“Why?”
“In my digging, I found out Bull is sending one of his cronies to New York. I just want to make sure he’s not up to anything that will cause any trouble for Mandisa. She’s blameless in all of this. She shouldn’t have to suffer for something she had no partin.”
Slade swallowed down the guilt that arose from Aaron’s statement. He was right. Mandisa didn’t deserve to have her company stolen from her. What was worse, he’d put her company in harm’s way by enticing her to sign this deal withhim.
“You gonna tell her what’s goingon?”
Slade focused his gaze on some fixed point out the passenger window. “No, not yet. I want to wait until I have more information. Until you can tell me definitively if you can stop Bull ornot.”
“Slade, that woman cares for you. If she finds out you knew her company was in danger and you didn’t tell her, it will crush what youhave.”
Slade kept his eyes positioned on his window. He didn’t need to see the disappointment in Aaron’s eyes. Hearing it in Aaron’s voice was more than enough to sour Slade’sstomach.
“If I tell her now, she’ll leave.” Slade cleared his throat after he spoke, attempting to free his voice from the neediness he’d heard init.
He was too close to building something important with Mandisa. They’d agreed to give the connection they had a chance beyond the three weeks she’d be in Texas. If she knew it was his father attempting to screw her over, she’d walk away from him without the slightest glance backward. He couldn’t allow that. If he could protect her—and their relationship—lying by omission didn’t seem like all that bad achoice.
“Don’t let Bull cost you another woman you love,Slade.”
Slade tried to shake the sense of dread Aaron’s words brought. He couldn’t think of adding Mandisa to that list of people Bull had stolen from Slade. “I never said anything about loving her,Aaron.”
Aaron laughed. It was a strange sound coming from the usually stoic man, making the hair on the back of Slade’s neck stand at attention. “It’s obvious to anyone that sees the two of you together how much you love her. It’s also obvious by the way you attempt to keep her at your side all day every day. And let me tell you, even if Mandisa hasn’t noticed the way you’re micromanaging her time and schedule, Mama and I certainly have. Slade, you can’t keep her with you by keeping her with you. She has to make the choice to love you ornot.”
There was too much truth in his friend’s statement, more than Slade could admit. The only thing he could face at this moment was the fact that he needed Mandisa with him. He wasn’t willing to loseher.
“My decision is made, Aaron. Keep me posted on your trip to NewYork.”
As Slade went to open the passenger door he heard the flat tone of Aaron’s voice. “Be careful, Slade. Bull didn’t become the monster that he is overnight. One bad decision at time eventually culminated in the raging psycho we know today. Don’t let your past losses lead you down the path ofdestruction.”
Aaron’s warning soured Slade’s stomach, making him swallow the bitter taste of bile backing up into his mouth. He breathed in slow deep breaths through his nostrils to settle his uneasy gut and gave his friend a final nod as Slade slipped from thetruck.
He took careful steps back to the house, needing as much time as possible to shut up that damn angel on his shoulder. With each step, its voice became less pronounced, and he could ignore it a littlemore.
Sometimes you had to fight fire with fire. That was the only way you could win. He’d show Bull once and for all that Slade’s life wasn’t up for grabs. He just had to make certain he didn’t fuck around and become his evil sire in theprocess.
* * *
Mandisa was drifting somewhere between sleep and consciousness when she heard Slade enter his bedroom. Within moments she heard the en-suite shower running, and images of miles of sexy, taut skin, encasing carved muscle danced beneath hereyelids.
She wasn’t certain if it was just a Texas thing, but lord knew Slade Hamilton was a delicious specimen of a man, and she was grateful he was hers for the taking while she wasvisiting.
Mandisa still had a smile on her face when she felt his side of the bed giving way to his weight as he climbed in next to her. He gathered her into his arms and dipped his head for their usual goodnightkiss.
“Hmm, a smiling woman in my bed. To what do I owe thatpleasure?”
“I heard you in the shower, and my mind started conjuring up images of you in thewater.”
“The thought of me in water makes yousmile?”
She chuckled, loving the feel of his hardening cock lying heavy on herhip.
“No, the thought of younakedand in water makes mesmile.”
She could feel the rumble of his laughter underneath her palm as she slid it down his chest, moving slowly until her fingers were tickled by the treasure trail of dark hair lightly sprinkled on hisabdomen.
She delighted in the moment her hand reached and then cupped his sex, causing his laughter to morph into a low, sexygrowl.
“Damn, woman. Whatcha got inmind?”
