Leah Braemel - Private Property

“Well, you see, I figured being a former cop and everything, you weren’t a real girly girl.” He slid down in his chair, his chin on his chest, then grasped the handles of his chair, until it groaned in protest. His next words came out in a rush. “I figured you wouldn’t really clean things the way a maid would. Figured that you’d sort of dust around things, you know. But Sandy…Ms. Janssen, she said if you were as good as Mark claimed, you’d be…” He shifted his weight again.

“That I’d be what?” Jodi asked, trying to hide the laughter caused by seeing the big man squirm in discomfort.

“That you’d be…you know…snoopy.” The words left him in a rush.

“Snoopy?” Jodi laughed aloud. “Sam, I was reconnoitering for security flaws. Of course, I’d be snoopy!”

Obviously relieved that she wasn’t offended, Sam let his shoulders drop and leaned back in his chair. “Sandy bet me that if she wrote the combination on the blotter-”

“-I’d find it.” Jodi finished for him. “Which I wouldn’t have unless I actually cleared the desk when I dusted.”

“How much d’you lose?” Mark asked. Jodi could feel his muscles rippling as he tried not to laugh aloud.

Sam’s cheeks turned bright red as he mumbled, “I have to enter myself in the annual bachelor auction to raise money for the homeless women’s shelter.”

Mark’s laughter exploded, nearly unseating Jodi. “Oh, that’s fucking perfect! Jodi, we have to go to that auction. I want to watch him squirm while all those women ogle his ass.”

Sam looked up, a look of hope flickering in his eyes. “Hey, Jodi, maybe you could bid on me. You know, save a poor helpless bachelor from those biddies?”

Mark shook his head. “Not a chance! You made the bet, you suffer the consequences.”

“I don’t…” Jodi started, then hesitated as a thought struck her. But would her plan work, especially with the two huge egos these men had? “Maybe we could come to some arrangement.”

“Jodi,” Mark groaned. “Don’t you dare buy into his ‘poor bachelor’ crap. I want to watch him strut his sorry ass down a runway like a frickin’ supermodel-it’s the perfect payback, babe.”

Jodi bit her bottom lip. “I’ll make the highest bid on you if you promise me something.”

“What’s that?” Sam eyed her as if she were a python ready to strike.

She pushed herself off Mark’s lap, paced as she figured out exactly how to word her request so as not to offend either man. Finally she stopped and took a deep breath. “It’s about the merger. Mark loves Celada Security. He’s worked real hard to get it where it is, and I’m afraid that when you take over-”

“Jodi,” Mark said quietly. “Sam and I are good. You don’t need to worry-”

Sam held up a hand, stopping Mark. “Let her have her say, Mark. She’s just looking out for your interests. And I respect the hell out of her for that.”

“If things don’t work out,” she continued, not wanting to meet Mark’s eyes, “the two companies revert back to the way things are now. And you’ll guarantee Hauberk won’t compete for any contracts against Celada in Texas.”

Sam opened a drawer and pulled out a thick folder, tossed it on the desk. “If it sets your mind at ease, sweet pea, Mark and I already had something similar written into the contract. Here’s my copy-you can see for yourself.”

Mark rested his hand over hers, his thumb gently stroking her wrist. “Considering he’s the buying company, Sam didn’t have to have that written in, babe. But he’s the one who suggested it even before we put anything on paper.”

Sam shrugged and glanced away as if uncomfortable with Mark’s admission. “I treat my friends right.”

“Thank you, Sam,” Jodi said.

“Glad to see you lookin’ out for him, sweet pea. I’d expect nothin’ less from you.” The chair creaked as Sam stood and stretched. “Oh, and, sweet pea, just in case you need to keep that old hound dog in line, the code to the safe room is seven-two-six-one-nine. Maybe you could give Mark a turn being tied to the posts some day. Remind him who’s in charge.”

He walked to the door then paused, a smile slowly blossoming across his face. “But you might want to phone first.”

With a wink, he left.

She finally looked up at Mark, worried that perhaps she’d overstepped the boundaries, but saw no sign of irritation or anger on his face. “I didn’t mean to stick my nose where it didn’t belong. Are you mad at me?”

Mark shook his head. “No. As Sam said, you were looking out for me.” He laced his fingers with hers and tugged her back onto his lap. “Kind of nice to know you worry about me like that. Besides, as Hauberk’s new vice president of Western Operations, it’s a reasonable concern.”

“Vice president?” A thrill shot through her at the title until she remembered Mark’s daily frustrations dealing with employees who were late or failed to show up at critical times. His anger when he caught several operatives smoking joints while on duty. And the mountains of paperwork that covered his desk. “Does that mean I have to sit behind a desk shuffling papers all day?”

Mark snorted. “As if that’ll ever happen.” When she tweaked a handful of chest hair, he sighed. “All right, there will be some paperwork involved. But you can hire an assistant if you need one. It also means you’ll get to boss the guys around even more than you do now.”

“I’m not bossy!”

He raised one eyebrow. “You just bullied a guy who’s six foot six and weighs two eighty buck naked about the merger. That wasn’t bossy?”

“That was…” she walked her fingers up his chest, “…a negotiation. On behalf of someone I love.”

His hands slipped underneath the bottom of her shirt, cupped her breast with his palms, his thumbs brushing over the sensitive tips. “Hmm. I love hearing you say that.”

She leaned into his touch, eyes closing. Talented fingers, she thought for what had to be the umpteenth time that night. “What? That I negotiated for you?”

“No, that you love me. You’ve never said that before.”

The distinctive sound of a Harley revved outside. Jodi rushed to the window just in time to see Sam tugging on his helmet. “I knew I’d heard a motorcycle! But how’d he get in without me seeing it?”

She glanced back and saw Mark’s lips clamp together, a telltale twitch at the side betraying his urge to smile.

“You! You came with him, didn’t you?” She poked him in the chest and thought back to when he’d arrived, and what he’d done. “And then you deliberately distracted me from watching the monitors, didn’t you? With that stupid vibrating egg!”

“Didn’t take much effort,” Mark said. He stood behind her, wrapping his arms about her waist as they watched Sam glance back at the house. He gave a salute toward them, then roared down the driveway.

Mark turned her away from the window until she faced him, then kissed her, his lips brushing over hers in a featherlight touch. “Te amo.”

Jodi wrapped her arms about his neck, pulled him closer until her breasts brushed his chest. “I love you too.”

Not knowing what was at the bottom of the chasm he was about to leap into, he teetered on the edge. He hated the strange feeling of fear curling in his bowels. But there was no going back after tonight, there was no way he could let her walk away with someone else.

She nestled her head in the crook of his shoulder, rested her hand on his chest. Everything about her felt so right.

“Babe? I, uh, have something to ask you.” He swallowed hard. She’d said she loved him, but that didn’t mean she wanted to marry him. What if she said no?