by BJ Harvey
Brax: Elle must’ve called her. Shit!
Victor: Just keep yourself in check. You never know what she might be able to tell us.
I check my phone and see it’s 1.30 p.m. Time to head over to the apartment. My heart has been beating out of my chest all morning. This is make or break time for us. I’ve already decided that I’m going to be an open book and lay it all out for her. I want her to see that this is not just a job for me, it’s now personal. To be honest, it’s always been personal. It’s always been about one person. Elle.
At 1.50 p.m. I hear a knock at the door.
I’ve been pacing for the past ten minutes, my nerves all but frayed. I’ve had an empty feeling in the pit of my stomach all morning caused by the uncertainty of what might happen. This is it; this is when I’ll find out everything, whether I want to know it or not. My only hope is that Brax still wants to try. I know I’ve kept my distance this week, but it’s something I needed to do so I could sort through everything going on in my head. His little gifts and flowers throughout the week have succeeded in reminding me just how sweet he truly is.
I hold on to that thought as I open the door, my mouth dropping open when I see him. He’s wearing a pair of dirty denim jeans with a fitted vintage black t-shirt and sneakers. Damn! Everything I’ve just been stressing about just disappears from my brain when I see him looking like that.
“I’ve missed you,” I say, licking my lips unconsciously. He hands me a single lily and a postcard.
“A postcard?” I ask as he walks in, closing the door behind him.
I put the gifts on the coffee table, turning around to face him just as he scoops me into his arms and crushes his mouth to mine. The desperation in his kiss is heady, and I’m instantly consumed by him as he moves his hands around me to hold me tight against his body. The fingers of one hand tangle in my hair while the other pushes against my lower back, moulding our bodies to each other. I wrap my hands around his neck, gripping his hair in my hands as we continue to kiss. He glides his hands down my back and cups my ass, lifting me up as I grip his shoulders and wrap my legs around his waist. His mouth slips down onto my neck, and a soft moan escapes my mouth throat as he gently kisses the sensitive hollow at the base of my neck.
“I’ve missed you so damn much, baby,” he murmurs against my skin.
“Hmm, me too,” I whisper back before our lips mesh together once more. Stumbling backwards, he carries me towards the loveseat by the window, carefully spinning round and laying me down gently on my back. Holding his weight down on me, he continues to kiss me, exploring my mouth like he’s committing it to memory, his hands inching up the side of my chest towards my now aching breasts.
All of a sudden, he tears himself away from me, in a superhuman display of self-control. Standing beside me, bent over at the waist, I can see his chest heaving as he struggles to catch his breath.
“Sorry, hon. I’ve been wanting to do that for a week now,” he says with a slight upwards curl of his lip.
“Me too,” I smile back at him.
“It’s been killing me not to be with you, touching you, being able to hold you and wake up beside you.”
“I don’t want you to miss that ever again, Brax.” My eyes fill with tears as the past week away from him hits me hard.
He sinks to his knees, taking both of my hands in his. “You really mean that?” he says, his voice tight with unseen emotion.
“Definitely. This is forever for me,” I reply.
He bends down and kisses the diamond Infinity pendant that hangs around my neck, melting my heart in the process and giving me his unspoken word.
Not to be outdone, I lift his right hand to mine and kiss his platinum ring, reaffirming my commitment.
Now it’s just the two of us. Brax and I, forever together.
“Brax, we still need to talk about everything.” I see his demeanor change as his body stiffens with anxiety, his face suddenly awash with concern.
I pat the seat beside me by the window and smile up at him. “Babe, sit down and relax. We are okay. You and I are fine. I just need to know about everything else.”
He takes a seat beside me, turning his body towards me, one leg bent underneath the other. He reaches out for my hand which I give to him willingly.
“Where do you want to start?”
“How about at the beginning,” I reply with a smile, trying to put him at ease. I can tell he’s nervous from the way he keeps wringing his hands together.
I’ve had all week to think about the what if’s and who’s. Now I need to know the facts so that I can decide what I’m going to do about Uncle Harry. I checked the time earlier, and I know we’ve still got a few hours before Sylvia arrives. I squeeze his hand, encouraging him to talk.
He breathes out a huge breath. “Well, you know that Shay and I work for Victor Bertorelli in Atlanta.”
I nod in confirmation.
“Gibbons, his second in charge, showed me a file with your information in it about a month before you and I first met. All we knew was that you were the majority shareholder in Brightlight Industries, and Brimstone was buying up small share portions to increase his stake. Did you know that he’s been planning a takeover for a few years now?”
“Yeah. A couple of the board members were concerned, so they called me,” I reply with a shrug.
That earns me a smirk. “Well, it’s good to know that we’re not the only ones looking out for you.”
I can’t resist the urge to lean forward and quickly kiss his lips softly, earning me an even bigger smirk. I can see his eyes brighten, and watch as he slowly licks his lips, like he’s savoring the taste of me. God, that is enticing as hell.
Focus, Elle!
“You’re distracting me, missy. Behave,” he admonishes me in jest. “So, Gibbons showed me your file, and I saw a photo of you. Straight away I knew I had to meet you, get close to you at the very least. I wanted to find out why your eyes had lost their spark.”
Hearing my sudden intake of breath, he looks up at me and gives me a shy, almost bashful smile. “It’s all true, baby. You can ask Shay. As soon as I saw you, I knew I wanted you. It was above and beyond being just a job from the very beginning. I hope you believe that,” he says sincerely.
My heart melts. How could I ever have doubted his feelings for me? All week he has been showing me with his gifts just how much our relationship has meant to him, to us. I shake my head at myself as he continues.
“Anyway, Victor found out that Harry had approached you about buying you out of the company, and knew that whatever answer you gave him would be the catalyst for his takeover plans. We knew all about the ‘approval or incapacitated’ clause. That is why this job was initiated.”
I nod my head, but I’m still full of questions.
“Okay, that all makes sense so far. But why is Victor so interested in me? Do I know him from somewhere? Maybe from my childhood or through my parents?”
Brax clears his throat; my question has obviously made him feel uneasy.
“Victor Bertorelli is into a lot of things, as is his family. We’re talking back room poker tables, loans, organized crime...the whole shebang. Your father lost a lot of money one weekend at a high-stakes poker table in Vegas. Victor just happened to be there, and made your father an offer he couldn’t refuse. Victor loaned him enough to cover the debt, and also boost cash-flow in Brightlight which was struggling because of the dot com bust. It also gave Victor a way to clean his cash through the company. Until today, the money trail was still traceable in Brightlight’s financial records. Brimstone is, unfortunately, aware of the deal but had never threatened to go public with any of it until just before your father’s death.”
I gasp. This is a lot more complicated than I thought it was. My father played poker? Badly, apparently.
“So, Brightlight had mob money running through it until today?” My voice is shaky, giving away how overwhelming all of this information is.
“Not mob money,
hon, but not strictly legal, either,” he replies, rubbing his hand over mine to calm me down.
“And it is cleared now?” I squeak.
I catch a slight curl in his lip as he answers me, “Yes, it’s all gone and can’t be traced.”
I can’t help it; I breathe out a huge sigh of relief. As the majority stakeholder and CEO in waiting, that would be all on me. “So, I’m still a bit confused. Victor sent you here as a pre-emptive measure?”
“Well, yes and no. Word got back to Vic that Brimstone had been putting out calls, looking for some professional help in speeding up the takeover in case you decline his offer.”
“Well, shit!” I say, unable to hold it in. I feel the tears start to well up.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Brax says soothingly, reaching behind me and pulling me in closer towards him. “We are constantly monitoring all of this. The only thing we didn’t count on was me falling head of heels for the target,” he says with a wink.
I look over at him. “Ha, ha. Well, I had nothing to do with that now, did I?”
He growls at me, “Nothing at all?” he says as he starts tickling me.
“Stop! Stop!” I shout, trying to catch my breath back while giggling like a mad woman.
“Okay. Now do you want me to go on, or…” he asks as he slowly runs the back of his hand down my cheek, “Can I do this?” He leans in and softly brushes his lips against mine, slowly teasing his tongue through my parted lips. I moan into his mouth as the kiss deepens. I grab his hair in my hands, tugging firmly as he devours me.
“More,” I murmur as he sweeps his arms under my knees and carries me out of the living room. He leans in, taking my mouth again as we walk. My body hums with desire.
We get as far as the kitchen counter before Brax loses his determination. He sits me on the kitchen counter, cupping my face in his hands as he kisses me deep and hard. I move closer to him, sitting right on the edge of the counter as Brax moves between my legs, pushing his hard self against me.
I shudder when I feel his hard length against me. It seems like a lifetime ago when we were last together like this. Gripping the bottom of his t-shirt, I rip it up over his body. He moves his hands off me just long enough to toss it on the ground before he’s leaning back into me again, pushing me back until I’m lying on the counter, legs dangling over the side.
He yanks my tank top up, then pulls my bra down, his warm mouth closing around my exposed nipple. I arch my back as my body absorbs the sensations buzzing through me. He pays the same attention to my other breast before his mouth starts trailing down my body until he reaches the top of my jeans where he licks a path from hip bone to hip bone along the waistband.
“These need to come off,” he says against my skin. His fingers reach for the button on my jeans, and the feel of him brushing them against my bare skin sends heat spearing through me as he slowly slides down my zipper. Looking up at me from beneath his lashes, he draws my jeans and panties down my legs and throws them onto the floor.
“Brax,” I pant as he slides me further back on the kitchen counter. I prop myself up and see him put a knee up on the counter, hoisting himself up until his body is hovering over the top of me.
I grab his head and pull him down to my mouth once again. He pushes his weight against me, and I’m so worked up that I almost climax on the spot from that feeling alone.
Ever so slowly, he starts kissing his way down my body, laving at my core until I’m putty in his hands and crying out my climax as I come apart against his mouth. He moves back over me quickly, pushing himself into me while my insides still quiver from my release. I moan as he fills me to the hilt. It feels so good to be taken like this. It’s raw and hungry, like we can’t get enough of each other. The way it’s been since the beginning.
Our bodies grind together as we rush towards the finish, Brax leaning his forehead against mine and pushing into me one last time. “I love you,” he groans before kissing me deeply, swallowing my cries as I fall over the edge with him once again.
So far, LA is turning out to be a bust. Apart from the disgruntled bodyguard we talked to, we’ve been unable to gain any ground on Brimstone. Brimstone’s head of security is MIA, and it’s looking more and more likely that we’re not going to be able to find anything useful here.
Devon and I have ventured out a couple of nights this week; I wanted to show him the LA night life. Let’s just say that the man has a knack with the ladies. He’s far worse than Brax and I ever were. Even back in our wild Atlanta days when we didn’t have a care in the world, and very rarely had an empty bed.
The first night in town, he ended up taking two girls to a motel just off the strip, and came back to the apartment a few hours later stinking of perfume, bourbon and sex. I had to pat the man on the back for a job well done. He just smirked at me and shrugged his shoulders like it was just another night at the office, or the motel room in this case.
Since then, we’ve only been to a local bar around the corner from where we’re staying, and that was to meet the bodyguard. We’ve talked him into calling us if he hears anything about Brimstone or Brightside from his former colleagues. It cost us a grand for the privilege, but it will be worth it if he comes through for us.
We’re kicking back in the apartment when the boss calls. “Hey, Victor. What’s the haps?” I say, answering my cell.
The boss’ baritone voice fills my ears. “Shay, how’s it going out there?”
“Bit of a bust, boss. Thinking about heading back East.”
I hear him murmur in agreement. “Good idea. I think it’s time to get out of there too. I just need you to do one thing for me before you leave.”
Nothing unusual so far. “Sure thing. What is it”
“I need you to do a little favor for me. Call it helping me settle a grudge once and for all,” he says with a chuckle.
“I’m all ears.”
Our make out session turned into a steamy sex session, followed by another steamy shower in which I had to wash every inch of Elle’s smoking hot body, first with the sponge, then with my tongue. By the time we come up for air and get dressed, it’s well after 6pm.
I follow Elle to the kitchen as she checks her phone. Her smile suddenly gets wider as she reads a text message she must have missed.
“Yay!” she says, bouncing on the spot.
I laugh at her cute excitement. “What’s made you so happy? Apart from my stellar bedroom performance, of course,” I say, clearing my throat.
She looks over me, mouth agape. “Wow, someone think’s highly of themselves, don’t they?” she says, moving toward me and wrapping her arms around my neck.
I drag my hands around her waist and cup her ass, pulling her in close to me again. “I didn’t hear you complain. Once? Was it twice? Nope, it was three times,” I reply, curling my lips into a shit-eating grin.
She playfully hits the back of my head. “Listen to you brag! Show-off!”
I start laughing at her which just makes her swat me again. “Hey, c’mon. You know I’m joking. Okay, so what made you go yay?” I ask.
“Aunt Sylvia is on her way over. She’ll be here any minute.”
Shit! Fuck! Damn it all to hell!
My whole body freezes and as much as I’m willing it to move, it won’t budge.
“Brax? What’s wrong, babe?” Elle asks, feeling me go rigid.
I let out a deep breath. “There’s something you need to know about me and my birth parents,” I say, looking down at her.
“More surprises? Go me!” she says sarcastically.
“Sorry, it’s just never really come up. Apart from you meeting Evans at the restaurant that night, I didn’t think it would need to come up,” I try explaining to her.
She looks confused now. “I understand that, but you’ve already told me that Evans is your birth father.”
“Yup, so I probably should tell you about the woman that gave birth to me…” I start to explain just as I hear a knock at the door.
“Elle, wait. I need to…” I try to spit out, but she bounds to the door and pulls it wide open.
“Aunt Sylvie!” she says with a squeal, going out of sight while obviously giving our guest a hug. “Come in. You’ve got perfect timing, actually. You get to meet Brax,” she says as Sylvia Brimstone walks through the doorway to our apartment. She stops suddenly when she sees me, her big smile fading the moment Elle says my name.
We stare at each other. This reunion has been twenty-five years in the making, but I can tell from my reaction that it’s still something she wasn’t prepared for. Hell, can you ever be prepared for something like this?
Elle looks between the two of us, noticing the strange tension in the room. I mean, what do you say to the woman who brought you into this world, then in a moment of desperation gave up her only child because she had no other choice.
“What’s going on, Brax?” Elle asks me with a frown. “Have you two met before?” she says to the both of us. The silence between us continues.
Finally, after another minute, Sylvia looks to Elle, snapping out of her trance.
“Elle, you didn’t tell me your boyfriend would be joining us, darling. If you had, I would’ve known that this would happen.”
Elle looks totally confused now. “What do you mean, Sylvie? How on earth would you know Brax?” she asks, looking between us again.
I haven’t moved. I’m still leaning against the doorway to the living room, staring. I clear my throat, then turn my head to look at Elle.
“Sweetheart, what I was about to tell you is that Sylvia Brimstone is my birth mother.”
I swear to god I wouldn’t have believed him had he not been standing in front of me, in the same room as Sylvia when I heard him say those words.
