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Sommer Loven

By: Tara_Neale



Madison Tyler wiped sweat from her brow and stared for the hundredth time at her cell phone. She willed it to have a signal.

"What? Your boyfriend so insecure you have to call him every hour, sugar?" said the man with deep Texas drawl. The one man on the face of the earth that Maddie would give anything not to be stuck in an elevator with. All right, so being stuck in a five foot by five foot cage suspended forty-two floors above Houston was a nightmare enough. What had she ever done to deserve being stuck with him?

Thyne Jackson was one of the cities, and probably the states, best attorneys. In his late thirties, he was already a partner at Baker, Cotts and Evans, the cities top firm. His expertize in contracts set him apart as a teacher and mentor. 

It was why Maddie had risked everything to intern with the man this Sommer. With only one more year to go before she finished law school and could begin fresh thousands of miles from this place, this man and her past, it had seemed a risk worth taking all those months ago when selecting her placement. As one of the top three in her class, she had had her pick of assignments. At this moment, the position with the Federal judge in New Orleans was looking good. 

Turning her back to the man, that as her boss had made the past three months a nightmare in more ways than one, she fidgeted with her phone one more time. She squealed when she saw two faint bars, indicating that after two hours, she had faint reception. Pushing the speed dial button, she prayed as the phone was silent for a moment. She sighed heavily when it began to ring at last. At least she would be able to leave a message.

"Mama?" she asked when she heard someone pick up.

"Mommy," was the unexpected response from her three year old daughter, Jackie. 

"Hey, sweetie, is Nana around?" she asked nervously, afraid that she would loose the precious signal at any moment. 

"She getting candles."

Maddie frowned, so the black out was more wide spread than she had thought. Her mother's older A-frame house was miles and miles from central Houston. And not in the safest of neighborhoods either.

"Honey, this is really important. Can you get Nana? I really need to speak to her."

"OK, Mommy, but I scared. I don't like the dark and it dark everywhere.," her daughter whined.

"I know sweetie," turning her back even more into the corner, she hoped to maximize privacy in the intimate surroundings. "Mommy loves you and I'll be home as soon as I can. I promise."

She heard a couple of whimpers before the phone went silent. She was uncertain for a moment if Jackie was following her orders or if she had lost the precious connection. Then she heard the child squeal "Nana, nana, Mommy is on the phone."

Maddie sighed and fidgeted as she waited. It seemed like forever. Then again if her mother had gone out into the garage looking for the supplies, she knew that it would take some time for her to get back into the house with her arthritis. But this night, the wait seemed to take forever. 

Then again knowing that he was watching and listening to her every move was disconcerting to say the least, terrify was more accurate. Maddie snuck a quick peak over her shoulder at where he leaned against the mirrored panels of the elevator. 

He had long ago discarded the light wool jacket of his business suit and she could see the play of his chest muscles beneath the starched cotton of his white dress shirt. The sleeves were rolled up and his tie loosened; he had unbuttoned the top two buttons. His curly red hair that only added to his boyish charm was in disarray. He had run his fingers through it over and over again during the past few hours.

It was his only sign of nervousness, a secret that few people were aware of. Something that he would not expect her to know, but then again the cool, professional young intern Madison Tyler was the exact opposite of the exotic and glamorous Sommer Loven, Houston's premier stripper. He would never connect the two women. Or that was the gamble that Maddie had made all those months ago when she choose this internship.

"Madison, where are you?" her mother's shrill and demanding voice brought her thoughts back to the present.

"Mama, I'm still at work. I don't want to worry you, but I got stuck between floors in an elevator when the power went out."

"That was hours ago, girl. You could have called before now. That child has been driving me crazy with her whining. Where's Mommy? When's Mommy getting home?" Her mother's word brought scant comfort to Maddie, but she reminded herself that this would all be over soon. 

In less than a year, she would have her law degree. Then she could take the bar exam and start a new life for her child. Far from this place. Far from the cold woman that was her mother. Farther still from this man that had to power to destroy her world. But right now, she had damage control to do to both those threats. 

"Mama, I'll be there as soon as the power comes back on. And I'm sorry I did not call you sooner, but I just got a signal. I don't know how long it will last or if I will get another one, so I need you to care for Jackie until I can get out of here."

"Madison, this is too much. You know that my arthritis is acting up again. I can't be running after that hellion while you're off chasing rainbows. I told you, you had a good job, making damned good money too. Until you screwed it all up by getting knocked up. I told you then I was not paying for your mistakes."

"Jackie is no mistake, Mama," Maddie raised her voice at her mother's sharp words, forgetting that he could hear everything she said. Looking up, she saw his brow's furrow and knew that he was processing it all. 'Damn,' she cursed herself for the lapse. She would have more than one case of damage control this night. She just hoped she was up to the job.

"Mama, now is not the time to have that argument again."

"When is the time? You have responsibilities to that child and to me. Remember you promised your father you would take care of me. Not me taking care of your little bastard." Maddie closed her eyes and fought back the pain. She could only hope that Jackie was not around, but she knew that would not stop her mother's sharp words. 

She should have known better than to ask the woman to care for her daughter. But this was supposed to be only a couple of hours on a Saturday afternoon and her regular babysitter was not available, having made plans with her own family. It had been a choice between her mother or begging off the crucial project, a move that might have dire impacts upon her evaluation. She had felt like she had no choice, but then again she had not bargained for this.

"Mama, I promise this will never happen again. I just need you to promise to take good care of Jackie until I can get there. Please Mama," Maddie hoped she did not sound as desperate to the man's ears as she did to her own.

"Of course. What choice do I have. That child is my own flesh and blood, even if she was born on the wrong side of the blanket. What kind of person do you think I am if you even have to ask?" Maddie ignored her mother's play at righteous indignation.

"Thanks, Mama. I don't know how much longer I'll be stuck here or if I'll be able to get calls out again. But I will be there just as soon as I can. I promise. Tell Jackie I love her."

"Love? Psh. You just get home to that child and bring something to eat when you come that child will not eat a damn thing I made her."

"Yes, Mama. I will," Maddie was reluctant to end the call. 

Uncertain how much longer she would be stuck with this man, she craved what little contact the call gave her to the one thing that made her life worth living. Her daughter, the best thing that had ever happened to her. But she knew that she had other battles to fight this day and more of that damage control to do if she was to keep her secrets and her child safe. 

"All right, Mama, I better go now. Give Jackie a hug for me please." She disconnected the call before she was forced to listen to another of her mother's long lectures on how she spoiled her child. 

She sighed and tried to collect her thoughts, to form a battle plan that would right this disaster. Before it got even worse.

"Is everything all right?" he asked with what Maddie would have sworn was genuine concern. If she had not known him well enough to know better.

She nodded as she turned back, drawing a deep breath and squaring her shoulders as she faced her nemesis. "Yes, everything is fine, Mister Jackson."

"Thyne. Call me Thyne," throwing up his hands he waved around them. "At least as long as we are stuck in such tight confines, Maddie."

Thyne. It brought back memories. Mostly good ones. Of the man that had been her friend and mentor. The man who for one brief moment had been her lover. The father from whom Jackie inherited her curly strawberry blond locks and winsome smile. But that was a different man. A different lifetime. And she would do well to remember that. 

"Thank you, Mister Jackson, but I am still just your summer intern and you my boss. So if you don't mind, we'll keep things professional."

She winced inwardly at the reminder of another time. Words tossed casually at her, just like the hundred dollar bills that he had thrown on her dresser. She forced a smile to her lips as she pushed the emergency button again.

"That won't get you anywhere, sweetheart. There are hundreds of people trapped in elevators around this damned city so I doubt like hell that a couple of lawyers will warrant the attention of the fire department. It's not like they would want to climb forty-three flights of stairs to pry the doors open anyway."

Maddie glared at him. He always had been a cold, calculating bastard. It had actually once been one of his endearing qualities, his blunt honesty. But at the moment it was getting on her nerves. 

"What about all those damned security guards then, Mister Jackson? What is it they get paid for?"

He laughed and the sound caressed her skin just as he had that night almost four years ago. Her twenty-first birthday and he was her present to herself. A night with a man that she had deep feelings for. It had been a gift that kept on giving, as they say. 

"You expect those guys, who get paid minimum wage to lug their fat, old asses up the stairs, and have the common sense and strength to pry these doors open. Just to save your cute ass, Princess?"

Her breath caught at his use of the endearment. Her eyes flew open at the familiar nickname and for a moment she feared that his brilliant mind had finally made the connection that she had fought so hard to hide. 

"If they aren't having to defend the lower floors from looters that is." She exhaled as his words reassured her that her secret was safe. For now at least.

"Then how about we do it ourselves? If you give me a boast, I'll try lifting the panel in the roof. Or maybe we should try prying the doors open. I'm sure that all those hours you spend in the gym should be good for something."

He smiled, "You noticed. I'm flattered, Miss Tyler."

She rolled her eyes. How had his arrogance ever been endearing? "Well?" she asked as she tapped her practical black pumps on the rich carpeted floor.

"Well, let's see," he said as he crossed the short distance between them. "Considering that is all just Hollywood bull shit and that any attempt we made at opening those doors would likely cause not only property damage but further delay when the power does come back on, I don't think it makes much sense. Do you?"

Maddie had always been frightened of confined spaces. Her mother's favorite discipline had always been locking her in the hall closet. Sometimes for hours at a time. Panic rose inside of her, choking her and all logic that she had fought so hard to gain. Would the woman do that to Jackie? She had not thought about it earlier. Panic welled up inside of her at the thought. 

At his closeness. Without her six inch heels, she was distinctly disadvantaged. In the pumps, she was barely five foot four. He towered over her by a good foot. For a moment, she wished for those heels and the carefully crafted mask of the seductress that had always been nothing more than a front for the hurt woman-child beneath the make-up and wild blond tresses that hung half way down her back. 

But she had felt all of that behind almost four years ago when she saw those faint blue lines on the white stick that had sealed her fate. Sommer Loven was just a memory, someone easily replaced, forgotten she was certain by everyone. This man included. 

No, Madison Tyler would have to fight this battle. Alone. Just as she had fought so many others over the past few years. And she would win this one too. Conquer it just as she had law school, single motherhood and even her past. 

Pushing her finger into the solid steel of his chest, she declared, "Fine. Just fine. But damn it, you could give a girl some space."

He chuckled and she felt his muscles play beneath her finger. For a heartbeat she was tempted to flatten her hand against the heated material and just once re-live the most magnificent night of her life. 

But then he stepped back. Turning, he retreated back to the corner of the elevator. "All right, Miss Tyler," he said with emphasis on the formal nature of addressing her. "But since we could be stuck here for hours more, might I suggest you loosen up a bit? At least, your clothes anyway. How have you managed it in this heat for so long? The jacket, hose and that damned blouse buttoned all the way up."

Maddie's hand went to the collar buttoned tightly at her throat. She dared not draw his attention to it. But she recognized the logic of his words as she shucked out of the jacket, folding it and laying on the floor at her feet. She stared at him as she demanded, "Turn around."

His brows knitted at her words. "Why?"

"I don't make a habit of undressing in front of strange men," she replied. And it was true, to a point. Madison Tyler did not. Even if Sommer Loven had made a small fortune for doing just that. Of course, this man was no stranger. But that was exactly what she did not want him to discover. 

He shook his head and smiled. "Always the cool professional, aren't we, Miss Tyler?"

"Yes, well, in this world, it is best to observe certain boundaries," she said as she slipped her hands beneath the black woolen skirt that was unfashionably long. 

If Sommer Loven had donned her uniform of sexy clothes, high heels, make-up and outrageous hair for her performances, so too did Madison Tyler grid herself with conservative suits, austere blouses that minimized her full breasts, and sensible shoes. Her blond hair that had once swung loose about her shoulders as she danced, almost hypnotically enticing men, was now carefully braided and screwed in a bun at the back of her head. Without the theatrical make-up that was required for the bright lights of the stage, Maddie looked even younger than her twenty-five years. 

Maddie kicked off her shoes and she peeled the offensive material down her legs. She piled both on top of her jacket folded in her corner at the back of the elevator. She considered unbuttoning the collar of her blouse. She had had the small mole on the swell of her breast for as long as she could remember. She had thought nothing of it when she first began her internship at Baker, Cotts and Evans. 

Until that afternoon a couple weeks into her time here when he had come into her office. She had discarded her jacket that day and unbuttoned her blouse. He had come to ask about her research on case law, but his eyes had never left her chest. All right, she supposed her thirty-eight double-D breasts were still spectacular, even with the slight sag and new softness that was the result of breastfeeding Jackie for over a year. 

But it was not just her breasts that he was staring it. It was the tiny mole. He had repeatedly frowned, his brows furrowed as he ran his hands through those red curls that day. Maddie knew it meant one thing, he was thinking. Thinking hard. Trying to place her. It was something that Maddie could not afford. So she had never again relaxed her guard.

And she could not afford to do so now. Not when she was so close. Just two more weeks and she would be free of this place. Of him. If she ever could be free of that deceptively innocent face and heart stopping smile. Not when she saw it mirrored in their daughter ever single day. But that was why she could not relax her guard even now, especially now. Now that he knew that she had a child. It would never do for this man to start putting the pieces of the puzzle together.

***

Thyne Jackson stared straight ahead. He smiled as he watched the Ice Princess as he had nicknamed his latest summer intern to disrobe. There was something intensely erotic about it. He had always enjoyed watching a woman undress. Hell, he was damned glad that it was a proclivity that most men seemed to share. More than one of his best deals had been sealed over drinks and a lap dance at Ace's, what had once been Houston's classiest strip club.

Sommer. He sighed. It had been months since he had thought about her. The young woman that had been his protégé and deal maker as he called her. His cock hardened beneath the expensive summer wool trousers. Then again it always had at the thought of her. Four years. Four god damned long years and he still missed her sharp mind, quick wit and delicious body. Not that he had enjoyed that body personally. 

Well, except for that last time. It was the deal that had sealed his partnership with Bakers, Cotts and Evans. He was higher than a kite that day. Not that it had anything to do with the Scotch and water that he had carefully nursed all evening as the waitress brought round after round of drinks to the table. But as he had piled the Japanese clients into the back of the cab that would take them back to their hotel, he was emboldened with success as he caressed the pocket of his jacket and the signed contract inside. 

Sommer had stepped out of the club just moments later. She had gone to hail the next cab, but some insanity had made him stop her. He had insisted that he give her a ride home that night. She had resisted at first. Hell, the woman-child had even thrown back his words about keeping these things professional. But he would not be denied. When she had given him the address, it had shocked him. It was far from the club and city center in one of the more distant suburbs. 

When they had finally arrived at the non-descript building, he was even more surprised to find his normally worldly companion had transformed into a nervous, jittery girl. What shocked him even more was the overwhelming need he felt to hold and protect her. 

When she had reached for the door handle, thanking him again for 'his business,' he had done the craziest thing of his life. He had taken her into his arms and kissed her until neither could form a coherent thought. Or that had been his excuse for the past four years for his one lapse into humanity and the most perfect night of his life. It was a night that had left him shaken to the core. 

He had been more than delighted to discover the next day that he would need to return to Japan with his new clients to familiarize himself with their business. The month long trip gave him a chance to put it all into perspective. Sommer Loven was not the type of woman that he needed in his life. It was just business. It always had been. That was all it ever could be. 

When he had finally gone back to Ace's almost two months after that fateful night, it was to discover that she had disappeared. Vanished. Quit and quite literally dropped off the face of the planet. He had even gone back to her apartment. But when he knocked on the door, a Hispanic woman that spoke no English answered. 


Sommer Loven



Shaking his head, he caught a brief glimpse of his colleague's inner thigh as she lowered that ridiculously long skirt back into place. The woman might be too short for his taste but damn she had remarkable legs. 

Why did intelligent women like Madison Tyler not utilize every weapon at their disposal to unnerve their opponent? Hell, when he had first started out, he had been more than happy to monopolize upon his boyish good looks. Was it his fault if his looks and charm caused his adversary to under-estimate him? Of course, it had not taken long for his reputation as a savvy attorney to negate that element of surprise. But damn, legs like Miss Tyler's would have no such expiration date in the courtroom or negotiations. These women though seemed to think it was demeaning to somehow use what the good Lord had given them to throw off the competition. 

Not Sommer though. That woman had used her many talents to seal so many deals for him. And quick? That girl had a mind for business that would put most of the associates at Baker, Cotts and Evans to shame. She would know how to use those legs and the great set of tits this woman tried to hide beneath those stiff blouses and jackets to her advantage. 

He had only ever seen this one let down her guard once though, but he would never forget it. She was the only one left when he walked into the small room that the interns shared. Her jacket was hung on the back of her chair and her shoes lay at her feet. But it was the soft swell of those magnificent tits that drew his eye. He had been admiring the change of scenery when he saw the small mole that sat above the white silk and lace bra that he saw peaking out from edge of her blouse. 

His breath caught in his lungs as he remembered another woman, another birthmark that was almost identical. He had toyed with it, running his fingers over it time and again that night. He had used it as a distraction, to keep his mind from going places it should not, to remind his body that it was all an illusion. The peace and safety he had felt in her arms and bed was not real. But it was as close as he had ever come. None of the proper women that he had dated over the past decade had come close to giving him what he had found in her arms that one night. 

But it was more than the great sex. Hell, you would expect unforgettable sex with a woman like Sommer. Strippers were after all just one step above prostitutes. What had enthralled him was the conversation, the easy laughter and cuddles that seemed so natural an ending to it all. When she had finally fallen asleep after dawn that morning, he had panicked at how right it felt to hold her in his arms. He had practically bolted from the bed when the thought of spending the rest of his life holding her slipped unbidden into his mind. 

'Damn, boy, get your mind back to reality,' he reminded himself as he turned back to face her. He frowned. It had to be close to one hundred degrees in the tight space of their prison suspended hundreds of feet above the concrete jungle of Houston, but the woman still had that damned blouse buttoned to the very top. 

"I said unbutton the blouse," he commanded.

She looked down at her bare feet and stammered, "I'm fine."

"No, you aren't. It's hotter than hell in here. What happens to that kid of yours if you had a heat stroke, Miss Tyler? It didn't sound like your mother was all that happy to be caring for the girl for an afternoon. How do you think she'd feel about raising the kid if you died?" He knew his words were cruel and betrayed her privacy, but something about this prime and proper little vixen had gotten under his skin almost from the beginning. And certainly from that afternoon. 

He watched her cheeks redden even more at his words but she made no move to obey his orders. It infuriated him. Was her modesty and the excuse of professionalism worth more than her child? 

For only the second time in his life, he acted without thought. He closed the distance between them, his hands gripped the edges of her blouse as he pulled it open. Buttons went flying as the material gave to his brute strength.

Her blue eyes went wide with shock as she stared up at him. He felt it to his core. Like a kick to his ribs from his mightiest opponent in the steel cage that was his secret passion. Not even his worse beat down had felt this painful as shock overwhelmed him. 

His fingers laced through the old-fashioned bun at the back of her head, tearing that long blond hair free. He saw tears gather in the corner of her eyes and knew that he was hurting her. But damn it, not nearly as badly as she had hurt him. 

Fuck it all, he thought as his hand in her hair imprisoned her. His other hand went about her waist as he drew her lush curves against his hard body. He recognized fear in those blue depths as he lowered his face towards her. He felt her push against his chest. Knew that she wanted him to stop. 

Until the moment that his lips tasted hers. He was certain it was not possible but it seemed they tasted even sweeter than they had four years ago. When she moaned he used her vulnerability against her, his tongue swept inside. Deepening the kiss. 

His hand moved from her waist up to cup and squeeze her breast. It seemed fuller and softer as his thumb sought the hard peak. He moaned into her mouth as she arched into his caress. But it was not enough. He tore her blouse open further until his hand could slip inside and cup the silky softness. His fingers brushed back the edges of her bra as he tugged and pulled at her nipple. 

He knew that this was insanity. But he did not give a damn as he pressed her back against the mirrored walls of the elevator. He would straighten it all out later. Right then he needed to taste heaven one more time and hell be damned.

He cursed as he was forced to give up his hold on her delicious tit. His hand traveled slowly over her round curves until it rested at the back of her thigh. He tugged and pulled until he felt her leg wrapping about his back. Then his hand moved to the inside of her soft thighs, pushing her skirt higher and higher until it was bunched about her waist. His fingers ripped and tore at the scrap of lace that covered her sweet little pussy. He smiled against her lips as he felt the material give at last. 

"Thyne, please," she whispered.

The sound of his name on her lips once more drove him even madder. He buried his face in the side of her neck. Her hair hid his face as he drew in the sweet smell of honeysuckle that he recognized instantly. He inhaled deeply as his fingers fumbled with the zipper on his trousers. He did not even bother with his belt or the clasp. There would be time for that later. Now all he needed was to be inside of her once again.

His cock sprang into his hand. It had not been this hard in years. Only the memory of that night ever got him this excited, this ready. But this time it would not be his hands moving over it as he masturbated to the memory of the tightness and squeezing depths of her body. This time it would be those welcoming depths that he plunged into as he sought release.

But just as he was about to plunge into that sweet forbidden heaven the elevator lurched to a start. The jolt sent him hurtling forward as the warm wetness enfolded his hard cock. She moaned and arched into his arms. Those breasts brushed against his shirt as she came. 

He made some quick calculations and realized that they had less than two minutes for this descent and that included straightening clothes. It was not enough time, but it would have to be because there was no way on this earth or in heaven that he was going to stop now.

His hips moved quickly pounding into her welcoming body over and over, like a mad man, like a wild animal. His hands moved up and down her body, trying desperately to touch everywhere. His lips refused to release hers as she moaned and whimpered into the kiss. He sucked, bit and licked at them until he knew they would be red and swollen from his kiss.

That moment seemed to last forever. And end too soon as she arched arched against him. Her body pressed completely against his as she came harder than before. Her cunt squeezed and milked his cock until he knew that he would never again find satisfaction anywhere else. He allowed himself to come then. He felt it rising from his toes as they curled inside the damp leather of his loafers. He pushed as far inside her as possible as he unloaded spurt after spurt of hot semen inside of her. 

His head pounded from the power of his release as it leaned against the mirror paneled. He knew that the security cameras might soon complete their reboot. If he did not pull back, withdraw and straighten their clothes, they would be caught. 

"Madison," he whispered in a deep voice. "The power is back on. We have to get dressed. Now." He whispered against her ear.

***

Maddie froze at his practical words. What the hell had she been thinking? She pushed him back, staring down at her skirt that was wrapped about her thighs. She tugged it down quickly. But looking at her blouse she realized it was beyond repair. She wanted to scream. It had cost her twenty dollars even second hand at one of the better consignment shops where she found most of her clothes. 

The truth was that her savings account that she had built up over her year as Sommer Loven was almost depleted and her grants, scholarships and loans barely covered the essentials for her and Jackie. But she supposed with just a couple more weeks left at her internship, it did not matter. 

She giggled at the ridiculous nature of her thoughts. She had just had unprotected sex with the man who had impregnated her four years ago despite their careful use of condoms. A man who was now her boss. A man who controlled her very future in more ways than one. And she was worried about a blouse that she had bought used?

"I'm glad you've discovered a sense of humor, Miss Tyler. But if we don't manage to get semi-decent in the next thirty seconds, we're going to have an audience," he growled as he tried to shove his still erect penis back inside his pants. 

Maddie could not help smiling at his predicament as she discarded the torn blouse and reached down for her jacket. Pulling it on, she buttoned up a couple of them. She tried to put her hair back in order, but it was no use. In the end, she resorted to running her fingers through it. She stared at her reflection in the mirror in shock. The woman that stared back at her was far closer in visage to Sommer Loven than studious, focused Madison Tyler. She swallowed at the revelation. 

And wondered if he noticed. In their brief interlude, he had given no indication that he recognized her. As unlikely as it seemed that Miss Tyler would illicit such wild abandon in this man, she held onto the hope like Jackie grasp her favorite doll tight to her chest each night. She watched him in the mirror as he finally managed to zip his trousers. 

He stood up and smiled at her in the mirror. "We might look a bit disheveled, but we can always blame that on being trapped for hours in an elevator."

Maddie nodded as she felt the elevator slow and come to a halt. She drew in a deep breath and smiled as the doors opened. 

"Hector," she said in what she hoped was a casual tone. "Is everything else all right?"

The elderly guard smiled and nodded. "Si, Senora Tyler. Es bueno. Are you and Senor Jackson all right?"

Thyne stepped up, "We're a bit worse for wear I'm afraid, Hector, but we should be fine. Was anyone else trapped? Any trouble otherwise?"

They began walking back to the main lobby as he explained, "There were a couple of your associates that had to walk all the way down the stairs and a few other stragglers. But since it is late on a Saturday, there were less than a dozen people in the building. Somebody threw a few rocks at the glass, but they moved on when it did not break. Over all, I think we made it through pretty well."

Thyne slapped the smaller man in the back, "Thanks to you, mi amigo."

Maddie rummaged in her purse for her phone, pushing the torn shirt aside. When she finally found it, she was disappointed to see that there was no signal.

"Hector, can I use your phone please? I need to check on Jackie," she explained.

"Lo siento, senora, but the phones and security system are still rebooting. It could take an hour or more." Thyne winked at her behind the man's back at this news.

"Damn," she cursed. "I told Mama I would be home as soon as the power came back on. I left my car at the park and ride by her house. I know the buses aren't running anymore, but you think I can find a cab around here somewhere?" 

The man shook his head. "I am afraid that the policía have the city locked down pretty tight, senora."

"Damn," she cursed again.

"I'll give you a ride to you car," Thyne said.

The idea of being locked into another long drive with this man was not very palatable but the idea of leaving Jackie with her mother for one moment longer than necessary was less so. So she nodded and simply said, "Thank you, Mister Jackson." What choice did she have?

***

Thyne tried to focus on the roads. It had not been that bad in central Houston and the freeways were clear enough, but the moment they had exited Highway Ten he had seen the damage. Looters had torn through homes and businesses, taking what they wanted and abandoning whatever they could no longer carry all along the way. He had been forced to swerve twice to avoid television sets and computers. 

He took his eyes off the road for a moment to look across at her. Sommer. Miss Tyler. Madison. Maddie. Whoever the hell she was. What he saw was another blow to his still tender mid-section. 

Terror and panic. Her hands were at her swollen lips as she chewed on already short nails. He wondered if she missed the long red nails that she had once worn. He remembered well how they had felt that night as she clawed and scratched at his back. Then again he could be thankful for his shirt or those short ones might have done their own damage. He cursed as his half hard cock thickened inside his pants. 

He should be mad as hell at her. At the lies. The deception. As it was, he would make damned certain that the firms investigators looked a little deeper into Miss Tyler's background. Of course, he knew that the firm always did an investigation upon all its employees, including the interns. But his own secret passion proved that those investigations were not infallible. 

Truth though was that the fear he saw on the woman's face was eating away at any anger or doubts he had. "I'm sure they are fine," he tried to console her. She just nodded and continued to stare out the window.

"How about we go get your kid at your mom's then I'll take you both to your car?" he offered.

She shook her head wildly. "No, that's not necessary. You don't have a car seat or anything." Her look of utter panic at his words caused alarm bells to ring in his head.

"No, it's fine. Just take me to my car. It's only another mile or so," her smile was forced. 

"Where is your mom's house, Miss Tyler?" he demanded, determined now.

He watched her wring her hands as if contemplating throwing herself from his car and making a run for it. Then he saw resignation as her shoulder's slumped and she nodded those tangled tresses. "Turn right two street up," she whispered.

He turned his attention back to the road for the couple of moments it took to complete the journey. They were soon pulling up in front of a slightly weathered wooden frame house. Maddie was out of her seat belt and opening the door almost before he fully stopped the car.

"Thank you, Mister Jackson. I don't want to keep you any longer. I'm sure my mother will take me to my car later," she explained as she tried to close the door.

Thyne had the reputation of a bit bull when it came to contract negotiations; when he set his teeth into something he did not let go. And this was no different. He had parked the car and caught up with her before she was even half way up the walk way. 

The woman paused at the door as if considering whether further argument might prove more successful. He flashed her one of the grins that had become notorious, the one that let his opponents know that he knew he had won. She raised her hand to the shabby screen door and knocked. 

"Mama, it's me. Open the door," she called out. 

There was a long wait. He began to wonder if perhaps the woman had not heard them. Or perhaps she had taken the child and fled to a friend or neighbor when the looting started? He even mauled over the possibility that it was a rouse on the woman's part. Although to what purpose he was not certain.

But finally the heavy wooden door behind it cracked just a bit. He could barely make out a knurled hand but the cracking voice proved they indeed had the right house. 

"Well, it took you long enough. I was trying to get that hellion you call a child to bed but she won't go down. She wants a bedtime story. She needs a glass of water. Don't turn out the light, she's afraid of the dark," the woman's distinctive British accent carried more than a note of disapproval for what seemed normal enough behavior for a child. 

"I'm here now, Mama. If you don't mind, I could use a ride to my car at the Park and Ride. Then Jackie and I will be out of your way," she explained nervously.

The door cracked open a bit more and an elderly woman peered out at the two of them. He knew that Madison Tyler was a bit older than the other interns, but only a couple of years. This woman appeared old enough to be her grandmother rather than mother. Obviously a late in life baby. 

The woman caught his assessing gaze and returned it, scanning him from head to toe and back again. Then she opened the door an inch more and stepped out onto the small porch, looking over at his late model SUV parked in front of her house.

"Madison Louise, seems to me you have ride enough to me. It is almost nine o'clock and I've had that child since two. I'm tired and you know I don't like to drive after dark." Looking him directly in the eye, "I'm sure your gentleman won't mind a few minutes with the hellion."

He nodded, "Not at all, ma'am."

The woman turned and called over her shoulder, "Jaxon Renee Tyler, your mum is here." 

He heard a squeal and the pounding of tiny feet. Then like the blur of a late summer tornado, this tiny creature was propelling herself at Madison Tyler. In the haze only two things registered deep green eyes and a mop of reddish-blond curls. Thyne felt the blood drain from his head as if an opponent had landed a knock out kick to the side of his head. 

"Jackson," was his whispered response.

***

Maddie held tight to her daughter even as she watched the revelations dawn. This was her worst nightmare, all of them rolled into one. Her mother's condemning voice, warning her about spoiling that little brat, rang in her ears as she watched every ounce of color drain from the man's face. Through it all, she held tight to the only thing that matter. Jaxon.

Choosing to ignore them both, she smiled at her daughter. "Mommy's sorry I was late. But I got stuck in an elevator with Mister Jackson. Almost all the way to the top. Can you believe that?"

The little girl's eyes went wide, "But you're all right now, right Mommy?"

She nodded and squeezed her child tighter. "Just need a few extra cuddles maybe."

Her daughter looked over at the man. Maddie's throat tightened when she realized that it was the first time in her child's life that she had ever seen her father. 'Would she even remember this night? This man?' she thought.

"I'm a Jaxon too," the child smiled as she held out her tiny hand to him. "Jaxon Renee Tyler," she pronounced each syllable carefully with pride.




Sommer Loven



Maddie watched as both of Thyne's large hands came up to capture their daughter's. "Thyne Reynolds Jackson, at your service," he managed to recover nicely, bowing at the waist as he bent to kiss the child's knuckles.

Jackie giggled as she replied, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mister Jackson."

Her mother huffed and mumbled, "At least, you have managed to teach the little monster some manners. Thank goodness."

"I think we should go, ladies." Thyne stepped forward and held out his hand towards her mother, "Missus Tyler, thank you for watching the child. I don't know what I would have done this afternoon without your daughter's help. I'd probably still be back there, pouring over briefs in the dark, if it weren't for her. She really has a brilliant legal mind. I'm sure you are very proud of all she is accomplishing."

"Yes, well, I suppose. But I had hoped with looks like hers she would have landed herself a rich husband. What is it with these modern women? Thinking they need to work themselves to death, trying to compete in a man's world. Careers? A woman belongs at home with her child. Then that baby would not be such a hellion. If she had to deal with the child's behavior all day, she would think twice about letting her have her way all the time. Give that little girl a taste of discipline."

Thyne drew back his hand and nodded, "Well, I'm sure that you must be in a hurry for us to leave. You did mention that you were tired."

Her mother nodded and smiled, "Yes, well, not before I have a nice spot of tea and a fag to calm my nerves. I'm not as young as I once was and that child can drive me to distraction."

Maddie smiled and whispered to Jaxon, "Say good night to your Nan."

The child jumped from her arms and lunged at the older woman, wrapping her arms about the woman's legs and hugging tightly. "I love you, Nana."

Her mother was clearly disconcerted by the obvious display of emotion as she pushed the child back, "Yes, well, you mind your mother and don't be any trouble for Missus Marshall."

Her daughter nodded and gave her mother one final squeeze before running back and grabbing her hand. "Is Mister Jackson going to take us home, Mommy?"

"No, sweetie," she was quick to respond, trying to execrate themselves from the uncomfortable situation.

Thyne smiled at the child and knelt down so that they were eye to eye before he spoke. "I'm just going to take you and your mother to the car park tonight, sweetie. But we will see each other again real soon." Those deep grass green eyes looked up at her and she felt her heart slow, skipping a couple of beats as he finished, "I promise."

***

Thyne Jackson studied the detectives report carefully. The hot summer sun beat down on him as he sat by the pool at his up-scale condominium complex. About him, scantily clad women splashed and sunned. More than one had thrown him a conspiratorial look. Hell, he had sampled a couple of the wares on offer. But they held no interest for him today. Or any day ever again, he thought as he read and re-read the brief that filled in so many of the blanks in the mystery that was Madison Tyler, aka Sommer Loven. 

Her father had been in the Air Force, a mechanic. He met her mother while stationed in England and had married there. He had left the Air Force for a commercial job at one of the airlines, which flew out of Houston. They had bought the modest home he had seen the night before when the neighborhood was still considered one of the better suburbs. Of course, his wife seemed to have a few problems living within their means, including a couple of charges for writing bad checks and even one shop lifting charge.  

The couple had been childless well into their forties when suddenly Missus Tyler found herself with child. It did not surprise him to learn that the woman had not taken well to motherhood. There were a couple of social service reports in the file. Neglect mostly, charges that the woman locked her child in the closet for hours while her husband was at work. Was that why she had reacted with such fear to being trapped in the elevator yesterday, he wondered.

But the girl had found her escape in books it seemed. Every school report was glowing. Straight A's all the way through high school. She had gone away to college in Austin, excelling in business studies. Until her father's heart attack. It was the beginning of her senior year when she had been forced to drop out, coming home to help her mother nurse the man through the final days of his life. By the time the man died several months later, the family's paltry savings was depleted. There was no money for her to return to university. 

Instead she had taken a couple of temporary office jobs, but those had proven unable to meet her mother's financial tastes. So six months after her father's death, Sommer Loven had taken over the woman's life. She had gone back to school part-time while working the night shift. The good news was that thanks to his patronage and others, she had managed to pay for college, meet her mother's champagne tastes and live on her own, if modestly. 

Until four years ago that was. She had just finished university, graduating with honors and had applied to several law school across the country. He stared at the report, his respect growing at the names of the prestigious schools to which she had gained admittance. But in the end, those plans had been put on hold. 

He lifted the piece of paper that interested him most. Jaxon Renee Tyler, born April fifteenth, two thousand and nine. Mother...Madison Louise Tyler. Father...unknown. He choked as he read those words. He threw the paper on the table with the rest. 

Why? Why the fuck had she not come to him when she found out? He had never made any secret of his identity. Hell, he had given her his business card that first afternoon they had met. She had his private extension. His fucking email. Hell, she had his private cell phone number. 

But the truth was that she had chosen to keep her secret. To hide his child from him. And even before this fucking report there was no doubt in his mind. That little girl was his daughter. His child as much as hers. And Madison Tyler was about to answer for keeping his flesh and blood from him for three years. 

He scooped the papers up and piled them back into the manila folder as he stood up. He drained the glass, feeling the burn as the Scotch hit the back of his throat. He knew he should not drink in this kind of heat, but he needed something to dull his senses just then. He had hardly slept last night. Their interlude in the elevator played in high definition on the wide screen in his memory. Followed by slow motion replays of that other night. The night their daughter had been conceived. 

"Why?" he asked under his breath as he gripped the folder and headed for his car. It was past time he got answers for that question. Almost four years past time, he thought.

***

Maddie watched as her daughter splashed in the wadding pool on the patio of their modest one-bedroom apartment. She wished she had been able to afford one of the nicer complexes around them. One of the ones with pools and playgrounds, but she had always been her father's child. She would not repeat her mother's mistakes. She would much rather live frugally and save a bit of money for a rainy day. Or a torn blouse, she thought as she heard a knock on the door. 

"I'm coming," she called out as she padded across the living room carpet barefooted. She wore only a pair of cut off daisy duke shorts and the bikini halter top that barely covered her breasts. She thought about grabbing a shirt, but did not want to waste time. It was likely old Missus McCall from next door. The woman was always stopping by for sugar or eggs, but mainly just because she was lonely and enjoyed Maddie and Jackie's company. 

She threw open the door and the smile of greeting for her elderly neighbor froze on her face. "Thyne," she whispered as he filled the door way leaning against it. Her throat tightened and her heart stopped at the site of him. But it was the cold, calculating look in those green eyes as they moved up and down her body that caused the air to stick in her throat. 

If she had any doubt after the cool and impersonal way he had driven them to the Park and Ride just a half a mile from her mother's, his look now dispelled it. He had insisted that he help her carry a half asleep Jackie to her car. He had watched as she strapped her daughter into the car seat. 

She had almost expected him to say something then, but when he did not, hope grew in her heart. Maybe she was reading things into the situation. Maybe it was her own guilt and fears talking. Perhaps in the dark night he had not noticed the strawberry blond curls or bright green eyes of their child. Perhaps her secret really was safe. 

But looking at those same bright green eyes in his face, she knew now. He knew. And as her daddy had said...it was time to pay the fiddler. She just hoped it was a bill she could afford. But from the look on his face she was not so certain.

"Come in," she whispered as she stepped back. Jackie came barreling inside, dripping water as she ran across the carpet. She threw herself at him, squealing, "Mister Jackson, Jackson."

He lifted their daughter high in the air as she giggled. He did not even seem to notice that she was dripping all over his knit shirt and pressed khaki shorts. 

"I told you that we'd see each other again, didn't I, Jaxon?" he smiled as she giggled. 

"Jackie, go get your towel, please. Give Mister Jackson a chance to come inside," she reminded her. The little girl nodded and ran away. "Come on, Thyne," she offered, waving at the shabby couch against the wall. 

"We need to talk," he said in a low voice as he passed the folder to her. "Unknown? Why is my daughter's father listed as unknown on her birth certificate, Miss Tyler? Or is it Sommer Loven?"

She sighed as she took the folder from his hand. It was the question that she had dreaded for four years. But it was also one that deserved an answer. He deserved an answer. An honest one.

"Because, Mister Jackson, I did not want to listen to your high and mighty ass deny paternity?" she returned in a bitter whisper. She saw the shocked look in his eyes at the bitterness and brutal honesty. "Oh, don't give me that pained look. And don't bother denying it. Be honest with me and with yourself. You would have. Thrown a few more hundreds at the whore and told me to get rid of it."

He stiffened even more at her accusations, but any further confrontation was delayed by the return of their daughter, bouncing and babbling about her pool, her Nana and anything and everything she could think of. Maddie smiled weakly and excused herself to the kitchen to get them something to drink.

***

Thyne gripped the glass of sweet iced tea tighter as he stood on the tiny patio. He could hear the giggles as Maddie bathed their child and got her ready for bed. Their child. The words played over and over again in his mind. Had it barely been twenty-four hours since he had found out about his daughter. 

Then why the hell did it feel so damned good. The afternoon had been just about as perfect as anything he could remember. They had played games. Watched silly television shows about handy men and girl explorers. She had jumped up and down with delight when he insisted that they order pizza for dinner.

Pizza? It was such a simple thing. For him it had become a dietary supplement on nights he worked so late that there were no other options. But to his child, it was a treat, a luxury that her mother could rarely afford. That fact and Maddie's bitter words had eaten at his gut for hours.

He wanted with everything inside of him to deny them. And to a degree he could. She was wrong about one thing. He would have never suggested an abortion. That much he was certain. But over the past few hours he had come to face a nasty truth about himself, she was right. He would have contested paternity. Demanded blood tests. 

He liked to think he would have kept things civil, not as she believed thrown her past in her face. But he was honest enough to remember how easy it had been to dismiss his feelings for her that night. How he had casually assumed that he was just another notch on her bed post. Truth was he had been a bastard and as a result now his child was. But not for long.

"Jackie would like you to read her story tonight," she said as she stood just inside the sliding glass door. She held out a book, but was careful to keep her eyes down as she spoke. She had put on a t-shirt once the sun went down, but the heat was still stifling and it clung to her chest now damp. 

He took the book, "Can we talk some more when she goes to sleep?" he pleaded.

***

She just nodded as she exchanged places with him, slipping onto the patio to take advantage of whatever slight breeze might rent the night air.

She tried hard to gather her courage. To plan her defense. But the truth was that she had already thrown down her best hand in this game of high stakes Texas Five Card Stud. Looking about her, she saw how it must all look to him. The one bedroom apartment without a pool or play ground. The shabby furniture bought used or worse yet picked up from the side of the road, other people's cast offs. 

The only splurges were the hundreds of toys that were strewn about the living room and bedroom. She knew she should begin her nightly ritual of picking them all up. Hell, she should grab a shower and collapse into bed next to her daughter. Except this night for the first time in her young life, it was Jackie's father that was reading her bedtime story and tucking her in. And that hurt too. 

Was that the real truth? Had she kept her child secret all this time because she was selfish? Because she wanted nothing more than to have something, someone, that was hers alone? 

"She's asleep," she turned at the sound of that deep voice washing over her. Her eyes were clouded with tears as she nodded.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

He nodded. "Me too," he stepped out on the patio and drew up the small plastic table that was the only other piece of furniture besides the chair she sat on. "I thought about what you said earlier. I want you to know one thing. I would have never asked you to," he stopped. Silence hung as heavy as the summer heat between them. "Not that. But you are right. I probably would have been a real bastard about the whole thing. And you didn't deserve that."

She swallowed past the lump in her throat. She had not expected this type of honesty, not from him. "Thank you for that," she whispered as she looked up at the stars. 

Her voice was low and devoid of emotion as she said, "I won't keep her from you. Have the papers drawn up. Joint custody. What is it usually these days? One night a week and every other weekend? Don't worry about child support. Whatever you think is fair. You were always more than generous," her mind added 'with your money anyway.'

"What if that isn't what I want?" he asked.

Tears split over the edges of her blue eyes as she turned her head away. Once she would have dreamt of this. Him walking away from their child, giving her total control. But that was before this afternoon. Before she saw how much her daughter needed him. Wanted a daddy. 

She remembered well how much her own father had meant to her, how he had filled the hole that her mother's coldness felt in her young heart. But it would be all right. They had been fine for the past four years and they would be again. Jackie had her. She always would.

"That's fine too. I didn't mean to assume anything. I know a child does not fit into your life," she whispered.

She felt his hand on her cheek as he turned her head to face him. She fought back the urge to lean into his touch like it was an intimate caress. The heat that rose off his skin scalded far more than the skin of her face. It burnt through to her very soul.

"That isn't what I meant, Sommer," her eyes went wide at his use of that name. She would have protested that the woman was long dead, except for the reverent way he said and the look of utter need in his eyes. "Marry me." 

Her heart stuttered to a complete stop. She held her breath. The night took on a surreal feel as the heat, stars and moon played tricks upon her shattered mind. 

"What did you say?" she whispered.

"I said marry me," his finger caressed her cheek. "I don't want to settle for one fucking night a week with my child. I don't want to pick her up on Friday and drop her off on Sunday like all the other weekend dads in this town."

He moved to kneel next to her. "All right, so you were right. I probably would have been a real jerk if you had come to me four years ago. But don't you think missing three years of my child's life is punishment enough?" 

"I know this much. I would not have let you struggled like you have all this time. And I'm pretty damned sure that the moment I laid eyes on that little angel I would have been asking you the same thing then that I am now. I want to be her daddy." 

He drew her face closer to his. She held her breath as she felt his caress the side of her cheek. He nuzzled his face into her hair even as the fingers of his other hand tugged it free of the scrunchie that held it back from her face all day. 

"Tell me it didn't feel perfect when I was inside you yesterday. Even stuck in that damned hot elevator, I couldn't resist you," he whispered into her eat as his finger wound tighter and tighter into her hair. 

"Have you thought about the possible consequences, Princess? Even now Jackie could have a baby brother or sister growing inside you," he groaned against her skin as he drew her closer. "Hell, if there isn't already. There damned sure will be soon, Maddie. God damn, say yes. Stop this fucking hell and make us a family like we should have been all these years."

She felt the scalding hot tears spill over the rims of her eyes as she turned her head away from his. "It isn't that simple councilor," she whispered as a part of her heart broke. 

"Why, Maddie?" he demanded as he brushed the tears away tenderly.

"This is the twenty-first century. People don't get married just because they have a baby, Thyne."

"They do where I come from," he responded.

"It's not enough, Thyne. Jackie is not enough to build a marriage on," she asserted as she stood and walked into the living room. 

***

Thyne watched her go. He felt it all slipping through his fingers. This was the most important deal of his life and he was about to blow it. Worse yet, he had no idea why. They shared a child. He could provide everything she had ever dreamt of. And damn, the chemistry between them was brighter than half the stars in the sky. He could not let this go. Could not lose this battle. He stood and followed her inside. She was sitting on the couch in the dark living room. 

"What more do you want, Sommer? Anything? Name it?" he demanded like the deal maker he was.

"You," she whispered. 

He chuckled. "Princess, I think that was a foregone conclusion. Marriage clearly includes me as part of the deal." He knelt on the floor in front of her. His hands ran up and down her smooth legs. He insinuated them between her knees, prying them apart a bit, allowing him free access to massage up and down the inside her thighs. 

She shook her head. "You don't understand. Not like this."

He smiled and leaned in slowly. "Why not, Sommer?" He asked as he bent to taste those sweet lips. 

"I'm not Sommer. Not anymore. I'm Maddie. Just plain old Maddie. Don't you get that?" she said as she pushed at his chest.

"Was that Maddie in my arms yesterday? Was it Maddie that came apart in my arms as I made love to her in the elevator?" he pleaded as his hands moved higher and higher until they came to rest between her legs. His fingers rubbed softly over the rough denim as he felt her arch into his touch. 




Sommer Loven



"That's just it, Thyne. It wasn't making love. Not to you anyway. It was sex. Just sex. Hot sex maybe, but just sex all the same," she whispered as she tried to push his fingers away.

Instead Thyne moved them higher still, unbuttoning her shorts and pulling the zipper down. "Does it matter, Princess?" 

"It does to me, Thyne. Because I'm in love with you," she whispered. His heart soared at her admission. She loved him. Sommer loved him. 

His lips captured hers as his hands tugged the jean shorts down those long legs. He took the tiny scrap of lace that passed for underwear with them. But he was not done yet. He hands tugged at the t-shirt as he pulled it over her head. His fingers ripped at the ties that held up her bikini top. They gave quickly as he pulled his own shirt over his head. He bent for a second to capture her lips. Once more tasting heaven. 

But it was another kind of heaven he wanted to taste this night, he thought as he trailed his tongue down her neck. He could not resist the generous swell of her breasts as he weighed and softly kneaded them. He bent his head and tugged one turgid nipple inside his mouth. 

"Did you breast feed Jackie?" he whispered.

"Yes," she purred as she arched into his caress.

He moaned as he continued to play with her nipple between his lips. "Next time damn it, I'm going to taste your sweet milk, Maddie. You'll let me, won't you baby?" he whispered as he matched action to words, suckling deeply at her breasts. Her fingers wrapped through his hair as she arched against him. 

He toyed and played at their soft fullness for several more minutes until he traveled lower. His tongue circled around her belly button. 

"God, I want to feel my baby growing inside of you," he whispered against her hot skin. "Damn it, I need you, Princess. I need you so fucking bad." 

His tongue trailed lower over the smooth, shaven skin of her mound. "Open for me, baby. Let me taste that sweet, hot pussy before I fuck it," he commanded. She whimpered and for a moment he feared that she would deny him, would turn him away. 

He looked up at her. Her arms were above her head, those breath-taking tits jutted out high and proud as they jiggled softly with each rapid breath. She was a goddess, life and sex itself. And she had never been more beautiful. 

His hands ran slowly up and down her thighs as he placed a tender kiss at the top of her mound. "Please, Maddie," he pleaded. "Please open for me, Princess. I want to taste your pussy so fucking bad," his gaze met hers in the darkness. 

"Thyne," she heaved as if still deciding. But when his hands pressed the insides of her thighs, this time they gave, spreading open like flower petals for the morning sun. He did not hesitate, fearful that she might change her mind, her brilliant fucking mind that had always captivated him as much as her lush, curves ever did.

"That's right, Sommer," he whispered as he bent his head. His tongue zeroed in quickly on the prize it sought, lapping across the swollen bud. He was glad that his hands were still on her thighs as he used them to hold her down when she arched upwards. 

But that only served to aid his pursuits, his teeth lightly bit the tender flesh for just a moment before he flattened his tongue and licked from the hard nub all the way to another soft rosebud. He took more time on the return journey. This time he used his tongue like he would his cock, he fucked her sweet cunt and taste the salty, sweetness direct from the fountain of love from which it sprang. 

It was getting harder and harder for his hands on her thighs to quiet her thrashing. He knew he was driving her insane, pushing her closer, higher and higher. He wanted to toy with her. Hold her there on the cliff high above the soothing waves of her orgasm. Make her beg and plead for the release that only he could give her. 

"Say yes, Sommer," he whispered across the tender flesh. He gave it another soft lick and looked up as her eyes closed, her head rested against the back of the couch, her arms thrown across it. He knew that she was close, so fucking close. 

So was he. He could feel it. Her surrender, her total and complete fucking surrender. It was what he wanted like no other victory. Not in the courtroom. Not in negotiations. Hell, not even in the fighting cage. This was a victory that he needed as much as he needed his next breath. "Damn it, Maddie, say yes," he pleaded his case. "Say you'll marry me."

He heard her whimper, felt the frustration that strummed through her ripe and ready flesh. He could feel each beat of the powerful drums of need that vibrated through her. He was tempted, so fucking tempted, to just give her what she wanted from him. 

But he knew it would not be enough. What she wanted of him was the one thing he could not give. She wanted his surrender. She wanted love. Something he had sworn he would never again give another woman. And as much as he wanted this one. Hell, as much as he fucking needed her. He would not give that surrender. Never again. 

No, he would use other things. His money. Their bodies that craved one another. Their child, hell, a dozen more of them. Anything and everything at his disposal. He would use it all. He would bind her to him. Make sure she never escaped again. He could never live if he lost her again. But he could not. He would not give her that one thing. 

His tongue feasted upon her. He licked and suckled at her sensitive bud. He bit it. He blew across the flesh that was hotter and wetter than the Houston summer. He saw her fingers clutching the back of the couch. He watched as her knuckles turned white from the effort. His hands on her thighs moved around to cup the firm globes of her ass and lift her even closer. 

"Now, Maddie. Come for me, baby. Come all over my face," he commanded as he lapped at the well of her womanhood like a man who had spent a week in the West Texas desert without water. "Fucking come for me, Sommer," he said as he blew hot air across her clitoris. 

"Thyne," she screamed as he felt the tremors begin to consume her body. His tongue flattened against the surface of her wet cunt. He felt each contraction as her body surrender to his mastery. He drank in the victory even as he drank in the salty sweetness of her cream. He lapped it up like a kitten until she collapsed back against the cushions. 

Only then did he release his hold on her. But even then he needed to exact his final victory as he gave one more long lick from the top of her reddened clitoris all the way back to the tender flesh that he would save for another day. He turned along the same path but continued upwards across the shaven flesh of her mound and the soft roundness of her belly. 

He had been hard most of the day, but his cock throbbed with new need as his tongue playfully encircled her belly button. God damn it, he cursed, as he imagined how ripe and beautiful she must have looked with his daughter growing inside of her. "Pictures. I want to see the photographs of you when you were pregnant with Jackie. All of them, Sommer," his tone broke no disobedience. 

Her fingers laced through his hair as he felt the low rumble of laughter. "What if I said they weren't any?"

His fingers tugged surely at the button on his shorts. It gave way instantly and the zipper even more quickly as he pushed them down his legs. "There will be this time, Princess. Lots of them. I'll take dozens of them ever fucking day," he said as he rose above her. "Wrap your legs around me, Sommer." 

"Thyne, we really shouldn't," she pleaded as she held up her hand. "We need to talk. Nothing is settled between us. This could only complicate things."

But he was not listening as he lifted her legs and did what she refused. "Nothing is complicated. You are mine. That little girl is mine. And god damn it, Maddie, I'm not settling for some half cocked part-time father. You are going to marry me." 

He surged forward, filling her completely in a single thrust. He felt the resistance of her muscles. His pride roared in victory of what that tightness told him, things the damned detectives report only eluded to.

His fingers wrapped through those golden blond strands as he began the ancient dance of life, matching his tempo to her body as he pushed them both higher and higher. "Say yes, god damn it. Say fucking yes, Madison." He pushed as deeply into as he could and held still. His eyes watched her face as the pleasure and edge of pain were reflected there. "Look at me, Sommer." Her eyes opened slowly. He felt her tremble as she looked up at him. 

He knew what she must see. Alpha. Dominance. The one who always had to win. This time especially. This was his mate. He knew that. Hell, truth be known he had known that from the first kiss that night. She was the only woman that had ever come close to being his equal. From her delicious body to her magnificent brain to the tender way she loved and cared for their young. She was his destiny. His. And it was about time she admitted that. 

"Say yes," he pushed even further inside of her and watched as her back arched off the couch. He felt her hips try to move away but he held her against him. He forced her to feel ever inch of his cock buried deep inside of her. "You will marry me, Sommer. You'll marry me and have my babies. You'll marry me and warm my bed every fucking night for the rest of our lives. And you know why, sweetheart?"

He watched the play of fear and need in her eyes. He felt her tremble. "Because you're my alpha female. You always were. Whether strutting your stuff and controlling them all on that stage or putting the other interns to shame with that beautiful little mind, you are the only woman that comes close to being my equal."

His lips captured hers as he sucked on her tongue and bit them until they were swollen. He began to move slowly inside her tight sheath. Torturing them both with the waltz when their bodies craved a Texas two-step. 

"And that's what's real in this world, Princess. Two bodies that crave each other. Can't keep their hands off one another." He tilted her hips upwards and plunged inside her, taking her over the edge. 

"You couldn't have stopped your body from responding to mine if you wanted to, Maddie. Not even that brilliant little mind of yours can find a way to keep me out. So you rationalize it with sweet words of love, but the truth is, sweetheart, we are animals. Just like all the others on this planet. And in the grand scheme of things, we don't matter diddly squat."

"And just like all the other animals, we want one thing, Sommer. To mate. To find our perfect match. The strongest. The smartest. Then to fuck. Fuck our brains out until this lush little body of your's ripens with my seed. To create that perfect life form. To pass on our superior genes. And to ensure its survival by forming a tight bond that protects our young. We arrogant humans call that bond marriage, but it is no better than the packs that the wolves form or the prides of lions."

He quickened his pace as he felt her body tighten around his hard cock. His intent was clear. He was going to match action to words. He was going to dominate his mate. Bind her to him and breed her again, just as he that perfect night four years ago. Except this time there would be no escape. Not for her. Or for him. But he didn't want to escape. He wanted to plunge right over the edge and take her with him.

"So, Princess, if you need your sweet words of love to justify how you surrender this perfect body to me, go ahead. Hell, I'll be honest, I love it. I eat it up. It feeds my ego to know that I own not only this amazing body, but your heart as well. But don't kid yourself, Maddie. This is about something far more powerful than your sweet love. It's about a need so deep that it's as old as time. A need to pro-create. A need to protect what's mine. And that's what you'll get from me, Sommer. My loyalty. My protection. And this," he said as he pounded harder and faster inside of his mate. 

He felt her arch to meet each of his downward thrusts. Her body tensed as he felt the muscles inside of her begin to squeeze and milk his hard flesh. "God, yes, Sommer. Just like that, baby," he moaned as he pounded away at her like the animals they were. 

"That's right, Princess. Take me. Take all of me," he roared as he lunged deeper inside of her. He felt his seed rise with each pounding beat of his heart. "Look at me, damn it. Say yes, god damn it. Fuck, Maddie, say yes."

He watched the way her chest heaved and sighed. He could almost see the power of her heart pounding wildly beneath her breasts. Breasts that not only drove him mad with desire but that would nurse their children. 

"Say yes, fucking hell, Sommer," he said through gritted teeth. His hands wound through her long blond hair and drew her face up until it was only inches from his. He knew he could not hold out much longer. He needed to flood her unprotected womb with his life giving seed as surely as he needed to breath, to eat, as much as he needed cooling, refreshing water itself.

"Yes," the single word was so quiet that for a moment he thought he had imagined it. He looked deep into her eyes. 

"Say it again, Sommer. Tell me you want this as much as I do," he pleaded as he felt his body approaching the point of no return.

"Yes, Thyne," she said as she arched her hips drawing him deeper inside her sweet body. Offering him that life giving respite of an oasis. "Yes, yes, I'll marry you," he felt her short finger nails dig into the hard flesh of his shoulders as her body tightened its vice like grip on his cock. 

"Yes," he roared as he lunged forward, feeling the first spurt erupt like lava from a volcano. His hands held her beneath him as rode out the intense sensation of his orgasm. The feeling of her wet warmth was almost overpowering without a condom. He was sweating, his heart ringing with every beat in his ears, his chest heaving with each labored breath as he emptied himself inside her. 

By the time, it was over he felt as if his life force itself was drained completely from his body. He collapsed forward. His head banged against the back of the couch, he winced at the pain caused by the hard wood beneath the soft cloth covering. But even that failed to diminish the sense of utter and complete rightness. Something he had only felt once before. In her arms. That night four years ago. 

He chuckled and felt his still hard cock thrust inside of her once more. The wetness of their lovemaking cushioned his thrust. His mind imagined the erotic imagine of that thrust pushing his seed deeper into her fertile body, sending it on its way racing towards the ultimate goal, her egg waiting there, cushioned and protected by her soft body. 

"God," he spat in frustration. He had just had her. Totally and completely. And he wanted her again already. Needed her. "You're driving me insane, Sommer. I can't get enough," he whispered as he captured her swollen lips in another erotic kiss. Their tongues parried and thrust against one another like equal opponents in a world class fencing match. 

Until he drew back. "You need to get some sleep, Maddie. And I don't think either of us would get much if I stayed the night," he bent and kissed her upturned nose. "Besides I don't think it would be a good idea for Jackie to wake up to her parents naked in bed. Just not quite yet. Not until we're married at least anyway."

She chuckled and he felt her muscles tighten and squeeze him. For a moment, he reconsidered his decision.

"You are so fucking old-fashioned, councilor," she said as her hands ran across his chest, playing and toying, igniting fires afresh. He knew they would get nowhere if he allowed this to continue. He pulled back slowly. He groaned and she whimpered when his cock sprang free of her sweet body. "Like I said, you need sleep and I have plans to make."

As if confirming his assessment, she stretched and yawned beneath him. "What plans? I thought we finished the preparations for tomorrow's negotiation yesterday?"

He smiled as he scooped her up in his arms. "Not those plans, silly. Wedding plans, remember?"

"There's no hurry. We should wait at least until I finish my internship. A couple months after that maybe," she pleaded as she wrapped her arms about his neck.

"No, afraid not. Friday. I'll give you five days. It'll take me that long to make all the arrangements anyway," he pronounced as he stood up and headed down the short hall to her bedroom.

"Why the rush? Please, Thyne. Think about my position. What will people say if I marry you now?"

"They'll say you slept your way to the top. But does that fucking matter?" he asked as he bent over and tossed back the covers on her bed. "Since when have we ever given a shit about what other people thought, Sommer? I taught you, it doesn't matter how you win as long as you do. There are very few real rules in this world. So what if they think that? So what if you did? All that matters is that you got to the top. Don't forget that, Princess." He laid her down against the cool sheets and watched as she stretched. His cock twitched at the sight.

He kissed her nose once more and pulled the covers up to hide that amazing body before his hard cock got the better of his judgment and he climbed into the bed next to her. "I'll see you tomorrow," he could not resist one last taste of her sweet lips though. This kiss was slow and almost tender, at least some of his hunger and passion expended for now. 

"And don't let me see you in the office before nine. I mean it. You need your sleep," he smiled. "And no more coffee either."

She laughed as she drew him back down for another kiss. This time it was she that led the dance, a slow and sensual display of her feminine wiles that had him hard and throbbing in seconds.

"I swear, Thyne, you are obsessed with getting me pregnant," she purred as she pulled back from his lips.

"Again. Getting you pregnant again, Sommer. And hell, yeah, I'm obsessed. I missed it all. Your pregnancy. The birth. Watching you nurse our child. The first three years of Jackie's life," he hoped his voice did not reveal the depths of his pain that the revelation tore from his soul. "You owe me this, Maddie. I need all those things. Need them with you, Princess."

He saw her nod at his plea in the pale moonlight. "But know this, Thyne. I am completing this internship. I'm finishing law school too. And taking the bar. You aren't going to be the only brilliant lawyer in this family."

He grinned at her use of the word 'family.' "I wouldn't have it any other way, Sommer. I always said you were the smartest business woman I had ever met. And my best damned closer ever. You will be again too, sweetheart. We were a hell of a team, you know that," he promised. "Of course, those ridiculous long skirts and blouses buttoned all the way to your ears will have to go, sweetheart."

"Hey, I'm just being a professional," she protested.

"No, you're being silly and living your life by other people's rules. I taught you to use your assets. All of them," he said as he playfully swatted at her backside. "But we can continue this argument later. You go to sleep. I'll let my self out." 

He bent for what he swore would be the last kiss, but it seemed to last forever, a heady mixture of need and want that he feared would never be fully satiated. 

"Good night, Sommer," he whispered.

"Maddie," she corrected. "You can't call me that around other people."

He laughed, "Just watch me. If they ask, I'll just tell them it's my nickname for you because you were my summer intern."

She laughed and shook her head. "Get out of here before I decide to seduce your hot ass again."

He brushed another kiss, this one more chaste, across her lips. "You seduce me? This I can't wait to see. Seems to me, it has always been me that does the seducing."




Sommer Loven



"That's what you think, councilor. This wise man once told me that the sweetest victories were the ones where your opponent thinks he won."

His breath caught at her words. He wanted nothing more than to climb into the bed next to her and discuss all the other lessons that he had begun all those years ago, but there would be time of that later he reminded himself. A lifetime. 

He forced himself to stand and walk from that tiny room where the two most important things in his life rested. He swore it would be one of the last times he left them. They belonged to him. They belonged with him. But he had plans to make before they could be. His mind was already forming a checklist of those tasks as he pulled his clothes back on in her tiny, dark living room. 

He stood in the door way for a long moment. It did not feel right to leave them like this. All right, so Maddie had been taking care of herself and Jackie for the past four years. But that was before he knew. Before he found her again. 

He pulled his cell from the pocket of his shorts and pushed a couple of buttons. Even though it was late, the gruff voice answered on the second ring. 

"Matthias, I need your help," he said. The other man listened. Promised that he would handle the situation personally. By the time he rang off, Thyne was as comfortable as he could be with the situation. He knew that his brother would do all he could to protect the woman that would soon be his sister and the niece he had not known existed. It would do...for now anyway.

***

Maddie stared at the ceiling in the darkness. Her thoughts were all over the board. She could not make sense of any of it. 

Why did she let him bully her like that? She was not the insecure but beautiful Sommer Loven. She had not been in years. With months of counseling, she had taken charge of her life. She had birthed her daughter alone. Moved out of her mother's house once more and finally put some distance between her cold and manipulative behavior. She had raised her child while attending law school and making stellar grades. 

So why did that man still have to power to drain her will? Why did she cave to his every desire? His whims? His demands? 

The truth was simple. She had told him already. She loved him. She had almost from the start. Of course, back then it had been adoration, a crush on a man that had and was everything she dreamt of becoming. She enjoyed their conversations. Fed upon his words. Absorbed all that he would teach her. But until that night she had never thought it would be more than that...friendship, a mentor. 

Yet from the moment he had captured her lips in the front seat of his car like some clandestine lover, she had been addicted to the drug that was Thyne Jackson. Their one night had been relived in her dreams over and over again over the past four years. Until no other man measured up. Not that she had anything to compare this one to. 

She laughed at the irony. Who would believe it? Even if she told him, she knew he would never believe the truth. The virgin stripper. It seemed too strange to be true. But it was. The truth was that Sommer Loven was never anything more a carefully crafted show. Maddie was a superb actress and she knew it. It was a trait that she knew would serve her well as an attorney too. 

But what scared her most at the moment was her vulnerability to this man. He had always seen beyond the character. Recognized her intelligence from the beginning. But what else he might see was what had her laying awake worried. Or more accurately, how he might use what he saw to manipulate her, to get what he wanted. 

Looking over at the small bed across the room where their daughter slept unaware of the turmoil that boiled and festered in the adult world, she wondered. Was this all just some rouse? A plan to take the only thing that mattered to her. She had heard the anger in his voice when he spoke about her owing him. On some level perhaps she even agreed, she had deceived him, kept their child from him. 

But what he did not understand, could not comprehend was why. Jackie was a part of him. And after the weeks and months, when she looked every day for him to walk through the doors at Ace's, only to end each shift disappointed, she had thought the baby was the only part of him she would ever have. Since they had been so careful about using protection that night, her pregnancy almost seemed like some miracle, a gift. A condolence prize for the one thing she could never have...his love.

Truth was she still did not have that. Probably never would. His words ran like a bad tape through her mind. Want. Need. Lust. Animals. His loyalty. His protection. Marriage. His babies. Everything and anything except the one thing she wanted most...love. His love. 

Her hands caressed the round softness of her stomach. Could he be right? They had been so careful as those long years ago, yet the sweet bundle that slept peacefully ten feet away had been born of her need for him. They had had unprotected sex. Twice in little more than a day. Could his child once again be growing inside of her?

Her heart leapt into her throat at the very thought. It was everything she wanted. His child. To share the experience with him. How many times over those long months of her pregnancy with Jackie had she caressed her swollen tummy and cried, wishing that it was his hands rubbing their baby? But this time it would be different. This time it would be all of those things. All of those girlish dreams that she had held hidden in her heart. 

Then why did what she wanted so damned much scare her to death? Being his wife. Carrying his babies. Hell, the close partnership that they had once shared as mentor and protégé. Her pride had swelled when he called his closer once more. It was everything she wanted. Had ever dreamt of. 

Except for one little thing. He did not love her. Oh, he wanted her. The wild, primal matings they had shared over these brief hours proved that. Hell, she could even buy that he needed her. She knew too that he respected her. Saw her as he said...his equal, his mate, his partner. But not as his love. And that stung. Hurt her more deeply than she had imagined possible.

She looked over at their daughter once more. Thought of all the things that her father could give her. Things it would take her years to acquire. She caressed her stomach and imagined little red headed boys running like the demons of hell after their sister, tormenting and torturing her as siblings always did. She smiled and her lips tingled a bit. Her fingers caressed them too, remembering the passion that flared so quickly between them. The need, he called it. 

Was it enough? Were these things sufficient to build a life, a marriage upon? She pondered the thought. She yawned as tiredness crept up on her, born of too much thinking and even more good loving. In the end, her only answer was...it would have to be. For now anyway.