Chapter Sixteen
Ronni
I could feel every inch of him as he pushed deep inside of me, the tide washing higher and higher until the waves crashed over our feet. I grasped on to his shoulders as our bodies connected, and I could feel the orgasm release, sending pulses of pleasure through my body. I moaned loudly, feeling him thrust deep inside of me before pulling out and rubbing his hand fast and hard over his cock. I could feel his shaft against my ass as he released his load, the warm wetness squirting out and all over my legs.
He growled loudly, still stroking his bulging red cock, and I rolled to the side, pulling my bathing suit back over my br
easts and breathing heavily. The cold water crept up the shore and over my legs as I watched him let go of his erection and pull his bathing suit over the bulge. He swished his hands in the water around him breathing heavily with his eyes still shut. Pleasure was still vibrating through me, but I pulled myself to my feet and walked out into the waves, washing his come from my body. I turned back and looked at him as he opened his eyes and smiled big. I shook my head, laughing, and pulled myself back through the waves and onto the sand.
Nathan stood up and grabbed our soaked towels and started ringing them out. He rescued my sandal as it attempted to rush off with the receding waves. I laughed watching him fumble about, his legs weak and his balance off-kilter. I walked over and pulled his suit closed, tugging on the laces and tying it shut. As soon as my hands pulled away, laughter sounded from the other side of the dunes as several people started making their way onto the beach. I looked at Nathan with wide eyes before bursting into nervous giggling at the thought that we almost got caught. We walked up the beach a bit and sat on the rocks, looking out over the ocean.
“What will you do?” I asked.
“Honestly,” he said, looking down at me. “I’m considering walking away from the whole thing. The business, my father, Nick, everything. I’ve made so much money already on my own that I could be set for life, and with my name and my skill, I know I could find another job with no problem. The people that really know me know what kind of worker I am.”
Nathan paused for a moment looking out at the ocean. The birds squawked wildly above our heads as we sat gazing out at the boats on the horizon. I didn’t like that he was talking this way, but I knew this wasn’t my decision.
“I’ve given years to this family, building the business back up after the recession,” he continued. “Honestly, if my father doesn’t realize that and he wants to throw it all away over this, then good riddance. I have sat too long in his shadow, picking him up after Mom died, to sit there and be kicked around like this. We all know who is behind this, and if he wants it that bad, he can have it.”
On one hand, I understood why he was feeling the way he was, but on the other hand, I couldn’t see him just walk away from everything he had built. When his mother died, his father fell into a deep depression, and he let the company go to shit before finally offering to let Nathan run it. Nathan had walked into a sinking ship and turned it all around in record time. Nathan was so young, but his work was legendary in the business world, and we even studied it in our classes. It was really difficult to watch this man go through this. It wasn’t fair, and I couldn’t help but think that I was the cause of all of it. I never wanted to come between Nathan and his father, nor did I see any of this coming. I couldn’t let myself be the reason Nathan gave up, and I knew if I wanted this to be fixed, I would have to do it myself.
We sat on the rocks for a little while longer before I stood up and pulled on Nathan’s arm. I smiled at him and leaned in, kissing him passionately. We went back to the house and fell into each other’s arms, twisting our bodies around each other and making passionate love. Afterward, Nathan fell peacefully asleep, and I smiled at how relaxed he was as I quietly pulled on my clothes. I needed to do something about what was going on, and there was no way I could with Nathan knowing about it.
I jumped in my car and headed over to the Landers’s estate, extremely nervous to face Mr. Landers again. I entered the house and walked straight back to his office, assuming he would be where he always was. I greeted the house staff in Spanish and smiled kindly at them, thinking about my own days in their shoes. As I rounded the corner to the office, I stopped dead in my tracks, staring at Nick. He stepped sideways in front of the closed office door and crossed his arms over his chest.
“It’s my turn to be in charge,” he said sternly. “And I don’t need you messing that up for me.”
I shook my head, seeing the selfishness flowing over him. He had really been the reason for all of this. His incessant need to be important, to rule the roost, caused him to become a hateful and disgusting person. I really wasn’t shocked by this at all. I had just hoped that after all these years, Nick would have grown into a better man. I guess I was wrong.
I took a deep breath and walked forward, completely ignoring him and attempting to push past, reaching for the doorknob. Nick stepped forward, throwing his body into me and pushing me back with his arms. I stumbled backward, losing my footing and landing hard on my butt in the hallway. I was completely shocked that Nick would actually resort to violence and send me falling to the ground. As I tried to stand back up, I heard quick footsteps coming down the hall and watched as Nathan reared back and punched Nick right in the jaw. Nick fell backward into the door, grabbing his face and looking at Nathan in shock.
Before he could even move, Nathan bent down and scooped me into his arms, walking quickly back out of the house. I wrapped my arms around his neck, realizing I had just done more damage than good. I leaned my face into his neck and closed my eyes as he flew out the front door and down the steps, gingerly setting me down in the passenger seat of his car. He climbed in the driver's seat and sat there gripping the steering wheel with his now bloodied fist. His knuckles were white, and his face was stern. I feared that he was angry with me. I hadn’t meant to make a mess of things like that. All I was trying to do was appeal to Mr. Landers’s sensibility that I knew was deep down inside him. I thought if I could sit in front of him, he would remember the little girl he used to cottle. I thought he might remember his dead wife’s wishes and love for all people, but I wasn’t even given the chance. I looked back over at Nathan who had calmed quite a bit, and I wondered how he knew I was here.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, carefully putting my hand on his wrist.
“I woke up to the sound of your car and watched as you pulled away,” he said stiffly. “I knew immediately where you were going.”
“I just wanted to have the chance to speak to your father,” I said sorrowfully. “I know that man from my childhood is in there somewhere, and if Nick started all this, I knew it could be undone. He only has one voice in his ear right now, and it’s not fair. It’s not fair to me, it’s not fair to you, and it’s definitely not fair to your father who is being manipulated by your brother for Nick’s own advantage. Your brother is a terrible person for doing that to your family.”
“Look,” he said, turning to me with a kind look. “I appreciate what you are trying to do, and I understand what you are saying, but my brother is right.”
“He’s what?” I picked up my head and looked straight into Nathan’s eyes, unsure of what he was trying to say.
“It’s his turn to run the business,” he said, sighing. “My father has made his decision without discussion or reason. So if that’s his decision, he will have to live with the repercussions of watching his business be run straight into the ground. I’m tired of trying to keep the business going with so many people with ulterior motives trying to take it down at every turn. My father has made his bed, and now he will have to lie in it.”
With that, Nathan put the car in drive and pulled away from the mansion we both spent our entire lives growing up in. I watched as the beautifully kept lawns and the staff working diligently faded away in the rearview mirror. Part of me was incredibly sad to see that part of my life go, and if I was going to be with Nathan, I didn’t know how I felt about him walking away from everyone and everything he had always known. All because of me. I had always been the voice of reason, the one that kept everyone together, and now, I was the one tearing it all apart. Nick was malicious and had been out for Nathan’s spot in the company for a very long time, but if I hadn’t come into the picture, he would have never had the opportunity to snatch it right out from under Nathan. Having my family all wiped away made it hard for me to accept Nathan just walking away from his, but at the same time, I understood how hurtful all of this was for him.
I looked over at Nathan as we drove along, and I could see how calm he looked on the outside. He had come to my rescue yet again, and I couldn’t stop for two seconds to see that even with the best intentions, I managed to push the situation into a worse place. At that moment, I just wanted to take it all back. I wanted to take back ever going out with Nick to that dinner, I wanted to take back ever falling in love with Nathan, no matter how much it hurt. If I could reverse time and remove myself from the equation, none of this would be happening.
Nick would still be gallivanting all over California, sleeping with random women, and trying to make bad business decisions that Nathan would quickly block. Sure Mr. Landers would still be miserable and alone, but he would at least not have to deal with his sons battling over the company. I didn’t know what happened to Mr. Landers after his wife died, but he went to a dark place, and Nick was there to make sure he stayed there. Mr. Landers was not only capable of trashing my name around town, but he was able to watch his son, who had done so much for him and his family, walk out of the door without another word. I loved Nathan so much, but I knew it wasn’t enough to take the sting of betrayal from his own family out of his heart. All I could do was sit and wait for him to make up his mind.
Chapter Seventeen
Nathan
I loved this girl sitting next to me in the car so much, and I was extremely touched by her desire to fix this for me. I knew how it felt to love someone and sit there watching their lives turn upside down, and not be able to fix it. It was a helpless feeling, but in this situation, there was nothing that she could do. Sadly, her presence at that house was not only dangerous now that my brother had turned to violence, but it was just going to continue to make things worse.
I wanted so badly to make her feel better, to let her understand that I was going to make the best choice I could, and that everything that I did in my life now, I considered her as part of it. I had fallen deeply in love with Ronni, and there was nothing I could do to change that, nor did I want to change that. She was the most amazing thing to ever happen to me, and she opened my eyes to life. Before her, I was stuck in the daily