Chapter 8

A ugust watched the man trimming around the hedges. It was part of his being here today to go and see the finished project of his design. He didn't want to be here. It was like by coming back, every flaw that he'd made during the construction of the building and landscaping had been right there, front and center to him.

"Mr. Erickson, is there something that I can help you with? Did you find that we've done something wrong with the landscaping?" That was another thing that he hated. Being called Mr. anything, especially Erickson, as that had been what people had called his dad when he'd been alive. And his father no more deserved the respect that came with the title than he felt that he did. He told the man that he was just chilling out. "Well, that's not a good person to chill out to. She's been working here since before the building was put in the ground, I think. Her father and brothers all own the same landscaping company. It was one of the ones that your family recommended to do the work. I think that today, they're just sprucing things up before the big meet and greet tonight. Let me think a moment. It's an odd name. Anyway, Jack, there is the boss to the grounds here but she'll pick up a tool and work just as hard as her men as well. Mostly men, too. Women, I'd like to say that they're not cut out for this kind of labor and outdoor work but she's right there as a shining example that I'm wrong on that. Or perhaps, what I really think is that she can't fit in with real women and is compensating for it by being a heavy worker like the men. That's what a lot of men think about her, too."

"From here, I thought it was a man." The man might have said something to his statement, but he caught eye of someone storming toward Jack—is that what he called her? And they didn't look all that happy to be around either. "That looks like trouble. Who is that other person? Do you know?"

"That's her mother. The woman striding toward her, I mean." He nodded, watching as the woman was waving her arms around to no doubt catch the attention of Jack. "They get going at times but I'd hate to be anyone that tried to come between them. Mrs. Blackman—that's it. Blackman Soils. Anyway, they're a close-knit family, but they bicker all the time, too. The old man is set to retire soon. I've heard that he's thinking of leaving it all to his oldest. Now, there is a man that I can get behind. Good guy with a club on the fairways, too."

He didn't comment as the woman, the missus, got closer to the younger Jack. She turned off the weed eater that she was using—he could no longer hear the hum of it from where he was— and stood waiting for the other woman to get to her. It didn't look to him like either of them were giving an inch. While he wouldn't say that they were arguing, it looked to him that the mother was giving her daughter an earful.

August had no idea why he thought that. He couldn't hear their conversation. He wasn't even close enough to tell if they looked alike, either. Didn't know if there were raised voices. Nothing at all about the two of them sent him vibes that he could relate to the two of them. They were just two people that caught his attention on a lawn that he had designed. When the older woman, which he was assuming that as well, turned on her heel and left, Jack stood there watching her. When she turned to look at him, not even a glance but a full minute of looking in his direction, he felt the need to cover his balls. Again, he didn't know why he felt that way. It was just as much there as his love for all things chocolate.

"You'll be staying for the grand opening tonight, won't you? I mean, people will be here from all over the state just to have a good look at what you've done for us here. And it's a damned good job too. Everything about this place, from the building to the lawns, is top shelf." He told the man that he and two of his brothers were coming. "Good. Hey, if you wanted to know anything about Jack, she's single. Pretty too. If you go for that kind of pretty. But she's hard on a man. I've never tried, but I'm assuming from others that she doesn't date many men. Perhaps that's the trouble with her. She doesn't particularly care for men. I can't think of another reason why she'd be turned off by the boss like I am."

"What do you mean?" When he didn't get an answer, he had to drag his focus from Jack to the man beside him to get an answer. "Why would you say that? I think that all women are beautiful."

"Jack is one of those natural women. You know what I mean, I'm sure. A wealthy man like you gets around, I'm betting." Again, he had to ask him what he meant. "You know. No makeup. Hair hanging down past her ass. She's in good shape, I'll give her that but I'm not into that sort of female. I'd like for mine to put up a fuss about what she's wearing and has make up on. You know? Stylish women that I can sink my teeth into when I need a blowjob or something. Not that kind of woman that would take over sex like it's their thing."

"No, actually, I haven't any idea what you're talking about. And I don't think that it's very smart of you to be talking about someone who is in your employment. Especially with that tone." He put up his hands and backed away, telling him that he was only making an observation. "Perhaps this Jack person would like to know what you think about her ass and lack of makeup. I have a feeling that she'd either slap you or tell you to fuck off."

"I was only making conversation, Mr. Erickson. I'm sorry if I offended you. I guess you go for that kind of woman, then. One that tells you what they like and how you're to move. Bossy bitches." He told him that he hadn't offended him but women in general. "Christ, who shit in your cereal? I was just making conversation and to find out if you're coming to this thing tonight. If you ask me, I'd rather you stay at home than be a stick in the mud about a woman who is too dense to get herself a real job and to dress up once in a while before she becomes as old as my grandmama and still not plucked." He turned and punched the man in the face before he could say another word.

August had no idea why he'd hit the man. Well, he had an idea, but it was still messing with his mind that he'd care enough about a woman that he didn't even know to come to her aide. If his sisters-in-law were here, they'd take him to task after they'd hit the man, too. He needed to get out of here before he decided to defend the janitorial service. There had been a few women in that department as well. There was something wrong with him, he decided. Something so wrong with him that he was beating up men that were not worth the effort of getting his hands dirty for.

Getting in his car to head back to his hotel room, he drove slowly by Jack as she was talking to a group of men. He waved at them when they turned to look in his direction. He told himself several times that he wasn't just waving at the woman but at the group of them as they stood there. He wondered what his family would say to him if they found out that he had a passing interest in a stranger. They'd have his head on a pike if he said one word about her.

After tearing his tie off, August decided that he needed to do something physical. He was going to change into something loose fitting—he was going to be dressed up enough tonight as the affair was black tie tonight. He decided that he'd hit up the gym and have some downtime.

Demitrius and Zander were going to be joining him tonight, and he hoped the fuck that they kept their mouths shut about— Thinking about where his mind had been going, August stopped on the treadmill, nearly killing himself when it kept moving.

He'd been thinking about defending her against his brothers. Not so much defending her but keeping them away from her so that…so that he could what, he asked himself. He couldn't even pick her out of a crowd, much less talk to her when they were at the dinner tonight. Then he had to wonder if she'd be there.

By the time his brothers showed up, he had decided not to go for about the hundredth time. He had too much on his mind to get himself into a situation not of his doing. August just knew that he was going to be in trouble for hitting the man from earlier and didn't want to have to deal with the consequences of that or the man. Of course, that didn't sit well with either of his brothers. They'd been looking forward to this thing all month, so they were able to bully him into going anyway.

"I want to say right now that I'm not going to be looking at any women." Zander laughed at him and asked him since when was he going to be doing that. "I'm just putting it out there that I'm in no mood to find myself a woman tonight, and I want to get an early start back home in the morning, so I want you two to behave as well."

Looking at himself in the mirrored wall in the elevator, he thought that he pulled off his disinterested face quite well. The three of them together, all of them in black ties and tails, took on an air of going to the prom, he thought. Not that he'd ever been to a prom, none of them had but he did feel like he was embarking on something that was going to have him in trouble. How? He didn't know, but again, he was baffled by where his train of thought was going and decided that he wasn't going to drink either. That's all he needed was to add alcohol to his already fucked up head.

He saw the man that he'd hit earlier as he stood at the bar and flirted. He was going on about how he'd gotten the black eye and busted lip in the gym. He said that he was playing pickle with some buddies. All he did was walk up to the bar and had the man, he couldn't remember his name, walk away. The bartender thanked him.

"He's been pestering me since I was setting up here. I thought that there was some kind of rule about staff and employers, but apparently, he didn't get the memo." He told her that he'd hang out with her so that he got the message. "Thanks, but I have my pepper spray. He'll either get it or not. I hope he doesn't, in a way."

Asking for a glass of water, determined that he was going to stay sober, he nearly swallowed his tongue when a woman walked into the room. He couldn't think of a single thing to compare her to other than the sun setting or even the most beautiful rose. She was dressed for sex, and that was all he could think about.

The woman was dressed head to toe in red. It even sparkled when she moved, and she was so lovely in it. There was nothing left for him to imagine, either. As he'd thought before, she was sex in a tight-fitting red dress, and he wanted to make sure that she wasn't wearing anything beneath the dress as he could imagine him touching her.

He looked at the bartender when she said his name. Looking at her, his mind fuzzy again. She had to repeat herself twice before he understood what she was telling him. Christ, he thought, he was a dead man.

"Her name is Jacklynn Blackham. She goes by Jack. To see her working, you'd never know that she was one of the workers on this project just today." He asked her how she knew her. "She's my Aunt, my mom's much younger sister. She told me about this job so I could make some money for college. She didn't tell me that every man here would be hitting on me, but I guess that's par for the course."

Jack moved to the bar where he was and started talking to the younger woman behind the setup. If they were speaking English, he didn't understand a word they were saying. All he could think about was the small part of a tattoo that he saw coming out of the back of her dress as it made its way lazily down her arm to just under her breast.

"Do I have something in my teeth?" He moved his eyes along her body to her mouth and moaned. She grabbed his chin and pulled it up so that he was looking into her furious eyes. "What is the matter with you? Are you stupid?"

"No. I'm not…" He looked at the woman behind the bar again, then at Jack. "I'm not sure what is wrong with me. To be honest with you, all I can think about is where that tattoo leads and if there is any way that I can convince you to allow me to see it."

She stared at him for several minutes. He didn't dare glance around, fearful that if he did, she'd knock him on his ass. When she asked him if he was August Erickson, he couldn't speak but he did nod.

"Did anyone ever teach you manners where you're from?" He said that he didn't know what was wrong with him and that he had indeed been taught that what he was thinking and feeling wasn't right. "I don't even want to know what you're talking about. I'm just here because my mother told me that if I didn't come that I'd be blacklisted for other jobs. Now I have the main man of the night ogling me like I'm some sort of plaything that he'd like to get in a dark corner."

"Don't." She asked him what he said. "Don't talk about dark corners. My mind is centered enough on figuring out where I can take you to kiss you out of that dress. Christ, and I heard that you were pretty. You're everything but pretty. You're the most gorgeous woman that I've ever laid eyes on. And that dress? I had no idea that black tie meant that I'd be barely able to control myself. I might well have gone to these a good deal sooner. No, that wouldn't have worked. You wouldn't have been there when I was."

"Are you hitting on me?" He smiled and laughed a little, telling her that he was indeed. "Why? I mean, you've gone on about my dress. You can have it if you want to. I don't particularly care for it or the color. It's very red."

"It is at that. And let me be as honest with you as you are to me. I'd rather see you out of the dress than anything that I've ever done." She stared at him and then threw back her head and laughed. He wasn't sure but he thought that bells were the only thing to come to mind when she laughed again. "You're very beautiful. I hope you are aware of that. Every man in here is drooling over you. Women, too, I would imagine."

They talked the entire night. He saw the man that he'd hit, Bill Ward she told him try to avoid him. But feeling the way that he was, he headed toward the man with Jack on his arm. He asked him if his face hurt.

"Not at all." He touched his finger to his nose and winced a bit. "I hurt it today. I was just about to come and see who this lovely creature is that is looking about as bored as I was this afternoon when we were talking."

"It's Jack." He took a sip of his water while watching Bill. "You remember her from this afternoon. You were telling me what you think about her ass and lack of makeup. You might not have said the words, but I had a feeling that you found her to be lacking."

"You said that about me?" Bill nodded, then shook his head. "I'm assuming from your tone that you defended my honor. Thank you for that. But in the future, I fight my own battles."

He didn't see her move. One second, she was glaring at Bill. The next, Bill was on the floor with his arm up under him in an odd way. Taking Jack's hand, he pulled her away from the scene before anyone else noticed and found them a dark room. Christ, if he wasn't turned on by her before, he certainly was now.

As soon as the door was closed behind them, he pressed her against the door and took her mouth. She was pulling at his tie when he finally found the little snap that held the dress together around her neck. Her breasts, he'd been right; she had nothing on beneath it, spilled into his hands, and he pulled them both up to his mouth.

"Hurry." He didn't know if he could move any faster, but when she dropped to her knees in front of him, her lovely body only highlighted by the small light in the plug, he nearly killed himself trying to help her pull his pants off. August nearly fell backward when she took his cock into her mouth and swallowed him past the tightness of her throat.

~*~

All she could think about was touching this man. She wanted him to fuck her hard, take her gently, and to eat her as she needed to be taken. Christ, she'd never been so hot for someone as she was this nearly complete stranger. Cupping his balls into her hand, giving them a gentle but firm grasp, she was startled out of her need when he pulled her up from the floor.

"I need to be inside of you." She nodded and found herself turned with her back to him and leaning over what she thought was a laundry bin. It didn't matter. Even if it had been the wash tub that she could see, too, she'd let him take her. As he entered her, Jack came. Over and over until she was dizzy with it. "Come again. I need to feel you wrapped around me when I come."

She slid her fingers into her pussy, making it tighter than it had already been for him. As soon as she slid her finger over his cock head, he leaned over her and took her breasts into his hands. Even as he was coming, both of them making enough noise to wake the dead, she found that she didn't care so long as this man was giving her all that she needed.

He fucked her through two more mind-blowing releases. Her body, her breasts especially, were tender and well-loved. As he turned her around, pulling out of her pussy long enough to enter her again, she leaned heavily on him as he lifted her up from the floor.

This time their fucking, no other word for what they were doing. He was softer, easier on her body. She came so many times, each one of them taking her breath away while he fucked her. She was going to be sore tomorrow and found that she didn't care at all.

"I wondered what your tat looked like." She grinned at him, telling him that few people got to see the whole thing. "Good. I like that. While I have no doubt that you can tell me to fuck off, I'd like to see you again. And again. And again."

While he traced her tat with his fingers, she began to realize what they'd done. They'd had…well fuck. She just had unprotected sex with a man she'd only just met.

"Christ." She looked up at him. They were about the same height, but she liked that she didn't have to look down on him. "I just realized that I came here with my brothers. They're going to…not that I will ever tell them, but they will wonder what I've been up to."

She felt embarrassed. Looking for her dress, she felt her eyes fill with tears. Before she could turn her back on him, August pressed her against the door again after pulling on his pants. He lifted her chin up so that he was looking into her eyes.

"Don't cry, baby." She burst into tears and only just realized that she was hurt for the dumbest reasons. Telling him that she didn't want him to be embarrassed about her, she clung to him while she cried. "On honey, I'd shout it from the roof if that would make you feel better. I just meant that I'd hate for them to find us here when they'd come looking. I don't want anyone else to see this loveliness that is you."

She laughed. "Good save. I'm sorry." He asked her for what. "I don't know, really. But I want you to know that I've never in my life done anything like this before. I'm not easy." He kissed her.

"This is my first time as well. At least in a utility cabinet. I hope it won't be the last either." She laughed again. "There you go. I love your laughter. I was thinking that it reminded me of bells ringing."

"Don't be a sap." He stiffened slightly, and she asked him what was wrong. His smile was anything but reassuring to her. "What? You just had sex—the most incredible sex in the world with me. The least you can do is be honest with me."

"I have a lot of brothers. Five of them. And just before I left, my older brother was saying how he wished that I'd fall in love with someone so that I'd know how he felt with his new wife." She asked him if he was proposing to her now. "I don't know. Would you marry me?"

"No." She was hurt when he nodded. "You aren't serious, are you? I mean, we just met. I know that is stupid to say since we're both nearly naked and had some great sex—I can't tell you enough how great that was, but we just met." He turned her around and helped to snap her dress back in place. It was still good-looking, but her hair was a mess.

When she turned back around, she looked at the man. Good heavens, he was a handsome thing. Putting her finger close to his cheek, wanting to leave her lipstick there and not, he took her hand into his and kissed it. She didn't know what to think when he did that.

"I'm confused as to what I want. I do want to marry you. I don't know why I think that's a good thing, but that's how I feel." She told him then that she wasn't on any kind of birth control either. "Good. Again, I don't know why, but I'd…you'd tell me if we made our child tonight, wouldn't you?"

"Yes." She couldn't think beyond this man being so nice to her when all she wanted to do was to go home and sob. "I don't know if I want to smack you or love you. I can't think right now."

"That's good. At least we're on the same page." She laughed when he did. "I'll go out first. I'm sure that someone is going to miss us soon. But I'll make sure that the coast is clear and you can go to the bathroom to fix, while still lovely, fix your hair and makeup so that you don't have to be embarrassed."

True to his word, he knocked on the door when she could come out. Racing to the bathroom with her heels in her hand, she went into the bathroom and locked the door behind her. Standing in the stall, Jack sobbed for everything that had happened to her. Putting her hand on her flat tummy, she thought of the possibility that a child could be there.

"Just so you know. If he abandons us, we'll be just fine. You and I are going to be a team, and no one is going to call you a one-night-stand baby." She knew that she was talking out of her head and finally got up the courage to go to the mirror. "Not so bad."

After scrubbing off her makeup, she stared at herself in the mirror. She looked abused but in a good way. Her lips were swollen, there was a small hickey on her throat that she smiled about, and she'd at some point lost her panties. Not that they were all that much anyway.

Giving herself a good talking to, knowing that August had left the building by now, she opened the door and nearly fell back when the man of the hour was standing there. He pushed her back into the bathroom and kissed her gently on the mouth.

"I thought that you'd be gone." He told her that he didn't want to leave without her. "But your brothers. Won't they be pissed off with you when you tell them…I have no idea what you'd tell them."

"I told them that I'd gotten hung up and that they were to leave without me. I think that they were ready to go anyway. I've ordered us a car. I don't know where you live but we're to meet the car around the back. That way, no one will see us leaving." She asked him if he was going to go back to the party. "No. As I said, I don't want to be anywhere without you."

The limo, a sleek black long one, was pulling up as the two of them exited the building. She could have kissed the driver when he tipped his hat at her, asking her if she was ready to leave. He didn't say a word about how either of them were dressed. August had given her his coat to put over her dress as it had started to rain.

"I don't know about you, but I'm starving. I hope you don't mind, but I've asked the driver to take us through a drive-thru. I don't know what it is you feel like, but I could eat about a dozen burgers right now." She was happy to have something to eat as well and nearly didn't taste the first burger that she ate.

"I thought you'd be a steak man." She asked him what his favorite food was when he was out. He told her that he had a brother that was a chef so they were all subject to all kinds of foods. "Do you like salads?"

"Salads? I can eat them. I don't know that I'd go out of my way to have one. But yeah, I can eat them." She told him how her mother was forever on her about not eating better. "That's me too. My sister-in-law, Alex, she's big on us all eating better. I grab what I can when I can. I seem to be on the move a great deal."

"I burn a great deal of energy when I'm working. I'm a hands-on kind of boss. My dad is the same way. But he's retiring soon, and when he does, he'll leave the business to one of my brothers. I'm the youngest by a lot." She told him things about her family that she'd not thought of before. "Richard is about as useless as my mom is when it comes to cooking in the kitchen. So, since he's the oldest, he'll more than likely take over the business. If that happens, I'm going to leave for greener pastures, so to speak. I don't mind him getting it but I don't think that I could work with him and still like him. David is the same way. Not very hands-on."

"We grew up poor, the six of us. My brother, he played the lottery about once a week and we won a good deal of money." They talked for what seemed like hours. Even after getting back to her hotel room, not wanting to drive back to her home, she changed into her comfy clothing and sat in the living room suite and talked to him.

She'd never had so much fun as she was tonight. Jack only hoped that she'd been right in saying that it wasn't going to be a one-night stand. Not with this man.