“So, you’re really okay with that lifestyle?”
“I am. You’ve shown me so much love and so much romance in the short time we’ve been together. You gave me a lot to think about that first day, and that night at dinner. When I agreed to try this dating the boss thing, you took the time to get to know the real me; it wasn’t just about sex. I knew then, you really cared about me. You weren’t just looking for a hot office tryst. And you seem to know me so well already. You somehow know what I want, even before I do, most of the time.”
“You really want me to take control, then?”
“I never in a million years thought I’d say this to a man, given my independent nature, but yes, I do. And you do it so well, I might add,” she replied with a grin.
He chuckled. “As long as you’re okay with it, I’m okay with it. But here are my terms. We go into this with the understanding that we will only do what both of us feel comfortable with. I’ve told you, I am not into the whole Dom/sub scene. I may come across as stern and dominant in the office, but that’s only one side to my personality. In my personal life, I’m not that man. I can be, if you need me to be, but you’ve also seen the softer, more romantic side of me. I want to be everything for you, Jill. I want to be what you need, when you need it. I want to be the man you can’t live without. Can you accept my terms?”
She looked him in the eye and said simply, “I can.”
“Then we’re on our way,” he replied with a sexy grin.
“Now, finish your dinner. We have wedding plans to attend to,” she said as she took a sip of wine.
After they discussed plans for a secluded, private wedding ceremony to take place in a few weeks, he agreed to have dinner with her family on Sunday. He stood up to go and she asked, “You aren’t staying?”
“No, not tonight,” he said. “We both have a lot to do before our trip. Are you working from home again tomorrow?”
“I thought I would for the rest of this week. I’ll be back on Monday. There’s so much to finish up before the opening.”
“On Monday, we’ll announce our engagement to the staff.”
“If that’s what you want,” she agreed as she stood on her tiptoes to kiss him.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” he said as he dropped to his knees, took a small box out of his pocket, and took her left hand in his.
“What are you doing?” she asked, giggling.
“We may not have started out in the most traditional way, but I’m damn sure going to get this part right.” He took a beautiful, two-carat oval diamond solitaire ring out of the box and slid it on her finger. “Jill Lincoln, will you walk through this life with me, be mine forever? Marry me, love me, raise a family with me, and all that goes with that?”
Through tear-filled eyes, she nodded. “Yes.” As he stood up to kiss her, she asked, “Raise a family?”
“Is that a problem?” he asked.
“No… we’ve never discussed it. How soon… how many?”
“When you want, as many as you want - that’s one thing you’re going to be in charge of. I’ll leave that decision up to you. I’ll be a hands-on dad and I am looking forward to raising a family with you, but it’s totally up to you when it happens.”
“Thank you. We’ll talk about this more later,” she replied as she kissed his cheek.
“Goodnight, sweet baby,” he replied as he turned to go.
Chapter Eight
On Sunday afternoon, after Jill had introduced Jarrod to her family and she had gone to the kitchen to help her mother, her dad asked Jarrod to join him in the den.
“Have a seat. What can I get you to drink?” the man asked as he surveyed the man that his daughter had brought to dinner.
“Whiskey on the rocks is fine,” Jarrod replied, noticing the whiskey bottle on the wet bar.
“Good choice,” Mr. Lincoln said while making two drinks and handing one to Jarrod.
“Thanks,” Jarrod said.
“So you think you want to marry my daughter,” the older man said when he sat down.
“No, sir, I don’t think it. I know I want to marry your daughter.”
“Why the rush, if you don’t mind my asking? Is Jillie pregnant?”
“No, sir, at least I don’t think she is. And it’s not really such a rush. I’ve known since the first day she walked into my office that she was someone I wanted to get to know. I wasted some time making that known to her, and now that we’ve discovered the feeling is mutual, I don’t feel a need to waste any more time.”
“I see. That’s two things in your favor. You’ve shown you’re a savvy businessman, with a successful business, and you go after what you want. But there’s one more thing that concerns me. Son, Jillie is my middle child, and of all my children, she’s been the most difficult to handle. She has a temper to match that fiery red hair, just like her mother. That being said, she needs a man with a firm hand in her life, a man who can handle her temper. Are you man enough for that job? Because if you aren’t and you let her have her way all the time, you’re in for a rough road ahead, not to mention, this marriage may not last.”
Jarrod nearly choked on his drink. Not knowing how to answer his future father-in-law, he finally said, “Let’s just say, we’ve already had a few run-ins, and I’ve made it clear to her what will happen if she loses control.”
Jill’s father laughed. “I believe you can handle that wild and crazy daughter of mine. I can assure you from my own experience, loving a woman like Jill takes patience, but it’s well worth it in the end. So the two of you have reached an understanding already? I admire you for that. It took a while with my wife.”
“Yes, sir, we’ve reached an understanding.”
“Excellent, I have no worries, then. Welcome to the family, Jarrod,” Jill’s father said as he extended his hand to his future son-in-law.
“I’m glad to be a part of it,” the younger man responded as he warmly shook the hand offered to him.
As they sat down to dinner, Jarrod looked around the table at each member of Jill’s family. A family dinner was not something he was used to and he could see the love among them. Jill’s brother and sister-in-law and their two children, and her younger sister, who was single, joked with Jill about finally settling down. And the looks of love that passed between her parents told him all he needed to know. They were on the right track.
“Jan, would you like to move into my apartment when I move out? I know you’ve been looking for a place,” Jill said suddenly.
“I would love to take your place, but I can’t afford that.”
“Nonsense, if you want it, it’s yours. We’ll help you out,” Jarrod told her with a smile.
“I can’t ask you to do that,” Jan replied.
“You didn’t ask. Besides, if you don’t take it, we’re going to have to find someone else. If it makes you feel better, I can find something for you to do at the office to supplement your income.”
“You would do that for me?” the young girl asked.
“Yes, of course, we’re going to be family. Isn’t that what families do? I have no brothers and sisters, but would do the same for them if I did. What’s your schedule like? What kind of work do you do?”
“I’m in my last year of college and I work in a restaurant part-time.”
“So you quit the restaurant job and come to work for me in your spare time.”
“Doing what?” Jan asked in surprise.
“What’s your major?” he asked.
“Architecture,” she replied proudly.
“Even better, you can come in as an intern, working with our architect. He’s always telling me how overworked he is. You’ll learn a lot from him, as well.”
“Are you serious about this, Jarrod?” Jill’s father asked.
“Yes, I’m serious. We’d love to have Jan join us, wouldn’t we, Jill?”
“Sure, if you think there’s a place for her. I wouldn’t want you to create a job for her.”
“No, I t
hink it will be good for both Jan and Bryan, the architect.”
“He is always saying he gets tired of working on weekends to catch up,” Jill agreed.
“It’s settled. Stop by the office next week and we’ll see to the details. And start packing your things. As soon as Jill moves out, the apartment is yours.”
“I don’t know how to thank you,” Jan said excitedly.
“You just did.”
He glanced over at Jill, who was smiling at him.
After dinner and more pleasant conversation, Jill and Jarrod said their goodbyes. He drove her home and when she asked him to come in, he said, “I can’t wait to get you inside. I’ve wanted to kiss that pretty little, sassy mouth of yours all day.”
“I haven’t been sassy today,” she protested.
“Maybe not today, but you are at times.”
“What did you and my dad talk about in the den? You guys were in there an awfully long time. Did he give you the third degree?” she asked.
Wondering if he should tell her about the conversation, he said, “Let’s just say, we came to an understanding of sorts.”
“Why does that worry me?”
He chuckled. “How much do you know about your parents’ relationship, Jill?”
“I always thought they had a great relationship. I mean, Mom’s got a temper, but Dad always took that in stride. What did he tell you?”
“He hinted to me that you’re a lot like your mom and you need a man with a firm hand. He wanted to know if I was man enough for the job.”
Shocked, she asked, “Are you serious? He actually said that?”
“Cross my heart, his very words.”
“You don’t think…?”
“That’s exactly what I think.”
“Oh, my, yeah, it kind of makes sense now. I can remember times when Mom was in a rage. One look from Dad and they sort of disappeared for a while. I just assumed they were arguing in private so we kids wouldn’t hear it.”
“Could be, but that’s not the impression I got from him.”
“I think I want to change the subject now. Like back to the kiss I was promised.”
He grinned. “Don’t want to think about your folks and their life behind a closed bedroom door?”
“I’d much rather think about our life behind a closed bedroom door,” she purred as she pulled his face toward hers.
“I think I can do more than think about it,” he promised as his lips met hers. He scooped her up, and without breaking the kiss, carried her to her bed.
****
As Jarrod laid her on the bed and began to unbutton his shirt, she watched in fascination. He threw his shirt on the floor and unbuckled his belt. As he unzipped his pants, a sharp intake of breath escaped her lips. She grinned as he finished stripping to his shorts admiring the view.
He said, “Your turn.”
“My turn?” she asked.
“Strip for me,” he commanded softly.
“Really?” she asked.
“Really,” he affirmed.
She watched wordlessly as he got onto the bed and told her to stand next to the bed so he could watch her. As she began to do a sensuous striptease for him, adding little dance moves here and there, she watched his expression, reveling in the fact she was turning him on with her performance.
“Come here,” he said.
She went to him, waiting for his next command.
“Kiss me.”
She leaned over the bed, kissing him, teasing him with her tongue.
She let him pull her on top of him, and as he pushed her hair aside with one hand and caressed her neck, the other hand circled her waist and pulled her to him. He returned his lips to hers and suddenly rolled her to her back. As he began the journey down her body with his tongue, she watched his jet-black hair as it moved further down her already fiery body. Her hands touched the rock-hard muscles of his arms. When his hot, scalding tongue reached her clit, she nearly jumped off the bed.
“Simmer down, baby,” he said. He went back to the task at hand and performed it expertly, as he brought her closer and closer to the edge. This time, he didn’t tell her not to come. He didn’t stop when he knew she was ready. He continued with the licking, the teasing, and the heated, masterful lovemaking, circling her inner thigh with his finger, until her body began to shudder ever so slightly. As he continued, the shuddering became more intense. She thrashed around on the bed, screaming in ecstasy as he continued, never letting up, and never abandoning her. When the shudders wracking her body finally subsided, he moved himself up, positioned himself, and entered her with one deep thrust, causing her to gasp.
“Go with it, baby. Come on, show me what you can do,” he said as he continued to thrust hard inside her already steamy, dripping pussy. She clenched her muscles around him and he moaned. He gave it to her hard several more times, each time she met him with a thrust of her hips, meeting him thrust for thrust, as the friction began to build between them.
“Oh… I can’t stop… again…” she cried out.
“Do it, baby, let it go,” he said as he, too, cried out.
As they lay, exhausted in each other’s arms, he murmured, “I’ve never known anything like that.” He pushed her hair - now a tangled, damp mess - off her face.
“I find that hard to believe. All the women at the office want your body. I’m sure you’ve had your share.”
“I may have had my share of women, but none at the office, until you. And I assure you, if I say I’ve never known anything like what just happened between us, I’m telling you the truth.”
“I’ve never known anything like it, either. All my experience was pretty much a quickie, in the backseat of a car, a couch in someone’s basement at a party…”
“Then you were being denied, and the guys you were with didn’t know what they were missing. You’re the hottest, most exciting woman I know. Must be true what they say about redheads.”
She giggled. “And I have the temper to match, don’t forget.”
He rolled his eyes. “How could I ever forget that?”
She snuggled in his arms as he held her close and they slept. At five she was awakened as he kissed her goodbye, and told her he’d see her at the office in a few hours.
She rolled over and went back to sleep, knowing that in a few short hours everyone would know that he belonged to her.
Chapter Nine
At ten o’clock on Monday morning, Jarrod called a staff meeting. As the rest of the staff assembled in the conference room, Jarrod asked Jill to wait and walk in with him. He watched her bite her bottom lip as she nervously agreed. Sensing her apprehension at telling the rest of the staff she was soon going to become the boss’s wife, he took her hand in his and squeezed it before she could start twisting her hair.
“It’s going to be fine. They may be shocked, some of the women may be jealous, hell, some of the men will be jealous, but it’s going to be fine,” he said in a soft, reassuring voice. “And remember, if anyone gives you any trouble, you’re to tell me.”
She nodded and murmured, “Okay,” as they walked into the room together.
Jarrod took his seat at the head of the table. Jill sat to his right as he began to speak. He began with, “I know you’re all probably wondering why I called an unscheduled staff meeting this morning. There are a few things we need to discuss. There have been some new developments you all need to be made aware of.”
A murmur went through the room.
“First of all,” Jarrod continued, once more commanding everyone’s attention. “I’d like to thank all of you for a job well done on the Crestview properties. We’re set for the opening ceremony on Wednesday, and our first buyers will be taking possession next week. I’ll be out of town for a few weeks, so Bryan will be handling anything that comes up during that time, along with Susie, my assistant. If you have any questions or problems during my absence, they’re the ones you’ll want to talk to. The second thing you need to know is that Janis L
incoln will be joining us as an intern. Jan is a college student, majoring in architecture. She’ll report to Bryan, please make her welcome. And yes, she’s Jill’s sister. I have no doubt her work will be of the same quality as her sister’s. Which brings me to the final thing on today’s agenda.” He smiled at Jill and took her hand. Together they stood.
“I’ve asked Jill to be my wife and she’s accepted. I’m sure this comes as a shock to many of you. We’ve kept our relationship quiet, until now, in the hopes it wouldn’t interfere with work. We’ll be getting married in Gatlinburg this weekend, and will be on our honeymoon for two weeks. When we return, I trust you’ll all give my new wife the respect she deserves. Jill will continue in her role as our decorator. She’s still Jill; the fact that she’ll be married to me, doesn’t change that. Please don’t make her feel as though you can’t still be friendly or engage in friendly office conversation with her.”
Accepting His Terms Page 6
