“She is not in our system. She is just using
our network to power her program,” Jacob defends instantly. “And
believe me this girl is good. I never gave her passwords and she
didn’t need them.” I can tell by the way he talks about her that he
is falling for her hard.
“Talking about me,” Lucy enters the office
and puts her bag at the door before she heads to the computer to
check the status. She looks absolutely adorable in her light green
sundress and short sleeve cardigan.
“Just in time, Lucy. This is Shawn, he is
the head of MSG,” Jacobs introduces them and Lucy stands anxiously
to shake his hand. Shawn keeps his arms crossed not reaching out
for Lucy’s hand and he looks her up and down in disapproval.
My face burns with fury as I watch the
exchange. Luke puts his arm around me sensing I’m about to fly off
the handle not wanting me to get involved.
“I need you to discontinue your program and
pull out of any links you have with MSG immediately,” he addresses
Lucy rudely. “If you do this post haste, I will not have charges
brought up against you.”
“Now wait a minute!” I struggle from Luke’s
grip he has tightened on me as I walk toward Shawn. I can see the
scared look in Lucy’s eyes at the thought of criminal charges.
Shawn faces me as I walk straight up to him.
“I will not have you in my house ordering
people around. On what fucking grounds could you press charges on
her?” I shout up at him. He is a foot taller than me and I’m ready
to jump and start swinging. The anger in his face shows and both
Jacob and Luke rush to defuse the situation. Luke grabs my
shoulders again and leads me out of the office into the
kitchen.
I hear Jacob apologizing to Shawn. I know he
is scared, not for himself, but for Lucy.
Shawn enters the kitchen with Jacob
following telling him that they will have it all disconnected
within the hour.
“See that you do, this is not going to look
good in your file Jacob. I don’t know what you were thinking.
Trying to get a piece of ass or something,” Shawn snorts. “I won’t
lie. She’s cute, but really, risk losing your career over that?” He
waves his hand in the direction of the office with disgust. Jacob’s
whole body tenses and his hands are in tight fists at his
sides.
“You fucking shut up!” I scream at the top
of my lungs lunging at Shawn. Luke stumbles as I jab him in the
stomach with my elbow to loosen from his grip. “Get the fuck out of
my house you arrogant asshole.”
My body burning with anger as Shawn looks
down at me smiling.
“Don’t you dare touch her,” Luke warns Shawn
with a low growl.
“Oh, I won’t. You have a firecracker here,”
he says looking up at Luke with amusement. “I think that it is time
we part ways, Miss Sumnor. By the way, you are talking to me and I
am assuming you no longer acquire our services,” he says smugly as
if the threat of them pulling out and breaking the contract is
supposed to frighten me.
“Really!! You picking up on that genius?” I
give him my best smart-ass smile.
“So just to be clear, you’re firing us?
Adeline Grace was right about you, you are an ungrateful bitch.”
Shawn sneers down at me with his words hitting me like a train.
“I’m not just going to fire you, I’m going
to destroy you!” I say through gritted teeth and I feel my whole
body trembling with anger. I feel Luke take a step closer to me and
I know that he is right behind me ready to pounce if Shawn makes a
move.
“Oh, okay.” He laughs and pulls out a piece
of paper and lays it on the counter with a pen. “I just need you to
sign this stating you are breaking the contract and we will be out
of your hair.” His arrogance is all over his face and I know that
breaking the contract means a large penalty for me.
“Jacob, grab your things. I’ll contact Sam
so he can remove himself and the dogs from the property,” he orders
and looks at me for my reaction. As if he thinks that I forgot that
Jacob, Sam, and the dogs are all part of the contract. I feel Luke
come up behind me. For support or protection, I’m not sure, but he
knows things are about to get nasty.
“First off dickhead, the dogs are my
personal property so touch them and die.” My rage rushes through me
as I clench my fists tight. “Second off, I’m not signing shit
without my lawyer seeing it and Jacob is not going anywhere.
Neither is Sam. That is, if he wants to stay. So get the FUCK out
my house, you piece of shit!”
“Oh, but they are. Jacob and Sam are in a
contract with MSG, and breaking it dishonorably will not be good
for their careers.” Shawn’s coolness gone, real anger comes across
his face as he leans down to look me straight in the eyes.
“Back off, that’s your only warning!” Luke
growls behind me and Jacob is at his side to back him up.
Shawn steps back with fury in his eyes. He
assesses the fact that Jacob and Luke both look extremely pissed
off, and one wrong move could make him pay severely. “There will be
people here to collect the equipment. If you stay here, Jacob, you
can kiss your career goodbye,” he says inching his way to the door
wanting to get the heck out.
“All of the equipment has been bought and
paid for by Miss Sumnor, so no one will step foot on this
property,” Jacob says firmly as he walks at him pushing him closer
to the door. “Oops, did I just let out one of MSG’s dirty little
tricks.” He smiles at Shawn’s reaction, at the fact that Jacob has
just revealed that MSG has probably been profiting off of reselling
equipment over and over.
“You better get a lawyer because we are
pressing criminal charges against that little cunt in there.” Shawn
waves in the direction of the office referring to Lucy. It was the
straw that broke the camels back, because Jacob lunges for him and
punches him square in the face knocking Shawn off his feet.
Jacob goes toward him again fist ready when
Luke catches his arm keeping him from hitting Shawn again. The one
punch did him in. Shawn rubs his face and makes his way to his feet
as Luke opens the door so he will leave. He stumbles out and we
hear, “You’re going to regret this,” just before Luke shuts the
door on him.
Chapter 40
“Holy shit!” I hear Emma. I realize her,
Jimmy, and Lucy are all standing on the sidelines with shocked
looks on their faces.
“Holy shit is right!” Jacob rushes to me and
gives me a giant bear hug lifting me off my feet. “That felt so
good, thank you, Lil’.” He beams then sets me down and walks toward
Lucy pumping the air with his fist. His adrenaline high, he picks
Lucy up like she weighs five pounds and plants a very serious, very
long kiss right on her lips. She wraps her arms around him and when
he sets her down her face goes flush from either embarrassment or
excitement, maybe both. They walk out of the kitchen and I see him
guiding her toward the stairs.
“Jesus, Lilly,” I’m standing in the same
spot still trembling, as Luke’s eyes are dark staring at me. I
can’t tell if he is pissed or turned on, and I can’t help but start
crying. All the emotions come rushing through me. I also start to
laugh. I must look the sight standing in the middle of the kitchen
laughing and crying at the same time. Emma runs to me and throws
her arms around me. She is laughing also.
“Oh, Lil, that must have felt so good.” She
beams at me with a look of pride on her face.
All my muscles have been so tense that I
feel weak. Emma is holding me up and I am laughing more now than
crying. She guides me to the table and helps me to a chair. It
feels good to relax my muscles and I search Luke’s face for his
emotions. He is still staring at me and I still can’t tell what he
is thinking.
Emma senses the air between us and she looks
down at me. “Jimmy and I are going to go out for a while, we need
some fresh air,” she smiles at me, “I am so proud of you girl.” She
gives my shoulder a squeeze and her and Jimmy disappear from the
kitchen.
I hear thunder in the distance. A storm is
moving in and the sky is turning grey. It sends a shiver through
me. I’ve always loved storms because of the excitement.
Luke walks to me, and before I know it, I am
in his arms and he is hugging me tight. His lips hit mine so hard
that I think I will have a bruise, but I don’t care. The intensity
in his kiss makes my body burn. He holds me tight to his chest, his
tongue darting across my lips. I wrap my legs around his waist and
run my fingers through his soft hair.
“I want you so bad,” he moans and starts to
walk out of the kitchen. Still holding me, he kisses me as he
climbs the stairs and we are in our room before I know it. With one
arm supporting my back, and the other hand on the bed, he lowers us
down. His mouth explores mine then he starts to trail kisses down
my neck.
“Luke,” I moan hungrily as his hands are now
up my shirt and squeezing my breasts. My hands are on his back and
I struggle to get his shirt over his head. I want to feel his skin
against mine. His muscles ripple and tense under my touch and I
finally get his shirt over his head.
He tugs his shirt off his arms and throws it
to the side. I move enough for him to get my shirt off and he
throws it in the same direction. His face lights up and his lips
twitch with a seductive smile that makes me tremble. “You are so
beautiful.” His mouth moves over my breasts and down my belly. His
hands run down my legs and he grabs the hem of my skirt. He brings
it up to my waist. I feel his fingers tuck into my panties and
there is low growl in his throat before he rips my panties off of
me. “You keep doing that and I’m going to go broke buying new
panties.” I smile up at him. The lust in his eyes turns me on.
“Lilly baby, what you do to me,” he moans
crushing my lips again as he moves his fingers in me.
“Luke, please,” I groan needing him in
me.
My hearts is pounding as I feel the
excitement between my legs, my hips buck up, and I can feel his
erection through his jeans pressing against my sex. His abs tighten
as he stands, leaving me there to watch him unbutton his jeans and
pull them down. I see how hard he is, his manhood is straining
against his cotton boxers. He pulls them down next and I intake a
sharp breath. I want him so much.
His eyes light up. He knows that I want him.
I writhe on the bed waiting for him.
“Please,” I breathe and his legs go between
mine forcing me more open for him. He thrusts into me and I can’t
help the soft scream that escapes my lips.
“You are so wet for me, baby,” he moans as
he moves in and out, my hips matching his rhythm.
“Yes, just for you,” I whimper, “only you.”
I can’t hold it much longer. The room lights up as lightning
strikes outside followed by a loud crash of thunder that
camouflages my scream as I explode in a mind blowing orgasm and
Luke comes at the same time.
He lays down, his weight supported by the
elbow of one arm. With the other, he uses his hand to trace my lips
with his thumb.
“I don’t think that I will ever get tired of
this.” I smile up at him.
“I hope not, I know that I never will, my
little ruffian!” He crinkles his nose and places a soft kiss on
mine. Laughing, I reach up and he takes his lips with mine. He
rolls off of me pulling me to him as we hear steady rain hit the
windows.
We lay in bed holding each other listening to
the rain. Luke’s fingers are gently rubbing up and down my
back.
“So tell me about your first girlfriend,” I
whisper, wanting to know parts of his life that everyone else knows
about that I was sheltered from.
“There’s not much to tell. She was a
cheerleader and I was the quarterback. The other guys on the team
were starting to think I was gay because I never returned her
advances. I didn’t care, but I was actually trying to take my mind
off of you so I finally went out with her,” he admits, and I feel a
stab in the heart as he tells me that he was trying to forget me.
He must have read my mind because he follows up with. “I don’t mean
that I was trying to forget you, I was trying to get through the
days. I spent every day fighting the urge to come over here and
take you away from Jane.”
“I know. There was nothing you could do.
There was nothing anyone could do,” I reassure him that I know he
had no choice, even though I know he has huge guilt for leaving me
to endure the abuse of Jane. He hugs me tighter and I know that he
will always struggle with the guilt.
“So was she pretty?” I ask him, and he
hesitates before he answers.
“She was nothing compared to you,” he answers
grinning at me. “But yes, she was attractive. A lot of guys wanted
to date her,” he adds. “She wanted more from me than I could give
her,” he states looking down. I listen attentively as he talks
about her. My stomach turns with jealousy, but I don’t let it show.
I want to know everything about him and his past is who he is.
“Jimmy was the only one that knew about the
way I felt for you,” he says sheepishly. “She made it no secret
that she wanted me, and everyone couldn’t understand why I wasn’t
jumping at her.”
“So how far did you go with her?” I ask and
don’t know why I’m torturing myself with this, but I want to
know.
“She was very aggressive. We made out a
couple of times and she was always trying to get me to have sex
with her, but I couldn’t. All I wanted was you,” he says shyly and
it makes my insides warm. “I finally had to tell her that I was in
love with someone else and it wasn’t going to work. She was mad and
told everybody that she dumped me because I cheated on her,” Luke
says lying on his side facing me. He’s looking down at his hand
that is tracing a circle in the sheet. “It didn’t bother me,
because after that I was a cheater and girls left me alone,” he
says grinning.