Chapter Twenty-Five
Elle
“Yeah,” I murmured in my dream. Lights shone down us, cameras followed our movements. Rebel kissed my mound and I arched up.
“That’s it, baby.” Then his mouth found my most sensitive spot, again. I blinked open my eyes when an intense burst of pleasure shot through me. I wasn’t dreaming.
Rebel’s rust-colored head rested between my thighs. I grasped his hair when he sent another spike of feeling through me. “Inside me, please.” I needed him atop me, close to me, consuming me one last time before I left.
He flicked his tongue over my nub and the orgasm crashed through me, leaving me breathless and wanting more. I needed all of him, not these tantalizing bits he doled out.
I leaned up and clasped his shoulders, he glanced up and his wild eyes danced with ecstasy. When I tugged, he crept up my body, rubbing against me with a delicious friction I devoured. His lips skimmed my torso, across my breast and locked on my neck.
So close, the heat from his skin created prickles of sensation up and down my body. We moved against each other consumed with each touch and breath we shared. Tension built between us, inside me, until I couldn’t hold another drop, but still he tormented and teased. My body writhed and the pleasure leaked from me in small noises and panting breaths until I had no idea where he ended and I began.
Then he was gone and my body plunged into frigid cold without him heating me inside and out. “I need you.” I reached for him.
He slid a condom on before crashing into me. I swear when our bodies connected, when he entered me, our souls collided. Hungry, without limits, we destroyed any boundaries between us to become one—together in every sense. Heart beating as one, pulse pounding in rhythm, we fell over together into a climax so powerful we shattered into a bliss infinite and carnal.
Lying destroyed under Rebel, fear was the first emotion to inch through my elation. Sadness shattered the bubble but it couldn’t steal the bone-melting ease of all my nerve endings singing in joy. I held him to me, kissing his cheek. Gratitude erased all my other emotions. Without him, I’d never have known even a brief glimpse of nirvana. I hoped he’d experienced at least some of what I had, selfish though it was to hope it, I’ll admit to being selfish where he’s concerned.
With a tender kiss he moved away from me to do the necessary stuff in the bathroom. I used those few seconds to bury the feelings his lovemaking had breathed to life. My blossoming love had become a force to be reckoned with, one I’d battle on my own once I was safe at home.
When he walked toward the bed, a softness made his face younger, his smile lighter, and his eyes...those were dangerous, swirling with a storm of emotion. Emotions I had no experience to read or any key to detect what any of this meant to him, to me, to us.
He lay in bed beside me, rolled onto his side, his fingers finding mischief up and down my sensitive flesh. We cuddled together, neither wanting to break the moment. I had no words I could say.
No one’s ever made love to me before.
I love you.
You captured part of my soul.
None of those words were my friends.
That was great.
You’re a stud.
You broke me.
Too little, too late. No way could a clever deflection mask the moment.
I took comfort in his silence because maybe that meant words failed him too.
My phone alarm rang, interrupting the soft kisses he scattered across my cheek. I turned into him and kissed him as if he were my everything, giving up all the churning emotion I couldn’t release any other way.
Breaking the kiss, I rolled out of bed without a word and headed to the shower. Some might call me a coward, and in some ways I was, in others I was brave enough not to diminish the moment with callous comments.
The hot water beat down on me and with the water, I suppressed my feelings until they were a manageable size, one I could hide and take out later to explore. Body clean, mind balanced, I quickly dried off. When I returned to the bedroom, Harley greeted me. Rebel was downstairs in the kitchen, it sounded like he was making breakfast.
“Hey, lover, you going to miss me?”
Harley purred and brushed my legs. I dressed quickly then picked up the huge tomcat for some ear scratches, his favorite pleasure.
“You be nice to him. And I’ll bring you treats next time I come up.” I scratched under his chin before setting him back down. He scurried out of the room. I picked up my duffel bag and purse before I headed downstairs. When I hit the stairs, the aroma of bacon and coffee hit me, something Harley had smelled long before me.
In the kitchen, Rebel stood barefoot in jeans at the stove. His Jericho Brotherhood tattoo flexed with his muscles, a truly delicious sight.
“Hey, sexy.” I hugged him from behind.
“Grab the plates, baby, I’ve got breakfast ready.”
I set plates on the table then poured a cup of coffee. “You need coffee?” I noticed Harley in the corner with his own bacon strip. Rebel was a pushover for his cat.
“Got some.” He brought over a bowl of scrambled eggs and plate of bacon. The eggs were more than just scrambled though, with cheese, peppers and more mixed into them. I’d miss his cooking too.
“You nervous about today?” He scooped up a huge serving of eggs and picked up a few slices of bacon.
“Nope.” He’d fucked the nervousness out of me—and then some. “It’ll work out or they’ll work somewhere else.”
“Good girl.” He grinned at me.
I tucked into breakfast. “God, these eggs are almost as sinful as you.”
He gave me his lopsided grin. “You just want me for my cooking skills.”
“Definitely like all your skills.” I brushed his hand with mine.
“I’m good, a fucking genius.”
I burst out laughing at the cocky expression he delivered with his over-the-top praise.
“How can you say that shit with a straight face?”
“Because it’s true.” He met my gaze a moment then looked away.
Was that regret I saw? More likely me looking for what I felt.
It was already a quarter to seven, time to go. I finished my last bite of eggs and carried my plate to the sink. When I turned around Rebel had my bag and was moving toward the door. I grabbed my purse and caught up.
He put the bag in back then turned to me. “Be safe, text me or call me tonight, I want to know how today goes.”
I opened my mouth to respond but his kiss stole my words. Brutal, breathtaking and beyond description, he stole more than my words with no effort.
“Baby, I’m coming your way as soon as I get a free minute.”
Dazed I stared up at him. “I have no words for what you do to me.”
“Just the way I like it. See ya soon.” He disappeared inside the house before I even turned the truck on. I was halfway out of town before I realized I’d never said good-bye or asked about the divorce papers.
* * *
At ten on the dot, I walked into the overflowing conference room of Jackson Bonds ready to face my third hurdle of the morning. My first hurdle had been ordering my dad’s furniture stored and his office redecorated. I’d wanted to push that one off, but Alice, my assistant, insisted it’d be better this way. My second hurdle came in the way of Chaz Carter in my office at nine. He’d wanted to make sure there were no hard feelings, and I sent him packing in under ten minutes but he left his slimy presence behind.
I stared at the people who’d worked for us for months to decades, too many emotions were reflected in the faces of my employees. I spotted the three I expected, grateful there weren’t more who hated the idea of working for a woman. I seriously doubted any of the three would be working for me by the end of the month. I could win over almost anyone, but hating me because I’m a woman, I couldn’t fix that and wouldn’t tolerate disrespect.
“It was The Who that said ‘Welcome the new boss same as the old boss’ in ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again.’”
A few grins met my opening statement.
“A Jackson has run this company for a hundred and fifty years, a new Jackson owning the business won’t change much.”
“The others weren’t women” I heard from my left.
I’d been looking right so I didn’t know who said it, but it didn’t matter.
“That’s one of two changes you will come to accept working for me.” I stared Johnny Leander in the eye because I was 99.9 percent sure he was the one who’d made the crack. “I am a woman. You now work for a woman. If that doesn’t agree with you, there’s the door.” I pointed to the door of the conference room. “You can leave or I can fire you.” I waited three beats before I spoke again. “Because you will respect me if you work for me.
“You know me, in fact have known me for years, so you should understand what kind of person I am. The no-bullshit kind.”
A few chuckles sounded in the room.
“If you have no problem working for a woman then you and I are off to a solid start.” I let my words sink in and readied myself for the second announcement. “Second change, I plan to expand Jackson Bonds as soon as it is financially feasible by acquiring other bail bonds agencies. It’s the way to grow today.”
Shuffling and grumbles met my words. It wasn’t a favorite concept among long-time bail enforcement agents. They were territorial and didn’t like working with people they’d considered competition.
“Short and sweet. Now I’ll take your questions.”
“Where’s your husband?” Mel, another of the misogynists, spouted off.
“My husband has no interest, legal or otherwise, in this business.” I wouldn’t have a husband by the end of the week, if my marriage lasted that long. “You work for me.”
“Why did your daddy up and leave so fast?” Loretta, one of our best skip-tracers, asked.
“You’d have to ask him. You all know he and I hadn’t seen eye-to-eye in a while. When he sent me the note telling me of his early retirement, he didn’t give me a reason or invite me to come before today.” He hadn’t said not to come either, but I couldn’t see any way a few hours together could mend what was broken between us.
“You selling out to Chaz Carter?” I didn’t catch who let the question fly, but I was glad he had.
“Jackson Bonds will never be for sale. We may merge, change our business model, but our name is our bond. I’d rather eat my boots than sell out to anyone.”
After the meeting, the rest of the day sped past as I reviewed paperwork, requested financial reports, and debated how to structure the company. There’d always been a pecking order, and I needed to decide soon how I should change it. Right now Mel Tyler was third in command and he hated my ownership with every fiber of his being. I needed to restructure to decrease his influence on the business or I had to fire him.
I made it home to my townhouse by seven, after stopping for Mexican carryout on the way home. I flipped on lights, dropped the food off in the kitchen and my duffel bag in the laundry room. The place didn’t feel lived in, like it had changed while I was gone. Ridiculous. If anyone had changed, it was me. I no longer wanted to come home alone to my empty place, eat takeout and work until I was too tired to keep my eyes open.
He’d changed me. Reset my expectations.
“Time to reset again,” I said aloud in my too quiet kitchen. Maybe I should get a cat, like Harley.
Dammit, my mind was going nowhere good. I flipped on the radio in my living room before I carried the takeout to my home office. The room smelled like Rebel, then I remembered he’d worked in here last week. Fine. My nose would quit smelling the sexy scent soon enough.
I ate tacos while I flipped through Mel’s employee file. He was my first big decision and I wanted to make the right decision.
My phone buzzed. How was the first day, boss?
A sappy grin spread across my face at Rebel’s text.
Good enough. Now I have to decide if I’m going to fire one of my employees. I hit send.
My phone rang. Rebel’s sexy face appeared on my call screen.
“Hey, sexy, what are you doing?”
“Lousy paperwork before I head out on club business,” he grumbled. “What’s with the guy you’re firing?”
“It’s nothing.” I didn’t need to bore him with more of my problems.
“It’s something. Tell me.”
“Mel Tyler, third in charge at the company now, and he believes women are best seen not heard and best not working with him. He won’t accept me as boss.” I laid it out there. Daddy and I used to talk through problems like this.
“He done anything yet?”
“Not yet.” I wished he had. “If he had, then it’d be a simple decision, but it’s more insidious. Do I let him undermine me, he’s done it before but he backed off when Daddy threatened to fire him, or do I prevent the damage.”
“Is he good at his job?” Rebel’s voice stayed neutral, no hint of what he was thinking in his voice.
“Not so much, especially in the last two years, he’s let a lot slide. And he’s a good fifteen years away from retiring.” I flipped through his file. His evaluations were mediocre and his bonding was haphazard. “I feel like I’m trying to read tea leaves.”
“Then don’t.” He spoke with a sharp edge to his words. “I cut a prospect from the club today. Sloppy work.”
“Dan?”
Rebel chuckled. “Yup, see you spotted it too. I gave him three tries and he fucked up the contract I sent him out for, last strike. And I don’t feel bad, not a bit. I have to have people I trust at my back.”
“I need to know if I can trust him.” I talked to myself more than Rebel. Then it hit me. I didn’t need to spend hours analyzing his file. I needed him alone with me in my office. “An hour together should tell me that.”
“Exactly. You’re a damn smart boss.” I liked that he didn’t say woman. I don’t know why, but it made a difference to me.
* * *
The next morning I had Alice catch Mel right after he’d arrived. I wanted to check him off my to-do list and I didn’t want him to have time to get comfortable.
He showed up at my door an hour after he arrived, not immediately. The first strike, but I’d keep an open mind.
“I’m busy, let’s reschedule this for next week.” He stood at the entrance to my door, but hadn’t entered my office, yet.
“No, we’ll do this now. Come in, close the door.” I didn’t stand or offer any other comfort. He needed to understand who was boss.
“Power already going to your head.”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me, force out Jack, then come riding down on the rest of us.” His face contorted into a nasty sneer. He stood at my desk leering down at me a long moment before he sat down.
“See, Mel, that’s why you’re here today. You and I have had problems in the past because you didn’t like working for a woman.”
“You were never my boss, Jack was.” Flecks of spittle flew from his mouth.
“I am your boss now.” I spoke clearly and without any of the anger Mel exhibited. “Say it.”
He stared at me. “You own the company.”
“You report to me.” I leaned forward with a smile, not a friendly smile, but a let-me-show-you—my-teeth predator smile.
“I quit.” He stood up, hands balled into fists. “I’m not working for a fucking cunt.”
I stood. “I’m glad we understand each other. Clear your desk, security will meet you there and escort you from the building.”
His face turned almost purple it was so red and he opened and closed his mouth.
“You want to do something stupid, Mel?” I moved to the side of my desk, ready if he attacked.
He battled with himself another second before he stomped out of my office.
I buzzed Alice. “Security—”
“Out here and escorting him as we speak.” She sounded damn happy to see Mel gone.
“Right. Good then. Have payroll pay him a month’s severance,” I told her. Mel had worked for us for fifteen years so he deserved that much respect, but no more.
I sat down and let the adrenaline from the confrontation ease away. Satisfaction replaced the hyped-up awareness. I was a damn good boss.