Crave (Splendor Book 2)

by Janet Nissenson

Slowly, reluctantly, Tessa grabbed her beach tote and exited the suite onto the patio. Once she was safely out of sight, Ian grabbed a dish towel from the wet bar and flung it at Jason.

  “Here. Try not to bleed all over the furniture, will you? And quit sniveling. If she’d actually broken your nose, believe me, you’d know it.”

  Jason glared at him. “So are you going to finish the job for her then?”

  Ian smiled, a cold, calculating smile. “Are you challenging me, Jason? Think I won’t do it? I believe I made it very, very clear what I’d do to you if you ever touched Tessa again.”

  Jason flinched as Ian grasped his jaw between powerful, capable fingers. With his other fist, Ian tapped Jason on the jaw almost playfully.

  “Such a weak, almost fragile jaw you have. Never realized it before now. Hmm.” Ian pretended to study him more closely. “Really wouldn’t take much more than a tap or two to shatter this. Ouch. Now that would hurt.”

  “You wouldn’t dare,” hissed Jason. “I’d sue your ass off, have you arrested for assault.”

  Ian gave a hoot of laughter. “Is that right? It’s almost tempting to try. Don’t forget, this is my hotel, my employees. There’s not one person here who wouldn’t back up my story if I were to state that you were assaulting Tessa and I was simply trying to protect her. You wouldn’t have a leg to stand on, Jason.”

  He released his grip on Jason’s jaw, satisfied to see the imprint of his fingers on the other man’s skin. “But not to worry. I realize you’re flying home to your children tomorrow, and it wouldn’t do for them to see their father beaten to a bloody pulp. Besides, I’ve decided that breaking a few of your bones isn’t a fitting punishment for you. After all, bones do heal after a time, don’t they? And I intend for your pain to continue for a long, long time.”

  Jason eyed him warily. “I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about. I suppose you’ve gone soft, hmm? Your hot piece of ass has you good and pussy whipped, does she?”

  Ian growled, shoving Jason up against the wall and holding him firmly in place with an elbow to the gut. “Shut your filthy fucking mouth. You don’t get to talk about Tessa - ever. How dare you speak about her like she’s one of your dirty whores? Just remember, Jason. I don’t actually have to break any bones to cause you pain, a great deal of it.”

  Jason threw up his hands in surrender. “My apologies. So tell me, mate. Where are you shipping me off to this time? Wherever it is you won’t hear me complain, because anything has to be better than where you’ve got me now.”

  Ian released his grip on Jason, circling him in a calm, calculating manner, as though he were his prey. “You may want to reserve judgment on that, mate, until you’ve heard all the details. You’re quite right that your days at the Silicon Valley hotel are over. Apparently you’ve been up to your old ways again. Clearly, you don’t follow orders well and require much stricter supervision.”

  Jason regarded him scornfully. “Orders? I should be the one giving orders, not having to take them. As Charlotte’s husband I ought to have equal authority as you and your brothers.”

  Ian shook his head in disbelief. “My God, your stupidity is only exceeded by your arrogance. And your ego. You’re not family, despite your legal ties to my poor clueless cousin. But Uncle Richard tolerates you because Charlotte is still determined to have you. And speaking of my uncle, Charlotte will be overjoyed to learn she’ll be seeing a great deal more of him in the very near future. As will you.”

  “What do you mean?” Jason’s tone was guarded.

  Ian shrugged. “That’s where you’re being transferred, back to corporate headquarters in London. Oh, I know what you’re thinking - back to the big city, the head office, finally getting what you deserve. And you’re quite right on all three parts, especially the latter. You see, you’ll be working alongside your father-in-law. Very closely, I might add.”

  Jason frowned. “How exactly do you mean?”

  “I mean, you’ll be Richard’s fucking shadow,” replied Ian harshly. “Your office will be right across from his, where he or his staff can see exactly what you’re doing all day, every day. You’ll be accompanying him to every meeting, every appointment, every luncheon. You won’t have any free time of your own, every minute of your day accounted for. If you need to go take a piss in the loo you’ll have to clear it with him first.”

  As the realization of what this new situation would be like began to dawn on Jason, his features took on a panicked expression. “You can’t do that. Come on, Ian, be a sport. You know the old bastard can barely tolerate me. He’s going to make my life a living hell.”

  Ian smiled with great satisfaction. “Exactly, Jason. That’s why this solution is so much more satisfying than simply shattering your jaw. Your pain will go on for a long time. And don’t be hoping Uncle Richard will be retiring any time soon. He may be sixty-five but he’s fit and sharp and will probably go on working for at least another decade.”

  Jason visibly paled, his eyes narrowing. “He can’t control me round the clock.”

  “Ah, but then you haven’t heard all the good news, have you?” Ian leaned against the wall, crossing his arms leisurely, as though he were discussing the latest soccer scores. “Well, you know how expensive housing is in London, even more so than in San Francisco. And since Uncle Richard and Aunt Helen want only the best for Charlotte and your children, they’re insisting that all of you move in with them. After all, they’ve got that huge old place out in Surrey and it’s been a bit lonesome with just the two of them. So Aunt Helen is at present having the entire west wing readied for your arrival, and she’s probably the happiest woman in all of England right now.”

  Jason looked as though someone had punched him in the gut – hard - and stared at Ian in horror. “You wouldn’t. I won’t stand for it, do you hear me?”

  Ian chuckled. “Well, considering that even as we speak Richard is calling Charlotte to tell her all the good news, I’d say you have no choice in the matter at all. Done deal and all that. Oh, and Uncle Richard also said to tell you that you’ll be commuting with him to and from the office every day. Plenty of room in the Bentley for one more.”

  Jason was seething. “This is an insult. I don’t need a fucking keeper. And you know what Richard is like.”

  “I do, yes. Especially when it comes to making Charlotte happy. There’s really nothing he won’t do for his daughter or grandchildren. And that includes keeping you on a very short leash.” Ian grasped Jason’s face between his fingers, squeezing tight enough to cause pain. “You sure as hell will have a great deal of trouble whoring around as you’ve been used to doing all these years. Maybe you’ll finally learn to appreciate the very posh life you’ve been lucky enough to have.”

  Jason snorted. “I think I’d prefer the broken bones to everything you’ve just described.”

  “Tough. The choice isn’t yours to make. Uncle Richard has finally realized what a liability you are to this company, to this family, and he’s prepared to do whatever is necessary to keep you in line.” Ian released his grip on Jason’s cheeks, shoving him away. “Now, I’ve got a meeting to get back to. Don’t bother returning yourself. In fact, perhaps you and Charlotte ought to catch an earlier flight home, given that you’ll have a great deal of packing to do. Now get the hell out of my sight before I change my mind about breaking your jaw.”

  Jason had his hand on the door handle but couldn’t resist taking one final parting shot. “Aren’t you going to go check on your slut? After all, she looked awfully delicious in that bikini. I never knew you favored blondes, Ian, especially ones with nice big -”

  But before the rest of his obscene words could leave his mouth, Jason was gasping for breath, bent over at the waist and unable to make a sound after Ian had given him a hard, vicious kick to the groin.

  Ian opened the door and shoved him out into the hallway, a look of pure loathing on his face. “See if you can make it back to your room without vomiting, hmm? I understand they
had all the carpets cleaned recently.”

  Ian slammed the door shut, forcing himself to take several deep breaths. He glanced quickly at his watch, realizing he’d need to make this next part quick so he could return to the meeting. At the wet bar he grabbed one of the plastic ice bucket liners and filled it with ice.

  He found Tessa pacing anxiously to and fro on the stretch of sand not far from their patio. She was still wearing the sheer swimsuit cover up over her bikini, her beach tote all but forgotten on the sand. When she saw him approach, she ran towards him a bit clumsily, her bare feet sinking into the loose sand.

  “What happened?” she asked worriedly. “Are you all right? He didn’t try -”

  Ian chuckled, pulling her close against him. “Darling, I’ll try very hard not to be insulted that you thought for one moment that little shit could possibly hurt me. The real question is - are you all right?”

  Tessa shrugged. “Just a little shook up. I can’t believe I actually opened the door for him, that I didn’t realize he wasn’t Geoffrey. He just sounded so much like him. I’m sorry.”

  “Shush. It’s all right. And Jason won’t be bothering you ever again.”

  He quickly told her about the arrangement he’d made a couple of days ago with his uncle after discovering that Jason was up to his old tricks down at the Silicon Valley hotel. Richard had somewhat reluctantly agreed to have Jason return to London, albeit under extremely tight controls.

  Tessa sighed in relief. “Well, I’m glad to hear it. And especially for your cousin. She seems like such a sweet woman, not at all deserving of how that jerk treats her.”

  “I agree. Now, let me see your knuckles, hmm? If you don’t get some ice on them, they’re going to bruise. Just how hard did you wallop him, love?”

  She grinned. “He has a weak nose. It didn’t take much effort actually.”

  Ian guffawed in delight as Tessa applied the ice pack. “You’re a natural. When we get home it will be time to up your training. But not,” he added sternly, “with that randy bastard Jesse. You’ll train with me, got it?”

  She reached up and gave him a kiss. “Got it.” She looked down at her bare feet and shuffled uncertainly. “You do realize what day this is, don’t you?”

  Ian sighed. “Are we on this again? Yes, I know it’s a Wednesday, Tessa, but once again it’s just a coincidence. You really need to stop this silly superstition you have about this particular day of the week.”

  She shook her head. “Bad things always happen on Wednesdays, it never fails. But at least this time it’s ending well.”

  “Well, forget about it, all right? Now, I’d better get back to the meeting, especially since I left Andrew in charge of delivering my budget talk. I don’t know whether he’ll have completely bungled the whole thing, or if the entire room full of managers will be pissed off.”

  Tessa grinned. “I’d be willing to bet on the latter. Go, finish your meeting. I’ll be waiting on the beach for you when you’re done.”

  “Good.” He gave her a quick kiss, squeezing her ass cheeks through the cover up. “I’ll be counting the minutes until I can take this off of you.”

  “Me, too.” She sighed against his kiss. “Ian, you didn’t actually - with Jason - did you…”

  He winked at her mysteriously. “No blood or broken bones, I assure you. But he’ll definitely have trouble walking for a few days.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  August

  “I want to go with you to the airport. Just let me throw some clothes on and I’ll be ready to leave.”

  Ian gave Tessa a stern look as he sat down next to her on the bed, his shirt still half-unbuttoned, and his tie draped over a bedside chair. “Tessa, no offense darling, but you look like hell right now. I’d feel much better if you stayed at home and rested. Please?”

  She shook her head stubbornly. “It’s just my stupid period, Ian, not the plague. Let me - oh.” Tessa doubled over in pain as another killer cramp wrenched her lower body.

  He grimaced, drawing her close, and gently rubbing his hand over her belly. “You’re not leaving this house today, my love, maybe not this bed. And I still can’t believe the absolutely rotten timing of this trip to Vegas. You know I wouldn’t be going if it wasn’t so critical?”

  She nodded in understanding, sliding her hand over his as he continued to rub her cramping belly soothingly. “Of course I know. And I’d say it’s pretty important for you to be there.”

  Over the last few days had come the discovery that the casino manager at the Las Vegas resort had been involved in a complex money laundering operation. Ian was flying out this morning along with several of his highest level managers to meet with the FBI, the Nevada Gaming Commission, and the local authorities. He hoped to resolve the matter within two to three days, and was also keeping his fingers crossed that the problem had been uncovered early enough so that the damage was minimal.

  He shook his head. “This is why I dislike having casinos in any of our properties - too damned many potential complications like this one. But fortunately it sounds like we discovered this one fairly early in the game so we should be able to straighten things out quickly.”

  Tessa cuddled up against him, seeking out his body heat. She’d been freezing most of the night, despite the warm August weather, and was wearing a pair of sweatpants and a thermal knit top. Her hands and feet still felt cold as ice.

  “I’ll miss you a whole lot,” she murmured, looping her arms around his neck. “You realize we haven’t spent a night away from each other since April?”

  Ian stroked her sleep-mussed hair. “I’m very well aware of that, love,” he told her. “But even if you didn’t have that orientation at school tomorrow, there’s no way I’d have taken you on this trip anyway. Not in this condition.”

  Her period had begun on Saturday - two days ago - and the timing couldn’t have been worse, given Ian’s impending trip to Las Vegas. There had been no question of Tessa accompanying him this time, since she had to attend a half-day orientation at the university tomorrow. Her online classes didn’t officially begin for another ten days or so, but her attendance at tomorrow’s event was mandatory. She was also planning to buy whatever books and other materials she needed for her classes at the campus bookstore tomorrow.

  She’d had a restless night, plagued with cramps and a terrible headache, plus some of the heaviest bleeding she’d ever experienced. She was clearly exhausted this morning, and had shuddered to see her reflection in the mirror - skin so pale it looked as though it had been bleached white; dark circles under her eyes; her hair sticking up in a dozen different places. Ian had insisted on bringing her some tea but she’d refused any food, her cramps so severe she was almost nauseous from the pain.

  Ian frowned as a chill went through her body, and he took her hands in his to warm them. “Tessa, this can’t continue, you know that. It tears me up to see you suffer like this every month. I’m going to call Jordan during the flight and make an appointment for us to see him a week from today.”

  “I’m not sure what he’s going to be able to tell us,” she argued. “I tried three different brands of the pill – they all made me sick in one way or the other. The nurse at the clinic said it’s rare to have allergic reactions, but that’s definitely what happened in my case.”

  “Darling, that was several years ago, don’t forget. I’m sure new products have come on the market since then. Besides, there’s a great deal of difference between an overworked public health nurse at a free clinic with limited resources, and the top man in his field at the best hospital here in the city. Jordan will have far more resources at his disposal so that he can work with us at finding a better solution. Because this,” he gestured to her shivering, cramping form, “is not something that can go on any longer.”

  She sighed and began to button up his dress shirt. “I’m just not sure what other alternatives will work for me. Most everything I’ve researched has hormones of some sort, and that’s appare
ntly what I have a bad reaction to.”

  He kissed the top of her head. “Let’s see what Jordan has to say, hmm? I’ll tell you now, Tessa, as much as I hate the thought, I’d resort to using condoms before I see you suffer through one more cycle like this.”

  “No!” She shook her head vehemently, having feared he’d bring that subject up. “I’d hate that, Ian, absolutely hate that.”

  He scooped her onto his lap and tucked her head beneath his chin as he held her. “So would I, but it would still be better than watching you this way.” He splayed his head over her belly. “And since I don’t plan on getting you pregnant just yet, we’ll have to do something.”

  Tessa gave a little gasp and lifted her head to stare at him. “We’ve never actually discussed that particular subject, have we?”

  “No, we haven’t.” Ian looked pensive all of a sudden. “What are your feelings on the matter?”

  She smiled and placed her hand over his. “I’ve always wanted children. And I especially want to have your children.” She bit her lip uncertainly. “But - that’s only if you do too, of course.”

  Ian kissed her, a sweet, soft gesture. “My darling, don’t you know that one of my fondest dreams is to see your belly grow big with my baby one day?” His hand cupped her breast, drawing a hiss from her as his thumb rasped over the nipple. “Or to watch my child nursing at your breast? Yes, of course, I want children, Tessa, so long as you’re their mother.”

  “I love you, Ian,” she told him quietly, resting her head on his shoulder. “And I would love nothing better than to give you as many babies as you wish.”

  He chuckled. “Let’s start with one and take it from there, all right? But,” he added, in a more serious tone, “not just yet. I’m a selfish enough man to want you all to myself for a time. Which is why we are going to see Jordan as soon as possible and get this birth control situation taken care of.”

  “Okay.” She gave an exhausted sigh, too worn out to argue any further.

  Ian frowned in concern as he gently laid her back against the pillows and covered her with the duvet. “Tessa, I’m not convinced you shouldn’t see Jordan before next week. Not to discuss birth control - I want to be present for that - but to check you out right now. You’re so pale, darling, and your skin feels clammy. Why don’t you let me set something up for today? If he can’t fit you in I’m sure one of his associates can. Simon can drive you.”