The Billionaire’s Rebellious Lover (The Maxfield Brothers Series Book 2) (12 page)

None of this was in the Restore Eden manual.

“You are not in over your head,” she reminded herself quietly. “You have this.” Sure, she’d been slowed down by a few bumps, but she was still on a mission.

So when she found several documents with Greenman’s name on them, she felt her heart sink. Glancing through them, she realized that Duncan Enterprises not only bought supplies from Greenman’s but knew of their elaborate pretense to fool the world about going green. Heartbroken, Daisy pressed a hand against her mouth and shook her head. What was to say the same thing wasn’t still going on right now at Duncan Enterprises? How did she know Duncan and the rest of the Maxfields weren’t simply pretending to change in order to boost the company’s public image?

Knowing that she wasn’t going to get any sleep tonight, Daisy shut down the computer and slipped it into her bag. Gabe was going to be pissed, but that wasn’t going to stop her. She wanted answers.

J
ordan was arrested
. Gabe thought he’d feel more smug when he watched the action on television as a cell phone camera showed him in handcuffs being placed in a police cruiser, but soon realized he was only listening for Daisy’s name. He felt a small streak of satisfaction when her name was never brought up. Turning off the television, he got up from the couch and poured himself two fingers of Scotch. Tossing it back, he stared at the empty glass.

How had everything gone wrong? He was supposed to get Daisy and Nathan back together so she could get out of Duncan Enterprises’ business. Instead, he’d slept with her, and now she was literally in bed with Duncan Enterprises.

“I don’t think I’ve ever fucked up this bad,” Gabe murmured with a small chuckle. He picked up the Scotch again, and then there was a soft knock on the door.

If it was the press, he was going to throw a fit that rivaled Alec Baldwin. “Who is it?” he growled.

“It’s Daisy. If you want some peace and quiet, I understand. But there was something that I wanted to talk with you about.”

“And it couldn’t wait until tomorrow?” he said when he opened the door. “Where have I heard that before? Come in.”

When she came in, she was carrying an armful of papers. “I didn’t get a chance to tell you the other night when you were in so much pain, but your apartment is very nice.” She gave him a strained smile, and he raised an eyebrow.

“Daisy, I’ve seen your apartment. It could not be any further from mine. A prison cell looks nice compared to your apartment.”

“That’s only because I could not even afford your very expensive coffee maker. Really? All it needs to do is make coffee, Gabe. Why does it have like, fifty buttons on it?” She gestured nervously.

“Instead of talking about my coffee maker, why don’t we talk about why you’re here?”

She set the papers down on the counter and stared at him. For a moment, he saw all the vulnerability in her eyes. “I’m not going to lie, Gabe. I don’t really know what I’m doing here. I don’t know what I’m doing with you at all. I’m supposed to be…I don’t even know what I’m supposed to be doing. All I know is that whenever I’m near you, I forget everything. And I mean everything.”

“Hey.” Seeing the distress on her face, he quickly closed the distance between them and tipped his finger under her chin. “It’s okay. I mean, I feel a little insulted that it upsets you that you feel this way, but it’ll be okay. But, I need you to be clear with what you want.”

“I don’t know what I want,” she confessed

Frustrated, Gabe dropped his arm and shook his head. “God, if you can’t decide between Nathan and me, then you can’t be here, Daisy. I’ll find someone else to work with you. I won’t come between you and my brother.”

“Nathan?” she gave him a confused look. “Are you serious? I thought I made it clear in the beginning that this has nothing to do with him. We’re over. We were over before we broke up, and I realize that now. I love Nathan. I will always love Nathan, but it’s not the kind of love that has any sort of future.”

Gabe shook his head. “You called Nathan to come rescue you. You talk about him all the time.”

“Nathan called me to rescue
you
. And the reason that I talk about Nathan all the time is because Angie said I clearly still liked him because I
didn’t
talk about him. So I thought if I talked more about him, you’d realize that we’re not a thing anymore.” Daisy shook her head, and he saw that she was near tears.

“Daisy,” Gabe said softly. “After last night, you said you didn’t want to talk about it. You brushed it off like it was nothing.”

She spread her arms out and stared at him. “Are you kidding me? You didn’t say a word all through breakfast. What I said was damage control. Gabe, you are not the kind of man who sleeps with women like me. I could work my entire lifetime and still not make what you make in a year. I couldn’t hold a candle to the women who usually decorate your arm. What I said this morning was to protect myself.”

Without another word, Gabe reached out and drew her close. Bending her back, he did more than taste her. He devoured her. He’d been thinking about her ever since he’d held her during the night. The way she felt was amazing, and the way she moaned his name turned his head, but the way she tasted sealed the deal for him. He wanted to kiss her forever.

“What was that?” she whispered when he righted her.

“That was my response to everything you said,” he murmured with a smile. “What I wanted to tell you this morning was that last night was amazing. Even after being kidnapped and after spending the night in a dirty hunter’s hovel, being with you meant everything to me.”

Daisy closed her eyes and rested her forehead on his chest. “You have no idea how that makes me feel.”

“Putting Nathan, Duncan Enterprises and Restore Eden aside, how do you feel about me, Daisy?” His voice cracked as he spoke. With a single word, she could shatter his world.

“It’s not that simple,” she whispered.

“Then let’s make it simple. Only feel.” Grabbing her, he hoisted her up onto the counter and kissed her until she was whimpering. Snagging the edge of her t-shirt, he ripped it off her and pressed the palm of his hand to her bare back. Flexing his fingers, he reveled in the warmth and softness of her body. She bowed her back and pressed her chest against him.

Leaning down, he ran his lips over the curve of her throat. “Feel this,” he whispered as he unsnapped her bra and pulled the straps down her arm. Softly feathering his lips over the slope of her breasts, he darted his tongue out to lick her.

She cried out, and he smiled. He loved that even something so small could make her cry out his name as if he were the only man for her. She was perfect.

He moved his lips down her abdomen. She squirmed, and he lifted his head and smiled at her. “Ticklish?”

“I would never tell you where I am ticklish,” she said hotly.

“Then I will have so much fun finding out for myself.” She squealed with laughter when he played his fingers down her sides. God. That laugh. That made two things that did it for him. Fueled by his urge to be inside her, he unsnapped her jeans and pulled them down. “You and these damn jeans. They drive me up the wall. Seriously. No one looks this good in jeans.”

“You would look good in jeans if you ever wore them,” she murmured with a wicked smile. “I dream of you in jeans. That ass would look so good.”

She continued to chuckle, and he shook his head. “I’ll teach you to laugh at me.” Pulling aside the wisp of lacy fabric between her legs, he pressed his lips to her hot center. Her laughter immediately turned into a moan, and she clamped her thighs around his head.

Running his hands along her soft thighs, he realized that there was nowhere else he wanted to be. Making her happy did things to him that he had never imagined. For maybe the first time ever, he wasn’t thinking about his family or his job. He wasn’t thinking about tomorrow or yesterday. He was in the moment and so thankful that the moment included Daisy.

When her body finally shuddered, he leaned up and pulled off his shirt. “Not laughing now,” he murmured darkly as he licked the curve of her neck.

“You need to be inside me right now, or I’ll make sure you never laugh again,” she threatened as she bucked her body against him. He’d never been harder in his life as he fought with his pants.

“I said, now,” she muttered as she reached down to help him. Their hands tangled until he finally stripped and dove deep inside her.

“Your demand is my pleasure,” he moaned in her ear. “Fuck, Daisy. Do you have any idea how perfect you feel? You fit me.” She moaned and tangled her fingers in his hair, but it wasn’t enough. “Say my name, Daisy. Tell me how you feel.”

Stilling himself, he watched her lids flutter open. Gently, she cupped his face. “Gabe. No one has ever made me feel the way that you do.”

“Oh yeah?” he grinned.

She wrapped her legs around him and bucked her body so he drove even deeper. “Do not stop.”

“Like I said. Your demand is my pleasure.” Planting his hands on her hips, he held her still as he pulled himself forward leaving no space between them as his pelvis smacked into hers. The whimper she made had him groaning in response, loving how much he could affect her. How much she affected him.

Shifting his hips, he pulled back before driving himself forward again. Each forward motion rocked Daisy back on the counter and he tightened his hold on her to keep her from getting away from him. He didn’t want her to move an inch as he set up a punishing pace.

He knew she agreed when she squeezed her legs, digging her heels into his back. Their moans gave way and soon there was nothing but the sounds of sex wrapped around them like a heavy blanket. Keeping them together as they both spiraled higher and higher toward release.

Daisy called out his name, her body tightening around him, as her orgasm tore through her. Lifting her hips, she rocked her hips with each spasm.

When he found his release, he stared into her beautiful eyes, picturing her being like this forever.

Right after she stopped trembling, he lifted her in his arms and carried her to the bed. After an hour of rest, he woke her and they did it all over again.

Sometime in the night, after a few hours of sleep, he woke up again and turned to her. He’d sated them both twice already, but seeing her naked in his bed made him stir all over again. He’d pulled out her braid, and her hair spread out over his pillow. She looked like a woman who had found pleasure.

And he’d been the one to deliver it.

Licking his lips, he realized that his throat was as dry as sandpaper. Instead of waking her for another round, he carefully eased out of the bed. Grabbing a pair of sweatpants, he pulled them up and shuffled over to the kitchen. After pouring a glass of water, his eyes slid to the mound of papers that Daisy had brought in.

Curious, he flipped on the lamp and opened the folder. Inside, he found some old documents about Duncan Enterprises. As his eyes roamed over the information, he saw the same name pop up over and over again.

What do you know about Greenman’s Corp?

It looked like Daisy wasn’t asking random questions. Obviously, she’d been looking into Greenman’s Corporation and its connection with Duncan Enterprises.

“Shit,” he whispered. Apparently, there was quite a big connection between the two companies. It was ten years ago, but Greenman’s name was still well enough known that the association could be damning. The question was how did Daisy get this kind of intelligence? She’d have to pour over the files for weeks to go back this far and find this.

Someone gave her a tip.

“Gabe?”

Her sleepy voice drew his attention away from the files. She shuffled to the doorway with the sheets wrapped around her, and he could only stare at her. She was so beautiful. And she could bring Duncan Enterprises to their knees.

“What is this, Daisy?” he said softly as he lifted the paper.

There was a flicker of sorrow as she lowered her eyes and wrapped the sheet tighter around her. “That’s what I came here to talk with you about,” she whispered. “It’s extensive information about the relationship between Duncan Enterprises and Greenman’s Corporation.”

“I can read,” he said coldly. “So you came here to seduce me before you dropped the bomb? Is that it?”

“Seduce you?” Shaking her head hard, “I came here to find out if you knew about this, and the next thing I know you’re turning my head with all this sweet talk. I tried to talk to you about this yesterday.”

Gabe shook his head and ran a hand over his face. “I told you before that I didn’t know anything about Greenman’s Corporation. This was ten years ago, Daisy. Duncan Enterprises has changed a lot since then.”

“Really? Look again, Gabe. You’re using the same marketing language they used to cover up their deceitful practices. It’s as if you lifted it direct from their corporate materials.”

Balling his fist, he hit his desk as she jumped. “Did you think that I seduced you to keep you quiet?” he demanded, as he went to confront her. “Maybe you seduced me so that I’d be on your side when the shit hit the fan. Duncan Enterprises has enough money and lawyers behind them that we could…” he bit his tongue before he finished.

Daisy turned away from him and began hurriedly dressing. Slipping on her shoes, she turned to him, tears in her eyes. “So that you could what?” she asked softly, her voice cracking as she spoke, betraying her emotions. “Make me look like an idiot? That won’t be hard. I trusted Jordan and Restore Eden because they said they wanted to change. I trusted you because you said you were interested in my ideas. I guess I really am an idiot.”

Passing in front of him, she went to his desk to retrieve the papers he had strewn about. Gathering them together, she shoved them into her bag. “I’m leaving.”

Clenching his jaw, he rested his head against the wall and closed his eyes. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m trying to do something good. This is what I’ve wanted to do my whole life. As a high-ranking member of Duncan Enterprises, it’s your job to make sure that you’re a good role model. You said it yourself.”

“Daisy, it’s not that simple.” Hearing her words in his mouth made him cringe, but there was nothing he could do or say. It was all true.

“You’re right. It’s not that simple. Changing is hard, but sometimes it’s the only way. I’m fighting for our future. Everyone’s future. “

“It was a mistake, Daisy. We fell into bad habits. Give me a chance to make this right before you go public. Quietly.”

“Quietly.” Daisy shook her head. “You mean bury it so deep that no one will find out about the company’s shady dealings.”

“There was nothing shady about our practices back then. We were simply doing what everyone else was doing,” he practically roared, as she backed toward the door, tears now flowing freely down her face. Even he knew that what he said was wrong as she looked at him.

Shaking her head, sadly. “Don’t villainize me, Gabe. I’m not the bad guy, here. And I’m sorry that you don’t see it that way.” She paused at the door, turning to look at him one last time. “Goodbye, Gabe.”