Julia was only mildly embarrassed to realize that she was inordinately thrilled to her quivering insides when Elliot took charge in the bedroom.

And the kitchen. And the bathroom.

He’d bent her over the arm of the couch and she’d accommodated his every demand. He hadn’t been pushy about it, nor had he needed to coax a reaction out of her. He simply had to ask—spell it out, and his words were enough to make her want to try anything he suggested.

He’d held her hand, as if she were royalty he was escorting, and helped her sit on the breakfast table. He’d spread her open and eaten her like she was his last meal, then taken her right there, her head hanging off the edge of the wood top.

Their last night on the island came quickly and Julia wasn’t sure she ever wanted to leave. Aside from a few emails back and forth about the contracting software, she hadn’t worked at all, and after telling Elliot some of her history that first afternoon on the beach, her emotions seemed almost…cleaner, like she had nothing to hide. Like he might not mind who she really was. It was strange, yet liberating in a way, like she didn’t have to hide from who she’d been anymore—she could just be who she was.

Maybe she could finally let the old Julia, the one that couldn’t please anyone, go for good. Maybe, it was time to embrace a Julia that was only interested in pleasing herself.

And Elliot, with or without his clothes.

Even he seemed more lighthearted. Though his face often had a solemn, pensive expression, she knew now he was just taking everything in. When he listened he did it actively, concentrating fiercely. Even knowing that, he laughed easily and loved openly. It was all completely new to her; she was left feeling like a fledgling in some ways.

“Will you come back to New York with me?” she asked as her head laid on his lap, his hand trailing through her hair.

They’d been in bed for hours, talking on and off.

“Do you want me to?” he asked in return.

She shifted around so that she could see his face and assess his answers. She’d finally got the hang of deciphering his expressions and now that she had, they all seemed so obvious. The heated stares of desire or the slashed brows of annoyance. Where before she might need a moment to sort them, they were almost second nature to her now. His face was clear when she turned, his eyes wide with interest.

“If I have to go to court, I want you with me. If the deal goes through and I end up selling, I want you there too.”

“I’ll have to call my boss and see if I can get the day off,” he said, his lips turning up at the corners. “He’s a bit of a hard-ass.”

“I heard that about him,” she agreed with a nod. “If he says no, I can offer to do him a favor in return to see if it changes his mind.”

His eyes lit with interest and his palm slid around to the back of her neck. “A favor? Sounds interesting.”

She gave a half shrug. “I’ve been doing some research on oral sex.” Elliot made a choking noise, his eyes widening. “I think I’ve got a basic understanding of the technique. From what I read, it’s all in the timing.”

Elliot murmured something under his breath she didn’t catch but his hand tightened on her skin. “I’m here anytime you want to experiment,” he said finally.

She looked up at him through her lashes. “You wouldn’t mind?”

It was clear that he didn’t, but he didn’t make fun or tease her about any insecurity she might have. Instead, he took his hands away from her and linked them behind his head, a picture of strained relaxation.

“Do your worst, Shorty.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “You want my worst?”

“It’s better than nothing,” he reasoned. “But you do your thing and I’ll do mine.”

Julia took that as her cue and shifted until she could pull his shorts off. She was wearing minimal clothing already, lounging in nothing but a scrap of panties and a camisole. Her hands ran up his thighs, the hair there dark and coarse, but giving way to the velvety soft skin of his pelvis. Her fingers curled around him and she boldly leaned in to kiss him. Not once, but twice, then three times before using her tongue to light his fuse.

His hands strained at his neck; she could see when she looked up at him, her tongue still following the straight line of his hardness to the tip and back down again. He surged forward, his hips working of their own accord. Like she read, Julia sucked him inside the heated tenderness of her mouth, her hair sliding down and draping over his abdomen. His wild abandon, the soft breaths he released from the back of his throat urged her on. She felt powerful and in control, bringing a man like Elliot to the brink of release.

She became relentless, driving him further to the edge in a steady rhythm, heedless of what was coming. She knew damn well what happened when he finished. She knew what was coming and she wanted it. She was working for it and there was no stopping her.

“Jules,” he choked hoarsely, his body strung tight. “Babe.”

But she didn’t stop, instead she let him pump his hips while she stroked him, urging him on. He hit that natural cadence then, the one that said sweet release would be imminent and he hooked his heels around her legs, holding her close but still letting her be free. It happened then and it didn’t come as a surprise, his hoarse cry enough of a warning as was the tightening of his body around her.

When he finally lowered his hands to her shoulders, Julia felt an immediate sense of warmth wash over her, a comfort she hadn’t known was missing. She’d enjoyed pleasuring him immensely, but something had been missing, her connection with him tenuous instead of strong.

She crawled up his body and he pulled her to his lips, savoring their connection. His fingers tunneled in her hair as he held her closer, her breasts crushed against his chest.

“Day off approved,” he murmured.

“So I don’t have to blow the boss?” Her lips quirked and he gently touched his pinky to the dimple in her cheek that he loved so much.

“Those lips are mine and mine only, Shorty.” He kissed her again. “You can put them on me anytime you want, but they better not touch another man.”

She shrugged and settled back onto his chest. She didn’t have any interest in sex with any other man.

She wondered if after spending all this time with Elliot, she ever would.

* * *

When they arrived in New York midday on Monday, Julia felt like a different person. She’d left the island on a heady cloud of warm tenderness and soft emotion, only to have to turn her old-self back on. The change did not come easily. Elliot watched her with heated eyes as she dressed herself in another expensive, designer outfit in the plane’s bedroom, readying for battle. Taming her hair felt like an exercise in futility after days of letting it flow free. It had no intention of being subdued.

She was nearly ready when they landed and Kelsey boarded the aircraft, a garment bag in hand. Her assistant bustled on but stopped short at the sight of she and Elliot, holding hands as they sat in their seats.

“Well, would you look at that,” Kelsey marveled, absently handing the hanging bag to Elliot.

He took it like it was a lit bomb. “What’s this?”

“A suit. I think I got your size right but we can adjust if I didn’t.”

“What the hell do I need a suit for?”

Kelsey’s eyes shifted to hers and Julia felt her heart stop, the look in Kelsey’s eyes unreadable. The suspense was excruciating, waiting to find out if her lawyer was able to do his job or if she had to defend herself in court. She did not want to do that.

More than anything, she just wanted it all to be over.

“Papers in your office are ready to be signed. Jonathan and his counsel arrive at three for the signing. Press conference at four.”

Julia’s lungs expanded as she inhaled a lung full of freedom. Elliot’s hand landed on her thigh and she grabbed it, squeezing it tightly.

“Get that suit on, lover boy. Boss lady likes a pretty face by her side when she works.”

Julia could just feel Elliot’s scowl at Kelsey, didn’t even have to see it. She squeezed his hand again. “Please?” she whispered. “I want you with me.”

He gazed at her for a scant second before getting to his feet, plastering her with a hard kiss, and stalking back to the bedroom, garment bag in hand.

Kelsey’s smile fell somewhere between knowing and cocky. “Good weekend?” she asked casually.

Julia gave her a silent nod, her cheeks heating at the memories that were permanently playing on a loop in her mind. Sensual and erotic, they revolved like slides flipping by, reminding her every few seconds. They reminded her that she was just like everyone else, that she could feel and be felt, no matter what her grandparents had always told her. They reminded her that deep down, belonging to Elliot was the only thing she’d done so far that had made her feel whole inside.

Kelsey hummed. “Must have been. You look good. Refreshed.”

Julia nodded again, her words coming out in a rush. “I like having sex with him.”

Instead of laughing, Kelsey’s eyes turned soft. “That’s good. He treat you good?”

“Like no one else ever has,” she admitted. “I liked it.”

“I don’t blame you. We’ll keep him around as long as you stay happy. The minute you’re not, he’s gone.”

“He won’t stop. He already told me that.”

“He did, huh?” Kelsey sat in the seat across from her boss, waiting on Elliot. “What else did Tall, Dark, and Surly have to say?”

“That I make him feel like Superman,” Julia admitted, confusion clouding her words, but Kelsey just smiled.

“Confidence is good,” she confirmed and then let her line of questioning go. “I went on a date this weekend too. I don’t think I got quite as laid as you did, but I did okay for myself.”

“Must have been good. You look refreshed,” Julia said, the copying of Kelsey’s earlier statement making her laugh.

“Oh, you’re funny now, are you?”

“My girl’s always funny,” Elliot said as he exited the back bedroom of the plane, looking like an entirely different person.

The cut of the suit accentuated his broad shoulders and tapered waist. His hair was neatly slicked back, making him look expensive and a little dangerous.

Kelsey whistled. “God, do I have good taste in suits. You look good, El.”

He straightened his lapels but only had eyes for Julia. “How does the boss lady like it? Do I pass muster?”

She nodded, unable to look away. “You’re incredible.”

He looked pleased with that and suddenly, she got the Superman reference. He looked bold and fearless, ready to take on the world.

For her.

* * *

It was very rare that Elliot was impressed by wealth. He’d grown up dirt poor and understood the importance of money. Hell, he knew that the only people that said money didn’t buy happiness, probably had money. The Williams’s hadn’t been rich by any means, but they’d done okay. They’d taken him on vacations and sent him to college, and he’d learned to work for the things he had.

Hard work and solid ethic impressed the hell out of him and Julia had that in spades.

She also had wealth. A lot of wealth. And with that wealth, came a lot of nice things. They visited her Manhattan apartment and he’d been more than impressed, he’d been awed. It was all glass walls and tall windows, bright and open with every bell and whistle imaginable. It was the exact opposite of the house she was renovating now. It was filled with modern art—sculptures and paintings that looked very expensive. It was a showpiece, something that was meant to look expensive.

And while he appreciated the hell out of it, it was cold and sterile. He didn’t see anything that screamed that Julia Hawkins lived there.

They then went to her office where he felt her more vividly. Her logo, her brand, was everywhere. From the hustle of the staff on the floor, the men and women attached to their computers with a familiar glazed look in their eyes, to the people with their heads down, working closely together. The H-Surf offices were more Julia than anything else, a whirlwind of fast-paced ideas but also focused determination. He followed Julia and Kelsey, happy to hang back and get to see her world in motion. People waved at her as she walked by and she nodded at them straight-faced.

They might think she was cold or distant, but Elliot knew better. She was invested in these people, so very deeply. She cared enough to write their jobs, their livelihoods, into her selling contract. She’d refused to sign the company over without their futures secure. She cared for them, probably more than she’d ever be able to put words to, or voice. She nodded uncomfortably at them because she was unable to see herself through their eyes. She didn’t see her loyalty to them; it was a part of herself that she overlooked, too focused on things she couldn’t always control.

She’d been pushed down, knocked down her entire life for being different, for not feeling things the same way other people do. He’d be damned if he thought she was all that different from the rest of them. She hurt, just like they all did. When that court injunction had come in, she’d cried the same tears anyone else might have. She’d felt the same stab of betrayal and tasted the sharp tangy resolve of determination when she’d picked herself back up again. He liked that she’d done that, gathered her strength, put the pins back in her hair, and slipped that don’t touch me dress back on. She was utterly untouchable.

He couldn’t wait to pull her apart, bit by bit, when the sun went down. When she opened herself to him and let all those pretenses go. When she didn’t have to try to be anyone other than exactly who she was.

“Mr. Williams,” Kelsey murmured with a smile when they got to a room where she held the door open for him.

Julia had already slipped inside and he followed, discreetly standing against the wall behind her and surveying the people in the room. Across the table from Julia was a man about thirty; he was smiling broadly as she took her seat. He had a lawyer on each side of him and they screamed money. Hell, everyone in the room screamed money and when he considered his own suit, decided he kind of fit in. Next to Julia was a grizzled older man who looked like he ate nails for breakfast. His scowl was deep and fixed on his face as he glanced up when Julia sat next to him. Support staff bustled about, doing things like organizing food trays which no one even looked at, and taking notes. There was a photographer hovering about, snapping pictures of the entire event.

Julia was stone-cold focus personified, her face straight and hard. She didn’t greet any of them, save the man next to her and even he got a short, one word throwaway.

“Brian.”

Elliot felt a modicum of relief that Brian, the lawyer that would take care of everything, was nearing retirement age. The threat level on that front dropped to nil. The man had a scarred face, age and stress thrown in with some pockmarks, and Elliot suddenly felt bad for imagining grinding the man’s face into the dirt.

Elliot stood quietly watchful, awed by her presence in the room as the legal injunction was quickly discussed and dismissed with court orders to prove it. Bundles of paper were passed around, signed in triplicate and then all over again. Around and around they went, signing and witnessing, copying and notarizing as they went. It was fascinating, a look into a world he’d never really thought much of before. He’d always thought of big business and men in suits, making deals over cigars and golf games.

Julia was not any of those things. She was not a good old boy making side deals and schmoozing. She was in charge and everyone in the room knew it, including himself.

He had to talk himself out of getting hard over it.

Suddenly, the papers were distributed and people began to stand up, hands being shook across the table. Julia shook hands but her face stayed stone still, not a muscle moving in either direction as everyone smiled in triumph with each other.

“I’d like a word with Ms. Hawkins alone, if you all don’t mind. We’ll meet you at the press conference,” Jonathan Beyer said, that used-car-salesman smile on his face.

Not on his life, Elliot thought as Kelsey’s eyes cut to his. She gave him a small shake of her head. Yeah, he got the message loud and clear, not that he’d needed it.

“Mr. Williams stays,” Kelsey said as she ushered people out.

“I’m sure Julia can have one meeting without the muscle around,” Jonathan said with laugh. “I swear,” he held up a hand and sent a solemn look to Elliot. “I won’t lay a hand on her.”

“If you do, it’ll be one less hand you have to worry about,” Elliot growled.

“Elliot stays,” Julia confirmed with a nod to Kelsey, giving her permission to leave.

Jonathan looked a little put out and Elliot took a sick pleasure in ruining his little plan, whatever it was.

“We’ve known each other a long time,” he started off saying. “I’m sure we could manage to have one unsupervised conversation.”

“Is there something else you had to say?” Julia asked, cutting the bullshit.

God, Elliot loved that woman.

Jonathan leaned forward, elbows on the table, trying to look more approachable.

“When we were making this deal, I originally broached the subject of a more permanent venture between the two of us.”

Elliot didn’t like the sound of that, and he sure as hell didn’t like the way Julia leaned back, like she was trying to get some distance from the guy.

“You told me then that you’d think about it. I know you’ve got some issues, Jules, but between your business and mine, we could make something big here. We’ve both got big names in this town…” he hesitated for a second. “You could take your old name back. Go back to Louzier, and you and I together could get something big off the ground.”

“You can do that all on your own,” she reasoned, not saying no and making Elliot’s back go up. “You don’t need me. And at this point, I have nothing to put on the table for this little deal.”

Elliot crossed his arms over his chest and drew Jonathan Beyer’s gaze. Whatever the man saw there in Elliot’s eyes made him sit back farther.

“Where did you find this guy? He looks like he could crush granite between his hands.”

“That’s physically impossible,” Julia noted. “I already turned down your proposal the first two times, Jonathan. What makes you think I would take it now?”

He shrugged. “I’ve always liked you, Julia. From the first time we met, I knew you were something special.” Julia looked skeptical. “You’re smart and have always had big ideas. Great ideas.”

“You want me to come work for you so you can have my ideas?” Julia scoffed and it was the closest thing Elliot had heard to a laugh from her.

“No,” Jonathan argued. “I know you don’t need to work. I was just thinking if we stuck together, we could brainstorm new ideas. New ventures. Make a life.”

Even Elliot was confused as to what this guy was proposing. It sounded half like a business proposal and half like a marriage proposal.

“I have a life,” Julia explained, pushing out her seat. Elliot pulled it out for her and when she turned, there was distinct humor in her eyes. Elliot merely grunted in annoyance. “I have no intention of selling any more companies to you, Jonathan, and with any luck, you’ll have your hands full here and make us all a lot more money.”

“Your grandparents want the company to stay in the family,” he rushed to say as he stood too. “They thought we’d be a good match and it could stay part of their legacy if we got married.”

Julia froze, her hand on the back of the chair turning white as she gripped it.

“Married?” she murmured, the word sounding foreign on her lips. Like she had no idea what it meant.

Jonathan, for what it was worth, looked deflated. He knew the idea wasn’t going to fly and that there was no way Julia was going to get on board with it. Resigned, he half sat on the table and explained himself.

“It wasn’t my idea. Your grandparents got to my parents and it snowballed from there. I told them you wouldn’t be interested, that you would never go for it, but you know how they get. None of them would listen to me, so I told them I’d at least put it out to you and see where you stood. I think you’re great, Julia, smarter than anyone I’ve ever met and I respect the hell out of you. If you ever want to work on another project, I’m your guy, no strings attached.”

“She won’t,” Elliot said cuttingly, having heard enough.

“Excuse me?” Jonathan said, his eyebrows lifting.

“She won’t want to work on a project with you and you will never, not ever, be her guy.”

There was no threat there as it was totally unnecessary. Just the hard, unvarnished truth about the future of Jonathan Beyer where Julia Hawkins was concerned.

Jonathan looked between Julia and Elliot.

“You're sleeping with the security guy?” he marveled. “I did not see that coming.”

“He’s not a security guy,” Julia corrected.

“Hired muscle?”

“Not hired, no.”

“Just muscle,” Jonathan said with a laugh. Julia just shrugged. “Not hired muscle. Not security. Just what is Mr. Williams to you, Julia?”

She looked at him and their gazes caught, tangling together and staying that way. Her dimple puckered a little and she caught her lower lip in her teeth.

“Everything,” she said quietly. “He’s everything.”