Max Heston choked on a shocked gasp while his son stared stonily at Estelle. I knew there was no love lost between them, but it was more evident to me than ever how much she detested her stepson. I didn’t give a fuck what she thought about me, but I saw the slight flinch of hurt cross Mitch’s face at the mention of his mother.
“Estelle, that’s enough out of you,” Max said vehemently once he recovered his voice. “We do not air our laundry in public.”
Ah, he wasn’t upset about what she said, but where she said it. It was amazing to me that Mitch turned out as well as he did after spending so much time around those two assholes. I no longer had an appetite and I could tell by Mitch’s expression that he was a split second away from unleashing his thoughts on Estelle. Mitch, the lost kid, had reappeared for a few seconds while Estelle was sounding off, but Mitch, the CEO, was back and no one talked to him like that.
I dialed Richard and told him to meet us around front. “We’re done here.” I placed my napkin on the table and rose from my chair. The look in Mitch’s eyes told me he wanted to stand his ground with the hateful woman, but I knew it was a waste of energy and emotion. “Going forward, you’ll need to schedule all of your appointments to see Mitch through me. No fucks or exceptions given forfamily.”
I didn’t give any of them time to protest or comment. I placed my hand at the back of Mitch’s arm and guided him away from the table. I felt better with each step I took away from the poisonous air surrounding his so-called family. I didn’t care what Mitch had said, both of them were high on the suspect list.
“I don’t need to be manhandled,” Mitch growled, jerking his arm away. “I don’t need you to interfere with my family relations, either. I can handle those two.”
“Get in the car, Mitch.” I didn’t comment that he sounded like a petulant child.
He didn’t like me telling him what to do, so our ride back to the office was done in silence. He continued to give me the silent treatment for the rest of the day, but I didn’t care. He was a man who was used to having everything his way and I wasn’t always going to fall in line when he wanted me to – especially when his life was at stake.
We stopped at my place to grab clothes and toiletries because I was moving into his home until the threat was over. I caught the sly smile on his lips when he realized that he was at least getting his way when it came to me moving in. Little did he know, I had no intention of moving into his room. I’d planned to take the bedroom beside his. I’d save that fight for later, because we had too much to do before sleeping arrangements needed to be discussed.
Vic, Hammer, and Iron showed up right on time and with them was their team of technical wizards. The tech team took care of the alarms and cameras while Vic, Hammer, and Iron sat the both of us down and began a lengthy interview regarding anyone who might hold a grudge against Mitch and want him dead.
Mitch reluctantly talked about his fractured family dynamics, but it was obvious as hell that he didn’t really believe them capable of hurting him. “There are always other hotel chains that I beat out in bidding for land or buildings, but it’s hard to see them wanting me dead.”
“What about anyone you met from the escort service?” I asked. I watched as Mitch turned multiple shades of red before he pinned me with a death glare. I shrugged and said, “We can’t protect you if we don’t consider everything. The threats didn’t happen until you started using the escort service again. Is it at all possible that you’ve pissed off someone there?”
“Why, because I never took out the same guy twice? You think one of them formed an attachment to me after a night of hard fucking and now wants me dead?” He screwed his face into a disbelieving look. “That makes no sense.”
“What about the guys who got jilted by their boyfriends in favor of you? That had to really piss a few guys off.” I wasn’t letting up on him until he realized that the threat could be coming from anywhere.
Vic and the guys looked back and forth between us but said nothing.
“That’s ridiculous. That hasn’t happened since you returned to my life so why now, after all of this time, would someone threaten me?”
The list making of potential enemies went on for quite some time. By the end, I felt sorry for Mitch. It almost seemed like he was on trial for something, and his behavior and habits were being dissected and looked at beneath a judgmental microscope.
His housekeeper Edna Garretty, or domestic goddess as Mitch called her, served us a delicious dinner after all the hashing out of the new security detail was done. Mitch was unhappy to learn that I wasn’t the only member of the team to be moving in. I knew he wanted it to be just the two of us inside the walls of his home, but I wanted the extra bodies. I wasn’t there to play house with Mitch, I was there to make sure he stayed alive.
Mitch was even angrier when I began unpacking my clothes in the spare bedroom and not his. “You can protect me better lying beside me,” he argued.
“Mitch, I don’t want to literally be caught with my pants down when I should be on alert.” I could just see me chasing down a threat with my dick flopping about. “We can pick up where we left off once the risk to you has been eliminated.” He wanted to argue with me; I could see it in his eyes.
Instead of arguing as I expected him to do, he leaned in and gave me a deadly kiss. The smile he wore on his face when he pulled back told me that he wouldn’t give up on the idea of having me beside him in bed instead of next door. I was not surprised early the next morning when my borrowed bedroom door opened. The way every nerve ending in my body came alive told me it was Mitch before he even climbed in my bed.
“I’m not letting some psycho rob me of what I want and what I want is you,” Mitch whispered roughly before me moved down my body with open, wet kisses against my heated skin. “I can see that your dick agrees with me.” My cock was at full mast the moment it realized his intentions, which were broadcasting off of him in waves.
I didn’t bother putting up any resistance when his wet mouth slid over my cock while he reached between my legs to fondle my heavy sac. It was futile because I wanted him just as much. Hadn’t I lain awake for hours, aching and wanting? Hadn’t I wanted to break the ground rules I had tried to set the night before? All thoughts of anything other than the way Mitch’s mouth felt on my cock faded from my mind and I gave in to the pleasure he promised.
Mitch was a man who got what he wanted and for whatever reason I was who he wanted. Once he was done blowing my dick and my mind, he crawled up my chest and lay on top of me. His dark eyes sparkled with happiness and I was happy to be the reason for it.
I rolled him to his back and lowered myself between his legs to repay the favor he bestowed upon me. I wanted to make sure the sparkle in his eyes lasted all day long. I needed him to think about me during tedious board meetings and phone calls. I wanted to be the one person he looked forward to having in his life; someone who wanted nothing from him except to make him happy.
In order to make him truly happy, I’d need to deal with my past. Mitch was worth facing down old ghosts. I spent my entire adult life avoiding them by putting myself in deadly situations. It was time to stop running and start living. He was worth taking a risk and putting myself out there for. Mitch made me feel like I was worth the risk too.
First, I needed to track down whoever was intent on harming Mitch and stop them by any means necessary.
