Chapter 43: Champaign Problems

I emerged into the living room and found Jon reading a book on the couch. “Can you tell Chloe to have a couple of agents assigned to Natashya and Emily? They’re staying in a hotel for a few days, and I’d feel a lot better if I knew they were being looked after.”

Jon nodded and left to do as asked.

Next, I checked my phone to find a message from Jessica, who had texted me while I was talking to Natashya. I’d been so engrossed in our conversation that I hadn’t even noticed my phone vibrate. Hey, Marcus. I made it home safe.

I texted her back. Awesome. How much time do you need?

She responded almost immediately, For what?

To get everything in order and move out here.

Oh. I’ll need a few days, she responded

I have the cleaning service till Friday. Can you be out here by Saturday?

Jess texted, That doesn’t give me much time...

Is it enough? I replied.

Is everything okay?

No. Everything wasn’t okay. My life had become infinitely more complicated, and now my sister and one of my good friends had left me because of my relationship with Bobbi, and Jess was in danger of taking the brunt of my frustration. She wasn’t exactly a shining beacon of innocence, but she had nothing to do with Carla, Bobbi, Emily, or any of the other current problems I was dealing with. I sat on one of the couches and took a deep breath.

I texted back. Yeah. It’s just been a long day.

Oh! That’s right! How did the meeting go?

Good. We won.

She replied, Congratulations!

Thanks. So, can you get back here on Saturday?

Yeah. I think I can make that work.

Good. I’ll buy you a plane ticket.

Oh. Thank you, she texted back.

No problem. I might not be here when you return, but I’ll make sure someone’s here to help you get set up. Your apartment will be furnished and ready for you when you arrive.

Oh my god! Just like that?

I smiled at her amazement, remembering how I’d been when I first experienced having things handed to me in a fraction of the time it usually took. Yep. Just like that.

Thank you.

No problem, I replied.

“Hey,” Chloe said as she walked into the room.

“Hey,” I said, glancing up at her.

Jess was typing something that was taking longer than usual, and I stared at the ellipses jumping around in the oncoming text bubble. Meanwhile, Chloe made her way over to the couch and plopped down next to me. “I’ve got two people looking after your sister and Natashya.”

Jessica’s text appeared on the screen. Shawn’s here.

I stared at the words, noting how long it had taken her to write such a simple sentence. She’d been reluctant to send it.

I typed back. Okay. What does he want?

He wants to take me out.

That gave me a moment’s pause, and I considered how best to respond. She was clearly looking for some kind of direction. I remembered how it felt seeing Jess get fucked by Dillon and how I’d come to some sort of closure with my feelings about Jessica. Nothing had changed, but letting my friend fuck my ex after discovering I didn’t have those feelings of love and letting her fuck the man she left me for were two entirely different things.

I replied, No.

It took a moment longer than necessary for her to respond. I imagined she was a little taken aback. What?

No. He needs to leave. Make sure he knows that.

When there was no immediate response, I turned my attention to the woman sitting next to me, taking a moment to remind myself of what she’d just told me. Oh. That’s right ... agents for the girls. “Oh, good. Thanks.”

“No problem,” she said. “It’s a good call. They were both in Nevada and after what happened with Hiro, it’s not an overreaction.”

I nodded. “What’s the deal with Amber Bell?”

“Psalter’s still looking into it. If she was there—”

“She was,” I insisted.

“Then we’ll get to the bottom of it,” Chloe finished.

I glanced at my phone to see a new message from Jess: Are you serious?

I started to explain, then erased it and simply replied: Yes.

“Thanks, Chloe,” I said to my bodyguard. “Can he meet with me tomorrow?”

“I’ll check,” Chloe said.

Jessica had responded. Can I ask why? You didn’t seem very interested in starting our relationship back up.

I replied, That doesn’t mean I’m not interested in you at all. If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t have hired you. There’s too much baggage.

She took a few minutes to respond, then said, Does that mean I can’t date anyone at all?

No. Just not him. If you decide to do anything with him, the deal’s off. You’re free to stay there and build a life with him. You left me for him, so I don’t think I’m being unreasonable.

I watched the phone, waiting for a response. “Sorry,” I said to Chloe. “I should be done with this in a second. I just...”

“I can tell,” Chloe said. “I’ll wait.”

I watched the screen for several minutes. Finally, Jessica said, He’s gone.

Good. I’ll have Erin purchase your ticket.

More silence from her. Then finally, Thanks. I’m a little unsure about this, but I’ll be there.

I know. We’ll figure out the rules once you get here, and if you decide this isn’t for you, you can always leave. I’ll even make sure you’re set up after you move.

Okay. That makes me feel better. Thank you, Marcus.

That felt really good. Exercising the kind of power I had over Jessica felt amazing, actually. I felt the rush as I sat back on my couch, thinking about how I’d made her turn down the man she’d left me for. Not only that, but she’d thanked me for doing it ... in a way. The feeling of authority over her was a rush that caused my cock to tent in my pants as I let my head fall back against the couch cushions. I closed my eyes and imagined Jessica kneeling before me in some kind of maid’s outfit, sucking my dick next to a mop and bucket. It was a hot image that only served to make my erection worse.

Finally, I opened my eyes and rolled my head to the side to look at Chloe. She was sitting on the couch, watching me; one elbow was propped on the back, and her head was resting in her palm. Her body was twisted toward me, watching me in her stalwart way. We simply stared at each other for several moments, my bodyguard studying my face intently as I looked back at her.

“I’m going to have to tighten security a little more,” she finally said.

“Why?” I asked.

“Tanaka,” Chloe responded. “He’s dangerous.”

“How much? Am I going to walk around in a bulletproof hamster ball or something?”

Ignoring the joke, she shook her head. “Nothing that severe. We’re just going to have to vet locations a little more ... scan mail ... maybe have all the food coming in the house tested. People like Tara and Jessica will have to be checked regularly to make sure they aren’t making any strange friends. You know what I mean.”

“Yeah,” I said. “Is it better to buy him out?”

“You had your chance to do that and turned him down.”

That was true. I probably could have avoided a lot of pain if I hadn’t been so intent on sticking it to him after he double-crossed me. “Okay,” I said. “What about going on the offensive?”

“Having him killed?”

“Jesus! Why’s that always the first option with you guys? What about buying off some of his help or undermining him somehow.”

“I’ll look into it,” Chloe said. We’ll need to tread carefully, though. There is no need to antagonize him further without it providing us with a clear advantage.” She grew quiet and said, “Carla may be a bigger asset than you’d like to admit.”

“Can we not?” I asked, closing my eyes and pressing my fingers to my eyes. “Not tonight, at least. I’m tired of hearing about Carla fucking Tanaka.”

“Sure thing. Congratulations, by the way,” Chloe said, and I glanced back at her. She was talking about the win this morning. I wasn’t sure why she was congratulating me. She knew it had been dumb luck, partially thanks to Hiro Tanaka being a bad husband.

“Thanks,” I said, enjoying looking into her brown eyes. I’d never noticed that they were flecked with bits of green...

Maybe I made Chloe uncomfortable with the prolonged eye contact. Whatever it was, my bodyguard took a moment to drop her gaze as she ran her fingers through her hair. Something caught her gaze, and it froze in place. I watched as the tip of her tongue slipped from between her lips and lingered as she ran it across her top lip, slowly wetting it as she massaged her scalp with her fingertips. Eventually, her tongue slid back into her mouth, and her bottom lip followed. Her incisors delicately bit into the soft flesh of her lip, and her hand worked down to her neck; the muscles in her forearm rolled as she massaged it.

I wasn’t sure how long I watched her, studying her freckled face framed by strands of wavy blonde hair, when suddenly I realized that her irises were trained back on mine. It was my turn to lick my lips, and I could hear myself swallow. There was unmistakable desire in those eyes. Of course, I knew what she had been looking at. The erection in my pants from my discussion with Jess was very apparent, and it was clear that it had attracted her attention.

I knew so little about Chloe. Like, how long had it been since she’d been laid? I recalled that night, seeing her in my doorway with one hand buried in her panties as she watched me fuck Ashlee. That tank top had perfectly molded to her flawless body, and even in the meager light, I could make out the contours of her muscled abdomen, tight obliques, and firm shoulders. When was the last time she’d felt someone climb on top of that impressive body and slide into her? Did she have anyone? She seemed married to her work.

Chloe was close, and I could have leaned in, closed less than a foot of distance between us, and our lips would be touching. Would she accept them? The way she’d been staring at my hardon, I suspected I knew the answer. She was more than a badass head of security, after all. She was a woman ... here ... in my house—a safe space where she didn’t need to keep her guard up. She was a very sexy woman, giving me a very sexy look, and I had an unused erection sitting in my pants.

“I should go,” Chloe said and got off the couch.

My window was gone.

“I’ll let you know about meeting with Psalter and give you a rundown of our new security measures tomorrow.” She stood there, looking at me for another moment, then turned and left.

I thought about going after her, grabbing her wrist, pulling her toward me, and sliding my lips over hers. However ... something told me not to do it. It didn’t feel right, and if I’d made a move on her right then, that fleeting, delicate opportunity would have been gone forever. She was my bodyguard, after all. Watching each other from a distance was one thing, but actual sex...

I sighed and almost reached for my phone to see where Erin was. God, how ridiculous was it that I was getting so used to getting regular sex that I couldn’t seem to go ten minutes without someone taking care of an erection.

As I closed my fingers around the phone, it buzzed as someone called. Danielle.

Monday, 6:05 pm

The elevator door dinged and slid open to reveal the lovely Danielle Holland standing in the way. Her hands were planted on either side of the jam, presenting herself to me. Her glossy, charcoal-black hair had been gathered at the nape of her neck and draped over one shoulder. She wore a white, lacy bra that cupped her small B-cup breasts and lifted them to maximize the cleavage she had. Matching panties cut high across her hips and ran between her legs, teasing at what lay behind the thin fabric. It was all accented with a sheer white robe loosely cinched around the waist by little more than a thin ribbon. The robe fell to her knees—not that it mattered. The filmy material was so thin and transparent that she might as well not have been wearing it. A thin fabric clung to her legs, held in place by a garter, but she wasn’t wearing any shoes, keeping her natural height. She looked positively virginal.

“Hi,” she said, flashing her beautiful smile at me as she batted her eyes. As usual, her green irises were emphasized with a touch of dark eyeliner and mascara to make her lashes stand out.

“Hey,” I said, enjoying the sight of the beautiful young woman standing in the elevator’s doorway, staring up at me like a pure offering. I stepped toward her, wrapped my arms around her waist, picked her up, and crushed her tight to me; her legs wrapped around my waist, and her arms did the same to my neck as she brought her face close to mine.

“Congratulations, baby,” she whispered as our noses brushed each other, her hooded forest-green eyes staring down into mine. Our lips met, and I immediately felt her tongue brush against mine, requesting entrance. I opened my mouth and received her gift, meeting hers with my own to allow them to dance together. One hand slid to the back of her head, guaranteeing her mouth couldn’t escape mine anytime soon.

We shared a volcanic kiss for several minutes, standing in the elevator, her whimpering in my mouth as I breathed in her floral scent and kept her pressed close against me. Eventually, our lips parted, and she stared at me with a heated expression that almost made me drag her to the couch and fuck her right there.

Instead, she unwound her legs from my hips and slipped to the ground, her arms slipping from around my neck and trailing down my chest as she looked up at me. There was a little more color in her cheeks than just a few moments ago.

“Tell me you got on the elevator like this,” I said, grinning down at her.

“The security down there would have liked that,” Danni growled, her nose wrinkling cutely.

“I guarantee you they would have,” I said, wondering how often the security talked about how much of a lucky son of a bitch I was.

“I changed on the elevator,” she said. “I wanted to surprise you.” She backed away a few steps and did a little spin for me.

“You certainly did,” I said as my eyes drank in her form—soft skin, flared hips, beautiful round ass, feminine back, and lovely legs encased in silky hose.

“I have two more surprises for you,” Danni said, picking up a bag on the elevator floor. I spied a corner of denim peeking out of the bag—probably the clothes she’d changed out of. She brushed past me and into the main living room. Dropping the bag by the first couch she came to, she reached in and pulled out a glass bottle. The condensation suggested that it was already chilled.

“Champaign?” I asked.

“This is the smaller one. The bigger one is later,” she said, giving me a mischievous grin. When it came to troublemaking, she was no match for Erin, but in light of her sweet disposition and gentle spirit, her look suggested she had something absolutely sinful in store for me.

“You don’t have to do this,” I said.

“Of course I do,” she said, unwrapping the neck of the bottle. “You had a major success today!” She handed it to me. “Would you mind?”

“I should probably open this over a sink,” I said.

Danni gave me a look. “Seriously, Marcus. You’re a billionaire. Make a little bit of a mess. Live a little!”

She was right. Holding the bottle away from us, I popped the cork and let bubbles cascade down the neck and across the rich tapestry underneath our feet.

“Whoo!” Danni cheered with a grin.

I raised the bottle to my lips and drank deeply of the bubbly alcohol. I’d had champagne before, but it had never been this good. Swallowing it, I passed the bottle to Danni; she took it, placed a hand on my chest, and gave me a gentle shove. I stumbled back, and she did it again. After the second time, the backs of my legs hit the couch, catching me off balance. I dropped into the soft leather cushion with Danielle standing just in front of me.

Still grinning down at me, she reached for the ribbon at her waist and tugged on one of the loose ends. The gauzy robe fell open, revealing what I’d already seen beneath it; she dropped her shoulders as she turned her head to the side, giving me a lovely view of her neck and chest as the robe slipped from her arms and dropped to her wrists. One side slid free while the other caught on the glass bottle in her grasp. She switched hands so the filmy material fell to the floor, forgotten as she stood before me with her beautiful figure on full display for me.

“Is this my other surprise?” I asked.

She gave me a small, mysterious smile and shook her head, then climbed into my lap so that she was straddling me. Pressing her lips to the mouth of the bottle, Danni tipped it back and took a long draught, her ivory throat rippling with every swallow. It was a beautiful, flawless work of art made even more white and pure when contrasted against the raven hair falling down one side.

Dropping her arm and the bottle next to me on the couch, Danielle looked down at me, her eyes clouded with desire and her cheeks slightly bulging with what I guessed was a mouthful of alcohol. Then she leaned forward and pressed her lips against mine, wrapping her fingers around my jaw to hold it in place as she opened her mouth and let its contents drip into mine.

I drank it all, swallowing it in two gulps as her tongue invaded my mouth once more, sweeping across my tongue and exploring every inch available to her. The grip on my jaw was firm, and the kiss deepened.

Droplets of champagne spilled from my lips, and I could feel them running down my chin as she pulled away. Danni must have noticed them because she leaned forward, extended her tongue, and ran the flat of it up my chin, collecting all the droplets before they could fall.

Once she collected all the wayward champagne, she pulled back just enough to look me in the eye. “Ruin it,” she whispered. “Rip it open.”

Needing no encouragement, I grabbed the gauzy fabric covering her small breasts and gave it one firm tug. It ripped almost as if it were made of paper mache, separating and exposing Danielle’s chest and most of her abdomen. Her lingerie hung off her shoulders like tinsel hanging off a Christmas tree.

Champagne still in hand, Danni turned her head to the side, the tendons in her neck straining as she stretched her arms above her head, lifting her hair in one hand as the champagne bottle hung in the air. The act left her chest fully exposed; her breasts hung high. Her pretty pink nipples were subtly darker than her fair complexion, and it was hard to distinguish where her skin ended and areola began. Her nipples were already as hard as diamonds. The woman in my lap was a goddess.

Green bottle held high, Danni tipped it, and champagne spilled from the mouth, catching light and sparkling as it cascaded over her. She leaned back as the alcohol splashed over her chest, neck, and breasts; champagne dribbled off her and dropped to the floor, on the couch ... my lap. However, little pools of it collected in the curves of her body—the hollow of her throat as she lay back, her belly button ... between her breasts. Beads of it ran down her perfect ivory skin as she lay back, supported by my hand wrapped around her waist.

Someone had been taking lessons from the dancers.

Accepting the invitation, I leaned forward and dipped my tongue in my lover’s belly button, lapping the champagne up with one swipe of my tongue. Then I painted a trail up her torso—across her ribs and up between her breasts, which was about as far as I could go in our position. I had plenty to work with, though.

I lapped at the small pool gathered between her modest breasts, licking her champagne-flavored nipples before suckling on the hard little nubs of crinkled flesh and gaining a moan from Danni. Her arms wrapped around my neck and the back of my head as she pulled me into her breast, encouraging me to take as much of her small mound between my lips as possible. After a few minutes, I switched to the other one, rewarded with more sounds from my raven-haired beauty.

As I straightened, I pulled her out of her complicated dancer’s pose until she sat straight in my lap, doing my best to capture the little pool of champagne before it slipped free from the hollow of her throat. I lapped at her neck, running my tongue up the alabaster tower and tasting more alcohol.

Danni pulled back and placed the champagne bottle to my lips, pouring more between them. I held the cool liquid there as I watched her slip off my lap and slide to the floor between my knees. The bottle disappeared from her hands, left on the floor as she reached up, grabbed two handfuls of my hair, and pulled me down for a fierce kiss. Her mouth opened to accept the drink from my lips as I let the alcohol fall.

We stayed like that for several minutes, making out with each other with champagne heavy on our tongues as they sought dominance with each other. Her hands made their way to my lap, and I felt her fingers deftly work my belt free. We parted, and she gulped in lungfuls of oxygen as she stared up at me, her heated gaze peering through her thick, dark eyelashes like a hungry wolf in the woods.

“Lay back,” she whispered. “Just enjoy.”

Letting my head fall back against my couch, I closed my eyes and submitted to her pleasure. In moments, I felt the apartment’s cool air caress my cock moments before it was chased by the sensation of her warm breath, wet tongue, and then the hot confines of her mouth as she enveloped her lips around my member. I placed my hand on the back of her head and enjoyed the feel of her coarse hair sliding between my fingers as I ran them through her raven tresses. I wouldn’t last long in Danielle’s mouth, but I knew it wouldn’t take long to get hard for her again.

I smiled, remembering that despite today’s upsets, I’d won, and I was overjoyed to have Danni here to remind me of that.

Monday, 8:32 pm

“What are you thinking about?” Danni murmured as she pressed her lips into my hair for a kiss.

Her glossy fingernails were just long enough to graze my scalp as she ran them through my hair. The other hand lazily traced patterns across my chest while I laid back against hers, my head cradled in the crook of her neck.

“Us,” I said.

She grew quiet, and the silence stretched on for several minutes.

“Oh,” she finally said.

Out of all the women in my life, Danielle might be the best of them. She was sweet, polite, empathetic, kind, attentive, and loving—everything a guy could want in a girlfriend or wife. On top of all that, she’d admitted that she knew better than to demand monogamy out of me if we were to start anything serious. That was a hell of a deal to pass up.

“I was thinking about Carla and Astrid, too,” I admitted. If there was any future for us, I wanted to be honest. After making love to Danni for the third time—honestly, that was the only thing I could call it—I walked her through the details of what happened at the meeting, leaving nothing out. I even told her about my talk with Hiro, Astrid, and Carla after the meeting. She also got the full run-down on how things went with Jessica, hearing that she’d tried to get back together with me only after I’d inherited my grandfather’s wealth. Danni had earned my honesty, and I would give it to her to the best of my ability.

“That’s what a girl wants to hear right after being fucked,” Danni said, but there was no real heat in her words.

“Not like that,” I said. “I was thinking about how Carla and Astrid asked me for a date. There’s nothing there. I know Carla is only interested in my money, and I don’t know enough about Astrid, but I doubt she’d give some random guy off the street the time of day, so she’s probably only interested for similar reasons.”

“You don’t know that for sure,” Danni said.

“No, but it’s a pretty safe bet,” I said. “And I’m sure I would have never heard from Jessica again if it hadn’t been for the money. It got me wondering ... would there have been a chance for us if we’d met randomly in a bar or a grocery store?”