Lawson groaned. “Baby, he’s not allowed on the couch.”
I crinkled my nose at him and shrugged. “I guess he is now.”
“You are a giant pain in my ass, Rush,” he teased as he pulled me into his arms.
I giggled. “You love me.”
“That I do.” He pushed my jacket off my shoulders and it pooled on the floor at my feet. His quick hands started on the buttons of my shirt. “Even if you break all the rules,” he growled.
I laughed. “Fuck the rules, remember?”
He just laughed, finished undressing me and helped me into the bath.
“Are you coming in?” I asked as the hot water enveloped me.
“I am, just give me a minute, I need to shoot back downstairs quickly.”
I let him get to the doorway. “You’re kicking the dog off the couch, aren’t you?”
“Who’s the mind reader now, huh?”
I laughed as he disappeared from sight.
***
We took a long hot soak together and it was the most relaxing bath I’d ever had. I wasn’t sure what had me more relaxed, the warm scented water, the burning fire, or Lawson’s firm body behind my back.
After, I’d insisted he go and get some work done in his office. I brought Zef into the bedroom and called him up onto the bed with me. He’d snuggled up to my side and stared at me as I told him about the situation I’d found myself in and scratched him behind his ears.
I was startled awake by the side of the bed dipping down.
“It’s just me, baby,” Lawson soothed as I jumped.
“Oh, hey,” I croaked and stretched out my arms. My hand found something warm and furry and I tensed.
Uh oh. Caught with the dog on the bed.
I screwed up my nose and gave him my best ‘sorry’ look.
His face gave nothing away. “Really, Ells? The bed?”
I shrieked as he lunged for me and began to tickle me.
“The bed, Ellerslie? The bed!” he growled over and over as I shrieked and laughed.
Zefer jumped up and bounced around barking at Lawson. He stopped tickling me and looked at his dog. “Down, boy. We’re just playing.”
I watched in amazement as Zef nudged me with his nose and checked I was okay.
“I’m fine, buddy,” I told him. “See?”
I wrapped my arms around Lawson’s neck and pulled his face down to mine. I intended to kiss him only softly – but when his tongue found its way into my mouth, I groaned and went with it. It was fierce and passionate. I was aching to take it further but Lawson abruptly broke away from me.
“Jesus, you make me lose it.” He chuckled. “I came up here to tell you that Q’s here.”
I pouted.
“Don’t worry, pretty girl. There will be plenty of time for that later.” He grinned down at me.
“There better be,” I mumbled back.
“Get that fine ass up,” he demanded.
“And you.” He pointed at Zef. “Get off our bed now.”
I laughed as Zefer whined and scampered off the bed and took off down the hall.
“On the damn bed,” I heard Lawson mumble as we followed the dog.
I ignored him – I was too busy dancing internally at him calling it ‘our bed’.
***
I was grateful to Quinn for bringing me some more clothes – I’d been here all weekend and hadn’t got around to doing any laundry yet so my supplies were running low.
“I think I’ll do some laundry and cleaning before dinner,” I told Lawson.
He smiled, but shook his head. “That’s sweet of you, baby, but the cleaners will be here tomorrow so there’s no need to clean.”
“The laundry then?” I asked.
“Up to you, Ells, they can do it, but you’re welcome to do your own if you prefer.”
I’d just tipped the washing powder in the machine when Quinn strolled in. “How are you holding up?” she asked, her eyes assessing me.
“I’m okay now I’m here,” I answered. “I got pretty freaked out when that came through to my phone though. I’ve clearly underestimated the reach this guy has.”
Quinn nodded. “Yeah, I know what you mean. But if we’re still assuming that he’s connected to either Rush Communications, or Pierce Industries, then it wouldn’t have been that hard for them to access your number, El.”
“That’s true.” I nodded in agreement. “I guess I’m just surprised that it’s directed at me. I’m new here – I barely know anyone. I’d assumed it was someone from Lawson’s past.”
Quinn looked at me and I could practically see the thoughts flying around in her head. “Oh shit,” she hissed. “Evan! What about Evan?”
“Evan?” The idea was ridiculous. I’d barely spent any time with the guy – I certainly never belonged with him. “No bloody way, Q. He never even called or text me again after I told him I wasn’t interested. It’s more likely to be Baxter than Evan.”
Quinn didn’t look convinced.
I pointed a threatening finger at her. “Don’t you dare fill his head with this shit.” I knew Lawson would jump on any information. No matter how ludicrous it was. “I mean seriously, Quinn. People don’t stalk someone after two dates. Especially not dates that went that horribly.” I laughed.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m clutching at straws. But I still think you better suggest it to Lawson, he’ll get there on his own eventually anyway, so you may as well just get it out there now.”
She was right, Lawson would think of it himself. He wasn’t going to leave any stone unturned.
“Fine.” I huffed. “But when he goes bat-shit crazy, I’m blaming you.”
58. Lawson
“Evan Graham?” I was suddenly furious at myself for not thinking of it sooner.
“I don’t think it’s even worth considering, cowboy.” El narrowed her eyes at me and shot Quinn a glare.
“Not worth considering?” I barked at her. “Are you fucking mad? He’s average height, medium build, has brown hair—”
“So does half of the city,” El snapped back at me.
“I know it was my suggestion, but I think El’s right. It makes no sense to be him. They’re virtually strangers.” Quinn looked at me as she spoke.
“I’m looking into it anyway, Ells. I can’t ignore this.” I ran my hand through my hair. “Mark’s had eyes on Baxter, and from what they’ve seen, his life is as you’d expect it to be. It’s unlikely he has anything to do with this.”
“I told you it wasn’t him.” El rolled her eyes.
“I know you did, but now I feel more comfortable believing it.” I spoke more softly. “But the thing is, baby, if it’s not Baxter, then who? I was hoping he would be responsible so I’d have a reason to kick his ass.” I smirked. “But it doesn’t appear I’m going to be that lucky.”
El’s face fell. “I don’t know,” she whispered. “I have no idea why anyone would be doing this to me – to us.”
I reached out for her hand and pulled her down onto my lap. “I know I keep telling you that I’ll take care of this and it’s still happening, I’m so sorry, pretty girl,” I told her quietly as I cradled her against my chest.
She pushed away from me and held my face in her hands. “Lawson,” she whispered. “I don’t expect you to fix everything. This is not on you – it’s on us. We’ll work it out together. I don’t want to hear you apologize for anything. You have been so strong, and you’ve kept me safe.” She placed a soft kiss on my cheek. “Thank you for taking care of me.”
“Always,” I told her softly, speaking nothing but the truth. She was a big part of my world now, and I’d always do what I could to keep her safe.
I called Mark and told him to put a tail on Evan. El interrupted my call halfway through and asked to speak to him herself – I rolled my eyes at her telling Mark that she would be covering his bill from now on. She was so damn stubborn. I didn’t need her money, but in truth, she didn’t need mine either. I decided to let he
r win this one. We’d come into this relationship as equals, and given my history with Piper, I was grateful for that.
I finished up my call and Mark agreed to let me know the minute he had eyes on Evan Graham. He also let me know that the cell number used to message El was an untraceable throwaway. So that was another dead end.
Evan was my focus now.
I’d worked with him for years. He was a real estate agent and had often sold properties that my company had built. He wasn’t my favorite person in the world – a fact that was helped even less since he’d taken Ellerslie out.
He’d been the one to show Quinn and El around the office when they arrived, if I hadn’t have been out of town at the time I would have done it myself.
And I would have met El first.
I smiled as I thought about how we could have met under different circumstances, but the truth was, I was glad that we met the way we had. Ells had shown me she wasn’t afraid of a challenge, and I’d shown her my worst side – yet she’d loved me anyway.
I am one lucky son of a bitch.
If Evan was responsible for this, I was going to end him.
“El are you happy to work from here tomorrow?” I asked as I sat down next to her on the couch – she was having the day off regardless. I wasn’t having her out of this house until I had eyes on Evan, but I was hoping she’d agree and we’d save an argument.
Her brow creased and I could tell she was about to tell me no.
“I’ve already told Weston and Macie that they need to handle things tomorrow. I’ll head in and check on them mid-morning. You can work from here and there will be no arguments. Got it?” Quinn told El in that no-bullshit way of hers.
El looked at Quinn for a beat before flicking her eyes back to me. “I’ll agree.” She paused. “But only on these terms.”
I smirked.
My little negotiator.
She held up one finger. “Number one, I want to walk Zef in the morning.” She held up a second finger. “Number two, you will actually let me get some work done without hovering.” Another finger went up. “And number three... I want... Chinese food for dinner tonight.”
I laughed at the last one. “Did you just throw the Chinese food in for good measure?”
She scrunched up her nose. “Kinda, two didn’t seem like enough conditions.” She giggled.
“Done.” I chuckled and tapped her on the nose. “Chinese food it is. We will both walk Zef, I’ll set you up on the dining table and I’ll work from my office – no hovering, I promise.” I held my fingers up in scout’s honor.
“Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Pierce.” She grinned as she held out a hand for me to shake.
“Ditto, Miss Rush,” I replied as I took her hand.
I ordered my girl her Chinese food and the three of us sat around on the floor of the lounge and ate from the cartons. El seemed relaxed and happy. Looking at her, you’d never guess she had someone terrorizing her life.
“I can’t wait to see the girls,” Quinn squeaked as she put down her empty carton.
“God, me too, it sucks Lex can’t come, but it’s still going to be so much fun.”
“What are we gonna do?” Quinn asked.
“Lawson said we can stay here,” El told her. “And if there was anyone that could possibly get us into the VIP section in the hottest club in town, that would be amazing.” She winked at Q.
“Fine, pimp me out.” Q laughed. “That sounds good, thanks for letting us crash your bachelor pad, Law.”
“It’s not a bachelor pad anymore, Q. And you’re welcome.”
El turned to me. “Did you tell her about the boys?”
“What boys?” Quinn demanded.
“I’ve invited Rome, Logan and Josh to come for the weekend too. I can’t keep track of all you girls on my own.” I chuckled as Quinn screwed up her face.
“Ew not Rome, that guy is such a tool,” Quinn whined.
I laughed. I knew she wasn’t going to be happy about him coming. Rome had hit on my sister relentlessly for the better part of the past ten years. He had a big mouth and he liked the sound of his own voice. But he was a good man. He always had my back, and he’d gotten me out of some pretty dodgy situations back in the day. I owed him a lot.
“What’s wrong with him?” El asked Quinn.
I got in before she could start tearing strips off my boy. “He’s fine,” I told her.
Quinn snorted.
“Okay he’s a big mouth. He’s got no filter, so be prepared for any thought that crosses his mind, to come right out his mouth – it’s actually pretty funny. Quinn just gets pissed at him hitting on her all the time. He’s a bit of a player.”
“You forgot that he’s the size of a gorilla, he’s rude and he doesn’t understand the word ‘no’,” Quinn added.
I chuckled at her distress.
“And ‘a bit of a player’? Are you kidding me? The guy would screw anything with a pulse,” she whined.
“He sounds charming.” El grinned. “It sounds like you might be making more work for yourself here, cowboy.”
I shrugged. She was probably right. I’d filled the guys in on what was happening, and why I needed the extra eyes. They wouldn’t let me down, but I couldn’t guarantee they wouldn’t cause mayhem with the girls in the meantime.
“Logan is a sweetie though, I’m glad he’s coming.” Quinn smiled fondly at the thought of my friend.
Logan was a small town boy too. He’d moved with me years ago and we’d even worked together for a while. Logan was fresh out of the Army and I was planning on asking him this weekend to come back and work for me. I could always use a guy like Logan around.
“Okay.” El looked deep in thought. “And what about Josh?”
Quinn fanned her face dramatically. “God, that boy is hotter than hell. Not as much of a whore as Rome, but he gets around.”
El giggled at Quinn’s description.
“Josh is okay, but we’re gonna have to warn the girls. One look at his smile and they’ll be falling at his feet, just like the many before them.”
“Have you...” El asked.
“No!” Quinn and I both said quickly.
No way in hell.
Quinn looked a bit disappointed. “No, protective big brother over here nearly kicked his mate’s ass when he tried it on with me.” Q rolled her eyes and I smirked at her. “I’m still not sure why Rome can come on to me twenty-four-seven, but Josh can’t?” Quinn whinged.
“Rome just does it to try and goad me – Josh actually wanted into your pants,” I stated, matter-of-factly.
El laughed loudly. “God, this is going to be a one hell of a weekend.”
59. Ellerslie
The past couple of weeks had passed so incredibly slowly. Lawson hadn’t let me out of his sight for more than five minutes. He’d worked from my office when he had to, and when he didn’t have to work, he’d either sit outside my door and distract my PA, or sit inside my office and distract me.
I loved the man, I really did – but he was driving me insane. He had it in his head that the threat was inside the building, and therefore I couldn’t possibly be without him.
I was grateful to be here at all, each morning he would try every trick in the book to persuade me to stay home. The fact of the matter was, I couldn’t just drop all my work – and he knew it.
I rubbed my temples as I looked at the document in front of me. My father had me working on acquiring a contract that was proving to be nothing but a giant pain in my ass.
Jonathon Peters was giving me the run around, and now was not a good time to mess with me – I was right on the verge of ripping his head off.
I picked up the phone and direct-dialed his office.
“Jonathon speaking.”
“Jonathon, this is Ellerslie Rush.”
“Ah, Ellerslie. I was just about to call you.”
Sure you were, asshat.
“Well I’ve saved you the hassle.”
; “Yes, well, I’ve been meaning to tell you that we’ve had some competitive interest from another company.”
I rolled my eyes. None of this was news to me.
I feigned surprise. “Oh really? Can I ask where you currently stand with the decision?”
He cleared his throat awkwardly. “Yes, well now, that is the problem. I think we are going to have to give it a little more consideration.”
I do not have time for this shit.
“Give it to me straight, Jonathon, what’s the offer?”
“The offer is only a small margin more than yours, but there are a few differences to the conditions of the contract.”
The price didn’t matter to me – the conditions did.
“I’ll tell you what, I’ll double my existing offer. The terms and conditions stay as they are. Do we have a deal?”
“I... I’ll have to consult the board.”
Sweet Jesus, man, just get it done.
“I want the contracts signed and here to me within the hour, Jonathon. There are plenty of other contracts in the works, and quite frankly, I don’t have time to wait on this. Get it done or the offer’s void.”
I didn’t even give him a chance to respond, I slammed down the phone and muttered a string of curse words under my breath.
“You’re hot when you’re angry.”
I narrowed my eyes at Lawson and gave him a look that screamed ‘don’t push me’. “Do you seriously not have anything better to do? I thought you were running a business here?”
He shrugged and looked at his watch. “Nah, baby, I’ve got all the time in the world.”
“Lucky me,” I grumbled under my breath. I knew I was being a bitch. I loved spending time with him, it was just getting a bit out of control. I needed space to work, and I wasn’t getting it.
I really hoped I hadn’t just blown the contract with Jonathon. The guy was a first-class prick, but we needed to get ourselves in there. There were some big things going down with the majority shareholders. Things that a weasel like Jonathon Peters didn’t have a clue about.
I jumped when Lawson crouched down in front of me. I’d been so lost in thought I hadn’t seen him approach.
“I’m sorry, pretty girl. I know I’m smothering you. But I can’t make myself walk away from you,” he said quietly. His head was hung down and he was staring at my shoes.
Love like Yours Series (Box Set #1-4) Page 27
