There was no need for him to know about Noelle getting drunker, vomiting, and passing out. As it was, he already had more details than I was comfortable with him having.
“Look, I didn’t cut ties with her loosely. Yeah, she’s a good fuck, but that’s all she is. A high paid whore, and nothing more. My father even understood this, which was why he strategically created an alliance between Anya and me. Being with Noelle, I would get nowhere. There’s a saying that ‘you can take the chick out of the hood, but you can’t take the hood out the chick. Breaking up with her was the best business decision a man in my position could make. I’m certain you understand that, right?”
I wanted to knock him flat on his ass. It would be easy, I towered over Timbers, who was just shy of six feet by a couple of inches, but I was five inches over six feet. At two-forty, I outweighed him by a good fifty pounds of muscle.
But he wasn’t worth the headache it would create. Besides, one thing I didn’t play with was my money. And Easton Executive Enforcement Services was on the rise.
“Yes, I understand.”
“Good. Oh, by the way, here’s your bonus. I didn’t get a chance to give it to you on the night of the party,” he said, pulling an envelope from his coat pocket.
I took it and stared at it.
“Go ahead and open it,” he said, smiling widely at me.
I ripped the envelope open, barely glanced at the silver bells etched on the front of the red greeting card, and ignored the sentiment written inside altogether.
A check was written to me personally for twenty-thousand dollars. If this was bribe money, I didn’t need it. The bullshit he was saying about Noelle didn’t sit well with me.
“Tucker, what’s this about?”
“A Christmas bonus. Make sure that your new year gets off with a good start.”
“My bonus last year was three grand. This is damn near seven times the amount.”
“Good. You can count. I hope you enjoy it,” he said, turning around and walking away.
“I don’t want or need it,” I said as I shred the check to pieces, throwing it onto the snow-covered ground.
Tucker stopped in his treks, turning around and staring at me as if I’d lost my mind.
Laughing, he walked back to me and stuffed his hands in his pockets. “She’s not even worth half that amount. Sure you want to do that, Easton?”
“You’re right; she’s not worth half this amount. Noelle Riley is priceless, and you and I both know it. You wish you hadn’t fucked up with her. That’s the only reason you’re standing in my face tonight. This bribe that you just attempted to pay me was to get me to leave her alone. But I think she’s a smart enough lady to realize she’s too good for you.”
“Oh, and what you’re the one that’s better for her?”
“I don’t know. All I know is that if Noelle even gives me a half of a chance, I’ll be a better man to her than you ever were.”
“Even if Noelle gives you half a chance, you won’t be able to do much with it. I’m the only man for Noelle because I hold the key to her heart. I’m the only one she’s ever loved and the only one she’ll ever love. She’s mine. And she won’t quit being mine until I’m done with her. And if you think that I’m done, you’ve got another thought coming. I didn’t give Noelle up and attach to that pathetic, skinny ass Anya for nothing. She’s business, but Noelle...that’s something else entirely, and I’m not losing her to you.”
“I should kick your ass. It’d be worth the night I’d have to spend in jail. And Noelle is definitely worth it. But I’m not going to. Because if I spend another moment with your worthless ass, I won’t get to finish the mission I was on before you interrupted me with your pitiful bribe to stay away from Noelle.”
“Oh, you will stay away from her. If you don’t, that contract will not be renewed, and your ass will be out. All the connections you think that you’re about to make tonight will disappear with one phone call. And Noelle isn’t interested in broke, penniless men,” he threatened.
“I would stay around and listen to your threats. But I think you’ve got your hands full of other business that needs your attention,” I said with a smirk nodding over his shoulder.
Tucker frowned at me and then slowly turned around.
“Dad. Anya. Mayor Kingsley?”
Nodding my head at Gregory Timbers, and Mayor Kingsley and his daughter, Anya, I said, “You folks have a Merry Christmas, and a good night.”
I turned and headed to the car that the valet pulled to the curb minutes before. I’d love to see the way Tucker tried to disentangle himself from the shit he’d stepped in. But I was sure I’d hear about it sooner or later. Glacier Hollow was a small town, and people talked.
For now, I needed to determine why Noelle wasn’t returning my calls or text messages. I was more than sure that Tucker had something to do with that.
16 – MERRY CHRISTMAS
This was a very different Christmas than the ones I’d become accustomed to. Although I had money in my savings, I didn’t shop for anyone. I’d been too focused on searching for a new job and had failed to notice that Christmas snuck up on me.
But I’d found some valuable gifts to give to the ones I loved. Visiting my parents earlier, I’d gifted my father with an Otis Redding cd that I knew he didn’t have. Sharing my father’s love of the sixties crooner, I’d purchased my copy several years earlier.
I gifted my mother my signed copy of Maya Angelou poems, which brought her to tears. For the first time in years, we had a peaceful dinner for Christmas with laughter and no stress. My parents looked genuinely happy, and I enjoyed my time with them. I was glad that my father was still sober. He looked as if he was working hard at staying that way and focusing on making their marriage work.
I wouldn’t see Holly and Ari until New Year’s Eve, so I had time to purchase gifts for them.
The hardest part about Christmas was returning home alone. It wasn’t the memories of Tucker working my body over every Christmas night since we’d been together that saddened me.
It was the knowledge that I couldn’t have the man that I wanted that saddened me. To protect Marc was to stay away. I’d ignored his text messages and phone calls so that I could save him from Tucker’s evil plans.
I hoped that after a while, he would take the hint and leave me alone. Maybe he’d go on with his life and find someone else to bond with, and one day he’d forget what we had. Those few days together would be just a simple memory and nothing more.
Tears streaked my face as I recalled how much I’d already given up for Tucker Timbers. The sacrifices weren’t worth it. He’d torn my heart out and tossed it into the sea for the fishes. Never to be seen again.
But then there was this wonderful, caring man. A man who set my body on fire and caused my soul to sing. And I couldn’t have him because Tucker Timbers was such an ass.
Pushing myself off the bed, I stripped out of my clothes and headed for the shower. The best cure for a broken heart was a good night’s sleep. Maybe things would look different in the morning.
Adjusting the shower, my mind ran with endless possibilities of how I could get around Tucker’s conditions. My head had been banging since he’d left my apartment a couple of weeks before.
The hot water streamed over my head, mingling with the tears that jetted down my face. I turned the water up hotter, wishing it could burn away the pain I felt and the hatred building in my heart for Tucker. I’d never hated another person or even felt anything similar to it.
But the way I was feeling right now, I wanted to set his ass on fire and walk away!
The ringing of my doorbell startled me. Memories of the night Tucker visited me unexpectedly flooded my brain as I recalled his late-night unannounced visit.
But I’d added his name to the list of banned visitors. There was no way that he could be here again...unless he’d paid someone off.
Tucker would not control me like this. If he wanted me to stay away from
Marc, fine, I would. But only for Marc’s protection. I wouldn’t answer the damn door! I’d ignore him until he left. Thankfully, I’d never been foolish enough to give him a key.
The doorbell began ringing incessantly.
Did he think he could just march back into my life like that? Did he think he could issue commands and just take me back like I was his piece of property?
The more I thought about it, the angrier I became. I was about to curse his ass out and send him on his merry way. By the time I finished with Tucker Timbers, he would never speak to me again.
I stomped out of the shower, grabbing my terrycloth robe and tossing it on. I didn’t bother to towel my hair or body dry.
“The hell do you want!” I shouted, jerking the door open.
“Umm...I’m sorry. I thought maybe we could talk about it?”
“Marc?”
“Maybe, I shouldn’t have been presumptuous and showed up like this,” he said.
“I...I just thought...I’m sorry. I wasn’t expecting you.”
Nodding, he said, “I can see how that’d be.”
“But how did you get up here? Inside the building, I mean?”
“Anderson, your security guy...we’re good friends,” he said, looking apologetic.
“Oh. Well, come in,” I said, opening the door wider.
Marc looked so damn good with his black hair waved back from his face. The cool crisp blue eyes radiated a familiar desire I’d seen in them once before. And those lips? My lower ones were growing wet, just looking at his mouth. I wanted to kiss the hell out of this man, but I recalled the reason we’d been separated.
“I disturbed your shower?”
“Yeah, but it’s okay. Merry Christmas.”
“Is it?”
Licking my lips, I said, “Look, Marc. I know that we had some days together. Very intense days, where we built this friendship. And maybe it was the magic of the holiday that had us in the frame of mind we were in. But since I’ve returned home, I’ve had time to think. And I don’t think it’s in our best interest to do this.”
“Give me one reason why. A valid reason, and I’ll walk away,” he commanded in a gruff voice.
The challenging look in his eye as he stepped closer to me had me holding my breath.
“I...it’s too soon after what I’ve been through.”
“Not a valid reason,” he said, shaking his head.
“You don’t get to determine that, though.”
“I do. And I’ll tell you why. Tucker Timbers.”
“What?”
“He’s the reason you’re staying away from me, isn’t he?”
The last thing I wanted Marc to think was that I’d gone back to Tucker. But if that would keep him safely away from me, then I’d go with that story.
“Yes. We’ve decided to work things out, Marc. So, I’m sorry that I led you on, but...it’s not going to work between us.”
My eyes pricked with tears, and my heart was heavy in my chest. Marc’s eyes darkened like a stormy night. Streaks of grey swirling with the blues.
“What did he say to you?” he demanded in a gruff voice, his jaw working back and forth.
“Nothing. I just realized we should be together because I do love Tucker. And I won’t stop. It’s not fair to you to pull you into that.”
“You’re lying.”
“No. I’m not.”
“Yes, you are. I just left Tucker at a ball that he attended with his wife. We had a few words, but it was very clear that you’re not together. His disrespect of you was also very clear until he thought I had you. Then he backtracked and had a lot to say about how he felt about you. What’d he say to you, Noelle?”
What the hell had happened?
“Nothing. I just don’t think it’ll work between us. I’m sure that whatever he said to you was a lie, Marc.”
I was desperately trying to get him to believe me, but it hurt to see the anger and pain in his face. It hurt me to tell the lies that I loved a man that I couldn’t stand and to pretend the man standing in front of me wasn’t all that I wanted.
“I’m sure that it wasn’t. I’m also sure that you still hold feelings for me.”
I wrapped my arms around myself, starting to catch a chill from the air creeping down my robe against my wet skin.
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because if you didn’t have feelings for me? You wouldn’t respond like this.”
Marc pushed me against the wall, his hand at my waist, untying my robe with one hand, moving my head back with the other. His lips on mine were the sweetest sensation and stoked my hunger for him even more. I couldn’t pull away and didn’t want to. If this was the last time we kissed, and this was our goodbye kiss, I wanted to remember every second of it.
The way he suckled on my lips, coaxing my mouth open with just a little bit of pressure. The way his tongue brushed against mine and stroked the hollows of my mouth. The warm heat of his mouth with the taste of gin coating his tongue.
All those things combined to make me purr, melting against his body. My fingers clutched the lapels of his black wool coat, holding on for dear life.
Marc pulled me against his body, and despite the heavy coat and whatever suit he wore underneath, I could feel the hard, complex planes of his body. The way his chest hardened against my soft breasts and the tightness of his arms around me as they held me close. And the stiffening of his cock against me spoke a language that neither of us understood, but I’m sure my girl below understood. Because she instantly responded to him, throbbing and moistening further.
Moisture that had nothing to do with my shower.
I continued to moan, purr, and breathe harder under his passionate kiss.
And then he released me.
His gaze took in my nude body. Slowly, I pulled my robe tight again, securing the belt in place.
“That wasn’t the body of a woman that’s not interested in me. I’m not going to sit back and pretend that you’re not feeling me. And I’m not about to walk out this door without a clear understanding. I spoke with Tucker tonight, and I know the two of you aren’t together. Because he tried to pay me twenty grand to stay away from you. So, I’m more than confident that he’s gotten to you. All I want to know, Noelle, is how.”
I shifted away from him and walked to the window, staring out of it.
I hadn’t closed my blinds earlier when I returned home. Downtown Glacier Hollow was very visible with its twinkling red and green lights and shimmery white lights appearing like diamonds against a snowy backdrop.
Santa Claus and his reindeer rocked back and forth on top of Mercier’s bank a few blocks over. The Macy’s on the next corner showcased a blinking “Merry Christmas” sign.
Outside there was a wintry wonderland as a few cars came and went on the snow-streaked streets of Glacier Hollow. Not many people could be seen walking, but the condos' lights across the street lit up in the darkened night. Most people probably had returned home from their Christmas day celebrations and were heading to bed.
And here I was, trying to protect the man that I loved from certain devastation. Christmas was just a memory now.
Love? My breathing increased, and my chest hurt.
I turned around to face Marc once more, with tears in my eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
“I love you,” I whispered in disbelief.
“He threatened me. Didn’t he?” Marc asked, taking two long strides with those powerful legs to bring him by my side.
Nodding, I said, “Yes.”
“And you thought you’d protect me.”
I nodded again.
“How?”
“He threatened to sever the contract and that he’d...block me from getting a job around here. If I didn’t stay away from you.”
“Baby, he can never stop me. He can never stop you. We’re more powerful than he is a million times over. The goodness and the light that’s within us will surpass all the evil that he
radiates. The love between us is unstoppable, Noelle. You just need to realize it.”
“The love between us?”
Marc’s eyebrows scrunched down. “How could you not know that I love you, Noelle. I’m a different man with you. I’m not the same, and I want to be better. You open me up and make me search my soul. I’d sacrifice anything and everything for you. And I believe you know this, which is why you didn’t come to me about Tucker. I’m not worried about that contract. I’d sue the hell out of his ass if he terminated it early, and as far as the renewal is concerned, I’m not worried about that either.”
“You’re not?”
“No. Where you’re concerned? I have too many contacts that could open up doors for you. Tucker can’t stop you, baby,” he said against my lips.
Marc lifted me into his arms and started walking towards my bedroom.
“Where’re we going?” I asked against his lips.
“To finish that shower,” he replied, just as he stepped into my still steamy bathroom.
Marc untied and removed the robe, and then his hands roamed over the curves of my body.
“I’ve missed every curve, every groove, and every angle of you, beautiful lady.”
I hissed as his finger rubbed my slickness, jutting my hips forward.
“Missed the taste of you,” he murmured, dropping to his knees and licking my lips.
“Marc, wait. I want you, all of you,” I said, tugging at his coat.
He stood up and removed his coat and tossed it carelessly over the double sinks. His suit jacket followed, landing on top of his coat. My fingers hastily undid his tie and then the buttons of his shirt. When I had him down to his undershirt, Marc stilled my fingers.
Pulling them to his lips, he said, “We’ve got all the time in the world, baby.”
“Yes, but we’ve lost too much,” I answered back.
Marc pulled his t-shirt over his head and removed his shoes, slacks, underwear, and socks. Licking my lips, I smiled as his cock sprang to attention, aiming at me.
Tugging on his hand, I led him to the shower and turned it back on. Our bodies melded together under the steam of the shower. Our hands greedily perused one another’s bodies recalling every curve, every dent, every muscle, and every groove.
Noelle's Holiday Rebound: A BWWM Christmas Romance (A Glacier Hollow Christmas Romance Book 1) Page 11
