Chapter Twenty-One
Jay
I snuggle deeper into the blankets, I don’t want to get up. The last few days have been wonderful. I went ahead and took two days off work. We spent some of our time off with Jordan’s dad and brought him home from the hospital. We helped him get his house back in order, and Jordan had a security system installed, complete with safety buttons all over the house for emergencies. He may have gone overboard with the safety features, but I didn’t say a word. Because I may have gone a little overboard with food. I cooked enough to keep his refrigerator stocked and ready for all his visitors. We’re all happy he’s back home.
A few of his friends have come over every day, and we talked and had fun with them all evening. We’d do this each day until his dad would kick us out, telling Jordan he should be alone with his woman. It never failed to make me blush, and Pop would laugh at his victory.
Jordan didn’t need to be told twice, because every day he’d bring me back home, and that’s how we would end our days. We’d hardly left the bed when we were home, and now I know I need to get back to work.
I roll over, keeping my eyes closed and enjoying my last few moments in a warm bed wrapped in Jordan’s smell. It’s then I realize I’m not wrapped in him. I open my eyes and see a note on the pillow next to mine.
Went for a run and to grab breakfast. Be back in a few to take us to work.
I love you.
J
I pull the note to my mouth, kissing it. I’m totally keeping this. This is the first time he’s said “I love you” in print. I shift a little, wishing he were still in bed. I love when he wakes me up by making love to me. It’s always slow and sweet and takes my breath away.
Glancing at the clock, I know I need to get up. It takes some effort, but I pull myself from our bed and make my way to the shower for my morning routine. I even take the time to put on a little makeup and leave my hair down for once.
I slide on my glasses and walk out of the bathroom just as Jordan is walking into the bedroom. Gym shorts hang low on his hips, and his broad chest is covered in a thin layer of sweat. Even his hair is damp.
“Did you run like that?” I ask. He looks crazy-sexy right now, and a tug of jealousy shoots through me at the idea of other women seeing him like that. He shakes his head as he walks toward me.
“I went out and got you breakfast.” He holds up a bag from my favorite bakery. He sets it down on the end of the bed before clearing the rest of the distance between us. “When I got back, I ran on the treadmill. In the house.”
“Oh.” It’s the only word I can form, knowing I’ve been caught in my jealousy. My cheeks burn with embarrassment.
“You’re so fucking cute.” He leans down to kiss me, then yanks my towel off my body. “I’m going to shower. Eat your breakfast.”
With that, he drops his gym shorts and goes into the bathroom. I don’t know how long I stare after him, but then I giggle and grab the bag off the end of the bed and sit down to eat my muffin.
Not long after that, Jordan exits the bathroom as I finish eating. I should get up and get dressed, but I lean back on the headboard as I watch him look for something to wear.
“Little bird, I can’t get ready with you doing that.”
“What?” I say innocently, knowing what I’m doing. I’m completely naked. I bat my eyelashes at him. “I’m liking the view, so I’m enjoying it.”
He mumbles something about being naked and only in my glasses.
Feeling a little bolder, I slide my hand between my legs, parting my thighs.
“Babe,” he growls.
“I can’t watch you? I mean, I didn’t get my morning kisses and all, so...” I shrug and go back to what I was doing. I run my fingers across my clit and wish it was him doing it.
“Pretty sure I had you around three in the morning,” he reminds me.
“Doesn’t count if we go back to sleep,” I tell him lazily, moaning a little.
“If I come over there, you know we’ll be late.” He takes a step toward me. Then another. “You said we had to go in today.”
“I can be fast.”
“I don’t like being fast with you.”
“Jordan.” I moan. I arch my back, offering my breasts to him. I’m getting closer to an orgasm, but I want him to finish me off.
“Fuck it,” he growls. He moves across the room fast, and he’s on me before I can gasp. His face goes straight for my sex, and I feel how hungry he is for me.
“Yes,” I moan, letting my head fall back.
I try to raise my hips off the bed, but he holds me down. I sink one hand into his hair and grab on. It doesn’t take much since I already had myself close. Arguing with him while he was naked and seeing his control snap was enough to send me to the edge.
“I’m coming!” I yell, as if he doesn’t already know. My thighs clamp around his head as the pleasure washes through me. I let myself fall back onto the bed, feeling completely undone.
Jordan gives me a few more licks, making me jerk against him, before he rises over me. I think he’s going to slide his cock into me now, but he doesn’t. The bed jerks a little, and I look down to see him stroking himself. He pulls back even more, standing up beside the bed.
“Sit up,” he commands, and I do. I reach out to touch him, but he shakes his head. I glare up at him, but he gives me a stern look.
“You got to touch yourself and mark me. Now I get to mark you.” He licks his lips, and I know he’s tasting me. I know he’ll smell like me now. I stare up at him, transfixed.
“Tell me to mark you.”
“Do it,” I say quickly, my breathing picking up as he strokes himself. “Mark me, Jordan.” His name comes out breathy, and I swear to God I might just come again from watching him jerk off in front of me.
“Jay,” he groans as he starts to come. Hot spurts of semen hit my breast and trail down my stomach. God, that was hot, watching him like that. He got off on looking at me naked while I was still wrung out from the pleasure he gave me.
He reaches down and rubs his come into my skin. “Don’t wash that off. You’ll wear it all day as a reminder of what I’m going to do to you when we get home tonight.”
I nod up at him. For some crazy reason, I love the idea that under my clothes today I’ll have him on me. No one will know.
“That turns you on, doesn’t it? That nobody suspects just how naughty you are for me.”
He’s so right. “I love it. I love you,” I tell him. He leans down, taking my lips in a soft kiss.
“Love you, too, little bird. Now let’s get ready.” He pulls me up to help me stand from the bed before slapping my ass and pushing me toward the closet.
I want nothing more than to stay here with him.
“I don’t want to go to work today,” I grumble. This feeling is foreign to me. I’ve always looked forward to going into the office, probably because it was all I had. It’s what my life was all about. Now I know that other things are out there. Like sex with the man I love.
“Why don’t you just quit?” Jordan says. I look over to see him pulling on a pair of slacks.
“I can’t just quit,” I tell him as I roll my eyes and slip on a pair of dark blue panties with a matching bra.
“Yeah, you can. Not like we need the money. Plus, I haven’t seen you write in any of your notebooks lately. Speaking of, I want to go get those from your old place,” he says, buttoning up his shirt. Then he mumbles something about not liking my sister being so close to them or something.
I don’t care for that idea either. What if she tries to read them? That thought makes me realize I haven’t heard from her in days. Maybe she left town already. It’s not unlike her to just pack up and leave and not tell anyone. The last time, she left while I was at work, and I didn’t hear from her for months.
I shrug. “Maybe I haven’t been writing in them because I’m living my own love story right now.” I grab a pair of black slacks and slip them on, then pull on a dark blue top that I know will match the flats Jordan gave me. I turn around to see him sitting on the bed, his face soft.
“What?” I ask as I walk over to him.
“I like hearing you say that.”
“Well it’s true.” I stand between his legs and lean down to give him a kiss. I trace his lip with my tongue as he caresses my hips.
“I can’t wait for this day to be done,” he sighs, and I step back, letting him get dressed. We both finish getting ready and head into the office. He gives me one final kiss, dropping me off at my desk.
I let out a deep breath and turn on my computer.
I cringe when I see the email from the other day still in my inbox. I need to talk to Jordan about it, and about the other one I got, not to mention that dead freaking bird, too. It’s going to get him all worked up. I hate to burst the happy bubble we’re in with something like this. My phone dings, and I see it’s Jim from downstairs.
Jim: Incoming.
I go to the break room and hit the coffeepot in case he wants a coffee, but I’m pretty sure Miles has quit drinking it since he doesn’t want Mallory drinking it because she’s pregnant. I roll my eyes but smile while I do it. I walk back to my desk and sit down, making sure I have the things I need on my desk.
When the elevator opens and Miles walks off, I stand.
“Miles,” I say, giving myself a pat on the back for not saying “sir.”
“Everything better?” he asks. I can see the concern on his face.
“Yes, Jordan’s dad is home. Thank you for asking.”
“I’m ready whenever you are,” he tells me with a smile.
I notice Mallory isn’t with him, but I don’t ask about her because I don’t want to be nosy. But the difference in him since they’ve been together has been crazy. Miles was never mean or rude to me. We worked together like a well-oiled machine, but he would have never asked me about my personal life before. Never asked me to call him Miles. Mallory has melted a lot of his coldness away. I smile back. I’m getting it. I don’t seem to get so worked up anymore either. Jordan has calmed me.
“Just need to make a few copies and I’ll be right in.” I lift up my folder and notepad. “You need me to grab you anything?”
“Nope, I’m good. See you in a few,” he says and strolls into his office. I hear him whistle, and I have to hold back a chuckle as I make my way to the copy room, getting the last of the stuff I need before heading into his office.
I go over his schedule with him, canceling some appointments and moving others around. Then Miles jumps into wanting to back off some projects he’s shown interest in in the past. I think this has to do with him slowing down. I nod, checking them off my list.
“Lannister,” I finally say.
“I thought it was all wrapped up but the deal hasn’t gone through?”
“I stopped it,” I admit. “Mr. Stein gave us the final project portfolio, and we agreed. Well, while you were on your honeymoon he said something needed to be changed. The portfolio is over two hundred pages. He’d told me he’d mark the changes. I was reluctant to give it to him.”
Miles leans back in his chair folding his hands together like he’s thinking.
“I didn’t care that he was going to mark the changes. I know he’s been here a long time. Longer than me. I just can’t blindly agree without knowing if something else was changed. My eyes go over everything before I hand you the final work.”
“And that’s why you’re my assistant, Jay. I trust you, and something doesn’t smell right. I thought the project was done. Mr. Stein even called to tell me things were wrapped up.”
“What?” I grit my teeth. “I haven’t signed off on it, and neither have you.” I feel my anger grow and my face heats. That little fucker.
“I think he’s changed something in there he doesn’t want us to check. Getting it back from you while I was gone and then making me think it was done... I assume he was trying to push this deal through before we caught on.”
“Yes,” I agree. “I kept asking him for the project. He wouldn’t respond. So finally, Jordan got it for me.”
“He got it for you?” Miles asks with a smile.
I give a little shrug.
Miles chuckles. “Ever so persistent.”
I don’t respond because I know I am when I want something. I’ll pick and pick and pick.
“I feel like he’s telling you one thing and me another. Also, the files he gave me don’t match the ones you had in the email you sent me. I was finally able to really go over it. It’s not good. He needs to be fired and the whole deal needs throwing out.” I shift in my seat. “In fact, there could be federal charges placed on him if he made those changes. I know they wouldn’t be changes you would have agreed to, and normally I’d have caught this right away.”
“It’s almost like someone is trying to make sure both of us are busy during times we’d need to be on the same page. Me with my honeymoon. You with everything that’s going on.” He rubs his chin and thinks for a second. “And he’s been out on family leave for how long now? This is all looking bad.”
I hadn’t thought about that. “The deal talked about foreign ammunition. There are so many copies of the portfolio floating around, I can’t keep anything straight,” I admit, feeling a little over my head.
“I’ll make sure it’s pulled. Then we can bring in the team. I don’t want the company left holding the bag on this.”
“Maybe we need to look into some of Mr. Stein’s other projects, as well.” God, this is going to be a mess.
“I agree. Let’s have Jordan do some magic for us. Maybe he can do some digging and see when the documents were time stamped. Who knows what else he’ll find, but I’m sure he’ll find us something.” Miles reaches for his phone but puts it down when his office door flies open, hitting the wall. I jump up from my seat to see a very pissed-off Jordan standing in the doorway.
“Jordan?” Miles asks, but he ignores him.
“There something you want to tell me, Jay?” He steps into the office, and I pale a little.
“I was going to tell you, I promise, I just...” I trail off. What else is there to say? I wring my fingers together.
“What the fuck is going on?” Miles barks.
“She’s been getting threatening emails,” Jordan growls. “To her work email.”
“And I got a box with a dead bird,” I blurt out, wanting to lay it all on the table and get it over with.
Jordan lets out a string of curses that make me cringe.
“Jay.” Miles says my name quietly, and I know I’m in trouble.
“I’m sorry! Things have been crazy, and, well...” Jordan stares at me, his eyes boring into mine. I’ve never seen him this mad before. He’s always sweet and soft. Well, at least to me. Seems there might be another side to him.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper.
I hear Miles pick up his phone and start talking. “Justice, I need you to get my wife back here. When she gets in, my floor is on lockdown.”
He’s quiet for a second, and Jordan moves toward me. All that tension that had finally left his body is back. Maybe worse than ever. His fists are clenched at his side.
“Then I need you to meet Paige and Jordan in security. Seems my assistant has been getting threats and I might have an idea who’s behind it. Or at least Jordan can start tracking the emails.”
“I’m sorry,” I whisper again, stepping closer to Jordan and closing the rest of the distance between us.
He cups my face, and some of the anger slips away. “I know I’m pissed. Real fucking pissed. And don’t get me wrong, about twenty percent of it is your doing, but the real anger is due to someone threatening you. A fucking dead bird, Jay.” His voice is hoarse and pained. He’s the only one who calls me “little bird.”
“I’m going to fix this,” he tells me, and I nod, knowing he will.
“Okay, I want to go over some things I’ve learned with Jordan. All the programs are down in security. Let’s go ahead and get started on what we can find,” Miles says.
“Yeah, let’s do this.”
We leave Miles’s office, but Miles stops at my desk. “You stay here and keep reading over these files. See what you can catch,” Miles says.
“I want her with me,” Jordan fires back.
“Justice and Mallory are on their way up. I’m locking down the floor. She’ll be safer here than moving around the building.”
I can see Jordan wants to fight him on it.
“I’ll be fine.” I try to reassure him.
“You keep your little ass in that chair, Jay,” he growls, and I sit down exactly where he tells me. He shakes his head at me, and Miles steps back, clearly giving us some space.
Jordan leans down, caging me in. “I love you more than anything. Stay here where I can see you.”
I nod. “I love you, too.”
He lays a hard kiss on me before storming off, with Miles following him.
“Well, crap,” I mumble to myself. I turn, picking up the folder and flipping it open. I don’t make it two lines and my cell is going off. I see it’s my sister and clear the call, but it rings again. I don’t have time for this, but I know she’ll just keep calling. Sighing, I answer, thinking maybe it will be a welcome distraction for a moment.
“What’s up?” I say, still looking down at the folder and only half reading it.
“If you want your sister to live, you’ll pick up that folder and walk out of the building.”
“Who is this?” Panic hits me as the distorted voice echoes on the other end. It sounds like something out of a movie.
“Time’s ticking, little bird. You better get off the floor before Justice and Mallory get there and the place goes into lockdown. Or you’ll never see your sister again.” I hear my sister scream my name in the background.
“All we want are the folders. Close it and pick them up.” My hands shake as I do it. “Now use the special little card your boyfriend gave you and get to your apartment.” I grab my purse and walk toward the elevator. “Don’t use this phone again or I’ll know.”
Then the line goes dead.
I slide my card into the elevator, and the doors slide closed. My fingers twitch to hit the floor for security, but I don’t know if whoever called me is watching. If I say something, he might hurt my sister. I just have to give him the folders. I can do that. When the doors slide open, I look up at the camera.
“I love you,” I say before stepping off.