Slade woke to the most tantalizing aroma filling his nostrils. He pulled the source of the fragrance—a sleeping Mandisa—closer to him and buried his nose in her neck. A deep breath garnered him a lungful of the enticing mix of coconut and peppermint.

He was certain whatever she was wearing was something she’d made herself. He’d taken her shopping yesterday, and as requested had left her to her own devices when they returned to the ranch. He’d worked straight through dinner and crawled up the stairs to shower and lie down next to her when he’d finally completed his work. His reward was the delectable scent wafting up from her skin.

She smelled edible, and if he hadn’t been so tired, he’d have shown her just how hungry he was for her. Another sniff of her skin, and he was convinced now was the time to make up for his exhaustion last night. But a quick glance at the clock told him there was no time.

Today was the day he rid himself of Bull Hamilton. The man had been a nuisance for years, and today, Slade would take back what was always his. He’d protect his family legacy and the woman sleeping in his arms right now.

He placed a gentle kiss on her bare shoulder and smiled as she snuggled into the press of his body. “Hey, if we’re going to make this meeting, we should probably be up now.”

She moaned seductively, and his traitorous cock jumped with excitement. If she lived here full time, I’d probably never leave this bed.

“By the feel of things, I don’t believe that’s what you really want to do.”

She was right. There was nothing more he wanted than to bury himself in her right now. But he needed to take care of Bull, and if he didn’t do it now, they’d both suffer the consequences later.

“All I ever want to do is lie in bed with you. But I promise, as soon as this is done, we can hightail it back here and spend the rest of your time in Texas in bed.”

Mandisa turned in his arms, a slow smile curving her full lips into a perfect bow. “Well, that’s an awfully tempting offer. You sure you’ve got enough stamina to live up to that promise?”

“Darlin’, when it comes to you, I’ll do whatever I must to keep you satisfied. Let’s hope there’s enough energy drinks left in the pantry from the last time Mama went shopping.”

She kissed him quickly and crawled out of bed. When she reached the bathroom door, she gave him a questioning glance over her shoulder.

“Aren’t you coming with me? Showering together would conserve time and water.”

“We both know us together in a shower will only prolong our time in that water. We wash off, then get dirty, and then have to wash off all over again.”

She threw her head back in laughter as she continued into the bathroom. Slade waited a few moments after he heard the shower running behind the closed door to grab his phone and dial Aaron.

One ring, and the call connected. “You just crawling out of bed, Hamilton?”

Slade’s shoulders shook with quiet laughter. His friend was always at the ready. “Something like that. We’re getting ready to head over to the offices in a few.”

“You sure that’s such a good idea? Bull might act worse in front of company.”

“I know. She’ll be in my office as we hammer out the details of Bull’s extraction in the conference room. I’m not too keen on leaving her by herself ever since you called with news about New York. At least I know she’ll be safe at the office.”

“You think Bull suspects anything, Slade?”

Slade’s answer was quick. “No. It’s not like I called this meeting out of the blue. This is a normal quarterly board meeting. And being the taskmaster that Bull is, he always demands the board’s presence in person or via teleconference. We’re going to stick to the plan, let him run the meeting as he usually does, and then when he asks if there’s any extra business to be brought before the board, we’ll drop our bomb.”

It was going to take all the patience in the world for Slade to sit through this meeting, knowing what he had planned for his father. But any change from the usual might tip Bull off, and he couldn’t risk that.

“Just be careful, Slade. We have Bull dead to rights. He can’t prevent us from ousting him today. But he’s unpredictable and ruthless when he can’t get his way.”

Slade knew Aaron spoke the truth, but he couldn’t allow the fear of what his father might do to prevent him from doing what was right. The best thing for all of them would be freedom from Bull and his callous ways.

“I’ll keep that in mind. You just make sure you’re sitting in front of that web camera at nine sharp Central time.”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Aaron’s stated.

Slade ended the call with his friend just in time to hear Mandisa turn the shower off and close the glass door to the stall. He stood from the bed and walked toward the bathroom door. His future was waiting for him. Time to get up and meet it.

* * *

Slade pulled Mandisa into his office, heading directly for the large wooden desk sitting in front of the floor-to-ceiling-window. He sat on the edge of his desk, pulling her into his arms as soon as he was seated.

The firm press of his lips against her mouth made her sink into the warmth of his embrace. He tore his lips from hers, peppering the sensitive skin of her neck with tiny electric nips that made her blood sizzle.

Her brain cloudy with desire, she clung to the last thread of clarity long enough to pull slightly away from him and look up into his eyes. Watching his gaze, full and heavy with need, only worked to frazzle the thin thread of restraint she was holding desperately to.

“Slade, we’re in your office.”

“I’m aware of that, darlin’. It is mine.”

He leaned forward to capture her lips again. She turned her head just in time, his lips meeting her cheek instead of the intended target of her mouth.

Mandisa watched him as she tried to make sense of the moment. She wasn’t certain why things felt off. Slade was an amorous man. He’d kept her satisfied since the first night they’d spent together in New York. But as much as he did to keep the fires burning between them, alarm bells were going off inside of Mandisa’s head right now.

“I tried my best to keep you in bed for a little morning fun, and you turned me down. Now, you’re practically painted on me. What gives?”

He tried to kiss her again, chasing her lips as she turned her face from one side to the other. “So you’re complaining because I’m giving you what you want?”

He certainly was giving her everything her libido had been begging for this morning. His hands cupped the curve of her ass, pulling her closer to him, as his tongue and teeth laved and nibbled at her earlobe. She could feel her juices begin to coat her pussy walls and pool at her opening.

“Yes, I want this,” she murmured as her eyes fluttered closed. “I’m not trying to give your staff a show, though.”

He held her for a few seconds more before he lifted his head and looked down at her. This time she saw more than lust clouding his vision. There was reverence for her in his blue gaze. As if she was something vital and treasured to him, something of great value.

“Hey, we talked about this. Even though I’m going home in a few days, we are not done. Slade, you don’t have to look at me like I’m the last slice of pie at Thanksgiving.”

She snaked her hands up the firm planes of his chest, and they landed on his broad shoulders. She stood there, her hands still as his chest expanded with a heavy breath. “Why are you so worried?”

“Mandisa, long-distance relationships don’t exactly have a great track record. We don’t have a lot of history to anchor us.”

“Why do we need history when the present is so damn wonderful?”

Her words seemed to erase the long crease running between his brows. The stiffness in his shoulders remained, making her need to comfort him increase.

“Go to your meeting, take care of your business, and I’ll be right here waiting for you when you’re done. You do that, and we’ll spend the next few days pretending the world doesn’t exist.”

Slade tightened his hold on her and leaned to place a quick peck on her lips. “How’s a man supposed to resist an offer like that?” He granted her a crooked smile filled with delicious devilishness, making her skin hum with familiar excitement.

“That’s the point—you’re not supposed to.”

The desk phone ringing behind him pulled his attention away long enough to reach behind him and press the speaker button.

“Mr. Hamilton, the board members are convening in the conference room. The meeting will begin momentarily.”

“On my way,” Slade answered and clicked the speaker off. He leaned in for another kiss, threading his fingers through her braids, keeping her mouth positioned exactly where he wanted it as his lips parted hers. He dipped his tongue in her mouth to taste her, moaning in sublime pleasure when his tongue touched hers.

The taste of Slade made Mandisa hungry for him. Kissing him was never enough. It always made her want to feel his skin on hers with no barriers between them.

“You’d better go before I tie you to this desk,” she whispered as she broke the kiss, resting her forehead against his.

“Darlin’, you never told me you had a bondage kink.”

“I don’t, but for you, I’ll make the exception.”

“God, woman,” Slade uttered as he peeled her arms away from him and readjusted the firm bulge of his cock. He stood and fastened the buttons of his suit jacket before he walked toward the door.

He grabbed the doorknob, turning slightly toward Mandisa before he opened the door. “This isn’t going to be a pretty meeting. Things will probably get ugly. Do me a favor—stay here and wait for me. If you need anything, get my secretary on the intercom. I don’t want you to end up in the crossfire of what’s about to happen.”

The heated sizzle his touch had left her with was replaced by a wary chill that made her senses go on alert. The crinkled lines around his eyes and the tense planes of his face conveyed the concern weighing on Slade. She hadn’t had enough experience with the corporate world to know if this was par for the course with business coups, but she would bet everything she owned his sense of dread had more to do with Bull Hamilton than whatever the status quo was for these types of situations.

She didn’t say anything. She simply nodded in response and waited as he kept his eyes fastened on her. He took one more breath, then sighed in satisfaction, opened the door and stepped into the hallway.

She didn’t know if it was the fact that she knew how deeply Bull had hurt and betrayed Slade, or if it was the uneasy feeling she’d had the few times she’d been in Bull’s presence, but Mandisa was just as worried about Slade walking into that meeting as Slade seemed to be about her.

Bull didn’t seem like the roll-over-and-take-it kind of guy. He seemed more like the fight-dirty-and-take-what-I-want type. Slade was honest—he wore his heart on his sleeve, and she worried Bull would crush it if given half the chance. She just hoped Slade knew what the hell he was doing. If he didn’t, this was going to blow up in all their faces.

* * *

Finally, my wayward son has decided to grace us with is presence,” Bull snarled as Slade walked into the conference room. “I hope we weren’t keeping you from something important.”

Slade swallowed the venom attempting to rise in the back of his throat. Giving in to his need to argue with Bull wasn’t part of the plan.

Get in, let him carry on as he usually does, and end it before he knows what’s happening to him.

Bull eyed him carefully. He always did after landing a blow. It was how the old man gauged how hard he should come back with the follow-up blow. The glint in Bull’s squinted eyes begged Slade to take the bait. But Slade sat quietly in his chair and greeted the entire board as he normally would, refusing to give in to Bull’s tactics.

Slade could feel the heat of Bull’s gaze following him. He calmly walked the length of the table and sat in his designated seat at the opposite end, facing his father. He tipped his head and leaned an elbow against the armrest as he watched Bull.

“Where’s that no-’count leech you call a best friend. Isn’t he going to fulfill his duties here today, boy?”

Slade raised the laptop screen and tapped a few keys before meeting his father’s eyes again.

“If you’re talking about Aaron, he’s away on company business.” Slade hit the last key, and then pointed to one of the flat-screen monitors hanging from the wall. “He’ll be attending virtually.”

Everyone in the room raised their eyes to the screen to watch Aaron tip his hat in greeting as he took his seat in front of the web cam.

Bull balled his hand into a fist, silently venting his frustration. This was a game, and the first point had gone to Slade. Bull wasn’t happy about that at all.

“There’s only one item on the agenda today I feel needs our attention.” Bull leaned back in his chair as he spoke, giving a passing glance to the other board members seated at the table. “C.E. Stuart is looking to acquire Venus. I’ve laid out line by line the details of this deal in the individual copies of the prospectus sitting in front of all of you.

“Venus has performed well, but not as well as it should have. L.I. has had to plug in a good deal of money into it. If we take this deal, we relieve ourselves of a potential problem and make a killing in the sale.”

Anger rose quickly in Slade. He wrapped his hand around his armrest and squeezed until he could feel the bite of the metal pressing into his flesh. The man couldn’t even be bothered to spare the time to ease his bullshit down the board’s throat. He was going to try to choke them all with it and steal Slade’s company right off the bat.

Slade lifted his eyes to the monitor to get a glimpse of Aaron. The brief blink of Aaron’s eyes was all the sign Slade needed to initiate plan B. Fuck sitting back and taking it. This fight was about to get ugly.

“I fail to see what potential problem you’re talking about. Venus is one of our largest moneymakers. Why would you want to get rid of it?” Slade watched the other board members nod in agreement.

“Yes, it is making us money now. But if you knew anything about how business works, you’d be able to see the warning signs as early as I have.”

“With an MBA in finance, I’m confident there isn’t much I don’t understand about business. What I find mysterious are your business practices, but I’m sure you’ll be happy to explain them to me in detail.”

Slade kept a straight face as he watched a muscle twitch briefly at the corner of Bull’s eye. The old man was getting angrier, and Slade didn’t much care. This was his family’s heritage. Slade couldn’t let Bull do this to him without a fight.

“Slade, I know you have a persecution complex. I know you think every decision I make is about you. But if you’d stop and realize that I don’t run my business on emotion, you’d know this was a good deal.”

“I think you mean my business, Bull. It’s mine, always has been, always will be. And you don’t get to steal it from me brick by brick.”

Bull laughed a bit. The slick smile he wore when he thought he was winning climbed on his face. “As CEO, I damn sure can.”

Slade picked up a nearby remote and tapped a button. Instantly, all of them one by one opened to a collage of documents displaying on the screens.

“Ladies and gentleman of the board. My father is right in his assumption that he can sell off individual bits of my company as he sees fit. He is in fact the CEO, and that’s definitely in his purview. But what he can’t do is use this company as a bargaining chip to secure lofty, personal business deals for himself.”

Slade watched the same smug smile on Bull’s face begin to waver slightly as he recognized the document on the screen.

“What you’re all looking at right now is a detailed copy of this proposed sale. In exchange for the sale of Venus and its holding of Sweet Sadie’s formula and stores, L.I. makes a very generous amount of money, and Bull gets a cushy corner desk over at C.E. Stuart, Inc.”

Slade repositioned himself, leaning back comfortably in his chair and crossing one leg over the other. Bull was busted, and everyone in the room knew it. The only thing left was to take out the garbage.

A moment later Slade’s secretary entered the room with an armful of folders, placing each one carefully in front of the seated board members.

Aaron cleared his throat, breaking through the deafening silence cloaking the room. “If you’d open your folders, you will see a copy of the email between C.E. Stuart, Inc.’s CEO and Mr. Bull Hamilton detailing the terms of Mr. Hamilton, Sr.’s future employment. The next page behind that is a copy of the trust Mrs. Logan created to be executed at the time of her death. The highlighted portions detail that Mr. Hamilton, Sr. can sell and purchase on behalf of the company. He is not, however, allowed to make deals that will only benefit him personally at the expense of the company.”

“You hacked into my personal email?” Bull questioned.

“You’ve been sloppy over the last few years, Bull,” Slade answered. “You’ve been so ensconced in your delusion that no one can stop you, you started making silly mistakes. That may be your private email, but you opened it and transmitted responses to it from an L.I. computer, using our network. If you’ll look at the bylaws of the company, all communications over our server are subject to monitoring.”

Slade could see Bull’s ire rising as his complexion turned from pale to crimson. The old man knew he was caught, and he was pissed about it. As much as Slade was enjoying watching Bull get what he deserved, he was more concerned with getting him out of his building and his life.

“I don’t know what you’re trying to pull here, but there’s no detriment to the company. It doesn’t matter if C.E. Stuart is offering me a position. If L.I. makes a profit from the sale, there’s nothing you can do to touch me.”

“L.I. would be paid lots of money, but not a profit. Not really. If you’ll all turn to the final page in your folders, you’ll see an appraisal of Venus’ assets and worth. When broken down into actual dollar amounts, the sum you agreed to is fifty cents on the dollar.”

Slade didn’t have to watch them to know the board members were scouring the appraisal affidavit. The undervaluing of the company in the sale would have cost them each millions. The board might follow Bull, but only if he was making them money.

“We’d lose our rights to Venus and its products and only make half of what it was worth. That’s not a profit, that is a deficit. That means you were attempting to rob us. In your hurry to secure the position with our competitor, you didn’t do your due diligence in figuring out the numbers. You fired yourself.”

“Fired?” Bull huffed. “You can’t fire me. Venus is one small part of this company. I have made so much money for this company. Who else will lead it? You certainly can’t, not for the next five years. Your grandmother made certain of that when she created the trust.”

“Actually,” Aaron interrupted, “the trust doesn’t actually preclude Slade from taking the reins of the company. It just says that he has up until the age of forty years to take his place as CEO. You had your lawyers interpret that as he can’t run his own company until then, but really, it can be interpreted in several ways.”

Slade pressed a button on the intercom and returned his attention to Bull. “Aaron has secured an injunction preventing you from making any more decisions as CEO and giving me control of my company. My first act as CEO is to take out the trash.”

Two large men dressed in matching navy blue jackets walked into the office, flanking Bull on both sides.

“Security will escort you from the building. Any personal items you may have will be packed and forwarded to you. Have a good day, Mr. Hamilton. Logan Industries thanks you for your service.”

Bull’s lip curled into a snarl. He looked almost ready to jump across the table to strangle Slade, but the two burly men standing beside Bull seemed to make him think twice about it. Instead, Bull rose slowly, taking a moment to glare at Slade before he walked toward the door.

“I promise you will regret this,” Bull uttered before he walked through the doorway and was escorted to the elevators.

Slade rose from his seat, walked slowly around the length of the table and took the seat that used to belong to his father.

“If we’re done with the entertainment portion of the hour, let’s get back to business, shall we?”

* * *

Mandisa was bored out of her mind. She kept looking at the door like a diabetic does a fat slice of cake, like it was her saving grace and her downfall all wrapped into one. After spending so much time in the wide-open fields of Slade’s ranch, being bottled up in his office made her twitchy.

Who would have thought three weeks of fresh air and a good man by her side would make her want to run from work? Well, she didn’t want to run from all of her work. She’d enjoyed mixing up scents the other day for Slade. She couldn’t wait to give him the final settled products tonight. He’d enjoyed the quick massage oil she’d made and used on him. But the body butter and cologne always smelled better once they’d cooled and settled for a few days.

She stood up, rubbing her restless hands against her legs, and walked to the window. The closer she got to the end date, the more she wanted to say to hell with it all and just lose herself in Slade and the world he offered her.

But you can’t. They need you.

Before she could continue with her thought, she heard her phone ringing. The name “Ash,” flashed across her screen.

“Hey Ash,” she answered. “What’s my friendly neighborhood contractor doing calling me?”

“Hey, Mandisa,” Ash replied. “I was just about to go order the paint for the store. I know Kandi ordered the exact same color you guys have now. But the last time you and I spoke, you told me you wanted to revamp the store and go with that red-and-black theme I showed you. Have you changed your mind? Or should I just go with Kandi’s selection?”

“I’m sorry, Ash,” Mandisa answered. “I’ve been on vacation for a little while. Why don’t you start from the beginning?”

“Well, since the break-in and vandalism, this would be the perfect time to implement the new theme. I just figured in all the craziness to get this place up and running as soon as possible, you’d forgotten to mention it to Kandi.”

Break-in? Cold ran through Mandisa. What the hell was going on in New York?

“Ash, I know you always take before pics for your website. Can you forward them to me so I can make a final decision about the plans we talked about a couple of months ago? How long before you need my decision?”

“Uh, I can put it off until tomorrow. But your new business associate, Aaron. He’s been hounding me to get things done ASAP. He hired three of my crews to get the store done by the end of the week. Frankly, he’s a little bit scary, and I don’t want to piss him off.”

“All right. I’ll text you tonight.”

She ended the call and tapped the message notification on her phone. In Ash’s text, she tapped on the slideshow and waited with her breath caught in her chest as each pictured detailed the destruction Ash referred to.

Her mama’s beloved store was reduced to rubble. Light fixtures were destroyed. The shelving was ripped from the walls. The floors were covered with glass and debris. It didn’t look like the trendy store her mother had created with nothing but her backbone and sweat.

Mandisa was startled out of her shock by Slade’s voice on the opposite side of the door. She wiped at her face quickly, attempting to compose herself.

“Hey, there,” Slade called to her. “I’m finished here. You ready to get back to our plan of spending the next few days buried beneath the covers?”

“Sure, just let me put in a quick call to Kandi.”

“What are you calling Kandi for?”

Mandisa watched Slade. Everything about him looked cool and confident. Nothing about his bright smile and open posture gave anything away.

“She’s my friend and I miss her. Do I need any other reason to call her, Slade?”

Slade shrugged his shoulders. “I’m sure you don’t. I just wanted to make sure you were adhering to the rules of our wager. No work calls.”

“Of course. I mean, why would I need to call work? You promised that if something was wrong at work Kandi would call you and you’d tell me right away. If I’ve learned one thing in the short time we’ve been together, it’s how honest and open you are. I know if something were wrong, you’d tell me right away. Isn’t that right?”

She waited a beat, part of her hoping he would come clean, the other hoping he could create some plausible scenario that would explain away his deception.

He stood there, an easy smile glued to his face while he pulled her into his embrace. He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss to her cheek as he said, “Of course I would, darlin’.”

The image of Judas betraying Jesus with a kiss came to her mind. It felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer to her soul knowing that Slade deceived her. The bottom fell out of her stomach, and she had to swallow to keep the contents of it from racing up to her mouth.

“Hey, let’s hurry and get back to the ranch, cowboy. I think I’ve had my fill of Austin for the day.”