What She Wants Tonight

by Jillian Neal

  “Your bedroom in my estate. You do seem to forget that.”

  “How could I forget? You and Dad remind me every single time you order me home that I’m walking on your land. If you don’t want me here, stop inviting me.”

  With another Beverly Denton glower leveled his way, his mother finally made her sweeping exit.

  “What the actual fuck?” Meridian gasped. “I thought you locked the door.”

  “I did. She picked it.”

  “Your family is insane.”

  “No, they’re not insane. They’re devious, and it takes quite a bit of brainpower to be as devious as they are. I need to figure out what’s going on.”

  “That was quite a statement about you caring about the staff. Do you think she knows what the Bastards do?”

  “If she knew, we’d all already be in handcuffs. The first thing I want to know is why Tiff and Brent’s wedding matters to our family.”

  “Okay.” Meridian sat up and scrubbed her hands over her face. “Let’s start at the beginning. Tiffany’s parents are splitting up, and theoretically that means they’ll be dividing Fitzgerald Whitney Distributions, right? Would that be bad for Denton?”

  “They bottle all of our whiskey lines, but I can’t imagine how that would change, and if it did we could bottle our own or go with a smaller distributor. It certainly wouldn’t pose a threat to Denton, as far as I know.”

  “It might slow down production. There would be a cost to bringing it in house. Would Sloan know?”

  Jack phoned both Sloan and Tiffany, but they both seemed baffled as to why his mother would care about the wedding. Tiffany didn’t fully understand her own parents’ company so Jack wasn’t terribly surprised.

  “Let’s go home,” he announced as he tossed his phone on the bed after a wearing conversation with Tiff, who was incapable of focusing on anything but herself for any length of time.

  “What?” Meridian climbed out of bed and began getting dressed, much to Jack’s chagrin. “We can do that?”

  “She called off the wedding. We were here for the wedding. I need to give Maggie another check and visit the garden staff. Other than that, we don’t need to be here. I need to get out of here. I do my best thinking in my office at the courthouse. My parents are hiding something, but they’re not going to play whatever cards they’re holding in their hands until we leave. Sloan will let me know what it is they’re planning and”—he lifted his eyes to hers wanting her to see his sincerity—“I want to be with you there, in Holder County.”

  She gave him that tender grin that he coveted more than any other. “Me too. I need this all not to feel like some kind of bizarre heavenly dream mixed in with a hellacious nightmare.”

  Shrugging into a dress shirt, he went on with his promise. “If you aren’t ready to tell your family or anyone at home, I’ll understand.”

  She shook her head. “I’m ready…I think.”

  “Still arguing it out in your head?” He knew.

  “A little.”

  “Can I get in your deliberations at some point?”

  She nodded. “If you must.”

  “I must.”

  They deliberated some while they ate breakfast alone and while Jack handed out bonuses to the garden staff. He gave another check to Maggie and then took Meridian to the offsite Denton offices at their original distillery location.

  Sloan was at his desk poring over a spreadsheet. He glanced up as they entered. “I’ve checked all I can check on our contracts and distribution chains. We’re Fitzgerald Whitney’s largest supplier. I had legal pull the divorce filings. It’s a generic irreconcilable differences. Even if one of them walked away from the business entirely, I can’t see why they’d want to sever business ties with us. It would hurt them far more than Denton. Are you sure Aunt Bev isn’t trying to scare you into talking to Tiffany? I got the impression that she’d convinced herself she could get you two back together before you arrived.”

  That would explain their hatred of Meridian, but it was as outlandish as it was ridiculous. “She’s delusional,” Jack retorted.

  Sloan grinned. “That was before we met the lovely Meridian,”—he gestured to her—“so maybe Aunt Bev is just determined.”

  “Whatever she is, we’re heading back to Oklahoma.” He handed the Denton checkbook back to his cousin. “I signed the check on top but left it blank just in case, so keep an eye on that.”

  “I always do.” Sloan slipped the checkbook into his desk drawer. “I hate to see you leave early though. I’m going to have to come out to Oklahoma and see what it has that Kentucky doesn’t.”

  “Her.” Jack put his arm around Meridian.

  She grinned. “It was nice to meet you, Sloan.”

  “Likewise. I better get invited to the wedding.”

  “Of course,” Jack scoffed.

  They drove back to River Chase while Jack tried to determine the best way to bid farewell to his parents while also needing to secure the Denton jet. It was two hours from Holder County to the Tulsa airport, and asking one of the Holders to pick them up when Jack’s truck was at the airfield seemed ridiculous.

  If he knew his mother, and he was fairly certain he still did, she’d want them within Denton spy earshot as long as possible, so if the cards fell in his favor, she’d insist that Beckett fly them home.

  Chapter Forty-Three

  As Meridian walked with Jack toward the Denton jet, she let herself really take in their surroundings. The fog that had been there when they arrived was gone, leaving crystal blue skies in its wake. The noonday sun glimmered over the fat maple leaves, glinting them with brush strokes of rich tangerine and notes of envious green.

  She understood why people flocked to Bourbon Country. It was stunning even if the rolling green hills cloaked far more than they uplifted. “That was pretty crafty of you,” she finally commented.

  “Getting her to let us use the plane, you mean? If her goal is to break us up and get me back together with Tiffany, then spying for her is a means to that end. The fact that the end is never coming is knowledge I can work to my advantage that she’ll eventually figure out.”

  Meridian nodded and continued to try not to think of how much of her had changed over the last few days. She still looked the same even though she’d never felt more different. She wondered if her mama would be able to see the changes in her. Leigh Holder was the best mama in the world, so Meridian assumed she’d notice. She also hoped her mama could explain it all to her.

  They boarded the plane, and Meridian settled in. Everything was different, but it was also better. She’d wanted Jack for years, and she’d gotten him. The accomplishment assuaged a little of her worry that she was giving up her ultimate career goals for a man.

  “You’re awfully quiet, cowgirl.” He eased his arm around her, and she laid her head on his chest. “I thought you’d be excited to get back to the ranch.”

  “I am,” she assured him. “I can’t wait to get back. It’s just…different.”

  “Different isn’t bad, right?”

  “No, just…different. The first thing I want to do is go check those pictures.”

  “I’d nearly forgotten about that. I’m sorry. We’ll head to the office first thing.”

  He didn’t have to apologize. She’d nearly forgotten it as well. Good Lord, how many crazy things had to have happened for that to have slipped her mind? She decided then and there that she was delighted to be going home. Everything made sense in Holder County. For the most part, people played nicely and took care of one another. She’d figure out exactly what she wanted to do with the rest of her life sitting on her front porch staring out at her family’s land. Jack might’ve done his best thinking from the office, but she did hers on the ranch.

  The late afternoon sun bathed the interior of the plane in a hot rusty glow as they made their descent. Between the sun and Jack’s kisses on her head, Meridian awoke from her nap.

  “We’re almost there, sleepyhead,” he wh
ispered. She couldn’t help but grin. She’d always thought affectionate names between lovers were ridiculous, but she loved when he called her both princess and cowgirl and honey and every other name he used that was laced with strings of adoration and love.

  She sat up and noticed him yawning as well. He must’ve napped too. “Why are we so sleepy?”

  He grinned at her. “We’ve stayed out rather late every night and just being there is exhausting.” He leaned closer. “Plus, all of the amazing sex. I clearly wore you out.”

  Laughing at that, she stretched a few kinks out of her neck and thought of a few of his kinks she’d love to stretch as well. It didn’t occur to her until she heard the landing gear locking into place that, “No one knows we’re coming home.”

  “You didn’t let your parents know?” he asked as he shook his head when Muriel offered them some coffee to go.

  “No. Everything happened so fast I didn’t think to.”

  “We’ll go to the office, and you can call and surprise them.”

  Taking care to thank Muriel and Beckett for the flight, a wave of abject relief flooded through Jack as soon as his shoes touched Oklahoma soil. It wasn’t quite as soft and lush as the bluegrass hills of Louisville, but it was home and he was thrilled to be back.

  Now, he just had to make sure Meridian was as ready to announce their relationship to the town as he was. “Are you ready?” he asked as he set their luggage in the back of his truck.

  “That’s a loaded question,” she teased.

  “I suppose it is, but I’d still like an answer.”

  “I think so,” she stated thoughtfully. “It actually feels really weird that I’m as prepared for this as I am.”

  “Why?”

  “You wouldn’t understand even if I explained it.”

  “Try me.” It bothered him that she believed that, even if it was somehow true.

  “Men don’t have to give up things. Our entire society is set up that way. How many times have you heard reporters ask highly successful men how they balance work and home life? It never happens because everyone still thinks of home life as being the responsibility of the woman.”

  “Not everyone thinks that way. I certainly don’t.”

  She grinned. “If you did, I wouldn’t have fallen for you.”

  “I still don’t like this idea that by being in a relationship with me, you’re giving up something you want.”

  “I’m not sure that I am,” she admitted. “But what I always thought I wanted is changing so…maybe I’m just giving up what I thought of as something I was owed. I shouldn’t have ever thought that way, but changing the way you’ve always thought takes time.”

  Jack squeezed her hand. “It also takes an incredibly empathetic and intelligent person to step outside of their tribe and view it from other perspectives. It takes an even stronger person to try to change it.”

  “You would certainly know,” she reminded him as he pulled onto the main drag that would lead them past her ranch and all the way to Holder Square.

  He nodded. “I do know, so I also understand if it’s hard and you struggle. I’m okay with all of that. I want to be there when you get frustrated, or angry, or any of the emotions that come with major life shifts.”

  “I definitely do not deserve you,” she choked.

  “That goes both ways.” They drove on in silence. The sweeping flatlands dotted with cattle and rolls of hay set against the endless technicolor sky were a meditation unto themselves.

  By the time he was parking in his spot at the courthouse, she seemed settled. She leaned across the console and brushed a kiss on his cheek. “You know, I do think I’m ready.”

  “If that changes at any point, talk to me. You aren’t going to scare me off.”

  She was already climbing out of his truck, ready to take on whatever was coming next. “Whatcha want to bet Mitch is in there with his feet up on his desk?”

  Jack chuckled. “He works hard. We can’t complain too much.”

  “I can still complain,” she assured him. “Because I had to work ten times as hard to get to where both of you started.”

  “You know what? You’re right. Let’s go give him hell.”

  She seemed pleased with his agreement as they walked into the red brick revival Holder County Courthouse.

  Jack took care not to touch Meridian in any kind of intimate way, even though he desperately wanted to hold her hand or place his arm around her. He wasn’t going to force them out until he was certain she was ready for that.

  True to her word, as the elevator opened on the third floor and they stepped into their office suite, Mitch’s boots were up on his desk and three of the other clerks were staring down at their phones and laughing.

  Jack cleared his throat rather loudly, and everyone snapped to attention. Meridian shook her head at them.

  Mitch somehow managed to go from a reclined position to standing all in one fluid movement. “You’re back!” He nervously shuffled some papers on his desk into neater piles. “Why are you back?”

  “Nice to see you too,” Jack harassed. “We took care of everything we needed to do in Kentucky. Now, it’s time to get back to work…all of you.”

  The clerks and assistants quickly busied themselves with work they should’ve been doing. All except Mitch who followed Jack and Meridian into her office.

  Exchanging an annoyed glance with her, Jack tried to think of a way to get rid of their tagalong while Meridian nonchalantly went to her legal cabinets.

  “How was the trip?” Mitch chirped.

  “Fine,” Jack assured him while never taking his eyes off of the love of his life. It took him a moment to wrap his head around finally acknowledging that she was indeed the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, in this messed up insane world.

  She pulled the keys from her purse, turned the lock, and opened the top drawer.

  Jack’s heart leapt to his throat and pounded out a war drum cry. She flipped through the files and discreetly checked one in the back.

  When her shoulders slumped in relief, so did Jack’s. His frantic heartbeat settled. Clearly they were where she’d hidden them.

  Mitch was still hanging on like a barnacle to a ship. “Did you get out to the tracks or do the bourbon trail tour?”

  Jack ground his teeth. “Yes, to the tracks; no to the tour.” He tried to remember what he would’ve asked if he’d been out for several days prior to his life taking this turn he’d never deserve but would also never refuse. “Did anything happen while we were gone that we should know about?”

  Mitch considered for several beats while Meridian relocked the filing cabinet. “Two drunk drivings third offense brought in early Monday morning. They’ve been arraigned, but Judge Dickson wants to see you to discuss. From the early filings, it appears there’s going to be a new case against adding additional wind farms that the mayor wants to bring in. I have the paperwork on my desk.”

  Mitch finally said something Jack could use. “Great. Can you bring me that now? I’m ready to get back to work.”

  “Oh,”—he looked put out—“sure.” When he made his exit, Jack sealed the door behind him.

  “They’re all there?”

  “Yep. Right where I left them. Maybe we should see if we can get some of the courthouse improvement fund money to replace the locks on these doors.”

  “That’s a good idea. I should’ve done that when I found the cat on my desk.”

  “We were trying not to take any of the money. We wanted the courtrooms and exterior to get the updates,” Meridian reminded him.

  “Yes, well, forgive me for being selfish, but keeping anyone else from ever seeing what I prefer to think of as mine and mine alone has now moved into my top priority spot.”

  She walked over to him with that sexy, sly grin pinned on her lips. “That is very misogynistic of you.” She didn’t look like she minded.

  “Forgive me, princess. You bring out all of the best and a few
of the worst parts of me.”

  “Are the worst parts the ones that make you hold me down and make me wet?”

  His dick swelled to the point he was convinced the damn thing was going to figure out how to work the zipper on his slacks. “Those are the ones.”

  “Then those are some of my favorite parts.” She slipped her hand over the fierce swell behind his zipper, forcing him to choke back a groan.

  “Very, very naughty, princess.”

  Her smirk coiled the need in his balls and made him burn. “Indeed,” she whispered. “What are you going to do about it?”

  He threaded his fingers through her hair and jerked her lips to his own. His other hand gripped her ass and ground her against the problem she’d created.

  And that…was precisely what they were doing when Mitch walked back in without knocking.

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Meridian fought the deep desire to screech at Mitch. Their kissing seemed to send out some kind of homing beacon to interlopers, and she was tired of being interrupted. But then she remembered where she was and who she was. She straightened her skirt and stepped away from Jack. She hated every inch of space between them. The only time any of this made any sense was when she was in his arms.

  “I see the trip went very well,” Mitch drawled.

  Jack’s jaw tensed before he spoke, “Listen—”

  But Meridian shook her head. “It’s fine,” she assured him. “We’re dating. There is nothing in the county bylaws that says we can’t. However, if you think this will be an issue with either yourself or any of the DDAs, please let them know that my door is open for discussion.”

  “As is mine,” Jack stated firmly.

  “Problem?” Mitch laughed. “There is no problem. Are you kidding me? We’re all thrilled. We’ve been hoping for this for years. Ever since they took All My Children off the air, you two were all we had. We had a pool going on when you’d finally figure your shit out. I think Sarah Beth from the tag office is going to end up being closest. Dammit.”