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  I was in awe when she came. Her body trembling, her hands gripping my back with nails digging into my skin making me grunt from the sharp points of pain. I’d let her do what she wished as long as she stayed. As long as she kept looking up at me with those fucking blue eyes which drowned me. If she kept panting my name like a prayer.

  It was all too fucking much for me. All my emotions suffocated me and I couldn’t hold back whilst she came apart around me. I let out a high pitched grunt of “Fuck, Jen,” before I exploded. Heat licked up my spine, sending me spiralling. And I all but collapsed on her, utterly spent when it faded. Rolling on my back so as not to squish her, I stared up at the ceiling and wondered how the fuck this had happened. And how the fuck was I going to begin to explain this to Dante.

  Jen slipped out of the room and came back within a few minutes before I went into the bathroom and cleaned up myself. Exhaustion decided to set in. The lack of sleep last night and the sex making me drowsy. We curled up under the covers and held each other, allowing sleep to claim us both.

  ***

  I sat at my kitchen table with my laptop going over everything I currently had on Max Graves to see if I’d missed anything. Jen would have to see him tonight and she wasn’t looking forward to it at all. Yesterday when we’d woken up, she’d gone back upstairs to spend the rest of the afternoon with her family. It was late evening when she snuck back down and spent the night with me. Having her in my bed was heavenly and waking up to her beautiful face, even better.

  We hadn’t exactly broached the subject of telling anyone else we were together. There were more pressing matters like Max to deal with. Besides, everyone was too busy cooing over baby Logan to really notice what was going on between Jen and me. I hadn’t gone upstairs since yesterday, wanting to give Dante and Liora time with her parents whilst they were here.

  It gave me time to rack my brain and work out how the hell Max had found out about the blood debt. Very few people knew about it so whoever spilled the beans could only be a one of a handful of people. My very first suspicion was Zach himself, but with him being in prison, it didn’t seem likely. Still, he’d been harassing James so I wouldn’t put it past him to try get to his daughters somehow.

  Then there was Zach’s friend Marcus. Although I was pretty sure he wouldn’t have got himself involved in any more shit after he was imprisoned for his part in helping Zach cover up Margo’s murder.

  None of the siblings would’ve revealed it nor would Angus, so I was left at a bit of a loss and it drew me back to my original thought. Zach. But why would Zach be involved with Max Graves and how? What did he have to gain by bringing down the company he built? He must know his own daughter wouldn’t stand for that kind of shit. Was this just another way of manipulating his kids even from inside his cell?

  It wasn’t like I could go ask him myself because if he knew I was onto him, then things might blow up in our faces. I had to tread carefully. Still, Zach being behind it was the only logical conclusion I could draw.

  My phone buzzed on the table next to me, drawing me out of my musings. I picked it up and checked the message.

  JEN: Fi cornered me and made me spill everything… Don’t be mad!

  She’d told me yesterday about their conversation in the kitchen. I’d never begrudge Jen telling Fi anything. Those two were like peas in a pod and I was actually glad they were sharing their lives with each other again. For Jen’s sake especially. I knew how much she missed Fi and their closeness.

  ME: What did she say?

  JEN: It’s about time you admitted you have feelings for me.

  Apparently I wasn’t as good at hiding my feelings as I thought I’d been. Though Fi was Jen’s sister so actually it didn’t surprise me she’d guessed the truth.

  ME: Is that all?

  JEN: Oh well, she’s happy for us too obviously. She may have fist punched the air. I didn’t realise me having a boyfriend would be so exciting for her, but whatever.

  I couldn’t help smiling. Seeing it right there in writing. Jen’s boyfriend. Who’d have fucking thought my wish would come true? Not me. I mean, shit, I’d wanted her for so long. It still didn’t seem real. Her wanting me back after all this time she’d insisted she hated me.

  ME: I’m your boyfriend now, am I?

  JEN: Brent…

  ME: Yes?

  JEN: That’s not funny. Consider yourself warned.

  I shouldn’t be winding her up. Especially not when she had to deal with Max later. I was going to apologise, but then again, perhaps distracting her would help.

  ME: Are you going to punish me?

  JEN: You’ll just have to wait and see.

  Trust Jen not to play fair. Though I had brought it on myself in all honesty.

  ME: If I promised multiple orgasms later, would you forgive me?

  JEN: Are you trying to bribe me?

  ME: Maybe, is it working?

  JEN: No, but you can give me those anyway since I know how much you like having your tongue between my legs.

  And now I couldn’t get the image out of my head. My mouth watered and my cock began to stand to attention. Christ, not what I needed right now. Not when I was trying to work out how the fuck Zach and Max knew each other and why he was going to these lengths. The longer I considered it, the more convinced I became about Zach orchestrating this whole thing. Could I tell Jen about my suspicions? She’d either be livid or it would hurt her. I didn’t want to be responsible for sending her spiralling downwards.

  I rubbed my hand across my face, trying to ignore the fact that my dick hadn’t gone down despite my efforts to think about anything else other than Jen spread out across the kitchen table so I could devour her little pussy.

  ME: I hope you’re happy now you’ve rendered me completely incapable of thinking about anything else.

  JEN: Mission accomplished!

  ME: You’re incorrigible.

  JEN: You love it.

  I shook my head. God I needed to quit this conversation before I had to take matters into my own hands.

  ME: That’s debatable.

  When she didn’t immediately respond, I put my phone back on the table and went back to my laptop. There had to be some kind of connection between Zach and Max. I just had to find out what it was and that would take research. So I didn’t need my girl distracting me. It was time to dive into my old files on Zach. He would probably be pissed as hell to learn I’d kept this stuff, but I didn’t trust him not to pull further shit after everything he put his kids through.

  The next few hours were spent trawling through documents I’d rather not look at and not yielding any results. By the time I had a text from Dante to say Liora’s mum had made dinner, I was frustrated as hell. There had to be some kind of link otherwise I was back to square one. Trudging upstairs, my phone buzzed in my pocket.

  JEN: I don’t want to go.

  ME: I’ll be right here when you get back.

  JEN: I wish you were here with me instead.

  My heart lurched. Jen showed so much vulnerability with me. She needed me and I’d been such a dick to her before when I kept pushing her away because of Dante. So I called her, stopping in the hallway rather than going through into the conservatory.

  “Hey.”

  She sounded a little off which concerned me.

  “You’re not okay, are you?”

  “No… I’m scared he’ll hurt me again.”

  The marks on her neck had finally faded. I hated the fucking sight of them. Evidence of how much danger my firestorm was in.

  “He won’t. Just don’t provoked him, okay? You got this. I promise I’ll be waiting right here for you and if you need me, just text or call me.”

  “You know I hate relying on other people.”

  That made me smile a little.

  “Tough shit. I’m here whether you like it or not.”

  “Ugh, why are you always so annoying?”

  “Yo
u wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  I noticed Liora stick her head out of the kitchen door and raised an eyebrow at me. I put a finger up to indicate I’d only be a minute.

  “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “Being here and actually giving a shit. I know I’m not the best at this, but you know I appreciate it.”

  “I’ll always be here for you.”

  And this time, I wouldn’t fuck anything up. I’d do right by Jen. That meant telling her brother which I was quite honestly dreading.

  “Yeah okay, don’t need to get all sappy and shit. I’ll see you later.”

  Taking a quick glance to check that Liora had disappeared, I lowered my voice.

  “I miss you.”

  “What did I just say?”

  “Don’t get sappy and shit.”

  “Ugh, fuck, I miss you too. Bye.”

  She hung up without letting me say goodbye back. Typical, but it made me smile. She missed me. I shoved my phone back in my pocket and walked into the kitchen.

  “Why do you look so happy?” Liora asked as she held Logan against her chest and patted his back.

  “Am I not allowed to be?”

  “You are.” She narrowed her eyes. “But I’ve never seen you this happy.”

  Probably because I’d never had Jen wanting, needing and missing me before.

  I shrugged and walked towards the conservatory doors.

  “Perhaps I’m just in a good mood.”

  “I’m watching you. Don’t think just because I’ve got a new born baby, I don’t have eyes in the back of my head.”

  I glanced back at her.

  “You’re far too suspicious for your own good.”

  “I’m onto you, Brent. I swear you’re up to something.”

  I laughed shaking my head as I went into the conservatory. Liora could think what she liked. I wasn’t about to spill the beans just yet. Not until Jen and I agreed it was time.

  Now I just had to get through the evening without going out of my mind with worry over Jen and her meal with Max. If anything happened to her, I wouldn’t fucking forgive myself for not being there. I hoped Jen would be able to cope. Her temper could get the better of her at times, so all bets were off. As long as he didn’t say anything stupid, she’d be okay.

  I hoped.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Jennifer

  As soon as I hung up on Brent, I felt my heart sinking. Speaking to him had made me feel better even if I hated the way my heart raced when he said he missed me. So I wasn’t totally keen on this whole being in love thing. It was really bloody inconvenient. He consumed my thoughts. I wanted to go home and curl up in his lap like some fucking idiot who believed in fairy tales and happy endings. I was not one of those girls. So Brent making me feel that way? Yeah, it was fucking annoying. And no way in hell I’d admit it to him. I mean, I hadn’t told him I loved him yet. A part of me wanted to, but it didn’t feel like the right time with everything else going on. I was still a little freaked out over the fact we were together. It’s what I wanted. At the same time, the newness of having a real boyfriend and it being Brent of all people made me feel unbalanced.

  I grabbed the dress I brought into the office so I didn’t have to run home and changed before applying more makeup. Whilst I didn’t want to dress up for Max, not keeping up appearances would land me in trouble. I had no intention of causing any offence this evening.

  When I got to the restaurant, another fine dining place which was no doubt for him to show off his prestige, Max was already seated at our table. He got up when I approached, giving me a kiss on the cheek before tucking my chair in as I sat.

  “You look beautiful tonight,” he told me as he took his own seat again.

  “Thank you.”

  His eyebrow raised slightly. I kept my expression and tone neutral. There was no need to aggravate him. Seeing him made my skin itch and reminded me of when he’d had his fingers wrapped around my neck, squeezing my airway.

  “You’ll be pleased to know I smoothed things over with my family.”

  “I am. Thank you again.”

  I picked up the menu and looked it over. Honestly, right now, I’d rather be in front of the TV stuffing my face with pizza and falling into a cheese induced coma with my actual boyfriend.

  Ugh, what is wrong with me? Since when did my life revolve around wanting to spend all my time with Brent?

  “I’ve heard the filet mignon is top quality here.”

  I couldn’t care less if it was the best thing I’d ever eaten in my life. The sound of it made my stomach turn especially since he’d likely order it rare. Bloody steaks made me queasy.

  “I think I’ll have the seabass.”

  I glanced at him. He was eying me with what could only be suspicion. Served him fucking right. He’d told me to behave and that’s exactly what he was going to get.

  “To start?”

  Why we were having a mundane conversation about what was on the menu was beyond me. I suppose there was that undercurrent of tension between us and not in a good way. He told me he liked his women obedient. What better way to stay in his good books then by giving him exactly that.

  “Oh well, I can’t decide between the scallops or the burrata.”

  “The scallops if you’re going to have the seabass afterwards.”

  “Okay, I’ll take your suggestion.”

  I swear he was getting irritated with me by the way his brow furrowed. I wanted to tell him he asked for this, but instead, I kept my mouth shut.

  When the waiter came over, he ordered for us, including another expensive bottle of white since I was having fish. I surveyed the restaurant. It was busy for a Monday night, which surprised me.

  “Are you feeling okay?”

  I turned back to him.

  “Of course, why wouldn’t I be?”

  “It’s just…” He stared at me before shaking his head. “You’re not normally so quiet.”

  I folded my hands in my lap, trying to come across as demure.

  “I had a long day.”

  I was not about to mention my nephew arriving over the weekend and causing an uproar in my household. Max didn’t get know a thing about my private life.

  “Where’s your fire, Jennifer?”

  “I’m merely doing as you requested.”

  He sat back and regarded me for a long moment.

  “I don’t like this.” He waved a hand at me. “You’re devoid of passion, emotion… fire.”

  What the hell more did he want from me? I wasn’t a toy for him to pull this way and that. He couldn’t ask me to behave and then decide he didn’t want that any longer.

  “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we don’t always get what we want in life.”

  “I do.”

  He sounded like a petulant child and it almost made me smile.

  Poor baby wanting to throw his toys out the pram because he’s got what he wants but he doesn’t like it.

  “Some might say that’s a very entitled attitude.”

  “And? I’ve been given everything I ever wanted. People don’t say no to me.”

  I stifled the urge to roll my eyes. What a prick. He’d likely been told he could do anything by Mummy and Daddy.

  “I feel sorry for you.”

  He sat up straighter and cocked his head to the side, frowning at me.

  “Why?”

  “It must be such a sad life you lead thinking people owe you everything. Pity that illusion will be shattered one day.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  I shrugged and looked down at my nails.

  “You know it’s funny, Max. You seem to think you can just manipulate your way into getting everything you want. You’ll see one day none of that is real. Women might fawn all over you, but really, they’re just after a rich husband or a quick fuck before they move onto greener pastures. Y
ou’ll never know what it’s like to be truly liked or loved by anyone and that’s kind of sad, don’t you think?”

  Why the hell did that come out of my mouth? I’d promised myself I wouldn’t say anything to him which he could hurt me for. Not letting my inner turmoil show in my expression, I stared at him, wondering what he’d say.

  He watched me for a moment before he smiled. Then he laughed, the sound rather maniacal. I had no idea what to make of it. He sounded fucking crazy and people were beginning to look at us. Normally I wouldn’t give a shit, but honestly, this was a little embarrassing.

  He abruptly stopped and stared at me.

  “Oh Jennifer, I knew that little spark was still in there somewhere. Your smart mouth does you no favours.”

  My smart mouth as he called it had got me in trouble on more than one occasion. Especially with Brent. God, why was I thinking about him again? My heart ached with the need to be close to him.

  “Then I’ll endeavour to keep it shut then, shall I?”

  “Oh no, I quite like watching you get riled up. Verbal sparring is quite a treat.”

  I shifted in my seat. What did he want from me? His comments were so contradictory. Did he want me demure or fiery? At least I knew where I stood with Brent. He liked me the way I was. Didn’t want me to change. Max confused the shit out of me.

  “What do you want, Max? You say you like women obedient but then you want to verbally spar with me. I’m tired of this game already.”

  He didn’t respond as the waiter came over with our starters. I sighed, wanting to pull my phone out so I could reassure myself Brent was there for me. Did that make me weak? God. Fuck. I needed to discuss this new status quo with Jensen. Nothing made sense to me any longer. He’d give me some solid advice as always. How my sister’s boyfriend always knew the right things to say was beyond me. I guess it’s his job to know, but still. A fountain of knowledge. My support network. It had now expanded to include Brent. I couldn’t deny knowing he was just a phone call away made the ache in my chest ease a little.

  “What I want is for you to be mine.”

  A cold chill ran down my spine at those words. I dared look up at Max. His ice blue eyes were sharp and his demeanour terrifying. I wouldn’t be cowed. He might have hurt me a few days ago, but I was stronger. I’d fight. He had no idea who he was up against.