Chapter Seven
He’d surprised her. Jack saw that in her eyes. When he’d entered his home, he saw what Felicity was doing. He’d seen the slap and the spit, and he was so fucking angry. Any chance he was going to give that woman’s father was over. Jack wasn’t a very good man, not when someone attacked the people he loved.
Already, he’d gotten a newspaper closed down for some of the disparaging comments and headlines. No one came after what was his and got away with it.
That was all gone and in the past now. All that remained was the woman in his arms staring up at him as if he’d lost his damn mind. He really did think she was the most beautiful woman in the world.
The red mark on her cheek angered him.
“She wasn’t really happy to see me,” Rachel said, cracking a joke.
“She had no right to hit you. You’re my woman, Rachel.” He stroked a curl back behind her ear. “I love you, baby, and I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“How? You don’t really know me.”
“I know you, Rachel, and I know deep down that even if you don’t know it, you love me as well.”
She nibbled her lip, and he watched as she averted her gaze, pulling away from his touch.
Tilting her head back, he stared into her eyes, seeing the truth reflecting back at him. “You mean more to me than what I originally planned.” He sighed. “I’m not a great man, Rachel. I’m demanding. I want what I want, and I always go out of my way to get it. Work will always be part of my life. Charity events, people wondering what I’m doing or trying to tear you down.” He ran his thumb across her bottom lip and whimpered. She was pure temptation, and he wanted her all the time. “I’ll be by your side because I know what I want, and it’s you, Rachel. You’re the only woman I want. The only woman I’ll ever want.” He pressed a kiss against her lips. “Say something.”
“You’ve … surprised me.”
He chuckled. “I didn’t think I’d done anything differently.” He stared into her eyes, hating the red mark on her face. “You’re not like them, Rachel. You don’t see the world as about money or power.”
“You chased after me because you liked the way I look.”
He ran his hand down her back, gripping her ass and pulling her close. She didn’t fight him, and he loved how she melted against him, almost as if she couldn’t help it herself.
“I don’t regret it.”
“Now you’re saying that you’re in love with me.”
“And I know deep down that you love me as well. You’ve not had an easy life. I know you’re afraid to let anyone in.” He stared into her eyes, refusing to hide his feelings for her. “You love me, Rachel, even if you don’t want to admit it today, you will soon, when you allow yourself the chance to believe. I want to marry you,” he said, shocking her even more. The look in her eye made him smile. “Yes, I want to marry you. Put my ring on your finger and my child inside you. I don’t want to use condoms. I want to feel your bare pussy wrapped around my dick as I take you. To watch my cum spill from your cunt knowing that one day, you’ll have my child.”
“This is all really sudden.”
“Think about it.” He pressed a kiss to her lips. “While you do—” He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a ring. “Wear this.”
“Are you doing this to get back at people like Felicity?”
He shook his head. “I left them behind a long time ago. After I realized what I’d done by throwing away people’s lives, I went back. During conversations I’d start to ask questions about the businesses they’d lost. The people they hurt. No one gave a fuck. Lives didn’t matter to them, and once I thought I didn’t care either, but it wasn’t real. I never saw them until I was finally asked to open my eyes, and then—I saw them. I witnessed the pain and the sadness, and the fear. They stopped being names on sheets of paper, and they became real to me.” He slammed his lips down on hers. “Like you’re real to me, Rachel. Make no mistake about that. It won’t be a picnic being married to me. Women like Felicity will always try to tear you down, ruin you. Don’t let them get under your skin, and don’t let them change you.”
Tears were shining in her eyes, and he hated that he’d made her cry no matter the kind of tears. He didn’t want to upset her, not ever.
“I think our dinner is ready,” she said.
There was a beep in the distance, and he chuckled, pressing his head against hers. “Saved by food.” Pulling away, he took her hand. “Please, think about it.”
Leading her toward the kitchen, he watched as Rachel grabbed their food from the oven. Chicken enchiladas were served. He knew they were one of Rachel’s favorites so he always got his cook to make them for her.
Watching her serve the food, he imagined Rachel heavily pregnant, and it wouldn’t be long before he got her that way either. He didn’t like waiting long, and he knew without a doubt that Rachel loved him.
He just needed for her to realize it first.
****
Rachel did love Jack, but she didn’t trust her feelings. She didn’t know what to do or what to say. Hearing him tell her how he felt had only driven her crazy with longing. No man had ever stood up for her, or made sure she was part of his life. What if he got bored with her? Could she bring herself to be vulnerable to him?
In the weeks that followed she never heard from Felicity again. When they went to social functions, no one sneered her way. If anything, they gave her a wide berth, for which she was thankful.
Her and Jack’s relationship was always filled with speculation, but she didn’t pay it much mind.
It didn’t take long for her to realize that she’d been with him for several months, and still she’d not told him she loved him. But all he’d done was show her with actions and words that he completely loved her. The ring he’d placed on her finger felt heavy to her, and that was why she was standing on a Friday evening in an elevator at his office, waiting to go up to his room, when all of a sudden it just stopped.
Frowning, she began to press the button but nothing. There was no power and the lights went out, and then a safety light came on. Pressing the buttons again, she began to panic.
“No. No. No. No.” She didn’t like confined spaces, and now the stairs didn’t seem so bad.
Her cell phone began to ring, and she reached for it. Jack’s name flashed across the screen.
“Hello,” she said.
“It’s me, Rachel. The elevator has broken down.”
“I know, it’s me. I’m inside it.”
“I can see you.”
Tears filled her eyes, and she rubbed at them, trying to clear her mind. “I was coming to see you, and I didn’t feel like taking the stairs.” She closed her eyes, really not needing to see the confined space right now. She’d watched a lot of movies where the woman dies in the elevator, and of course she didn’t like to be trapped inside one.
“I’ve already got men working on it. They think it’s just an electrical fault that is easily fixed.”
“Erm, Jack, er, I have a problem.”
“What is it?”
She sobbed. “I don’t like elevators, and I don’t like being trapped.”
“You’ll be fine. I’m not going to go anywhere. I’ll talk to you throughout. Look at me on the camera, Rachel.” She turned her head left then right, turning in the direction he wanted her to. “I know you can’t see me, but you keep looking at that camera, okay?”
She nodded.
“What were you coming to tell me?” he asked.
“I don’t want to tell you over the phone.”
“Look at me.”
She didn’t even realize she hadn’t been.
“Tell me.”
Could she wait another moment to tell him? Did she want to tell him?
Yes, she really did.
“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and I know you’ve been patient with me, and I wanted to tell you in person but seeing as I can’t do that right now, and this spoiled it, I’ll tell you now.” She took a deep breath. “I love you.” The moment she said the words, she couldn’t help but laugh. “I’ve been so scared to tell you, and now that I have, it feels so amazing. I love you, Jack. I should have told you ages ago, and I’m so sorry I waited this long.”
She heard him chuckle. “Is it too soon to ask you to marry me?”
“It’s not too soon at all.”
“Is that a yes?” he asked.
“Yes, I’ll marry you. I love you, and I’ll do whatever you need me to do. Sign a pre-nup, or whatever it is rich folks do.”
He burst out laughing. “I know you’re not after my money, babe.”
“I’ll never be after your money. I only want you.”
Suddenly the elevator jerked, and she gasped.
“It’s fine, Rachel. They’re starting it up. The guys are nearly done.”
Closing her eyes, she listened to Jack as he kept on talking, and she needed that. She needed to hear his voice so that she could focus on not being in the elevator.
The cab began to move, and she let out a little gasp and chuckle. It wasn’t long before the elevator doors were opening and Jack dropped his cell phone, pulling her into his arms as he slammed his lips down on hers.
He sank his fingers into her hair, and she melted against him, knowing there was no way she could ever not love this man. He may have started out life being an asshole, but that wasn’t who he was now, and the man she was with now, she loved more than anything.
“Tell me,” he said.
“I love you, Jack, and I will marry you.”
“Fuck, baby, I love you so much. I’m not going to wait around forever either. We’re getting married straight away.”
She burst out laughing, wrapping her arms around his neck and knowing she’d never be alone again.