Lovers and Takers (31 page)

He fucked her like a man with points to prove.
 
He fucked her like a man who wanted her to still want him.
 
Because he wanted Roni.
 
Desperately.
 
After Dena, she was the only woman he ever wanted like this.
 
Because Roni was different.
 
She wasn’t like any of the others.
 
She was his exclusive woman now.
 
And he was going to fight with all he had to keep her in his corner.

And he fucked his woman with an intensity that made her pussy tighten around his cock and heighten his gyrations.
 
And she knew how to do him.
 
She would tighten and release, over and over, taking them both to the brink.
 
She felt his dick ride her ridge for the longest time.
 
She felt every poke, every glide, the fullness of his huge shaft inside of her.

And tears were in her eyes.
 
She knew she was taking an awful risk with a man like this.
 
He’d already proven, with the right woman, that he could be seduced.
 
But as he continued to give his all to her, as if he was determined to give her the best he could give, she knew she couldn’t just walk away.
 
Yes, he was flawed.
 
But what man wasn’t?
 
Yes, he had hurt her, but what man who had ever been in her life hadn’t?
 

And she knew
,
if she was on the outside looking in, she wouldn’t be so charitable.
 
If it had been her friend, she probably would have told her to drop that zero and get a hero or whatever the line they used today.
 

But she wasn’t on the outside looking in.
 
She was in.
 
And she knew Jake to be a good man who treated her like a queen.
 
He was the best man she’d ever known.
 
And she wasn’t about to just give that up.

So she held onto him as he made long lasting love to her.
 
She held on as he pumped her until sweat poured from his muscular body.
 
He held on until his gyrations hit that spot one time too many, and neither one of them could hold back a moment longer.
 

He spilled out and she clenched up and they both felt the passion engulf them.
 
Jake screamed her name as he poured into her, and she cried as he filled her up with a love she didn’t want to do without.
 

And when they gave all they had left to give, and looked into the other’s eyes, they knew it was settled.
 
Jake wanted Roni.
 
And Roni wanted Jake.
 
And somehow they instinctively knew that there would be no going back.
 
It may not end well, and they may get their hearts handed to them again, but it was a risk they both knew they had to take.

Tears began to well up in Jake’s eyes.
 
He placed his hand on the side of her face.

“I love you, Veronica Wingate.”

Roni stared into his wide, blue eyes.
 
And she managed to smile.
 
“I love you, too, Jake Varnadore,” she replied.
 

Jake’s heart swelled with emotion.
 
“I’ll never hurt you again,” he promised her.

But Roni wasn’t accepting any promises.
 
Because they were too easily broken.
 
All she wanted was a moment, and then another, and then another.
 
Just moments where the pain of love didn’t overwhelm the beauty of it.
 

Like this moment with Jake.

“One day at a time,” she said to him.
 

And he pulled her in his arms.
 
“Yes,” he said.
 
“One day at a time.”

Later that morning, as Roni entered the Wingate Law Center and made her way up the back stairs to her second floor office, Griff hurried out of his office met her.
 

“It’s about time,” he said.

“Please don’t tell me we lost another sponsor.
 
Please don’t tell me that, Griff.”

A couple of investigators were talking with an attorney near the conference room, and they both glanced in Roni’s direction.
 

“Come on,” Griff said, taking Roni by the arm into his office.
 
He closed the door.

“What is it?” she asked.

“You are not going to believe this.”

Roni’s heart began to plunge. “We lost more sponsors?”

Griff shook his head.
 
“No, ma’am.
 
That’s why it’s unbelievable.
 
I sat down with our financial team to see just how badly we were hurting.
 
But, Roni, you are not going to believe this.”

“What?”

“We lost three more of our financial backers.”

“Oh, no!’
Roni said, leaning her head back.
 
Then looking at Griff again.
 
“Who are they?”

“Who gives a shit,
Roni.
 
That’s what I’m trying to tell you!
 
We don’t need them anymore.
 
We lost three backers, yes, but over the last month we have gained, get this, Roni: we have gained twenty-eight new sponsors.”

Roni literally fell back against the door.
  
“You’re lying, Griff.
 
Don’t play
with me like this!
 
Twenty-five?”

“Twenty-eight,” Griff said excitedly.
 
“And all of them have pledged hundreds of thousands of dollars each.
 
According to our accountants, we are on our best financial footing ever, girl.
 
Ever!”

“But what happened?
 
Why didn’t they let us know about this turnaround?”

“They weren’t telling us anything until they got the checks in hand.
 
They have the checks in hand.
 
And we could hire fifty more investigators if we wanted to, Roni.”

“Which we don’t.
 
At least not until I sit down with my banker and see the deposits for myself.
 
But this is some fantastic news, Griff.
 
If it’s true.”

“Oh, Roni, of course it’s true!
 
These are well known philanthropists throughout the country.”
 
Then he stared at her, smiling.
 
“So,” he said, “how did it go last night?”

 
“At the dinner party for the governor?”

“And afterwards, yes.”

Roni shook her head.
 
Griff and Kara both were so determined to get all up in her business.
 
“Schedule a meeting with our banker,” she said.
 
“I have to see this to believe it, Griff, I’m sorry.
 
We’ve been burned too many times in the past with so-called sponsors making pledges.”

“I told you our accountants have made the deposits.
 
It’s all already in the bank.”

“Good.
 
So set up the meeting.”

“Yes, ma’am.”
 
Then Griff smiled again.
 
“I wonder who in the world could have mentioned us to so many wealthy
benefactors?
”

“Yes,” Roni said, leaving his office, “I wonder that myself.”
 

But as soon as she got to her office, she phoned Jake.

“
We
 
have
twenty-eight new sponsors, Jake,” she said.

“Congratulations,” Jake said.

Roni smiled.
 
“Did you have anything to do with this?”

“Of course,” he said.

This stumped Roni.
 
“Of course?
 
But when?
 
I don’t remembering telling you anything---”

“After you left Moscow I had my people do a little digging.”

“Oh, yeah?
 
And what did they dig up?”

“A law center with a financial crisis to rival the Great Depression.”

Roni laughed.
 
“It was bad, but it wasn’t as bad as that.
 
So what did you do?”

“I contacted some wealthy friends I knew, told them about your law center and what you were trying to do, and my people put together a packet highlighting what you’ve already done.
 
The rest was up to the donors.
 
If they wouldn’t have come through for you, I would have.
 
Although I know you would prefer that it wasn’t me.”

“Why do you say that?” she asked.

“Because I know your ass,” Jake said to Roni’s laughter.
 
“You would be mortified if I ever thought of you as a gold digger.”

Roni shook her head in amazement.
 
It would take more than some crafty ex-wife to take this man away from her.
 
“You’re right about that,” she said to his laughter.
 
Then she turned serious. “Thank-you,” she said.

“Anything for you, Veronica,” Jake responded affectionately.

Troy Brackston saw Pamela Varnadore’s face in the peephole of his apartment door, and immediately opened it.
 
He had already received the call from Human Resources saying that his services would no longer be needed, and he had tried to phone Aubrey, to explain why he had it all wrong.
 
Druce was behind the whole thing.
 
But they wouldn’t let him talk to him.
 
Now his sister was at his front door?

He opened the door.
 
But when he saw that Druce was also standing there, he quickly attempted to close the door back.
 
But Druce was bigger, stronger, and faster.
 
He forced his way in, let Pam in, and then slammed the door.

“What’s the matter, Troy boy?” Druce asked him condescendingly, pushing Troy further into the apartment.
 
“You don’t want to face good old Druce right now?”

“It’s not like that, Druce,” Troy said, moving backwards to Druce’s shoves.
 
“You told me to sit tight and that’s what I’ve been doing.”

“Shut the fuck up!” Druce yelled
,
afraid Troy would try to tell Pam about his now discredited scheme.
 

“I did what you told me to do.”

“Shut up, Troy!
 
Don’t say another word!”

“But it backfired, Druce.
 
Aubrey didn’t---”

Druce shoved Troy onto the sofa and jumped on top of him.
 
“How could you lie on me like that?” he asked him, determined to keep his big mouth under control.
 
“After all I did for you, how could you lie on me like that?”

“What are you talking about? I didn’t lie on you about anything!”

“You lied and you know it!” Druce yelled again.

“But I didn’t!
 
I told the truth!
 
You were the one---”

Druce slapped him across his face.

“Stop it, Druce!” Pam yelled. “You’ve got to settle down.
 
He won’t admit anything like this.
 
Screaming at him won’t get us anywhere!”

Druce stared at Troy.
 
He wanted to get it over with right now.
 
But he knew he had to do it right.
 
He hesitated, and then stood up.

“You’re right,” he said to Pam.
 
“Go into the kitchen, will you, please, and get me a drink.
 
I need a drink.”

Pam saw the way Druce was shaking with anger.
 
“Okay,” she said. “But I need you to settle down, Druce.
 
We came to talk.
 
Troy will tell the truth if you just explain to him all that’s happened.”

“What’s happened?” Troy asked, terrified.
 
“They fired me.”

Pam looked at him.
 
“They fired you, too?” she asked.

“Get the drink,” Druce said to Pam.

Pam was getting confused.
 
Why would they fire Troy?
 
But she did as she was told, and went into the kitchen.

“What’s happened, Druce?” Troy wanted to know.

“What happened?” Druce asked him.
 
“Your big mouth got me fired.
 
That’s what happened!”

Troy was astounded. “Fired?
 
You
?”
 
He didn’t think men at Druce’s level ever got the ax.
 
“But I don’t understand.
 
What did they say?”