She opened the bags as she asked, “Seriously?”
Good. If she’d not just take my money, she could earn it. Baseball had a connection to her family, and professional players often had sponsors and did advertising. She’d fit in perfectly there. I straightened my spine and said, “Yes, but it can’t be announced for a month. I’d be happy if you’d run the team’s PR and handle sponsors and things like that.”
Color returned to her face as she took out Chinese food in white boxes and arranged them on the counter. She said, “Ajax will be thrilled. He hoped that once he learned more about the job, he’d be able to branch out into sports.”
“Glad your team will be on board.”
Tonight’s dinner reminded me of a life before prep schools and parties to mingle at. I opened the rice container and said, “And I’ll go through Sun and Moon Trust to see what other businesses there are—which ones I‘ll liquidate and which ones will be kept intact who might need PR. We’ll talk about them after analysis, but there may be more clients I’ll toss your way. Can you handle it?”
She took out microwavable dishes and dropped the chicken smeared in sauce on one as she said, “Absolutely. And if you get Frozen Assets as planned, I’m sure there are other businesses … Wow. I sound predatory, when actually I’m okay finding my own leads.”
“I want you to succeed.”
“I will.” Her face lowered again. “Why are you so swee—, I mean, why are you so nice to me?”
Indigo’s hard layer was cracking, and I didn’t want to hurt her. Part of me wished she was truly my wife. It was like I saw the real Indigo now, and I didn’t measure up. I caressed her cheek and said, “Guess I always had the ability, and you’re bringing it out in me.”
“You do know you can run your businesses, instead of ripping them apart or selling them as a whole?”
She handed me a plate and I poured the fried rice on it. She did the same with the box of lo mein. Honestly, I’d not had food that wasn’t served on china and crystal in years, before today, but I kept that to myself. I said, “Then I’d be bogged down with responsibilities, and not focused on my real goal.”
“Right. Your father.” She grabbed a bottle of wine from her refrigerator and put it on the table with one of our plates. I grabbed the others as she said, “Let’s say you make this deal you’re aiming for at the golf course party. And you win your father’s company from him, Frozen Assets, in a snap. No more games. What happens next?”
She placed plates in front of us and set the silverware as I said, “First, charge its customers a lower interest rate, so the bank is no longer running predatory payday loans to the most vulnerable people out there.”
Her at-home manners were somehow calming. The last woman I was alone with had dropped her red dress on the floor and made no attempt at eating or talking.
Unlike that encounter, Indigo acted like I was a human being. She stared at me with those wide, innocent eyes that now had shades of green flashing in those blue changing mirrors of hers. “That’s also noble.”
To the world, I was the billionaire who ripped everything apart, the person no one wanted on their board unless they were looking for a lucrative out option. Yet here I was, sitting in a one-bedroom condo, being domestic. I filled my plate as I said, “It was how my father started his business, so ripping that from him will be the first shot to show him that his ways are done. That was one of the ways he always found out whenever my mom started working.”
“That’s a whole new level of abuse that’s not just physical. Mary’s lip and eye are fine now, but your mom and you suffered for years.” She finished putting food on her plate and added a Chinese fortune cookie beside mine as she said, “But in your revenge plan, you still help people.”
“That’s not the goal.” I said. We concentrated on our food for a while, then I added, “And I can’t stop his entire industry. All I can do is topple the king.”
“And his money?”
“He doesn’t care about the money as much as the power he has. When I was younger, I used to fantasize about him living on the streets and in shelters, like he’d done to us. But now I’ll be satisfied if his power deals no longer matter, and no one takes him seriously. Putting him out to pasture will destroy him.”
For a few minutes no one said anything.
I’d not had salty but satisfying food like this in ages. Sometimes, on longer trips, I brought my personal chef along to ensure I had a healthy, filling diet to keep up with my workout routines.
This trip was a fun exception. I finished my dinner as Indigo asked me, “So, you hurt your father, help some people … And how does that move make you money?”
If her point was to show me I wasn’t being totally horrible, then fine. This wasn’t about making money. It was about stopping my father. I said, “In this case, I don’t need it.”
She scooted closer and I poured the wine as she said, like she understood me, “I see.”
I handed her the glass and stared at her. Today, she beamed sunshine from her skin in a glow of innocence. If she was too much of a saint, I’d better keep my distance. I traced her arm and said, “There has been too much talking about me, Indigo.”
She put her glass down and said, “I find you interesting.”
Her kisses had intoxicated me earlier, before I knew how selfless she was. This time, I didn’t take advantage. I said, “Well, I need to know more about you.”
She curled her legs under her seat as she finished her sip of wine, and then asked, “Like what? You met my family. This is my place. Let me see … I got good grades in school.”
What made her laugh, or set her off? What did she do for fun that no one knew? Those were important. I said, “I knew that from your background check.”
She shook her head and then had another sip. “Of course.”
Her face blushed as I said, “I needed to know if you were really as perfect as I thought.”
She twisted her glass in her hand and stared into the white pinot grigio as she said, “I’m not perfect, Jacob.”
She was the closest thing to an angel I’d met. “Don’t start lying now.”
She let out a scoff and met my gaze, “I’m not, though. I take my aggression out when I drive my car, and scream at the top of my lungs when I’m mad.”
I scooted closer and ignored the thrill that raced in my veins. “Now I’m curious to see what that looks like.”
She blinked and tilted her head as she asked, “What what looks like?”
I was getting hard from her glances. If I touched her, I’d want her.
“You, angry,” I said.
She pressed her hand to her heart and said, “I have feelings, ups and downs, and all that.”
Naturally. I cupped her elbow and wanted to go further up as I asked, “So why were you so against love, when you grew up surrounded by it?”
She licked her lips and stared at mine as she said, “I … Commitment can make me weak, and I need to be strong. I’m helping so many more when I’m strong.”
My skin was electrified and I scooted closer. “Were your parents stronger apart than together?”
She froze like she’d been caught. Then she glanced down and said, “No. But they were an exception.”
Every woman I’d met who wanted cold, hard cash had some horrific background and saw money as a means of stability. Leave it to me to find a true lady who was out to save the world.
I said, “I really don’t understand you. I’ve never met someone from a good family who didn’t want to recreate the feeling of being loved.”
She moved and took my hand in hers as she said, “When I was buying my dress for the eighth-grade dance, I wanted to go to the mall. My mom never handled crowds well, and she took off in the middle of our shopping trip. Georgie kept us girls together after my mom wandered away. We waited for my dad to come and get us, buy the dress, and find our mom.”
Hmm. My mother had kept me close, at all times. She’d come to my h
igh school football and baseball games and never missed one. I asked Indigo, “Did it take hours?”
She whispered like she was sharing some deep secret, “He found us pretty fast, and then found mom. We drove home like nothing had happened. But I saw how my mom became overwhelmed and couldn’t handle herself. I can’t be like her.”
“You aren’t.” I kissed her palm.
“I throw myself into work, but honestly, I don’t know what I’d do … I never want to disappoint anyone. And having children changes people.”
“Your sister seemed like a good mom.”
“I’m not her. And I’m scared of depending on any man to fix things for me because I’m incapable of handling them myself.”
“You’re smart and on top of the world.” I traced her skin and saw the goosebumps that followed, so I lowered my voice. “And love, with the right guy, might make you happy.”
She cupped my face like she was memorizing me as she said, “Doesn’t matter, does it? I’m married to you, with a contract that states no cheating and total fidelity.”
I winked. “Because I’m selfish.”
My lips went closer to her as I needed to kiss her, but she pushed back and said, “Tomorrow, when we leave Pittsburgh, maybe I’ll be ready to fulfill my duties.”
Tonight and tomorrow, we worked on trust. I said for now, “Don’t worry about that. Our time will come.”
And then she’d be mine. I was more patient with her than I’d been in a long time, but soon she’d be mine, fully.
Chapter 9
Indigo
Never in my life had a romantic comedy that ended with the first kiss had me on the edge of my seat the entire time.
Until Jacob, who left me panting for more.
Our lives weren’t anything like the movie. Yet here I was, sitting cross-legged, on the edge of my seat, next to Jacob. And I waited for his touch.
But the sexy, muscular man beside me put his hands in the popcorn bowl we shared, and our thighs only touched through our clothes.
I seriously was on tenterhooks for more, for kisses like in the movie that only he could give me.
I had Jacob Donovan—who with a snap of his fingers could be anywhere, eating five-star food, with one glance at his staff—sitting here beside me. Yet he’d not complained at all about the night at home I’d set up for just us.
Like we were a real couple with nothing to do.
Honestly, when I set this up, I assumed he’d take control and change everything immediately.
But he hadn’t. And watching him eat Chinese take-out and then relax next to me on the couch had covered my skin with serious goosebumps of anticipation.
Finally, the credits rolled, and I found the remote control, turned off the TV and said, “I hope dinner and the movie wasn’t too low class for you.” I massaged the back of my neck and tilted my head. “I wanted to see how you reacted.”
He stretched his arms and asked, “To what?”
I didn’t uncurl myself beside him. I loved the whiff of his subtle cologne that made my body tremble for him.
“To something simple and unplanned on your part,” I said.
He patted my foot and said, “Honestly, dinner and a movie has never been a date night for me.”
“I can’t imagine your world.”
“You don’t want to. Most of the people in it are like light bulbs.”
“What do you mean?”
“Bright and shiny when turned on and in the moment, but afterwards, they’re easily forgotten. An accessory. And they don’t matter.”
Part of me couldn’t imagine his world. Sure, I’d met people like him in offices where I’d made pitches, but I was never invited for even a coffee after. I presented myself as all-business to get ahead with my goals.
Now I didn’t need to, and I wasn’t sure what would happen next. I ignored the pulsing in my veins and asked, “Good. So this is a date for you?”
He kissed my neck and his skin on mine made me giggle. And I never giggled. He stopped and held me as he said, “Hell yes. I want you, but I need you to be comfortable with me. You were next to me, so I assumed it was all right.”
If he continued to make my body feel like this, it would rupture in desire. Then I’d never have to let him find out that I wasn’t that … well … good in bed. Sex was never fun. I ignored that thought that buzzed in my brain and just asked, “What’s your normal method of dating then?”
His lips thinned as he said, “I don’t date.”
I’d done my research on Mr. Ruthless. I placed my hand on my hip and met his gaze. “You were seen last year with a foreign princess.”
He shrugged, didn’t let me go, and said, “Yes, we fucked and went our separate ways.”
I traced the collar of my shirt and tried to imagine I was somehow good enough in bed to keep him happy there. I asked, “Oh. So you just take people to bed and move on?”
He kissed my cheek, like he’d appease me. “That was the past, though. Now you’re my wife, and I honor contracts.”
But he wasn’t in love with me. Butterflies grew in my stomach. That was true for both of us, though it was easy to forget he wasn’t here forever. I tugged my ear and ignored the buzz in my veins.
“My first boyfriend ended up being gay.”
He traced my side and cupped my ass as he asked, “And the next?”
My heart beat faster. He seemed to know what he was doing. I said, “In college, John broke it off with me when I had to cancel a date to study. He walked out of the room like I’d offended him and literally never spoke to me again.”
“Dramatic,” he scoffed. He played with the waistband of my skirt as he asked, “And after?”
I met his brown-eyed gaze. No one had been as tall, muscular or good looking at my side. And none of them had me on the edge of my seat, sending signals of carnal hunger that zipped through my body. I said, “And my last boyfriend, Ford, was charming and funny … and took my money until I cut him off. I need my money to go to worthier goals.”
He kissed my neck and I sighed, letting him. My skin was already burning for him. The slight ruff of his end-of-day stubble was like a sexy version of my loofa brush. It made my hairs all stand up, wanting more.
I said, “Well, soon you and I will live together permanently.” He continued to feast on my neck, like kissing my skin could continue all night. Aches that I didn’t know how to respond to grew inside me as I let him go on. Struggling to stay in control, I asked, “And how do you spend your days?”
He stopped and let out a small satisfied smile, like I tasted like ice cream on a hot day to him. Then he said, “First, I exercise and finish with a run on the beach.”
I wished I was more confident here and believed in myself right now. I combed my hands through his hair and said, “I’ve never exercised on the beach. I normally see it only on vacation.”
He tugged my shirt out of my skirt as he said, “You can join me.”
This was it. My body heated. I wasn’t ashamed of my body or anything, but the steam in my skin was making me dizzy, so I stopped him, but held onto his rock-hard abs. Then, like our conversation was over a dinner table and not waking up every cell in my body, I asked, “Then you’re off to work?”
He traced my sides. I curled my fingers into him more, and my chest pushed into his as he said, “I work at home, mostly. I make a few phone calls, dictate what I want done to Russ, and make lunch.”
“Interesting,” I said, as I arched my neck to let him continue.
He nudged my face lower, and once I did as he asked, he claimed my lips in a kiss and I melted. I never wanted anyone else’s lips, ever again. His mouth awoke needs inside my soul.
As the kiss ended, he seemed in control as he said, “Right. Then I’m napping, because in the evening there’s usually a long party, and that’s where I get most of my information. People talk too much when they drink.”
Tomorrow we’d go on our unofficial honeymoon, where I was the tag-along
to his master plan. I had such a hard time imagining Jacob was as ruthless as I’d read he was. But his plan fit exactly with what was on those pages—even if my heart had these zips that told me there was more here than met the eye. I sucked on my bottom lip for a second and let it go as I asked, “And that’s why we’re going to Florida, for information.”
“For a trade, to get what I want to gain control of my father’s board,” he said, but added some details, “When I show up to play on the course, I’ll be invited to join someone’s game. And while we’re playing, one of the men will invite us to the party. Then, at the party, I’ll make a deal where I could win in a heartbeat everything I’ve worked years to achieve.”
He came closer to kiss me again, like I was the main course. I let him. His pecks on my body sent trembles of desire through me that I liked, and that I wasn’t ready for, at the same time. I said, “Sounds simple. Maybe you won’t need a wife for five years.”
“I want you for as long as I get.”
Damn. That tongue of his devoured me. My adrenaline was already at a high. I wanted more, but as he ended his sweet taste of me, he hugged me and said, “I just need you to look amazing. We’ll stop to get you a few outfits. Most people in Florida avoid black as it holds in more heat.”
I was practically laying under him now. And I wasn’t sure I wanted to leave. I met his gaze and said, “Okay.”
His lips curled into a wicked smile that made my adrenaline rush still higher as he said, “And in California, the sunkissed-at-the-beach look doesn’t often come in black business suits.”
I stayed where I was, but raised my eyebrows as I said, “You went through my closet.”
He playfully tugged me closer and I could feel his hard cock under his clothes as he said, “Guilty.”
My fingers curled into his coarse dark hair and I ached for his kiss as I said, “I’ll dress appropriately. My sister Nicole runs a blog on green living, green choices, green lifestyle and she gets clothes donated to her. I have some things that she gave me in a bag already, so I’ll just take those.”
Ruthless Financier (Steel Series Book 3) Page 8
