“You see, that’s just the thing. I don't see it like that. There’s still a debt, still a deal that didn’t get seen through.”
“But it did, you were sold and you came here.”
“I … I don’t know. I can’t describe it. It’s like this feeling in my gut that this isn’t over. I don’t even know what my father stole or how much he owed your dad. How could me being here for a month make up for it?”
Colton’s lips press together and the way that his eyes briefly flick away from mine has me narrowing my gaze at him. “You know, don’t you? You know what my father stole?”
Colton sighs and meets my gaze once again. “Yeah,” he says softly. “I looked into it after you first told me about it.”
I suck in a breath, feeling my heart begin to race the same way it does every time my father is brought up in conversation. “Like a band-aid,” I tell him. “Just tell me how freaking bad it is. How much is the debt?”
“3.7 million dollars.”
“WHAT?” I throw myself off Colton’s lap and stare at him in horror, my eyes wide and my heart beating so damn fast that it threatens to beat right out of my chest. “3.7 million dollars? How is that even possible?”
“It was a small velvet bag that was hidden inside my father’s car. It was filled with uncut diamonds that my father hadn’t exactly bought the legal way. He’d parked at a restaurant to meet with some business associates and caught the whole thing on security footage. Your father smashed the window, rummaged through the car, and took off with a whole lot of shit, but the diamonds were the most valuable.”
“3.7 million?” I confirm.
Colton nods and I fall back against his desk, hardly able to hold myself up. “How am I supposed to pay that back?”
“Jade,” he whispers.
“No,” I cut him off before he can give me the bullshit about wiping the debt. That’s a lot of money. Too much to just wipe away and forget. I know his businesses make more than that in the blink of an eye, but that’s not the point. It was stolen from his father, from him by my own flesh and blood and it’s now my responsibility to make it right. “I have to pay it back,” I tell him. “I don’t know how, but I will.”
“Jade, I can’t accept that. Your father sold you to mine and they both agreed that the debt was settled and now I’m letting you go. My family no longer owns you. I’ll do whatever you want, Jade. I’ll sign a fucking release if that will make it better. I’m not going to accept money from you.”
“Why did your father agree to this? What could he possibly have gotten out of having me here with him?”
Colton shakes his head. “I don’t know,” he tells me, just as lost as I am. “It doesn’t make sense to me. Had the diamonds been bought legally, I don’t doubt my father would have had yours arrested and sent to prison. I guess he just wanted to take something from your dad like he’d done to mine.”
“So, that’s it then. That’s the value of my life. 3.7 million dollars.”
“Well,” Colton says, reaching for me and dragging me back into his lap. “If you ask me, my father got a bargain. I’d say you're worth at least 4 million.”
A smile cracks across my face and I shove my hand against his chest, playfully pushing him away. “You’re an ass, you know that right?”
“An irresistible one though.” I roll my eyes and let out a heavy breath and he instantly catches my hands in his. “We’re agreed, right? There is no debt and you’re a free woman? I don’t own you, nor do I want to. I want you here as my girlfriend because you have a tight ass and a nice set of tits, not because some dickhead wanted to settle a debt. Got it?”
I look over his shoulder and press my lips into a hard line. “I’ll think about it.”
Colton raises his chin and his lips brush against my jaw before moving up to my ear and sending shivers through my body. “Is there anything I can do to convince you?”
I squirm on his lap and enjoy the low groan that pulls from deep within him. “I don’t know,” I whisper. “What did you have in mind?”
I feel his smile against my skin and just as his hand slips inside of my sweatpants, I hear the door swing open so hard that it bangs against the drywall. “Yuck,” one of his sister’s grunt of disapproval comes flying through the room. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Colton? Stop letting the whore play tricks with your mind. She’s trash and you’re allowing her to seduce you. You’re better than this.”
I look back over my shoulder as Colton lets out a heavy sigh and pulls his hand out from between my legs. “Get the fuck out of here, Casey. Go and fuck with someone else’s day. Ocean is a shitload more welcome here than you are.”
“This is my house too,” she screeches.
Colton raises a brow and fixes her with a hard stare. “How much do you want to bet?”
Casey’s face drops and I take a quick moment to try and notice the small differences on her face that set her apart from her sister and all I can come up with is a small freckle by her jaw. I just hope Cora doesn’t have the same otherwise I’ll never be able to tell them apart. “You’re such an asshole,” she spits at her brother. “And to think I was coming in here to mend bridges.”
Colton laughs and Casey turns on her heel, stalking away quicker than she came. “Mending bridges?” Colton asks. “What the fuck is that about?”
I can’t tear the smile off my face. “Trust me, you don't want to know,” I tell him, pleasantly surprised that Casey was willing to make an effort with her brother.
He shakes his head and leans back in his seat, but I’m not nearly done with him. Hell, I haven’t even started. “Now, where were we?” I question, leaning into him and brushing my lips over his.
“I think you were about to show me that you're worth a hell of a lot more than 4 million dollars.”
“Is that a challenge?”
“Only if you want it to be.”
“Well, damn,” I laugh, grinding against him and feeling his hardness through his pants. “Maybe we should take this upstairs instead. I’m going to need room to move.”
Colton’s brow raises and just like that, I’m thrown over his shoulder. He races out of his office and with a hard slap on my ass, he takes me up to his room and neither of us emerges until the sun is beaming through his bedroom window, our worlds have thoroughly been rocked, and we’re both utterly exhausted.
Chapter 7
I sit on the kitchen counter with my legs crossed under me, staring out at the ridiculously awesome pool that Charles was so proud of. It's a Saturday morning and for the first time in my life, I don't know what to do with myself.
My Saturdays used to consist of waking up hungover on one of the boys’ couches before spending the next hour regretting my decisions as I became way too familiar with the toilet bowl, and honestly, the boys’ toilet bowls are not something any woman should ever get that close to.
Colton woke up early, probably to work out and get a few hours logged in the office. Milo was out with someone last night who wasn’t me and is spending the morning in bed. Mom is busy putting together the employee schedule for this coming week, and the girls, I have no idea. Hendrix said something about some guy’s yacht and Jess practically drooled at the chance so I'm assuming that’s what they’re doing.