Page 26 of Beach Bum Billion-Heiress
Jax, on the other hand, was standing just inside the doorway, his arms crossed and a shit-eating grin on his gorgeous face. For two people who'd just met each other, we were so in sync it was ridiculous. He knew I'd planned to take a risk and he was proud of me for doing it. Which was a nice bonus, but most importantly, I was proud of me. And was there really any other feeling in life that felt quite as good as that?
And then Jax was moving, coming toward me, his eyes lit up to a bright blue. He pulled me into his arms and kissed me, right there in front of my father, no hesitation. It was a quick kiss, yet it didn't fail to light me up with an entirely different kind of buzz.
"Welcome to the block, neighbor." That voice, so smooth and calm, rang with pride and excitement. He didn't question what I was doing, he just congratulated me and knew I'd be a success. That confidence was as refreshing as a cold ocean wave hitting your toes on a scorching day.
I smiled up at him, arms locked around his waist, oblivious to the frown marring my father's face.
"Excuse me, are you going to tell me what's going on?" That voice however, was definitely not smooth, nor laced with confidence.
Jax stifled a chuckle when I rolled my eyes before pulling back. I turned to my father, making sure to keep my arm around Jax' waist.
"Let me make it clear for you, father. I just bought this property today from the owner who's been trying to unload this thing for over a year now. I got it at a fairly competitive price, one I'm sure you'll begrudgingly agree is good once you go over the final numbers. I have a crew coming in next week to start the demo and an appointment with an architect right after to start drawing up plans. Then I'll start pulling permits and we'll get this project going. You can fly home now and rest assured that your waterfront HB restaurant will come to fruition, almost exactly as planned."
Jax' arm tightened around me, his squeeze reassuring, but not necessary. I knew I was doing good work, whether my father agreed or not.
And while I tried not to let anything he did affect me anymore, the widening of my father's eyes as he realized I'd pulled off what he'd wanted me to do was particularly satisfying. He spun around then marched to the front door and exited. I knew what he was doing. I'd done the same thing when I'd looked at the property yesterday. He wanted to check out the view and the size of the lot.
All I cared about was the fact that his absence gave me some precious moments alone with Jax.
"That was fun." I smiled up at him, back in the circle of his arms.
"I'm proud of you. Business woman Sage is pretty fucking hot," he whispered back.
My smile grew, threatening to split my face, only sobering when he lowered his head and swooped in for a kiss. My lips were all too happy to melt into his and go with the flow. Hard muscles pressed into my body, stealing my breath and giving me life. I felt so free I thought I'd splinter off into a thousand pieces and float away on the breeze. Rough hands in my hair tilting my head brought me back and grounded me, thrilled me with the hint of possession.
As much as I wanted to be kick ass in whatever profession I took up, I also wanted to be dominated by a man who knew what he was doing. No soft-handed-pussy-men who puffed up their chests in the office, but didn't know what to do with a hot-blooded female in the bedroom. I wanted to be respected and seen as an equal in intelligence, drive, and success. And equally as much I wanted to be a soft female, wet and ready for a man to overpower me sexually in the best of ways. Was that really so hard to find?
I had no idea if Jax could be that man for me, but slamming me against his apartment wall last night and the pleasure-pain I felt on my scalp at the moment were both good signs that I'd chosen correctly.
"All right, break it up, you two." My father's booming voice was back, jovial now that he'd seen the property and realized that I'd made a damn fine business decision.
Jax kissed me a beat or two longer, the defiance clear, the pissing match still alive and well. It made me want to climb his body like a tree and never come up for air. Instead, he pulled back and whispered, "Later, my wise-Sage."
I licked my lips, tasting him still, earning me a heated stare before I turned and addressed my father.
"So there you have it. These are my plans, take 'em or leave 'em." I nodded my head firmly, a flutter of nerves reigniting in my gut. He could still decide to disown me for deviating from his plans, but there was a part of me that still hoped he'd see what I was trying to do and be the kind-hearted father I'd always wanted.
"I can't say yet whether this was a good move or not. I'll have to study the numbers once we get the business plan updated. And I'll still be watching you like a hawk." He paused, then the corners of his mouth curved up, not quite a full smile, but beaming by my father's standards. "I'll wait to make a final decision on everything we talked about before. I'll let you get this place up and running first, then we'll talk. Okay?"
That was as good as I was going to get, I knew. It was basically a stamp of approval, so long as this project didn't tank for some reason later on.
"Sounds good. Thanks for trusting me a bit longer." I smiled, sad that he couldn't just trust me without having to prove myself, but knowing this was the best he could do.
I'd build this restaurant, with or without his approval. And it would be fucking awesome.
