Brazen and Breathless (Untouchable Book 6) Page 10

  I would not blush. I would not blush. I ran my tongue over my lips. “No? But you were curious.”

  “Granted,” he said, and then settled on his elbows so he could cup my face. “But what I wanted to know was, did you want to pick the book since I got to pick the toy? And did you need a water break before we started round two?”

  I blinked for a moment. “Round two?” Wait, hadn’t we just…

  “Definitely round two, beautiful.” His grin spread wider. “Hydration is important. I’ll get us some water, so you stay there and decide which of those books we’re going to read while you sit on my cock.”

  A groan stole out of me as he pulled out and stood. Even softening, he was semi-hard still. He ran a hand over his hair as he stared down at me.

  “You really are fucking beautiful.”

  I bit my lip and stared right back up at him. “So are you.”

  He made a superhero pose, and I burst out laughing. I rolled over to stare at the stack of books he’d set right on the nightstand. Those were so moving before the boys saw them. I had a lot of research to do… He draped over me again and pressed his lips against my tattoo, and I closed my eyes at the wave of feeling that went through me.

  It happened any time one of them traced it or kissed it. It grabbed me when I saw theirs, too. I loved this new link between us. Right now, it was just for us, but I didn’t give a damn if the whole world saw it. Not anymore.

  I glanced over my shoulder at him as he reached the door. “I love you, Coop.”

  He fisted his hand and touched it to his heart. “I love you too, beautiful. More than you know.”

  Yeah, I was pretty sure I did know. Especially after the last few weeks, if any questions had lingered, they’d all been answered. He strolled out of the bedroom naked and headed for the kitchen. I had no idea if any of the other guys were back. One thing we’d made work for us since we’d gotten back from Colorado was that if one of the guys called for private time, the others left us to it.

  Even the day Coop wandered in to get his shoes, he hadn’t stayed, he’d just wandered in and out. And they didn’t seem to mind. Excitement threaded me as I glanced at the stack of the books. I finally pulled out the first one I should probably read.

  Learning How to Discover Your Flavor of Kink: A Newbie Guide to Alternate Lifestyles and Sexual Discovery

  I set it on the bed and then grabbed my phone. There was a message on the screen. Mollie.

  Mollie: They finally sent the assignments. I’m going to a law firm. Why does this not excite me?

  I made a face and tabbed over to my email, and yep, there it was. My internship assignment with the day and time of my on-site orientation. I clicked it open and skimmed all the information reminding me to dress professionally, show up on time, and be prepared to learn and have fun, but that the internships were about work so we needed to be prepared for that.

  The actual name of the business and the location didn’t pop until the end, and I stared at it. Then I read it three times.

  “Hey, I grabbed some snacks, too.” All the lazy smiles abandoned his voice though when he asked, “What’s wrong?”

  I met his concerned stare. “I got my internship assignment.”

  “And?” He frowned.

  My heart thudded painfully against my ribs. “It’s at Standish Enterprises,” I told him, handing him my phone, “with Archie’s dad.”

  “The fuck?”

  Chapter Eight

  Boys Wanna Fight

  Archie

  The guys at the security desk straightened up the moment my foot hit the tile of the lobby. I didn’t bother stopping or signing in. They damn well knew who I was, and while I didn’t make it a habit of showing up here, I had learned from an old pro that when you asked for permission, you gave them the chance to say no.

  Standish Enterprises had my name on it, and I didn’t have to ask for shit when I was here.

  Blood still boiling, I jabbed the button on the executive elevator then swiped the blank white security card. The only concession I’d made to this ambush was the suit jacket Jeremy insisted on. It looked fine over the Torched T-shirt and jeans.

  Better than fine, if Frankie’s expression when I dropped her at school this morning had been any indication.

  “Please don’t go pick a fight.”

  “Babe, I didn’t pick this fight, but you’re damn right I’m going to wade right into it.” Hand on her nape, I’d locked eyes with her. The other guys were outside, leaning against Jake’s SUV and waiting for her. “I don’t fucking want him messing with you or anything you do. I don’t trust him, and I don’t know what he’s up to. This is a bad combo. So, yes, I’m dealing with it.”

  “I don’t want him to hurt you. I’m sure this is one of those things where I’ll be interning at some grunt level, and his name is on it because he’s the head of the company or something.” It was weak and we both knew it was, but she wanted to protect me. Fuck, was it any wonder I was crazy about her? She wanted to protect me.

  I was fucking fine. Archibald Edward Standish the Second had proven what an absolute fuckhole he was as a parent to me a long time ago. Not much left to disappoint to be honest. But Frankie was not an option for his goddamn games. “I’ll be fine, babe, pinky swear.”

  The tease worked, and she hooked her pinky with mine. “Call me?”

  “I promise. Have a good day.” I kissed her. “If I can make it back by lunch, I’ll be here, otherwise, I’ll see you after school.”

  She wrinkled her nose, then leaned over and kissed me so soundly, I debated saying fuck it to heading to the office and just taking her back to the apartment. After she bit my lower lip, I chuckled and stroked my thumb along her nape. I got it. Frankie wanted to protect me. It was so damn adorable. “Take care of you,” she informed me. “I mean it. I’ll kick that man in the balls if he hurts you.”

  I’d pay money to see that. “I know you would. I love you.”

  As much as I hated leaving, I trusted the guys would look after her. There was a perk to sharing her I hadn’t really considered before. One that had proven beyond soothing after Homecoming. We never had to leave her alone.

  Of course, our stubborn girl had begun pushing back, and I was—strangely maybe—okay with that. I liked it when she reminded us she could stand on her own two feet. That she wanted to protect us, and that maybe, just maybe, she wanted time to herself. Or Rachel time to do girl stuff.

  But after the bomb of her internship dropped? Yeah, I wanted one of us with her in case her cunt of a mother pulled something. She had been quiet for weeks.

  Maybe too quiet.

  As the elevator sped its way to the executive floors, I checked my phone. I’d put a call into Wittaker, but he hadn’t gotten back to me yet. Jeremy would be following up while I tackled Edward. I’d managed to avoid him completely for the last few weeks. While he hadn’t moved out of the house, no matter what Frankie’s idiot mother thought, he had taken a couple of bags and not returned as far as I knew.

  The elevator doors opened to the senior executive floor. The whole space was luxurious, from the premium carpets to the wood paneled walls, huge plants and works of art hanging prominently. Susan sat at her desk. She was about sixty-five if she was a day, and she’d been among the senior secretaries for as long as I could remember. Slipping a hand into my pocket, I pulled out the candy bar and set it on her desk as I smiled at her.

  “Good morning, Susan. You look fantastic as always, when are you dumping these assholes and running away with me?”

  Her eyes lit up with fond laughter, and she shook her head. “You never forget.”

  “And I never will,” I told her with a wink. When I was three and stuck at the offices whenever we were between nannies, Susan had been tasked with looking after me. On days when I behaved, she always gave me a full bar of chocolate. On days when I didn’t, I just had to split it with her. “Is he in?”

  “In his office,” she told me, tapping the candy
bar. “Am I going to have to share this one today?”

  I chuckled. “You’re always good, so I very much doubt it.”

  For me? I made no similar promises.

  Without another word, I strolled down the hall. There were only three offices on this floor.

  Edward’s corner suite, easily occupying about three thousand square feet. Grandpa’s, which he only used when he was in town, though they both had similar offices in other corporate buildings in other cities. And mine.

  To be clear, I’d never used mine.

  Janis glanced up from her desk. She was Edward’s private secretary of the most recent variety and occasional fuckbuddy. I’d walked in on her blowing him behind his desk enough that it rather surprised me to find her at her desk. She’d offered to blow me more than once. Not in so many words, but at least intimated it.

  Hard pass.

  She stood at my arrival and leaned forward. “Archie,” she greeted me in that breathless voice that made me wonder if she had asthma or something. Then again, it could have more to do with how tight her top was and the fact her breasts—handsomely paid for by Edward—threatened to spill out of her too deep for the office neckline.

  I gave her a nod as I continued forward. Unlike Susan, I didn’t expect Janis to be around all that much longer. Then again, maybe she didn’t care about being the office squeeze while he plowed Maddy. What the fuck did I know?

  Except now I had that damn mental image, and it turned my stomach.

  She hurried out to catch my arm, and this close, I drowned in the scent of her perfume, but not even the power of it could erase the smell of sex. Clearly, still the office fuckbuddy. I gave the hand she put on my arm a cool look, then stared at her until she removed it.

  Her tongue flicked out nervously to wet her lips. “He’s on a call.”

  “I don’t give a fuck.” At her startled look, I raked my gaze over her. “You know, you could do better than him, right?”

  A blush stained her cheeks, and she gave me a coy look.

  “And I can definitely do better than you.”

  Outrage flooded her eyes and she reared that hand back, but I caught her wrist. So predictable.

  “Tsk tsk, that will get you fired.” I winked at her and she flushed a deep red, more furious than flirty. Good. I didn’t need to fend her off. I’d never been interested and that was saying something, because there was a time when all a girl needed to have was boobs and she had boobs. But she couldn’t hold a candle to Frankie.

  Not to mention I wouldn’t touch a woman Edward had with a ten-foot pole.

  Walking away, I pushed open one of the double doors to Edward’s office and let myself in. The man in question stood behind his desk, hands in his pockets as he faced the window, a headset on, and he spared me a glance before he answered a question in near flawless Italian.

  I helped myself to the French press coffee and didn’t bother with anything to sweeten it. I wanted the bitter brew on my tongue. It definitely fit my mood. The call lasted another five minutes, and as he ended it, Edward faced me fully.

  “Archie,” he greeted me in a chill tone. One that warned I’d already irritated him by showing up in the first place.

  Too. Fucking. Bad.

  “Edward. You want to explain me to what the fuck it is you think you’re doing?” I didn’t waste any time on pleasantries. I had none to share.

  Removing the headset, he crossed to his desk and took a seat, not bothering to answer me before he pressed a finger to the call button on his phone. “Janis, move my next call back fifteen minutes, and the next time I tell you I’m not to be interrupted, make sure it happens or find a new job.”

  That done, he leaned back in his chair and studied me. I didn’t twitch, just met him gaze for gaze. These little power plays were old hat for me. I could make some scathing remark about his secretary, but she mattered so very little to him, it wouldn’t even make a dent.

  But I had collected a few nuggets of information along the way that definitely would.

  “Perhaps you’d like to clarify that question with some actual information, or is this just another teenage tantrum? I’d have thought you were over the hormonal stage by now.” The faint smirk used to enrage me. It was like he’d throw that in my face, bored with me and my so-called tantrums.

  Of course, I used to long for his approval, too.

  I got over it.

  “Frankie.” I said her name in the same dry tone he’d affected when he’d opened his mouth. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing with Frankie?”

  Oops. Not so unaffected, but his faintly puzzled frown wasn’t anywhere near as convincing as he might wish it.

  “I’m doing nothing with Frankie.”

  And fuck if I didn’t hate hearing her name on his lips.

  “It’s my understanding that she and her mother are having some issues, but they will work them out.” A careless shrug, like it had nothing to do with us.

  “Right, and you didn’t pull any strings to get her assigned to Standish for an internship.”

  One corner of his mouth quirked a little higher than the other, the barest hint of pleasure in his expression. It made me want to punch that smirk right off his face. I’d experienced any number of feelings where this man was concerned over the years, but being incited to violence was new.

  I could see every detail in sharp relief. We were the same height, roughly the same build, but he didn’t work out with near the frequency I did and I could make it fucking hurt if I belted him.

  But first, I needed answers.

  Business before pleasure and all of that.

  “Archie, my boy,” he said, almost laughing as he pushed his chair back and stood. “Are you jealous? You shouldn’t be. You have an office just down the hall. You could come to work here, the offer has been on the table for years.”

  “Let’s not pretend this is about me,” I told him before knocking back the rest of the coffee then setting the empty mug on the table as I tracked Edward’s passage from behind the desk to where I stood near the coffee. “This is about whatever game it is you’re playing with Frankie and her slut of a mother.”

  Edward spared me a look. “There is no game, Archie. You need to grow up. Maddy and I are engaged, I’m going to be a fact of Frankie’s life. There is nothing wrong with me trying to make things easy for her. The program is a solid one, she’s an excellent candidate and she’d do well here.”

  I shook my head. “Engaged. You’re still married, and your little fuck princess outside can attend to your needs. So, one would think you’re busy enough at the moment to not mess with a girl who’s more than half your age.”

  “More than?” Edward raised his brows. “Barely. But that’s not the point.” He took a sip of his coffee, then added, “I owe you no explanations. I’m doing something nice for the young lady, and if you’d stop poisoning her mind, maybe I could fix some of the things going wrong. Like a rejection from Harvard. Clearly, she is the better candidate.”

  “What she does or doesn’t do is none of your business. Leave. Her. Alone.”

  “Oh, but I take it she’s your business.”

  “Yes. She fucking is. And I’m not letting you drag her into whatever sick little game you are playing. Buying her clothes. Trying to get her a car. Now you want to bring her to work here? She’s not a toy.”

  “Are you quite finished?” Edward’s glacial stare had dropped several degrees. Well, well. I touched a nerve.

  “Hardly. I want you to leave her alone.”

  “I don’t care what you want.” Oh, there was just the barest hint of a snap in his tone. Definitely hit a nerve.

  “Clearly, I’ve never entertained the illusions otherwise.” Not since I’d been a kid. “But you’re going to do this.”

  “Or what?” he challenged. “I’m going to do what you want or what? Because let’s be clear, son, in business and in life, you don’t make a threat you’re not prepared to back up.”

  I sl
ugged him.

  Verbal chess was our thing. We’d done it for years. But the smug superiority in his tone coupled with the smirk on his face, and I took that last little nugget he’d shared to heart. The blow landed on his jaw and caught him unawares as he toppled onto his ass. My knuckles screamed and my fist ached, but fuck that felt good.

  “Great advice, Edward,” I told him with a stare of my own. “So let’s get a few things cleared up, shall we? You’re going to leave Frankie alone, or I’ll tear you a-fucking-part. I’ll come for you, for your company, and everything else you hold dear. You think I’m fucking with you?” I raised my brows. “Try me.”

  Blood decorated his lip and began to run from his nose. He had a hand to his face, and I wasn’t sure if he was more startled or in pain. I actually didn’t give a shit which. I just wanted him to fucking listen.

  “If I cut her loose from the internship,” Edward warned, “she might lose her place in the program. They’ve already placed all of them.”

  “Then you just stay the fuck away from her if she’s here. Delegate it.” As fine as I would be if Frankie was out of that program, it wasn’t my damn decision to make. “You’re a damn expert at that.”

  Slowly and warily, Edward rose to his feet. I admit, I enjoyed knocking him off his game almost as much as knocking him on his ass. “I’ll see what I can do.”

  I nodded once, then pivoted and went to the door. But before I stepped out, I glanced back at him. “Don’t push me. You want to fight with me? You want to come after my shares in the company?” I didn’t flinch from his stare. “Fuck, you want to come after my trust fund? You come for me. I’ll take that fight, but you leave her out of this. Forget her name. Forget she exists. Run off into the sunset with Maddy, leave Frankie alone. This is the only warning I’m going to give you, and it’s a hell of a lot more than you deserve.”

  I didn’t wait for his response to that and just left. I strode past his little fuckbuddy pouting at her desk and didn’t slow my pace. If I hesitated, even once, I’d walk back in there and punch him again. It felt really fucking good to hit him in his lying, arrogant face.