Her Love

“Hazel,” he answered without hesitation. “I want to spend my life with her, not in my office with a scotch and a headache.”

I laughed and nodded. “Fair enough.” It made sense since I’d been ruminating on the idea of working less once I’d brought Imogene home. I didn’t want to miss any time with her or our kids, and since I fully intended to put a baby in her without delay, it seemed like a good time to start the ball rolling.

Justice stood suddenly and excused himself before weaving through the tables and exiting the restaurant. The look on his face told me he wouldn’t be returning. Jamison raised a brow in question, and I shrugged. “Probably something to do with a woman,” I answered, being deliberately vague. The last thing any of us needed was someone over-hearing about Blair, digging up the info, and making a big deal out of it while we were trying to make a smooth merger. Alarming stockholders would be a gigantic pain in the ass.

As expected, I got a text a couple of minutes later that something had come up and he wouldn’t be back.

The business discussion with Jamison concluded shortly, and we spent a few more minutes catching up as we waited for the check. After we paid and walked out into the spring night, he made me promise once again to be on time for the wedding. Then we separated, and I headed home.

Chapter 2

Thatcher

My eyes swept over the half-finished room, and anger bubbled beneath the surface of my calm façade. If I ever saw my old contractor, I was going to shove my foot so far up his ass he’d be chewing leather for months. I pushed my violent daydreams aside and focused on the new guy who was surveying the space and looking over my list of requirements.

He finally wrote one last note on his clipboard and faced me. “We can definitely get it done, but to meet the time frame, we’ll have to work around the clock.”

I nodded. “Whatever it takes.” I hardly slept these days anyway. I ached for my girl when I was in bed alone. If I did finally drift off, it was only to be woken up a little later drenched in sweat and crying out her name as I came like a fucking teenager. It was ridiculous. Thirty-four years old, and I was regularly having wet dreams.

I mentally sighed. I knew the only way to relieve this constant ache in my heart and balls was to get Imogene in our bed and sink ten inches deep into her dripping pussy. I could almost feel the slide of my cock between her lips. It showed just how talented my imagination was considering I’d never had my dick between a woman’s legs. Or anywhere else on a woman’s body.

For a long time, I’d thought I was simply broken. I’d even briefly wondered if I was batting for the wrong team. But there’d been no spark for either sex. I’d finally confided in Justice about it in my early twenties, and after a night spent with Patti and her family, he came to a conclusion that hadn’t occurred to me.

“I’ve seen the way you watch Pattie and Don,” he told me as we’d walked back to our office building. We were still at the stage where every penny was being poured back into the business, which meant we were on intimate terms with the couches in our offices. “I’ve also observed it with other couples.” He stopped, and I halted next to him. He put a hand on my shoulder and looked me straight in the eye. “You want what they have. You long for it.” He was right. Patti and Don had exactly what I was hoping to find someday. They adored each other. Whenever they were together, it was rare that they weren’t touching in some way. I wanted a love like that. I knew I was capable of it, but I wanted my woman’s love to be mine as much as mine was hers.

“Thatcher,” he continued. “Your heart and body are telling you what your brain hasn’t concluded yet. They won’t work until you’ve found the right woman.”

He’d been right, but I hadn’t realized quite how accurate he actually was until the day I first saw Imogene. My heart had sped up and raced like it was in the Indy 500, and I’d had to step in front of a park bench to hide the hard on that was suddenly tenting my pants. I’d been sporting a semi ever since.

“Mr. Kendall?” The contractor pulled me back to the present, and I pushed away all of my other thoughts. He handed me the clipboard, and I quickly scrawled my signature before passing it back. “My crew will be here in a few hours to get started.”