her pretty eyes and it was like the spell between
them had been broken and she was naive and innocence again. He
hadn't imagined the veil slipping a little though he was sure that it just
did. He had gotten a glimpse of her sensual side and he had a painful
hard-on to remind him. He stood behind his computer that was on his
desk so she wouldn't see the tent in his pants and watched her leave.
Her ass was just as round and perfect as he had imagined it would be.
He took a long, deep breath. Who was that woman, and where the hell
had she been all his life? She was a breath of fresh air, somebody smart
and savvy, but innocent at the same time. She was sweet and her smile
could light up a room, but there was also a sadness, deep in her eyes. He
couldn't put his finger on it, but he could see it. He could always see it.
Maybe because he had already seen so much of it himself. He didn't
have a doubt in his mind that she was the right person for the job but
even if she hadn't been he wasn't sure he could have resisted hiring her.
He needed top talent on the campaign and she was obviously that.
"What do you think?" Brigitte stood in the doorway with an inquisitive
look on her face. He gave her a short nod. She knew what to do from
there. She had coordinate Jordan's office and set up meetings for her
with pertinent people throughout the company. He wanted to get
started right away. Thank God for efficient assistants.
"I have Samantha on line one," she added, ducking out of the room. He
rolled his eyes and his good mood was suddenly irritated. Most of the
time he wouldn't be irritated to hear from her. She was his go-to girl, his
favorite booty call. She didn't ask for much in return and it had so far
been the perfect arrangement. But today the only woman he wanted in
his sexual fantasies was Jordan Price.
"Hi. What's up?" He asked as he picked up the phone.
A pause. "What's up? Are we frat brothers now?"
He rolled his eyes. Is she really going to play games with me like that?
"No, of course not. Sorry. I'm a little busy at the moment."

"Too busy for me?" He could almost see her pouting, her inflated lips
sticking out. How many times had she had filler injected into them in
the hopes of looking like Angelina Jolie?
"Never, but I do have to make it fast." He looked at Jordan's resume and
wondered if she would find it strange if he called her to ask her to
dinner. Could he come up with a decent excuse, one which wouldn't
have her suing for harassment? Did he want to take that chance?
"We're still on for tonight, right?"
He groaned silently. They had plans. He knew well enough the wrath
that would come down on him if he dared cancel. "Of course," he said,
injecting a smile into his voice the way she injected toxins into her lips.
They did feel good around his cock, so he couldn't complain.
She practically purred into the phone. "Do I get dinner this time, or will
we get right down to business?"
The sound of her voice and the meaning behind her words were enough
to stir him out of thoughts about Jordan for the moment. "What would
you prefer?" he asked, his voice deeper with meaning.
"I didn't think I had a choice," she chuckled. "Don't you like it better
when you're in control?"
"Yes. Yes, I do." And he could think of a million ways to control
Samantha. He tucked Jordan away into his 'to do' pocket of his brain.
Samantha on the other hand was a warm and waiting body and he
definitely needed some release.

Chapter 19
Jordan
"To Jordan!" Natalie raised her glass high, and they all toasted to the
girl of the hour. Jordan wouldn't normally have been one to raise a glass
to toast in her honor, but today she felt like she deserved it. Knowing
Chase Louis himself wanted her for an important campaign had her on
a natural high that she didn't think she would ever come down from.
"How does it feel to land your first really big job?" Her friend Laurel
threw an arm around her shoulders and squeezed tight. They had been
neighbors for two years. She was the type who always came over
armed with a bottle of wine and a funny story whenever Nat or Jordan
was feeling down. Jordan had known she would be happy for her when
she heard the good news.
"A relief," Jordan laughed. "I'm still on cloud nine."
"Understood. You deserve it, honey. My parents still rave about the
photos you took of them." It had been Laurel's parents' thirtieth
wedding anniversary, and Jordan had given them a free portrait session
as a gift. Not that she knew them very well, but they were such a lovely
couple they had made her fingers practically itch to take photos of
them. She had wanted to capture the clear, deep love they had for each
other after so many years.
"I'm so glad they do," she said with a smile. "They're the kind of people
I love taking pictures of."
"And now you'll be taking pics of cars. Big change," Laurel laughed.
"I hope they don't want a bunch of half-naked women stretched out on
them," Natalie chimed in, and poured more champagne for the three of
them.
"I don't think it's that kind of campaign," Jordan chuckled. "We're not
taking pictures for a calendar here." It made her think of the sort of

stuff Axel had been into. He used to love pictures of big-breasted
women the bigger, the better, even if they were silicone induced. He
had calendars with them stretched out naked on top of cars, or washing
the cars, or astride a bike. He didn't care that they made her feel like shit
about herself. If she had one wish at the moment it would be that he
would stop popping into her head at the most random times. There she
was, in the middle of an uptown Manhattan club with two of her closest
friends, drinking champagne to celebrate her new job and she could
stop thinking about the man that almost killed her.
"What's he like?" Laurel asked. For a brief moment, Jordan thought she
meant Axel, and she shook herself.
"You mean Chase Louis?"
"Who else?" Natalie raised an eyebrow.
Jordan grinned even as her heart raced a little, remembering the tension
between them. It had been undeniable—as professional as she had
begged herself to be. It had almost been a struggle just to keep from
fanning herself. She had been sure somebody had turned up the
thermostat in there every time he looked at her with those sexy green
eyes of his. Bedroom eyes if ever there were any.
The girls took her momentary silence as all the confirmation they
needed, and both of them hollered with laughter. "As good as he looks
online?" Nat asked with a wink.
"Were you stalking him?"
"Maybe a little. I mean, who wouldn't? Didn't you when you first found
out you had an interview with his company?"
Jordan couldn't deny it, and the three of them collapsed in laughter. "Of
course!" she laughed and then wiped the tears from her eyes.
"He's...overwhelming. Let's put it that way."
"Oh, come on. You can do better than that," Laurel prompted.
They wouldn't let her off the hook. She didn't feel comfortable going
into the details of the way he had made her feel, so she kept it PG-13.
"He's gorgeous, but you knew that. Commanding. He has that sort of
confidence you only have when you were born with money and looks,
you know? And his body!" She swooned and leaned against Laurel for
support. "What I wouldn't give for the chance to see him

without his clothes on. Holy shit."
"Was there a wet spot on your panties?" Laurel laughed.
"Laurel!"
"Well?" She shrugged blithely. Jordan didn't respond.
"Well you don't have to say anything, I can see it in your eyes."
Jordan blushed, thinking about the fact that she was actually wet when
she had left his office. She had thought about him all the way home and
she might even think about him later that night, in bed with her
vibrator. That was her business, though, as long as she kept it
professional during work hours.
Jordan glanced back at her friend and caught her gazing out at the
dance floor. She tried to appear casual but Jordan knew her friend was
lonely no matter how much she protested. Natalie had walked in on her
boyfriend screwing one of the girls from his office almost a year before
and she hadn't been with anybody since then. Jordan could tell she
wanted to try again but just couldn't trust that easily. She knew how it
felt.
"See anybody you like?" she asked her.
Natalie shook her head. "I mean, yeah, there are hot guys here. You
have eyes." "I do."
"They're probably assholes," she muttered and finished her champagne.
Jordan patted her on the back.
"Not all of them. The odds say at least one has to be a good guy."
"Yeah, but what are the odds that I will find the good guy? Slim to
none." She shrugged. Jordan knew it wasn't worth arguing about,
especially once she made up her mind, so she let it go and looked
around for herself. Not that she would pick up a guy any more than
Natalie would. It had been a lot more than just one year for her. More
like six.
She caught a glimpse of a tall, dark-haired man in a navy suit and her
heart skipped a beat. Chase? Suddenly she hated everything she wore,
her hair and even her choice of beverage. Everything. What if he came
over? What if she said or did something stupid? What would he think of
her? Was he there with another woman? Would he be upset if he saw
her there since she was supposed to start work the next day? She

wanted to melt onto the floor.
The man turned toward her then and her heart sank and swelled at the
same time. She was glad it wasn't him since that helped her avoid a lot
of potential awkwardness. Still, it sort of sucked, she thought. She had
wanted it to be him. She wanted to see him again, and not in the office.
If they could set the place on fire during a simple interview, what could
they do in a club? No, it was better that they not see each other outside
of work. She had waited long enough to find a job like the one with
Chase. She couldn't screw it up by letting her hormones run out of
control. That would be the stupidest move ever.
How strange, she thought as she looked around the club. She was sure
the guys there thought they were something special. Most of them,
anyway. They thought they were hot, manly, that they would get lucky
by acting the way guys did in clubs. Trying to dance with women
without permission, buying drinks, forcing their masculinity and power
on those around them; trying to convince a woman to take them home
or to let them inside.
Compared to Chase, they were all little boys. Even Jordan knew how
ridiculous it was to compare them to him, especially when she had only
just met him that day. It wasn't fair to take her first impression and
project it onto everyone else, but since she had no intention of meeting
a guy and wasn't much of a dancer, it gave her something to do. She
watched the interaction between the people around her. The way the
men pushed and tried and forced, while the women either responded
positively or otherwise. How would Chase handle himself if he were
there? He wouldn't have to try, would he? No, he could sit back and let
the women come to him. He would be the one taking his pick of the
hottest girls in the room. His sheer sexuality and strength must draw
women to him like flies to honey. She could only imagine how much
action his bed has seen.
She wondered what he was doing right now at eleven o'clock on a
Monday night. She bet that he was out with a gorgeous, classy woman
with a name like Giselle or Bianca. Or maybe they were having sex in
his penthouse while Jordan sat in a club, nursing a glass of champagne
that Chase probably wouldn't have rinsed his mouth with. She pictured

him in bed with a faceless woman. He was on top and her legs were
wrapped around him while he pummeled her with what she imagined
was a long, thick and powerful cock. She was screaming, clawing at
him, begging him to ride her harder and harder. She was calling his
name and shrieking in pleasure as he conquered her, body and soul.
Jordan realized she was a little flushed and more than a little out of
breath. It was time to go home—she'd had a long day and tomorrow she
would have what was likely to be an even longer one. She also needed
time to relieve the painful throbbing between her legs that just the
thought of Chase Louis had stirred in her.

Chapter 24
Chase
"So? How did your interview go today?"
Chase heard the tone in Trevor's voice and rolled his eyes. "You did
deliberately send her my way, then. I thought you had."
"Who, me?" He laughed. Chase pictured him on the golf course, or in
his hot tub, or somewhere else where he could live a carefree life. He
was a good guy but unlike Chase he had no desire to settle into work
anytime soon. Then again, Trevor had a choice. His father still ran his
own company. Chase's father was dead. Somebody had to run things.
"She's something, all right." That was an understatement. Just the
thought of her was enough to make Chase twitch below the waist. He
shifted in his seat and put his feet up on the coffee table. Samantha was
in the shower, getting herself ready for him, or so she had said.
"Something? She's more than something. She's smokin' hot." Chase
rolled his eyes again at Trevor' s dated choice of words.
"And she's an amazingly talented photographer," Chase added.
"Oh, yeah. She knows her shit, for sure. I wouldn't recommend her just
because she's gorgeous."
"Right."
"Hey, I mean it." Trevor got serious, fast. "We both know how
important this is to the company. And I know how important it is to
you, even if you won't admit it."
Chase smiled. He was glad that they were on the phone. Otherwise, he
might want to hug Trevor or punch him in the face. "Thanks."
"So you think she'll be right for you, huh?"
"I think she would be right for anything, honestly. But yeah, she'll kick
ass, for sure. I have her starting tomorrow, and I hope to start shooting
next week. I think this is gonna turn out well. The creative team is
coming up with great ideas—we'll float them past you at the end of the
week when we have our meeting."

"Looking forward to it. Will the delicious Miss Price be there?"
"I'll find a way to make sure she needs to be," Chase promised. "You
deserve something better to look at in one of those meetings than my
ugly mug."
"Oh, thank Christ. Ugly fuck." Chase was laughing to himself as he got
off the phone, glad at least one person from his "old" life had stuck by
him through everything he had been through. Trevor was the only
friend who had stuck, probably because he was the only one who knew
Chase wasn't capable of what he had been convicted of. He had never
told Trevor the truth, and Trevor had never asked. He didn't have to
ask. He just knew.
Chase heard a noise in the bedroom, which he took as a signal that he
should enter. Sam liked to be totally clean and fresh for him whenever
they were together. He didn't mind, though he couldn't understand why
she didn't just take a shower at her place.
When he walked into the room, he saw that she had already lit candles.
So she was going for romance, was she? She stood by the bed, dressed
in a black lace bra and thong with almost her entire exquisite body on
display for him. A thick sheath of white-blonde hair hung over one
shoulder, waved just a bit, and it reminded him of one of those old
movie stars from the forties. Her full, pouty lips curved into a sly smile.
"Come here, big boy." She held her hands out to beckon him. He let his
cock lead the way. He couldn't think about Jordan. He couldn't think
about anything or anybody else. It wasn't fair to Samantha, who was
there for him at that moment. All she wanted was to please him. He
touched her and let his hands roam over her soft skin. She liked it when
he stroked her ass, which was why she wore thongs when they were
together. She shivered and moaned softly and goosebumps skittered
across her skin in the wake of his touch. She tipped her head back and
he avoided the blood-red lipstick she wore as he ran his tongue in a wet
trail from her chest to her chin.
"You taste so good," he growled, going in for another lick.
"All for you, baby. It's all for you." He believed her, too. That was the
sad part. He felt nothing for her except lust, but she went out of her way
for him. She didn't ask or demand anything but he knew she wanted

so much more.
She sat down on the edge of the bed with a smile and reached for his
belt. Those thoughts were tucked away for now as she unbuckled,
unbuttoned and unzipped him. She moved slow and deliberate. He
grinned down at her and wrapped his fingers in her hair. She let the
pants drop to his knees and touched him softly through his shorts. He
was hard and ready for her, and when her tongue darted out to lick her
lips, he twitched in anticipation. If only she were a brunette, he could
imagine she was Jordan.
Whoa. He couldn't think like that, he reminded himself. Just because
the girl was hot didn't mean she was the only girl in the world. She was
somewhere else, doing something else. Samantha was the one with his
cock in her hands. Soon to be in her mouth. She smiled before she freed
him and nudged his shorts down inch by slow inch. His cock finally
sprang free, fully erect and ready for action.
"Mm. ready for me, huh? What should I do with this?"
"Put it in your mouth," he muttered. "Suck it."
"Say please," she murmured and stroked him slowly.
"Suck it now. Please." He growled in an impatient tone. He didn't like
when she made him beg or even pretend to beg. But, she gave great
head so that made it almost worth it.
She lowered her head and extended her tongue to lick him from the
base of his shaft to the very tip before she took him into her mouth. He
sighed in satisfaction, closed his eyes and held her head while she
bobbed up and down. She used her tongue to stroke the underside of his
hard cock while her lips held onto him tight. She groaned and the
vibrations radiated through his cock. He gritted his teeth and willed
himself to hold back. He didn't want to come so soon...but damn it was
hard. He had been so turned on all day thinking about Jordan that he
was on the verge of coming after just a minute or two. He closed his
eyes and couldn't help himself. He imagined that it was Jordan sucking
his cock. In his mind Jordan was the one with her lips around him and
her tongue moved in circles along the underside while he slowly fucked
her mouth. It was Jordan's thick, brown hair his fingers were tangled up
in and her delicate fingers, long and skillful, that stroked his bare ass,
his thighs,

and his balls. He felt a hand reach up to stroke his chest and run long
fingernails over his muscled torso. He had almost forgotten it was
really Samantha in front of him, so consumed with his thoughts of
Jordan.
He thrust his hips and fucked her mouth harder as she groaned with
pleasure, urging him on. She sucked harder and faster. She wanted him
to explode in her mouth. He felt those nails dig into his ass cheeks and
he couldn't hold back a second longer. He came with a long, loud groan
and she lapped up every last drop. He took a deep breath, relieved at
last of the painful engorgement that had bothered him all day. But when
he looked down, it was Samantha's brown eyes he looked into. Not the
blue-gray of Jordan's eyes. He couldn't deny the slight twinge of
disappointment.
Fuck. What was wrong with him?

Chapter 28
Jordan
What a way to spend the first day at work. Staying long after everybody
else went home. She wasn't trying to gain points with management,
either. She had spent so much time getting acquainted with the ins and
outs of the company that she hadn't been able to get much actual work
done. Chase wasn't one to give her time to get her feet wet before
starting on the campaign. He expected her to hit the ground running.
She was okay with that if not just a little bit overwhelmed.
Almost as soon as she had gotten to work, Brigitte had presented her
with an office and a stack of rejected proofs.
"Wow," Jordan whispered as she took in her office. It was the first time
in her life she had ever had her own office. She was used to working out
of her living room, kitchen or bedroom, or just anywhere that she could
find a little space and a little time. What would it be like to have an
office just for her? She could leave her work there for a change instead
of struggling to find a way to balance work and life when she did both
in her apartment.
"I guess you like it, then," Brigitte smiled. "Chase gave me instructions
to approve any alterations you felt necessary."
"He did, huh?" Jordan had grinned, settling down in her chair. "While
we' re on the topic, a hot tub would look great in that corner by the
window." She pointed to the corner in question, where a potted plant
and set of bookshelves sat.
Brigitte chuckled prettily, making Jordan wonder if there was anything
she ever did that wasn't pretty or graceful. The tall willowy blonde
might have made her feel self-conscious if she wasn't so nice too. "I'll
be sure to float that past him. You might give him some ideas about his
office." Brigitte turned her attention to the proofs stacked high on the
desk and said, "You'll see a lot of rejects in here," "Mr. Louis wanted
me to get these together so you could see what he absolutely doesn't

want for this campaign."
Jordan's eyes had widened when she took in the stack of photos. "Are
these all for this one campaign?" she asked, dreading the answer. Was
he really that demanding?
"Many are from this campaign, while others are rejects from past
campaigns the car company has run."
"Oh, that's helpful. So I'll know what the client doesn't want, not just
Mr. Louis."
"Precisely."
"He's a pretty smart guy," she mused with a grin.
"You would be surprised. Let me know if there's anything else you
need. You'll find I've scheduled meetings for you today."
And she had. A lot of meetings. Nearly an entire day's worth. Jordan
met with Human Resources to fill out paperwork, with various
members of the different teams, she would be interacting with. . .
copywriters, graphic designers and the like. It had been too much
information to take in all at once, but that was the same in any big
company on the first day. That was what she had told herself, at least,
so she wouldn't feel hopelessly overwhelmed and like it was her fault
for being too slow on the pick-up.
At least she had been able to settle in and get some real work done once
the office started emptying out at the end of the day. At that point, she
had begun flipping through the proofs, photo after photo. All with
something wrong. Sometimes it was obvious, like a clear flaw in the
angle or the lighting. At other times it wasn't. She put those photos
aside in a pile of their own. Images that were technically great,
compelling, even beautiful—but not what the client wanted.
She went back to those, studying them with care. Whenever a word or
phrase came to mind that she could use to describe them, she wrote it
down. Boring. Cliché. Stuffy. Old-fashioned. Off-brand. She compared
them to other ads for the company, the ones that had been approved. A
simple Google search showed her what she wanted to know. They were
going for a younger audience, that was clear. "This ain't your daddy's
luxury automobile," she murmured, wondering how the copywriting
department would feel about using it as a tagline.

Before she knew it, the light outside the windows was virtually
nonexistent, save for the light coming from other buildings around
hers. The sun had long since set. It was after eight o'clock. She
stretched with a sigh, understanding why she felt so hungry. She hadn't
eaten since noon, and even then she had spent more time flipping
through the employee manual than eating her chicken salad sandwich.
Would it be all right to leave? That was one thing she wasn't sure about.
What constituted a full day's work there? She didn't have a set task list,
which set the job apart from any other one she'd had. She wasn't a shift
worker, either. It was a change in mindset. She decided to wrap it up for
the day, unsure why she felt a twinge of disappointment. Maybe it was
knowing how much time and effort she had put into looking good on
her first day when she hadn't seen the very person she had put out the
effort for. It didn't matter, or so she told herself. She couldn't spend her
time with Louis Advertising drooling over Chase Louis. It was fun to
have a crush, but that crush would get in the way if she let it get out of
control. Besides, she would probably see him the next day, or the day
after that. He had told her they would be working closely together,
hadn't he?
Just then she heard a noise in the quiet office. She froze in the act of
getting her things together. Was it the maintenance crew? Probably. It
was so late, after all. Who else could it be? She heard a throat being
cleared and then footsteps. She held her breath, a little unsettled once
she knew she hadn't been alone. Not like she was singing loudly to
herself or belching. She hadn't done anything embarrassing that she
remembered. It was just different, thinking she was alone and finding
out that she hadn' t been. Unnerving really. The footsteps drew closer
and at last a figure appeared in the doorway. She simultaneously
relaxed and tensed at the same time almost, something she wouldn't
have thought possible before meeting Chase Louis.
"Hey. I thought you had left your light on and was going to turn it off
before leaving," he said with what looked like a genuine smile on his
handsome face. He was almost heartbreakingly handsome, like a cross
between Jon Hamm and Channing Tatum. He could rock a suit and
look dapper and sophisticated—but he had a killer body underneath.
She just

knew it.
"I've been going through these proofs all evening," she said. "I finally
got the time after my last meeting ended."
"You went through all of them?" he asked, eyebrows shooting up.
"Sure. Why not?"
"I hadn't expected you to get through all of them at once. Didn't Brigitte
tell you? You had a few days if you needed them."
She chuckled. "She didn't add that part, but you wanted to get started on
this right away. Right? So why wait?"
He shot her one of his half-grins, one corner of his mouth going up
while the other stayed put. Her panties started dissolving then and
there, while her heart clenched in her chest and she forgot how to
breathe. He was so fine.
"I' m not one for waiting, either," he admitted. "When I want
something. I want it right away. I don't like to wait. It's nice to see you
feel the same."
"I do. I jump in head-first." When his grin broadened, she could tell he
took a double meaning from what she had said innocently. A flush
started rising over her skin, starting at her chest and moving up to her
neck, then, her cheeks. She looked down at her desk, willing herself to
keep her cool.
"So, what's a woman like you do for fun on a night like this?"
She blushed even deeper, keeping her eyes on her work so he wouldn't
catch sight of how flustered he made her. "A woman like me? And
what does that mean?"
"Are you just breaking my balls, or do you really not know what I
mean?" She took the chance of glancing at him. He leaned in the
doorway with his arms crossed, a smug smile on his handsome face.
She felt her heart skip a beat, maybe a couple of beats. She pulled her
eyes away before the very sight of Chase killed her.
"I'm not a ball breaker," she grinned, flipping through a pile of proofs.
"I can see why you weren't entirely happy with the first set of photos,
by the way."
"Oh?" She had only wanted to change the topic, but her comment drew
him to her side. That was the opposite of what she wanted. The

closer he got, the faster her heart beat and the ache between her thighs
deepened. He smelled so good, she had to struggle to control her
breathing.
"Yeah, I mean, they say nothing about the brand. The lighting's all
wrong and they don't speak to the message you want to get across."
"And how would you get the message across?" For once, it seemed as
though he wasn't being flirtatious. He wanted her actual thoughts. It
was a little jarring.
Be smart, Jordan. Show him what you've got. "You want to convey
class, style, sophistication. Upscale. Elite. Right?"
"Right."
"This has all been done. All of it. The girl in fine clothes, the bored rich
guy standing off to the side. Blah. Cliché. What about a location shot?
There are plenty of places right here in the city that would lend
themselves to a perfect background for this."
"Such as?"
"Umm, I don't know. Central Park? A couple foregoing the normal
carriage ride in favor of a tour through the park in the comfort of their
luxury automobile. Or glamping!" She was getting more excited the
longer she talked about it.
"Glamping?" He cocked an eyebrow. "What the hell is that?"
"Glamor camping. Oh, come on. You've never heard of it?"
"No, but I was never one for camping. Too many bugs." He grinned, his
mouth screwing up at one corner.
Did he have any idea how sexy that single expression was? Or how
tough it was for a woman who had been without a man for so long to
restrain herself? She quickly cleared her throat. "Glamping is comfort
camping. Think massive tents with lanterns and fire pits, satin bedding,
portable showers, TVs. That sort of thing."
"So how would we tie that into this?"
"What if we set up a glamping situation and in the middle of it all was
the car our couple chose to glamp in? I don't know. I ' m just
spitballing."
He grinned, nodding. "I like it. You think outside the box. Come up
with a list of ideas like that and I 'l l float them past the company CEO
in

the morning. He's pretty open-minded, and he trusts my judgment. I
think he'll love it."
"You know him that well?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"He's my best friend's father," Chase admitted with a smile. Jordan
blushed, lowering her eyes. Of course—all rich people knew one
another. She wondered if he felt comfortable with her knowing about
his inside connection to the job.
"That's why it's important for me to take a hands-on approach. I don't
normally. You won't find me working this closely on other projects."
He moved just a half step closer. "Though I enjoy the excuse to work
closely with you."
Her mouth went dry, her knees went weak. Her nipples went rock hard
inside her lacy bra. She felt her heart pounding against her ribs,
threatening to break them. "You do?" she managed to croak.
"Yes, I do. Can't you tell?" He was close, so close. Almost close
enough to brush his lips against hers. He held her gaze with his deep-set
eyes. They flashed and burned, inviting her closer. . . she sighed softly,
leaning in...
Then she came to her senses, straightening up and taking a step back.
"I' m glad to hear it. I enjoy working with you, too. " She busied herself
then in hopes of hiding her shaking hands. If she kept moving, he might
not see how flustered he had made her. How close she had come to
giving in to what every nerve in her body screamed for.
"Are you all right, Jordan?" His voice was light, teasing. Like he knew
all too well what her problem was and loved it.
"Just fine. I caught a glimpse of the clock on the wall, is all." She
pointed to the large timepiece which read eight-thirty. "If you want me
to have a list of ideas by morning, I ' d better get home and start
thinking."
"I had hoped we could brainstorm together. Maybe over a late dinner?"
It didn't seem to bother him that she had already backed away when it
would have been so easy to give in. It hadn't phased him. He was just
that confident.
"I do my best thinking alone," she said, hoping he would let it go. She
couldn't stay strong for much longer.
He seemed to get the hint, straightening up and putting a little more

distance between them. "Understood. I ' l l leave you to it, then." He
walked back to the open door and then started down the hall. "Have a
good night," he called over his shoulder.
Only when he was a safe distance from her did she let out the breath she
hadn't known she had been holding.

Chapter 35
Chase
It took everything inside of him to stay at his desk all morning. He was
dying to go find Jordan and ask why she didn't want to go to dinner
with him the night before. To say he wasn't used to women turning him
down would be an understatement. In fact, it never happened before,
she was the first. There was a first time for everything, or so he
reminded himself at home afterward.
Knowing that she had a list for him was a good excuse to find her, but if
he went after her first thing she would know she had gotten under his
skin. He couldn't let that happen, even though the thought of her was
enough to make his cock strain against his zipper yet again. Would she
even be into the sort of things he was into? Would she like it rough? He
had a feeling she would, and he was usually right about things like that.
He could read women. He could read all people. A gift, some would
call it. He saw through words, facial expressions. He saw what was
underneath it all. Sometimes it was unpleasant knowing what was in a
person's heart or mind. It depended on the person and the situation. God
knew it had gotten him through eight years of prison without a scratch.
That was worth something. He had kept out of trouble because he knew
right away which people to stay away from, who he could trust and
who he should avoid.
He could read Jordan too. He knew she wanted him even if her turning
him down had made him question his ego just a little bit. Her breath
caught in her throat whenever he came too close to her, and he wasn't
imagining the way that she flirted with him during her interview. The
way her blue-gray eyes deepened with need whenever they were close
convinced him as well. He had been able to see her pulse racing in her
throat when he stood close to her in her office. Yeah. She wanted him.
So all he needed to figure out was why did she keep pushing him

away? Was it because he was her boss? It wouldn't be the first time a
boss fucked his employee. She couldn't be that naïve, could she? No,
not with a body and face like hers. She couldn't be all that innocent.
Maybe she was just a good girl, one with principles. Chase could
respect that and if anything it made him like her more. He didn't just
want her body. He liked her too and that made the situation that much
worse.
He forced himself to stay in his office rather than seeking her out and
even thought it might be best to have Brigitte call her to ask for the
ideas. He wanted her to know he hadn't forgotten their professional
relationship. Hell, maybe she would sweat it out a little. She might
wonder why he had asked Brigitte to call instead of calling her on his
own. Good. Let her question herself. She might be less eager to turn
him down next time.
When his phone rang minutes later, he wasn't thrilled with the way he
jumped to answer. Like he had been waiting for Jordan to call.
It wasn't Jordan, and it wasn't news of her conversation with his
assistant. Instead, Brigitte informed Chase of an outside call.
"Your mother is on line two." He heard the wry smile in her voice like
she knew just how thrilled he would be to get the news.
He groaned and pressed his fingertips to his temples before even
getting on the phone. Sharon Louis rarely called in the morning and
almost never in the middle of the week. She was too busy with tennis
lessons and golf games and brunches with her girlfriends. He could tell
Brigitte to give her an excuse, but she would only call back. Sometimes
it was better to rip the Band-Aid off all at once.
"Mother. How are you?" He closed his eyes and leaned back in his
chair. He wasn't a praying person, but something about a random phone
call from his Mom got him talking to God about a short conversation.
"Wonderful, sweetheart." She sounded wonderful, too. He wondered if
mimosas hadn't been on the breakfast menu.
"Good. What can I do for you?"
A pause. "Do I only call when you can do something for me? Is that the
message you're trying to get across, Chase?"
A headache. It was already starting, throbbing softly, steadily. "No, not
at all. Boy, you're testy today. That was a nice way of asking you

why you' re calling since I have a meeting in about fifteen minutes that
I need to prepare for."
"Isn't that why you pay an assistant?" she sniffed.
" M o th er . "
"All right, all right. I only wanted to tell you that we've set a date for the
wedding."
That got his attention, at least. He picked up a pen to take note. "And
when's the happy day?"
"Two weeks from Friday, at the St. Regis."
"So soon?" He asked, surprised to hear it.
"Yes, well, Troy has a business trip that Monday that will take him out
of the country for three weeks, and then Cecil has something to do
after t h a t. "
"Oh, right. I assume Cecil is the best man," Chase said, drawing on his
notepad. It was a habit he had picked up over long years of not much to
do but study, work out, eat and sleep.
"Yes. I hope you don't mind," Sharon gushed.
"Why would I mind?"
"I didn't know if you wanted to be the best man or not." He snorted.
"Hardly. I barely know the man and I realize as I say it that it' s not
something to brag about." "You've met him," she sniffed. "A few times,
sure." "Is it Troy's fault you're always busy?"
He gritted his teeth. There she went, making drama where there wasn't
any and defending her man at all costs. He had learned the hard way
how far she could take something like that, no matter what else hung in
the balance. He couldn't go through it again. He didn't understand how
she could.
Troy seemed like a good guy at least. Sharon's taste seemed to have
improved. They'd had dinner together on a few occasions and had spent
a weekend on the yacht and Chase could sense the vast difference
between him and his father. Troy commanded attention because he
deserved it. He was an intelligent, accomplished person. Chase's father
had demanded it just because he was a narcissistic asshole. Big

difference.
Another way in which they differed was temperament. Chase knew a
lot could happen behind closed doors. The things that had happened
behind the closed doors of their Park Avenue penthouse had been
terrible, but Chase couldn't imagine Troy behaving as Charles, Sr. had.
Troy was mild-mannered, even a little fussy sometimes. He was the
polar opposite of the man his mother had married when she was only
eighteen.
He reminded himself of her shortcomings before he spoke. "I wasn't
laying blame. I was showing that I understood why Troy would ask his
son to be his best man instead of me. There's no offense taken."
"Oh, good." They were friends again. She sounded bright and sunny.
"Will there be a rehearsal dinner the night before?"
"Yes, dear, a nice quiet dinner at the hotel. No fuss." Chase smirked as
he made a note. No fuss. He was sure she would keep the guest list
around one hundred and only serve two kinds of champagne to go with
the lobster. His mother was never one for half-measures.
"I'll be there."
"I' m so glad," she said. "This is the beginning of something really
great. I can feel it in my bones."
When she put it that way, he softened. She deserved something really
great. God knew she had already spent more than enough time in hell.
Poor woman. No matter how many times he had begged her and
flat-out pleaded with her to leave his father, she always had a reason
why she couldn't go. While studying for his degree, he had made it a
point to learn all he could about psychology. He had needed to
understand why a woman would stay with a terrible, brutal man like
Charles for so long. He didn' t get any answers from textbooks. There
was no way of knowing what went on in a person's head.
The best Chase could tell, she was a woman who had been raised
believing she needed a man to protect her. The thing was, she had
needed protection from her man, but she never saw it that way until it
was too late. She had Troy to protect her now and she was obviously
happy about that. Chase couldn't give her grief for it, even though he
had

been the one to pay for the choices she had made. She had been through
enough. Besides, it wasn't like he hadn't come out all right in the end.
"Will you bring a guest?" she asked. He had to grin. Their history
wasn't exactly typical, but there were a lot of ways in which she was
just a typical mother. Asking questions that went a lot deeper than the
surface.
"I don't know," he admitted.
"Nobody special right now?"
"Nobody worth bringing to my mother's wedding if that's what you're
asking. You know how women are," he cracked. "Chase..."
"I' m kidding. In seriousness, let's keep the option open. I might bring
somebody, I might not. Maybe I'll kidnap Troy the night before. Cecil
and I can show him a good time before he settles down for good."
She chuckled. "I'm sure Cecil would just love that. You know how
stuffy he is."
He didn' t know him at all, actually. Cecil had struck him as being a
little dry and boring when they had met, but that had been maybe twice
in two years. It was funny too since from what Chase had heard about
him, he had been a real hell raiser in his youth. He must have gotten it
all out of his system and then some.
"Do you need anything from me?" Chase asked. "Anything at all."
"No, I think I ' m all right. Your Aunt Penny is helping with a lot. She
was too young to help me plan. before." Her words fell heavy on his
ears. Her tone of voice changed. She didn't like thinking about that
first, tragic marriage. He couldn't blame her. His blood began
simmering a little as images of years' worth of brutality came to the
front of his mind.
"You deserve your happiness," he reminded her. "I wish you would
find yours," she murmured. "I find happiness with a new woman every
other night of the week," he joked.
"And with that, our conversation is over," she concluded in a dry tone
of voice. He chuckled as he hung up, both looking forward to and
dreading her wedding day. He would have to find somebody to bring to

the event if only to keep him from dying of boredom. He was never one
to schmooze. He could do it, of course. He just dreaded it with his
entire being.
Only then did he remember Jordan, and the fact that she hadn't called.
He glanced at the laptop monitor in case she had emailed. Sure enough,
she had. He smiled a little, thinking of the hoops she was willing to
jump through to stay away from him. What was it that compelled her to
go against what she wanted? And what would he have to do to break
her down?

Chapter 41
Jordan
She waited through most of the day for Chase's word on her ideas. She
had hoped he would get back to her in a timely manner if only to tell her
he was waiting for Trevor or Trevor's father to get back to him. It was
only polite, keeping her in the loop.
Was he sulking? Maybe he was sulking. She buried her head in her
hands, sitting behind her desk with the door closed. Maybe he was
pissed that she had turned him down the night before. She had kicked
herself for hours after that. It had been a mistake, for sure. She should
have taken him up on it. What harm could it have done to have a
working dinner with her boss?
Only it wouldn't have been a working dinner. She could try to kid
herself as much as she wanted, but the fact was that the invitation hadn't
been extended solely in the name of professionalism. The spark that
had kindled between them the moment they laid eyes on each other was
still there, still crackling away every time their eyes met. There was no
way the night would have ended innocently. And she wasn't going to
go down that road with him. Ever.
Still. If she had upset him, maybe it would have been worth it. Not that
she would have suffered any during a night with him, she was sure.
With his looks, body, and money, he must have had hundreds of
women. He was probably better in bed than any man in the city. And
she had turned him down. Jesus Christ, Jordan!
After a few hours, it wasn't about her ideas anymore. It was about what
he thought of her and whether she had made a career-ending mistake by
not accepting his invitation. Could she get herself back into his good
graces? She decided that she could try.
She stood up and ran her hands over her black shirt to rid her palms of
their clamminess before stepping out into the hall. It was buzzing with
activity, as it always seemed to be. There was a high energy around the

company, boisterousness. Chase ran a tight ship, but he was a good
boss. She had heard nothing but glowing things about him from
everybody she had spoken with. It felt like a family, too, something
which she knew was rare in corporate America.
She turned in the direction of his office with her heart pounding against
her rib cage as she did. She was taking things into her own hands,
hoping to make the best of what she might have ruined. Would he be
cold and cruel? Dismissive? Maybe he hadn't even gotten her email or
hadn' t bothered to pass it along once he knew she had no intention of
going out with him. She should have looked before she leaped.
Brigitte sat at her desk, busy as a bee. She touched one finger to the
earpiece she wore, ending a phone call before turning with a brilliant
smile. "How's it going, Jordan?"
"Very well. I can't complain." Except your boss is toying with me, she
wanted to say. Had he ever propositioned Brigitte? Had they ever felt
the same heat she felt whenever she looked at him? Maybe they had
gone through a little something together back when she first started.
Did Jordan dare ask her how she dealt with having a man like Chase as
her boss? No. She couldn't, especially since she didn't know Brigitte or
whether she would run straight back to Chase.
"Is he in?" she asked, pointing to the closed door.
"He is." Brigitte looked at the phone, which contained buttons for his
extension. "And it doesn't look as though he's on the phone. Do you
want me to see if he's free?"
"Please." Jordan dug her nails into her palms as she waited, willing
herself to be professional. She would simply ask if he had seen her
email, and whether he thought her ideas were worthwhile. She had
spent hours brainstorming over them the night before. She deserved a
little recognition for the time she had put into it.
Brigitte nodded, pointing to the door. "He's free," she mouthed, before
announcing Jordan. She took a deep breath. Too late to turn back.
He smiled as she entered the office, which made her wonder. She had
expected him to be a little more reserved. He looked like he had been
waiting for her.
Had he been?

"What can I do for you?" he asked, motioning for her to close the
door.
She cleared her throat, desperately searching her memory for the
reason why she had gone in, to begin with. Oh, right. My ideas. "I
wanted to check on those ideas I sent over earlier. I hadn't heard from
you, s o . "
"I see." He smiled, leaning back in his chair, looking like the cat that ate
the canary. One of her foster mothers's old expressions. "So you
emailed them to me rather than bringing them to me as I ' d hoped you
would, and now you want to know why I didn't jump on replying."
She couldn't help herself. The words came out before she could stop
them. "Is this some sort of game you're playing? Do you play it with all
your new employees?"
His eyes flew open wide, and she wanted to die. If ever she could have
reached out and grabbed her words to shove them back in her mouth,
she would have done it right then. Her face burned with the heat of a
thousand suns.
"A game?" He stood, approaching her. She backed into the closed door,
unable to think straight as he came closer. His stride reminded her of a
lion stalking its prey. "Do you like playing games, Jordan?"
"No, I don't," she declared, struggling to keep a note of authority in her
voice as her knees shook and her pulse pounded. She could have easily
reached the door knob, releasing herself from the situation she had
found herself in. Had she put herself there? It didn't matter. She could
have ended it in the blink of an eye.
Only she didn't want to. She stood still, holding her breath as he drew
closer. She could smell his cologne, could feel the heat that radiated
from his body and seemed to warm her skin without their touching.
"I play games sometimes, I admit," he whispered, only inches from her.
She flattened herself against the door, the curves of her body pressed
against the hard, unforgiving wood. Her instincts told her to run, to go
away, to not look back. She was getting in way too deep with him. It
was dangerous, playing with a man as powerful as Chase Louis.
Then she saw the look in his eye, a look that called to something

inside her. She could have drowned in him, yearning to give herself
over body and soul. It had been so long since she had been with a man.
So many years. He was just the person to take the past away, to soothe
her, to rock her soul while ravishing her body. Yes. She wanted him.
She wanted to give in to what he did to her just by breathing. Just by
being whom he was.
He had her trapped. She shrank away without thinking about it, instinct
taking over for animal need. He noticed, and the look in his eyes
cleared up. "What is it?" he asked, his voice husky with desire.
"I don't like to be pinned or cornered," she explained, trying to clear up
the tension between them. It was wrong, it was all wrong. And yet she
leaned into him, closing the gap between them. He reached out, gentle
fingers stroking the skin of her cheek, then skimming over the wavy
hair that cascaded over her shoulders. Just that single touch, the
gentlest, most tentative touch was enough to send desire pulsing
through her body. It had been so, so long.
"I won't corner you." His voice was deep and soft, and his mouth inches
from hers. She felt his hot breath envelop her like an invisible cloud,
seeming to draw her closer still. She nodded, giving in completely. It
was all he needed to see.
For a man of his size, he moved fast. In the blink of an eye she was in
his arms, his hands under her butt as he lifted her. She gasped in
surprise, clinging to him. Her hands tingled where they touched his
broad, impossibly thick shoulders. He sat her down on his desk, then
pulled her close until his crotch pressed against hers. She could feel his
hard thickness. Something inside her screamed with joy.
He took her face in his hands, staring deep into her eyes before
crushing her mouth against his. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't
think, her heart was soaring as his tongue plundered her mouth. She felt
his heart pounding beneath the hand she laid on his chest before she slid
his suit jacket from his shoulders. He let it fall to the floor, and she ran
her hands over the muscle he barely revealed. She would have torn the
shirt from him had they not been at the office. Instead, she pulled the
bottom out of his pants and ran her hands underneath it, touching his
bare skin. He groaned into her mouth, thrusting forward as she
delighted in the feel

of him between her legs, under her hands. He was so warm, so vital and
real. He was so perfect for waking up what had been dormant inside her
for so long.
Her body buzzed with excitement and an almost soul-shattering heat as
he groped her, never breaking their kiss. She whimpered when she felt
his rough, unforgiving touch on her breasts. His fingers worked the
buttons of her blouse, fumbling with them in his eagerness to get to her.
She bit her lip to keep from crying out when his mouth found her bare
skin. His tongue lapped at her, his fingers lowering her bra cups so his
greedy mouth could suckle at her rock-hard nipples. Her legs tightened
around him and her pussy clenched in response. And still, he grinded
her through their clothes, driving both of them crazy. She was
breathless and leaning back on her hands to support herself with her
chest heaving as she struggled to contain the cries of pleasure and joy
bubbling up inside her.
His mouth traveled lower as he grunted and growled, licking her,
sucking her and biting her gently as he went lower. His hands worked
her skirt up, and she raised her hips to let him move it to her waist. It
was all so delicious, so hot and wrong and right all at once. Then she
froze, sitting up before his mouth reached her thighs.
"I want you inside me," she whispered, stroking him through his pants.
He didn't need to be told twice, pulling a foil packet from his back
pocket—almost as though he had expected this—while she released
him from his pants. Her heart thudded with anticipation before she
caught sight of his glorious length, hard and ready for her. She
clenched again, hot wetness flooding her cleft. He groaned when she
stroked him, unrolling the condom before pulling her panties aside and
positioning himself at her entrance. Just the pressure of his head
pressing against her sent shivers through her body and made her ache
with need.
He drove forward, covering her mouth with his to muffle the cry she
couldn't contain. It had been so, so long. It hurt a little at first, his
thickness filling her more than she had ever been filled before. She
seemed to convulse around him, holding on with her legs, her arms,
even the muscles of her sheath as they clamped down around him. She
realized she was having an orgasm already and threw her head back,

gasping for breath as it ran through her. He hardly seemed to notice,
thrusting like mad, driving himself inside again and again, harder and
faster, and holding her hips in his strong hands to keep from throwing
her off the desk.
She leaned back and looked him in the eye as they fucked like animals.
Yes, this was what she had missed. This was what she told herself she
didn't need for all those years. She needed to feel unleashed and driven
to the point of near-madness by another person. All the lust she had
been holding back came pouring forth as shudders ran through her
body in time with his powerful thrusts.
"Yes...yes...take it, baby.. .take all of me..." His grunts and moans were
music to her ears, and she let her head fall back while she absorbed
each delicious sensation. Her breasts bounced up and down in time
with his thrusts, and his mouth closed over one. She arched her back
and tension filled her again before he bit down and her world exploded.
Ecstasy rocketed through her, shooting through her arms and legs and
fingers and toes. He lost his rhythm and just pummeled her as he
finished, grunting one last time before stiffening against her.
Then it was over. She opened her eyes when he left her and closed her
legs right away. She was stunned. Her heart and here head were filled
with a mixture of disbelief, relief, and shame. Her emotions were all
jockeying for top position and it was a toss-up as to which one would
win.
When he looked at her, his face was flushed and a thin sheen of
perspiration coated on his forehead. He smiled and at that moment he
did more for her than he ever had so far.

Chapter 47
Chase
"Wow," he breathed, laughing a little. "That was better than I had
imagined."
She paused in the act of putting her tits back into her bra and smiled.
"You had imagined?"
He laughed full-out then. "You caught me. I need to learn when to keep
my mouth shut. Yes, I had imagined."
"What did you imagine?" she asked, playfully.
"That. Just that, only not that good. I wanted to take you on top of the
desk the moment you walked through the door," he admitted. He
mopped the sweat from his brow before sliding into his suit jacket. It
was a little rumpled from being on the floor, but he didn't have any
meetings for the rest of the day. The day was nearly over, in fact.
"Well, that's good to know. I ' m glad I got this job due to my
qualifications." She sounded a little pissed, a little hurt. He guessed he
could understand why, so he took her chin in his hand and tilted it until
their eyes met.
"That's not why I hired you," he assured her. "You could have been a
lesbian, for all I knew."
She giggled. "And I guess that would have been the only reason I
would have for turning you down?"
He frowned, playing dumb. "Would there be any other reason?"
"Very cute." She rolled her eyes, but he heard her laugh again as she
finished straightening herself out. He hated to see her cover her body
the way she was. Her skin was so soft, almost gleaming. He wanted to
touch her again. His hands almost ached for her.
He had to have more. "Come out with me after work. To dinner. And
then, who knows? We'll make a night of it, just you and me."
He said something wrong. He could tell by the way she froze up. She
reminded him of a clam closing up around itself—and he realized

that wasn't the first time she had acted that way. She had done it during
the interview, too, and to a lesser degree when he had backed her
against the door. She almost flinched.
"I can't tonight." She gave him a weak smile. "I don't want you to take it
the wrong way—trust me, this w a s . " She looked up at him, blushing
furiously. "This was incredible. But one of us has to keep it
professional, and if that has to be me, so be it."
He couldn' t understand her. They had just finished fucking on his desk,
and she was telling him they had to keep it professional? "Where was
that attitude just a few minutes ago?" he asked, frustrated.
She looked down at the floor. "I wanted it like you did. But that's as far
as it can go. I want to earn respect because of the work I do with my
camera, not with my vagina."
Her words surprised him to the point where he laughed. He watched her
eyes go dark, angry. "Laugh if you want to, but it's a real concern. I
guess it's not something you've ever had to worry about."
"No, not that. I don't have a vagina." She was priceless. He could tell it
pissed her off that he laughed, but maybe he wanted to piss her off a
little. Maybe he was a little pissed, too. She couldn't dick him around
like that, teasing him with her body, giving it to him and then backing
away and putting her professional mask back on. He wasn't prepared to
let her see that her rejection hurt him, however.
"You can go, then." He waved a dismissive hand toward the door. "Let
it never be said I kicked you out of here the minute I came. I wanted to
take you out. I wanted to spend time with you. Don't forget that."
"I'll remember to be honored when I get home," she retorted, running
her hands over her body one more time to make sure things were
straight before leaving the office. She held her head high, not one to
slink away under Brigitte's gaze. He felt a grudging admiration for her.
It didn' t last long. He closed the door with his hands balled into fists.
Who did she think she was, turning him down? Part of him wanted to
call Samantha or any of his other women just to get back at her for
rejecting him. But that impulse didn't last long since his heart wasn't in
it. He had a sick sort of certainty that nothing but Jordan would do after
that.
He sat down and took a deep breath when he remembered what it

had felt like inside her. Like he was a king. She had given herself over
without hesitation, handing over her body to do with what he wanted.
And he wanted to do so much more. He was just a man, with a man's
needs. A little stronger than the average man's needs, in fact. He wanted
to show her what happened to women who thought they could deny
him, but when he opened the door to go to her office, he saw only
darkness coming from inside.
"She's left for the day," Brigitte said, looking discreetly away. So she
had heard them. It wouldn't be the first time she had heard him in his
office with a woman, though it would be the first time he had been in
there with an employee. He hoped he paid her enough to ensure her
discretion.
Hours later, he still couldn't get Jordan out of his mind. Who did she
think she was? She blew him off twic already. Sure, she was hot shit,
but she wasn't that hot.
Maybe she was. He had to admit to himself that she was, indeed, hot
enough to turn him down as he lifted weights in his home gym. He had
always hated working out in public, maybe because he was forced to
lift in front of an audience when he first went to prison. He was only
eighteen at the time and hadn't developed much muscle mass. He had
known instinctively on arriving that he needed to bulk up if he wanted
any of them to take him seriously in there, so he had lifted in the yard
with the other inmates until he was big enough to demand respect.
His weight lifting routine hadn't changed much from those days,
though he wasn't focused on building mass as much as he was on
maintaining it. His gym, originally a spare bedroom suite, consisted of
free weights, several top-of-the-line machines, a treadmill, an elliptical,
a bike, a rowing machine. And solitude, something he had come to
value very highly over the ten years he had been inside.
So she was hot. More than hot. She had something he couldn't put his
finger on and something he wanted in his life. He hadn't known he was
missing it until he met her. He couldn't stop thinking about whatever it
was once he had realized it. All he knew was, Samantha and

the others did nothing for him compared to her.
So what was her problem? He hadn't been too rough, had he? He
thought it over as he bench pressed. No, he had hardly done anything
but nibble a little bit. He hadn't forced her. Besides, she had rejected
him before that, when he had asked her to dinner the first time. And he
knew he hadn' t done a damned thing to warrant that.
She wanted to keep it professional. That was a convenient excuse.
Chase laughed bitterly as he finished his last set, sitting up after he did.
She wanted to be the type who earned her work with her camera, not
her pussy. He laughed again. Who did she think she was, some chick
from a romantic comedy? It was ridiculous. He used to think the
innocent act was cute but it only got on his nerves when it involved
being rejected.
The worst part was, he had no intention of showing favoritism because
they had fucked. He wasn't that kind of person. She had misjudged him.
That might have pissed him off worse than anything else.
He walked through his apartment, its size and silence doing little to
soothe him. He usually liked a big, empty apartment. He looked
forward to it at the end of a long day. Instead of giving him comfort, it
only reminded him of how empty his life was. He couldn't imagine
calling Samantha to have her over, even though they had been sleeping
together on and off for eight months. She wasn't his girlfriend or
anybody he would consider getting serious with. Nobody was. And he
had been okay with that for a long time—ever since he got out when he
was twenty-six. Eight years of playing the field, making up for lost
time.
He sometimes still woke up in the middle of the night thinking he was
back there. It would take him a little time to calm himself down, to look
around his massive bedroom and remember that he had been released.
Sometimes he would need a walk through the apartment to remind
himself that he was safe and that he would never go back to a tiny ass
prison cell again. He wouldn't have a cell mate again. He wouldn't have
to share a shower with a bunch of other guys, always watching his
back. Another reason why he didn't work out at the gym, the thought of
the locker room showers. He wouldn't go back to that place, even in his
head. There were too many memories. He dealt with

them every day.
Leaning against the granite counter, Chase thought again about how
good it had felt inside her. He had been with so many women—so, so
many. He couldn't remember the names of almost any of them and the
faces of even fewer. They all sort of blended together. He took a long,
deep drink from his bottled water. He remembered the way Jordan had
sipped her water during the interview. Had it only been three days?
And yet he knew he wouldn't forget her the way he had the others. He
would remember the simple things, like the way her lips pursed around
the mouth of the bottle and the way her throat had moved when she
swallowed. He would remember all of it.
He kicked off his shoes in the bedroom and peeled off his sweaty
workout clothes as he walked. The maid would take care of it in the
morning. He didn' t have it in him to pick up after himself, not when his
head was spinning with so many conflicting thoughts. He should
respect her boundaries. He should talk to her. He should forget all
about her. He could never do that, not after he had been inside her and
felt her and tasted her. He should fire her ass. He should avoid a
lawsuit. He should avoid her, period. Somebody else could handle the
campaign. No, he didn' t trust anybody else but himself. His head was
suddenly in chaos and it was enough to make him groan in frustration.
He stood in the shower with the hot water cascading across his tense
muscles and it did nothing for him. He already knew that he wasn't
going to sleep tonight, not unless he was able to talk to her first and
straighten this out. He couldn't leave it hanging the way it was, eating
away at him. Even if she slammed the door in his face, he needed to tell
her she was wrong about him.
He looked up her address in the company records after drying off. If he
knew her the way he thought he did, and she wasn't all that hard to
read—she would be home.

Chapter 52
Jordan
She sat on the sofa next to Natalie with her face in her hands. There was
a bottle of wine open on the coffee table and an empty one next to that.
"Then what happened?" Natalie asked, rubbing her back in gentle
circles.
"Then I left his office and wished I were dead. No big deal." Jordan
couldn't look at her. She spoke with her hands over her face. She was
horrified that she had let herself get carried away the way that she had.
What the fuck was wrong with her? She had been right to push him
away, to refuse him when he first asked her out. What was she thinking,
having sex with him? "In his office, too," she groaned. "I could tell
Brigitte knew what had happened. How will I face her tomorrow?
What if she blabs to everybody about what happened? They'll all know,
and they'll judge me. I can't stand the thought, I really can't."
"Honey, it'll be all right. I ' m sure you're not the first person who came
out of his office after something like that."
Jordan dropped her hands from her face, glaring at her best friend.
"Thanks. That makes me feel so much better," she smirked. She knew
Natalie meant well, but feeling like just one out of a hundred others
didn' t go far toward making her feel better.
Natalie's face went as red as her hair. "You know what I meant," she
insisted. "You're not a whore for doing what you did. You're a human
being."
"I'm a slut, if anything."
"Say's the girl that hasn't been laid for almost six years! Really?"
"Natalie, I love you, and I know you're trying to help, but you're not
helping when you say things like that."
She smirked. "Fine. I'll say this, then: maybe you needed it. You know?
Maybe this was your body's way of telling you it's only possible

to deny it for so long. I mean, six years?"
"You know very well why it has been so long," Jordan said.
"I do know," she said cryptically. "I was there. And I ' m still here. And
I ' m telling you it's been long enough. You don't have to settle down
and have babies with Chase Louis, but you do have to open yourself up
to life again. Who knows, if you had done it sooner, you might not have
fallen into his arms in his office."
"This is all my fault. You think it's all my fault." She leaned back on the
sofa with a shuddering sigh.
"There is no fault! You had sex. Big deal. Everybody does it. So you
did it with your boss, lots of people do that, too. And they live through
it, just like you will."
"You sound very sure of yourself," Jordan said, staring at the ceiling.
"I am sure of myself. It's one of my most prominent traits." Jordan had
to laugh a little, and Natalie joined her.
"Oh, what a god damn mess," she moaned. "I mean, don't get me
wrong, it was amazing."
"I knew it would be," Natalie said, squealing a little as she clapped her
hands. "That's what you should focus on. How great it was. I knew a
man like him would be good."
"Oh, good isn't even the word. He was...amazing. He took control right
away."
"Ooh, sexy."
"But he never made me feel like he would hurt me." Jordan turned her
head to the side, looking at Natalie. "That was the most surprising part.
A man of his size? He could have done anything he wanted. All he
wanted was to make me feel good and to feel good himself. That was it.
It was. refreshing."
"Sweetheart, you had a bad break, to put it mildly. All men aren't like
that asshole son of a bitch you used to date."
"I know. I know. It's surprising, still. Knowing it in my head and
finding out for real are two different things." She remembered the way
Axel had treated her in bed. No matter how hard she had tried, no
matter how many years had passed she couldn't get those memories to
leave.

She had even gone to a hypnotherapist at one point, desperate to erase
her memories or to at least change her reaction to them when they
popped up unexpectedly but it hadn't worked. She had never been able
to stop them from flowing whenever they wanted to and she hadn' t
been able to change the way her blood ran cold when they did.
He had always been controlling, right from the start. She hadn't known
any better. She had only had two boyfriends before meeting him. She
had been twenty years old when they first got together. What did she
know about life? At the time she had thought she was so mature. She
had thought she was worldly since she had been bounced around the
foster system for most of her life, street smart even. As it turned out
there was so much she hadn't known. Like how a man could tell a
woman he loved her one minute, then humiliate her the next. How he
could swear he wanted to protect her and care for her right after beating
her. How could a man force a woman to do things she wasn't
comfortable with in bed right up to the point where she cried and
begged him to stop, and then act like she was the one with the problem.
She had been so naïve, so unaware of the world and the depravity that
could exist in it. Axel had changed all of that.
All she had done that night was to tell him that she didn't want to leave
the party when he did. That was it, the catalyst for the man that said he
loved her to try and end her life. For once she had been having fun,
dancing with one of the girls in the MC. She couldn't even remember
her name now, but there were still things she couldn't remember from
that time in her life. She wondered sometimes if maybe her brain had
taken mercy on her and let her forget a thing or two on purpose. But she
remembered dancing and having a good time. That was rare in those
days and Axel had tried to get her to leave. She had only resisted for a
moment before remembering who she was dealing with and how much
trouble she could be making for herself. But it had been a moment too
long. He had been embarrassed that she had tried to assert her will in
front of his friends. She had humiliated him. So he had nearly killed her
for it. In fact, she was sure he had and so was he. She could remember
how it felt to float above herself and watch him leave the scene of the
crime. She hadn't seen him since. He probably thought she

had died and had moved on with his life. That was fine with her. She
didn' t want him to know she was alive.
"It's been too much to consider," she admitted. "Being with a man
again. Taking that risk. You know how that feels, right?"
"To a much lesser extent than you do," Natalie took a sip of her drink.
"I should never, ever complain."
"It's all relative." Jordan looked at her, pleading with her. "Please, don't
ever feel like you can't tell me what's happening in your heart just
because of what happened to me. Okay? I don't want to be 'that friend
who was abused'. I just wanna be Jordan. And you deserve a good
friend."
Natalie smiled, leaning back beside Jordan to look around their little
apartment. "You are a good friend. A good roommate. I ' m glad you're
here." Jordan heard the tears in her voice and shook her head.
"No tears," she insisted.
"Okay." Natalie sniffled, then gathered herself up. "No tears."
"Good girl." Jordan took a deep breath, focusing again on her problem
with Chase. Natalie was right. If she hadn't held herself back for so
long, the need to be with him might not have overtaken her. She might
have been able to control her urges. Instead, she had given in and made
a fool of herself. And she would have to face him again. How could she
do that?
"I think you should go in tomorrow and act like nothing happened,"
Natalie smiled, handing Jordan her forgotten wine glass and putting her
feet up on the table. "I think you should start fresh. What's he going to
do, hold it over your head?"
"Nat, he held it over my head all day that I refused to have dinner with
him last night. He likes to tease and play games. He'll find a way to
have fun with me over this—his own kind of fun."
"So throw it back at him, then. Tease him right back. Make him work
for it. Now that he knows how good it is when you're together, he won't
be able to forget it. Make him remember. Make him want you more
than he's ever wanted anything." She sat up, looking at Jordan with a
gleam in her eye. "You could actually use this to your advantage."
"Oh, I don't know. I don't want to use him at all, or the situation. I

don' t feel comfortable with it."
"So you'll let him walk all over you and make you feel like shit for what
happened?"
Jordan scowled. "He can't make me feel bad unless I give him
permission to," she said, repeating something she had learned years
earlier in therapy.
There was a knock at the door. The girls looked at each other. "Laurel?"
Jordan asked.
Natalie shrugged. "Did you call her or anything?"
"No. I thought maybe you had." Jordan got up and paused feeling a
little woozy from all the wine. It was after nine o'clock. Who in the
world would show up at the door with anything important at that time
of night? Jordan looked through the peephole and then whirled around
with her back to the door and her eyes wide with surprise.
"Who is it?" Natalie whispered.
"It's Chase Louis," Jordan whispered.
"What?" Natalie jumped up, just about as uncoordinated as Jordan was
thanks to the wine, taking a look for herself. "Ooh," she whispered.
"Shut up! " Jordan pushed her out of the way, looking again. He was
standing there with his hands in his pockets, wearing a pair of jeans and
a tight black t-shirt. His arms surprised her. She couldn't stop looking at
them. The ink—two full sleeves of ink. She had never seen them
before. Those damn tattoos made him that much sexier. So he had a
naughty side, she marveled. Of course, he did. He had ridden her like a
man who had a naughty side.
Her skin flushed at the memory.
"What are you gonna do?" Natalie mouthed.
"I don't know," Jordan mouthed back, shaking her head. "What
should I do?" "What?"
"What. should. I . do?" Jordan mouthed. Natalie shrugged, shaking her
head.
"I know you're in there," Chase said. "I could hear you coming to the
door. More than one of you. Can I come in, please?"
"Oh, shit." Jordan rested her forehead against the door.

"Let him in," Natalie whispered. Jordan looked down at herself, her
oversized t-shirt and unicorn pajama pants not exactly the fanciest
outfit. She realized she wasn't even wearing a bra. Then again, he had
already seen her breasts, hadn't he? She warmed all over.
"Your friend is right. Let me in." Jordan closed her eyes and took a
deep breath finally opening them and unlocking the door. She took one
more look at Natalie before pulling it open.

Chapter 58
Chase
He had just about enough of the comedy going on behind the closed
door as Jordan and her friend decided whether or not they should let
him in. He hadn't counted on her having a roommate, but it didn't really
matter. He didn't have anything to say to her that somebody else
couldn't hear. If anything, he wanted her friend there. He wanted a
witness when he told her he had no desire to hurt her or push her into
something. They had just met. He just wanted to get to know her better.
That was all that mattered, he had realized as he drove to Jordan's
apartment in Queens. He only wanted her. He didn't want to use her or
trap her in any way.
He heard a lock turning on the other side of the door before it opened.
And there she was. His first thought was of how adorable she looked in
a beat-up t-shirt and pants with unicorns and rainbows on them. He bit
his lip to stop himself from laughing. He would only upset her like the
last time he had laughed at something she had done.
"You wanna come in?" she asked. He could practically smell the wine
on her breath from a distance. He nodded, entering carefully and
looking around as he did. It was small, painfully small. The living room
was about the size of his walk-in closet. Real estate in New York was a
joke. He couldn't imagine trying to live without money. Lucky for him,
that was an issue he didn't have. Except when he hadn't. When he had
lived in a room less than half the size of Jordan's living room.
"This is nice," he said, the words ringing hollow when he said them. He
heard her snort behind him like she knew he was only trying to be nice.
"Have a seat." She waved to the sofa. "Would you like a drink? Some
wine, maybe?"
"No, thanks. I ' m good." He saw a redhead standing in what had to

be the kitchen doorway. Her arms were folded over her chest. He could
tell she didn't want to like him. So Jordan had told her what happened,
then. She had deep red hair, thick and curly, and a thin sprinkling of
freckles over her nose and cheeks. Cute, but nothing compared to
Jordan.
"This is Natalie," Jordan said, standing in front of him. "My roommate.
My best friend. Natalie, this is Chase Louis."
"A pleasure," Natalie said. One corner of her mouth twisted up in a grin
that she tried to hide but couldn't. He thought she might like him a little
more than she wanted to. Maybe she was only putting on a front for
Jordan's sake. He grinned back, then looked at Jordan. Her arms were
folded, too, like she wanted to give him shit.
"Can I talk to you? Please?"
"Sure. Go ahead."
He frowned. "You know what I mean. I would rather it be in private, if
possible." He looked at Natalie. "No offense. But if you want me to talk
about what happened today and give your friend all the details, I'll do
it."
Jordan sighed, then cut her eyes at Natalie, who nodded before
disappearing behind another door and closing it behind her. A
bedroom, Chase guessed. Jordan turned to him, then, unfolding her
arms.
"Can you sit, please? You're freaking me out a little, just standing there
like that. I want to have a conversation with you, but you're being all.
defensive."
"I don't mean to be defensive," she clarified. He watched the tension
drain from her like he had pulled a plug in a sink. Her shoulders fell to a
more reasonable level before she sat on the opposite end of the sofa.
There was room between them, but not a lot. Not enough to keep him
from wanting to reach out and touch her. She drew her legs up to her
chest, though, showing him with her body language that she didn't want
to touch him. He kept his hands to himself. Even the slightest touch
would leave him wanting more. She was dressed in pajamas with her
hair piled up on top of her head and she still looked gorgeous.
"What is it you wanted to talk about?" she asked.
"What do you think? We left a real shitty mess today, and I wanted to
clear it up before tomorrow. Like you said, you want things to be

professional. I want that, too, but we can't be that way if you're mad at
me." He couldn't take his eyes off of her. She made his blood run hot.
"I'm not mad at you," she admitted, looking at her red toenails. Even
her feet were pretty, and he wasn't a footman. He normally didn't like
them, probably because the women he slept with spent most of their
time wearing stilettos until their feet were nothing but bruised
blister-covered masses.
"What is it, then?"
She glanced up at him. She was chewing her lip. There was so much
fear in her that it was almost palpable. He remembered the sadness he
saw in her eyes when he interviewed her, along with so many other
things. That sadness was huge and deep, and she was looking at him
from the middle of it, curled into a ball.
"There's a lot of stuff about me I don't feel comfortable talking about,"
she whispered. "A bunch of shitty things happened to me years ago.
You don't need to know about it. We don't know each other very well,
and you are still my boss, even if we did do it today."
"Point taken." He understood privacy. It's not like he would have told
her about prison, or how he ended up there.
"Sometimes that old stuff gets in the way of my life today. I t ' s the
easiest way I can explain it. I don't feel comfortable in a lot of
situations. I might lose my temper for no reason, or be bitchy or nasty.
Or I might shut down. It happens. I shut down today after we had sex.
I ' m sorry for that because I didn't explain why."
"It's okay. We all have stuff."
"Some more than others," she murmured, smiling wryly. "Yeah, some
more than others."
"I really do want you to want me to work there because I ' m good. I ' ve
worked very hard to learn my craft, and I ' m a hard worker."
"Point taken," he said again. "I know you're good."
"I don't want it to be like some stupid, cliché situation where I ' m
screwing my boss so he'll give me a raise or a promotion or
something."
"That's a shame since I was going to offer you a full-time position after
this campaign was over." His voice was deep and smooth.
"You don't even know what I ' l l do with the campaign yet," she

accused. "How can you say that?"
"I already know you came up with better ideas than any of the dozens
of other photographers who have worked for them—and by the way,
they were also better ideas than the rest of the creative team. I t ' s
supposed to be up to them to come up with the scenario behind the
photos, not you."
Her eyes widened. "But you let me work on all those ideas?"
"Because you had them. Because I wanted to see what else you had to
offer. And I ' l l tell you a secret: Trevor loved your ideas, and so did his
father."
The corners of her mouth twitched. "Really?" "Really."
"You didn't tell me."
"I didn't get the chance. You were too much to resist when you walked
into my office earlier. I lost control. I ' m sorry."
She picked at invisible lint on her pants. "Do you mean that? Are you
actually sorry?"
"Honestly?" "Yes."
"No." She chuckled, shaking her head. He did the same. "Listen, I get it
if you don't feel comfortable spending time together outside the office.
I get that you have morals and principles, and you're a good person. I
won't hold that against you. I want to be with you again, get to know
you. But I won' t make you do anything."
She was quiet for a long time. "You mean that?"
"Of course." He frowned, staring at her. "You don't believe me?"
"Let's just say I haven't had a lot of reason to believe things like that.
Things men say." She left it there, and he understood a lot more than
she gave him credit for. It was all she had to say. He didn't need to hear
the specifics to know that somebody had hurt her. Somebody hurt her
badly.
He stood up, stretching after folding his tall frame to fit onto her tiny
sofa. "I'll go now," he said. "I'm glad we cleared this up."
She stared at him with uncertainty all over her face, chewing her lip
again. That innocent look. It was completely sincere. When she didn't

say anything for a long time, he asked, "What is it?"
"I don't want you to go," she whispered. "But I don't want us to do
anything. Does that sound like I ' m being a tease? Because I don't want
to be a tease."
"You don't sound like a tease," he assured her.
"Would you mind?" she asked, eyes wide.
"No. I wouldn't mind." It wouldn't be easy keeping himself away from
her all night long, but he had to do it. She needed him. He didn't know
why or what she needed, exactly, but she had a deep well of need inside
her. And a lot of sadness. So much of it. She appealed to the part of him
that needed to be a protector. He wanted to keep her safe, to make her
feel taken care of always.
So they went to her room, to the double bed with all the pillows and the
handmade quilt. It was so easy to know the kind of person she was just
by looking around that bedroom. The stuffed animals on the shelves,
the books everywhere. Photography books, history, art, biography. She
was so smart. Photos on the walls, gorgeous prints like the ones in the
living room. She did have an eye, both in her own work and when
judging the work of others.
She curled up against him with her back to his front. He stayed in his
clothes, unwilling to free his cock since he wouldn't be able to trust that
it would stay inside his shorts all night with her firm, full ass against it.
He waited until her breathing became slow and measured before h e fell
asleep.
Hours later he woke up with his heart in his throat and covered in
sweat. He thought he was back in his cell at first. It took a second to
convince himself that he wasn't and calm down. It might have had
something to do with the tiny bed or the tiny, unfamiliar bedroom. She
stirred when he jumped.
"Are you all right?" she asked in a sleepy voice.
"Yeah. I ' m okay. I just had a bad dream," he muttered.
"Oh." She yawned, settling back in against him. "I have them
sometimes, too."

Chapter 63
Jordan
Jordan's camera fired rapidly like a machine gun, whirring as she held
down the shutter button. The tiny little girl she was aiming at smiled
brilliantly as she walked, twirled, and skipped around the luxury SUV.
The car was currently parked at the edge of the grounds of one of the
perfectly sculpted golf courses at Bethpage State Park in Farmington
and Jordan was taking pictures while Chase looked on. He looked
slightly amused and a little confused by the new addition to the shots.
After a week of tossing around ideas and doing mock shoots in the
studio at the Louis building, Chase, the clients, the creative department
and Jordan had all agreed on one of her ideas. They were going to shoot
five of the top-selling luxury cars, each in a different one of the most
beautiful state parks in New York, using nature as the backdrop. There
were 180 State Parks in New York, so once they decided on the idea the
next step was to pick the five parks. After a lot of research and a series
of intense meetings, the team got the list whittled down to about
twenty. Chase assigned his creative team to come up with lists of pros
and cons for those twenty parks and after a grueling six-hour meeting
the day before, they had finally settled on one. They were all exhausted
when they walked out of that conference room and that was the
moment Chase chose to tell Jordan that he wanted her to drive out to
Farmington with him first thing the next morning to do a mock shoot so
the client would have something to look at before they moved forward.
She didn't have a choice but to agree. It was her job and she couldn't let
her conflicting emotions get in the way of that. She had spent the week
after Chase held her all night long in her bed avoiding situations where
she would be alone with him. It hadn't been hard because they had been
consumed by the project and surrounded by the team most of the time.
When Jordan's head wasn't wrapped around work, however, her
thoughts were all about Chase. She'd had more than one late night
conversation with Natalie

about him and her and the whole situation and they had even pulled
Lauren in on it to get another opinion. Her best friends had both
presented her with a list of pro's based on what she had told them about
Chase and they had challenged her to come up with a list of cons that
outweighed them. She couldn't do it. Before he told her they were
spending Saturday together, she had already decided that she was done
fighting.
Saturday morning he sent a car to pick her up and take her to the client's
luxury car showroom. He was dressed in a pair of well-worn jeans and
a black polo shirt. It was long-sleeved so she couldn't see his sexy
tattoos, but it hugged his hard chest and arms in all the places that she
wanted to so she could live with it. She had worn jeans too and a
button-up white cotton shirt and tennis shoes. Her long hair was
braided and pulled to the side and she had worn very little makeup. She
had left the apartment feeling comfortable but definitely not beautiful
or glamorous. The way Chase looked at her when she walked into the
showroom said that he thought differently. The way his green eyes took
in every curve of her body in a glance sent shivers down her spine. She
wasn't sure her panties would survive an entire day alone with him... if
she kept them on that was.
She tucked those thoughts away for the moment as they looked at
several cars together before settling on a deep burgundy Jaguar
F-PACE Crossover. It was one of the cars the clients wanted to
showcase and judging from the photos Jordan had seen of the park she
thought it would be perfect. It was exquisitely detailed when they
picked it up from the showroom and it was also the nicest car that
Jordan had ever ridden inside of. The leather seats were so soft that
they felt like butter against her skin and it had every new piece of
technology inside of it that she could have ever imagined.
The park was twenty miles from the city. They spent that time mostly
in silence and talking about work. She was a little worried that after she
had put up such a resistance that he had given up on the idea of them
and she wasn't sure how to bring it up. By the time they reached their
destination she had resolved that on the way home she would talk to
him about what she had decided and she would just have to live with it
if

he had decided otherwise.
By the time they got to the park the shiny new car was coated with a
fine layer of dust and road grime. Jordan was surprised and a little
amused when Chase rolled up the sleeves of his black polo shirt and
took out a black leather case from the back. He opened the case and
took out a brand new chamois cloth and a container of some kind of
wax and she watched him as he carefully and almost tenderly wiped
down the car. She was even shamelessly turned on as she watched his
muscles flex and his big hands rub the cloth against the car in slow,
delicate circles.
It was an hour after they'd arrived and Jordan had taken photos of the
car from every possible angle. They had moved it several times too to
get a different angle of the landscape in the background. It was just the
car and nature and as good as that had sounded in their meetings,
Jordan wasn't completely sold on it now. She agreed with the decision
that the team had made not to use the standard models or celebrities.
That had all been done before and it was old news. But something
about the photos she had taken this morning just seemed lonely to her.
Something was missing and when she saw the cute little girl playing in
the grass not far away, she thought maybe she knew what it was.
The little girl was about five or six years old and she had long wavy
black hair that hung to her waist. She was wearing a blue sundress with
a pair of matching leggings and little black hiking boots. She had been
doing twirls and cartwheels in the grass while her mother read a book
and watched her from a lawn chair a few feet away. The little girl had
chubby cheeks and big dark eyes and when Jordan heard her laugh she
couldn't help but look her way. She was sitting on her bottom after a
failed attempt at a cartwheel and two long curls hung down across her
forehead and in her eyes. She was smiling from ear to ear. That smile
was contagious and Jordan gravitated toward her. Chase looked
confused when he looked up and saw her talking to the girls' mother.
"Hi, I'm sorry to bother you. My name is Jordan and that's my boss over
there, Chase Louis. We work for Louis Advertising and we're doing
some test shots for a campaign we're doing. I was wondering if I might
borrow your little girl for a few of them. If we decided to use her in any
of the campaign shots it would only be with your permission and

compensation of course."
The mother had lowered the book she was holding in her lap to look up
at Jordan. She looked over at her daughter then and said, "Chloe can
this lady take some pictures of you?"
The little girl giggled and nodded. She came over and Jordan
introduced herself to her and with the innocence and trust that only a
child had, she slipped her tiny little hand into Jordan's and let her lead
her over near the car. She got a pair of raised eyebrows from Chase, but
he didn' t say anything as Jordan told Chloe to just continue her play
around the car as if they weren't even there. He watched with interest as
she began to snap one picture after the next and after she had finished
and took the girl back over to her mother he finally asked, "What was
that about?"
"Here," she said stepping close to him. She had to give her head a little
shake to clear it. Just the proximity of his gorgeous body set every
nerve ending in hers on fire. She sucked in a shaky breath and said,
"Look. These are the first photos I took of just the car and the
backdrop." She scanned through the digital shots one by one. The look
on Chase's face definitely did not say impressed. "Now, look at these,"
she told him. She scanned through the ones with Chloe in the shots and
it was like someone had flipped a light switch on inside of him and it
shone out through his already dazzling green eyes.
"You're brilliant."
She felt a rush of warmth flow through her veins and she smiled as
brightly as Chloe was smiling earlier. "Thank you. So you think the
client would approve of us hiring her?"
"Can you email me a couple of those pictures? I'll shoot them an email
right now and ask them."
"You got it, boss." She sent the email to Chase and he sent it to Trevor
and his father. Then he looked at the Rolex on his left arm and said,
"How about we get some lunch while we wait?"
"That sounds amazing, I'm starving."
"Let's go make sure our little model isn't going to take off on us first
and then we'll walk over to the clubhouse."
They walked back over to where Chloe's mom was sitting. When

she looked up and saw Chase she didn't just put her book down in her
lap like she had when Jordan approached her earlier, it actually slipped
out of her fingers and fell to the ground. She ignored it. All of her
attention was focused on the gorgeous man in front of her. Jordan
wasn't surprised. She had seen him have that same effect on every
woman he came into contact with at work all day, every day. She
couldn't deny that there was a little flicker of jealousy that ran through
her when she watched him in action... but at the same time, it was sexy
and thrilling. That slow and sexy smile that had sold her the first time
she had seen him spread across his face as he said, "Hi there, I'm Chase
Louis." The woman actually reached up and smoothed down her hair
before putting out her hand to shake the one he offered. She had to clear
her throat before she said,
"Hi, I'm Louise Barker."
"I' m happy to meet you, Mrs. Barker. I wanted to thank you for letting
us use Chloe in the shoot. She's a beautiful little girl."
She giggled. Jordan had to bite her lip to keep from smiling. "Thank
you. She's quite a little ham," the woman said.
"She must know her own potential, that's great." Chase was
schmoozing her and it was working. "I was wondering if you two might
be around for a while. I'm waiting to hear back from my client and if he
likes the idea of using Chloe in the campaign I'd like to make you an
offer today."
"Would you need her to come in and model for you at your
studio?"
She looked slightly disappointed when he said, "No. I think my
photographer here would rather shoot this today if we get the go-ahead,
wouldn't you Jordan?"
Jordan smiled and nodded. "Her naturalness is what is so attractive.
The way her hair is in her face and she's just comfortable in what she's
doing and wearing. We're not looking for a professional model shoot
here. If we get an okay I'd like to take some more of her with the car and
then some of her just by herself so maybe we could photoshop them in
later. I' m not sure yet, but yes, I like her the way she is today."
"Okay. My husband is playing 18 holes and then he'll probably be

in the club for an hour or so with his friends when he finishes. I 'm sure
we'll be here for a while."
"Good," Chase told her with another dazzling smile. The woman
actually blinked like she was blinded by it. "We're going to get some
lunch and I will let you know as soon as I hear back from the client."
"Thank you," she said. She hadn't asked about the contract or money.
Jordan knew Chase well enough already to know that he would have
Brigitte prepare and email the contract right away and he would make
sure Chloe's family was handsomely compensated...but this lady didn' t
know him from Adam. She was agreeing to this simply because she had
been sucked into his orbit and she was powerless to pull away. Jordan
knew that because she was right there herself. She had tried to fight that
magnetic pull but if she was being honest, she knew all along that it
was futile.
He put his hand on the small of her back as they walked up toward the
elaborate clubhouse. She was shaking all over just from that simple
touch and she wanted more. She wanted to feel him inside of her again.
She wanted to taste him and let him taste her. She wanted to feel every
part of his body. God, he drove her crazy. She realized something else
as they walked into the restaurant together and all eyes were on them.
She felt proud to be with him, but it went beyond that. She also felt safe
and protected and most of all happy. She was finished denying herself
the happiness that for so long she thought she didn't deserve. But once
again, Natalie was right. Everyone deserved to be happy. Jordan
deserved to be happy. That was going to be her new mantra.

Chapter 69
Chase
Chase never knew he could get so turned on watching someone work.
He should have known because where Jordan was concerned,
everything she did turned him on. He was in a perpetual state of
horniness around her. After the night he spent with her in her bed he
realized just how vulnerable she was and he had promised himself that
he would take a step back and give her some time. He wasn't sure how
much time he would be able to give her before he completely exploded.
Some days he had to sit behind the conference table until everyone had
left before he could get up for fear of being labeled a pervert. As they
walked to the restaurant now with his hand on her back he could feel
her shaking and he could feel the heat flowing from her body to his. He
couldn't help imagining how easy it would be to pull her into his arms
right then and taste those lips again. The taste of them was still on his
from that day in the office. The day that had ruined him for sex with
any other woman. That reminded him, he needed to have a talk with
Samantha. He had been putting her off all week but it wasn't fair to
keep her hanging even though they weren't in a real "relationship," she
had come to expect certain things and he at least owed her more than a
brush-off.
As soon as they walked into the clubhouse they were greeted by the
hostess and taken to a table near a big window in the back. The window
overlooked a little man-made pond and waterfall. The pond was filled
with ducks and geese and he thought that the look on Jordan's face as
she watched them was sensual and so beautiful. She was killing him.
"Your waiter will be right with you," the hostess told them as she
handed them each a menu.
After she left, Chase poured them each a glass of water from the carafe
on the table. Jordan was still watching the ducks. "They're so cool," she
said with a smile. He couldn't help but smile too. Her

enthusiasm was contagious. "Yes they are," he agreed.
"I like this place," she said, looking around. "Have you been here
before?"
"Once, a long time ago. I came here to play golf." The waiter
approached the table then and said, "Hi, I'm Matt. I'll be your server.
Can I get you something to drink?"
Chase noticed they were still serving brunch and he asked Jordan,
"How about a mimosa?"
She smiled. "While we're working?"
He laughed. She's so damned cute. "Just one glass of champagne
watered down with orange juice won't hurt a thing," he said.
"Okay then!" she looked at Matt and said, "Mimosas it is."
Matt left and Jordan looked around the room. She had her eyebrows
drawn together so Chase asked her, "What is it?"
"I just noticed everyone here is either dressed in really nice golfing
clothes or dresses and suits. I feel slightly underdressed." Chase
couldn't help it. He couldn't leave that one alone. A wicked grin splayed
across his face and he said, "Underdressed was just how I was picturing
you in my head. " He watched as the blush crept up her neck and spread
across her face.
"Oh, you were?"
"Yeah, and by under dressed I mean not dressed at all."
She chuckled. "So am I just standing there not dressed. or am I doing
something?"
"You're just standing there. I'm the one doing things."
"And while you're doing these things are you naked too?" Jordan
picked up her water to take a sip and nearly choked on it when she
realized Matt had snuck back up to the table with their drinks. He had
heard what she said. Her face got even redder than it already was as
Matt set the drinks down and very kindly pretended like he hadn't heard
a thing. Chase was stifling a laugh.
"Have you had a chance to decide what you'd like to order?"
"Yes, I'm ready," Jordan said, still not making eye-contact with the
young waiter. "Are you ready Chase?" He was still grinning at her and

she gave him a look as if to tell him to behave. "Yes, you go ahead
first," he told her.
Jordan ordered the brunch special they were still running. It was
spinach quiche. Chase ordered a club sandwich and they both handed
their menus back to Matt who made his hasty retreat. Once he was gone
Chase let out the laugh he was holding back.
"You're so bad," Jordan told him, trying not to laugh herself.
"That's not what you said in my office that day." She blushed again but
he could tell by the way her tongue came out just a little bit and ran
across her bottom lip that she was remembering what it felt like to have
him inside of her.
"What are you thinking right now?" he asked her.
"Nothing," she said with a shy grin.
"You're as bad as I am," he said. "You're picturing me naked too, aren' t
you?"
"Shh, Matt might sneak up on us again." They both laughed and when
he did suddenly appear at the side of the table, they laughed harder. He
offered them refills on their drinks and left again. This time when
Jordan looked across the table at him he didn't smile. The fire she
ignited in his core was burning hot and he knew that he had to have her
again soon. He also knew that the next time they were together it
wouldn't be quick. He wanted to have her in every way possible, all
night long.
" S o . " she said, searching for a way to change the subject. Chase
wasn't going to let her get away with it. "This is happening Jordan."
"What is happening?" This time the innocence was feigned. She knew
damned good and well what he was talking about. He didn't answer her
and he didn't break eye-contact. He waited her out and she finally said,
"You're right. It's happening."
A devilish grin pulled at his lips, content in the knowledge that she was
ready to accept the inevitable. There was an invisible string binding
them together from the moment she walked into his office for that
interview. He was confident that he could help her get through
whatever happened in her past and move forward with her future.

Chase left that conversation alone for the time being and while they ate
they discussed the campaign. He got a text back from Trevor before
they left the clubhouse that said, "Brilliant." he text back,
"That's exactly what I told her."
"Don't forget whose idea she was."
Chase rolled his eyes and text back, "Don't forget whose she is now."
He got a smiley face in return. It dawned on him then that was how he
thought of her. She was his even if she didn't know it yet.
"It's such a beautiful day," Jordan said when they walked outside.
Chase reached for her hand and she let him take it.
"We still have some time. Let's take the long way back." Jordan didn' t
object so he led her past the pro shop and through the courtyard filled
with fragrant flowers to the cement path that wound through the lush
golf course. The combination of good food, mimosa's and good
company, they were both very relaxed. They walked quietly for a
while, stopping to watch some ducks as they passed another little pond.
Once they started walking again Chase asked her, "So does your family
live in
New York?"
"I don't have any family."
Chase was shocked. "None at all?"
"No, at least not that I know of. I grew up in foster care. Natalie is the
closest thing I've ever had to real family." "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. I made it and I think I turned out okay." Chase squeezed her
hand and said, "Better than okay."
Jordan smiled. He had opened the gate so he wasn't surprised when she
asked, "What about yours? Did you grow up in New York?"
"I did. My mother is still here in the city. My father. passed away
almost nineteen years ago now."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"Don't be," he said. "He was a miserable bastard." He left it there and
she did too.
"So what about brothers and sisters?"

"Nope, just me. But since we're talking about family... my mother is
getting married next weekend. Would you be interested in attending the
wedding with me?"
She had a mixture of surprise and sheer terror on her face. "Are you
sure? I mean we're not even sure what we are to each other yet..."
"All anyone needs to know is that you're my friend, a very beautiful
one. I'd really like it if you would go with me. I really hate these social
functions. I'd be a lot more comfortable with someone that can
embarrass the wait staff with me."
Jordan laughed. "Well, in that case, I'd love to." Chase hadn't planned
on asking her to the wedding but now that she had accepted he was glad
he did. They were moving forward, one baby-step at a time. They
continued their stroll, coming to a narrow, covered bridge not far from
their destination. It was somewhat dark inside in spite of the brilliant
sun that loomed over them and Chase couldn't let the opportunity for a
small amount of intimacy created by the shadows. He stopped walking
and used the hand that was holding onto Jordan's to pull her into him.
He circled her small waist with his hands and pulled her in tightly. She
didn't object or try to pull away so he let his hands slide down the back
of her jeans and cupped the cheeks of her firm round ass as he leaned
down and let his mouth meet hers. Suddenly it was like there was an
electrical storm inside the little bridge. He could feel it from his lips all
the way down to his toes. His cock began to swell as his tongue
explored every inch of her hot mouth. He loved the way she tasted. he
had been craving it. When neither of them could breathe any longer he
let his lips slide down to her neck where he licked, sucked and nibbled
and reveled in the soft, satisfied noises she was making. He knew she
had to be able to feel the hard bulge between his legs, especially when
he felt her arch her back slightly and rub her body against it. Jesus, he
wanted to take her right there and he might have if not for the sound of
an approaching golf cart. Jordan pulled back first and with a mounting
frustration Chase adjusted himself so that there wasn't a tent in the front
of his pants. He was glad he did when a few minutes later the cart
appeared. It was driven by a blue-haired lady that had to be in her
seventies and her passenger was an old man that looked

like he was pushing eighty. They waved and smiled as they passed.
Chase and Jordan waved and smiled back. Once they were gone Jordan
laughed and said, "I'm not sure they'll invite us back here again."
Chase raised his eyebrows and replied, "Well if we've already blown
the invitation."
Laughing again Jordan said, "Picture your high school gym teachers
face and get rid of that for now. We have to work."
"For now?" he asked.
She smiled slyly. "The day is still new."

Chapter 75
Jordan
They finished their photo shoot with sweet little Chloe and a couple of
hours later they were back on the road, headed for Manhattan. Chase
hadn' t said much since their encounter in the little tunnel, but the
sexual electricity had been thicker than ever between them all
afternoon. They dropped the SUV off at the dealership and got into
Chase's own Jaguar. His was red and a convertible. As soon as Jordan
had her seatbelt on he said, "I believe we have unfinished business.
your place or mine?"
She giggled. "Natalie is home today."
"Mine it is then." Her stomach was filled with butterflies. She had
thought of little else but this day other than work for the past week. She
was both looking forward to and dreading it. She wasn't sure she was
ready to tell him about her past. but there was no way she could be
naked with him, with the light on and hide it. Axel had left his mark on
her and it had been one thing holding her back for the past six years.
She glanced over at Chase. He was driving as fast as traffic would
allow and he had his jaw set. His bicep on the arm that held the steering
wheel bulged and pressed tightly against the fabric of his shirt. If she
didn't know better she might think he was angry, but if she needed
further proof that he wasn't thinking of her in anger, all she had to do
was glance at his crotch. She took a deep breath and told herself that the
only way Axel would win in the end was if she didn't choose to live the
life he thought that he had taken. She was going to do this. and hope for
the best.
When they got to Chase's building he left his car with the valet and
hurried her through the lobby. As soon as the elevator doors shut
behind them he pushed her into the mirrored wall and kissed her like he
was trying to consume her mouth. His touch and the taste of his tongue
in her mouth caused an inferno to rage inside of her. She was powerless
to stop

what was about to happen even if she wanted to. She had never felt
anything remotely like the feelings Chase brought out in her, and she
wasn't going to miss out on the opportunity to feel them again and
again. She deserved to be happy.
When the elevator stopped on the top floor and the doors slid open, he
kept his mouth on her neck and steered her backward out the door. Her
feet sunk down into the plush carpeting in the hallway and a few
seconds later she felt her back up against another door. Chase's big arm
came around her and once again he claimed her lips as he unlocked the
door. He didn't let go of her as he pushed it open and Jordan didn't
flinch at the feeling of falling. She somehow knew instinctively he
wouldn't let her. He made her feel so safe and that wasn't a feeling she
had experienced much in her lifetime. He walked her back far enough
to kick the door shut and then startled her by suddenly bending down
and scooping her up into his arms. She squealed as he carried her down
the long hallway stopping in front of a room and pushing the door open
with his foot. She was surprised when he carried her inside and she saw
that it was a game room.
"Do you play pool?" he asked almost breathlessly. His lips were so
close to hers that she could feel the heat of his breath and the vibrations.
He had only just stopped kissing her and she was already craving them.
"I' m willing to learn," she said with a giggle. He carried her over and
laid her down on top of the green felt top of the huge oak pool table and
immediately started to undress her. He took her blouse off slowly,
kissing the exposed flesh with each button he unfastened and leaving a
trail of heat in his wake. When he had it open all the way he pulled her
upright and slid it off of her arms, letting his palms rake across her skin
as he did. Once the blouse was out of the way he reached behind her
and unhooked her bra. He made a noise in his throat when her breasts
fell out and his mouth went straight for them. He licked both of her
nipples, all the way around the outside and then flicked across the hard
nubs before sucking one into his mouth. She was sitting up in the
middle of the pool table holding his head to her chest and he was
making her dizzy with passion. She felt his hand come up and press
against her jean and panty clad pussy. Even with all of that fabric in the
way she felt her wetness

reach through and touch his fingers. It was only when he went to
unbutton her jeans that she remembered that she had to tell him. Shit.
Damn Axel to hell.
"Chase," she breathed out in a husky voice. "Stop, please..."
He froze and slowly raised his head up to look at her face. "Please
Jordan, don't do this to me now."
"No," she said, taking his handsome face into her hands. "It's not like
that. I want you worse than I've ever wanted anything in my life. But. I
have to tell you something first."
He cocked an eyebrow and trained his green eyes on her face as he said,
"Okay baby, tell me."
"I have a scar on the upper thigh of my right leg. It's actually on the
inner part, right near my vagina." His lips turned up on the edges and he
said, "That's okay baby. You could have scars all over your legs and I' d
still want you."
"This one says 'SLUT'," she blurted out. That caused the smile to drop
from his face and a look of confusion appeared.
"Excuse me?"
She felt the sting of tears as her eyes filled up with them. She blinked
them back, not wanting to ruin this moment any more than she already
had. "My ex-boyfriend tied me down one night and carved it into me.
He said it was so any man that had sex with me would be pre-warned."
The look of confusion was now one of rage and the way his eyes went
from a light green color to a dark shade of jade almost frightened her.
"Mother fucker. Jesus. let me see."
She nodded and he picked her up by the waist and stood her on her feet
next to the table. He watched as she unbuttoned and unzipped her pants
and lowered them, kicking her shoes off when she made it to her
ankles. She was wearing a pair of thin white lace panties and she
opened her legs and reached down to where the scar was. Every day
when she washed her body she had to touch it and it reminded her of
the hell Axel put her through. It was exactly what he had intended.
Chase was staring at it now in disbelief and horror. Suddenly she was
afraid that he would no longer want to touch her. Only seconds passed
but to Jordan, it felt

like a lifetime before Chase dropped to his knees in front of her, took
her hips in his hands and gently, lovingly and tenderly placed his lips
over the area that Axel had defiled. After the soft kiss, he turned his
head to the side and leaned it into her. She could hear the sounds of his
rapid breathing and she wished that she knew what he was thinking.
When he looked up at her face he whispered in a deep voice, "I'm so
sorry that happened to you. What else did he do to you, Jordan?" She
reached down for his hands and guided him back up to his feet. Leaning
her head into his chest she said, "One day I'll tell you, but today I want
what we promised each other with that kiss that started in the elevator. I
want you, Chase. I feel like I'll explode if I don't have you. Please make
love to me."
Chase lifted her up again and cradled her back in his arms. He held her
there for a minute with his face pressed into hers before sitting her
down on the edge of the table. His big fingers slid into the top of her
panties and she lifted her butt up so that he could slide them off. He
visibly shuddered when he looked at her now exposed pussy. She
wasn't sure if it was lust or revulsion because of the disgusting scar. A
second later he answered that question by dropping to his knees again
and burying his face between her legs. She cried out at the first touch of
his lips to her wet, sensitive folds. He kissed her first and then his
tongue came out and he licked her from her swollen and aching clit to
the bottom of her slit and back up again. When he reached her clit again
he sucked it into his mouth and held it between his lips while he used
his tongue to take her to heaven. She let her body fall back onto the
table and Chase held onto her hips as he pleasured her with his lips,
tongue and even a little bit of teeth in ways that she hadn't even known
existed. Her mind was fuzzy and her breaths were coming in short
gasps when she felt him raise his head and then stand up. She started to
sit up but realized quickly that he wasn't finished with her yet. Standing
in front of her and watching her face he slid one of his fingers inside of
her. She gasped and closed her eyes.
"Open them," he said. His voice was soft but commanding. She did as
he asked and locked her blue-grey eyes into his green ones as he slid in
a second finger. She was soaking wet and her walls locked around his

fingers as he began to move them in and out of her, striking her g-spot
as he did each time. It was only mere minutes. maybe seconds even
before a hurricane of an orgasm began to thrash her body. She cried out
his name and reached up and gripped his broad shoulders as she came.
Her body convulsed as he pulled his fingers out and smiled down at
her.
"Kiss me," she whispered. He leaned down and claimed her mouth. She
could taste herself on him and it drove her wild with lust. She licked
and sucked at his lips and tongue and when he finally broke the kiss she
said, "I want to see you. I want you inside of me."
He took a step back and reached down and pulled his shirt up. She
shuddered at the view of his hard chest and six-pack abs. He pulled the
shirt off over his head and his tattoos were exposed and she wondered
how one person could be blessed with so much beauty. His hands went
to his pants then and she watched as he pulled them and his shorts and
shoes off in one quick movement. When he stood back up he was
gorgeous and deliciously naked. She sat up and reached for his
throbbing cock. Wrapping her fingers around the soft skin that covered
the steel rod, she began to stroke him softly up and down. His hips
jerked in response each time her small hand slid down and back up. He
groaned when she took her other soft hand and reached out to caress his
balls.
" F u u u c k . "
Jordan smiled. She loved the feeling that making him feel good gave
her. Her hand picked up the pressure and his eyes focused on the
muscles in her forearms as they flexed and relaxed with her every
movement.
He leaned in for a kiss but before his lips made it to hers she kissed his
neck. It was a full, wet kiss and he groaned again and let one of his
hands sift through her thick hair. He let her trail kisses across his throat
before tightening the grip he had on her hair and pulling her head back
so that he could capture her lips. Their tongues crashed together and the
passion was undeniable as she nipped at his lips and continued to stroke
his aching cock.
He reached with the other hand and let his thumb and forefinger find
one of her nipples. He twisted and pulled at it, almost matching the
rhythm of his movements to what she was doing to his cock. He took it

as long as he could before growling at her to stop. "I want to be inside
of you, deep inside when I come." She shuddered at the idea of that and
let go of his cock. Breathlessly he said, "Don't move." He left a hand on
her thigh like he was afraid he would lose her as he bent down to
retrieve a foil wrapped pouch from his jean pocket. She watched as he
slid the thin sheath over his pulsing cock and then lifted her off the
table and carried her over to a leather couch. He pulled the thick, warm
blanket off the back and let it fall down across the seat before sitting her
down on it and then he sat down next to her and pulled her up on his
lap. The feel of that thick hard cock pressing into her most sensitive
spot almost caused her to have another orgasm. Jordan knew at that
moment that letting herself go and being with Chase this way was
something she would always remember and never regret.

Chapter 81
Chase
He was touching every sexy curve of her body with one part of his body
or another and feasting his eyes on her delicious full breasts and hard
nipples and it only made him want more. Holding her by the hips he
lifted her up and without prompting she reached down and lined his
cock up with her entrance. He wanted to watch her. He wanted to see
himself slide up inside of her, but he couldn't look. He couldn't let his
eyes rest on that disfiguring scar again. Not because he thought her any
less beautiful or amazing because of it. but because the rage in his chest
would return and instead of making love to this gorgeous woman he
had right in front of him, he would want to tear some mother-fuckers'
head from his shoulders. There would be plenty of time for that later, he
told himself. At that moment he only wanted to make her forget
everything that had happened to her up to this moment. He wanted to
make her feel things that no one had ever made her feel before.
Once she had the head of his cock pressing against the opening of her
sweet pussy he let go of her hips and let her fall and impale herself on
him. She gasped and whimpered as he bottomed out inside of her. "Too
much?" he whispered. She shook her head frantically, "No, I want it all.
fuck me Chase."
He had to fight the explosion that coiled inside of his body. He tried to
think of something or someone else to take the pressure off but when he
looked up at Jordan's flushed cheeks and disheveled hair he knew that
wasn't going to be possible. There were no other two people in the
world at that moment. He held onto her waist so that he was in control
and began flexing his hips, moving in and out of her in long, lazy
strokes. She was fighting him. She wanted more and he could feel it by
the way she was trying to roll her hips down each time he thrust up into
her. "Harder," she murmured. She leaned in and bit down on his neck
and sucked on it before lifting her head up and saying, "Faster. Fuck me

Chase." Overwhelming desire...a raw need that he had never
experienced pre-Jordan, seized him. His hips began to move faster
almost all on their own and he let go of his hold on her hips and she
began moving with him, bouncing up and down. The sight of her
bouncing tits and her head thrown back with her mouth open and all
that hair brushing against her nude back and shoulders culminated in
his core and holding back the orgasm became physically painful. When
he shoved up into her and she wiggled her hips so that his thick cock
moved with the walls of her pussy he yelled out her name. He felt her
hand go down between them then and he realized she had her finger on
her clit and she was rubbing it hard in time with his thrusts.
"Fuck Jordan! Jesus, you're so sexy. Fuck! I'm going to come."
She moaned and in a ragged voice she said, "Me too. Come with me
Chase." She threw her head back further and then she did something
that drove him over the edge of that cliff head-first. She opened those
sexy eyes of hers and looked him directly in his green ones, smiling.
Then she closed them again just as he felt himself explode. He was
riding out his massive orgasm when she cried out and exploded into
one of her own. It was the most fucking amazing experience of his life.
Once they both had calmed down she let her soft hot body fall into him
and she rested her face in the crook of his neck as her vital signs slowly
returned to normal. "Wow," he heard her say against his hot flesh.
"Mm-hmm," He said for lack of enough oxygen to speak. "That was
incredible Chase."
He put his arms around her and pulled her in tighter until there wasn't
even space for air between them and then he whispered, "I'm only
resting. I' m not finished with you by far." He felt her shake with a little
laugh and after a second she said, "Good."
Jordan and Chase spent all afternoon and part of the evening exploring
different spaces in his apartment and different positions. When

they were both at last spent completely they took a shower together, ate
leftovers out of the fridge and then crawled into his bed, naked. He
heard her whimper softly as she felt the soft, satin sheets against her
bare skin and in spite of the beating he had already taken, his cock did a
cartwheel.
He slid an arm underneath her neck and pulled her into him. She
cuddled into his side and it felt so good to hold her like that he almost
let the question that was nagging him again go. almost. He had to know
which meant he had to ask. "Jordan?"
"Hmm?"
"Where is the man that hurt you?"
She shook her head. "I don't know. The "tattoo" as he called it is six
years old. By that time he was beating me pretty routinely. I should
have left, but he hadn't let me work so I had no money and I didn't have
friends or family in the city. Natalie was living in the dorms at the
college so I couldn't stay with her. I guess it's all just a bunch of
excuses, but I thought if I was just good and obeyed his whims that I
could make him happy. If he was happy he wouldn't want to hurt me...
or at least that's what I told myself." He was stroking her arm softly and
made it a point to keep his touch light although he was practically
consumed by anger. "We had been together for a year when he finally
tried to kill me. I thought he had. I could see myself being worked on
by the paramedics. I could hear and see what they were saying and
doing. I didn't have a pulse and I wasn't breathing..."
"Was he the one that called the ambulance?"
She smirked and it was in the next moment that he really knew that he
wanted to kill him. "No. He dumped me alongside the road. I think he
thought it was an isolated area but because camping season was in full
force at the time, people literally came out of the woodwork." Chase
didn' t realize how tense his body was or that he was shaking until she
softly laid her hand over his heart and said, "It was a long time ago, and
today was the best day that I've had before or since. I don't want to
waste any more of it talking about him, okay?"
Through gritted teeth he growled, "I need to know one more thing."
"What?" she asked in a small voice.
"What is his name?" A man with Chase's history wouldn't be very

smart to go looking for this guy, but for the first time in his life, he
didn't want to do the smart thing. He had murder on his mind and the
consequences of that act were the furthest thing from it.
"Not tonight Chase, please." Her voice was pleading and thick and he
realized that he didn't want to ruin this night any more than she did. He
took a few deep, cleansing breaths until his body began to relax and
then he said, "Okay," as he brushed his lips against her hair. But soon.
Chase never had a harder time not knowing something in his life. His
family had held so many secrets that when it came to people's personal
lives more often than not he would rather not know. But this. this
monster who could hurt an angel like Jordan and leave her for dead on
the side of the road. that was someone that Chase had to meet. He didn't
understand why she hadn't told the police what this man did and have
him locked up. He wanted to ask her. When he had asked where he was
he had expected her to say, "In jail." When she didn't his next thought
was that he wanted to send him to hell. He could sit on one side of the
devil while Charles Sr. sat on the other.
He had woken up with Jordan in his arms and for the next hour after she
woke up, they made love and all had been right with the world again.
But the second she said it was time for her to go home and begin editing
the photos she had taken the day before he started wondering how he
could go about tracking this guy down.
"It's Sunday," he told her, "Take the day off."
In true Jordan form, she said, "I was just hoping to have something
ready to show at the meeting tomorrow morning."
"I'll re-schedule the meeting for the afternoon so you can prepare it in
the morning at work. Today is your one day off. I have a better idea
about how you can spend it."
She smiled. "In your arms?" she asked.
"I'd love nothing more than that, but unfortunately I have a fitting for
my tuxedo for my mother's wedding. I'm meeting my soon to be
step-brother at the tailor's and having lunch with him afterward. The
man is as dull as the lead on a pencil so it should be a laugh a minute."

She giggled. "Okay, then I'll get out of your way..."
"Hey." He pulled her against him and held her tightly. "You are never
in my way. But you didn't let me finish about my idea. I think you
should go shopping and find a kick-ass dress, shoes and whatever else
you need to wear to the wedding too."
He felt her body tense and then relax. She looked up at him and said, "I
promise to look as good as possible. but my first paycheck went to old
bills, things I'd been behind on for a while. I'll need to wait for my next
o n e . "
"I wasn't suggesting that you pay for it."
"Oh no! No Chase I couldn't let you do that."
"Why not? Is this like that rule about not sleeping with the boss?"
"Kind of," she slapped his chest and said, "I was going to say it was a
moral issue or a matter of principles...but I'm not sure I'm one to preach
any longer."
"Good, don't. I'm going to give you the AMEX card. There's no limit on
it and no limit on what you spend."
"I really can't do that, Chase."
"Listen to me." He cupped her chin and tipped her face up to his. "This
isn't me rewarding you for sex or coercing you into doing anything else
with me. This is for me. I want to do something for you because I'm just
completely overwhelmed with the way you make me feel. I have had
money my entire life. for the most part. It was money that my father
earned before I began earning it and it's accumulated a billion times
over. I would never notice a few thousand of that missing, but it would
make me feel great to know that you were out shopping with one of
your friends today having cocktails for lunch and being fitted into a
gorgeous dress...and smiling. I want to make you smile Jordan."
"You already have."
"Good." He bent down and kissed the bridge of her nose. "I want to do
it more."
In the end, Jordan lost the argument and before she left with the AMEX
card he made her promise to send him selfies of her day. He could tell
that she was at least a little bit excited about going shopping and the last
thing he told her before she left was that she worked hard

and she deserved this. That simple statement seemed to overwhelm her
and when she pulled back from hugging him she had tears in her eyes.
He left once she was in the car that he called for her downstairs and
before he made it back up to the penthouse he was on the phone with
one of his contacts from the NYPD.

Chapter 87
Jordan
Natalie and Jordan shopped until they were ready to drop. and they may
have been just a little bit tipsy from too much wine at lunch by the time
they got home. Jordan hadn't bought much because she felt guilty about
spending Chase's money, but it felt like she had tried on every dress and
pair of shoes in every store they went into. She had sent some sexy
selfies to Chase as well as some silly ones. Each time she sent a photo
she would get a text back and each time he had something sexy,
positive or perverted to say. The only dress she didn't send him a photo
of was the one she finally settled on for the wedding. She couldn't wait
for him to see her in that one. Even with her limited self-esteem, she
knew she looked hot in it and for the first time since he mentioned it she
was looking forward to the wedding. They had a late lunch at an Italian
restaurant in Manhattan and that was where they polished off a bottle of
red wine while they laughed, talked and ate. Jordan didn't tell Nat the
intimate details of what she and Chase had done the night before, but
she did tell her that they made love all night and about how sweet and
attentive he had been when she told him about her vile "tattoo." She
shuddered a little to herself when she pictured the rage in his eyes. She
had even said a little prayer that Axel would never show his face
anywhere near Chase. It wasn't that she cared what happened to Axel, it
was what she feared Chase would do and the consequences he might
have to face if he did.
They didn't get back to the apartment until the sun was going down.
Lauren hadn't been able to join them for shopping because of another
obligation but when they got back to the apartment she was waiting for
them. She had brought fresh wine and cheese and the first thing she
said when they came in the door laughing and whispering was, "Stop
right there and start over. I want to hear everything that was said today
and I want you two to act like it's the first time you heard it."

They laughed and after Jordan put her dress and other bags in her room,
they sat on the couch, opened the bottle of wine that neither Nat nor
Jordan really needed and began to talk.
"I spent the night with Chase at his penthouse. We made love, we ate,
we talked about our lives and we made love again."
"Wow, you talked about your life? Did he too?"
"Yeah, we talked about where we grew up and our families, or my lack
thereof. He invited me to his mother's wedding. That's why I was out
shopping today."
"I've been by the building where he lives a million times," Lauren said
excitedly. "It's gorgeous. It's been there since the late twenties and his
family has owned it since the fifties."
"Oh, I didn't know that." Jordan wasn't surprised that Lauren did. She
was working toward a degree in architecture. She had been in college
off and on for six years now. Her mother got really ill in her second
year and she took a year off and then just before she finished the third
year her older brother was in a car accident and Lauren was the only
one to take care of him as well. Jordan and Nat both teased her
sometimes about changing her major to nursing but she swore she
would make a terrible one. She only had six months to go now before
she got her degree and look for internships. Jordan was proud of her for
fighting for it so hard. In the spare time that she had very little of, she
read a lot. mostly about the history of architecture and local
architecture as well.
"Yep," Lauren went on, "His grandfather was the one that initially
invested in real estate. Something happened to the market and he lost
most of his money in the seventies but he hung onto that one building.
It was originally a department store and office buildings but he had it
turned into residences. The top floor was always reserved for family."
"Wow," Nat said, "I'm going to find out where the next guy I decide to
date lives and you can give me his background before he breaks my
heart."
Lauren made a sad face at her friend and said, "Just because that
asshole broke your heart, doesn't mean all men are the same. I mean
seriously look at that smile on Jordan's face." They both turned and

looked at her. She felt herself blush a little bit and stuck her tongue out
at them. They both laughed and Lauren went on to say, "Chase Louis is
living proof that people can change."
It wasn't so much what Lauren said, although that was odd too since she
didn't know Chase, but it was how she said it that made the hairs on the
back of Jordan's neck stand up.
"What do you mean?" she asked Lauren. Confusion marred her
face.
"Oh you know, that trouble he got into back when he was only
eighteen." Lauren must have realized mid-sentence that wasn't
something that Jordan and Chase talked about the night before. She
tried to change the subject by saying, "So what did you buy today?"
Natalie started to tell Lauren about Jordan's dress but Jordan
interrupted her. "What trouble?"
"Oh, well I just read an article in an obscure magazine about his family.
The article was really o l d . "
"Jesus Lauren, get to the point."
She sighed and looked at Nat. Nat just shrugged and took a drink of her
wine. "I don't want to start any trouble. Damn, I've got such a big mouth
sometimes. You're so happy. I don't want to mess things up for
you."
"See that's what worries me, Lauren. Why would something he did
over a decade ago affect my relationship with him now? It had to be
something pretty serious so spill it."
Lauren' s bottom lip was set in a pout as she said, "He killed his
father."
Natalie spit out her wine. Jordan felt the blood drain from her face. It
had to be a mistake, she thought. Chase was a professional
businessman and everyone that worked for him had nothing but good
things to say. He's kind and gentle with her... there's no way he's a
murderer. This had to be some kind of mistake.
Hours later Jordan laid in her bed looking at the ceiling. She had
excused herself from the little party in the living room and she had gone

to her own room and googled Charles Louis Sr. She got tens of
thousands of hits so she narrowed it down by typing in Charles Louis
Sr.—death. That netted her almost the same amount of hits. She clicked
on a local news source. The article was in the archives of the paper and
it was dated for almost eighteen years earlier. The senior Mr. Louis had
indeed been murdered. He was stabbed twice. Once in the hand and
once directly through the heart. Chase Louis ...Charles Louis Jr. had
pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter. He had been offered a ten-year
sentence in return for his guilty plea. Jordan clicked around and read a
few more articles. Chase had done his time uneventfully, one article
even said that he earned his business degree in prison. He was released
eight years ago and his father's company was in financial straits. Chase
had taken over as CEO and within five years the company was once
again thriving.
Jordan's mind was in a chaotic state. None of it made any sense to her.
While she lay on her bed and stared at the ceiling she got a text message
from Chase that said, "Did you make it home from your shopping trip
safely?" She stared at it for a really long time. So long in fact that she
got another text from him that said, "You're okay, right?"
Is she okay? She had been on top of the world only hours ago. When
she got involved with Axel she had been so young and naïve. She was
only twenty years old and out on her own in the world with only her
friend Natalie as a constant in her life. She had discovered her love for
photography at an early age when her foster family bought her a
camera one Christmas when she was thirteen. She carried that old
camera everywhere she went. She had been enrolled at a community
college for a little over a year at the time she met Axel. It was purely by
accident, or so she had thought at the time. but maybe it was fate.
Maybe his horrific road was the one she was supposed to take so that
she could come out the other side with the maturity and confidence she
needed to take on the world basically alone.
She and her friend had been out for a drive one Sunday afternoon.
Jordan didn't have a boyfriend at the time. She only had two boyfriends
in her life at that point. The first was the quarterback of their high
school football team. He was gorgeous but Jordan found out that he
was not a

nice person when she walked up on him bullying a smaller boy at their
school. She had tried to intervene and her boyfriend had turned on her
angrily. After that he spread rumors about her at school and anytime
she was face to face with him he would say ugly things. Jordan moved
on from that teenage angst and in her first year of college she met
another guy. This one worked with her on the school newspaper. She
was the photographer and he was one of the reporters. That young man
was a nice guy, but as much as Jordan liked him she couldn't ever see
herself developing real feelings for him. When she finally decided to
break up with him it was because she didn't feel like she was being fair
to him. When he asked her why she didn't want him she told him the
truth or most of it, she just didn't feel the attraction. What she didn't tell
him was that she had always been attracted to the bad boys, the dark,
smoldering type. Steven had just been too nice.
Jordan was twenty the day she agreed to go for a ride with her friend.
They stopped at a gas station and attached to it in the strip mall there
was a little hole in the wall bar. In front of the bar was a line of about
ten shiny Harley's and while her friend pumped the gas Jordan took her
camera and went over and started taking pictures of the bikes. She had
snapped about five of them before she was caught off guard by the
sudden appearance of a big man in her face. At first, she was terrified
and she took a step back, tripped over a curb and fell on her butt. The
man leaned down and said,
"Why are you taking pictures? Who are you?"
From her vantage point on the ground, he looked huge. He was
attractive in that bad boy kind of way too but she was too afraid at that
point to notice. She explained to him in a shaky voice that she was a
college student and photography was her major, and the love of her life.
The man helped her to her feet and introduced himself and told her he
was Vice President of the Queens Borough Wrecking Crew. It was an
MC club and for some reason the idea of knowing a real biker gave
Jordan a thrill. The fact that the biker had light blue eyes, dark hair, and
a killer body fascinated her further. Axel had bought her a drink that
day and just about one year later had tried to kill her. She figured out
early on who and what Axel was, but she stayed in denial right up until
the night

he stopped only abusing her with his hateful words, and started raising
his fists.
Jordan hated thinking about any part of her life that Axel had been a
part of but the simple fact was that you couldn't change the past, you
could only move forward and heal. She had been ready to take steps to
do that with Chase only twelve hours ago and now she couldn't help but
wonder if that had been her being naïve or not. The sound of her ringing
telephone startled her. She saw Chase's number on the face and she felt
her stomach grow butterflies. She was pretty sure that if she didn't
answer it he would only show up on her doorstep again. With what felt
like the sudden weight of the world on her shoulders she said, "Hello?"
"Jordan? Hey, I was getting worried about you. Did you get my text
messages?"
"Yeah, I did. I' m s o r r y . "
"Jordan what's wrong?"
Her thoughts were racing. Should she just ask him? Would he tell her
the truth? One of the big questions in her head was this: Would the
D.A. have let him plead to manslaughter if he was simply a murderer?
She couldn't help in her active imagination, however, imagine what it
would be like to plunge a knife into another human being. That would
take a lot of effort. or passion.
"Jordan?"
She sucked in a shaky breath and before she had fully decided what to
do she said, "Did you kill your father?" Now his side of the phone was
silent. She could hear him breathing and she was about to say his name
when he spoke at last.
"I spent almost eleven years in prison for stabbing my father. I've been
out for eight years. But Jordan everything isn't always what it seems."
"So then tell me, Chase. What is it?"
"I can't do this on the phone. I need to see you, face to face." Now she
was hesitating. She had spent six long years getting her confidence
back. Six long years of forcing herself not to jump at every sound and
not to flinch every time anyone came toward her too quickly. Axel
liked to use his fists on her. Somehow it made him feel like more of a
man.

But he used to threaten to use all sorts of things and when he was
feeling particularly nasty he would describe to her how he was going to
kill her and carve her body up with a knife. Her heart was telling her to
give Chase a chance to explain but her head was screaming at her to
run. "Maybe in the morning," she said at last.
"No Jordan. In the morning we'll both be surrounded by people and
immersed in work. We need to do this alone with no distractions. I don'
t want you thinking about this all night until you hear from me what
really happened, please. I'm not going to hurt you. I'll come there with
Natalie in the other room. I'd never hurt you. The very idea of you
being afraid to be alone with me makes my chest hurt."
She heard sincerity in his voice. She didn't think he would ever hurt
her. As a matter of fact a few hours ago she would have sworn to it. But
then again when she first met Axel she wouldn't have guessed he would
hurt her either. the difference, however, was that she had always kind
of known Axel wasn't a good person at heart, even before he threw the
first punch. She had only been young enough then to believe love could
change him. She felt Chase's goodness when she was with him. She
saw the look in his eyes when he saw what Axel did to her. That could
all be faked, but for the first time in six years she had met a man that she
wanted to trust and believe in from the start. No matter what she had
been through in her life she had never been one to go backward.
Always forward. Always with her head held high.
"No, don't come here. You're right. We need to talk about this alone
and face to face. I'll grab an Uber and be there in half an hour."
His voice sounded relieved as he simply said, "Thank you."

Chapter 94
Chase
One of the big questions in Chase's head, when he was twenty-eight
years old and fresh out of prison, was, "how do I tell people about what
happened?" The old men on the Board of Directors already thought
they knew. Chase saw it in their eyes when they looked at him and
heard it in their voices when they were forced to speak to him. He had
thought that before he took over the company he would stand in front of
them and address it. He wasn't going to tell the absolute truth but he
thought he owed them some kind of explanation. He had gone into his
first board meeting with the intentions of somehow trying to appease
them, but then a funny thing happened. He looked at their judgmental
faces and realized that their opinion of him didn't mean shit. They
didn't live in that house for eighteen years. They would never begin to
imagine the secrets that his "perfect" family kept. Even if he tried to
explain it, they would still judge him and worst of all, his mother, and
that was the moment that he knew he didn't owe them a thing. He was
the CEO of the company. His name was on the building and if they
didn't like anything about him then they could simply go fuck
themselves.
Chase never once considered talking to any of the women he "dated"
about it, not even Samantha. As he waited for Jordan he had to wonder
what was happening to him. He was about to tell the absolute truth
about what happened that night eighteen years ago and he had no
qualms about it whatsoever. At least not in the sense that he was afraid
that Jordan was going to run and tell someone or sell his story to the
tabloids. He did have qualms about telling her something that might
make her run from him. Caring that much about someone's opinion of
him was new, but then again everything, where Jordan was concerned
was new. He had never felt this way about anyone and if he hoped to
have any kind of future with her then she deserved to know the truth, all
of it.

It was almost a half an hour on the dot when Jordan got to his place.
The doorman notified him that she was coming up so he stood in the
doorway of the penthouse and waited. He felt a flutter in his stomach
when the elevator dinged and his breath in his throat when the doors
slid open. So fucking beautiful. She was fresh-faced, no makeup at all.
Her hair was hanging straight down like she had just run a brush
through it and left it there and she had on jeans, boots, and an NYU
sweatshirt. He thought that she could still win any beauty contest in the
world. She locked eyes with him as she stepped off the elevator. He
could tell that she was nervous but when he really searched her face he
didn't see the one thing he had been most dreading... fear. He couldn't
stand the thought of her being afraid of him.
"Hi."
She seemed to force a little smile. "Hey." He stepped back from the
doorway and motioned her in.
"Thank you for coming. You want something to drink, maybe a glass of
wine?" She smiled before saying, "No, thank you. Natalie and I already
had a little too much wine today. I' m fine Chase, thank you."
"Okay, have a seat then and let's get this over with." She did flinch at
that but she walked over and sat down on the couch. He followed and
sat what he hoped was enough distance from her that she didn' t feel
boxed in or cornered and started. "My father was a horrible man. I don't
say that as an excuse, but simply because it's true. He didn't care about
anyone or anything other than himself. He wanted people to look at his
life and be envious. He had the perfect, beautiful wife and the son that
would one day follow in his footsteps and take over the family
business. He was an asshole to his business associates and employees
but they all cowered down to him because he was rich and powerful.
He got off on it and when he came home and the doors to the fancy
penthouse on Park Avenue were closed, he demanded it from his
family as well. My earliest memories of my father were the terror I felt
in my chest every time he walked in the room. Sometimes he was in the
mood to tell me what a disappointment I was to him and how I was
walking around sucking up oxygen he paid for and I didn't deserve. I
never felt anything remotely like love for him and as I got older and
watched the way he

treated people, I began to hate him." He paused and ran a hand through
his hair. He could see there was a question in Jordan's eyes.
"Did he abuse you?"
Chase felt an odd sense of relief. He told himself that she was looking
for a way to excuse what he had done and that was a good sign that she
hadn't given up on him just yet. But this was about the whole truth and
the fact of the matter was that while his father verbally, mentally and
psychologically abused him at every turn, he never once laid a hand on
him. He couldn't even actually remember if he and his father ever even
touched one other than the handshakes and slap's on the back he gave to
Chase in public for show.
"Not physically," he finally said. "But my mother wasn't so lucky."
She drew her brows together and frowned. "He hurt her?"
Chase nodded. "I was about five years old the first time I remember
watching him punch her in the face. I freaked out and tried to help her
but she begged me to go upstairs and stay in my room. I can't describe
the feeling, even at five years old, of walking away and leaving her
there with him. He beat her so badly that time that she had to spend five
days locked away from everyone, except me. She told me over and
over how sorry she was and how much she loved me and how she
would never, ever let him hurt me. She didn't seem to understand how
badly I was hurting already, for her. When her face healed I watched
her paint the smile back on and go on with her life as the perfect wife
and mother. She headed up charity events and she attended every one in
the city on my father' s arm. She was beautiful and she just had this aura
about her that attracted people, men and women alike. She had a lot of
acquaintances but no one that could really be called her friend. My
father didn't allow her to have people at the house unless he was there
and it was something he had approved in advance. He told her what to
wear, how to wear her hair and if she dared to try anything he didn't
okay in advance, like maybe a new hairstyle or color, she would get
berated and belittled. When I was ten she got her hair cut to her
shoulders. It was in style at the time and she looked gorgeous, but I
couldn't help but wonder if she was a little bit crazy. I knew my father
was going to hate it. and he did. After using a belt to 'punish' her for not
asking his permission to cut her

hair, he gave her a pair of clippers and told her that if she had just cut it
off the way she had then she didn't deserve to have it. I sat at the top of
the stairs and listened in horror as he made her shave her head bald. I
could hear her sobbing and that was the first time I remember having
thoughts of wanting to hurt him."
Jordan's face didn't look horrified as he thought it would. Instead, her
blue-gray eyes were filled with tears and her delicate features held a
look of sympathy. "I'm so sorry Chase. No child should have to go
through that."
Her heart is so good. He wanted to reach out and touch her. He wanted
to take her in his arms if she would let him. But he had to finish this and
her warm, sexy body against him would only be a distraction. "Nobody
should," he told her. "My mother. or y o u . " she sat quietly and he said,
"She met him when she was only seventeen. When she was trying to
get me to see what she called his 'redeeming qualities' she would talk
about how it was love at first sight. She described his confidence and
good looks. I heard arrogance, narcissism, and just a plain asshole. He
abused her in just about every way possible. For eighteen years I hated
him and occasionally I'd lose my temper and tell him how much I hated
him. I used to do it on purpose when I knew he was in a foul mood. I
hoped he would take it out on me instead of my Mother. But he was a
smart old asshole and he knew that a fist upside my head would hurt a
lot less than watching him hurt her. I begged her to leave him, but she
wouldn't and I couldn't understand why. Sometimes I hated her because
of it, but most of the time I just felt sorry for her because I honestly
believed that she didn't think she deserved any better. He had
obliterated her self-esteem and no matter how smart, capable and
beautiful she was, she just didn't believe in herself." Chase paused and
palmed the back of his neck before he continued. "The night he died,
the three of us were having dinner together. It was right after my high
school graduation and I was getting ready to leave for college in the
fall. I hated the thought of leaving her alone with him. I was afraid that
without me there as a witness he might kill her someday. But like I said,
she refused to go and he wasn't giving me the choice to stay home. He
insisted I live in the dorms. Dinner fell apart. He and I had a huge fight.
Mom tried to

intervene but I knew she would end up just getting hurt, so I left. I was
hoping to give him a chance to cool down. Walking out that night was
the biggest mistake I ever made. I was gone for about two hours, maybe
three. When I got home the house was quiet and I thought they had
gone to bed. I started upstairs to go to my room but I heard a sound
coming from the dining room. I didn't recognize it so I went to check it
out. The closer I got the more I realized it sounded like my mother,
sobbing. but these sobs were different, heart-wrenching. I stopped
outside the room. I was a little afraid to go in. Instead, I called out to
her. .
"Mom?" There was sudden silence and then another horrible sob.
"Chase. go away honey. Please. Take the ATM card out of my purse in
the living room and get however much money you need and go far
away. Don't come back." She was choking on her sobs as she talked
and he couldn't stand it. He went into the room and he was about two
steps in when her voice got even more desperate. "No Chase! Go
away!" My mother never yelled at me. I knew at that moment
something had gone so wrong that life was about to change forever. It
was dark except for the candles from dinner that were still flickering. I
reached over and flipped the light switch, completely unprepared for
what I saw." Jordan looked like she was holding her breath. Chase
wasn't trying to drag it out, but he needed her to know the entire truth
and he had to explain it in detail in order for that to happen. He took a
breath and went on, "My father was lying on the floor next to the table.
He still had his dress shirt on. It was white. or it had been. The front of
it was completely stained red. from the blood. The blade of a steak
knife was sticking up out of it. I looked from him to my mother. I felt
like I was in shock. She was lying next to him, curled against him and
she was covered in blood too. It was all over her hands and in her hair
and it didn't take a rocket scientist to understand what happened."
"Oh my god, Chase. your mother killed him?"
Chase nodded. "It took a lot of coaxing to get the story out of her. She
was on the verge of hysteria. When she could finally talk she told me
that after I left he picked an argument with her. She tried not to engage
him. Instead, she simply got up and left him sitting there at the table.
She got as far as the living room before she felt him behind her.

She started to turn around and before she could he punched her in the
kidneys. She went down to the floor and while she was there he
continued to kick her. It was much later before I found out the extent of
her injuries, but she'd had internal bleeding, broken ribs, a fractured
collarbone, and broken scapula. Anyways when he finished kicking her
when he got tired I guess, he just left her there and that son of a bitch
went back into the dining room to finish his dessert. She said that she
felt like she was dying and she laid there for a long time. While she laid
there something snapped inside of her. I promise you my mother is not
a violent woman. But eighteen years of torture had done something to
her. She said that she crawled half way back into the dining room and
when he saw her, he acted like nothing had happened and said, "This
cheesecake is really good." She didn't remember all the details of what
happened next. Her mind must have shut down, trying to protect her.
But somehow she grabbed a knife off the table. She said she thinks that
she remembers him laughing at her and asking her what she thought
she was going to do. She swung it at him and he brought his hands up. It
sliced one of them. That was when he stood up and he told her he was
going to kill her. She plunged the knife into his chest. The coroner said
later that it pierced his heart and he died instantly."
Jordan wiped a tear off of her pretty cheek and said, "But I don't
understand. why did you go to prison?"
"My mother lived eighteen years of hell. She's delicate, believe it or
not. She would have died in prison. I blamed myself for leaving her. I
wasn't going to leave her again when she needed me most. I went and
got a blanket and pillow and I moved her away from him and got her
comfortable. Once she was finally calmed a little I went over to my
father and used a napkin to wipe the fingerprints and blood off of the
knife. Then I smeared my palm into a puddle of the blood that had
accumulated on the floor and I wrapped it around the knife and pulled it
out."
"Oh, my god. Chase?"
He had never spoke about that night out loud to anyone. At least not the
truth. It was oddly freeing somehow he thought. "Once I had my prints
in blood on the knife I dropped it next to him and sat on the floor

and took out my phone. I called 911 and told them I killed my father. I
made my mother promise to tell them that I'd walked in on Dad beating
her and I had been the one that killed him. She tried to refuse. She
begged me to let her tell the truth. She was hysterical again when the
police got there. I think she was kind of in shock when they pulled out
their guns and made me lay on the floor. They searched me and cuffed
me and the whole time I was praying she wouldn't say anything...while
I was telling the cop 'what happened' I heard her start screaming and
saying she was the one that killed him, it wasn't me. The cop was a
middle-aged man, really compassionate, actually. I told him she was in
shock after watching me kill him and she was trying to protect me. I
had to tell the "story" about a hundred times. I had it memorized and
never deviated from it. I'd argued with him and walked out. When I
came back I found them. Mom was on the ground in a pool of blood
and curled into a fetal position and he was kicking her. I tried to stop
him but he pushed me away. I picked up the knife, he laughed and
kicked her again and I swiped it through the air. He tried to catch it and
when it cut his hand he drew back his foot and aimed it at her head. He
said he was going to kill her and I was going to watch. I plunged the
knife into his chest and then I had panicked and pulled it back out. He
was dead before he hit the floor. End of story. When the D.A. heard the
extent of Mother's injuries he didn't think he could get a murder
conviction so he offered me Voluntary Manslaughter with a mandatory
sentence of ten years. I was out in nine for good behavior. I got my
MBA behind bars and when I got out of prison I took over the
company."
Jordan's beautiful eyes were wide and her cheeks were stained with
tears. In the next second, something else happened that Chase knew
was life-altering. She didn't run. She didn't even walk or cringe away.
She moved over on the couch and wrapped her arms around him. For
the first time in eighteen years, he felt his own tears on his cheeks.
Jordan never said a word. She just held onto him. If anyone ever asked
him to tell them the exact moment that he knew he was falling in love
with her there would be no doubt in his mind that it was right then.

Chapter 101
Jordan
After an intense weekend, Chase and Jordan moved onto an intense
week of work. The client approved their mock-up photos and the rest of
the week was spent making arrangements to take the cars out to the
parks and photograph them. There was a lot of discussion about hiring
kids to model because Chloe had been such a hit. But Jordan argued
with the people that were supposed to be the creative minds of the
group, telling them that the biggest reason Chloe fit so well in the
photos was because it was unrehearsed. She was natural and the
surroundings were natural and that was what had worked. Jordan
wanted to use people they found in the parks and Chase backed her up
on that every step of the way.
Sunday night when Chase told her his story things changed for them.
She felt the walls both of them had built around them crumbling and
she could almost physically feel her heart opening up and letting him
inside. They had been so busy at work that they had only found a few
stolen moments together all week. It was Friday afternoon now and in
spite of Jordan's nervousness about meeting his mother and their
friends, she was actually looking forward to spending the entire day
with him at the wedding and most especially the night at the hotel room
that he had booked for them where the wedding was being held.
Tonight he was attending the rehearsal dinner. He had asked Jordan to
go with him but it was Lauren's birthday and since she couldn't be at the
big party Natalie had planned for their other best friend, she promised
to have dinner with just the girls Friday night. She was wrapping things
up at the office for the day and collecting her things when she looked
up and saw Chase standing in the doorway. It was apparent from his
rolled up sleeves and the way his shirt was undone at the throat that he'd
had a long day. He was smiling though and Jordan's chest actually hurt
when she looked up at him.
"Hey," he said. "Were you sneaking out on me?"

She smiled. "Never. I was going to come and say good-bye before I
left. Shouldn't you be on your way to dinner?"
He curled his lip. "You know, I took Troy and his son out last night. We
sat in a piano bar for three hours listening to Troy gush about my
mother and how much he loves her. It's not that it's a bad thing but
between that and the fact that his son is just about as dull as a light post
it was exhausting. I have no desire to spend two more days with these
people."
She laughed and then said, "I'm sorry."
Chase flashed a grin and moved toward her. Putting his hands on her
sides he said, "You're not sorry. You get to spend the evening with
Natalie and Lauren, having actual fun."
She laughed again. "I am sorry. What can I do to make it better for
you?" She looked up at him provocatively and Chase pulled her against
him and licked his lips.
"I' m not sure, what did you have in mind?"
A seductive look swept across her face. "I'd love to do something for
you that you could keep in your mind while you're being bored to tears
tonight. I' m just not sure what it should be."
He suddenly slid his hand down her arm and took her by the hand.
"Come with me, I want to show you something."
She laughed and followed him. It would have been futile to resist even
if she wanted to, which she didn't. He led her down the hallway away
from all of the offices. She thought he was taking her to the stairwell
and she was suddenly confused when he stopped in front of a supply
closet. He pulled a set of keys out of his pocket and unlocked the door.
He pulled it open, flipped the light switch and then stepped inside,
pulling her in after him. The closet was filled with things like paper and
pens and ink for the printers. Jordan had been inside of it more than
once, but she was confused about why they were here now.
"You need office supplies?" Confusion marred her features.
"No, but I just had a random thought today when I was thinking about
you."
"And what was that?"
"I've never had sex in a supply closet."

Jordan threw her head back and laughed. "Seriously?" "Yeah, never."
She laughed again. "I meant, you seriously want to have sex in
here?"
"Here, in the hallway, in your o f f i c e . "
"We did my office on Monday and I keep telling you the hallway is
way too p u b l i c . "
"On the roof, on my d e s k . "
"We did the roof Tuesday, have you forgotten already?" He stepped in
close to her and brought his mouth down so that their lips were almost
touching. She could feel his warm breath and the sensation of that and
the vibrations of his lips combined with the closeness of their bodies to
send a wave of lust shooting through her.
"I could never forget that. Fifty stories above Manhattan with the most
gorgeous woman in the world. If I get Alzheimer's when I'm old, that
will probably be all I remember." Jordan smiled and went up on her
toes and pressed her lips to his. When he said things like that it thrilled
her almost every bit as much as having his cock inside of her. "Okay,
that's cool. This closet is kind of nice." It really was, nice and roomy.
He reached back and locked the door and then he took a step towards
her. "I'd much prefer a bed or a couch, but if standing up is all I can
get..."
"Seriously?" she asked, then slapped him in the chest.
"Why not? I'm up for it___if you are. It's not like we haven't done it
in worse places." She laughed and he went in for the kiss. Their lips and
bodies melded together, and they sucked and licked at each other like
they couldn't get enough. They were going at each other like maniacs,
making out with a restless abandon that seized them both every time
they were alone together. Jordan's body felt like it was on fire and she
could feel Chase's throbbing cock pressing into her, hard. He slid up
her shirt and she raised her arms to help him. They barely broke the kiss
and he sought her lips out again immediately as he reached around
behind her and unhooked her bra. Her breasts fell out and pressed into
him. Her nipples hardened immediately. He unbuttoned his own shirt
while they kissed and pulled it off. Her nipples were suddenly pressed
into his hard chest. He moved his lips down to her neck and kissed a
trail down to her

breasts. He started sucking on the right one first and she arched her
back to give him better access. He slid his mouth over to the other side
and clamped down on the other nipple, hard. She shuddered against
him and while he pleasured her breast with his hot mouth she
whispered his name in his ear and told him how good it felt. She had
her hands on the back of his head, tugging at his hair and moving his
mouth from one to the other.
He unbuttoned her pants while he licked her nipple and then slid them
down over her thighs and knees. She wiggled her legs and feet and
kicked them the rest of the way off. He looked back up at her and
whispered "Fucking gorgeous."
Chase slid off the tiny little pink panties she wore next and got all the
way down on his knees. He licked from her thigh to her center and she
moaned out his name. She grabbed his head and pushed it hard into her
pussy. She was so excited and her legs were quivering so hard they
were hardly holding her up. He shoved his tongue into her, deep, and
began to swirl it around. His hand came up and found her swollen,
throbbing clit and he pressed his thumb into it. As usual, it wasn't long
before she felt the orgasm begin to consume her.
"Oh god! I'm going to come Chase." That only made him rub, lick and
suck harder. When she reached her peak she cried out and her knees
buckled. He caught her and eased her down to the floor. She
immediately grabbed for his pants. She unbuttoned and unzipped them
and lowered her mouth down to his thick cock.
He was still on his knees and he threw his head back and groaned as she
began licking it all over like a lollipop. While she sucked and licked his
cock he rolled her nipples between his fingers. And then brought his
hands up and ran them through her hair. When he was getting close he
wrapped up two fistfuls of it and tugged on it slightly as he moved his
hips and her head and fucked her mouth. She took his cock all the way
into the back of her throat and ran her tongue up and down along the
underside of it as she did. He was groaning and his cock was swelling.
She wasn't going to stop until he told her to. He reached over with one
hand and braced himself against one of the low shelves and continued
holding onto her head with the other. Just about the time she thought he
was going to come in her mouth he stopped moving and

pulled her face up to his, licking all the way across her lips before
shoving his tongue into her mouth.
He ran his hands down her back until he reached her ass. He cupped her
cheeks and squeezed and massaged. She could feel a new wave of juice
running down her inner thighs. He kissed her like that until she thought
she would go insane and then suddenly he stood up, taking her with
him. He led her over to the closet door and spun her around so she was
facing away from him. She reached out and braced one hand on the
wall and the other on the door as he slid down his pants and underwear
and then she felt him slide that throbbing cock between her legs. They
had used a condom every other time. Today she wanted to feel him
inside of her so when he didn't stop, she didn't say a word. She was on
the pill so she wouldn't get pregnant, and she trusted him just that
much. Her trust was justified when he stopped just before entering her
and said, "Let me get a condom baby."
"No...I mean, if it's okay with you. I want to feel you, Chase. All of you.
Skin to skin."
She felt his body convulse and he whispered, "Thank you," as he
advanced his cock forward, opening her up and allowing her muscles to
slowly wrap around him. She moaned and he pushed in deeper as she
pushed her ass back into him.
As soon as he felt her press back he grabbed her hips with both hands
and plunged all the way into her sopping wet pussy. He slid in and out
of her slowly both of them savoring the new feelings that being
connected with nothing between them at all was bringing. He moved
faster a little at a time until suddenly he was hammering his hips up
against her round butt and she could feel the slap of his heavy balls
each time as he did. They fell into a rhythm and she breathed out his
name over and over as another orgasm began to build in that place deep
inside of her.
He must have felt it because he whispered, "I'm going to come with you
this time." He dug his fingers into her hips and she felt the swell of his
already massive cock just before he began to grunt and shake. That put
her over the top and she felt her second orgasm wash out over his bare
cock just as he unloaded into her.

He rocked into her several times before putting his hands over her
breasts, pressing his mouth against her ear and saying, "Being with you
is the closest I will probably ever get to heaven."

Chapter 107
Chase
Chase hated tuxedos. He was never fond of suits and ties at all. He
forced himself to wear them at the office because who was going to
take him seriously in jeans and a t-shirt with his tattoo sleeves
showing? On his days off he never wore them. He stood now in front of
the mirror in his penthouse with the tuxedo on that his mother wanted
him to wear. It was choking the life out of him. He smirked as he tied
the tie but finally told himself to get over it. It was one day and his mom
deserved her happiness. He was walking her down the aisle today and if
this was what she wanted him to wear then so be it.
Once he was ready he sent Jordan a text asking if she was ready. While
he waited, his thoughts drifted to the night before. All through the
rehearsal dinner, he was smiling so hard that his cheeks actually hurt.
He couldn't stop thinking about how sexy she had been in that closet
and at one point dull Cecil even asked him, "Did you get some before
you got here tonight or what man?"
Chase just laughed. He wasn't going to talk about his sex life with him
or anyone, especially about Jordan. Besides, she was much more than
sex to him and he wouldn't have any idea how to put what he felt for her
into words even if he wanted to tell someone. He was content with the
way he and Jordan seemed to communicate on a chemical level. She
told him more than once that she "felt" what he was feeling, and he had
"felt" her since the day they met. It was phenomenal.
'I'm ready,' was the text he got back.
He took the Jaguar over to pick her up. When he knocked on the door
he was anticipating seeing her dressed up in the dress that she had thus
far refused to let him see. She dressed nice for work and cute on her
days off, but Chase had yet to see her in any kind of formal wear. When
she pulled open the door of her apartment, he wasn't sure that his heart
had been prepared. He felt it jump in his chest and begin pounding

against his ribs.
"Hi," she said, smiling. He couldn't smile back. He couldn't breathe and
he could barely swallow. He was about to drool all over her right there
in the doorway. He finally mustered a hoarse, "Hi."
"You okay?"
"I'm not sure," he said as he reached out to touch her. He put his hand
on her waist and the silk of the champagne colored dress she was
wearing felt cool against his hot hand. The dress had a conservative
neckline in the front but from there it was like a showground for the
hottest woman on the planet. It fell to the tops of her knees and hugged
every one of her sexy curves. Those long, sexy legs were bare and
ended in a pair of champagne strappy sandals. Chase slid his hand
around and touched her butt and then slid it up and met bare skin. "Turn
around," he told her. She smiled wickedly and turned. The front was
conservative, but the back of the dress plunged down to the top of her
round ass cheeks, leaving her skin bare. "Jesus. You're so fucking hot."
He leaned down and pressed his lips to her bare back and slipped a
hand around to cup a breast. "Do you have on a bra?" he asked as he
kneaded and massaged. She moaned but then quickly pulled away.
"We'll never get there if you don't stop that. And no bra, just nipple
covers."
She picked up her coat and purse as he growled, "Jesus woman, you're
going to kill me!"
She smiled slyly and as she brushed past him to step out the door he got
a whiff of her fresh, clean scent. It went straight to his already growing
cock. "Absolutely not," she whispered in a low, sexy voice. "If I was
trying to kill you I would have told you I was going commando."
He stood rooted to his spot and watched her bare back and round ass
sashay across the hallway toward the elevator. He wished they were in
his building. Her apartment was only two floors up, not enough time to
ravage her before they got downstairs. She pushed the down button and
looked over her shoulder. Her long hair had been twisted into different
sized pieces and pinned up so that most of it was on her head, but there
were five or six long strands left hanging on their own, twisted into
sexy curls that brushed against the back of her neck. His eyes fell

from one of those back down to that smooth, creamy skin on her back.
Chase had no idea how he would make it through the wedding without
attacking her.
He sucked it up and followed her into the elevator. He waited for the
doors to close before putting his arm around her and trying to sneak
another kiss. Jordan laughed and pulled back slightly. "You're going to
mess me all up."
"You would still be the most beautiful woman in the room," he said.
She smiled again but kept her distance. It was a short ride to the hotel
where the ceremony and reception were being held. Chase checked
them in so they could go to their room later when the festivities were
over. He wanted to take her there and skip the wedding but his mother
would never forgive him. He sucked up his lust for now and taking
Jordan's hand he led her out to the gardens where the ceremony was
being held. Neither his mom nor Troy was interested in a church
wedding. Troy wanted to get married outside on the beach and his
mother didn't want any part of it. What would it do to her hair? How
would she walk across the sand in her designer shoes? They
compromised, according to Chase's mother. They would get married in
the gardens of this beautiful old hotel and then use the ballroom for the
reception. What she had meant by 'compromise' was that she had gotten
her way. Chase just smiled and shook his head. He supposed after so
many years of having no say about anything she deserved to finally be
in charge.
They found the lavish gardens where chairs draped with fine white
linens were set up in row after row. His mother and Troy invited over
300 people and it looked like most of them had already arrived. Chase
noticed how not only the men in the gathering were looking at the
beautiful woman on his arm, but even the women sat up and took notice
when Jordan walked by. He chuckled to himself as he thought about the
marathon of sex they'd had in different places all week. He bet that
none of them looking at her right now would ever believe it. She's such
a lady and she exuded class, but he found it so sexy how willing and
able she was to turn into the bad girl that he needed at just the right
time.
He found their seats and once Jordan was settled he went back to

find his mother. He passed Troy on the way. "Hey, how's it going?"
Chase asked him. "I'm a nervous wreck."
Chase smiled. "I've never been married, but I can imagine. It'll be okay,
though. You two have been great together for two years, it'll only get
better."
Troy smiled and then suddenly wrapped Chase in a hug. Chase wasn't
all that comfortable with physical contact unless the contact was with a
soft, curvy woman like Jordan. He tried not to stiffen up and patted
Troy on the back before they separated. He really did like the man and
today was his wedding day. Chase wasn't going to spoil that for him.
"I think you're right," Troy said, "But thanks for saying it. It helps to
hear it out loud. I better get up there so they can get this show started."
Chase laughed. "Well good luck and if I might offer you a tip. don' t let
Mother hear you calling her wedding a "show."
He left Troy laughing and continued on to find the bride's dressing
room. On the way there he thought about the conversation he'd had
with Troy the night before. Troy had quite a bit of champagne and
Chase wondered if that's what prompted him to want to talk to him
more than he had in the past two years combined. Troy suddenly
seemed to want Chase to know everything about his past and proceeded
to tell him about
it.
He told Chase that when Cecil's mother died twenty years ago his
whole life fell apart. Cecil had only been six years old at the time and
Troy had just been getting his business up and running. He was
traveling too much to take the boy with him so he tried doing the
long-distance parent thing by leaving nannies in charge of his son. He
admitted that his son was what he called a 'wild child' and because of
his behaviors his nannies kept leaving. Finally when Cecil was eight
years old Troy had to go to Singapore for a year while they built one of
his plants there and got it up and running. He was worried about
leaving Cecil with a nanny that might just walk out. He felt like he
would be better off with family so he sent him to the west coast to live
with his grandparents.
That hadn't quite gone as planned either. By the time Cecil was eleven
his grandparents couldn't control him. He was running wild on

the streets and they even thought he might be using drugs. Troy went
out to get him and Cecil ran away. He spent another year looking for his
son who he eventually found running with a gang in L.A. He took him
home to New York and into therapy. The therapist had not been
optimistic but Troy felt so guilty for what the boy had been through that
he didn't want to hear it. He fired her and began just writing off Cecil's
troubles to adolescence. When he was seventeen he wanted a
motorcycle and Troy bought him one. He didn't find out until a year
later that Cecil was running with an outlaw biker gang. He was
eighteen by then so there was nothing he could do about it other than
cut him off. He didn't go into detail about what that was like, but he
hinted that it had been traumatic. Cecil finally stopped coming around
all together for the next seven years and Troy only got calls from him
when he was in jail and needed a lawyer or bail money. Then suddenly
about six years ago Cecil had shown up on his doorstep out of the blue
promising that he was ready to turn his life around. Troy said he was
skeptical at first but he felt like he had to give him a chance. Cecil
hadn't been in any trouble since ...that Troy knew of anyways and the
man almost broke down in tears when he told Chase how proud he was
going to be at the wedding with his boy as his best man at his side.
Chase was glad to see his mother marrying a man that cared so much
about his family. He had obviously made mistakes as a parent, but who
hadn't? At least he wasn't an abusive asshole like Chase's father.
Chase's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his mother's voice.
"Chase! Thank God! I didn't think you were going to show up."
He went over to the door his mother had her pretty blonde hair stuck
out of. "I wouldn't miss it for the world, Mother." She pulled the door
open and when he saw her in her wedding dress he let out a little
whistle. "You look gorgeous."
She smiled. She looked radiant and happy. "Thank you," she said.
"Look at you in your tuxedo. You're so handsome it makes my heart
hurt."
He kissed her cheek and said, "Thanks, Mom. I ' m glad you're so
happy."
She got a faraway look in her green eyes then and then looked up

at her son's face and said, "I hope you know how much I love and
appreciate you. You're the best son a mother could have ever asked for.
I will never forgive myself for taking almost ten years of your l i f e . "
"Nope. Stop. You're tearing up. Your make-up will run and you'll
blame me." She smacked him on the arm. He gently took both of her
upper arms in his hands and said, "Listen. I know you feel guilty about
all of that, but we handled it the best way that we could. You and I
could stand here and argue about who's guiltier than who but we both
know that he was the only guilty party. We were his victims and the
best revenge we can offer was for both of us to have a fabulous life. "
She once again went up on her toes and she kissed her son on the cheek.
Wiping a stray tear from her cheek she said,
"I love you."
"I love you too Mom."

Chapter 113
Jordan
The setting for the wedding was gorgeous. The arch was covered with
roses and rose bushes with flowers of every color imaginable lined the
aisle. There were huge trees that towered above it all on either side of
the garden as well and they were decorated with twinkling fairy lights.
The day was gorgeous, about 75 degrees and not a cloud in the sky.
Jordan was happy for Chase's mother although she hadn't yet had the
opportunity to meet her. She felt a sort of strange bond with her since
Chase told her about his father. She also had a lot of respect for her
simply based on the fact that in spite of all the adversity she had raised
such a good man.
She inhaled the scent of the flowers and settled back into her chair
when she saw the minister and the groom step out underneath the arch.
The groom was a handsome older man, Jordan thought. His hair was
mostly gray but it looked shiny and healthy. He had a small mustache
and goatee that gave him kind of a sophisticated look and when he
glanced out over the guests Jordan could see that he had a pair of really
light blue eyes. She shuddered before she even realized why. His eyes
looked eerily like Axel's eyes. She shook her head to clear those
thoughts and focused her attention on the happy occasion before her.
Beautiful harp music began to play as a lovely middle-aged woman in a
pale green dress began walking up the aisle. She was being escorted by
a huge man that looked like he could almost swallow her up. Jordan
couldn't see his face clearly but he had to be at least an inch taller than
Chase and his shoulders looked like he played professional football.
She wondered how they found a tux to fit him. As the couple got closer
the man's profile came into view and suddenly Jordan's world came to a
screeching halt. It can't be. It's my imagination. That's the best man. His
name is Cecil. She squinted as he passed with the elegant woman on his
arm and just before they reached the altar he turned his head to whisper

something to the woman and Jordan saw those pale blue eyes. Fuck!
It's Axel. Suddenly it was like no time had passed between them. She
felt the blood drain out of her face and her stomach rolled. That
deep-seated fear that she hadn't felt for so long was nestled back into
her bones.
She stood up and ignored the looks of the people around her as she
made her way down the aisle of chairs and then along the one that lined
the wall. Before she made it to the exit the wedding march began to
play. As soon as she burst through the double doors that led back into
the lobby she saw the back of Chase's head as he escorted his mother up
the aisle and that was when reality hit her. This wasn't about her. It
wasn't about Axel. or Cecil, or whatever he called himself these days.
This day was about a woman that had suffered under the hands of an
evil man for years. It was about her finally finding happiness with a
man that treats her the way she has always deserved to be treated.
Jordan took several deep breaths and willed her fears away. Axel
couldn't hurt her here and if she ran and hid then once again, he won.
She smoothed down her dress and swallowed hard as she pulled the
door she just came out of back open and went inside.
Chase and his mother were just reaching the altar. Jordan told herself to
concentrate on Chase. Chase took her fears away. He had never let
anyone hurt her and Axel would be crazy to even try when Chase was
around. She watched as the music died down and Chase stopped just
before the altar and gave his mother a kiss on the cheek. She had her
face turned to the side and even from where she stood at the back of the
room Jordan could see what a brilliant, beautiful smile she had. She
was happy and Jordan would be damned if she would be any part of
ruining that.
She quietly made her way back up to the front where her seat was.
Chase had just gone to take his and he had a confused look on his face
when he saw her. She smiled and took his hand and they both sat down.
He leaned into her ear and asked, "Is everything okay?"
She nodded and when he pulled back she looked up at him and said,
"Everything is fine now."
He still looked concerned but he let it go as they listened to the minister
begin the ceremony. Jordan tried to control her breathing and

she tried hard to keep her eyes off of Axel. Every time she got a
glimpse of him those horrible memories wanted to flood her brain. She
had worked for six years to bury all of that and she was not going to let
them consume her again. She clutched tightly to Chase's hand and
reminded herself that Chase's mother found happiness after her horror
and she had too. Axel can go to hell if he thinks he can keep her down.
Suddenly the idea of looking him in the eyes was appealing to her.
Imagine what he would think when he saw her. He left her for dead. He
threw her away. He had lived his life for six years believing he killed
her. She almost smiled at the thought of him seeing her and thinking
that he was finally being haunted for what he had done. She squeezed
Chase's hand again. He had no idea, but right now he was giving her the
strength she needed to not be afraid of that monster.
The ceremony was beautiful, or at least as much as Jordan could
concentrate on. When it was over and the wedding party walked back
out, Jordan made sure to turn her head slightly so that Axel wouldn't
see her just yet. Once they were all back in the lobby the guests all
headed for the ballroom. Jordan clutched Chase's hand tightly as they
passed from the gardens into the hotel lobby and that was where she
stopped him. "Hey, we need to talk before we go in there."
He frowned. "Are you alright? I thought you looked pale. Where did
you go earlier?"
She took a deep breath and said, "I was going to leave, but I changed
my mind."
"You were going to leave?" He asked, incredulously.
"Yeah, but I didn't."
"Thank you?" he said with a question at the end. "Your mother's
groom's son.. .his name is Cecil?" "Yes, why? Do you know him?"
"Cecil Valentine?"
"Yes... Jordan, you're kind of freaking me out here." "I'm sorry. Chase,
Cecil is Axel. Axel Valentine. The man who tried to kill me."
The change in Chase's demeanor was instant. Jordan could actually see
the pulse pounding in the vein in his neck as his heart sped

up. "Are you sure?"
She nodded. "I'm positive. He wore his hair longer back then and he
had facial hair. He was a b i k e r . "
"He rode a Harley. belonged to an outlaw motorcycle c l u b . " Chase
looked like he was remembering something but Jordan didn't
remember telling him any of that.
"Yeah, he was the VP of the MC and they were into some pretty nasty
stuff. . . drugs and guns and prostitutes. I didn't know any of that until
we had been dating for a couple of months and then he told me I was his
old lady and if I tried to leave he would kill me. If I told anyone what
went on in that clubhouse, he would kill me. It's one of the reasons why
I told the police I didn't remember who beat me when I woke up in that
hospital. I was afraid for my life and I also saw it as an escape. a way to
have a fresh start and never have to be associated with him in any way
at all. I was going to run when I saw him today but I don't want to run
anymore. I also don't want to ruin your mother's big day. She looks so
happy. I don't want to be the one to take that from her."
Chase had a look in his eyes that Jordan had never seen before and he
wasn't saying a word. They stood there silently for a few minutes and
then he said, "We're not going to say anything to Mom... at least until
they get back from their honeymoon. But, as soon as they leave to catch
their plane, Cecil and I are going to have a talk."
"Chase promise me that you won't do anything to get yourself in
trouble."
He was working his jaw tightly and she could feel the tightness of the
muscles in his arm. "I want to kill him."
Jordan nodded. "I know and so do I. But it wouldn't be worth it for
either of us. I did some research a few years ago when I was trying to
get back on my feet and stop being afraid to close my eyes at night.
There's no statute of limitations on attempted murder. Let's do this right
this time, Chase. Let the law deal with him and you and I can go on
with our lives. Please, if you got locked up because of m e . "
"It wouldn't be because of you!" he snapped. He breathed in and out
and then said, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap. I can't even describe
what I ' m feeling right now babe. I ' m consumed with rage. He got
away

with what he did to you and who knows how many other women he did
it too in the meantime?"
"I know, I do. It makes me angry every time I think about it. But if I
lose you my life won't ever be the same. You make me happy and you
make me feel safe. If I lose you, Chase, he wins. If you go to prison for
attacking him, he wins and I get left out here alone." She could tell that
his words were softening him. some. He took out his cell phone and
said,
"Okay. Just know that all you would have to do is say the word and I' d
walk in there right now and drag him out back a n d . "
"I know," she said again with a soft smile, "And that's why you make
me feel so safe. I know that you'll never hurt me and that you'll always
protect me." He nodded and pressed a number into his phone. She
heard him ask for a Detective Brower and a few minutes later she
listened as Chase told her abbreviated story to the man on the phone,
asking for dates and places from Jordan at times. Chase listened and
then covered the phone with his hand and said, "What motorcycle club
was he
a part of?"
"The Queens Borough Wrecking Crew," Chase repeated that into the
phone and a few seconds later he smiled.
"Well, I'll be damned," he said before ending the call. He looked at
Jordan with his green eyes shining and said, "It seems that the president
of the crew was found dead a few days after you were found. They
looked at Cecil for it but nobody would testify against him and they
didn' t have enough physical evidence to go to trial. But this detective
says the D.A. has a hard-on for him and he would love nothing more
than to get his hands on something that can put this arrogant bastard
away."
She smiled. "I think I've got what he needs. When does your mom
leave?"
He looked at his watch. "Now. I'll walk them out. Don't let him see you
until I get back. Mom and Troy will be on their way to the airport by the
time Cecil is put in cuffs." He smiled and winked at her. "Don't worry.
I'll only drag him back in here by his neck if he doesn't cooperate." He
leaned down and kissed her softly. "Are you sure you're

ready for this."
Jordan realized that the nausea at the thought of looking into Axel's
eyes had been completely replaced with the thrill of letting him see her
standing tall and letting him know that he couldn't keep her down. "I'm
ready," she told him.
"I'll be right back." She watched Chase go with the crowd outside to see
the bride and groom off and then waited nervously for what seemed
like forever. She hoped the police would be here before Chase brought
him back in. just in case. She turned to look down the long lobby and
when she turned back toward the front doors of the hotel she watched
Chase and Axel walk in together. Axel was smiling and so was Chase,
but Chase's smile looked forced. Axel glanced up as they approached
her and Jordan would cherish the look of horror his face. He looked
from her to Chase and back at her again.
"Hello, Axel."
He glanced at Chase again nervously and said, "It's C e c i l . "
"Oh shut the fuck up! " she said. She saw him clench his fists. That
statement in the old days would have gotten her teeth knocked out. It
probably would tonight too if Chase wasn't standing right next to him.
"Don't even try and lie. I know it's you. You tried to kill me and you left
me on the side of the road like a bag of garbage. Do you honestly think
I would ever forget your face?"
He looked at Chase again. "She's crazy—"that was as much as he got
out before Chase's fist met his mouth. Axel was knocked backward
about two feet and blood was flowing from his lips. "You mother
fucker! " Axel jumped up just as security rushed over. One of the
officers tried to grab his arm and Axel just shook it and threw the man
off of him. He took another step toward Chase who had stepped over so
that he was between Jordan and Axel when the second security officer
pulled out his
gun.
"Stop."
Axel stopped moving but he couldn't stop running his big mouth. "Are
you fucking kidding?" Axel said. "He hit me. Why the fuck you got the
gun pointed at me you wanna be cop piece of shit mother f u c k e r . " It
was amazing to stand there and watch him transform from the

upper-class gentleman he pretended to be to the outlaw biker that he
was.
"Mr. Louis." Chase and Jordan turned at the sound of the voice. It was a
middle-aged man in a gray suit and tie. He had his NYPD ID and badge
in his hand.
"Detective Brower, thank you for coming." Chase shook his hand. Axel
was looking incredulously between Chase and the detective. The
detective looked over at him and said, "Mr. Valentine, we meet again."
"What the fuck is this?" Axel said. He looked directly at Jordan then
and said, "This is all your doing isn't it you little slut?" At the sound of
that word, she felt Chase let go of her hand. She tried to stop him but he
shrugged her off and with the security officer still holding the gun on
them Chase threw another punch. Axel stumbled back and then
regained his footing and charged toward him. Chase threw out his leg
and kicked Axel in the thigh. The detective was just watching and the
security officers looked like they didn't know what to do. Finally, after
Chase got off a few more good punches and Axel's face was a bloody
mess the detective broke them up. "Cecil Axel Valentine you are under
arrest for the attempted murder of.."
"Jordan Price," she said.
"Miss Jordan Price."
"Fuck you! You didn't even know her name! What kind of fucking
keystone cop are you?"
"The kind that's going to take that pretty lady's statement and hand your
ass over to the D.A. on a silver platter." He looked at Chase then and
said, "Can y'all just follow me down to the station?"
"Absolutely," Chase said, wiping Axel's blood off his hands onto the
handkerchief he had in his pocket. "But can I ask a favor?"
"Of course," the detective said. Axel was glowering at them both.
"Can I have one dance with this beautiful woman of mine first? They
are still holding my mother's wedding reception even though they're on
their way to their honeymoon."
"I don't have a problem with that," the detective said. He led Axel away
then, kicking and screaming. The two confused security officers went
with him and Chase and Jordan were left alone at last.
"Are you ready to dance gorgeous?" he asked her.

"You called me yours," she said. In the midst of all of this that was the
one sentence, her brain locked in on. 'This beautiful woman of mine.'
"I like the sound of it," he said. She smiled. "Me too. Can I ask you a
question?" He put his arm out and she took it. As he led her toward the
ballroom he said, "Of course."
"Am I your first?"
She felt his body shake with a silent laugh. "Actually, you are."
He pulled the door open and the soft music wafted out. Jordan smiled
and said, "Don't worry, I'll be gentle."
Chase threw his head back and laughed. Jordan knew testifying against
Axel was going to be rough and she would have to relive a lot of what
he did to her. But she also knew that with Chase by her side, she could
do anything.
She had won at last.

BONUS BOOK
DECEIVED

Chapter 122
Sitting, watching, almost in a blur as people rushed by her at a fast
pace. It almost seemed as though time was standing still. She was lost
in her thoughts as she waited on the outside bench at the LAX Airport
pick up zone.
She couldn't understand how her life had been flipped upside down
within a year. Gripping the sides of her purse, Angela Black knew her
life would be forever changed and it scared the living shit out of her.
She had never really liked Los Angeles, but knew she had to make a
drastic change in her life. Her home town only left feelings of loss and
grief. Those very things that were tearing her apart slowly would now
be left behind but would still be held as memories. She knew she would
never forget but had to try and let it go.
Angela watched the people passing bye as she leaned back and let her
mind drift to the last twelve months of her life.
When she and her husband, Blake Gauthier had received the call last
April from their doctor they had no idea how one sentence could tear
their lives apart. "I'm sorry Mr. Gauthier. You have Stage IIIC Stomach
Cancer." When Blake repeated the words to her, they splintered inside
of her causing the same amount of pain as the cancer would itself. What
he was saying was, no more walks in the park. No more surprise
birthday parties or early morning breakfasts in bed. No more
sightseeing, vacationing or cuddling on the couch. Life from here on
out would be four walls and pain for both of them. One word.. .life
altering...
Before this, their lives seemed picture perfect. They had been married
for almost three years. Angela's career was taking off with a
well-known Marketing Agency in Miami while Blake was establishing
his contracting business. They had met in high school and instantly fell
for one another. Their connection was instant and their love for one
another was so strong that it would exude to others. They were the envy
of so many of their friends.

Blake was Angela's rock, the man she had loved so deeply, the man she
was supposed to spend the rest her life with and have children with and
now he only had 6 months to live. How could life be so cruel? How
could God in all of his goodness give her this man to love and then take
him away so abruptly?
Angela could never have been prepared for what was to come. Leaving
her job to be by Blake's side, the long grueling nights watching him
suffer in pain. Watching the man she first fell in love with slowly die in
front of her was heart wrenching. Something changed in Angela. A
piece of her died that day and she had no idea if she would ever be the
same again. The grief consumed her and somehow took over and held
her soul until it threatened to kill her entirely. It gave her a heavy
feeling that was like the weight of the world resting on her shoulders.
For a while it felt like there was nothing she could do to get out from
underneath it. There was a hole in her heart in the shape of Blake that
no matter how much she healed...would always remain.
A honk of a loud horn snapped her out of her thoughts. Looking over at
the SUV she could see Thomas getting out the vehicle. He grabbed her
around the waist, lifted her up and whirled her around before putting
her back down. Grinning from ear to ear he said, "So how was
your flight?"
"Exhausting," she smiled, grateful he was finally there.
"I would have been here sooner but I got stuck in traffic. Let me grab
your bags," he said with a sympathizing look. Thomas grabbed
Angela's bags and sat them in the back of his SUV. Angela had packed
up most of her clothes and a few personal mementos. She knew that she
would have to fly back to Miami once her house sold and would take
care of the rest of her stuff when the time came.
One step at a time.
They drove out of the pick-up area of the airport and headed towards
Thomas's loft. It was about a half an hour drive. Angela met Thomas in
her first year of University and he had become very close to Angela and
Blake. All three instantly became the best of friends. Inseparable.
Looking over at Thomas, she thought about all the flights he had

taken to be with them almost every second weekend. The late night
talks and sob fests kept her sane and he cooked her food and made sure
she ate it, which kept her healthy. When Blake got so sick that even
helping him with his medications was unbearable at times, he did that
too. After Blake was gone and Angela knew she had to get out of
Miami, she listed their house and Thomas set her up with a new job in
LA. She couldn't have wished for a better friend. Thomas was the total
package.
"I have a surprise waiting for you at the loft," his green eyes beamed at
her.
"Thomas, you have already done so much for me." Angela said, turning
to look at her friend. He really had done, too much.
"It nothing big Ang, you'll see." He chuckled.
They finally arrived at his loft in Downtown L.A. Angela accepted
Thomas's offer of moving in with him until she became familiar with
the city and found herself an apartment.
She found Los Angeles to be similar and yet different than Miami,
especially the heat; the packed cars, long stretch limos and yellow taxis
that congested the streets. The noise from the people and small outside
cafes were loud and annoying. Looking around Angela knew that it
would definitely take her time to adjust to this new life which was well
out of her comfort zone.
Following Thomas into the building, they were greeted by the doorman
who looked like he was in his late 60's.
"Glen, this is Angela Black, my new roommate." Thomas gestured.
Tipping his hat towards her he said, "It's very nice to meet you Ms.
Black."
"Thank you very much." Angela smiled.
They rode the elevator to the 12th floor finally arriving at Thomas's
loft. Opening the door, Thomas motioned his arm for Angela to enter.
Walking down the entry hall, she laid her bag down. She turned right
entering the space and was in awe. It was beautiful and larger than she
had expected.
"OMG, you're here!" she heard a female's voice coming from behind
her. Turning around she saw her long-time girlfriend Joanne

Livingston. She hadn't seen her since she and Blake's wedding.
"My God, I'm so happy you're here," Jo said, wrapping her arms around
Angela. "I've missed you so much." She beamed.
"Joanne." Angela said hugging her back just as hard. "I had no idea you
would be here. When did you get back?"
"Two months ago. It's been insane or I would of went to Miami and
driven you here myself." She giggled. "How was your flight?"
"Long and exhausting, even though it was only four hours." She
smiled.
"Ok, enough of the sisterly love. Let me show you around while Jo
makes us a much needed drink." Thomas grabbed Angela and winked
at Joanne.
As Angela walked through the large living room she took in the high
ceilings. They had to be at least ten feet high. There were large pane
windows overlooking the city and to the left was another hallway that
led to three bedrooms and a bathroom. It was modern in style and you
could see it was a bachelor pad without a woman's touch. Mostly dark
greys, stainless steel and black throughout the loft.
It was beautiful and nothing she would have expected Thomas to be
living in. Her bedroom was overly large with a queen size bed and a
walk in closet. She walked over to the window which had a view of
Grant Avenue. It was perfect and all she would need until she found
something for herself. Thomas laid her bags on her bed. "What do you
think?" He asked.
"I can't thank you enough Thomas. I'll never be able to repay you for
your generosity. You have been such a good friend." She said wrapping
her arms around his neck giving him a hug.
Thomas gave her a quick hug back and put his hands on her waist
pushing her away slightly. "Hey, you're welcome. That's what friends
are for Angela. Everything is going to be ok. Things will get better. I
promise." He gave her a light kiss on her forehead. "Now let's go and
have a drink." He winked.
After she had taken in every square inch of the loft, they sat on the large
black leather sectional that faced the living room window. Angela and
Joanne drank their cosmos while Thomas drank his beer. Joanne

always had made killer cosmos. She first introduced the drink to
Angela when they met in their second year of University. Joanne had
always been a great friend but they lost touch after Angela's wedding.
Joanne had graduated from nursing school and then took a job out of
the country for a few years.
"It is so good to see you Ang. Thomas has kept me up to speed with
everything that has happened. Just know that I am so sorry about Blake
and that I would have been there for the funeral if I could have been."
She gave Angela a weak smile.
"It's been a rough year, but I am working through it and hopefully this
change will be for the better." Angela's smile matched Joanne's.
She was excited to be in Los Angeles, to start her new life but she was
also nervous and overwhelmed with her emotions over leaving her
home in Miami. Leaving Blake.
"It's really good to see you too Jo." Angela took a sip of her drink.
Joanne jumped up off the sectional and walked over to the window.
"Well, Thomas told me you have two weeks before you start your new
job. That will give us enough time to break you in and make you a true
California girl! " Jo laughed walking back over to the sectional.
"Oh yeah, so many clubs to bring you to," Thomas laughed.
"I hope you still know how to dance," Jo stated.
"Jesus, you two, I'm 24 not 64." Angela laughed out loud.
They spent the rest of the evening catching up, all three of them just
relaxing like old friends back in school, sipping their drinks, laughing
and not bringing up Miami. For now that was in the past and would stay
there until Angela got a grip on this new chapter of her life.

Chapter 127
The following week flew by. Thomas had helped Angela settle in and
had taken her to some of the cafes and restaurants that he normally
went to. Joanne took her shopping for some new work clothes and they
had done a little sight-seeing. It was nice to have some quiet time by
herself during the day while Thomas was at work. He was the editing
director at Lyons Advertising Agency where he landed her a new job. It
was one of the top Agency's in Los Angeles with clients such as
Revlon, Fendi, and other well- known brands.
Angela was nervous about tonight. Joanne was taking her out to some
nightclub that was having a private party and she wouldn't take no for
an answer.
"Are you almost ready?" Joanne yelled from the kitchen.
"Um...Almost," Angela yelled from her room.
Joanne walked down the hallway to Angela's bedroom and leaned up
against the door frame. "You look smokin' hot girl." She squealed.
"Thanks." She said looking down at herself with an uneasy look. "Do
you think it's too much? I haven't gone to a club in over a year."
Jo grabbed her shoulders and spun her around inspecting her outfit. She
was wearing a perfectly fit white dress that was low cut around the top
with shoulder straps. It hugged her tiny waist and flared a little above
the knee. "Absolutely not, you look gorgeous." Joanne smiled.
She really did look stunning. Angela had long black hair that fell over
her shoulders with long wavy curls that gave her volume. The dress
complimented her tiny twenty-five inch waist and her cleavage was
showing just enough in a sexy, but not cheap sort of way.
"My God, Jo," Angela looked down at herself. "I feel like a piece of
meat in this. I don't want to give off the wrong impression." She said,
looking nervously at her friend.
"Oh come on Angela, seriously. You're in California for God's sake."
She put her hand on Angela's shoulder. "You look crazy sexy, but

very lady like. Wait until you see some of the skanks in that club
tonight." Joanne winked, "You'll feel like a saint!"
Laughing, Angela shot her a look and then fingered her long black
locks one more time in the mirror of the armoire that stood in the corner
of her bedroom.
Walking out to the kitchen, Angela looked at Joanne. "I need
something strong. Let's have a shooter."
"Comin' up chick," Jo shot back grabbing a bottle of fireball from the
cupboard. She poured two shots and passed one to Angela. They shot
them back and Angela almost gagged. "Another one," she said,
covering her mouth and shaking her head. Jo just laughed and poured a
second. Just as they shot the second one back Thomas walked in.
"Hey Thomas, want one?" Joanne held up the bottle of fireball.
"Uh, no I'm good." He chuckled shifting his gaze to Angela. "Wow
Angela. You look...friggin' hot!"
"Thanks Thomas." She looked flushed in the face, not from the
compliment but from the two shots she had just downed.
"So where are you ladies off too looking like a pair of sexy vixens?" He
asked as he walked over to the fridge to grab a beer.
"The Mayan, have you been there? Joanne asked.
"No, I've heard of the place," he said, taking a swig of his beer.
"My girlfriend is having a private event there tonight featuring one of
her new race car drivers. They're putting on this big show featuring him
and the new car."
"Sounds like fun." He said, his eyes scanning Angela again.
"What are your plans tonight?" Angela asked looking at Thomas.
"It's poker night with the guys. We normally do this every second
Thursday night. Depending on how fast we get cleaned out then we'll
hit the club for a bit." He took a swig of his beer. "Well, don't get in too
much trouble. I have to take a shower." He laughed walking down the
hall with his beer.
Joanne downed one more shot and then squinted. "Fuck, I love that
shit!" Letting out a laugh she said, "You ready? Let's get this party
started." She grabbed Angela by the arm and they walked out the door.
They hailed a taxi and jumped in. Looking at the driver Joanne

said, "We're heading to The Mayan on 1038 S Hill St. Do you know the
place?" The driver nodded in acknowledgement.
Joanne turned to Angela. "Wait until you see this place. It's amazing."
She beamed. "My girlfriend Ana is the owner of this race car company.
I forgot the name, but they rented out one level of the club just to
feature their new driver and his car. It's going to be blast."
"Sounds like it," Angela said.
"Yes, it will be. Lots of hot guys and some cool rides! " She squealed.
"Jo, I' m not going there to fish. I am going there to have a good time
remember?" She looked at her friend with an annoyed look. "Don't
even think about trying to hook me up. I may be small but I will kick
your ass girlfriend." Angela laughed and gave her a soft jab in the ribs.
"It's gonna happen sooner than later Angela. Just go with it."
"Not tonight it's not." She said matter a fact looking out the window.
The cab pulled up to the club and Joanne paid the driver. The club was
lit with brilliant lights that you could not miss. They both examined the
lineup of people which seemed to continue over a few blocks.
"How the hell are we supposed to get into this place?" Angela looked at
Joanne and gestured to the huge crowd.
"We're covered." She flashed a smile holding up two tickets that had,
VIP - Victory Lap, written on them.
"Sweet," Angela smiled feeling excited for the first time in a long
time.
Joanne passed the tickets to the bouncer that was in charge of the
line-up. He took the tickets and unlocked the chain so they could pass
through to the entrance. "Your party is on the third level." The bouncer
said.
"Thank you." They both yelled back as they walked in the club. It was
outrageously enormous. Angela had been to some pretty cool bars back
in Miami, but this one took the cake. Jo told her earlier that it was
around thirty-thousand square feet with three levels and had four floors
each with their own theme. When she looked around she could see the
massive dance floor in the middle with bars in each corner. The D.J.

booth was half a level above the dance floor with three D.J.'s rocking
out the tunes. There were video systems with moveable screens
everywhere and led lights dancing throughout the entire room.
"What do you think?" Jo tried to yell over the music.
"It's amazing." Angela smiled.
"Well this is the main floor; our party is on the third level. Follow me."
Jo grabbed her arm as they hit the stairwell.
They made their way up through piles of people going in both
directions, up and down. Entering the third level, they were greeted by
another bouncer at the entrance. The music was blasting The Weeknd's
song, "Can't Feel My Face" and there had to have been well over 500
people just on that level alone. Another D.J. booth sat perched up on a
higher level in the corner overlooking the dance floor that was already
full of party goers.
As they made their way to the large circular bar Angela noticed a large
group of people in a more private lighted area of the club. She took
another glance noticing the race car on show slowly turning on a lifted
circular stage.
"Jo... JOANNE!" Joanne turned around when she heard her name.
"Ana. Hey girl. Thanks so much for the invite. This is amazing! "
Joanne gave her friend a hug.
"Ana, this is my girlfriend Angela. She just moved here from Miami."
Joanne said motioning her hand towards Angela.
"Hey, nice to meet you, any friend of Jo's is a friend of mine." Ana gave
her a smile.
Angela couldn't help but stare at Ana. She was beautiful. Her long light
brown hair fell over her shoulders, but it was her piercing sky blue eyes
and dark eyelashes that were so captivating.
"Thank you, Ana. This place is really amazing," Angela said looking
around the club.
"It's a big night tonight. The main attraction is our new driver and his
car." Looking towards Joanne she said, "I probably won't be around
much, you know, work." Ana shot her a smile.
"Russell," Ana yelled at the bartender. "These two ladies are on the
house tonight. Take care of them." She winked.

"No problem Ana," the bartender said.
"Well it was great meeting you Angela. Joanne, let's try and get
together soon." She gave Joanne a kiss on the cheek and walked into
the crowd.
"She's beautiful Jo." Angela said watching her in the crowd.
"Yeah, she is a vixen, but also a very smart business women. She runs
her company with her older brother." Jo said.
"What would you ladies like to drink?" The bartender asked.
"We'll take two cosmos and two shots of fireball please." Joanne turned
around and moved her hips to the song.
"You're going to kill me," Angela laughed, swaying to the tune.
They shot back their fireball and headed for the dance floor. It was wall
to wall people dancing to the club music. There seemed to be no room
for any more but somehow when Angela and Joanne hit it, the space
magically appeared. They danced together, all grins, just happy.
Angela felt free and more alive than she had since Blake got sick. She
felt the part of herself that was really her come out to play. She let
herself feel the vibes of the music and her body followed. Angela had
grown used to her quiet life and forgotten how much she loved these
fun times with her friends. As they danced, they got bumped and
grinded by other men and women on the floor. At one point two men
tried to move in on both of them but they just slowly danced in the
other direction leaving the men looking like they were dancing with
each other awkwardly.
They danced until they were exhausted, and then had a few more shots
and ordered another drink. They walked over to the semi-private area
to check out the race car on display. It was gorgeous. It was perched on
a little stage that was slowly turning so you could inspect all angles. To
Angela it looked like a Mustang, although she wasn't a car person and
knew nothing about them.
"Nice looking Gen - 6." The man's voice came from beside her.
Angela's gaze slid up to the tall stranger that was standing beside her.
"Excuse me?" She said.
"The car, it's called a Gen - 6," he said smiling.
Angela took a breath as she looked at the gorgeous man that

towered over her, waiting for a response. She found herself tongue tied
as she stared into his intense grey blue eyes and his short well-kept
brown hair. His features were almost chiseled to perfection and his
smile was nothing short of pure sexiness.
As her eyes fell on his chest she noticed his white dress shirt button
under his black suit jacket was undone. Angela couldn't help but stare
and notice that his chest was definitely sculpted to perfection with a
little bit of a tattoo showing on his top left collar bone slightly trailing
up his neck. He was certainly not hard to look at.
"Ummm..." She tried to look for the words but nothing would come
out. Trying to seem as though she wasn't flustered she tried again. "Yes
the car is beautiful." She looked away and felt her face flush.
"Not into cars right?" His voice was deep and smooth and oh so damn
sexy.
"Not really." She smiled.
"Hey Angela, I need another drink, you want one?" Jo shouted a little
too loud.
"Sure, I'll go with you." She grabbed her arm and they headed towards
the bar. As they walked away she heard the gorgeous man say, "Have
fun." She could feel his eyes on her all the way to the bar.
"Who the hell was that?" Jo asked grinning ear to ear as she looked
back to check him out. "He' s fucking gorgeous, like magazine
gorgeous! "
"I have no idea and don't want to know. He looks like trouble with
those tattoos," Angela said stealing one more glance back.
As Angela took another look the stranger locked eyes with her, smiled
and winked. She almost stumbled turning around too quickly trying to
make her way back to the bar. Her knees went weak at the sight of him.
He was definitely one of the sexiest men she had ever encountered.
It was almost one am when Angela checked the time. She was feeling
the alcohol that she'd been imbibing all night and now the room in front
of her had begun to spin in an array of shapes and colors. She felt a little
sick to her stomach and the headache tomorrow was going to be fierce.

"You ready to go?" she asked Joanne, "I'm a bit wasted." Angela
giggled and let out a hiccup.
"Yeah, I'm feeling no pain myself," Jo said with a glazed look on her
face.
There was suddenly a man standing a little too close to Angela at the
bar. She heard him say, "Hey baby. You're fucking beautiful."
"Excuse me!" Angela whipped around shooting a "Don't fuck with me
look" at the stranger. He licked his lips, worsening her nausea.
"You're gorgeous. You wanna dance?" He seemed completely
oblivious to the annoyed look on her face.
"Are you serious? Is that your best line?" Angela laughed, "Um...No
thanks. I'll pass." She grabbed Joanne's arm and motioned her to start
walking.
They had almost made it to the front door of the club when a fight
broke out. Angela saw it happening in front of her as if in slow motion.
She tried to step back but her body was thrown to the ground as one of
the men was punched in the face and flew back into her. He went down
hard, taking Angela down with him. She fell to the floor hard and as she
did, her arm landed against a shard of broken glass.
"Angela! " Joanne screamed.
Chaos ensued as the bouncers rushed in and made their way through
the crowd. They grabbed the two men and dragged them out of the
club.
Angela was disoriented from a combination of the alcohol and all the
chaos going on around her. She suddenly felt her body being lifted
upwards. Someone had scooped her up off the floor. Someone strong.
She felt dizzy as she looked up into the man's grey blue eyes. It was
him, that irresistible hunk of a man she was talking to earlier. She could
smell his cologne as her head rested against his bicep. Her head was
spinning and she wasn't sure if it was the alcohol, the excitement or the
Adonis whose arms she suddenly found herself in. He brought her
through a set of doors and sat her down on a stainless steel table.
"Are you alright?" He said looking at her arm. Blood was oozing out
and running down towards her wrist.
"I'm ok, it's just a little cut," she said staring at him like she was in

a trance.
He stood in between her legs and held onto her waist with one hand. He
reached around her slowly, and she felt him stop and breathe in as if
taking in her scent. His lips came so close to grazing her neck that she
could feel the heat of his breath. She was shocked as she realized she
could feel herself becoming aroused.
"Here let me see," he said, taking her arm and inspecting the cut. He
gently wiped the blood away with a towel he'd grabbed off the table.
Angela could actually feel the heat of his eyes on her body. When she
looked into his eyes, her heart sped up. She realized now that she got a
good look at him underneath the lights, he was even more beautiful that
she'd thought. His lips were full, almost perfect and his cheek bones
were cut to precision which complimented his tanned skin tone and he
had one huge dimple on his right cheek. His facial features were
nothing short of male hotness. He was absolutely stunning.
"You're so beautiful." He said as he looked into her brown eyes.
She felt ripples of excitement course through her body. His voice was
deep and sexy and reminded her of Vin Diesel.
"Thank you, but, I'm really ok." Drawing in a shaky breath she pulled
her arm back slightly from his grip.
He wrapped the thin towel around her arm and tied it into a knot so it
wouldn't fall off. "If you insist," he said, giving her an irresistible smile.
He ran his thumb down her hip and traced her thigh, touching the skin
on her leg. Slowly, he pushed the hem of her dress up and she stopped
him with her hand.
"What are you doing?" she asked, looking at him like he was crazy.
"You have a small cut. Look." He smiled again, not moving his thumb.
"It's ok, really." She tried to say it sternly, not wanting him to know that
she secretly enjoyed his touch. She moved his hand off of her leg and
simultaneously, his other hand snaked around the back of her neck and
pulled her ear into his lips.
"You smell so damn good," he whispered as he slid his parted lips
along her skin and traced it slowly with the tip of his tongue.
Angela was filled with a desire she had never felt before. She knew

this was wrong. It was too soon. She was just drunk. right? His sexiness
was overwhelming her. It was almost demanding and surprisingly, she
liked it. This instant attraction was something she had never
encountered before. Breathe Angela, Breathe.
She grabbed his shoulders and pushed him back. "What are you doing?
I don't know you and quite frankly I don't want to know you." She was
trying to act like she was in control. The whole time her body was
screaming for more. "Thank you for helping me, but I have to find my
girlfriend." She tried giving him another stern look. He didn't seem to
be affected by it. He stood in front of her still wedged between her legs.
As he looked intently into her eyes he cocked his head to the side a little
and gave her a half smile. He grabbed her by the waist with both hands
and lifted her as if she were a small child. He stood her up on the floor
and said, "As you wish sexy lady."
"Thank you, I really appreciate it." She said. She gathered her wits and
walked quickly away. She'd almost reached the door when she felt him
right behind her.
"What is your name?" he asked her.
"I don't give my name to strangers, sorry," she said with a quick smile.
"Ahhhh. I see," he said with a grin. "Well for what's it worth, my name
is Steve. Until we meet again, beautiful." He opened the swing doors
for her and she paused to look up at him.
"This is Los Angeles," she said, "I highly doubt we'll see each other
again." She bit down on her bottom lip and shot him another smile as
she walked back into the club.

Chapter 136
"Want a cup?" Joanne asked holding up her coffee mug as Angela
walked into the kitchen.
"God no; I need water, lots of water." She said, holding her head with
both hands. She grabbed herself a glass from the cupboard and said, "I
feel like road kill Joanne." Groaning, she sat down on a bar stool and
took a sip of her water.
"You look like road kill! " Joanne laughed. Her tone sobered then as
she said, "So what the hell happened last night with you and that
guy?"
Angela smiled. Even that hurt. "Nothing," she said matter of factly
taking another sip of her water.
"I call bullshit chick. I know that look and no woman in their right mind
would say no to that walking piece of fuck-able manliness. I mean he
was gorgeous right?" Joanne's eyes probed her friend's face.
"Ok, you can wipe the drool from the corner of your mouth," she
laughed. "Yes I agree. He is gorgeous." Grinning she looked down at
her glass, "He helped stop the bleeding on my arm."
"That's it?"
"Well, not quite. He also called me beautiful while sliding his lips
down my neck." Angela giggled. It was an unfamiliar sound to her. She
hadn' t felt truly happy for so long.
"HA! I fucking knew you were holding back." Joanne laughed out
loud. "I want details."
"That's it. There aren't any other details. He's gorgeous, he called me
beautiful and he sexually harassed my neck." She laughed again.
"Well he can sexually harass my neck any damn time he wants,"
Joanne told her. "Next time you see him, you tell him I said that! " She
grinned as she got up out of her chair. "I have to go but let's do supper
on Monday after your first day at work. I'll meet you outside, say
around 5:30pm?"

"Ok, that sounds good. Do you know which building?"
"Of course, your roommate works there remember." Jo smiled and
walked out of the loft.
Angela finished her water and then went and jumped in the shower.
The smell of alcohol was burnt into her nostrils. As she stood
underneath the warm spray, she tried to exorcise the thoughts of her
encounter with Steve from her head. It was futile. Every strong feature
of his face was etched into her memory. The feelings he stirred in her
body last night were exciting, and even thinking of him now aroused
her. With her eyes closed, her hand ran down her stomach and landed
on the aching spot between her legs. She slowly rubbed and circled her
clit as she thought of Steven's tongue trailing down her neck. Her
breaths came in quick gasps and she let out a slight moan as her body
reacted to her touch.
It had been so long since she had been touched like that by a man. It had
elicited feelings she thought no man other than her husband would ever
stir again. Her body tingled with a slowly building pleasure. when a
loud knock at the door startled her into almost falling on her ass.
"Yes?" She yelled out trying to regain her step in the slippery shower.
"Do you wanna go out for lunch?" Thomas shouted through the
door.
With a sigh she said, "Ok, I'll be out in a few minutes." She shook her
head with her hands in her hair. What the fuck are you doing? She
thought to herself. She turned the water off and stepped out onto the
tile. She felt the guilt begin to well up inside of her as she dried herself
off.
Angela wiped the steamed mirror with her towel and stared at her own
reflection. "No more thoughts of Steve," she whispered. "Only Blake."
Tears welled in her eyes as she told herself, "I can't forget about
Blake! "
"I'll have a Caesar salad, thank you," Angela said, as she passed the
menu back to the waitress.
"So I heard your conversation with Joanne this morning. Who's this
guy?" Thomas asked, as he squinted his brows together.

"Just some guy that helped me last night. There was a fight and I ended
up getting cut by some broken glass." She picked up her coffee cup and
took a sip.
"It sounded like a lot more than just some guy, the way you two were
talking about him. Are you interested in him?" He pressed her and
seemed to be impatiently waiting for a response.
"Thomas, seriously?" Angela looked at him annoyed. "No, I'm not
interested. I don't even know who he is."
"Ok, ok. Just saying. You just got here and I really don't think a
relationship is something you should be jumping into right away." He
was being awfully blunt. She wasn't sure she appreciated it.
"Really?" She asked, looking into his icy green eyes. Thomas was
extremely attractive; five-eleven or so with a very lean muscular build
and well-kept short, dirty blond hair. He had a small mole on his left
cheek that complimented his full set of lips. He had no problems
getting women from what she remembered but Angela had always
looked at him as a great friend, almost like a brother. She checked her
annoyance. She knew he was really just looking out for her. "Thomas,
there really is no need to be worried. The guy helped a girl in distress.
That's all... completely innocent." She smiled as the waitress
approached and sat her salad down in front of her. "Let's eat, I'm
starving." She said, "You can fill me in about what I should expect
from my new boss," she told him before taking her first bite.
"You'll love her. Kim is a tiny little thing but knows her stuff inside out.
You'll learn a lot from her," he said. "Honestly, I don't think I have ever
met someone so driven before. When she sets her mind to something,
she always accomplishes it." He took a bite of his food and asked her,
"Are you nervous?"
"A little, it's been over a year since I have worked. I'm sure I'll pick
things up like I never left eventually, but a new work environment, new
co-workers, you k n o w . "
"Yeah, I get it. You'll be fine. Kim is a softy, but a hard worker and
expects the same. As long as you hit your deadlines you're good in her
book," he winked.

Monday morning arrived quickly, but Angela felt as ready as she
would ever be. She dressed in a short sleeve ruffled white dress shirt
that complimented her snug grey skirt that ended right below her knee
and accentuated her tiny frame. Her nude heels added an extra four
inches to her five-foot three height.
That morning as she walked into the building with her arm through
Thomas's he said, "You look pretty hot missy." Chuckling he asked,
"Nervous?"
"No. I'll be good," she said with confidence as they stepped onto the
elevator and rode it to the tenth floor. Stepping off, Angela watched the
busy people doing their thing. There were at least a dozen cubicles
where people were on the phones or typing away at their computers.
Multiple offices faced the large windows with views of the city's
skyline.
"Holy shit," she said, grabbing his arm tighter. "Ok, yes, I'm nervous,"
she whispered.
"You'll be fine," he told her. "I'll introduce you to Kimberly and she
will give you a run-down of exactly what your duties are and your
client's list." He looked down at her and gave her a warm smile.
"Okay," she said with a nervous smile. She stuck close to him until they
got to the door that said, "Kimberly Townsend - Associate Director of
Marketing". Thomas lightly rapped his knuckles against it.
"Come in," the voice was soft. Angela knew what Kim looked like
already from the interview they had on Skype over a month ago.
Getting up from her seat Kimberly made her way around the desk.
"Well hello," she said, giving Thomas a hug. She turned to Angela and
gave her a light squeeze. "You made it," she said with a smile.
"Yes, I've been here for about two weeks settling in," Angela told
her.
"Well that's great. The city will grow on you and you'll find yourself
loving all the hustle and bustle." She grinned and went back to her seat.
"Ok, well I will let you two get to work. Don't be too rough on her
Kimberly." Thomas winked at her and smiled at Angela before closing
the door.

"So I have gone over your work history after our skype interview and
you are clearly over qualified for the position. However, the one
question I would like to know is why you no longer want to work for
the agency in Miami?" Kimberly asked her as she leaned back in her
leather chair. "They were willing to take you back, correct?"
"Yes, of course. I assumed Thomas told you my history." Angela
looked at her hands nervously.
"No, he kept it pretty minimal actually. He's not really the type to share
personal details," she laughed.
Angela looked at her new boss with trepidation. "When my husband
was diagnosed with Cancer, I left my job. They gave him 6 months to
live so I put everything aside to spend what little time I had left with
him." She tried to hold back the pools of water that she could feel
starting to swell in her eyes. Shaking it off she said, "I had to leave
Miami. There are too many memories there and I felt it would be good
to start a new chapter in a new city with a new job." Angela
straightened in her seat feeling a little more confident now that she'd
gotten through it without spilling the tears.
"I'm very sorry for your loss. I had no idea." She looked embarrassed
and sorry that she'd asked. Quickly changing the train of the
conversation she said, "Well then." She stood up from her chair and
went on, "Just to warn you, we are a lively bunch. When we don't hit
our deadlines, our asses are on the line so I expect everyone to at least
try to be on the same level." She walked over to Angela and wrapped an
arm around her shoulder.
"Let me give you a quick tour and then we will go over some of the
clients you will start off with. Sound good?" She smiled.
"Yes it does," Angela said.
Kimberly had a warm and welcoming way about her. Thomas had been
right about her being tiny. She was only about five-two. She had dark
brown medium length hair that fell smoothly down her back and a
beautiful smile.
Kimberly explained the positions of the middle section to Angela as
she walked her through the area where people seemed to be huddling in
their cubicles. She introduced her to a few of the other key members

of staff in the offices along the glass walls. She led her through the
private lunch room and the main board room where she told her that
most of the presentations are held. Then they made their way towards
an elderly lady sitting at a desk. "Angela, this is your personal
secretary, Marg." She told her, putting a light hand on Marg's shoulder.
"Well hello Angela, it's very nice to meet you." Marg said with a bright
smile.
"Thank you. It's nice to meet you too." Angela replied.
Kimberly led her to the door beside Marg's desk. Angela looked at the
door and was surprised when she read: Angela Black - Marketing
Manager. A slow smile traced her lips as she touched the engraved
name plaque. Kim opened the door and the large pane window caught
her eye. In front of it sat a large wooden desk and office chair.
Kimberly could probably see she was excited. "Go ahead, try out the
chair," she told her with a smile.
"It's beautiful Kimberly. The whole office is great." Angela was
beaming with excitement. She almost ran around to the other side of
her desk and took a seat in the black leather chair.
"You look good in it." Kimberly grinned.
"That is pretty much everything in a nutshell," she told her. Kim held
the door open and Angela got up and followed her back to her office.
She sat in the leather chair opposite of Kimberly.
Pulling out two files from a large cabinet against the wall, Kimberly
said, "These will be your first two clients. This one will be worked on
by both of us. Think of it as a little hand holding with the boss while
you get adjusted to the routine." She smiled and flipped open the folder.
"This client, McAllister Stock Cars, needs a little more TLC than the
rest. They spend a ridiculous amount of money with our agency during
this time of the season. "The other is a smaller cosmetic firm called
"Candy Cosmetics." Kimberly slid the files towards her. "I have a
memo in each file describing what needs to be done with each client
accordingly for this coming week. You can take them back to your
office and go through them," she told her.
Angela picked up the files and got up to head out the door. Just as she
was about to leave Kimberly said. "Angela."

"Yes?" she turned towards her new boss.
"You're going to be fine. Just breathe and take one step at a time. We
are all here to help you adjust." Kimberly gave her a soft smile.
"Thank you Kimberly, I really appreciate that." Angela turned around
and walked out the door closing it behind her.

Chapter 143
Stretching back in her leather chair Angela looked out the paned
window overlooking the City of Angels. Her thoughts and emotions
were still all bound up together. Everything was happening so quickly
and it overwhelmed her. She was snapped back to reality by the sound
of her secretary saying, "Ms. Black," and poking her head in the door.
Marg looked like a school teacher with her mid-length graying hair and
quiet demeanor. Her eyes held maturity and wisdom, Angela thought.
"Yes, Marg. Come in, please." Angela motioned her in. "Please call me
Angela."
She stood up and Marg smiled at her and passed her a large binder.
"Here is the procedure manual you requested. Did you need anything
else before I leave for the day?"
"No, this is it. Thank you Marg. I'll see you tomorrow." Angela smiled
at her and she glanced at the clock on the wall. Shit, she thought. It was
already 5:20 pm and Joanne was meeting her downstairs in ten minutes
to pick her up for supper. Throwing the binder into her brown leather
satchel, she hurried downstairs to the lobby.
Just as she reached for the lobby door it opened. Angela's eyes trailed
the muscular arm and hand that held it open for her. Simultaneously,
she heard a familiar, deep husky voice say, "After you." It was Steve.
Angela turned and looked up into his face. How the hell did he know I
worked here?
"Thank you," was all she said as she pushed past him and walked out of
the building onto the sidewalk that ran along Wilshire Boulevard. She
looked at her watch and saw that it said, five thirty-five. She looked up
and down both sides of the street. Still no Joanne, just strangers
walking past her in a hurry. No one made eye-contact or smiled. They
all seemed to be in a hurry.
"Meeting someone?"
God, she loved that voice. But, what the hell is he doing here?

"Yes, as a matter of fact I am, she said." She had to hold her hand up to
block out the sun, as she looked up at him.
The sun reflected off his aviator sunglasses and his slick brown hair
was neatly combed back. She tried not to stare but her eyes fell to his
chest. She couldn't help but notice his collar bone that looked like it had
been chiseled to precision leading to the partial tattoo that made it half
way up his neck. Even under his black suit jacket and white dress shirt
she could see his upper body was ripped throughout.
"What are you doing here? Are you following me?" She blurt out as she
tried to contain the butterflies slowly building in her stomach. Steve
laughed and stared into the traffic.
"I just finished up some business."
"You work here?" She looked at him, puzzled.
"Something like that," he said. The left corner of his mouth curled up
into a sly half smile revealing his sexy dimple. Jesus he was gorgeous
she thought.
"Angela!" She turned her head to see Joanne walking towards her.
She suddenly felt his lips on her ear again. He reached down and
pushed back a long lock of her black hair and he whispered; "Well now
at least I can put a name to the beautiful mystery woman."
She could smell the scent of his cologne as she felt his lips brush her
neck and pull away. He grabbed her hand then and placed a light kiss
against it. "Until we meet again Angela," he said, flashing her a wicked
smile. He let go of her hand, turned and walked away.
Angela felt weak in the knees and her heart skipped a beat. She couldn't
fathom why this man had such an effect on her. Maybe it was because it
had just been so long since she'd felt anything remotely close to
physical attraction. She turned towards Joanne and tried to hide how
flustered she was.
"Hey, you ready to go?" She looked at Jo quickly before her head
snapped back to take another quick glance at Steve but he was already
gone.
"Was that who I think it was?" Joanne smirked. "Yes it was. What are
the chances? Over four million people in Los Angeles and I bump into
him four days later." Angela rolled her eyes and

flipped a lock of hair over her shoulder.
"He has you all flustered, doesn't he?" Jo gave her a nudge as she hailed
a cab.
"No he doesn't!" Angela tried to feign an angry look at her friend.
Joanne knew her well enough to know that she was full of shit.
"So you know I can read your bullshit a mile away right?" Joanne
raised her eyebrows at her from across the table. "You're a book babe,
so easy to read."
Angela speared her salmon with her fork trying to figure out what to
say. "Jesus Joanne. I don't understand why the hell I'm so attracted to
him. I need a little help here please." Angela's look pleaded with her
friend. Once again, her emotions were all over the place. Angela
dropped her folk into her plate, her hands cupped her face as the tears
pooled in her eyes and spilled over like a fountain.
"Hey, it's ok Ang," Jo said softly getting up and sitting in the chair
beside her. She rubbed the small of her back. "You have been through
so much and things are happening quickly. I'm sure it's confusing." She
lowered her head to try and look at Angela's face.
"You have no idea Joanne. I feel like a cheat for God's sake," She
almost laughed and wiped her tears away. "It's only been seven months
since Blake's been gone. I'm supposed to be mourning him, not flirting
with strange men." Angela reached for a napkin lying on the table.
"Come on Angela," Joanne said in a stern voice, "I honestly think you
have finished your mourning honey. You were by his side for 6 months
the entire time he was sick and then you tucked yourself away in a hole
for another 6 months after he passed. You can't keep doing this."
Joanne wiped a tear from her cheek with her thumb. "It will break you."
Joanne slipped her finger under Angela's chin and lifted her face to
hers. Looking into her large brown eyes and with empathy in her voice,
she said, "Blake would be devastated if he saw you like this. He would
want you to move on with your life, to be happy."
Angela wrapped her arms around Joanne, hanging onto her for dear
life. "I miss him so much Jo. It hurts so damn much." She swallowed
back more tears.

"I know you do honey." Joanne stroked her hair softly. "It's going to
take time. Not to forget him but to let him go. You have to hold on to all
the great memories that you and Blake shared, not the memories of him
being sick." Taking in a deep breath Angela let her friend go and sat up
in her seat trying to compose herself.
"Angela, this is your chance to move on with a new life. You're in a
new city and you have a new job. Blake would be seriously kicking
your ass right now." Joanne said with a laugh. Angela smiled and took
a sip of her vino.
"Now it's time to let the old Angela I know back out of the closet. I
want to see the strong independent woman that speaks her mind, the
one that is always in control." Joanne tipped her glass to Angela and
took a sip.
With a smile, Angela tipped her glass back at Joanne and took a drink.
"You know Thomas overheard our conversation about our mystery
man. He insinuated that I was interested and thought it was too quick in
his opinion."
"Fuck Thomas and what he thinks. Don't get me wrong. I love the guy
and all but seriously? He is thinking with his dick." Joanne's face
showed disapproval.
Angela almost spit her drink on the table. Grabbing a napkin and
wiping her mouth she asked, "What the hell does that mean?" Angela
looked shocked.
"I've noticed the way his eyes lust after your body." Joanne winked and
took another bite of her salad.
"Ok, have you stopped taking your meds?" Angela asked her, laughing.
"See there's the Angela I remember and yes I am taking my meds. All
jokes aside, I think he has a lot more intentions than just being the good
friend."
"My God, you've gone off the deep end. Thomas has really been there
for me. I can't even imagine my situation if he had not been there. He's
like a brother to me and I'm sure he feels the same about me." Angela
waved her hand like she was blowing off the conversation.
"Whatever Ang; just laying it out like I see it. Oh by the way, I

forgot to tell you, book off the 4th of July weekend." "Why?"
"My girlfriend Ana that you met at the club is throwing a party at her
house in Long Beach. You have to come." Joanne gave her a pleading
look.
"I don't see why not. That sounds like fun," Angela smiled.
They enjoyed the rest of their meal and had another glass of wine while
Angela filled Joanne in on her first day on the job. The entire time
Angela had to try and keep her mind from wandering back to Steve's
mouth. The way her name "ANGELA" rolled off of his lips in that
deep, sultry voice. She wasn't sure if it was right or not, but she knew
that she wanted to hear it again.

Chapter 148
Angela's first week at work was a whirlwind. She faithfully studied
their procedure manual each night when she got home. Candy
Cosmetics was a pretty simple client consisting mostly of branding
their new logo with photo shoots and magazine articles featuring their
line and new product labels.
"It's ready Angela," Thomas shouted from the kitchen.
"It smells delicious. Chicken parm?" She asked looking at the
plate.
"You got it. The sauce has my secret ingredient in it, so don't ask. I'm
not sharing." He smiled and bumped her with his hip. "You're a goof!"
she laughed, sitting down at the table. "So what do you think of
Lyons?" he asked taking a swig of his
beer.
"I love it there. Kimberly is amazing and the people are so nice. She
only gave me two clients to work on for now until I get used to the
routine."
"I knew you would fit right in," he said watching her take a bite of the
food. "Hey, I meant to ask. A friend of mine is having a grand opening
for his new restaurant on Friday. I told him I would show up for lunch.
It's just down the street from our work. Want to come so I don't have to
eat alone?" he asked her while digging into his own food.
"Sure, what time?"
"I'll meet you in the lobby at one pm," he told her. ****
It was Friday and the weekend was almost here. The morning heat was
already seventy-six degrees. Angela walked down the hallway to her
office and when she was almost there she noticed Marg putting flowers
into a vase.
"Those are beautiful Marg," she said, picking up a long-stemmed lily.
She brought it to her nose and smelled it. "Mm, passion fruit is my

favorite," She said with a smile as she placed it back in the vase.
"They're from my husband. He's a romantic at heart," she said. "He
sends me flowers once a month." Marg had a proud look as she
rearranged them.
"That is so sweet," Angela said as she opened the door to her office.
"I put all your messages on your desk Angela."
"Great, thank you Marg," she went inside and shut the door behind
her.
When she got to her desk, she pulled out the McAllister Stock Car file.
She knew that she only had a few hours to finish up plans for this client.
She was expected to do a full presentation at 2:00 pm in front of
Kimberly and both partners.
It was almost 12:30 pm when she took one last look at the slides she
had just finished in power point. Happy with the results she opened up
her word document and pressed the enter button on her keyword to
print out a memo. When she looked at the printer she saw the red light
was flashing. Shit. Out of paper. She got up and walked out of her
office.
She walked to the end of the hall and into the storage room. The door
shut behind her. Eyeing the shelves, she could see everything but blank
white paper. She walked to the back of the room and found the bundles
of paper way up on a top shelf.
Reaching up to grab a bundle she heard the lock on the door snap. Just
as she tried to turn around, she felt a stranger's body pressing into hers.
"Hello Angela." He whispered into her ear slowly tracing his lips down
her neck gripping her waist with both hands. That deep sexy voice
again. She knew it was Steve. She could feel the heat of his body press
into hers from behind as he pulled her tighter.
"Don't turn around." He said low and softly, his mouth planting slow
sensual kisses on her neck. His lips made her feel weak in the knees.
She closed her eyes and leaned her head back almost involuntary. His
hand ran down the side of her thigh finding the hem of her skirt and
then tracing her inner thigh on the way back up underneath.
Angela's heart skipped a beat, while her body trembled with excitement
under his control. He grazed the outside of her panties with

his fingers feeling the wetness through the cotton. "Mm, you're so wet."
He growled as he nipped at her ear lobe. He slipped a finger inside of
her and felt the juices. With her eyes closed she arched her back and let
out a soft moan. She couldn't control herself. Her body wanted this
while her mind screamed, "No! "
"You're so tight." His mouth trailed her neck as he pulled out his finger
and began rubbing her clit. Angela could feel his hard length growing
against her back side. Steve moved his hips against her ass as he circled
her throbbing nub faster. He slid a finger deep inside of her tight walls
forcing her hands to grip the shelving in front of her for support. She let
out a moan filled with the kind of insurmountable pleasure that she
hadn't felt in so long. Her hips swayed back and forth.
"Jesus." She whispered as she bit down on her lower lip. He pressed his
fingers deeper inside of her, stroking her walls while his other hand
wrapped around her breast and fondled her nipple through her blouse.
His lips crashed into her neck taking light sucks as an orgasm ripped
through her and she let out a soft moan. Her body shook with
convulsions of pleasure as her hands gripped the shelf harder. She
stood there for a moment breathing heavily before turning around to
look at his face. He had his fingers in his mouth, slowly sucking them
and then pulling them out as the corner of his mouth turned into a sly
grin. "You taste so fucking good Angela." His voice was low and deep
and his grey blue eyes traced her body, leaving a trail of heat in their
wake.
His seductive voice sent shivers down Angela's body as she tried to
speak. Before she could get the words out, he held a finger up to her
lips. "Shh," he said. His other hand slipped down slowly unbuttoning
her blouse. When he'd gotten it open to her waist he gently pulled a
breast out of her bra. Moving in like she was his prey, he took it into his
mouth. He softly sucked and teased her nipple with his tongue. Her
hands landed on the back of his head and her fingers entwined in his
hair. "Jesus Christ," she cried out. Suddenly he pulled back, pulling her
bra and blouse back over her breast as quickly as he had pulled it out.
"You're like a fucking drug that I can't get enough of," he said. Angela
stood there in total shock with her body still vibrating from what just
happened. He slid his hand around the nape of her neck and pulled

her ear to his lips. "Until next time Angela." He flashed her a smile and
walked out the door.
Angela leaned against the shelf trying to collect herself. What the fuck
just happened? And why the hell didn't you stop him! Angry with
herself, she tugged at her skirt to straighten it, then button up her blouse
and lightly fingered her long locks. Her body felt like someone had
hooked her up to a defibrillation machine. She could still feel the
ripples of excitement and pleasure coursing through her. Wiping her
lips with her thumb she gave her body a shake and headed for the door.
Back in her office she looked at the clock. 1:20 pm. God damn it. She
was supposed to have lunch with Thomas at one p.m. Grabbing her
purse she ran out of her office and stepped into the elevator. Scanning
the lobby she couldn't see him anywhere. She pulled out her phone and
saw that Thomas had tried to text her. "Where are you? I'm downstairs
waiting."
She texted him back. "I'm so sorry Thomas. I got held up and am doing
a presentation at two p.m. with a new client. Forgive me?"
Angela was pissed at herself as she walked back to the elevator. How
could she let this complete stranger seduce her? She made it back to her
office and stood at the window watching people pass on the street
below. Emotions were coursing through her like a storm hitting the
water. She was annoyed with this stranger Steve, but also
uncontrollably attracted to him in ways she couldn't explain. She was
deep in thought when she heard her office door open.
"Are you almost ready Angela? I'll walk down with you." Kimberly
was in the doorway.
"Yes I have everything right here." Angela grabbed the file and USB
off her desk and followed Kimberly out of her office. They made their
way down to the conference room. There was a very large cherry wood
table in the center of the room with black leather chairs surrounding it.
There were already six other people waiting when they arrived.
"Both partners were to be at this meeting, however something came up
so we will only be presenting to Miss McAllister today." Kimberly
opened up a folder and sat down in one of the leather chairs.

"Ok," Angela replied.
"Good afternoon everyone," Miss McAllister said as she walked into
the room with a smile.
Grazing over her memo, Angela heard the familiar voice and looked
up.
"Good afternoon." Kimberly said. "This is our new Marketing Manager
Angela Black. She will be taking care of your file while I oversee
things."
"Angela. It's so nice to see you again. I had no idea you worked here."
Ana smiled at her softly.
"Yes, I just started a little over two weeks ago," Angela smiled. She
was surprised at the same time.
Kimberly looked confused and raised an eyebrow. "You two know
each other?"
"Yes we do," Ana chuckled. "We have a mutual friend who introduced
us over the weekend."
"I see," Kimberly said sounding a little bit annoyed. Angela wondered
what that was about.
"Well I am sorry my brother couldn't make it but we will push through
without him. Let's get on with the presentation, shall we?" Ana looked
a little rushed for time.
Angela was well prepared and in her comfort zone. Marketing was her
expertise and it certainly showed when the presentation was finished
twenty minutes later.
"Angela, I love your ideas on the photoshoot. I think that will really
capture the new drivers racing on the track. Let's schedule this for the
first week of July, just after the holiday. Once the photos have been
looked at, edited and approved we can send them to print." Ana was
beaming and looking more than satisfied with Angela's marketing
angle.
"Wonderful," Angela stood up and shook Ana's hand giving her a
warm smile. She really liked Ana. Not only was she beautiful but she
also seemed witty, intelligent and spoke her mind.
As everyone was leaving the conference room, Angela was still writing
down some notes when her eye caught Kimberly and Ana talking just
outside the door. She sensed a tension between the two of them just

in their body language. She only heard the last sentence of the
conversation that Ana sniped at Kimberly before she turned around and
left.
"He has already told you it's over Kimberly. You were nothing more
than a fling. Leave it at that and move on." Ana's tone was harsh.
Angela looked back down at her notes and tried to pretend she wasn't
listening as Kimberly walked back into the conference room. "I'm sorry
you had to hear that." Kimberly said, looking flustered.
"No worries. I didn't hear anything," Angela shot her a small smile.
"I will book the shoot," Kimberly said, changing the subject. "Once we
have a date I will email you with the details. By the way, that was a
great presentation, Angela. Ana really loved your ideas." Kimberly's
words were kind but her tone cold. She was still clearly upset from her
conversation with Ana as she walked out the door.
"Thank you," Angela called out after her, hoping her boss even heard
her. She wondered who they had been talking about. Whoever it was
certainly made an impression on Kimberly. Enough to piss her off and
not want to let go.

Chapter 154
Angela was curled up with a glass of red wine on the over-sized sofa
and looking over some notes from work. The AC was pumping at max
but she was still hotter than ever in a tank top and a pair of shorts. She
laid the papers down beside her, and stretched out her tanned legs. She
let her eyes wander the room. They fell on a picture of Thomas, Blake
and herself. She squint her eyes and took a better look. It was from the
Stag and Doe, the three of them were toasting with their beer in the
photo.
Even though it had been 7 months since Blake passed even simple
things such as photos, certain songs or smells would make her well up
suddenly and uncontrollably. The love she had for him and the pain of
losing him was so overwhelming. Her eyes began to pool as she tried to
focus on the great times. She let out a chuckle and wiped her eyes
before the wetness could touch her cheeks.
She heard the door open and slam shut. Quickly patting her eyes dry
and taking in a deep breath she watched Thomas walk down the hall.
He started to pass her without saying a word. "Hey, did you get my
text?" She asked as he continued on by.
A moment later she heard his bedroom door slam shut. She took the last
sip of her wine and walked down the hall. Knocking, she asked,
"Thomas, are you ok?"
"Yes, I'm fine." He grunted through the other side of the door. "I'll be
out in a bit.
"Ok," she said frowning. She went back to the living room and to her
work.
Angela finished making some notes to the marketing plan she would be
doing for Ana's company when Thomas finally entered and walked
past her to the kitchen. She heard the fridge door open.
"Hey, did you get my text?" She asked waiting for a reply. "I'm really
sorry I stood you up but I lost track of time and then had my two

o'clock presentation to do."
Still silence, nothing but the hum of the air conditioner and TV in the
background.
Angela got up and walked into the kitchen to find Thomas leaning
against the fridge taking a sip of his beer. "Are you mad at me?" She
asked with her hands on her hips.
"I' m cool," he said, not even glancing in her direction.
"Well then why are you acting like this?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Look, I just had a rough day at work, alright?" He was looking at her
in a way he never had before. He brushed past her and went into the
living room. She followed and watched him grab the remote from the
table and turned the TV to a football channel.
"Ok," she said, putting her hands up apologetically. "Are you hungry?
There are some left overs in the fridge."
"No, I'm good. I ate before I came home." He was so short with her. But
then his tone changed a bit and he said, "So how did your presentation
go?"
"I thought you would never ask," she said with a smile. She went over
and plopped down beside him on the couch. "My new client loved it!
We will be doing a photo shoot just after the Fourth of July weekend
which means that once it is all finished, we will be working together on
a few things. Oh and guess what? I know her, my new client I mean.
When Joanne took me to that private event, well it was my new client's
private event. Her name is Ana McAllister, partner of McAllister Stock
Cars. Pretty cool huh?"
"That name sounds familiar." Thomas said looking at her. Taking a
long pull of his beer, he laid his hand on her knee. "Listen, I'm sorry for
acting like an ass. I was kinda pissed you stood me up for lunch and
then my day just went to shit from there." Thomas gave her a sad look.
"It's ok. We all have bad days. I am really sorry. I had every intention of
going. Speaking of the day though, something weird happened today
that I wanted to ask you about." Angela circled the ring of her glass
with her finger. "At the end of the presentation when everyone was
gone there was a tense conversation between Ana and Kimberly. All I
heard was "He already told you it's over" and to "let it

go," or something like that. Anyway when Ana left Kimberly was
clearly pissed." She took a sip of her wine. "You're close with
Kimberly. What was that about, do you know?" She was trying not to
sound like she was prying, but she clearly was.
"I' m not sure. I know she met someone about two months ago because
that is all she ever talks about. How gorgeous this guy was, how he
spoils her and makes her feel like no other man. It gets old." He said,
rolling his eyes. "Maybe they are fighting over the same guy?"
"Huh." Angela shrugged her shoulders. Turning to the football game
Angela's mind wandered back to her encounter with Steve in the
storage room. It made her stomach flutter just thinking about it. She
knew they would bump into each other again. He said he did business
there. But what floor did he work on? How did he know she would be
in the storage room? He must have watched her, she thought.
Regardless, the next encounter would be cut short. Things were
moving too quickly and she wasn't ready for any of it.
"Well I think I will call it a night. I'm exhausted. See ya in the
morning." She bent over and gave Thomas a peck on the cheek.
Finishing his beer, Thomas turned the TV off. He turned off the lights
in the living room and made his way down the hall. Just before entering
the bathroom his head swung around, eyes glued to the mirror armoire
in the corner of Angela's room. Her door was open just a slit, just
enough to see her reflection in the mirror.
Thomas leaned against the bathroom door knowing that she couldn't
see him. Standing there he watched her undressed. He examined her
long shapely tanned legs, and let his eyes trail to her black satin panties
and then to her breasts. They were covered by a black lace bra but he
could see the swell of them over the lace. Licking his lower lip he
watched as Angela began to slowly rub lotion on her legs. Thomas's
mouth turned up into a grin as he slid into the bathroom and closed the
door behind him softly so Angela wouldn't hear.

Chapter 157
Angela was on the phone when there was a knock on her office door.
"Come in," she said, covering the phone receiver.
"I have a delivery for a Ms. Angela Black?" The delivery man said
reading from his chart. "Yes come in." She told him.
The delivery man walked over and laid the package on her desk. He
handed her the sheet to sign. Angela signed it quickly while holding the
phone receiver between her ear and shoulder. She then mouthed,
"Thank you," to the man and he left, closing the door behind him.
Hanging up the phone she looked at the package puzzled, wondering
who in the world would send her something. It must be from Thomas
she thought. Maybe it was his way of apologizing for his behavior last
night. Searching for a card but not finding one, she pulled on the outer
package. She ripped the outside and tore it off. Pulling the paper away
fully, her eyes fell on a tall beautiful crystal vase that held over two
dozen lily's. Not just any lily, but her favorite ones, Passion fruit.
She noticed the small card that was hidden amongst the paper. As she
was about to open it up, Kimberly walked in her office.
"Do you have a minute?" Kimberly asked as her eyes fell on the
flowers. "Wow, those are beautiful, secret admirer, huh?" She asked
with a grin on her face as she shut the door.
"I honestly have no idea who these could be from." Angela said, still
staring at the card in the envelope.
"Well open it." Kimberly pressed her, sitting down in the plush brown
chair across from Angela's desk.
Angela opened up the envelope and her jaw almost fell on her desk. It
read:
I can't wait to taste you again. Until next time Angela. It was
signed, "S."
Flustered she tried to shove the small card back into the envelope

but her hands were shaking so badly the card slipped and fell on the
desk. Kimberly leaned in and grabbed it before Angela could reach it.
Angela watched Kimberly's hand come up and cover her mouth. She let
out a little giggle. "Well, well. Sounds like someone had a great time.
What does "S" stand for? Obviously you have left quite the impression
on this guy." Kimberly laughed and slid the card back towards Angela.
"Just some guy I met at a club a few weeks back," she said, feeling her
face turning crimson. "It's nothing really. The guy is just persistent."
She realized that she was almost stuttering.
Angela sat back in her chair and threw the card in her desk drawer.
Looking up at Kimberly she said, "You wanted to discuss something?"
"Yes, actually, it's in regards to the McAllister's marketing plan. I will
be tagging along on that photo shoot. You know, just want to make sure
everything goes well. Also, I wanted to talk about the conversation that
I know for a fact that you heard between myself and Ana." Kimberly's
tone changed to a nervous one as she said, "Ana can be a nosey bitch
and we tend to rub each other the wrong way if you know what I
mean?"
"No worries Kimberly. I only caught the last part. It's none of my
business, really." She smiled and watched Kimberly shift in her chair.
Her boss ran a hand through her hair and looked uncomfortable.
"What is it Kimberly?" Angela asked.
"It's just this damn guy has been driving me nuts. I have been seeing
him for over two months and he is everything I have ever wanted in a
man. One minute he tells me he loves me and the next he says we need
to slow down and take a break." Kimberly blurted all of that out and
looked at her as though she would have a solution.
"I don't know what to say Kimberly," Angela told her in a sympathetic
tone. "Honestly, this is not my area of expertise. I have only been with a
few men before I met and married Blake. I have been out of the dating
game for a long time." She smiled softly. "But if it were me," she went
on, leaning into her desk. "I'm a pretty black and white type of girl.
Either you're in or you're out. I hate games. Tell him how you feel

and what you want. If it was meant to be it will happen. But that is just
my opinion." Angela leaned back in her chair.
"How old are you again?" Kimberly laughed, kidding.
"I guess that's what marriage does to do you. Plus, I was raised old
school by my folks." Angela laughed.
"Sounds like you had the perfect guy." Kimberly looked at her with
what almost looked like envy.
"I did. He was everything to me, my entire world." She smiled sadly as
she thought of Blake. "But unfortunately fate had other plans for both
of us." She started to move the papers around on her desk not wanting
to talk about it anymore.
"You know we should go out for drinks sometime and let loose, just the
girls." Kimberly told her.
"That sounds like a lot of fun. Yes absolutely," Angela smiled.
Kimberly left her office and Angela's mind drifted back to the beautiful
arrangement of lilies that were now sitting on her desk. She felt
excitement building in her core just thinking about him. Yes, he was
extremely attractive...but very aggressive. That was something she was
not used to at all. Angela couldn't understand how he could possibly
know that was her favorite flower. Maybe it was time to just relax and
let things take its course if that is the way it was meant to be. Maybe I
should take my own advice she thought smiling to herself.
Angela filed the handful of papers that she was working on and
stretched back in her chair. She suddenly decided she was ready to go.
She grabbed her satchel and headed out the door.
"Good night Marg." She said, giving her a smile as she walked by.
Walking down the hall almost at the elevator doors she heard that low
familiar sexy voice. She whipped around to see where it was coming
from when her eyes landed on Kimberly's office. She watched as Steve
leaned against the door frame slightly holding the door open while
talking to Kimberly. She watched her boss grab the arm that was
holding the door open and pull him into her office. Angela was flushed
in the face as she repeatedly pressed the elevator button. Heart racing
and slightly shaking she felt a hand on her waist a moment later. "Don't
you dare put your fucking hands on me," she hissed the words between
her

teeth as she turned quickly around. Her eyes landed on Thomas'
confused face.
"What the hell Angela?"
"I'm...I'm sorry Thomas, I thought you were someone else." She said
apologetically. She looked past him at Kimberly's closed office door.
"Apparently," he said with his eyebrows raised. "Is someone bothering
you? He looked over his shoulder in the direction Angela was staring.
Let me know and I will kick their ass." He smiled, trying to lighten the
situation. The elevators doors opened and they both stepped in. His
mood sobered as he said, "Are you sure you're alright? You're shaking
for Christ's sake," he rubbed her arm lightly.
"Yes I'm fine." She tried to flash him a smile and cleared her throat. "So
are you cooking tonight?"
"No, there is a great little sub shop just down the street. Grabbing
something there and then heading to a friend's house to watch the
game. You?" He looked down at her while they exited the elevator.
"Joanne's coming over for a bit," she said, repositioning her satchel on
her shoulder. "I will see you back at the apartment later then."
As she exited the building, Angela's head was whirling. Her strides
were fast while she tried to figure out why Steve would be in
Kimberly's office. There was only one reason. He was the snake that
Kimberly just told her about earlier in the day and it made her blood
boil. How dare he? He was playing the two of them at the same time.
She felt so stupid to have let him seduce her so easily. She was stronger
than that. She had always been strong. She always stated what was on
her mind and didn' t have a problem saying no. But something about
him got under her skin. It was like she was drugged and being pulled
into his essence when he was around her and she wanted more, she
couldn't control how she felt. However, she could control her actions.
Opening the door to the loft she dropped her satchel on the floor, threw
her keys on the hall table and made her way to the kitchen. She grabbed
a bottle of wine and poured herself a glass. Her mind thought back to
the flowers he had just sent her. "My God am I an ass," she said out
loud, taking a long drink of her wine. She was laughing to herself as

Joanne walked into the apartment.
"Hey Ang. Already into the wine, huh?" Joanne smiled and flipped her
long blonde hair over her shoulder. She grabbed an empty wine glass
from the cupboard and placed it on the kitchen bar, "Well are you going
to pour me a glass or just sit there with that smirk on your face? What's
going on? You're acting weird." She looked at Angela and grabbed the
bottle, pouring her own glass.
"I'm a complete idiot. That is what is going on." Angela took another
long drink. "That guy, Steve that I met at the club and then again
outside of my work, then in the storage r o o m. " Angela blurted out and
then drank the rest of her wine. She paused and reached for the bottle to
refill her glass.
Joanne cut her off, "Whoa...Hold on a second, the storage room?"
"And then the asshole sent me my favorite flowers today. Oh and guess
who else he is fucking?" Angela said staring at Joanne with an angry
glare on her face, "My fucking boss. Priceless, isn't it?" She huffed and
took another sip.
"Ok, slow down woman." Joanne grabbed her arm and gently pulled it
back down to the table. "You fucked him?" She asked with raised
eyebrows.
"No I didn't fuck him. He seduced me in the storage room this week."
Joanne's hand cupped her mouth as she tried to conceal her smile.
"Holy shit! Um...Details please." Joanne nudged her with her elbow.
"There aren't any. He's a slime ball, one I want nothing to do with
regardless of how fucking hot and attractive he is. He seduced me and
he is apparently screwing my boss. He sent me my favorite flowers to
my office today. God knows how he learned that information," she
sighed swiping a hand through her dark hair.
"So how do you know he is screwing your boss?" Joanne asked,
confused.
"Today when I received the flowers from him, Kimberly came into my
office. She told me about this guy that has been stringing her along for
a few months. When I left for the day I saw Steve leaning against her
office door and then she pulled him in her office and shut the

door behind them." Still running her hand through her hair she looked
at Joanne's face.
"So you automatically assume he is the guy she was talking about?"
Joanne asked with her eyebrows arched.
"Yes, I do." Angela said. "Quite frankly there is no other explanation.
And you know what? I don't even understand why I am so mad about
this. I have bumped into him two or three times. Yes, he seduced me
and sent me flowers, big deal! " She got up and opened the fridge.
"You're developing something for this guy Ang. Whether it's sexual or
emotional, it's there. That's why you're pissed." She said with a smile.
"I don't know how to play this game Jo and I don't want to play."
Angela told her. "I just want to focus on work, eventually get my own
apartment and someday meet someone again when the time is right."
"Well then don't play. Tell him where to go the next time you see him
and don't even give him a chance to explain. . . unless you really want to
of course." She grinned and took a sip of her wine.
"Jesus, Joanne, you're seriously too much." Angela glared at her, but
she laughed.
"I'm just saying that there may be a lot more to the story than you're
actually seeing.

Chapter 163
The following week Angela went about her business avoiding all
conversation with Kimberly about her mystery man. When Kimberly
would bring up the topic she would just block her out or pretend she
had to do something. She had not seen Steve in a week, and it was
exactly how she liked it.
"Need a re-fill?" Thomas held up the bottle of wine as he leaned up
against the bathroom door watching Angela get ready. Thomas was
taking her out to dinner and she was really looking forward to it.
"You read my mind." She smiled and grabbed her glass. She held it for
him while he poured. She sat her glass down on the counter and dabbed
a little more gloss to her full lips. "So where are you taking me?" She
asked, looking at him in the mirror.
"It's a cool little place called "The Cecconi's" on Melrose Avenue.
You'll love it and the food is amazing," he told her with a smile. "Are
you almost ready?" Looking at his watch he said, "Our reservation is
for seven and it's already six-thirty."
Fingering her hair one more time, she said, "All set." She smiled and
took a long sip from her glass.
"You look stunning," he said as his eyes took in the tiny black dress that
hugged her frame perfectly.
"Why thank you. You look pretty darn handsome yourself." She
winked at him and walked past in to the kitchen.
She drank the rest of her wine, grabbed her small clutch purse and
followed Thomas out of the apartment.
Cecconi's was beautifully cascaded with sculptured greenery flanking
the entrance. The tiny lights sparkled in the green foliage looking like
little fireflies as nightfall set in. Once in the restaurant they were shown
to a quiet booth near the terrace and given their menus.
"This is stunning Thomas," Angela said as she took in the scenery

around her. The place and the customers both screamed high society.
"I knew you would love it. Wait until you taste the food." He said,
looking at the menu.
"Can I get you something to drink?" The waiter asked.
"We'll each have a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon please," Thomas
said.
"Very well."
"Is that a red wine?" Angela asked when the waiter was gone.
"Yes, it is. It's very good." He grinned at her. A few minutes later, the
waiter returned with their drinks and took their orders.
"I'll have the organic salmon, broccoli & basil pesto please," Angela
said, passing the menu to the waiter.
"And for you sir?" he turned to Thomas.
"Alaskan halibut, leeks & summer squash, thank you." They sat quietly
for a moment taking in the atmosphere and enjoying the soft
background music. "So how are you doing Angela?" Thomas looked
serious all of a sudden.
"What do you mean?" She asked, puzzled.
"Well you have been here for a little over five weeks now. How are you
feeling about the move, the job, the loft?"
Angela tucked a long strand of hair behind her ear. "Good, I guess. I
mean it has really helped me to get out of my shell by focusing on
everything else other than Blake." She looked at Thomas and took a sip
of her wine. "I really enjoy my new job and am finally getting a little
more familiar with the city. You know I can't thank you enough for
everything you have done for me. If it wasn't for you I would still be in
Miami."
The waiter arrived with their entrees. They enjoyed some small talk
with each other while they ate. She savored the succulent meal until her
last bite. When she was finished, she felt so full she had to lean back in
her chair. The waiter arrived to take their plates away and asked,
"Dessert?" Thomas looked at her with his eyebrows raised.
"No," she laughed rubbing her stomach. "I am so full. That was
delicious."
Taking another sip of his wine, Thomas stretched and inched

himself on the seat so he was now sitting beside Angela. His hand
reached hers and as he wrapped it up in his, he leaned in and kissed her
on the lips passionately.
Angela immediately pushed him back. "What are you doing Thomas?"
She asked him, taking a breath.
"Just giving my roommate a kiss," he responded quickly, knowing he
had crossed his boundaries with her.
She looked at him while she tried to clear her throat thinking how
handsome he looked but that she only loved him as a brother, not in that
way.
"Just a kiss?" She said with her eyes narrowed. "That was more than a
kiss Thomas."
"It was just an innocent kiss Angela. Don't make it into more than what
it is." He said looking annoyed.
"Thomas, do you have feelings for me?" She asked him as she looked
into his bright green eyes. She was almost afraid of hearing his answer.
Her body tensed and she was sure her facial expression showed
confusion. She clearly didn't have the same feelings for him.
"No, well yes, of course I do. But like a little sis, you know." He slid
back to his seat.
"Well then why would you do that?" Her eyebrows arched not quite
believing him.
"Jesus, Ang. I can't give my roommate a kiss? I wanted to get a reaction
out you. That's all." He shot her a nervous smile. He was obviously
trying to cover for his actions.
"Thomas you know I love you with all my heart, just not in that way."
She searched his face; she didn't want to hurt his feelings.
"Me too Angela, I have always loved you like a sister, me too," He said,
and then downed the rest of his wine. Standing up he looked at her and
extended his hand. "Ready to go?"
"Yes," She said, taking it and standing up. "Thomas, I had a wonderful
time. Thank you." She said, smiling a little nervously.
Once they were home, Angela slipped off her high heels and headed
towards her bedroom to change for the evening. "Do you want a

glass of wine?" She heard Thomas call after her. "Sure," she yelled
back.
She closed the door to her bedroom and sat on the bed thinking.
Thomas had tried to make light conversation during the ride home, but
the passionate kiss he called nothing wouldn't leave her head. Maybe
Joanne was right and Thomas really did have feelings for her. More so
than what he was putting on. It made her feel uncomfortable no matter
how much he denied it. She only loved him like a big brother and
nothing more. Maybe it was time to get her own apartment, she thought
as she stood up and unzipped her dress. She would have to talk to him
about this again.
She slipped into a pair of yoga pants and a t-shirt and tied her long
black hair into a ponytail before going back out to the living room.
When she got there she sat in the black leather armchair beside the
sectional where Thomas was sitting.
"Your wine," he said, passing the glass to her.
"Thank you." She smiled and took the glass from his hand.
The T.V. was on another football game. Out of the corner of her eye she
looked at him. He was staring at the flat screen.
"Thomas...I was thinking I will start looking for an apartment." She
held her glass up to her mouth and took a sip, not taking her eyes off of
his face.
"Really?" He looked at her with confusion on his face. "Don't you think
it is a bit early? I mean you have only been here a little over a month."
"I know, but I think it's time I get something of my own. That way you
can have your privacy." She smiled.
She watched Thomas's chest rise and fall with his breathing. "Are you
saying this because of what I did in the restaurant?" His brow knitted
with concern.
"No, no, of course not," she lied. "I just think it's time to lay down some
roots of my own."
"Ang, the rent alone is going to be extremely expensive. Look at how
much you can save by staying here a month or two more. Why don' t
you stay here until August or September, save your money and

then get your own place?"
Angela could see he was grasping at straws to keep her there. She could
almost hear the desperation in his voice. Thomas had done so much for
her. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt him.
"Thomas. You know I don't have money issues. Blake left me a large
insurance settlement." She played with her ponytail as she looked at her
wine glass. "Ok, how about this. I start looking now and try to find a
place for August. That will give me all of July to try and find
something."
"September!"
"What?" She looked at him puzzled.
"It will have to be for September," he said again. "I will need at least
sixty days' notice in order to find a new roommate." A slow smile
formed at the corner of his mouth.
"You're a whack job!" She laughed. "You don't need a roommate! You
have always lived alone."
"Well, now I do. That is the least you can do Angela." Thomas looked
at her a little more seriously.
Feeling a little guilty she responded. "Ok. I will find a place for
September. No later though." She told him in a serious tone as she took
a long sip of her wine. Two months she thought to herself. She would
continue to carry on as usual and hope that Thomas doesn't try anything
with her. She didn't want the situation to grow any more uncomfortable
than what it already was.

Chapter 168
It was already Thursday, a day before the long Fourth of July weekend
and Angela was trying to finish up all the last minute details for one of
her new clients she had just received early in the week. She shut her
computer off and turned to the paper sitting on her desk. She had
already started looking for apartments that were for rent and could not
get over the prices. She found three spaces that sounded half way
decent after shuffling through tons of them. She was going to book
appointments for the following week to take a look at them.
She ripped out the page where she had circled the ads, folded it and
placed it in her satchel. She pulled out her compact mirror; opening it
she looked at her large eyes and patted at one with her finger. Grabbing
her light pink gloss, she dabbed some on her lips. It was now five thirty
and she was due to meet Joanne at the pub down the street in half an
hour for a few drinks.
She stood up and headed out of her office. "Night Marg," she smiled at
the elderly secretary.
"Have a great weekend Angela," Marg said, smiling back.
Even though the Fourth of July holiday fell on the Monday, Lyons
Advertising would be closed on the Friday as well which Angela didn't
mind one bit. She was really looking forward to spending her weekend
away in Long Beach with Joanne. She pressed the elevator button and
tugged on her gray skirt patiently waiting. Angela stepped in when the
doors opened and pressed the button for the lobby. She watched the
doors close when a hand slid in between stopping them from shutting.
"I'm sorry." She said trying to press the open door button for the person
to enter when she heard his voice.
"Well hello Angela. We meet again." Steve had a slow smile forming
on his mouth as he stepped into the elevator standing almost directly
beside her.
Angela was flustered just at the sight of him. He was wearing

tailored blue jeans that showed off his powerful frame with a white
dress shirt that had the top two buttons undone. Her large brown eyes
followed the tattoos' that started on his chest snaking up to his neck.
She could feel the warmth build between her legs as she tried to form
her words. Jesus he was gorgeous.
"Yes I guess so." She said, nonchalantly, "Going down?"
"Are you?"
"Excuse me?" She cocked her head to the side and looked up at
him.
"Are you going down?" He said, eyeing her delicate frame. Angela
watched his blue eyes trail her body and her heart skipped a beat. Get a
grip already! "Does that matter?"
"It does to me." He smiled, revealing the deep dimple in his right
cheek.
She watched his tongue trace his lower lip and thought about how good
it felt during their encounter in the storage room last week. She had to
get a grip on herself. This man was screwing her boss for Christ's
Sake.
Angela hit the lobby button hard not responding to him and stared
straight ahead trying to avoid contact. She watched him take a step
behind her out of the corner of her eye. She could feel his breath on her
neck and then she felt his lips graze it.
"Mm, you always smell so good," he growled in her ear.
Angela almost melted right there on the spot. She turned to look at him.
"Do you always play two women at the same time?" She asked in an
angry tone.
Looking amused, he replied, "Never. I'm a one gal kind of guy."
"Really?" She said, getting more annoyed by the second.
His head dipped down to her neck and he dragged his lips up to ear.
"Are you implying that I do?"
"Listen, I'm really not the type to play games ok. I know you're fucking
my boss." Angela took a step forward with her back facing him. She
looked over her shoulder as he laughed. His hand reached past her and
pressed the stop button on the elevator. She could feel the elevator jolt
to a stop. "What are you doing?" She turned to face him. She could

smell his sweet cologne.
"I'm not interested in Kimberly. You are the one that has my full
attention," he whispered. His hand curled around Angela's waist and
pulled her to his chest with aggression. Shocked, she stared up at him
utterly confused as his blue eyes bored into hers. She felt his hand trail
down her waist to the hem of her skirt. Angela's heart was in her throat
as she felt herself become moist at his touch.
Grabbing his arms she tried to push away. "I can't do this again." She
whispered. But did she really want him to stop?
He whirled her around and pushed her back up against the wall. "Do
what?" Steve growled as he planted kisses along her neck. She felt his
strong rough hand slide down her inner thigh and she closed her eyes,
slowing melting into him. "You're so beautiful Angela." His tongue
trailed along her ear lobe. Her heart was pounding in her chest as he
pulled her lace panties to the side palming her pussy.
"Play these games." Angela breathed heavily as she met his eyes. He
leaned forward to claim her mouth with his. She didn't move away,
knowing she wanted this just as bad. His tongue darted inside her
mouth slowly twirling over her own tongue. She couldn't help herself
as her hands ran up his back.
"Mm, you're so wet." He growled and kissed her harder.
His fingers ran over her slit and rubbed her clit and then dipped a finger
into her warmth up to his second knuckle.
"Mm," She moaned into his mouth. It sent shivers up and down her
body as he pushed in deeper. Her chest was heaving as he put a second
digit in her.
He sucked in her bottom lip and pumped his fingers in and out of her
slowly. Panting, she couldn't help but to part her legs giving him more
access. It felt so good as the ripples of pleasure coursed through her
body.
"Jesus Christ, Steve." She moaned his name in his ear. Pure pleasure
shot through her.
His lips ran down her neck, "I have to taste you," he said, as he pulled
his fingers out and kneeled to the floor. He ran his hands up her thighs
and pulled her panties down to her ankles. He hiked her skirt up

around her waist, exposing her pussy to him. He pushed her legs apart
then with his hand and stared at the perfect triangle of her bush that
surrounded the swollen pink lips of her pussy. He moved closer
smelling the scent of her arousal.
His thumb slowly circled her button as he looked at her quivering pussy
lips pressed tightly together. His head dipped in as he kissed them
lightly, tasting her. Angela gasped as tingles shot through her body.
Steven slid his tongue inside of her, swirling it around the wall of her
sensitive warmth. Her head fell back as she squirmed beneath him and
gasped for a breath.
Steve slowly licked from the bottom of her slit up to the top as his
hands wrapped around her ass and pulled her in deeper. Her hands shot
down and ran through his hair as she tried to catch her breath. She
began to slowly grind her crotch into his face. His tongue felt so good
and she felt the waves get closer and closer.
Steve sucked in her wet lips into his mouth, trapping them there as he
ran his tongue up and down them. Grabbing handfuls of hair she could
feel her pussy vibrating uncontrollably as he licked all over her
sensitive slit. Her heart was pounding as he slid a finger in reaching his
second knuckle.
"Unh," she gasped at the sensation. He sucked in her sensitive clit as he
shoved in a second finger going as deep as he could pumping quicker.
"Oh my God!" Angela was shaking uncontrollably. The jolts of
pleasure shot through her pussy as he pumped faster. He sucked her clit
into his mouth again, running his tongue rapidly back and forth as he
felt her body tremble above him. "Oh Steve!" She cried out as her
orgasm flooded her body like a continuous wave that crashed into her
over and over.
Angela's heart was racing as the climax finally slowed. He looked up at
her and smiled. "Fuck you taste amazing. I could do that all day."
Her eyes were still closed as he got to his feet and she was trying to
catch her breath. Her lips felt parched and her mouth felt like the
Sahara desert. Opening her eyes and looking at his face, she could still
see her juices all over him.
"You really know how to leave an impression on a girl don't you."

She said, her chest still rising and falling hard. He leaned up against the
wall beside her and dipped down and kissed her neck again.
"I can't help it." He said in a low deep voice.
Angela bent down and pulled her panties up, then fixed her skirt. She
wiggled her hips as she slid her hands down her thighs and smoothed
the material.
"Can I see you again?" Steve asked running a finger along her cheek.
She looked at him, staring into his beautiful blue eyes. He was so
utterly gorgeous and sexy.
"I really don't think that is a good idea Steve." She said looking away
and pressing the lobby button. She felt the elevator jolt and begin to
move again.
"Why?" His eyebrows shot up.
"Steve, I saw you with Kimberly."
"I'm not with her. I really don't know what you think you saw but you
have it all wrong." His hand came up under her chin lifting it to his
face. His lips grazed hers as he kissed her hard. Their mouths opened
swirling their tongues and exploring each other.
She quickly pulled away when the elevator opened and she heard her
name and a familiar voice. Her eyes locked with the bright green eyes
staring at her with a hurt and bewildered expression.

Chapter 173
Angela uncomfortably looked at her friend. "Thomas, what are you
doing here?" She asked. His face showed that he was clearly upset at
what he had just seen.
"What the fuck are you doing Angela? Who the hell is this?"
"Hey! There is no need to speak to her like that." Steve stepped
between them.
"Thomas! Calm down for Christ's sake. This is Steve." She stepped
between them and closer to Thomas. "Steve, this is my roommate
Thomas." She looked back at Steve.
"It's nice to meet you Thomas." Steve extended his hand, trying to play
nice.
Angela watched as Thomas just stared at him with an icy glare. "You're
being rude," she told him with her hands on her hips. He had absolutely
no reason to act like this.
"So I guess you're fucking him, right?" He asked in a hostile voice.
Her hand came up and slapped him across the cheek. She was
trembling uncontrollably at the comment her long-time friend had just
made. She could not believe he just asked her that. Her blood was
boiling.
She looked at Thomas and then at Steve as her heart raced feeling like
she was trapped in between these two men. "I don't need this shit. I
didn't move to L.A. for this!" Her voice was a ragged mess. The tears
brimmed in her eyes and she couldn't control them as they spilled down
her cheeks.
"Angela. I'm sorry," Thomas said softly, grabbing her arm.
Steve stepped in and grabbed Thomas's hand. "Don't fucking touch
her." He stood a good three inches taller than Thomas.
Angela looked at both of them again, her face showing the hurt and
anger she was feeling. She looked at Thomas and said, "You! Don't
fucking talk to me until I cool down." She then turned to Steve, "You!

Stay the fuck away from me!" She was yelling and she didn't care.
With that she wiped her tears away and she ran out of the lobby and
onto the sidewalk. She was a mess and still trying to catch her breath,
trying to control the emotions that were whirling through her. Her
phone buzzed and she pulled it from her satchel. Her hands were
shaking as she checked her messages. "Shit! " She missed four text
messages from Joanne. She was supposed to meet her half an hour ago
for drinks.
She text her back, "Can't make it. Something happened. Meet me
at the loft? Please! "
Angela began walking home. She knew the fresh air would help her
calm down. Her mind was racing, trying to replay what had just
happened. Why the hell would Thomas act like that? She has never
seen that side of him in all the years she has known him...and big deal if
he saw her kiss Steve. It was her life for Christ's Sake! That was the
point of moving away from Miami and starting fresh, to move on. She
moved a strand of hair out of her face as she walked up to her building
five minutes later. Angela entered the loft slamming the door behind
her. She threw her satchel on the floor and went to her room and
changed into a t-shirt and jean shorts. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she
looked at her reflection in the mirror of the armoire in the corner. She
hated her reflection at that moment, hated her life. Her eyes were
bloodshot from crying and dried black mascara ran down her cheeks.
She looked like a raccoon.
Dipping down to the floor she grabbed the skirt that she was wearing
and threw it at the mirror and yelled. "Fuck! " Her hands came up and
covered her face. She curled into a ball on her bed and she started to cry
uncontrollably again.
Ten minutes or so passed before Angela sat up in her bed. She'd heard
the door to the loft open. The last thing person she wanted to see right
now was Thomas. She jumped off the bed and slammed her door shut.
"Angela?"
With a sigh of relief she hollered, "In my room! " She pushed back
against her headboard with her knees curled into her chest, holding
them tight. She looked at Joanne when she entered the room and burst
into

tears again not being able to hold the emotions back.
Joanne rushed to Angela and sat beside her on the bed. "Honey, what' s
wrong?" She wrapped her arms around her friend and just let her sob
into her shoulders. "It's ok, Ang," Joanne whispered rubbing her back.
"I want my old life back Jo! " She sobbed in her girlfriends arms.
"Oh honey." She ran her hand along Angela's hair smoothing it. "Tell
me what happened." Joanne let go and moved back a little to take a
look at her.
Angela wiped her tears away and looked at her friend. She shrugged
her shoulders, not knowing where to begin. She was thinking of Blake
now and how easy life had been with him. No complications, no hidden
secrets or people playing games.
"It's Thomas..." She finally said, and then added, "And Steve." She
wiped her cheek and took in a deep breath. "You were right Jo, about
Thomas. He took me to this wonderful restaurant last night. We had a
great time. Then he kissed me... I mean really kissed me." Her voice
was shaky and hoarse.
She watched Joanne cover her mouth in shock. "What did you do?" She
asked her with eyes wide.
"I was caught off guard. I pulled away of course." She frowned. "I don't
have feelings for Thomas... at all." She looked down at her hands.
"Don't get me wrong. I love him like my brother. He has done so much
for me... for Blake. I owe him everything." Angela whispered, almost
choking on her words.
"Ang, you don't owe him anything for god's sake. Yes he helped you.
That's what friends do. But it's not like a damn I.O.U." Joanne sounded
almost angered at Angela's words.
Angela leaned over and grabbed a Kleenex from her nightstand and
blew her nose. Looking up she said, "There's more. When we got home
I told Thomas I was going to start looking for my own place. He didn't
really take it well but I finally convinced him it was a good idea."
"I knew he had a thing for you. The way he stares at you, sizing you up
like you're a piece of meat." Joanne's body shook like she was creeped
out.

"Today when I was leaving work and I was in the elevator, Steve
showed up." Angela watched the smile appear on her friends face.
"What happened? Did you ask him about Kimberly?" "Yes. He said
there was nothing going on." "Do you believe him?"
"I hardly know the guy. I don't know if he is telling the truth or not.
But..." Angela paused fiddling with her Kleenex.
Joanne pushed on Angela's arm knowing there was more. "Keep
going."
"We made out again." Angela looked at her friend feeling so confused
by her emotions.
"In the elevator! Shut up! " Joanne let out a laugh. "Jesus girl, you're
getting more action than I have in months!"
"He stopped the elevator. We must have been in there for a good fifteen
minutes. When we finally finished I started the elevator again. We were
kissing and the doors opened. Thomas was staring at us."
"Holy Shit! " Joanne gasped.
"Joanne, the anger I saw on Thomas's face scared the shit out of me. I
have never seen that side of him before. He yelled at me. He asked me
if I was fucking Steve and I slapped him in the face and left."
"Jesus Ang. Shit! I don't blame you. He has no right to act like a jealous
boyfriend. You're roommates!" Joanne grabbed her hand, "Did Steve
do anything?"
"He was pretty aggressive with Thomas. But I screamed at both of
them. I told Steve to leave me the hell alone and that I didn't want to see
him again." Angela jumped off the bed becoming angry again just
thinking about it. The guy confused her, made her life difficult. She
wanted no part of it!
"Come on. Let's grab a glass of wine. I think we both could use a glass.
Or two...Or three!" Joanne told her, leading her towards the kitchen.

Chapter 177
It was nearly nine p.m. when Angela got up off the kitchen stool to grab
another bottle of wine. She almost tripped, grabbing the counter to
steady herself. She looked at Joanne and started to laugh.
"You're wasted chick!" Joanne said slurring.
"Maybe a little." Angela giggled opening the cupboard. She grabbed a
bottle of tequila and a bottle of red wine. She held them up.
"Which one?"
"Wine." Joanne pointed to the bottle.
They had gone through three bottles of wine in the last few hours
talking about Blake, Steve and Thomas. Joanne said she would help
Angela find a new place. Something sooner than September regardless
whether Thomas liked it or not. Angela walked back to the kitchen bar
and sat on the black leather stool. Bottle in hand she pushed the
corkscrew into the top and twisted. She pulled the cork out and poured
herself a new glass and filled her friend's glass.
Holding her glass up to Joanne she slurred a little. "Fuck men! Who
needs them anyway! "
Joanne laughed and clinked her glass before taking a drink. "I meant to
ask, how long has your house been listed?"
Angela thought for a moment. "About two months now. Why?" She
frowned wondering why Joanne was asking.
"Thomas is taking care of the listing right?"
"Yes. His friend is the realtor. He said he would handle everything for
me so I didn't have to worry about it."
"Do you think that is a good idea?" Joanne said in a serious tone.
"We'll see. I don't want to think about that right now."
They discussed the weekend plans then. Joanne would pick her up at
noon and they would drive to Long Beach to start their Fourth of July
long weekend. Angela was looking forward to getting away and not
being around any drama. She just wanted to be with her friend and
relax which would give her the much needed time to collect her
thoughts.

Joanne was getting up off the stool when the front door opened.
Angela watched Thomas walk in and slam the door shut. He looked at
both of them and walked to the fridge. "What?" He snarled at them
grabbing a beer.
"Wow. Hello to you too," Joanne snapped back with a disapproving
look. She turned to Angela and whispered, "Do you want me to stay?"
Angela mouthed. No, it's ok. Angela watched Thomas stumble to the
couch. He was clearly drunk and must have been drinking after she
yelled at him. She opened the door for Joanne. "Thanks for everything
Jo. Love you! " She said giving her friend a kiss on the cheek.
"Have everything packed. I'll pick you up at 10:00 am sharp. Be ready
ok?"
"I will." Angela shut the door and turned around and looked at Thomas
who was now standing up.
"You're leaving?" He shouted. A look of stress plastered on his
face.
"No, I am not leaving. We are going away for the Fourth of July
weekend. Remember? Long Beach?" She said, becoming angry with
his attitude again. "What the hell is going on with you? Why are you
acting like this?" She asked him in a firm clipped tone.
"I'm sorry Ang!" Thomas said, sincerely. "I just don't want to lose
you."
"What are you talking about? You're not going to lose me." Thomas'
light brown hair was tousled and his bright green eyes looked like they
were begging her for forgiveness.
"I'm sorry for what I said earlier. I had no right." He told her, looking at
his beer.
"Yes Thomas, you had no right! You really hurt me. You made me feel
like I was screwing around behind your back or something." She went
into the kitchen and emptied her glass into the sink before turning
around to face him. "Joanne is going to help me find a place. I will be
moving out as soon as I find something that is available."
"But we agreed you would stay until the end of August," Thomas
pleaded.

"That was before our run in today. Listen, you know I can't thank you
enough for everything you have done for me. But I need to move on
with my life." She said. "I've made my mind up Thomas and you're not
changing it." She turned and headed for her bedroom.
Thomas sat there and watched her walk away. He was angry. mostly at
himself. He knew he had fucked up and he had to figure out how to
convince her stay. Taking a long swig of his beer he placed it on the
table and walked into the kitchen and grabbed another one.
Walking back into the living room his eyes landed on Angela's brown
leather satchel still sitting next to the black leather chair. He paused and
told himself what he was thinking was not okay. Then, he took a quick
glance down the hall and walked back over to where it sat. Sitting down
in the chair he slid his hand down into the bag. He pulled out a folded
piece of paper. Opening it he looked at the ads that were circled in red.
A slow grin turned up at the corners of his mouth. He folded the paper
and shoved it in his pants pocket. He closed her satchel, drank the rest
of his beer and went to bed.

Chapter 180
Thomas leaned against the bathroom door. The gentle scent of lavender
wafted up from underneath it and the smell of Angela filled his nostrils.
He shuddered at the thought of her in there, soaking in the tub. Her soft
skin always looked so fresh and smelled so good. He had a perfect
mental image of what she must look like right then with her long hair
piled loosely on her head, a loose tendril escaping down the side of her
face. He'd love to be there with her, to tuck it behind her ear.. .as he
leaned in and kissed those lips...
Thomas knew how he felt about her since college. But, she was Blake's
girl and Blake was one of his best friends. A man had to have a code in
life and his was that he didn't screw with his best friend's woman. He
wouldn't have wanted her so badly if he thought she was that easy
anyways. Her dedication to Blake was part of her overall appeal. and it
was what he wanted when he found the right woman for him. He used
to tell Blake that if he ever did her wrong he would be waiting there in
the rafters ready to sweep her off her feet, and he meant it. She
deserved a man who would dedicate himself to her alone. She deserved
Blake. and now that Blake is gone, she deserved him.
Angela leaned her head back against the porcelain of the deep tub and
closed her eyes. As soon as she did, there was Blake. His gorgeous,
smiling face was with her wherever she was. but quiet times like this
was when the memories of just how much she loved him surfaced.
Those memories made her smile. He was everything any woman could
ever want or need. and she knew how lucky she was that she got to have
him if only for a short time.
Unfortunately, the good memories always came with the bad no matter
how hard she tried to block them out. She remembered getting the
diagnosis, holding his hand during his treatments that just made him
weaker and sicker. She remembered the long nights when the pain
medication wasn't working and she'd listen to the man she adored

begging God to take him. Those were the memories that felt like a knife
was being shoved into the center of her chest and twisted. Those were
the ones that she wished she could forget.
She hoped that Blake would understand how hard it would have been
for her to stay in their home. It became just a shell when he was gone
and all of the dreams they'd had together the day he picked her up and
carried her in over the threshold had died with him. Her dreams had to
be different now. She had to allow herself to have them, and that hadn'
t been easy either. She thought about Steve then and she wondered if
she would ever meet a man that made her feel the way he does. and not
feel guilty about it. The thought of him did things to her body that she
couldn't control.. .and almost didn't want to. But they also made her feel
so unfaithful and disloyal to Blake. Maybe in time that would change.
Widows go on with their lives, right?
For now, she was going to content herself with going on with her life
through her job. and with her friends. It was less painful that way
anyways. She thought about Joanne and smiled. She was really looking
forward to this weekend. She hadn't realized just how much she missed
her friend until she saw her again here. She thought about Thomas too.
He'd been so incredibly strong for her through all of this. She knew that
he loved Blake and his death had rocked Thomas' world as well as her
own. Yet he'd offered his support and even opened up his home to her.
Yes, he'd been acting strange lately, but maybe she was just being too
hard on him. After all, he still probably had his own grief to sort
through.
By the time Angela got out of the tub, Joanne was there. She brought
her a triple Venti Caramel Macchiato from Starbucks, her favorite, and
they talked and laughed about how much fun they would have at the
party while Angela finished getting ready. When she was dressed and
packed, they made their way out to the living room. Thomas was in the
kitchen, standing up against the counter having his coffee.
"Good morning," he said with a smile. Joanne looked at her and rolled
her eyes. She wasn't as quick to forgive him as Angela was for his
behavior lately.
"Good morning," Angela told him with a smile.
"You girls are off to Long Beach this morning?"

"Yes, do you have plans for the Fourth?" She asked him.
"A friend of mine is having a party in Manhattan. I ' m going to that.
The rest of the weekend I'll probably just chill here."
"That sounds like fun," she said. She hated that she had to search for
things to say to him. It was never like that before. Joanne was looking
at her and she smiled and said, "We had better get going."
"Okay, you ladies be safe and have fun. I'll see you when you get back."
He said the words but something told her he didn't mean them. at least
the "have fun" part. She shook it off, once again convincing herself that
it was her. She was being way too hard on him.
"We will," she said, accepting a kiss on the cheek from him. Joanne
still hadn't said anything. Finally, probably to stave off some of the
weirdness of the moment her girlfriend looked at Thomas and said,
"See ya!"
Thomas gave her a smile that looked a little forced and said, "Yeah, see
ya."

Chapter 183
The drive to Long Beach with Joanne was fun. They turned up the
music loud and sang along with all the new Pop hits, being silly and
changing the words as they went along. By the time they got to the city
limits Angela had all but forgotten her angst over her problems with
Thomas and the guilt she was feeling about her attraction to Steve.
Joanne followed her GPS and drove up into the long driveway of a
house that looked like it had been cut out of the pages of Architects
Today magazine. It was breath-taking and gorgeous, but not in the
quaint kind of way Angela was usually drawn to. Everything seemed to
be geometric, which technically most houses were, but on this house
you couldn't help but notice it. The roof was flat and the front door was
as wide as it was tall. The windows took up entire walls and there were
polished steel beams. The look would have been completely metallic if
not for the cedar beams of the external porch and the matching raised
plant beds filled with robust blooms. all in white.
"Wow, this is. something," she told Joanne as they climbed out of their
car.
"Yeah, it sure is. Ana is something though, so I guess they go together,"
she said with a laugh. They started pulling their bags out of the car and
suddenly there was a well-dressed man at their elbow.
"Let me do that for you, ladies. I'm Grant and I work for Miss
Ana."
"Thank you," they said, taking a step back. There was another, younger
man there as well. They piled the bags on a small cart and then Grant
turned to the girls and said, "This is Jeff. He'll park the car if you give
him the keys and I'll show you inside." Joanne handed him her keys
with a shrug in Angela's direction. They followed Grant into the house.
The foyer was huge, the size of a small apartment. A crystal chandelier
hung twenty feet above them and illuminated the polished white
granite floors. He left the cart where it was and led them down a hall
that was filled with photos of race cars and famous drivers and into a
living area

with light tan carpeting and soft, plush looking furniture. One wall was
covered by a granite fire place and the others were made of glass.
Angela could see an Olympic sized swimming pool out one window. It
had a waterfall that fed into it. The other window looked out onto an
expansive garden filled with lush plants and vibrantly colored flowers.
"Have a seat ladies and I'll let Miss Ana know you're here."
"Thank you," they both said again. When he walked out, they looked at
each other and giggled. Joanne let out a long whistle between her teeth
and said,
"We are definitely not slumming it this weekend."
It wasn't long before Ana came in, looking stunning in an off the
shoulder sundress that had a sheer skirt. Underneath she wore shorts
that stopped at her upper thighs and a slit ran up the side exposing a
long, tan leg with a tattoo of a lotus flower on the calf. Joanne stood up,
"Hey! God, you always look so good." Ana smiled and hugged her.
"Thank you, you do too," she said.
"Right..." Joanne said with a grin.
"Angela! I'm so happy you could make it." Angela stood up and put her
hand out but Ana ignored it and gave her a hug. "Welcome."
"Thank you. Thanks for having me. Your home is gorgeous. "
"Thanks. It was my parent's home. My mother couldn't bear to stay
here after Father died. She has a smaller house in Orange County now.
My brother and I both also have our own place, but we still use this one
for parties and such. None of us can bear the thought of selling it. It' s
where we grew up, so it holds a lot of great memories."
"Is your brother going to be here?" Joanne asked. "I'd love to meet
him."
"He's here ...somewhere," she said with a grin. "He's probably out in
the garage. The mechanics are fiddling with one of our new cars and he
loves to act like he's in charge. The truth is I'm the boss." The girls
laughed. "Can I get you girls some coffee, or tea?"
"I'd love some coffee," Joanne said.
"Me too," Angela agreed. She was looking out at the garden wistfully.
She loved flowers. It was the thing she missed most about her home in
Miami. Blake had planted her a garden out back and filled it

with Lily's and roses, her two favorites. "Your garden is amazing," she
told Ana as the other woman made her way to a buffet in the corner that
looked like a coffee kiosk.
Ana gazed out the window and said, "It's mother's garden. She used to
spend hours out there. Now the gardeners maintain it mostly. There are
some beautiful paths through it. You're welcome to walk through it
while you're here anytime."
"I would love that," Angela said. Ana handed her a cup and said,
"Help yourself to cream and sugar if you like."
"This is perfect, thank you."
She handed one to Joanne too and said, "Grant is putting your things in
your rooms and when you're ready I'll have someone show you up to
them. I have some things to do to get ready for the party. If you need
anything else, you can push the intercom button and one of the staff
will help you out."
"Thank you again, Ana."
"You're so welcome. I won't be long and then we can all have lunch
together. How about we meet back here at noon?"
"Noon it is," Joanne said. "I think I'm going to go up to the room and
maybe soak in the tub for a bit if you don't mind? I got up so early this
morning I barely had time for a quick shower."
"Of course I don't mind. I'll have Mary come show you up to your
room. You each have a private bath connected to your room. What
about you, Angela?"
"Is it okay if I take that walk out in the garden now?"
"Absolutely. It's a beautiful morning. The paths all lead down to the
ocean and a private strip of beach. It's gorgeous. Enjoy yourself."
"I'm sure I will. I'll see you back for lunch." Angela finished her coffee
and when Joanne was shown upstairs, she slipped out the back. The air
was pungent with the fragrance of the flowers and the ocean as soon as
she walked out the door. She found her way to the entrance and a
cobblestone path. As she began to wander along it she saw that bonsai
trees lined the perfectly manicured lawn. They were in polished wood
boxes and sat in perfectly straight lines. In their midst were rose bushes
with huge roses of every different color and variety. The scent was both

enticing and overwhelming. She rounded a corner and there was a
small wooden bridge that crossed over a pond. That was cute, but what
really grabbed her attention was the multi-colored lily's growing all
around it. They were gorgeous and she knelt down to smell one before
crossing the bridge. The pond was teeming with huge, flowering lily
pads and she could see large Koi swimming in its clear depths. This
was just what she needed. No stress, no pressure, no Thomas and no.
Shit! Steve?
"Well, imagine meeting you in my garden," he said in that smooth
voice that set her core on fire.
"Your garden?"
"Yes, well, it's my mother's garden to be more precise." "Shit! You're
Ana's brother?" "Guilty," he said with a grin.
Angela wasn't sure what to think of this new information. "Why didn' t
you tell me?"
"I honestly didn't know that you knew my sister," he said. He stepped
up close to her and suddenly the fragrant flowers weren't what were
making her head spin.
She took a step back and said, "I'm not sure I believe you."
He laughed. "Well, if you're accusing me of stalking, you might do well
to remember that you're the one at my family home and not the other
way around."
She rolled her eyes. She hated that he was right. "I didn't say you were
stalking. I meant what I said the other day though. I need you to leave
me a l o n e. "
He stepped forward again. She could feel his presence as much as she
could see and hear him. His body gave off vibrations or something that
hers unwittingly picked up. "Why?"
"Why what?" she said, suddenly feeling her mouth go dry.
"Why should I leave you alone? Are you married? Engaged? Seeing
someone? Or, just otherwise repulsed by me?" She could tell he was
messing with her by the way his lips tugged up at the corners.
"None of the above," she said, trying to stay in control. "I just don' t
want to get involved with someone who is going to bring chaos and
drama into my life. I don't need that right now. I've been through

e n o u g h . " she stopped there. He didn't need to know what she'd been
through.
"I' m not going to bring chaos into your life, Angela." He leaned in even
closer. She had to force her legs to move so she could step back again.
He grinned. "What's wrong? Are you afraid I ' m going to bite... or are
you afraid you'll like it?"
"I'm not afraid of you at all," she said. "I just don't want to play your
silly games. I might seem young, but I ' m years ahead of my age. I don't
play with my life or anyone else's."
"That's great," he said, "Neither do I. Is this about Kimberly? Is that the
only reason you don't want to pursue the feelings I know you have for
me?"
"Yes...I mean no...it's not the only reason, but it's a big one. She's my
boss for crying out loud! I ' m not going to mess with a man who is
messing with her."
"Come with me," he reached for her hand and to her chagrin it reached
out to him. Damned body seems to have a mind of its own when he' s
around. He led her across the bridge and further down the path. They
came to a clearing and Angela looked around and realized it was a
white, sandy beach. The ocean was only about twelve feet away.
"Wow! This is beautiful! "
He smiled. "It's my favorite place," he said. He led her to a wooden
bench and said, "Sit, please."
She sat and he knelt in the sand in front of her. He took her hand back in
his and said, "Kimberly and I dated for two months. I never felt
strongly enough about her to think it was going anywhere beyond that.
She, on the other hand became clingy and needy very quickly. Three
weeks ago, I told her it was over. Unfortunately, because of our
business dealings with her company, I still have to run into her a lot.
She can't seem to let it go. Even Ana has had to tell her to give it up. I
don't want her, Angela. Before I met you, I broke it off. .. but if I hadn't,
I would have the minute I met you. I don't know what it is about you...
maybe it's the fact that you're drop-dead gorgeous, or maybe there is
more to it than that," he smiled and winked at her. "I can't get you off
my mind."
Angela's breaths were coming in short gasps again. His story

seemed plausible, especially since she'd heard Kimberly and Ana's
exchange that day. God help her, she wanted this man. Maybe not for
anything more than some hot, passionate sex. But for now, it was
consuming all of her thoughts. She almost sympathized with Kimberly.
He was like heroin... once you got just a little taste; you had to have
more and more. His face was really close to hers and for the first time,
she initiated the kiss. She leaned in and pressed her lips to his. He
reached up and fisted her hair in his hands and pulled her face down.
They shared a kiss that both of them felt to their toes. By the time he
broke it and let her up for air, Angela felt like her lungs would explode.
"My room is the last one on the right on the second floor. Meet me there
in ten minutes." She started to protest but he brought one finger up and
placed it on her lips. "You want me, Angela. I can feel it. Why are you
denying both of us?"
She had no idea. Why? Because of some sense of loyalty to the man she
will always love? Blake's memories are in her heart and her mind. They
will always be there. Joanne was right though, he wouldn't want her to
be alone and miserable. He would hate that.
"I'll be there," she said in a shaky voice. He grinned and stood up.
Winking at her he said, "I can't wait.

Chapter 189
Angela found it amazing how many different reasons she was able to
come up with in ten minutes about why she shouldn't meet Steve in his
room. She also found it amazing that she ignored every one of them and
exactly ten minutes later, she was knocking on his door. He pulled it
open and within seconds he had closed it behind her and had her in his
arms. It had been six years since she'd actually made love to any man
other than Blake. but being in his arms felt so good and so right. surely
it couldn't be wrong?
Before she could speak or change her mind, he tilted his head down
towards her and took her lips in a breath-stealing kiss. She parted her
lips and let his tongue glide along the inner seam in a silent demand for
her to open them wider. She submits. there was no room for argument
left in her head. She opened up wide for him and allowed him to
explore the furthest recesses of her hot, wet, mouth. He pulled her in
tighter and she wrapped her arms around his waist as he thoroughly
fucked her mouth with his tongue. It was a kiss that made everything
inside of her turn into hot liquid. He whispered something into her lips
that she couldn't hear or understand, but she nodded anyways. His
hands went up and cupped her cheeks and he pulled back and looked
into her eyes as if he was looking for something. A smile tugged at the
corners of his mouth as he seemed to find what he was looking for
before his lips came down hard on hers and their tongues began another
sexy dance. Angela let herself get lost in him as he kissed along her
jawline down to her neck and then up to her ear. He ran his lips along
behind her ear and she shivered against him. He sucked on her skin
slowly and erotically before bringing his lips back around to meet hers.
Angela felt like she was floating and she never wanted to return back to
earth. Her body and mind were finally in sync and she was ready to
give way to her lust and desire. She dragged her fingernails down his
back and he groaned into her. He brought his lips back around to her ear
and he said, "I'm going to make you scream. I ' m going to make you
come over and over with my cock and my fingers and

my tongue."
She shivered so hard it was like a convulsion tearing through her body
and touching every nerve in its path. She was soaking wet just thinking
about it. She was dying to have his cock buried inside of her. It had
been too long. and she wanted him so badly. His hand had been resting
on her thigh but was now making its way up towards her breasts. When
he reached one he cupped it in his big hand and squeezed it gently,
rubbing his thumb across the hard, aching nipple that was pressing into
her bra and her shirt. "You're so beautiful," he whispered as he kissed
his way back along her neck. "I never want to stop looking at you.
touching you." Without warning he lifted her up and carried her
towards the bed. Instead of laying her down on it, he sat down and
twisted her so she was straddling his lap and facing him. "Lift up your
arms," he ordered and she did as he commanded. He pulled her shirt up
over her head and tossed it aside before doing the same with his. The
sight of his naked chest may well be the most beautiful thing she's ever
seen. He was tan and muscular, each fully defined as if he were a model
for the perfect male body. But the colorful tattoos that ran across his
chest and all the way down one arm and then up to his neck were what
really did it for her. She got wetter just looking at him. She let her
fingers come up and trace the outlines of the designs. "So sexy," she
whispered.
He grinned, "Yes, you are. You have a perfect body. Did you know
that?"
She knew that her body was "Okay," in her eyes. She used to work on it
a lot. Since Blake died...not so much, and she'd lost a lot of weight. "If
you think so, I won't argue," she said with a grin.
"I think so," he said, "And I ' m always right."
"Really?" she asked with a giggle.
"Really, you'll see." He brought his head down then and licked a nipple
before sucking it into his mouth.
"Oh J e s u s . " She moaned. It felt so good. His mouth was so hot and
wet and he was sucking and tugging just right. She could feel each tug
between her legs and she had reached the point of almost
embarrassingly wet. She moaned long and loud. She felt him smile
against her flesh and he pulled back long enough to say, "Those noises

make my cock so fucking hard."
" M m. "
He suddenly grabbed a handful of hair and pulled her head back.
Kissing his way up her chest, he found her neck and kissed and sucked
there for a while. She could feel the edges of his teeth nipping lightly
and his hard cock growing harder underneath her. She slipped her hand
down and rubbed him through his jeans. He groaned loudly and
reached down to unbutton and unzip. setting his cock free. She took it
into her hand. It was so thick she couldn't completely wrap her hand
around it, but she squeezed and began to stroke him. As she did that,
he'd hurriedly unbuttoned her jeans and was now slipping his hand
down inside of them and under her panties.
Groaning as soon as he touched her he said, "You're so fucking wet for
me, baby." Without warning he shoved two fingers up into her. He
pressed his mouth back to her ear and said, "So hot and wet. so fucking
tight. I can' t wait to fuck you. my cock is dying to be inside of you. I' m
going to fuck you until you're too sore to walk."
The dirty talk was new to her and she was surprised to find out how
much it turned her on. She was moaning and still stroking him as she
moved up and down on his fingers and against his palm. She slid her
thumb across the head of his thick cock, wiping the pre-cum there, and
then she brought her thumb up to her mouth.
"Fuck Angela..." he groaned out, slamming his fingers up into her even
harder.
"I want more," she whispered into his ear. It was his turn to shudder as
he said,
"More of what, baby?"
"I want to taste all of your cock," she said.
"Fuck! You're driving me crazy. You can taste it all you want later,
baby. but right now I need to fuck you."
He rolled her over so she was lying on her back on the bed and said,
"Take those pants off." As he was stripping his off he reached into the
drawer of his nightstand and produced a condom. Angela surprised
herself once more by saying, "I'm on the pill. I want to feel you inside
of me." He smiled like a kid on Christmas and tossed it over his
shoulder.

She knew she should worry about more than pregnancy. but fuck she
wanted him so badly. skin to skin. He finished taking off his pants and
underwear and she was already lying back on the bed completely
naked. He bent and took one long slow lick of her pussy, sending a
shiver through her body. Then he climbed up on top of her and said,
"This one is going to be fast and hard. I've been thinking about this
since that first night I saw you. I need to get this out of my system and
then the next time I'll be able to fuck you all night long."
She was thrilled with both his honesty and the promise of a fast, hard
fuck. It was what she needed. He positioned his hard cock at her
opening and pushed. She was so wet that he slid in easily. She brought
her hips up off the bed and met his. They both cried out at the feelings
of being joined together. She'd never felt so full...or so fucking good.
"Fuck, Angela. Jesus... it feels so good."
"I' m right there with you," she groaned out. He smiled and started
moving his hips out and then back in, sliding the length of his hard cock
into her until it wouldn't go any further and then pulling it back out until
it reached the tip. Within seconds he'd found his rhythm and they were
doing as he'd promised...fucking fast and hard. She was moaning and
writhing and when he began to slam harder and plunge deeper she cried
out.
He slowed down and said, "Are you okay?" Angela almost cried as he
started to pull out.
"I'm so much better than okay. Don't stop."
He let out a little laugh and started thrusting again. "So fucking tight.
Your pussy is so fucking amazing." he moaned again. They were
moving faster and faster, both frantic already for their release. Her clit
was throbbing like it might explode and she could feel the walls of her
pussy clinching down against his cock like a vice. "Oh fuck! That's
right baby! I can fucking feel you! Come for me! Come all over me! "
She was panting and moaning and thrusting her hips upwards. He
reached underneath her and put his arm around her hips. He pulled her
up further into him and her clit began sliding against his pelvis with
each
thrust. "Oh Christ! Steve! "
"Come for me, baby girl! Come with m e . "

She felt dizzy as they continued at their pace for less than a minute
more before the orgasm slammed into her like a freight train at full
speed. He didn't slow a notch and she didn't stop meeting his thrusts as
wave after wave of pleasure washed over her like a tsunami. "Oh
Steve," she whispered. Her body began to quake and quiver and
suddenly he groaned out loudly and held her tightly up against him as
his entire body went rigid. She felt him release his orgasm into her. It
was like hot, molten lava filling her up and she was beyond satisfied.
When he finished coming he collapsed down into her, crushing his
chest into her breasts. She couldn't breathe, but she didn't care.
Breathing was over-rated. She already wanted to do that again and her
legs hadn't stopped shaking and his cock hadn't even fallen out of her.
He finally realized his weight was all on top of her and rolled to the
side. She rested her head on his shoulder and she felt his lips and nose
in her hair.
"Holy fuck," he breathed out. Angela shivered again and said, "Yeah..
.you're going to ruin me for other men."
She felt his muscles tighten and then heard him say, "That's okay..
.there won't be any others."

Chapter 194
"What did you mean by that?" Angela asked Steve after they'd lain
there basking in the afterglow for what seemed like hours. "By what?"
"That there wouldn't be any others?"
He brought himself up on his elbow and looked down at her face.
Reaching up, he took one long strand of dark hair and tucked it behind
her ear. "Just what I said. I want you, fully Angela."
She chuckled and he brought his brows together in the middle. "Oh,
you're serious," she said.
"Deadly," he said.
"But you don't even know me. That doesn't make sense."
He lay back down and pulled her tighter against him. "Then tell me
what I need to know," he said.
She laughed. "Okay, no pressure," she said. Sobering a little she said,
"I'm twenty-four..."
"Yes, but you're an old soul," he said.
"You think so?"
"Yep, my soul can feel yours," he told her. She thought that was one of
the most romantic things she'd ever heard.
Taking a deep breath she said, "My parents are both still alive. They
live in Miami where I grew up. They are still married and still in love. I
have one older brother who I hated when I was ten but love more than
life itself now. I have a Bachelor's degree in marketing. I plan to go
back for my master's someday soon. I was married..."
He picked up his head and looked at her again. "You were married?
You're divorced?"
She fought back the tears and the lump that formed suddenly in her
throat. She'd pushed all thoughts of Blake away while they made love.
Now he was back, with a vengeance. Her voice cracked as she said,
"No, widowed." It was all she could get out. Suddenly, she felt her eyes

wet with tears. "Damn it, I ' m sorry."
He cupped her face in his hand. Leaning down he kissed her tenderly
and for some reason, that made the tears flow harder. "Please don' t
cry," he said, softly.
She shook her head. "I'm sorry, I keep thinking they'll dry up after a
while, but they never do."
"What happened to him?" he asked, gently.
"He had cancer. He was sick for about six months. I watched him go
from the vibrant, healthy man I ' d fallen in love with to a shell of his
former self. It was so heart-wrenching because I knew he was still in
there fighting. but he finally grew too weak to fight and gave in. I was
actually angry with him for a while over that. When I finally accepted
that he had to go, to be rid of the pain, he went ...peacefully. He's been
gone for just about eight months now. I still miss him every day." The
tears flowed freely down her face now and suddenly Steve's lips were
on them. He kissed her with soft swipes of his full lips, kissing the tears
until they were all gone. Then he cupped her face once more and said,
"I' m so sorry for your pain. He must have been a special man for you to
have loved him so much."
She smiled and nodded. It felt good to be able to talk to him about
Blake. That seemed weird, but at the same time, it was so comfortable
and seemed so natural. "He was the best and I loved him so much. It's
why this is so hard for me."
"Did he love you as much as you loved him?" Steve asked.
"Yes."
"If you had gone first, would you want him to be alone forever? Would
you want him to be miserable and lonely?" "No, of course not."
"Then what makes you think that he'd want you to be?"
She thought about that. It's exactly what Joanne had said to her to. "I
don't think he'd want me to. I think it's my own fears."
He kissed her lips again. "We're going to work through those," he said
with a soft smile. "Okay?" She smiled back and surprised herself by
saying,
"Okay."

An hour later, Angela sat at the big dining room table with Ana and
Joanne. Joanne kept giving her a suspicious look, like she knew
something. Maybe it was because she was smiling like an idiot. She
couldn't stop. Suddenly the grief had begun to recede and she felt like
for the first time in months, she could see at least a sliver of the sun
again.
"How is your soup?" Ana asked her.
Angela smiled. She hadn't really tasted it as she ate. She'd been
remembering... "It's fantastic," she said.
Joanne raised an eyebrow at her but didn't say anything. They talked
about the party and about the photo shoot and when lunch was over
Ana asked them if they'd like to take a ride with her in their new race
car.
"You get to drive them?" Joanne said. Ana laughed. "Yes, I do own
them, you know." With a giggle Joanne said, "I know.. .but I didn't
know you got to drive them."
Ana smiled and said, "They'll trailer it down to the track for us. We can
take a few spins before the driver takes over. Once he gets a hold of it,
he won't let us touch it."
Angela liked the idea of riding in a race car and she quickly agreed.
When Ana went up to change Angela said, "I think I'll change too. This
shirt is a little hot for the weather today." She started to walk out of the
room and Joanne grabbed her arm.
"No way! You will not walk out of this room without telling me what
that goofy smile is about. Did Steve call?"
Angela feigned an innocent look and said, "Nope, he didn't call."
"Did he text?"
"Huh uh," she said with a grin.
"What happened to make you so damned happy?"
Angela giggled. "Can't a person just be happy?"
"They can, but you haven't been lately.. .what gives?"
"Can you keep a secret?"
"Yes," Joanne whispered.

"I had sex!"
"You did not! With who? Grant? Jeff?"
Cracking up, Angela said, "What kind of 'Ho' do you think I
am?"
"Well then, who was it?" "Steve."
"Steve? He's here?" "Shh! You're so loud."
Joanne giggled. "Sorry. What is he doing here?"
"He lives here.. .at least part of the time. He's Ana's brother."
"Get out! Is he really?"
"I will not get out and he really is." "Shut up! He is not!"
Laughing again Angela said, "I will not and he is to." "Well, I'll be
damned." "I know, right. I think I might be ready, Jo." Joanne grabbed
her friend and hugged her. "You go girl! Go get your life back.. .fuck!
Ana's brother! Who would have thought it?"
After Angela and Joanne finished getting ready, they met Ana outside
the front of the house. There was a big, black car waiting for them.
They got into the backseat and Angela was shocked when she came
face to face with Steve. "What are you doing here?" she blurted out.
"You two know each other?" Ana asked, surprised.
Steve casually draped his arm around her shoulders and said, "Yes.
Angela and I are thinking about dating. What do you think, sis?"
Angela felt the color rise in her cheeks as Ana looked from her face to
her brothers. Before she could say a word Joanne said, "It sounds like a
fabulous idea to me." Then she giggled and said, "By the way, I ' m the
best friend, Joanne."
Steve took her hand and kissed it. Joanne looked like she might faint
and even fanned herself when he let go. Angela laughed and shook her
head. Finally Ana said, "I personally don't know what a beautiful, smart
woman like Angela would see in you, but I ' m actually all for it.

Your last choice was so bad that I was shocked you got it right this
time." Steve lifted a finger at his sister and she threw her head back and
laughed. Looking at Angela she said, "See how crude he is?" Angela
just laughed. Then she said, "You don't like Kim very much, huh?"
Ana twisted up her face and said, "I hate to admit that I despise
anyone...but I really do despise her. There's just something really fake
about her to begin with. and then when she started stalking my brother,
she started creeping me out."
Angela looked at Steve. "She stalks you?"
"My sister is being a little mello-dramatic."
"Am I?" Ana said. "Do you remember the day after you broke it off
with her, she showed up at the track?"
"She had to bring papers by for us to s ig n . "
"Bullshit! She came to see you. Then, two days after that, she came by
with cupcakes. Store bought ones no less! "
Steve laughed. "She thought it was my birthday."
"Bullshit! Your birthday is in May and you know it. Why are you
defending her anyways?"
He smiled and looked at Angela. After several seconds he said, "It's
because none of that matters. . .anymore." Angela could feel the heat
from his stare and she had to remind herself they had an audience. She
couldn't wait to get him alone again and feel those sweet lips on hers.

Chapter 199
Being at the track was a blast. Steve took Angela for a ride in the race
car and introduced her and showed her around while Joanne and Ana
hung out together. At first when he blurted it out to his sister, she was
worried, but Ana seemed happy for them and it seemed almost
legitimate that they were seeing each other now. The rest of the
weekend passed in bliss as far as she was concerned. They took walks
together, sat on the beach, made love. and most importantly, came to
know one another better. The night of the party, Angela dressed in a red
sundress that hugged her curves she'd specifically bought for the
fourth. She curled her hair in long curls across her shoulders and
slipped into a pair of red wedge sandals since the party would be held
down near the beach. When she was ready, she met Joanne at the top of
the stairs and Joanne said, "Damn, I ' m going to stop hanging around
with you if you don't stop showing me up."
Angela laughed. "You look gorgeous, stop it."
"Sure, as soon as I grow me a set like you and my eyes get to be big and
brown and surrounded by foot long eyelashes, I'll believe it."
"Every man there tonight will be lusting after you in that little blue
number." Joanne was wearing a blue mini-dress that looked great with
her long blonde hair and blue eyes. Angela sincerely thought her friend
was beautiful. Joanne wasn't lacking in self-confidence usually, but
she'd had a run of bad luck with men lately and that had dampened her
spirits some.
"We'll, see," her friend said, linking her arm through Angela's. "Shall
we go, or are we waiting for Prince Charming?" Angela felt herself
blush.
"He's meeting us down there," she said.
"Onward then. I have men to entice." They both giggled and headed out
to the party. As soon as they got down to the beach, Ana, dressed to kill
in a festive dress, greeted them.
"Wow, look at you two. I ' m glad at least one of you is taken or I ' d

never get any action."
"Right," they both said. Angela looked around. Ana had done a great
job organizing the party. There was a temporary bar set up with
American flags waving from all four posts, a bandstand where a live
band was warming up, a temporary dance floor that had been put in
over the sand and then off to the side was a volleyball net, a bonfire and
lots of tables and chairs set up around it.
"Everything looks great," Angela told her.
"Amazing," Joanne agreed. "But where is the alcohol?"
Ana laughed and said, "Right this way." Angela started to follow them
when she felt a touch on her arm. She turned to find her Prince
Charming there, looking good enough to eat. He was wearing a light
blue short-sleeved shirt with an American flag on the pocket and a pair
of faded Levi's that fit him like a glove. This man could wear rags and
make them look stylish. His hair was finger styled and he had just a tiny
shadow of stubble across his chin that gave him a more rugged look
than usual when he was in his business attire and completely clean
shaven.
"Jesus, you make my chest hurt," he said. She felt her face go hot again
and she said, "Same here. You look great."
"You look so good that I won't need fireworks tonight, they're already
going off in my head."
He took her arm and that's where she stayed for the rest of the night. He
introduced her to everyone, they ate together, they danced and he
whispered things in her ear that he planned to do to her after the party
was over. Angela couldn't remember the last time she was so happy. . .
it had been so long.
When it was time for the fireworks, Steve spread a blanket underneath
one of the palm trees that grew along the beach and they lay down
together, looking up at the sky. It was a clear night and the stars were
all out. They were close to the other party-goers, but as far as Angela
was concerned at that moment, they were the only two people laying
underneath the satiny blanket that shined down on them. The band
played a few patriotic songs and then a woman Ana introduced as
Gretchen went up and sang the Star Spangled Banner. Flags were
waved and then the fireworks show began. The fireworks were shot out
over the

water and each one burst in a brilliant display of color, lighting up the
sky and everything underneath it. Angela watched them, but she also
delighted in watching Steve's face. He obviously loved them and she
loved seeing the child-like look of wonder in his eyes as he watched
them. When the night was over she knew that she was falling hard for
this man. The four day weekend had allowed her to get to know him
some, and what she knew, she liked. Steve was polite and respectful in
spite of how assertive he was sexually and in business. He even treated
his sister with respect and that was an important quality in a man,
Angela thought. He loved his race cars and when he talked about them,
his face lit up almost as much as it did underneath the fireworks. His
father had instilled a love of the machines in both of his children and
then passed the business on to them to run after his death. They both
seemed to revel in it.
Angela's only concern at the end of the weekend was Thomas. She
knew now more than ever that she had to find a place to live, and soon.
She had the feeling that Thomas wouldn't be as happy for her as Ana
and Joanne. She wasn't going to let that dampen her spirits, however.
For the first time in too long she felt something akin to joy. and she
planned to hold on to it.
The next day she was sitting at the desk, preparing paperwork for the
photoshoot that was happening on Wednesday. The weekend had
renewed not only her spirit, but her energy. She'd been locked in her
office all day, on a roll with her plans for both of her original clients as
well as her new one. It was about eleven forty-five when there was a
knock at her door.
"Yes?" The door opened and a courier was there.
"I have something for Ms. Angela Black," he said. Angela smiled.
Steve sent her flowers. again.
"Come on in," she told him. He came in carrying a huge vase of her
favorite, yellow-ish, orange and red passion fruit lilies. She could smell
them already as he approached her desk. She was smiling from ear to
ear. "Oh they're lovely!" she said. There must have been at least three
dozen in the giant crystal vase. She signed for them and tipped the

courier and after burying her nose in them and breathing in their gentle
fragrance, she tore open the card.
It said, "I thought these were beautiful. Not as beautiful as you,
however. Nothing is. I ' m sorry for everything and I ' m sorry I missed
you when you got home last night. I still hope we can be best
roommates. -T-
The flowers weren't from Steve, they were from Thomas. She sat there
for a few minutes, stunned. Yes, the apology was nice. The flowers are
beautiful. They're her favorite and since Thomas was at her wedding
there was no reason to wonder how he knew they were her favorite. but
for some reason the fact that he'd sent the same flowers, only a bigger
bouquet in a bigger vase than Steve had sent to her, kind of gave her the
creeps. Something about it was just off. She had to find an apartment.
She stuck her hand down inside of her satchel. She hadn't used this one
over the weekend. It's her "work" purse mostly. She dug around inside
and suddenly realized the newspaper clippings with the apartments in
them weren't there. She dumped the purse out on her desk. They were
gone. What the hell? There was suddenly another knock on her door.
"Come in! " She was still looking at the contents of her purse,
bewildered when the door opened and closed. She didn't look up until
she heard, "Oh good, they came." She looked up into Thomas's green
eyes. He was smiling at her. His eyes fell to the pile of things she'd just
dumped onto the desk. "Did you lose something?"
Angela felt her hands tremble. Should she ask Thomas if he took the
paper from her purse? But why would he do that? Surely he's not that
adamant that she stay another month or two with him that he'd try and
sabotage her efforts...is he? Maybe she just misplaced them. "Um..
.yes, actually. I had some newspaper clippings in here. They're gone."
"Hmm, did you look in your desk? Maybe you only thought you put
them in there."
"No, they were here. Did you take them out?"
Thomas chuckled. "Seriously? Why would I do that?"
"I don't know. Maybe because you don't want me to move."
"I wouldn't go in your purse. Sheesh! Give me some credit. I've got you
until September anyways, right?"
"Thomas...! told you I was moving as soon as possible." He

rolled his eyes and plopped down in the chair across from her. With a
smile he said, "So, how did you like the flowers?" "They're lovely, but
you shouldn't have."
"Of course I should. I owe you an apology. I don't want us to fight
anymore. I want you to be happy." Angela was suddenly feeling guilty
about accusing him of things. He'd always been such a good friend...
"Do you mean that? You really want me to be happy?"
"Of course," he said, still smiling. "I missed you this weekend. Let' s
have dinner tonight, jus the two of us."
"I can't, Thomas. I already have plans. . . " His demeanor changed
almost instantly. He sat straight up in the chair and said, "With who?"
Angela winced. Here it comes, she thought. another fight. It had to be
done though; he needed to know about her and Steve. "With Steve," she
said. "He and I are dating now."
Thomas stood up. Angela could almost see him smoldering as he said,
"I talked to Kimberly about him. He's fucking her, Angela! Are you
that stupid and naive?"
"Don't call me stupid!" she said, angrily. "And before you go around
shooting off your mouth, you should get your facts straight. He dated
Kimberly but broke up with her weeks ago. She's having a hard time
taking no for an answer. but he's saying it. Now, that is all that you and
I will say to each other about it. It seems to be the root of our
"arguments."
"I just don't want to see you hurt." His tone was softer. but it seemed
forced.
"I'm a big girl, Thomas. I have to make my own decisions. I don't
believe he will hurt me. but in life, you have to take risks sometimes. I
think he's worth it."
"Why? Because he's rich? Is that it? Or is he just a good fuck and you
haven't had one of those in a while?"
"Get out of my office," she said. She crumpled the card she still had in
her hand and said, "Your apologies don't mean anything any longer.
You just turn around and do the same shit again." She tossed it in the
trash. Something dark flashed in his eyes and he turned to go. He was
almost to the door when he turned back and said, "I just worry about

you." His eyes were soft again and he sounded like the Thomas she
knew so well. She wasn't buying it though. He wasn't worried. He was
angry...or at least that's how it appeared to her.
"Don't," she said. "I don't need you to worry about me."
"Will I see you at home later?"
"I don't know, Thomas." He waited for her to say something else and
when she didn't, he left. Angela dropped down into the chair and put
her hands on her head. He'd been such a good friend for so long. What
the hell was happening?

Chapter 205
After Angela's dinner date with Steve Tuesday night, she asked him to
drop her off at Joanne's apartment. To her surprise, he pulled the car
over and turned to look at her face. "Why?" he asked.
"We're just going to have a girl's night..."
"Don't, please. I thought we promised no secrets."
Angela felt bad instantly. They'd talked a lot over the weekend and
she'd told him straight out that she refused to play games. She didn't
want any secrets between them. She also didn't want him to worry and
that's why she hadn't told him her concerns about Thomas. She still
wasn't sure that she wasn't making too much of it herself.
"I just had a little argument with my roommate, that's all. I didn't want
you to worry. I ' m sorry I wasn't honest with you."
"What did you argue about?" She didn't answer him immediately and
he raised an eyebrow and said, "Me?"
"He's not happy that we're dating. He was really close to Blake. I think
it's just hard for him to accept that I ' m moving on."
"Because of Blake, or because he has his own feelings for you?"
She sighed. "Both, I guess."
"We need to find you an apartment. You can stay with m e . "
"No. I can't. It is too soon for that and I ' m not going to screw up what
we have by taking this too quickly. I will find an apartment, Steve. I
appreciate that you want to help me. I really do, but there are some
things I have to do on my own."
"I worry about you being there with him if he's angry about us."
"I knew you would. That's why I hesitated to tell you. Thomas and I
have been friends for a very long time. He might get angry and
sulk...but that's as far as it will go. I just didn't want to deal with him
tonight so I asked Jo if I could stay with her. I'll have to see him
tomorrow at the photo shoot and I thought it might do us well to have a
break before then."
He looked at her long and hard and then he said, "Are you sure? I

mean 100% sure that he won't do anything stupid?"
"I'm 100% sure he would never hurt me. I've found out recently that he
can be an ass. But I think he's just working through his own
stuff."
"I think you're too nice."
"Hey, I believed you about Kimberly and that worked out okay..." he
raised an eyebrow and she said, "I mean great. It worked out great.
Look at us. I have good instincts and Thomas is not the type to hurt
anyone. much less a friend, okay?"
"Okay, I ' m not sure I trust him, but I trust you." He put the car back on
the road and headed for Glendale where Joanne lived. It was going to
take her over an hour to get to work to catch the car to the shoot in the
morning, but for a good night's sleep and peace of mind, it would be
worth it. When they reached Joanne's apartment building, Steve opened
her car door and took her hand on the way up to the door. When they
got there he put his hand on the side of her face and slipped it
underneath her hair. "It's not too late to come home with me," he
whispered as he brushed his lips against hers. She smiled against his
mouth and said, "Think how much better it will be this weekend if we
wait for i t . " He let his lips linger on the side of her face and then
dragged them down to her neck. He kissed her where he knew she
loved it and then bringing his sexy mouth back up to her ear he said, "I
can't imagine that it would ever not be perfect."
She smiled. "Me too, actually. But honestly, I need to slow down.. just
a little bit. I ' m not pushing you away. I just need to feel like this isn't all
too sudden.. .okay?"
He nodded, but his face showed he was frustrated. Steve wasn't a man
that was used to being told no. "I will see you tomorrow at the shoot."
He brought his lips back to hers and kissed her hard then, slipping his
tongue into her mouth and letting it linger, long and slow. When he
broke the kiss she was out of breath and flushed in the face. "To
remember me by," he said with a wink and a grin.
"I could never forget you," she said, breathlessly. He waited until she
was safely inside before leaving. Joanne was still up when she walked
into the living room. She was painting her toenails and watching

Lifetime television.
"Hey, what are you watching?" Angela asked her.
"It's this movie about a stalker. Speaking of which, have you talked to
Thomas tonight?"
Angela laughed. "Thomas is not a stalker. He's still my, friend.. .we're
just on a little break. He's your friend too."
Joanne shook her head and said, "You're too nice."
"Now you sound like Steve. I need to get to bed so I can be at the shoot
bright and early. Thanks for letting me stay here."
"Anytime. I wish I had more than one bedroom and you could move in
with me."
"I couldn't live with you," Angela said as she headed down the hall.
"I'm too attracted to you. I couldn't control myself." She felt the couch
pillow hit her in the back of the head. She finished making her way to
the bedroom to the sound of her friend's laughter.
Angela woke up the next morning with a back ache from sleeping on
the roll away bed in Joanne's room. She fixed a pot of coffee while
Joanne still slept and thought about how her life had changed so
drastically in the past week. She'd gone from thinking she would never
be happy again, to looking into the future that she thought she would
never have. all because of Steve. It felt like Kismet that he came along
at exactly the right time.
She finished her coffee and then took an Uber car to the office. As she
was walking into the lobby, she ran into Thomas. He was wearing a
dark blue suit with a gray tie and he was clean shaven and bright eyed.
He looked good, better than he had the last few times she'd seen him.
She prepared herself for him to be angry, but she needn't have worried.
He smiled at her and said, "Are you still my best roommate?"
She smiled back and said, "For now." Putting his arm around her, he
led her to the elevator. As the doors closed he kissed the side of her
head and said, "You know how much I care about you, right? I ' m
stupid sometimes, but I do the things I do and say the things I say
because I want to take care of you."
"I know, but I really don't need to be taken care of anymore. Not like I
did. I think we got a little too dependent on each other there for a

while. Things are better now." "Because of Steve?"
"No. I mean, yes, of course he's a part of it. But, they're better because I
finally accepted that Blake would want me to be happy."
The elevator stopped and they stepped off. "True story," he said with a
smile.
Angela, Thomas and Kimberly rode to the Irwindale Speedway
together. It was about a forty minute ride in the traffic, but they were in
the back of a limousine that Kim had hired, so it was a comfortable
ride. Angela couldn't help but notice how upbeat Kim was. She and
Thomas both seemed happier than she'd seen either one of them in a
while. She wondered briefly if Kimberly knew about her and Steve, but
decided against it since she was being so nice to her.
When they got to the speedway, they were taken to the offices right
alongside of the track. There were big windows where the executives
could see the race from the comfort of their office. They went inside
and found Steve waiting for them. Angela couldn't help but notice how
Kimberly's already bright face got even brighter. Steve on the other
hand, didn't look happy to see her. Thomas and Steve ignored each
other. It was all slightly uncomfortable.
Steve grinned at her and told Kim, "The car is all set up. We're just
waiting on Wade." Wade is their driver and Steve and Ana were going
to pose with him for the pictures this morning.
"Okay, where is your sister?"
"She'll be here," Steve said. "We still have half an hour. The
photographer is not even here yet."
"Okay, well, I ' d like to see the car so I know what we're looking at as
far as angles and all of that."
"It's right out there," Steve told her. The car was burnt orange and had
the number "12" painted on the side. Steve told Angela it was in honor
of a football team. It stood for the man who always stood ready in case
the team needed him. Wade was a former football player and so that
was the number they'd decided on.
"Come out with me," she said, "I need to see it up close and know

what you want us to get photos of." Steve glanced at Angela. Kim
didn't miss it and she didn't look happy about it. She shook it off
quickly however and said, "Come on, we don't have all day."
With a sigh, Steve followed her out. Thomas and Angela stayed behind
and Angela began to prepare the releases they would need Wade, Steve
and Ana to sign for the photographer. A few minutes passed when they
heard the sound of a phone. Angela looked over and saw Steve's phone
on the desk. Thomas was looking at it too.
"You should probably get that," he said.
"Why? It's not my phone."
Thomas shrugged. "Maybe it's Ana?"
"It's a text. He can look at it when he gets in." Angela was surprised
when Thomas went ahead and picked it up. She shook her head and
watched him read the message. He drew his brows together in the
middle and curled his lip. Curious, she said, "What is it?"
"Nothing," he said with disgust, tossing the phone back on the desk like
it had burned him.
"It doesn't look like nothing, judging by your face."
"It's an old message. I guess he just hadn't checked it yet so it was still
making noise."
"How old?"
"I don't know Ang. Just let it go, okay?"
"What do you mean, let it go? What am I letting go?" she suddenly
needed to see what was on the phone. She reached for it and Thomas
snatched it back up. "What the hell is wrong with you? Let me
see it."
"I don't think you should." He glanced out at Kimberly and Steve on the
track and looked nervously back down at the phone.
"Damn it, Thomas, what the hell is on that phone?"
He looked a little sick as he finally handed it to her. She looked at what
Thomas hadn't wanted her to see. It was a photo. She pressed to enlarge
it and a photo of Kim lying naked on a dark red satin comforter popped
up. "Fuck! What is this?" She scrolled down. There were three more,
all of Kim and all naked in different poses. Now she felt sick. There
was a message attached to them from her that said,

"I can't stop thinking about having your hard cock buried in my hot
pussy. You were great last night baby. . . as always. I ' m glad your
dinner finished early. Let me know as soon as it happens again. I can't
wait to suck that big cock again...In the meantime; I took some selfies
to tide you over. I know how much you love to look at me naked. Can't
wait to see you on the track in a few hours. Too bad we'll have so much
company or we could fuck in the car like we did last week. See you
soon, Kisses, Kim."
Angela dropped the phone on the floor and looked at Thomas. His face
looked like he was torn up for her, but didn't know what to do. She felt
the tears rising and she looked out the window at Kim and Steve. She
couldn't see Steve's face, but Kim glanced at her and touched Steve's
arm. He looked up at her and she said something. He put his head back
under the hood and Kim looked like she was laughing. She glanced one
more time in Angela's direction. Angela suddenly wondered if they
were laughing at her. She felt like such an incredible fool. She ran into
the bathroom and dropped to her knees in front of the toilet. She began
to puke up her morning coffee. She didn't have anything else in her
stomach. Suddenly she felt a pair of warm hands gather her hair from
behind. Thomas had knelt behind her and was holding her hair up out
of the way.
"What is wrong with me?" she thought. "Here is this really great guy
who has been my rock for so long... and I ' m willing to give that up. for
what? A cheater, a playboy?" She leaned her head into Thomas when
she was done vomiting and he wrapped his arms around her. He leaned
back into the wall and just silently held her. All of the progress she had
made was gone. out the window with the naked photos. She was back
to square one and the guy who had always been there for her was still
the only one there. Finish Deceived Here

More By Kylie Walker
Thank you for purchasing my book. If you enjoyed it, please remember
to write a review for it on Amazon.
SCARRED HOUSE OF PAINE
DECEIVED ACROSS THE HALL INDEBTED BLINDSIDED
ASHER
BRETT
SEX TAPE

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