Slade dropped Mandisa off at the house and told her to go on up and get ready for bed. Cooling Queen-Sorrell was going to take a few moments—after their romp by the stream, he wasn’t sure Mandisa could stand on her own two feet for much longer.

He walked his horse back to the stables and began their practiced cooldown. He stroked and brushed her, talking her down into a relaxed state. When he’d checked her hooves and was satisfied his girl was comfortable in her stall, he put away her tack and made his way toward the doors of the stables.

His phone vibrating in his back pocket stopped his forward motion. He pulled the phone free of his denims and was surprised to see Aaron’s name flashing across his screen. “Hey, Aaron, is everything all right?”

Aaron wasn’t much of a talker. He texted Slade more than anything, but calling during the evening hours was reserved for emergencies. “We’ve got a problem. I’m pulling up in front of the house now.”

“Drive to the stables. I’ll come meet you out front.”

Slade walked out of the stables just as Aaron was bringing his truck to a full stop. Slade opened the passenger door and hopped inside.

“What is it?”

“I know why Bull is so eager to get this deal in place. It’s the last chess piece he needs to steal your company from you.”

Aaron’s words felt like a punch to Slade’s gut. Slade watched his friend carefully, assessing Aaron, looking for anything that told Slade he’d possibly misheard his foreman. Aaron’s steady, brooding gaze told Slade there was no mistaking what he’d heard.

Aaron wasn’t just Slade’s friend and foreman. He wasn’t just the man Slade trusted with his life. Aaron was a brilliant corporate attorney who would serve at Slade’s side once Slade took over Logan Industries. Research, and finding things out that most people didn’t want you to know, was his specialty. If he was bringing this news to Slade, it was true.

“How?” Slade’s question sliced into the air. Fortunately, Aaron had been around Slade long enough that he was more than prepared for Slade’s pending meltdown, if it came to that.

“He can’t sell or buy your company outright—his contract precludes that. But there’s nothing to stop him from selling individual sections of the company if he can make the company profit from it.

“C.E. Stuart, Inc. is Logan Industries’ biggest competitor in several markets. We’re mostly neck and neck in all categories across the board. However, there are two categories where we best them by a wide margin. Finance, which was your division before Bull sent you to Venus, and cosmetology.”

“The picture is beginning to form, but I need details, Aaron. How does this tie in to Mandisa?”

“Apparently, Stuart has been after Mandisa, her formula, and her stores for the last year. She’s turned them down every time.”

Slade groaned loudly. His son-of-a-bitch father was a slick bastard. This plan was ingenious. He could sell off blocks of Slade’s company and not worry about the consequences.

“All right, he sells significant pieces of the company. Even if we end up going under because of his sneaky dealings, how does that benefit Bull? He doesn’t own stock in the company. He earns a salary. He can’t touch Logan’s profits. As nasty as Bull is, you know he’s not doing this simply to fuck with me. He’s gotta get something out of it too.”

Aaron nodded and handed Slade a slip of paper. He reached up and turned the dome light of the car on for Slade to read it.

“He has to bring Mandisa, her work, and her stores along for the ride as part of Venus. Once he does that, Stuart’ll make him president over several divisions in their company. The deal could net him millions and allow him to fuck you over all at once.”

Slade read as Aaron spoke, fire burning in his veins as each word verified everything Aaron said. If he were sitting in the driver’s seat instead of Aaron, he’d have slapped the steering wheel to let out some of his frustration.

Again, his father was attempting to steal from him. God, Slade was so tired of fighting this man. If it were solely about him, Slade would be tempted to give it all up to cut all ties with Bull. But the thought of leaving Mandisa in his grip made his skin tight and his ears throb with the heavy thud of his racing heartbeat.

“Aaron, you’re the one with the brilliant legal mind. How can I stop him? I can’t let him manipulate Mandisa into something she’s already decided against. The trust doesn’t allow me to take control for five more years.”

“I don’t have an answer for you yet. I hadn’t gone to law school yet when Bull took over. I’ve never actually seen the trust. Do you have a copy?”

Slade shook his head. “The house attorney took care of it. I can call him tomorrow and ask him for it.”

Aaron shook his head. “No, he works inside the company. You must assume everyone that works there is either in bed with Bull willingly or by force. I have some friends down at the courthouse. If I can find the judge who presided over the estate case, then I might be able to get what we need without tipping our hand to Bull.”

Aaron placed a firm hand on Slade’s shoulder, giving it a hard but reassuring squeeze. “I’ll find a way to protect you, Slade. You’re my brother. No one gets to torment you but me.”

Slade nodded. The notion that Aaron had his back brought a mild sense of relief. Aaron was a miracle worker. If there was the slightest bit of wiggle room in all this legalese, Aaron would find it.

“All right, I’m going to the house,” Slade announced. “Mandisa is waiting for me. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Aaron shook his head. “No, you won’t. I’m on my way to New York.”

“Why?”

“In my digging, I found out Bull is sending one of his cronies to New York. I just want to make sure he’s not up to anything that will cause any trouble for Mandisa. She’s blameless in all of this. She shouldn’t have to suffer for something she had no part in.”

Slade swallowed down the guilt that arose from Aaron’s statement. He was right. Mandisa didn’t deserve to have her company stolen from her. What was worse, he’d put her company in harm’s way by enticing her to sign this deal with him.

“You gonna tell her what’s going on?”

Slade focused his gaze on some fixed point out the passenger window. “No, not yet. I want to wait until I have more information. Until you can tell me definitively if you can stop Bull or not.”

“Slade, that woman cares for you. If she finds out you knew her company was in danger and you didn’t tell her, it will crush what you have.”

Slade kept his eyes positioned on his window. He didn’t need to see the disappointment in Aaron’s eyes. Hearing it in Aaron’s voice was more than enough to sour Slade’s stomach.

“If I tell her now, she’ll leave.” Slade cleared his throat after he spoke, attempting to free his voice from the neediness he’d heard in it.

He was too close to building something important with Mandisa. They’d agreed to give the connection they had a chance beyond the three weeks she’d be in Texas. If she knew it was his father attempting to screw her over, she’d walk away from him without the slightest glance backward. He couldn’t allow that. If he could protect her—and their relationship—lying by omission didn’t seem like all that bad a choice.

“Don’t let Bull cost you another woman you love, Slade.”

Slade tried to shake the sense of dread Aaron’s words brought. He couldn’t think of adding Mandisa to that list of people Bull had stolen from Slade. “I never said anything about loving her, Aaron.”

Aaron laughed. It was a strange sound coming from the usually stoic man, making the hair on the back of Slade’s neck stand at attention. “It’s obvious to anyone that sees the two of you together how much you love her. It’s also obvious by the way you attempt to keep her at your side all day every day. And let me tell you, even if Mandisa hasn’t noticed the way you’re micromanaging her time and schedule, Mama and I certainly have. Slade, you can’t keep her with you by keeping her with you. She has to make the choice to love you or not.”

There was too much truth in his friend’s statement, more than Slade could admit. The only thing he could face at this moment was the fact that he needed Mandisa with him. He wasn’t willing to lose her.

“My decision is made, Aaron. Keep me posted on your trip to New York.”

As Slade went to open the passenger door he heard the flat tone of Aaron’s voice. “Be careful, Slade. Bull didn’t become the monster that he is overnight. One bad decision at time eventually culminated in the raging psycho we know today. Don’t let your past losses lead you down the path of destruction.”

Aaron’s warning soured Slade’s stomach, making him swallow the bitter taste of bile backing up into his mouth. He breathed in slow deep breaths through his nostrils to settle his uneasy gut and gave his friend a final nod as Slade slipped from the truck.

He took careful steps back to the house, needing as much time as possible to shut up that damn angel on his shoulder. With each step, its voice became less pronounced, and he could ignore it a little more.

Sometimes you had to fight fire with fire. That was the only way you could win. He’d show Bull once and for all that Slade’s life wasn’t up for grabs. He just had to make certain he didn’t fuck around and become his evil sire in the process.

* * *

Mandisa was drifting somewhere between sleep and consciousness when she heard Slade enter his bedroom. Within moments she heard the en-suite shower running, and images of miles of sexy, taut skin, encasing carved muscle danced beneath her eyelids.

She wasn’t certain if it was just a Texas thing, but lord knew Slade Hamilton was a delicious specimen of a man, and she was grateful he was hers for the taking while she was visiting.

Mandisa still had a smile on her face when she felt his side of the bed giving way to his weight as he climbed in next to her. He gathered her into his arms and dipped his head for their usual goodnight kiss.

“Hmm, a smiling woman in my bed. To what do I owe that pleasure?”

“I heard you in the shower, and my mind started conjuring up images of you in the water.”

“The thought of me in water makes you smile?”

She chuckled, loving the feel of his hardening cock lying heavy on her hip.

“No, the thought of you naked and in water makes me smile.”

She could feel the rumble of his laughter underneath her palm as she slid it down his chest, moving slowly until her fingers were tickled by the treasure trail of dark hair lightly sprinkled on his abdomen.

She delighted in the moment her hand reached and then cupped his sex, causing his laughter to morph into a low, sexy growl.

“Damn, woman. Whatcha got in mind?”

She let his question linger in the air unanswered as she disappeared under the plush duvet and buried her nose into the crevice where his thigh met his pelvis. She took a deep breath, inhaling the pleasant scent of clean and spice from his shower gel.

She wiggled her way between his legs, pushing them gently apart to make room for herself. That first lick ran from the soft skin of his sac all the way to the tip of his cock, making him spread his legs even farther, beckoning her to dive in to the feast she was making of him.

She circled her tongue around his proud cap and dipped her tongue into the well of his slit, scooping up the pearl of pre-cum that was resting there. She heard moaning again, at first thinking this was a new sound coming from Slade, but then noticed something different about it. His moans were deep, soulful, always expressing his need or satisfaction. This moan was the kind that came from deep within when you were devouring something delectable, when you were satisfying a longstanding craving that had been long denied. This moan wasn’t Slade’s, it was hers, and she wasn’t the least bit ashamed of it.

She slid down Slade’s cock, eager to taste as much of him as she could at one time. His length and girth made it impossible for her to deep-throat all of him, but damn if she wasn’t going to try to choke on him if she could.

One hand tightly fisted around the root of his cock, the other gripping his heavy sac with just enough pressure to add to his pleasure and not cause him harm, she bobbed up and down, creating a frantic rhythm between her mouth and hand, essentially wringing the pleasure out of Slade one stroke at a time.

He moaned, moving his hips in tandem with her rhythm. She could tell when the pleasure was just this side of torture when his thrusts became erratic. The thought of her bringing him to his brink like this made the walls of her cunt contract. They’d talked about her taking him until he burst inside her mouth, about her desire to swallow all his essence. But until this moment, Slade had refused to do it until he could provide her with test results giving him a clean bill of health.

After more days than she cared to count, he’d presented her with those results two days ago. Now, with his fingers buried in her braids, holding her mouth in place, as he fucked her throat raw, she was nearly at the brink of her own orgasm as she thought about tasting his. She cupped her tongue on the underside of his cock and dropped her jaw as far as she could while Slade fucked her mouth until he spilled inside her, yelling as each jet of his come pulsed out of him.

Without thought, she closed her lips around him, creating a tight seal. She moaned when the first taste of his release landed on her tongue. The taste of his essence making her spasm, she pushed shaking fingers between her swollen pussy lips, dipping them into her wetness before circling her throbbing clit. A few strokes, and fire lanced through her. His leaking cock trapped in her mouth, pushing into the recesses of her throat, her digits rubbing out uncontrollable swells of electricity, she spilled over into her release, collapsing as her limbs turned to noodles beneath her.

Somewhere between her blissed-out, sex-drunk mind and consciousness, she felt Slade pull her up his body, cradling her against his chest. He stroked her back with a repeated delicate motion meant to soothe her into sleep. Without much coaxing, she allowed herself to fall into the slumber Slade’s touch was leading her to. The last thought crossing her mind was a question she wasn’t prepared to answer.

How in the hell am I expected to live without this?