"I got a phone call that we had an emergency call and I had to go," he said slowly."Before that?"Nolan frowned, trying to recall. That had been a particularly rough morning. The hangover had slowed him down, plus he hadn't wanted to leave.She leaned toward him and lowered her voice. "You seriously don't remember reaching over me to answer my phone?""I answered my phone.""The second time, but the first time you answered my phone." She jabbed her finger at her collar bone. "You spent five minutes arguing with my father about why he was calling you.""Oh, fuck." Nolan rubbed his hand across his face. He was conditioned to wake up from a deep sleep to the sound of his phone. He'd answered more than a few calls without his mind fully engaged. "I am-fuck. I'm sorry."Booze and good sex must have really knocked him out harder than he realized if his memory of that morning was this hazy. Was it possible there was more he didn't recall?"Just stay away from my father if at

They were the last to arrive as evident by the people sitting around the long table in what Mom liked to call the library. Dad had taken it over as his office and meeting area when they'd inherited the home.Everyone was assembled.Mom and Dad.Theodore, Douglas and herself.Grant and Melody.Two family lawyers and one representing the company.Yvonne wished she wasn't on a first name basis with the last three.She slid into an empty chair next to Melody across from her mother and brothers.The lawyers at the other end of the table eyed the security team. The security team were focused on Dad, who was still looking at Douglas. It was clear that he took after Mom. The things Yvonne's younger brother had gotten away with were not the sort of things that would have been tolerated, even from Theodore. Yvonne had long since given up understanding the imbalanced expectations of her family. Trying to figure that out as a child had hurt her fragile heart. She was wiser now.M

Monday. Ito Security Office, Kyoto, Japan.SAMUEL FOUGHT THE URGE to adjust his tie. Adrenaline skipped through his veins as the elevator rose to the second floor of the building.Everyone was waiting on him. There would be no more arguing with Sato. No more haggling to get the resources or permission to do as Samuel wished. He was the boss now. Not a partner. The boss. Everyone answered to him.There would be no more constraints on their empire. They could step out of the small pool Sato had insisted they work in. Samuel could take them to the global level.The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open.His brother's assistant waited for him on the landing. He was a nervous young man Samuel wasn't fond of, but he knew the business inside and out."Good morning-""Are they waiting?" Samuel strode past the young man and through the receiving area."Yes, sir." The assistant quick stepped to keep up with him. "Wait-which they?"Samuel glanced to his left, at the four m

Tuesday. Chevy Chase Club, MD.THIS WAS TOO EASY.Lee watched Robert Krieger take a practice swing. He wasn't what one might expect the founder of a tech company to be. Robert was a tall man built for power, but who knew how to use his head. Lee expected the patriarch of the family to be a difficult target to take down, unlike his sons.He was going to need back-up for this and his clients should get a warning he was going to come in hot.Talk about a golden opportunity.He pulled out his phone and hit dial on his client's contact. The line rang twice."It's me," Lee said without waiting for the person's greeting. "I'm going to have an opportunity to grab Robert Krieger for you. I suggest-""No.""No?""Robert Krieger didn't work on the deal. He will know nothing.""Okay, but he's leverage." Lee wasn't going to let this opportunity go to waste."One of the children will suit our needs better.""There are three. Which one? All you told me was that I'd need to

Yvonne stomach did a flip-flop. She'd never call him gorgeous or traditionally handsome. He was too rough around the edges for that. But he did things to her insides she couldn't explain.Nolan bent, his fingers stroking her. She grabbed one of the old throw pillows and covered her face with it a moment before his lips touched her sensitive flesh. She knew what his head looked like between her legs. It was what he did with his mouth and fingers that undid her.The gentle, exploratory touches changed. He thrust into her, stroking her inner walls while he kissed her mound. His tongue licked her, and she lifted her hips up off the sofa. She squealed into the pillow, muffling the sounds. She felt him chuckle while finger fucking her pussy.A deep hunger gnawed at her. Yes, she wanted him, all of him. Not just his mouth and fingers, but his cock as well.Yvonne reached down and grabbed a handful of his hair. She tugged, but he ignored her. His lips wrapped around her clit and he suc