One Woman (Naked Trilogy 2)

“My father,” she says. “A little girl with a misplaced hero complex. I always wanted to please him but never did.” She makes a frustrated sound, steps back, and presses her hands on her hips. “Blue looks good on you,” she adds, changing the subject.

I want to ask her about ten questions right now but now is not that time. Now is the time when I leave and come back. And when I do, we’re not letting anyone else disturb us.

I shrug on my jacket. “I won’t be long, and when I get back, Sawyer will be out of the picture.”

“No,” she surprises me by saying.

“No?”

“Protect your business and your brand, Jax. I don’t control our company. If we were to drop your brand, you’d feel it. Place it in the Sawyer hotels. That’s smart business.”

“Emma—”

“Please. Don’t jeopardize your business for me and my family.”

I close the space she’s placed between us. “Because you don’t plan to be around.”

“I do plan to be around, Jax.” Her hand settles on top of the tie she’s knotted. “Regardless of what’s in that envelope. You don’t know that yet, or you wouldn’t have just made that statement, so I think one of us needs to stop talking about trust and have it.”

“What does that mean, Emma?”

“We both know you’re going to meet with Savage. We both know you want to know what is in the envelope before me.”

“Emma—”

“I’m trusting you to see it first, to tell me what it is, to show me what it is and then we’ll decide what to do. I’m trusting you in all things, Jax, which is why I believe you can do business with Sawyer and not use him to ruin my family. I’m going to get a cup of coffee and then explore the castle grounds. Since I might live here and all, that seems like a good idea.” And with that, she turns and intends to walk away, but I don’t let her escape, not with that statement.

I catch her arm, turning her to face me, but I don’t challenge her words. I show her how much I fucking want what she’s just offered me. I cup her head, and I kiss the hell out of her. I kiss her like I own her. I kiss her like she owns me. And when I’m done, I make damn sure she knows where I stand. “Nothing I find out with Savage changes this or us. Nothing. If you run, Emma, I’ll chase you and not give two flying flips about my pride. That’s how damn much you mean to me.” And with that, I step around her and head off to conquer the world. Because that’s what I’m going to do for Emma Knight. Conquer the damn world.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Jax…

I exit my tower by way of a winding staircase that leads to a hallway in the center of the castle. My entrance and exit are electronically controlled, and I’m bothered by how easily that might be hacked. A problem I’ve never considered until Emma arrived, and I decided I want her to stay.

I use the short walk to the business office to text Savage about a solution. He replies with a very Savage like reply: I need blondes and good burgers, the way you need updates to your wiring and security system: in abundance.

I have no idea why I laugh at this. I don’t get the man’s humor. I don’t like his humor, but the guy grows on you, and hell, I used to be easier to amuse. I hardened up somewhere years back, but I can feel Emma changing me, revealing the old me again. A me I haven’t recognized in a very long time, even before my father and brother died. One I’d thought I wanted gone, but she’s changed everything. Together, we change everything in the broadest of ways. A thought that has me striding longer, urgent to get back to Emma.

I enter the foyer to find Jill exiting her office, and there’s no question that she’s a strikingly beautiful woman, who I used to think complimented my bother perfectly. Until I didn’t. Today, she’s in a red dress, the same one she’s favored often since his death, which sums up why my opinion on her and my brother changed. He hated that dress, and not because he wanted to dictate her clothing, but because it looks just like the dress our mother was wearing the last outing we shared with her.

“Thank God,” she breathes out, shoving her long blonde hair from her face. “Kent Sawyer’s an impatient man. I was going to the kitchen to see if they could whip up some fantastic prize of a treat to distract him from your tardiness.”

I consider asking her if she was aware of a delivery to my door this morning, but I decide not to show my hand until I talk to Savage. There’s every reason for anyone who knows me and the castle to believe that I won’t exit the rear door. “I’ll handle him, Ms. Radcliff.”