“I didn’t think so. Now tell me.”
I hesitated, my loyalty to Thorn unbreakable. “Let me talk to him again.”
“No.” All of his patience had disappeared the instant I called him a friend. “Give me the answer I want. And you can ask me one question in return—anything you want to know. I’ll answer honestly.”
When he offered, my heart skipped a beat. There was one thing I wanted to know—and Thorn wanted to know as well. Hunt would be willing to part with his secret in exchange for this important piece of knowledge. It could be worth a billion dollars. “You can’t tell anyone, Hunt. I mean it.”
He cocked his head to the side, his eyes drinking in mine. “You can trust me with all your secrets, Titan. I’ll keep them safe. That’s a promise.”
I never trusted anyone, no matter what kind of pretty words they uttered, but I trusted Hunt. “Thorn and I have a special arrangement. We aren’t seeing each other romantically. We’ve never slept together. But we’re close friends…best friends. And one day, we’re going to get married.”
When Hunt heard what I said, he straightened his head and clenched his jaw slightly.
“I want to keep my sexual lifestyle, but I want to have kids someday. Thorn wants the same. In addition to that, we trust each other enough to combine our assets, to be business partners. He’s not interested in love, and neither am I. It’s the perfect arrangement for both of us.”
Hunt finally got his answer, but he didn’t have any response to it. He continued to stare at me with a tight jaw, his eyes as harsh as the scorching sun in the middle of the desert. “Do you love him?”
“As a friend, of course. I love him with all my heart.”
“But are you in love with him?”
I shook my head. “No.”
He rubbed the back of his neck, taking in the news slowly. “So, everyone thinks this is genuine? Including his parents?”
“Yeah.”
He shook his head, as if he were disappointed.
“You don’t have any right to judge me, Hunt.” He had no idea what I’d endured, what I’d lost. There was no room in my heart for love ever again. I didn’t trust anyone—and that would never change.
“I’m not judging,” he whispered. “I just think you deserve more.”
“I don’t want anything more, Hunt. I want friendship, respect, and trust. I don’t want romance. Not something I’m interested in.”
He bowed his head, breaking eye contact. “When do you plan to marry him?”
“I don’t know. When it’s the right move for our careers.”
He slipped his hands into his pockets and stepped back. “Thanks for answering my question.”
“I told you that you had nothing to worry about.”
“Actually…I have more to worry about now.”
My eyes narrowed, unsure what that meant. “How so?”
“You’re my friend, Titan. It’s hard to stand there and watch your friend settle for less than what they deserve.”
“I assure you I don’t want romance. Of all people, I thought you would understand that.”
“Why would I?”
“You don’t seem like the marriage kind of guy.”
He shrugged. “I’m not against it. The door is always open for the possibility. I’m not closing it by marrying some woman I don’t love.”
I was tired of talking about this. We obviously had a difference of opinion that couldn’t be rectified. “Can I ask my question now?”
“Fire away.”
“Why did you pull out of the deal with Bruce Carol?”
He smiled, but it wasn’t the genuine kind that I liked.
“What?”
“Nothing,” he said quickly. “I pulled out of the deal because Bruce and I weren’t compatible.”
“But it’s not like you would be working with him.”
“I offered five percent of my profits to him in the deal.”
That was something I would never offer him.
“And I wasn’t giving any of my profits to a man that I despise.”
“So it had nothing to do with the company itself?”
“Not at all. If you still want it, make sure you give him the lowest offer possible. Lowball the shit out of him, Titan.” He spoke with a hard jaw, his words coming out harsh.
“What did he say to you, Hunt?”
“You really want to know?”
I wanted to know what Bruce could possibly say to make Hunt this upset. “Yes.”
He regarded me for a long time before he answered. “I’m not going to repeat it. But he said some very disrespectful things about you…things that made my blood boil.”
The words took a few seconds to sink into my body. When they finally dissolved in my bloodstream, my throat felt dry. I couldn’t believe Bruce Carol said something so offensive after I made him a fair offer. My intuition was correct when I met him—he didn’t respect me at all. “What did he say?”
Hunt shook his head slightly.
“Answer me.”
He sighed. “He said he would never give his company to a woman…but he would reconsider if you sucked his dick first.”
Fucking pig.
Only a small man would make comments like that.
“And he thought you had an ass like a nectarine.”
I kept a straight face and pretended this information didn’t bother me, but it burned me to the bone. I worked hard to be respected, to be twice as savvy as my competitors. I always treated everyone with respect, even if they didn’t treat me the same way. To constantly take the high road and never be respected for it was exhausting. No matter my intelligence or my success, I would always be second best—and mocked. “You shouldn’t walk away from his company because of me, Hunt. There’s a lot of money on the table.”
“Money isn’t everything.”
“All men speak about me that way. It just comes with the territory.”
“I’ve never said anything like that about you—or any woman.”
“Well…you’re one of the few.”
His expression slowly began to soften as sympathy moved into his features. “You’re my friend, Titan. I don’t let people talk about my friends like that and get away with it. When I said I admired you, I meant it. You’re smarter than you let on, you’re fiercer than I am, and you’re a hustler. Ten years from now, you’re probably going to pass me on the Forbes List. And the day you do…I’ll smile.”
Now I really struggled to keep my features stoic, to hide the impact his words had on me. He spoke directly to the core of my insecurities, to the vulnerable part of me that was constantly wounded.
“You deserve more respect than you’re given. I’ll always stand up for you—because it’s the right thing to do.”
“Hunt…” My voice came out weak, hitting a pitch I’d never reached before. “No one has ever said that to me before…”
His hand moved to my cheek as he cupped my face. “That’s gonna change. I promise.”
My fingers wrapped around his wrist, and I looked into his handsome face, touched by this man in a way I’d never been touched before. I loved everything about him, from his warm caress to his beautiful smile. He possessed the kind of strength I’d never achieve, the kind of power that came from somewhere else besides between his legs.
“Get that company, Titan. And take everything he’s got.” He pushed his mouth to mine and gave me a soft kiss before he stepped away, getting ready to walk out of my penthouse. He hit the button on the wall, and the doors opened.
A thought came into my mind, and I couldn’t believe I was going to say it. It went against everything I believed in, against the rules I set out the day I turned fifteen. “Hunt?”
He held the door open as he looked at me. “Hmm?”
“I’m gonna buy that company from Bruce. But I want to split it with you.”
He kept his arm against the elevator door as he looked at me, a slow smile stretching over his lips. “You wa
nt to be a partner with me.”
“Yeah. I think we’d be great together.”
“I know that isn’t the way you do things. And frankly, it’s not the way I do things either.”
“Maybe it’s time we make a change…because we deserve more.”
Now he smiled wide, possessing boyish charm and manly strength. “Maybe you’re right.”
* * *
Thorn walked into his living room in just his sweatpants and bare feet. His hair was messy like a woman had been running her fingers through it all night.
That was probably exactly what had happened.
“How’d it go with Hunt?” He poured two mugs of coffee and came into the living room. He sat beside me and took a long drink of his coffee, trying to wake up. He rubbed the sleep from the corner of his eye, his chin covered with stubble.
“Well.”
“Yeah? Are we gonna make an offer.”
“I’ll meet with Bruce on Monday.”
“Then Hunt didn’t step away because of the company?”
“No. He stepped away for another reason.”
“Which was…?” He gave me an irritated look before he drank his coffee again.
“Apparently, Bruce made some derogatory comments about me. It pissed Hunt off, so he called off the whole thing.”
Thorn was mid-drink when he pulled the mug way. “Bruce did what?” he asked incredulously. “What did he say?”
“That he would only sell his company to me if I sucked his dick.” I said it with a straight face, refusing to let a small man like Bruce Carol bother me. Why should I care what he thought about me? He was the one about to file for bankruptcy, not me. “And I have an ass like a nectarine.”
Thorn’s nostrils flared just like a bull about to jump out of the chute. The vein in his forehead began to throb, and he turned so angry in such a short amount of time. His fuse was short, and the dynamite went off. “Fucking piece of shit.”
Hunt had been just as livid if he’d backed out of the deal and declared war against him. “I don’t think it’s worth getting upset about.”
“Not worth getting upset about? Who the hell does he think he is?”
“Nobody,” I said simply. “That’s why we’re buying him out—because we’re somebody.”
Thorn softened slightly. “I’m surprised Hunt did that.”
“I’m not.” He was cold and callous on the surface, but there was beautiful beating heart underneath.
Thorn studied me with slight eyebrow raise. “You aren’t?”
“He’s a nice guy.”
“I’m a nice guy too, but I’m not so sure I would have done the same thing.”
“I don’t believe that for a second.”
“I would do it for you, obviously. But not some woman I’m just fucking. Wouldn’t feel the need to defend her honor and walk away from a shit-ton of money unless she meant something to me…” The look he gave me was full of accusation.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’re too smart to play dumb,” he snapped. “You know exactly what it means.”
“Hunt doesn’t see me like that. He cares about me and sees me as a friend, but that’s it.”
Thorn looked away and drank from his mug again. “What now?”
“I’m gonna make an offer—but Hunt and I are going in together.”
Now Thorn looked angry all over again. “What?”
“I had to do it, Thorn.”
“Did he make you?” he asked incredulously. “Nobody makes Tatum Titan do shit.”
“I offered—since he did that for me.”
He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “I know you wanna show your appreciation because of what he did, but there are other ways to do that—which you’re already doing.”
“I already made the offer, and he accepted it.”
“Titan, it’s just supposed to be the two of us.”
“I’m just splitting one company with him. It has nothing to do with my other businesses. There’s only money to be made, not lost.”
“You’ve never partnered with anyone before.”
“There’s a first time for everything.”
“And he hasn’t either.”
“Great minds think alike…”
He ran his fingers through his hair again, obviously annoyed by this turn of events.
Since he was already annoyed, I decided to keep piling it on to get it over with. “I told him about us.”
Thorn turned back to me, wearing a shocked expression. “What does that mean?”
“He told me I had to tell him if I wanted to know the truth about Bruce Carol. I wasn’t going to get that information any other way.”
“So he blackmailed you?”
“No. You need to look up the word because you obviously don’t know what it means.”
His eyes narrowed. “Titan, I’m not in the mood for your smartass comments today.”
Neither was I.
“That was supposed to stay between us.” He pointed from me to himself.
I nodded toward his bedroom. “And what do your girls think? You’re just a cheating liar?”
“I don’t care what they think.”
“Hunt was already onto us. He’d asked me about it at least five times.”
“Seems overly invested in your personal relationship…”
“I think he was just afraid you and I were sleeping together.”
He rolled his eyes. “I made it clear to him I didn’t care that you were sleeping with him, so that doesn’t make sense.”
“He’s a paranoid man, just like I’m a paranoid woman.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Whatever.”
“He won’t say anything, Thorn. I trust him.”
“You’ve only known him for a few months.”
“I just know,” I said confidently. “Besides, after we get married, I’m gonna have to tell my lovers anyway. The last thing I want for people to think is that I’m a liar.”
Thorn didn’t argue that point because there was nothing to say. People were going to know the truth about our relationship whether we liked it or not. There was no fighting it.
Thorn sighed again before he finally relaxed. “Now what?”
“I’m gonna move forward with Hunt.”
“You don’t think that will be a conflict of interest when your relationship ends?”
“We’ll end on positive terms. We agreed to six weeks each. Nothing more. If anything, I think it’ll bring us closer together.”
The bedroom door opened, and a pretty blonde stepped out into the hallway. She was in just Thorn’s white t-shirt. With messy hair and smeared makeup, she looked like she’d had a good night. She stopped when she saw me, obviously uncomfortable with my presence.
“We’re just finishing up, baby,” Thorn said. “I’ll be right there.”
She walked back into the bedroom. The door clicked shut behind her.
Thorn grinned. “She’s like a wild animal. Rode me like a pro.”
I chuckled. “Good to know. Looked like she recognized me.”
“Most of them do. But I’ll assure her it’s cool.”
“Well, I’ll get out of your hair.” I rose to my feet, and Thorn walked me to the door, his chiseled physique like moving rocks. He was all muscle and skin—nothing else.
“Let me know how it goes on Monday.”
“I will. By the way, your mother sent me flowers. Peonies.”
He chuckled. “My mom loves you more than me.”
“Can’t blame her—you’re a shithead.”
He smiled as he slid his arm around my waist. “When I was little, I always wondered what my wife would be like. I hoped she’d be hot, funny, smart…you know. But you exceed every expectation I’ve ever had—minus being a smartass.”
“Don’t act like you don’t love that about me.” I gave him a gentle pat on the cheek before I walked out.
He called after me. “You kno
w what, you really do have an ass like a nectarine.”
I turned around and flipped him the bird.
He chuckled and shut the door.
6
Hunt
I’d only been sitting at my desk for ten minutes when Natalie spoke to me through the intercom. “Sir, Thorn Cutler is here to see you. Doesn’t have an appointment, but said I should relay the message to you.”
Thorn would only be here for one reason—Titan. She must have told him that I knew about their secret deal. He probably came to threaten me to be quiet.
I’d threaten him back.
“Send him in.”
A minute later, Thorn walked through the door. In a gray suit and black tie, he walked inside with one hand in his pocket. He had light brown hair that was almost blond, pretty blue eyes that the women must love, and an arrogant smile that annoyed me. He walked up to my desk, didn’t shake my hand, and took a seat.
I eyed my watch on my wrist. “I don’t have a lot of time, Thorn. Say what you need to say.”
“I won’t be long.” He tapped his fingers against the armrest.
It didn’t seem that way. “I told Titan I wouldn’t share your secret. You don’t need to be concerned about it.”
“I’m not,” he said. “You seem like an honorable guy. I’m concerned about something else entirely.”
I sat back, resting my ankle on the opposite knee. My fingertips came together in my lap, studying him like he was a buck while I was holding a shotgun. “I’m listening.”
“Titan told me a few things…and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned. She assured me there was nothing to worry about, but I’m not so certain.”
Was it because we were going into business together?
“I don’t think a man would walk away from easy money the way you did with Bruce Carol without a strong reason to…” He studied me the same way I studied him, like he was also a hunter.
But I would never be prey. “You should speak your mind and save us both time, Thorn.”
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs. “I also don’t see why a man would care so much about what I mean to Titan…unless he had a reason to.”
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