The Terms Duet

by Rowe, Ruby

  “He’s mine. I can make you a copy of the test if you’d like.”

  Standing, he shoves his chair back. “I’ll pass, and I’ll also find another job as soon as possible.”

  “I think that’s wise.” With his fists clenched, he stomps to my door. “Oh, Chris, one more thing… If you get time, I’d like you to research Isla Mujeres. It appears my brother had a home there.”

  Christopher’s head falls back. “Fuck,” he breathes.

  “What was that?”

  “You’re a dick,” he says with his back to me.

  “And you were an idiot for thinking your plan would work. It’s my job to uncover what’s hidden. You weren’t going to get this past me.”

  He tears out of my office, and I have no remorse for how I treated him. He tried to pull the wool over my eyes, and my gut tells me he’s still hiding something.

  I’ll figure it out, and then he’s never stepping foot near my son or Camilla again. I’ll prove to her he’s not worthy of her friendship.

  Sasha

  “College and hard work are paying off for you,” I blurt out as Greyson and I ride in the elevator up to his penthouse.

  “Yes, they are. Have you ever thought about going to college?”

  “I doubt I could get in, and I definitely couldn’t afford it.”

  His head cocks to the side. “Why do you think you’re not smart?”

  “I didn’t say that, and I don’t wish to talk about it.” The elevator dings, and we step into the hall.

  “Then let’s discuss why you have a fake driver’s license.”

  I come to a stop at his door and cross my arms.

  “How do you know about that?” I begin to pace. “Oh, god, that means Deedra knows. This is so humiliating.” Panic pummels me, so I reach out and clench Greyson’s arms.

  “Please don’t turn me in. Will she tell on me?”

  Pulling my hands off of him, he holds them between his.

  “Calm down. No one is turning you in.”

  “I should go. I knew this was a bad idea.” Jerking free, I start down the hallway to pack my things, but he clutches my arm and turns me around.

  “Tell me what’s going on.”

  “I can’t, and you need to let me leave.”

  “Sasha, I’m not the enemy here. Your secrets are safe with me.”

  “They’re not safe with anyone, and Camilla would kill me if I told you.”

  He blows out a lengthy breath. “Look, I’ll let it go if you stay. I think I still have a frozen lasagna Theresa made Friday, so let’s eat dinner, and you can unwind in front of the television.” He smiles. “You did say you like that.”

  I study his face, looking for a reason not to trust him since he does and says everything right.

  “If you promise we won’t talk about my past, I’ll stay.”

  “I promise, but if you’re going to remain clean, you have to get your shit straightened out. It’s part of the process.”

  “Then that’s going to be a problem seeing how my shit can never be straightened out.”

  He scratches the back of his head. “You can’t talk in code, Sasha. I hear enough of that from Ellis.”

  “Then, let’s not talk. I’m hungry.”

  He smiles. “That’s one problem I can fix.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Camilla

  I open Liam’s door after being awakened from his cries.

  “Sweetie, what’s wrong.”

  “I peed,” he replies with a whine. Wonderful. I turn on the light and go to him. He’s sitting up, and I see that his pajama pants are soaked.

  “It’s been a long time since you’ve wet the bed. Let’s go give you a quick bath.”

  The door swings open, so I glance over my shoulder.

  “What’s wrong?” Ellis asks.

  “I heard him crying from the monitor. He had an accident. Liam, go in the bathroom and undress.” Still whining, he leaves Ellis and I alone.

  “Why did he wet the bed?”

  “I don’t know. It happens sometimes.”

  “It hasn’t happened here.”

  “Ellis, it’s not a huge deal. He still has a small bladder. He drank a lot today, too, from playing outside.”

  “What if this is because of what I told him?”

  “I’m sure it’s not.”

  “What can I do?”

  “You can either help him take a bath, or you can change his bedding.”

  “I don’t know where Irene keeps his extra sheets.”

  “OK, then you go run his bath water, and I’ll find the bedding.”

  Ellis passes by me in only his sweats, so I look away and begin stripping the bed. In a breath, Liam begins to cry. I hear Ellis’s voice next and then Liam sobbing. I’m too tired for this. Can we rewind to Saturday when I was Cinderella and it hadn’t struck midnight yet?

  Ellis bursts back in the room. “He started crying the second he saw me, and he won’t tell me why. He’s just standing there naked, rubbing his eyes, and I can’t understand him. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. You go in there.”

  “Welcome to parenthood, Ellis, where you never know what the hell you’re doing, or if your decisions are right or wrong, so you do the best you can and pray it doesn’t screw up your child for the rest of his life. Check the closet for the bedding.”

  ***

  “I was useless in there,” Ellis says before he takes a bite of the French silk pie I made after dinner. We’re sitting at the dinette set in the kitchen with the pie pan between us.

  “Have you ever made a bed before?”

  He fires a look my way. “Yes, Camilla, I’ve made a bed. I had to while I was at college.” I lower my head to hide my snicker. “I was talking about how useless I was at helping Liam.”

  “Don’t be hard on yourself. It’s two in the morning, so we were all tired in there. You have to expect that it might take him a while to adjust to the news you gave him.”

  “He did ask me outside if you were still going to be here.”

  “See, he doesn’t understand. I’m sure as he realizes things aren’t going to change, he’ll be back to his old self.” I think about the possibility of having to move out and lower my head again. I lay down my fork, too.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I only hope he doesn’t end up with two homes.”

  “I don’t want that, either.”

  I look up. “You don’t?”

  “No. He needs both of his parents under one roof, and obviously I need your help.”

  “I don’t want to be kept around for only those reasons.” His gaze averts to the wall, and the silence fills the room fast and heavy. “I’m going back to bed,” I say as I stand with my glass of milk. “I have a live lecture I can’t miss in the morning. Good night.”

  Reaching across the table, he clasps my wrist. I glance down at his hand and relish in how good it feels and how my body responds to him in one beat of my heart.

  “Come here.”

  I lift my gaze to meet his. Come home … come here … they’re two-word sentences I don’t believe I could live without. I set down my glass and pad around the table.

  Taking hold of my hips, he brings me right onto his lap. He grabs my face and stares into my eyes as if an unyielding force is driving him.

  “I want you right now.”

  “When the sun rises, will you feel the same?”

  “I’ll always want you, but it doesn’t mean the darkness from the night won’t still linger.”

  “We can outshine it, Ellis. Through Tony’s death, we were brought to life, and I refuse to let our love die, too.” Climbing off his lap, I urgently strip my clothes and drop to my knees.

  “You promised you were going to pleasure me and inflict pain on me until I was splintered down to my soul. You said I’d be stripped bare and kneeling at your feet, begging for you not to stop … to never let me go.” I clench his knees.

  “This is that moment, El
lis. I’m begging you. Please, don’t let me go.” His fingers delve deep in my hair, and my scalp prickles from the feel of the tips of them. I pray he never stops touching me.

  “You’re everything I’ve ever wanted but also feared. No matter how much I fought it, you always came back in my dreams. It’s impossible to let you go.” Breathing out the rest of the fight he’s been holding in, he whispers, “I love you.”

  Yanking down his sweats, he grasps my arms and brings me up onto his lap again. His lips crash to mine, and he fists my hair. His groans are penetrating, his kiss desperate and aggressive. He lashes my tongue and moves his hands to my breasts, where he squeezes them and tugs on my nipples.

  I’m losing myself in the pleasure, falling into the abyss of Ellis Burke, where his soul resides and I could live for all of eternity.

  Coming up for air, he scoops out a handful of the fluffy chocolate pie filling from the pan and spreads it across my throat and breasts. He laps at it and kisses me all over while grinding his cock against my pelvis.

  The sensations are jarring, heightening my senses. His sizzling mouth on my skin mixed with the cold chocolate filling makes my pussy throb. He grabs a handful of my hair again and clutches my hip as he sucks the cream off my stiff nipples.

  “Fuck, how I’ve missed this. Ride me, and don’t stop. I’m coming inside you.”

  “Yes, Sir.” I raise up and sink onto his cock. He jerks his head back and presses his fingers firmly against my hips. It feels hard enough to bruise me, and I want him to leave marks. I want the evidence that he’s taking back what’s his.

  Lifting me, he slams me down again and growls from the sensation. I moan from how deep he fills me–how complete I am with him inside me.

  Tugging my head back by my hair, he sucks on my throat, my breasts and my nipples. His urgency never wanes while I ride him like he ordered.

  Feeling the tightening of my muscles, he shoves his head against my shoulder, and we orgasm together before he can tell me to come. I shudder from my contractions and the way his cock pulses inside me.

  The pleasure is inundating, divvied out across every inch of my being until I collapse against him, forcing him back so I can press my chest to his.

  We’re skin to skin, sticky and sweaty, and he has come back to me. He’s the Ellis I love and want to serve. I’ll give him anything so long as I’m able to share my life with him.

  Greyson

  Grabbing Sasha by the ankles, I yank her toward the end of the bed. Her head slips under the blanket, and she’s soon flailing about, trying to get out from under it. Her eyes appear, and they’re round, the color gold like cognac. They’re also drilling me with spite.

  “Greyson! What the hell are you doing?”

  “Waking your ass up so you’re not late for work.”

  “We agreed you wouldn’t barge in here.”

  “That was before I knew I’d have to hear your alarm go off a dozen times. If you don’t want me in here, then get your damn self out of bed.”

  Brushing strands of her long hair away from her face, she huffs, “Well, maybe you need to have your coffee before my alarm goes off, and then it won’t bother you so much.”

  “You need to grow up, Sasha. You’re not a teenager. If you want to amount to anything and get out on your own, you have to be responsible. Did your parents spoil you or something?”

  “Get out. I’ll be ready in twenty minutes.”

  “I’m leaving in five. There’s keys on the kitchen counter. You can drive the white BMW in the parking garage, and you can explain to Rhonda why you’re late.”

  I march from her room to the kitchen. My housekeeper, Theresa, holds out a mug of coffee for me.

  “I couldn’t help but hear your disgruntled guest.”

  “That’s Sasha. She’ll be staying with me for a while, and I have a strong suspicion she won’t be picking up after herself, so I’ll increase your pay while she’s here. If she’s ever rude to you, you let me know.” I point a finger at her. “Do you hear me?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?”

  “Each and every time as long as I work for you, sir.” She flashes me a smile, and if she wasn’t so damn good to me, I’d probably bite her head off this morning, too.

  I hate how Sasha’s getting under my skin. I should’ve left her ass in bed this morning. Then, I could kick her out this evening for not appreciating the opportunity I gave her, but somehow, I already care too much.

  I guess I’m waiting to hear her story from either her or Ellis, but I suspect I’m only going to care more once I do, and that can’t happen.

  I peel out of the parking garage, and my phone rings. The screen on the dash in my Wraith reads Whitney. Fucking great.

  “What?” I ask.

  “Good morning to you, too.”

  “What do you want, Whit?”

  “I love when you call me that. I remember when you first started shortening my name. It was when you looked at me and talked to me like you gave a damn.”

  “You want something. What is it?”

  “I’m coming over this evening.”

  “I’m busy tonight, tomorrow night and the night after that.”

  “We can’t avoid this forever, Greyson.”

  “I know, but I have a lot going on this week. Let’s discuss it next week.”

  “Look, I’ll make this super simple for you. I picked out the engagement ring I want. All you need to do is pick it up and slide it on my damn finger. I’ll say yes to your implied proposal and make up a convincing story about how romantic it was.”

  “Do you hear how jacked up that is?”

  “It’s only because you won’t cooperate.”

  “Right, like that’s the only reason, but like always, you would think it’s my fault. I have to go.” Ending the call, I slam my head back against the seat. Her surly voice is like nails on a chalkboard. How in the hell will I live with her for the rest of my life?

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Sasha

  “I’m sorry I’m late.”

  “Thirty minutes late to be exact, and don’t blame it on traffic.”

  “I won’t make excuses. I overslept, and it won’t happen again.”

  She lifts an eyebrow. “Good answer. I won’t tell HR this time.”

  “Thank you.” I truly am thankful for her acceptance of my apology. Theresa had a packed lunch waiting for me in the kitchen this morning. She’d never met me, yet she still took time to make sure I would eat today.

  Combine that kind gesture with driving Greyson’s luxurious car, and it was impossible not to consider all that he said to me. He was right; I need to grow up. I have to get my shit together and prove to him that I’m grateful and can make something of myself.

  Maybe one day I’ll have a home of my own. It won’t be a penthouse, but I don’t need a lavish home to be happy. A hot meal and a bed, and I’m one content girl, but I guess I haven’t shown him I’m grateful for even that.

  ***

  “Hi, do you have a minute?” I ask Greyson before I leave work at the end of the day. He tosses a pen on his desk and motions to the chair in front of it. “I don’t need to sit. This should only take a minute.”

  I do shut the door behind me before I proceed. “I’m sorry for this morning. I wouldn’t have yelled at you, but you scared me. I can’t be grabbed or touched like tha—”

  “Sasha—”

  “Please, let me finish. I was in the wrong for not getting out of bed this morning. You’re putting a roof over my head, feeding me and giving me a car to drive. On top of that, you provided me with a great job here. I promise I’ll get up every day and come to work. I won’t let you down again.”

  Blinking slowly, he smiles. “I only push you because I want the best for you.”

  “I know that. I don’t understand why, but I believe you. Anyway, that’s all I wanted to tell you. Oh, and I won’t be home this evening. Cami
lla and I are going to the salon and to dinner.

  “She’s giddy that I have a job, so she wants to treat me. I can’t wait to return the favor once I earn a few paychecks. I’ve never been able to do anything for her.”

  “That’s great. I’m glad you’re taking this opportunity and running with it. What about your recovery?”

  I look to the floor. “Uh, I probably shouldn’t have told him this soon, but Terrence and I were talking at lunch, and he mentioned first that he was a recovering addict.

  “He said you gave him a job here, too, so I shared about my drug problem, and he offered to take me to an NA meeting tomorrow evening.”

  “Sounds like everything is coming together for you.”

  I clutch my hands in front of me, feeling giddy myself.

  “It is, thanks to you. I’ll leave you to your work now.” He nods and smiles, but there’s a sadness in his turquoise eyes. Deciding our conversation was personal enough, I leave it alone and exit his office. He hasn’t mentioned there being a woman in his life, but it’s hard to believe. His heart’s too big not to love someone.

  ***

  Pulling up to the gate at Ellis’s home, I smile at the guard. Recognizing me as Camilla’s sister, he opens it to let me through.

  Cammy’s already waiting on the steps outside as I approach. She gets in the passenger seat and laughs.

  “I never imagined we’d both get a chance to drive such luxurious rides.”

  “I know. It’s crazy, and I’m so nervous I’ll hurt the pretty thing.” As I pull away, I rub the dash. “Where’s Liam? I figured he’d tag along.”

  “Ellis offered to keep him while we’re out. He said he has a lot of time to make up for. I can’t describe the feeling I get when I see him smile at his son.” She rests her head back against the seat. “I’m so fortunate he forgave me.”

  “Sis, that’s great.”

  “He knows everything about me now except for the reason why you and I left South Carolina. I have to tell him, Sasha.”

  “I know. I don’t like it, but I understand.”