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“I promised them brunch on Sunday if they ate, checked on you, and left.” She fed me another mouthful and took a smaller one for herself. “For the record, when they saw I was here, they offered to leave.”A dribble of syrup leaked down her chin, and I grasped the back of her neck and licked it off her skin, fighting the groan when she whimpered. My already hard cock twitched at her breathy sound.“Why didn’t you listen to them?”She tilted her head. “Because I wanted you to see you have people who care about you. Not your business, but you. They’re here because they love you.”“Is that why you’re here?”She traced my jaw, her touch feather-light and warm on my skin. “I love you very much.”“Good. They need to leave, though. I want you alone.” I traced over her lips with my tongue, tasting her and the syrup. “I want you to show me how much you love me. Then I’ll show you. It’s going to take all day, Freddy. All damn day.”She grinned. “One track mind.”“Two track actually. I want more
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Aiden winked at me. “Not billions, but we’d kill it.”“And we keep it,” Maddox stated firmly. “BAM owns it. No investors. Just us.”“Or I sell it and walk away.”They looked at me.“You could,” Aiden drawled. “This is an interesting concept, though. We can find other land to develop the original concept. Try something totally distinctive.”“We could lose our shirts.”Maddox shook his head. “No, Emmy is right. Lots of wealthy families love condo living. Give them the best of both worlds, and it will explode. I’m sure of it.”“We would have to make the back of the building into something unique. Eye-catching.”“Mosaics.”I glanced at Emmy.“Use stone, hire artists. Make it beautiful. A focal point.” She beamed. “Your mark.”I returned her grin. She was glowing, her dark eyes excited.“I can see it. A haven inside the city.” Maddox’s eyes combed over the model, nodding. “An escape without leaving home.”Aiden pointed to the layout. “We could build up this area here, like an embankment. I
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“Your idea was fresh, innovative, and helped us find a new path. I’ll be forever grateful. I was too pissed to look at it objectively. We all were.”“So, you’re not selling?”“Nope. Next week I’ll put my team on it, and when I meet with Greg, tell him to reject the offer.”“Will he be pissed?”I laughed. “No. He gets paid no matter what I do. He has no vested interest in the land, either way, so he won’t care. He’ll send me a sizable bill for his time, and we’ll move onto the next project.”Her fingers smoothed over the edge of the cushion. “Why isn’t he a part of your crowd?”“My crowd?”“Your business. You have Aiden and Maddox. I’m surprised he isn’t part of the company. You must need a lot of legal advice.”“We have a legal consultant in the company. Greg had always been a lone wolf—never wanted to be a partner in any company, even right out of school. He went at it alone and earned his reputation. He has never expressed any desire to be anything other than what he is, and the one
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I glanced through the papers Greg handed me, noting two things: the numbered company and the offer. Surprisingly, it was near market value, but considering how long I had held onto it, and my new plans, I wasn’t interested.I shook my head. “No.”“You want to counter?”“No, I’ve decided not to sell, no matter the offer.”He paused, tapping his pen on the desk, his words measured. “To this company or in general?”“It’s not for sale to anyone.”Greg stared at me, the office filled with stony silence. “What are you playing at, Bentley?” he finally asked.“Playing at? Nothing. I’ve decided not to sell the land. I’m going to develop it with a new plan in mind.”“And what plan is that?” He threw his pen on top of the papers.“A new concept.”His fingers drummed on the desk. “That’s not what you said when you left here last week. You were done with this project. You were damned vocal about it. I could hear you cursing in the elevator.”I shrugged. “Things changed. I calmed down. We regrouped
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“Talking. Right.”He brushed past me, shaking his head. “Leave it alone.”In the elevator, I met his suddenly vulnerable eyes. “It’s fruitless to resist, Aiden. Those girls are headstrong. She’s been interested since the day in the boutique. Before even.”“I’m not in the market for what she is looking for.”“You mean a relationship?”“Yes.”“Neither was I. Emmy proved me wrong.” I stopped him before he exited the elevator, my voice low and serious. “She’s a great girl. You like her; she likes you. I think she’d be good for you. Don’t cut yourself off again. What do you have to lose?”“You know the answer to that.”“Give it a chance. You deserve to be happy.”“No, I don’t deserve anything of the sort.” With those words, he hurried past me.I watched his retreating figure with sadness. He did deserve it. I wasn’t sure how I could make him see it, yet I knew I had to try.* * *I arrived home late, and Andrew met me at the elevator.“Sir.”“Andrew—how was your day?”“Excellent. Miss Harr
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“I would have to pay my way.” She lifted her chin. “Otherwise the discussion is closed.”I knew arguing with her was a waste of time. She was stubborn and proud, and scared to depend on anyone. I wanted her to depend on me, though. I wanted to prove to her she could depend on me and I wouldn’t let her down.“The house is paid for, and all the bills are done through my company.” I fibbed a little. “Perhaps we could do an exchange. Like you have with Al.”“You want four dozen scones a day?”I chuckled. “No, but I love your cooking and baking. It would give Andrew a break, as well. I’ve been thinking I needed to get him some help.”She pursed her lips. I lifted her hand to my mouth.“Emmy, I don’t want to take away your independence. I’m not going to stop you living your life. I only want to share it with you. Have you be part of mine. I admit, having you live with me would ease my mind. I want to take care of you. I’ve never felt that with another person. We can work out all the details
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“Not a lot, but there was some sort of altercation. Her messenger bag was in the back seat, and the contents dumped out.”I felt sick. I had watched her walk out the door to danger. My phone had rung, so she kissed me, and hurried outside, anxious to be on her way. I heard her call to Frank to stay in the car; she could open her own door. Except it hadn’t been Frank. By the time I followed, wanting to tell her she would be brilliant today, they were gone, and I had no idea what I had allowed to happen.I had let her walk right into their trap.I shook my head, trying to clear it. “Frank—is he okay?”“He has a bad concussion. They found him in the stairwell—he was knocked out before he ever reached the car. He didn’t see who hit him.”The air in the room became too hot, too close. I tugged on my tie, struggling to drag in oxygen.“Why?” I choked out.“You know why.”“They got the land. They got what they wanted!” I swung around facing Aiden. “We did all of this as a precaution. Only a
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Aiden stood, stiff and furious. “Nothing. Bentley is casting blame, the way he always does.”“Fuck you,” I snarled.He glared. “You usually do.”Maddox flung out his arms. “Knock it off! There is no blame here! Someone did this to get at Bentley—to get at us! Fighting is only going to make it worse.” He turned to me. “You know this isn’t Aiden’s fault. We all agreed on how to handle watching her. None of us could have predicted they’d be so desperate they’d actually take her or how they would take her!”Aiden and I stared at each other, neither of us giving an inch.“The girls are here,” Maddox informed us. “Can we try to be civil and concentrate on what is important? They’re already upset enough.”My anger left me as fast as it had hit. Maddox was right. This wasn’t the time to be fighting. We had to work together.“You’re right.”Aiden pushed off the desk with a huff. “Well, at least you agree with one of us.”“Aiden—”He held up his hand. “You said enough, Bentley. I get it.” Grabb
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