A Hostile Takeover Read online

  But that was before I saw Sofia.

  Sofia Leon. Sofia Leon, food critic for Bon Vivant NYC. That gorgeous girl has been on my mind for 13 months, 1 week and 2 days. I can’t believe she’s here, the very last place in the world I want to be. So many nights, I thought about those honey-colored eyes, the prettiest eyes I’ve ever seen, that sweet voice, those perfect, round, full, supple breasts that begged to be set free from her silk blouse that evening. I’ve fantasized about seeing that long dark hair draped across my pillow every morning and weeding my hand into it as she swallows me whole every night.

  She could have given me the worst review, and I still would have hunted her down at their corporate office with flowers, anything for a chance to see her again. I made a fuss, but I know why they couldn’t give me her information. Any psycho with a bone to pick about one of her reviews could say they want to thank her and then try to hurt her.

  They made the right call, but it was agony looking for her. After a few months I gave up. I stopped seeing her reviews and someone told me she quit and moved away. I had no idea she hailed from the bay area. I’ve searched for her, cross-referencing her name with food columns, but she’s never come up. And now she’s here.

  Sweetheart? This is a nightmare.

  God must have a sick sense of humor to give my dream girl to Landon. She’s too much woman for someone like fucking Landon. Look at those sharp little curves, those legs, that sweet ass. So many times, I’ve beat off thinking about spraying that perfect ass with cum and then smearing it in, lathering it all the way...

  You’re standing 20 feet from a crucifix, show some class.

  The bride breaks my angry, sex-crazed focus by cutting through us and clapping her hands to get our attention. “Thank you all for coming. Please take a seat. We have a small change in the line-up that we need to address. We’re not changing the programs because it really doesn’t matter, but Kelly and Rupert are now an item and would like to be paired up as bridesmaid and groomsman, so that leaves Sofia and Kaleb, the only unattached couple on the end.” She steps down from the altar.

  “Sofia is attached.” Landon chides.

  “Of course, I mean in this particular line-up. Everyone else is married. It’s only for the processional and recessional, Landon.” Edina waves her hand, dismissing him.

  “Sofia, sweetie, come meet Kaleb. Kaleb, this is Sofia Leon, Sofia this is Kaleb Emmerich, he’ll be your groomsman.” Edina ushers my girl over. She gives me a sideways glance, looking intrigued by this turn of events, but Landon, however, is not happy.

  “Why do you need to change the line-up? Sofia and I aren’t walking together.” Landon protests again and attempts to bring her back towards him.

  He looks visibly shaken. I wonder if he thinks I’ll tell her why I slapped him around. I wonder if he told her the truth. Maybe he’s scared I’ll try to steal his girlfriend the way he stole mine. He should be worried. This girl has property of Kaleb Emmerich written all over her.

  “You’re not walking together because you’re the Best Man. You need to escort my sister, the Maid of Honor.” Edina frowns at him. He frowns at me and I ignore him to gaze at the angel strutting towards me.

  Come on sweetheart, come to Papa.

  She winks and a smile creeps over my face. No one else exists in the room but her, nothing could make me look away. Those beautiful eyes take me in, examining me in a quick sweep, hoping I won’t notice. I do notice and I notice her, every inch of her. I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time. Taking her away from that rat bastard will just be the icing on this cake. I take a long, slow look and for the first time in ages, my heart skips a beat.

  She’s breathtaking.

  Moving over on the pew, my jaw clenches and my pulse quickens watching her settle into her seat next to me. Her dark hair tumbles off her shoulders, not a lock out of place. Her bee-stung pink lips only have a hint of gloss and my heart races watching her lick some of it off. It’s cold out. It’s June in San Francisco, of course it’s cold, but her dress is made for summer. Her small cardigan meant to keep her warm or to conceal her plunging neckline does neither. At my height, I can easily see the swell of her breasts peeking through.

  You dirty dog. You’ll get your chance later. The priest is hovering nearby.

  “Nice to meet you. Are we pretending we don’t know each other?” I whisper, holding out my hand discreetly.

  “The pleasure is mine. Yes, we are.” She answers provocatively and her hand is so small, she only squeezes my forefinger. The sound of her voice, the smell of her perfume and the feel of her skin on mine makes my dick throb in my jeans. I have the urge to touch more of her. When she crosses her legs, I get a glimpse of her thigh. Her milky skin peeks through the hem of her dress, teasing me, taunting me mercilessly and my stomach tightens with anticipation to see more. I know I will. She’s got something. I saw it as soon as we met last year, and I feel it stronger than ever now. I’m sitting next to a stranger and this is the most comfortable I’ve ever felt around a woman. I have the urge to get lost, give in, lose control and for the first time, none of that freaks me out. Yeah, I’m seeing more than this thigh. Before this night is through, I’m seeing everything. This is just our prelude.

  There is no doubt in my mind, this is where everything starts for us.

  “Nice job you did on Landon. I think I owe you.” She grins, but looks straight ahead, pretending to be fascinated by the bride’s instructions.

  “Do you? For what? Not killing him? Give me time.” I sneer, crossing my arms on my chest.

  “I’d never endorse violence, but I appreciate you scaring him. No one has it coming more than him.” She looks straight ahead, and it occurs to me that maybe that motherfucker is abusing her. There are no marks on her, but abusers tend to leave the face untouched. She’s got a sad look in her eyes. Maybe he’s broken her spirit. Maybe that’s why she’s still with him. I’ve never known him to be violent with women, but he’s always been a bully and I haven’t seen him in fifteen years. If he’s hurting this gorgeous angel, my angel, I’ll fucking kill him.

  Through clenched teeth, I whisper, “Sweetheart. Sorry, that’s rude. Sofia, is he hurting you?”

  She gasps softly, but covers her mouth to hold it in. Touching my forearm, she shakes her head. “No. Jesus. Sorry, I gave you that impression. I’m just mad at him.”

  “Are you sure? A lot of women will deny it to protect their abusers.”

  Her dark, smoldering lashes flutter as she tries to regain her composure. “Please, don’t say that. I’m not being abused. It’s a horrible thing. But please, don’t say anything. I know you hate each other.”

  “Hate me? He has no reason to hate me. He stole my girlfriend in college.” When my voice is louder than I expect, she gasps, drops a bible to cover the noise and rests her hand on my thigh to hush me.

  Chuckling to herself, she reshuffles the bibles and glares at me in mortification. “Easy, handsome. That was a long time ago. He told me you stole HIS girlfriend, but I should have known he was lying. Now, the question of the decade is, what foolish woman dumped you for Landon? She must have been out of her mind.” She smiles sweetly and my cock hardens against my leg. She’s so fucking beautiful. Landon can kiss my ass.

  This woman is mine.

  Chapter 3

  Sofia

  “Come on, one more time.” Edina calls out to us from the front, while Kaleb and I hang out in the vestibule, waiting for our grand entrance. To pass the time, we’ve made this all about us. Since we are the last to go before the maid of honor and bride, we’ve taken it as our cue to consider ourselves the final opening act. Landon is stuck at the altar with Victor or he would surely be here with us, sucking all the air out of the room. The bride who’s been acting like everything is casual and peachy is unhappy with the way we are walking and she’s making her displeasure known.

  “What’s too slow? We were walking too slow earlier, then too fast. This chick is driving me crazy. I
’m ordering so much wine on her dime after this.” I make a face at Kaleb, who pulls me back by my waist to get me in line. He touches me every chance he gets. I’m not going to deny it. I think I’ve been giving him additional reasons to paw me. I fidget, bump into someone else, squirm about, any reason to make him place his hands on me and bring me back into his orbit. His deep voice, those big hands, muscular arms, masculine scent are all just too much to overlook. He’s so damn hot. Tall, dark, handsome, big brown eyes, those fucking eyes.

  Why does God give men such big eyelashes? What purpose do they serve?

  And that body. He looks like a caveman, a nicely-dressed barbarian who’s come to steal me away and ravish me until I beg for mercy.

  Where did that come from? Settle down, hooker, this is a church.

  Standing closer as we prepare to walk again, I lean into his chest. It’s the third time I've had the pleasure of feeling how ripped he is under his nicely-pressed dress shirt. Gazing down from his impressive height, he gives me a curious look.

  “Why did you leave New York, sweetheart? I don’t think I’ve asked.”

  “My mom passed, and I missed home. I miss New York now.” I make a face, wanting to avoid any sympathy or further questions on the matter. It was a dumb move. One of those dumb moves you make when you’re heartbroken and feel guilty for not having been around to say goodbye. Changing the subject, I ask about a happier topic. “Hey, how’s Pete? I told all my dog lover friends about your place, how there was a guy in New York who named his restaurant after his dachshund.”

  His eyes grow sad and I suddenly remember Pete was old. Leaning my back against his chest, he holds me still by my shoulders.

  “Pete’s gone. He passed a little after we met. He was a good boy. He waited until I got home and came into my lap. He was tired. He’d been sick for a while. Whomever had him before me, didn’t take very good care of him. I stayed up with him through the night and the vet came by in the morning. I miss him, but I gave him a good life. I think that’s what you’re supposed to say, right? It’s okay, because you gave them a good life?” My heart breaks as his eyes fill with a sadness I know all too well.

  “I’m sorry, Kaleb. He seemed like a good boy. I had a good girl once. Her name was Daisy. She was...well, I don’t know what she was, part Chihuahua, part Frenchie maybe, but all love. When she died, she took a part of my heart with her. So, I don’t know how you feel, but I know how you feel.” I stop talking. I don’t want to cry, and I don’t want to make him cry. How will it look if we’re both crying when we walk down the aisle?

  “I think it’s high time you went back to New York. The city isn’t the same without you.” He chuckles.

  “I miss it, but there’s so much going on right now. It’s complicated.”

  “Like what?”

  “Stuff.” I grin. I guess there isn’t that much going on. I could be persuaded with the right bait.

  “How old are you, little girl? I know you’re accomplished, but you look 20.” He twirls me about as we move ahead in line.

  “I’m 26.”

  “That’s a nice age. We need to get you home.”

  “San Francisco is home.” My brows crease in confusion.

  “No, your home is New York because I’m there.” He wraps his arms around me tightly and winds his hand in my hair. I brace for a kiss.

  Please, please kiss me.

  “Come on, beautiful. We’re up again.” Releasing me, he takes my hand and curls it around his elbow. My heart sinks with loss.

  What a tease...

  “So why are you mad at Landon? Why are you still with him? Talk to me.” His warm eyes stare down at me as we walk.

  “It’s complicated.” I whisper through my fake smile while we walk in beat with the others.

  “That’s your word of the day. Please, tell me.”

  “I can’t. It’s just complicated. Sorry. It’s difficult.” I exhale slowly. The pain in my chest travels down to my stomach. I feel sick. I don’t want him to think bad of me. I’ve been flirting. I know I have. I’m leading him on and right now I need to keep this pretense up with Landon. I’ve been batting my eyelashes so much he probably thinks I’m on the verge of having a seizure. What kind of girl flirts with a man when her supposed boyfriend is in the other room? I’m not expecting anything to happen between us, but I don’t want him to think poorly of me. He seems nice. And there’s something about him that makes me feel all warm inside. I just hope he doesn’t think I’m a horrible person.

  As we take our place at the pew, he touches my hand and I notice Landon’s expression darken. He’s watching us from his place at the altar. This guy is going to ruin everything for Sean. It’s not him. I’m going to ruin it. Me and my crazy attraction to a man I hardly know will ruin everything if I don’t rein it in.

  “I don’t think you want to be with him.” He states calmly as we stand facing the altar.

  “You don’t know me, Kaleb. You seem nice, but I’m with Landon. I apologize if I’ve been flirting.” With a heavy heart, I sigh.

  “I’m not convinced.” He spits out, sharply.

  “What?”

  “You heard me. You can’t stop this, Sofia. It’s too late. For me and for you.” His eyes meet mine and a spark of desire simmers. I want to tell him he’s being ridiculous and that’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard, but I can’t. My stomach tightens with anxiety as I consider walking away now. This isn’t real. I’m being childish. I need to protect my friend. He helped me when Mom died. Landon will ruin him solely out of spite.

  We watch the priest go through the motions with Edina and Victor while Landon continuously gazes down at us, his expressions changing from fear to curiosity to anger. He must know Kaleb has shared the truth about he and Jackie, the girlfriend he claimed was taken from him. That’s the whole reason I’m here, to help him save face in front of an old rival. I feel foolish for having believed him, for having felt sorry for him. He used that story to milk my sympathy. I’m scared if I don’t play along, he’s going to go back on his word, again. He has no problem doing that, he’s done it before, he’ll do it again. Almost as if he’s read my mind, Kaleb’s voice cuts through my thoughts.

  “Do you trust him? Do you love him, Sofia?”

  I shake my head discreetly, trying not to draw attention to myself. Edina calls us to the back one more time, but my stomach aches. I’m worried about Sean. I don’t know Kaleb. There’s no reason I should automatically believe his story over Landon’s, but for some reason, I do. He doesn’t feel like a liar. Landon has left little doubt about his character.

  He’s a weasel.

  I should have never let it get out of hand in the first place. How can I stay with him through all this? The man I want is sitting right next to me and he’ll be gone before I can tell him the truth.

  Did I just say that? Yes, you lovesick, foolish girl, you said it. Admit it. You’ve been scribbling Sofia Leon-Emmerich in your mind since you walked in this church.

  “Let’s just run this one more time and we can head out to Antonio’s. I know everyone must be starving. Victor and I need a moment to speak to the music director. We’ll be back in a sec.” Edina calls from the front as we reach the lobby, shuffling silently, awkwardly into our assigned places.

  Kelly and Rupert head outside to be alone. They’re in love and don’t need or want an audience. Apparently, neither does Kaleb. While I thumb through my phone, examining it for any missed calls, I feel a tug on my arm. There’s no time to think or act. Before I have a chance to look up, Kaleb pulls me into a dark hallway, away from sight, away from the others. Looming over me, he stares, his dark eyes fix on me, catching me off guard.

  “You.” He touches my face. “Tell me what to say to make you leave him.”

  I press my small hands into his chest and try to push myself away, but I can’t. He’s so warm, and God, he smells so good. My thoughts falter, my pulse races, and staring up into his dreamy gaze, I melt. Choking on my reply
, my voice shakes as I try to come up with a few words to put him at ease. I’m not his problem. He’s too good. I’m not dragging him into this mess.

  “You don’t know me, Kaleb.” I tremble with need, wishing his lips on mine.

  “But I’m going to know you, doll. You know that, don’t you? I know you do.”

  Lifting my chin, he gently presses his mouth to mine. He takes his time, gauging my reaction and when I don’t stop him, he growls against my mouth, inhales my lips, my breath, my tongue, pulling me in until I lose my mind and find it again. Wrapping his arms around my waist, he holds me tight, slamming me against his body, pressing my breasts against his muscular chest and I can’t say anything, I don’t want to say anything. I just don’t want this to stop. Sweet Jesus don’t let this stop.

  Sofia! This is a church. Say something.

  “Kaleb?” Words trickle out, but I hardly recognize my voice. It’s a squeak, a reluctant chirp that I’ve only spoken for propriety’s sake.

  He brushes the hair off my face and kisses my forehead. “They’re calling us.”

  Before we head out, I look at my phone. There’s a message from Sean.

  Sofie. He did it. He bought out Gary this morning. I’m not supposed to know until tomorrow night, but Gary felt guilty. He controls 55% now.

  I stop and read it again as a strange mix of emotions surge through me. All of this is for nothing. Of course, he doesn’t want Sean to know until tomorrow night, the wedding will be over by then. How can he think I’ll stay with him after that? Is that a way to manipulate me? I’m such a fool. Once he has control, he can manipulate me to stay for good.

  “That rat bastard.” I mumble loud enough for Kaleb to take notice.

  “Doll? What happened?”

  “Landon is blackmailing me to pretend we’re together. I broke up with him over a month ago.” I grit my teeth and clench my small fists of fury. “I’m going to kill him, Kaleb. I’m going to kill him right here in this church. Lucky for him, the priest can perform last rites.”