Forever the Boss: Billionaire Romance ~ Hot and Steamy (Managing the Bosses Series Book 10) (14 page)

They writhed together. Distantly, Alex could hear the sounds of the night around them, and felt the breeze brushing over heated skin, waking all their nerve endings with its touch. He looked up at Jamie, her blonde hair spilling around her shoulders and her head thrown back in ecstasy, and wondered how in the world he had ever managed to keep this woman. She was everything he'd never known he needed.

Her breasts bounced with the motion of her body, and Alex found himself unable to resist uncurling one of his hands from her hip so that he could reach out and touch, stroking his thumb over her nipples until she moaned something that was probably meant to be his name and sounded more like a jumble of syllables.

“That's it, baby,” he growled. “Take whatever you want. Please yourself for me.”

“Alex,” she gasped.

His hand on her hip lifted her faster, kept her moving. She curled her fingers tighter around his shoulders and used that as leverage to work herself harder and faster, fucking herself on his cock. The pleasure and the view took his breath away.

“Touch me. Please. Alex.”

He slid his hand away from her breast, slipping it between her thighs to hold his fingers against her clit so that she could rub herself against them as she rode him. He wanted to lick the sheen of sweat from the curve of her throat, but she was too far away, her body in constant motion. He wanted to have her like this forever, all his, so close they could almost be one person.

Jamie groaned, and shuddered, and then she was coming, tight and shuddering around him, and Alex couldn't stop himself from following her over the edge with a moan. Pleasure rushed through him and spilled over, and then he sank back against the chair and Jamie lay against his chest, her head on his shoulder.

“That was exactly as good as I thought it would be,” she said when she had caught her breath, tipping her head back so she could look up at him with heavy-lidded eyes. “Mmm.”

“Only just that good?” Alex teased, and she laughed.

“Better,” she said.

“You never cease to amaze me,” Alex said then. “Truly, Jamie. I can't imagine ever not having you. Can't imagine ever not being as completely entranced by you as I am now.”

She lifted up, hands curled around the arm of the chair instead of around him, and kissed him, long and slow and sweet. Alex let his fingers slide into her hair, cupping the back of her head, and held her close as their lips met, the taste of him intoxicating. Overhead, the stars were still shining, but Alex didn't look up at them.

He had something much better right there in his arms.

One Month Later

Mark couldn’t stop being nervous. He knew that he was probably moving too fast, rushing around the clubhouse in an attempt to make sure everything was ready to go, and Erica's hand suddenly on his shoulder made him sure of that. He paused, and looked over at her. She was smiling at him, her eyes dancing with laughter, and for an instant he was irritated. What was so funny about him wanting the tournament to be perfect? But she wasn't laughing at him, he realized in the next second. Or, if she was, it was fond. The tension suddenly rushed out of him, and he leaned into the hand on his shoulder with a sigh.

“Let me guess. You're here to tell me I need to calm down?”

“You need to calm down,” Erica said, and that smile was still on her lips. “I promise everything is going to be okay. We have great staff, it's a gorgeous day, and everything is ready to go. Nothing is—”

Mark pressed a finger against her mouth. “Don't say it. I'll agree with you that everything is ready and I'm sure our staff can handle it, but if you say it, you're going to jinx it.”

Erica laughed. “Fine. I won't say it. But trust me. You did an amazing job preparing this place. It's going to work out.”

They had pulled out all the stops, it was true. The construction had all gone exactly the way Mark planned, and the course itself was a thing of beauty as far as he was concerned. The pool next to the clubhouse had been extremely popular with guests since it was finished, and he'd had several compliments on the new landscaping. It wasn't actually that part that Mark was worried about. The venue was fine, but something was bound to go wrong. Something always went wrong.

Erica, of course, didn't believe that. He envied her.

“Mark,” his brother's voice said from just behind him, and Mark turned to find Alex and Jamie standing a few feet away with the twins in their arms. He dug up a smile from somewhere.

“Glad to see you could make it,” he said, stepping forward and giving both of them careful half-hugs, not wanting to jostle the kids. “And you, too, peanuts. Uncle Mark is very glad to see you.”

Lilli waved at him, and Benton squealed. Mark laughed despite himself. It was always good to see his niece and nephew, although the rate they were growing kept astonishing him. How did they get so big so fast? He felt like every time he saw them they looked different than they had the time before.

“Unfortunately, I can't stick around. I've got to go make sure the kitchen is ready for the luncheon. But you guys are welcome to get comfortable. The first round of the tournament is going to start shortly.”

He turned away and headed for the kitchen, passing several staff members who looked like they were in as much of a hurry as he was. It was reassuring to see. At least he knew they were taking things seriously. He wasn't sure he wouldn't fire someone on the spot if he caught them lollygagging today, although he'd probably end up rehiring them anyway, so it was likely best to just avoid that.

“How's it going?” he asked as he stepped into the kitchen.

“Going just great, Mr. Reid. Everything is going to be on time for lunch,” the head chef said, not even looking up from the pan he was stooped over. “We're not having any trouble.”

If anywhere was going to have trouble, Mark was sure it would be the kitchen, so knowing that they weren't made some of the worry a little less sharp. At least people would have lunch.

“Sounds good. Let me know if anything happens to change that,” he said as he started back out of the room.

“Will do.”

There wasn't much else to check before the day started. Mark made a quick circuit of the clubhouse, making sure nothing looked terribly out of place, and then headed out into the yard to check there.

He'd greeted most of the players as they'd arrived earlier that morning, and they were down on the course getting ready. Erica, invited a month ago, was going to be one of competitors in the women’s tournament, which he couldn't have been more pleased about. He was looking forward to watching her try to beat the rest—and the best—of them, although he didn't know how she wasn't nervous about it considering how much pressure it must be. But then, Erica never seemed all that nervous about anything. He remembered the night she had shown up on the driving range in a trench coat and practically nothing else, and thought even then she'd been pretty confident about what she wanted and how she intended to get it.

She would wipe the course with the rest of them.

“Mark?”

Mark turned. It was Christine standing behind him this time, and he smiled at her despite the sudden rush of nerves. What was she out of the clubhouse for? Had something gone wrong. “What can I do for you?”

“Nothing. I just had to run out to my car to grab something I forgot, and I thought you looked like you might need a little encouragement.” She smiled back at him. “Or maybe just a hug.”

“Actually,” Mark said, “I think I could use that.”

He opened his arms, and Christine stepped into them, hugging him tightly for a moment before she stepped back.

“Thanks. Really.” Mark took a deep breath and let it out again. “That actually did help.”

“You're going to be great,” she said. “The place looks amazing, and the comments from the pros have all been positive.”

“That's what Erica keeps telling me, too,” Mark said. “I just wish I could believe it.”

Before she could really answer, he was off again, headed down to make sure the staff on the course had finished getting everything ready. He heard her say something behind him, but the words were too soft and he was already halfway down the hill.

***

He'd thought it would be worse once the tournament started, but things had actually gone fairly well. No one had any major emergencies. There hadn't been any disasters. Mark didn't quite let himself believe that there still wouldn't be one disaster or emergency, but for the moment things were actually going okay. It was more than he had dared to hope for, if he was honest.

“How are you feeling now?” Jamie asked beside him, and Mark smiled at her.

“Actually, not terrible. I had kind of expected everything to implode by now.”

She laughed. “I find that when you're prepared for the worst, things usually don't get too bad. It's when you're convinced that everything will be perfect that it isn't.”

“I’d say the rest of the day will probably go great, then, but I think that would ruin it,” Mark chuckled.

The marshal held his hands up, and the people around them fell silent, everyone going still. The player lined up at the tee and swung, the ball arcing through the air. Motion resumed. Erica was stepping up and Mark watched her, his eyes following the lines of her body as she prepared for the swing. This time when the marshal raised his hands for quiet, he practically held his breath. She swung, and the crowd cheered.

“It’s only the first day of the tournament, anyway,” he said as he turned back to Jamie. “There’s plenty that could still happen.”

Later, he wondered if those words had been the jinx he’d been trying to avoid, because at that moment he looked up to see Jamie’s mother working her way through the crowd.

When Mark's eyes widened, Jamie turned to see what he was looking at, following his gaze to the woman who was currently pushing someone aside to get closer to them. Her stomach clenched. Her mother was absolutely the last person she wanted to see showing up at the course today, and with a glance at Mark's expression Jamie decided she was going to have to duck out of the crowd to at least save the rest of the group the trial of having to listen to her mother complain about whatever it was she had showed up to complain about, because she was definitely angry about something.

“I'm going to try to get her to go somewhere else for this,” Jamie said quietly.

“Are you sure you want to do that? By yourself?”

“It's really the only choice right now.”

Alex was at another hole with the twins and Jamie's father, for which Jamie was more than a little grateful. Her dad really didn't need to deal with her mom right now, and Alex would just be angry.

“I'll be fine,” Jamie reassured Mark. “Really. Stay here and watch Erica play.”

Ducking around someone's elbow, she made her way through the people moving toward the next hole, ready to intercept her mother. But Christine had somehow gotten there first. She had one hand on their mother's arm, and was leading her away from the rest of the people and back toward the driving range and the clubhouse. Jamie moved a little faster.

It didn't take more than a couple minutes to catch up to them, but by that time their mother had already gone into full-on rant mode.

“And why wouldn't you tell me this before? What, you think it's funny to wait for a month with news like that? Are you trying to punish me?” Jamie could hear her shouting from ten yards away.

Christine said something that Jamie couldn't hear, her hands out in a placating motion.

“I knew both of you hated me,” their mother sobbed, pushing Christine away. “I knew that you would try to punish me for being a bad mother, or whatever it is you think that I did. Your father has turned you both against me since the divorce, and now Nate’s leaving me and I have no one. And you didn't even tell me I was going to be kicked to the curb when all this time,
you knew
. How could you?” Her voice had risen from a sob to a scream, and Jamie doubted she was the only one able to hear the fight.

“Mom,” she said. “You need to calm down.”

“I will not calm down!” her mother shouted, turning on her. “You two kept something awful from me. You wanted to hurt me. And you expect me to just sit here and take it? I don't think so. You're both unbelievable. Spoiled rotten brats, the two of you. I should have never let your father coddle you so much.” She glared at Jamie. “You had your husband pay Nate to leave, didn’t you?”

“Mom, we didn't keep it from you because we hate you,” Christine tried. “We just didn't know how to tell you. We weren't sure you would listen to us.”

“Of course I would have!”

“Would you have listened to me?” Jamie asked. “Would you really have, Mom?”

Her mother turned to look at her again, eyes narrowed. “Are you saying I wouldn't believe my own daughters when they tell me something?”

“Well, you did just say we hate you and that we've been corrupted by Dad,” Christine pointed out. “So why would you listen to us?”

“You never listened to us before,” Jamie said, not nearly as gently as Christine had, “So I don't know why you would start now. You would have put your fingers in your ears and refused to hear a word we said, and then you would have blamed us anyway. I'm honestly surprised Christine tried to warn you at all, considering what a disaster she knew it would be.”

“I told you almost three weeks ago,” Christine said before their mother could say anything. “And you didn't listen to me when I said it. The only reason you believe me now is because it actually happened.”

“You ungrateful little bitch,” their mother snarled, taking a step toward Christine which made her take a step back, her face white.

Jamie moved to step in and suddenly Paul was there. Jamie had no idea where he'd come from, but the sight of him brought a wash of relief. He moved behind Christine, wrapping both hands gently around her shoulders, and looked down at their mother with an expression that Jamie thought might end in her getting kicked down the hill.

“Don’t talk to Christine like that,” he said, voice pitched low and warning. “I mean it.”

“Who the hell are you to tell me how to talk to my daughter?” their mother demanded. “I was here a month ago and it was that golf woman and Jamie's brother-in-law. Now it's you. What the hell is it with you people?”

“That golf woman,” Jamie said quietly, “is going to be my sister-in-law soon. Which makes her family. Christine’s family, too.”

“More family than me?” There were tears in the woman's voice again as she looked at Christine, ignoring Jamie. “I'm your mother. She doesn't have more authority than I do.”

“Christine is an adult,” Jamie said, crossing her arms over her chest. “Not a child. You don't just get to treat her, or me, however you please without any consequences.”

“That still doesn't answer my question about you,” their mother said, turning to glare at Paul again. “Who the hell are you? Another Reid boy?”

“I'm Christine's boyfriend,” Paul said, his hands tightening protectively on her shoulders. “And I don't appreciate people mistreating her.”

Their mother gasped. “I’m not mistreating her! How dare you accuse me of something like that. As though I would ever hurt either of my children. I’m just having a discussion with her. One you don’t need to be stepping in on.”

“I think you need to leave,” Paul said.

“Christine!” their mother said desperately, turning to her. “Are you really going to let him treat me like this?”

Christine leaned back against Paul’s chest. “He’s not treating you like anything, Mom. He’s just telling you that you maybe need to treat your daughter with a bit of respect. And if you can’t, then you need to leave.”

“Jamie?” her mom gasped, turning to her then. “You’re really going to just stand there while they turn on me?”

“If you treat people like trash, they’re not going to want you around.”

“Oh, of course you are!” she snapped. “I should have known. You’ve always been awful. Not helping us when we needed you. Refusing to do anything about your weight. There was never anything about you that would lead me to believe you’d step up and defend your mother when she needed it.”

“That’s enough!” Paul stepped around Christine and toward their mother. “You really need to go,” he said, and this time it wasn’t a suggestion. “If you don’t, I’m going to call tournament staff over here and have them make sure you do.”

“Mother, I’ll call the officers. You are not going to ruin this day,” Christine straightened, “for anyone.”

“You little, miserable child!” She moved closer but stopped when Paul stepped in. She leaned around him. “I always thought you were on my side.” She jerked her head toward Jamie. “I never wanted her. But your father always insisted. So I figured we each had one. I can’t believe you turned on me! You couldn’t keep Stephen happy. You’re nothing.” She glared at Christine, like everything was her fault now.

“I couldn’t keep Stephen?” Christine stepped around Paul this time, her eyes hard for the first time in a long time that Jamie had scene. “I started dating him because you encouraged it! When he grew angry, you told me it was my fault. You… You couldn’t…” She blew a hot, flustered breath out. “You were my mother! You should have thought what was best for me. And Jamie. You never have cared about anything but yourself. You broke Dad’s heart. He tried everything to make it work.”

“You’re just like her!” Their mother jabbed a finger at Jamie. “She’s turned you!”

“I’ve done nothing, Mother.” Jamie shook her head, forcing herself to keep her voice down. “You’ve done this all on your own.”

“Well, Nate’s gone because of you two. Thank goodness I’ve met someone else. He’s a couple years older than Nate. Way more mature.” She glared at both them. “Than all of you.” She spun around and started walking away and then turned around again. “I’m done with all of you. Tell your father he can keep his shitty retirement. I don’t need it. I’ve got my own millionaire. His daddy has more money than all of you put together.”

“A new boyfriend? Really, Mom?” Christine’s voice came out strained. “Don’t you think you should take some time to…” she hesitated, clearly unsure of how to continue.

“What do you care? You all have your happily ever after! I’ll find mine. I don’t need you all.” Finally realizing she wasn’t going to get anyone’s sympathy or emotions, Jamie’s mother looked between her and Christine for a moment, and then she turned on her heel and stomped away without another word. It wasn’t exactly the response Jamie had expected, but she was partially relieved it had ended so quickly. Paul turned and wrapped Christine up in his arms, and she lay her head against his shoulder, exchanging a glance with Jamie.

“I feel kind of bad,” she said softly, “for sending Mom away like that.”

“Don’t,” Jamie said. “She’s been nothing but horrible to both of us. It’s not going to change, unless she’s willing to change. I tried to work with her, but it’s just not possible. She’s too deep in her own hatred.” She sighed. “We’re going to have to just let her go.”

A hand came to rest on her shoulder, and Jamie turned to find Alex and her father standing behind her, each of them carrying one of the twins. Jamie held her arms out, and Alex handed over Lilli, who giggled as Jamie settled her on her hip.

“Hey, baby girl,” she said. “Looks like you showed up just in time. Mommy could really use some Lilli snuggles right now.”

Lilli cuddled against her, and Jamie held her daughter close, looking up at Alex as he wrapped himself around her the same way that Paul held Christine.

“She’s gone now?” he asked.

“She’s gone,” Jamie said. “I’m not sure for how long, but I don’t think she’ll bother us again at the club.”

“It’s sad,” her father said. “I really do feel bad for her, that she just can’t let go of all that anger.”

“So do I,” Jamie admitted. “But that doesn’t mean that I’m going to put up with her treating us the way she has. So this is how it has to go.”

Silently, they all stood and watched her stalk up the hill and disappear into the parking lot. Alex’s arms tightened around her, and Jamie leaned into his embrace. Somehow, she didn’t think her mother would bother trying to get them to support her again. The thought was a relief. Even so, she hoped that someday her mother would find somewhere she could be happy.

Maybe just somewhere far away from them.