Gunnin' for You (Rolling Thunder series Book 4) (9 page)

“I’m safe, Emma.  I’ve never had sex without a condom before.  I’ve never been that worked up.”

Chapter Eleven

Emma sat at her computer at the kitchen table while Ashley sat across from her feeding Tyler from a bottle. Her email chimed a new message. Emma clicked it open and a huge smile formed on her lips. An email she sent this morning for a job was returned by Chery C. Treklin asking for a phone call within the hour.

“Ash, that job I applied for responded. She wants me to call her.”

“That’s fantastic, Em. What do you know about this firm?”

“Not much other than what their website says. I was trying to do a bit of research but couldn’t find much on the internet about them. All I know is they handle mostly business law. That’s exactly my cup of tea. I need to go and wash my hands and calm down a bit before I call her. Wish me luck.”

Emma grabbed her laptop and breezed across the floor and out of the room.

“Wow, you look fabulous, sis.” Ashley was at the kitchen table with Tyler in her arms, having a cup of coffee and waiting for Ron so she could make him breakfast. She looked at Emma as she walked into the kitchen, her gray, sleeveless wrap dress hugging her svelte body. Ashley sighed, “I hope my body comes back to its pre-Tyler state. Can I make you something to eat?”

Emma’s hand smoothed the pink blazer she wore over her dress, then adjusted the silver necklace around her neck.

“Aww, Ash, you know it will. You need to be patient. And, no, I can’t eat anything right now. Thanks.” Emma filled her travel mug with a cup of coffee.

“So what do you know about this attorney, and why is she rushing you through this job interview? You just spoke yesterday,” Ashley asked.

“Her name is pronounced Sherry but spelled C-h-e-r-y C. Treklin. She’s a business attorney and she’s a partner. As to the rush, it seems she’s in a bit of a jam. Her former paralegal suddenly quit without notice.” Emma took a big drink of her coffee, bent over Ashley and kissed Tyler on the head and tapped his little nose with her finger, walked to the living room to grab her notebook, resume, and notepad. She placed the items in her bag when Ron walked in.

“You look great, Emma. You’re going to get this job, no doubt.”

“Thanks, Ron. Hopefully, I’ll be out of your hair soon,” she said with a wink.

“You haven’t exactly been here much. I think you’ve been at Gunnar’s the majority of the time.” He snickered at the blush crawling up Emma’s face.

“Hi. I’m Emma Drake, here for Chery Treklin.”

The chunky, dark-haired woman behind the desk nodded at her and pointed to a sofa as she said, “Take a seat. I’ll let her know you’re here.”

Emma sat, looking around. It was an okay office, the usual furnishings you find in a law office, nothing of special note. The imitation leather sofa showed small signs of wear, the floor was laminate with dusty footprints leading to the back area. The coffee pot behind the receptionist was gurgling and the aroma of fresh coffee filled the small space. The receptionist ignored her as she listened to some talk radio on her computer and scoffed at the political conversation taking place. Emma felt oddly uncomfortable and fidgeted with the strap on her purse.

“Hi, Emma, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Chery Treklin.”

Emma looked up to see a middle-aged woman with short brown hair lightened with gold streaks. She was an average looking woman, but dressed nicely in dress pants and a blazer—Hillary style. She smiled and held out her hand to shake Emma’s.

“It’s nice meeting you as well, Ms. Treklin.”

“Chery.” She walked with Emma to a conference room just off the reception area. They sat and talked. The job seemed like it would be the type of work Emma had done in Chicago. Chery seemed very nice as she explained her former paralegal had been offered the opportunity to buy into a title company and had jumped at the chance. At the end of their hour and a half conversation, Chery offered Emma the position. A little less money than she had made in Chicago, but the cost of living in Green Bay was much less, so she would be fine. Despite her initial reservations upon walking into the office, Emma decided to go ahead and take the job.

Sitting in her car, Emma tapped Gunnar’s picture on her phone.

“Hey, how are you?” She could hear the smile in his voice.

“I’m great. I just got a job.”

“Fantastic. So that attorney hired you on the spot?”

“She did, and I start on Monday, so today is my last day off during the week.”

“Okay, let’s celebrate tonight. Ryder and I were just talking about getting together for dinner, so I’ll invite JT and we’ll toast to your new job. Sound like a plan?”

“Sounds fabulous.”

Dressing to go out, Emma smiled as she heard the murmur of a male voice in the living room talking to Ashley. Ron wasn’t home from work yet, so Emma figured it was Gunnar. She grabbed a black bag with her necessities, clean undies, and tank top for tomorrow; she figured she’d be staying at Gunnar’s since they were celebrating.

She walked down the hall with a smile on her face. As she entered the living room, her smile faded and her steps faltered. What the fuck?

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“Emma, you look amazing.” Greg, her dirtbag former boyfriend, took a couple of steps toward her. Emma held up her hands and took a step back.

“No.” Her voice was flat and stern and a bit louder than she meant it to be. Emma slid a glance at Ashley and noted her bottom lip caught between her teeth. Tyler let out a soft cry at the rise in Emma’s voice.

“Emma…Baby… I came all this way to talk to you. We’ve had a little time apart to think about what’s important and I want you back, Em. I’m so sorry. Let’s sit down and talk this out.”

Emma took in his wrinkled suit, which he apparently wore to work this morning. Greg’s job as a business attorney in Chicago kept him very busy. What Emma failed to realize when she was with him, it was his lack of morals that caused him to be in such demand. He’d put the screws to anyone—friend or foe. Staring at his disheveled, dirty-blond hair, hazel eyes and tightly pinched mouth, she wondered what she ever saw in him.

“No. I have news for you, you lying, cheating piece of shit. I want nothing to do with you. I’ve told you this before.” She didn’t have to fake the repulsion in her voice.

“Em, at least you could be nice and sit down and have a conversation with me.”

“No. She isn’t going to sit down and have a conversation with you. I believe she has already made that clear.”

Emma swung around to see Gunnar’s beautiful blue eyes sending a piercing and angry gaze directly at Greg. Greg turned and the smile fell from his face when he took in Gunnar. His sheer size made him tower over Greg’s five-foot-nine stature. Gunnar’s shoulders were broad, his chest huge, and his thighs powerful.

“Who the fuck are you?” Greg stammered out.

“I’m the man who makes her moan and orgasm. I’m guessing you would be Greg, who hates eating pussy and fucks around on his girlfriend.”

His eyes rounded in horror. “What? Emma, what the fuck have you been telling people?”

“Just the truth, Greg. You hated eating my pussy and you definitely fucked around on me.”

“Jesus. That’s private, Emma.”

Gunnar walked over and pulled Emma into his side by wrapping his arm around her shoulders. He challenged Greg to do anything about it with just a look. Greg’s hazel eyes dimmed as he took in Gunnar, and then swung back to Emma.

“Emma. Explain yourself.” His hands knotted into tight little balls at the ends of his arms.

Greg flicked his gaze up to Gunnar and back to Emma again.

“Explain herself? What exactly does she need to explain?”

“I’m not talking to you, fuckhead. I’m talking to my girlfriend.”

“Your EX girlfriend and she doesn’t have to explain anything to you. Now, we have a date with friends and you’re not welcome here. Get lost.”

Gunnar looked at Ashley, who was standing by the sofa with a grin on her face, bobbing lightly up and down on her feet keeping Tyler soothed. But Gunnar wasn’t leaving here until Greg left so Ashley didn’t have to deal with him on her own.

“Emma. Please speak to me. Can’t we work this out?”

“There isn’t anything to work out, Greg. The second you stuck your dick in another woman, there was nothing to work out. Besides, I’ve met Gunnar and I like being with him. I enjoy his family and they like me. We have a lot of fun together and he gives me about three orgasms a night, so, coming from you, who seldom gave me an orgasm, that’s saying a hell of a lot.”

“Bullshit. I gave you orga…fuck, never mind about the orgasms. That’s not the only reason to build a relationship with someone.”

Gunnar, finished with this visit, stated flatly. “We’re done here. Get lost, Greg. You fucked up, big time. But, I’m not mad; I have Emma because of it. So, turn around and never come back. I’ll give you to the count of three, or I’ll help you leave. You decide. One…”

“Emma, fuck, baby, come on.”

”Two…”

“Emma, please.”

”Three…”

”All right. Jesus! I’m going.” Greg stomped to the door and flung it open. He stopped and looked back at Emma. He opened then closed his mouth, but Gunnar took a step forward propelling Greg into action and out the door before Gunnar could get to him. Gunnar walked to the window and watched Greg get into his car, start it up, and pull out of the driveway. As soon as Greg’s taillights were around the corner, Gunnar turned around and looked at Emma.

“Are you okay?”

Emma nodded and laughed. “That felt great.”

“Ashley, how about you. Are you okay?”

“I’m a little jealous, but fine.” She looked over at Emma and winked. She mouthed ‘three orgasms?’

Emma nodded and turned to Gunnar. He leaned down and kissed her on the lips. “I didn’t get to kiss you hello before; so, hello.”

Emma grinned. “Hello. Thank you for getting rid of Greg. I appreciate it.”

Gunnar chuckled. “So, THAT was Greg? Really?”

Emma giggled. “So you can see you have nothing to be jealous of, right?”

“Babe, I’m still jealous. That fucker had you first, and that eats at me a bit, but I get you last, so that eases the jealousy. A little,” he said as he inclined his head towards her.

Gunnar lightly kissed Emma again and pulled her in for a hug. He looked over the top of Emma’s head at Ashley and winked.

“You need us to stay until Ron gets home?”

Ashley shook her head. “I’ll be fine. He won’t come back here if he knows you’re taking Emma out. It wouldn’t do him any good; he didn’t get a very warm reception from me earlier, so it’s not like we would sit and shoot the shit. I only let him in because it was easier than arguing, and Tyler was starting to cry because of my mood. Besides, Ron will be home in about half an hour.”

They arrived at The Barn twenty minutes later, finding their group already there. They were met with hugs and cheers and a round of shots was immediately lined up to toast Emma’s new job. There was a large party going on in the upper part of The Barn, so the noise level was high. The DJ was playing great music and the girls promptly hit the dance floor to shake a leg.

The guys sat around the table. It was too crowded to shoot pool, so they watched the women on the dance floor and bullshitted. About two hours after they arrived, Gunnar was walking back from the bathroom when he looked for Emma on the dance floor. He looked up to see Greg on the dance floor, trying to pull Emma into his arms. She was pushing him away and Molly was trying to help release her wrist from Greg’s grasp.

“Fucker,” Gunnar snarled and stalked to the dance floor toward Emma. JT and Ryder followed behind him. As soon as they walked out on the dance floor, the crowd that had gathered spread out and Greg’s eyes grew large when he saw the size of the three men standing behind Emma. Gunnar stepped forward and looked at Greg’s hand on Emma’s wrist and slowly brought his gaze up to Greg’s eyes. Greg saw the scowl on Gunnar’s face and released Emma. Gunnar stepped in front of Emma and wrapped one of his arms behind him and around her waist, sheltering her. JT and Ryder were right behind him.

“You touch my woman again, you’ll pay dearly.”

“Your woman? What are you, a fucking caveman?”

“I’m a man who protects the woman in his life from fuckheads like you. This is twice tonight that I’ve told you to take a hike. Emma doesn’t want to talk to you. How thick is that head of yours?”

JT and Ryder each stepped forward, causing Greg’s eyes to grow another two sizes in his head. He looked at each of them and then Gunnar one more time. He sneered at the three hulks in front of him and backed away. Emma stepped out from behind Gunnar and gave him a hug. “I’m sorry you had to deal with him again tonight. Thank you.”

“Is he always tenacious like this?”

“He’s an attorney; kind of says it all, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah. I guess it does.” Gunnar pulled her into his body for a hug while everyone else went back to the tables to have another drink.

Emma went to the restroom. She finished her business and was standing at the sink washing her hands when a woman behind her said, “Are you happy that you managed to make a spectacle of yourself tonight? You just can’t get enough attention, can you?”

Emma looked up in the mirror to see the woman who had haunted so many of her dreams. “Mrs. Kendall. What are you doing here?”

“That is none of your business. It seems as though you have decided to come back here and continue to party and have a good time. I don’t know why I ever thought you would be remorseful for your actions. Now you have men fighting over you. Typical.”

“I am remorseful. I would give anything to go back in time and take back what happened. It was an accident; it wasn’t my fault. Josh pulled out in front of me and I couldn’t stop. I would never purposely hurt anyone.”

“Hmm. Doubtful. You are a selfish, self-centered little bitch and you continue to destroy lives everywhere you go. Now you’re out there tearing up the lives of two more men for your pleasure and continuing to create drama.”