I hold on to that thought as I open the door, my mouth dropping open when I see him. He’s wearing a pair of dirty denim jeans with a fitted vintage black t-shirt and sneakers. Damn! Everything I’ve just been stressing about just disappears from my brain when I see him looking like that.
“I’ve missed you,” I say, licking my lips unconsciously. He hands me a single lily and a postcard.
“A postcard?” I ask as he walks in, closing the door behind him.
I put the gifts on the coffee table, turning around to face him just as he scoops me into his arms and crushes his mouth to mine. The desperation in his kiss is heady, and I’m instantly consumed by him as he moves his hands around me to hold me tight against his body. The fingers of one hand tangle in my hair while the other pushes against my lower back, moulding our bodies to each other. I wrap my hands around his neck, gripping his hair in my hands as we continue to kiss. He glides his hands down my back and cups my ass, lifting me up as I grip his shoulders and wrap my legs around his waist. His mouth slips down onto my neck, and a soft moan escapes my mouth throat as he gently kisses the sensitive hollow at the base of my neck.
“I’ve missed you so damn much, baby,” he murmurs against my skin.
“Hmm, me too,” I whisper back before our lips mesh together once more. Stumbling backwards, he carries me towards the loveseat by the window, carefully spinning round and laying me down gently on my back. Holding his weight down on me, he continues to kiss me, exploring my mouth like he’s committing it to memory, his hands inching up the side of my chest towards my now aching br**sts.
All of a sudden, he tears himself away from me, in a superhuman display of self-control. Standing beside me, bent over at the waist, I can see his chest heaving as he struggles to catch his breath.
“Sorry, hon. I’ve been wanting to do that for a week now,” he says with a slight upwards curl of his lip.
“Me too,” I smile back at him.
“It’s been killing me not to be with you, touching you, being able to hold you and wake up beside you.”
“I don’t want you to miss that ever again, Brax.” My eyes fill with tears as the past week away from him hits me hard.
He sinks to his knees, taking both of my hands in his. “You really mean that?” he says, his voice tight with unseen emotion.
“Definitely. This is forever for me,” I reply.
He bends down and kisses the diamond Infinity pendant that hangs around my neck, melting my heart in the process and giving me his unspoken word.
Not to be outdone, I lift his right hand to mine and kiss his platinum ring, reaffirming my commitment.
Now it’s just the two of us. Brax and I, forever together.
11
“Brax, we still need to talk about everything.” I see his demeanor change as his body stiffens with anxiety, his face suddenly awash with concern.
I pat the seat beside me by the window and smile up at him. “Babe, sit down and relax. We are okay. You and I are fine. I just need to know about everything else.”
He takes a seat beside me, turning his body towards me, one leg bent underneath the other. He reaches out for my hand which I give to him willingly.
“Where do you want to start?”
“How about at the beginning,” I reply with a smile, trying to put him at ease. I can tell he’s nervous from the way he keeps wringing his hands together.
I’ve had all week to think about the what if’s and who’s. Now I need to know the facts so that I can decide what I’m going to do about Uncle Harry. I checked the time earlier, and I know we’ve still got a few hours before Sylvia arrives. I squeeze his hand, encouraging him to talk.
He breathes out a huge breath. “Well, you know that Shay and I work for Victor Bertorelli in Atlanta.”
I nod in confirmation.
“Gibbons, his second in charge, showed me a file with your information in it about a month before you and I first met. All we knew was that you were the majority shareholder in Brightlight Industries, and Brimstone was buying up small share portions to increase his stake. Did you know that he’s been planning a takeover for a few years now?”
“Yeah. A couple of the board members were concerned, so they called me,” I reply with a shrug.
That earns me a smirk. “Well, it’s good to know that we’re not the only ones looking out for you.”
I can’t resist the urge to lean forward and quickly kiss his lips softly, earning me an even bigger smirk. I can see his eyes brighten, and watch as he slowly licks his lips, like he’s savoring the taste of me. God, that is enticing as hell.
Focus, Elle!
“You’re distracting me, missy. Behave,” he admonishes me in jest. “So, Gibbons showed me your file, and I saw a photo of you. Straight away I knew I had to meet you, get close to you at the very least. I wanted to find out why your eyes had lost their spark.”
Hearing my sudden intake of breath, he looks up at me and gives me a shy, almost bashful smile. “It’s all true, baby. You can ask Shay. As soon as I saw you, I knew I wanted you. It was above and beyond being just a job from the very beginning. I hope you believe that,” he says sincerely.
My heart melts. How could I ever have doubted his feelings for me? All week he has been showing me with his gifts just how much our relationship has meant to him, to us. I shake my head at myself as he continues.
“Anyway, Victor found out that Harry had approached you about buying you out of the company, and knew that whatever answer you gave him would be the catalyst for his takeover plans. We knew all about the ‘approval or incapacitated’ clause. That is why this job was initiated.”
I nod my head, but I’m still full of questions.
“Okay, that all makes sense so far. But why is Victor so interested in me? Do I know him from somewhere? Maybe from my childhood or through my parents?”
Brax clears his throat; my question has obviously made him feel uneasy.
“Victor Bertorelli is into a lot of things, as is his family. We’re talking back room poker tables, loans, organized crime...the whole shebang. Your father lost a lot of money one weekend at a high-stakes poker table in Vegas. Victor just happened to be there, and made your father an offer he couldn’t refuse. Victor loaned him enough to cover the debt, and also boost cash-flow in Brightlight which was struggling because of the dot com bust. It also gave Victor a way to clean his cash through the company. Until today, the money trail was still traceable in Brightlight’s financial records. Brimstone is, unfortunately, aware of the deal but had never threatened to go public with any of it until just before your father’s death.”