Laying a Foundation: Bonus volume: Includes series prequel, The Groundbreaking (The Love Under Construction Series) (56 page)

“What?” Nikki smiled at him. “Tell your mamma ‘thank you,’ son.”

“Thank you,” Clayton growled, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “I’ll remember this,” he added.

“You’ll thank me when you see your sister and Katie with a beautiful little baby you helped them have,” Nikki smiled. That was the moment she saw the muscles in Clayton’s face start to relax, and then he smiled too and got a thoughtful, calm look on his face.

“You know what, Mom? I think you’re probably the smartest woman I’ve ever met.” There was not a hint of sarcasm in his voice, and he kissed her on the cheek.

“Thanks, son. And now the smartest woman you’ve ever met wants another piece of that awesome cake!”

“God, I love this family,” Tony said to no one in particular with a huge, goofy grin on his face.

“You know, little girl, I think that’s my only real regret in our relationship.”

“What, baby?”

“That we can’t have a child together. That I’ll never get to see you pregnant with my child, or hold a life we made with our love. I’d give anything to be able to do that.”

“Well, it won’t be long before you’ll be holding a grandchild, changing smelly diapers, cleaning up spit-up, going to tee-ball games and dance recitals and all that crap. And after we’ve spent our formerly-lovely weekends babysitting a two-year-old who’s never still and can’t seem to make it to the potty, I’ll remember to ask if you still think you’d love to have a baby with me.”

“Yeah, uh, no, what the hell was I thinking? Sorry – I must’ve completely lost my mind for a minute there.” He stopped and gave her a wily grin. “But I remember how it’s done. Want me to show you?”

“Oh, yeah, I want you to show me. I want you to show me all night long. Think you’re up to it, Grandpa?”

“Oh, hell yes. Take a look – I’m already up to it.”

“Hell yeah, Gramps – you sure are.”

B
y the last week of August, the float for the Labor Day parade was almost finished. Tony stopped by the shop to see what it looked like, and he had to admit it would make Walters Construction proud. The guys had knocked themselves out to do a good job, and it showed. Cal had volunteered to ride on it, and so had Jeremy, one of the newer employees who had been a jackhammer jockey for the company for the last six months. Clayton had signed on to drive his company truck to pull it, so they were all set.

Nikki wanted to go to the Gatlinburg house for the weekend, but Tony insisted they be back in time for the parade, so he decided they would leave on Friday morning to have more time there. There was no reason they couldn’t; Clayton was more than capable of taking care of things.

Everything had been a little better, but GoGreen was still active and doing an irritatingly good job of keeping everyone on edge. It was almost as though they knew where everyone was and when. No one got hurt, but property got destroyed. Trucks and equipment were disabled, supplies burned or otherwise mangled, and fires set. Tony continued to pay employees to patrol at night and on weekends, and Steve’s crew kept tabs on Tony, Nikki, and Clayton around the clock. Detective Ford had wearied of taking reports and still getting no leads on who the GoGreen people were, and Steve hadn’t had any luck getting any information on them either. Even more maddening, the group never contacted the press, so there was no clue as to exactly what their beef with Walters Construction was.

The constant vigilance could’ve taken its toll, but Nikki and Tony were careful to not let that happen. And whenever they could, they ran to the Tennessee house. There was no need for security there – the general consensus was that the GoGreen people probably didn’t know about the house and, even if they did, it was doubtful they would follow Tony and Nikki all the way there, especially since most of their activity was directed at property. So far they hadn’t tried to hurt anyone, except for Bill and Hillary, and they probably hadn’t seen them as family members, even though Nikki had.

Tony called Roselle and asked her to do everything she could to get the house ready, lay in food, and set things up so they didn’t have to go out to get anything. They wanted to be alone for the weekend, relax, unwind, and enjoy themselves and each other, no interruptions. Nikki seemed especially excited, and Tony was glad the house was finally bringing them the joy he’d intended when he bought it, instead of having it be just a place to run to when things got too crazy at home.

When they got there on Friday afternoon, the first thing Nikki did was change into a thin, lacy gown with nothing underneath and open all the doors and windows to let air and light into the house. Tony stripped down to his boxer briefs, and they had a lovely late lunch of fruit on the back deck, enjoying the sunshine and fresh mountain air.

“I love this place.” Nikki closed her eyes and stretched. She moved to the chaise lounge and got comfortable, then reached for Tony. He came over and sat down beside her, stroking her hair and her back as she drew herself to him. She practically purred.

“I love it too. I’d love to retire here, but I want to be close to the kids, especially when we have grandkids.”

“Oh, for sure! So I guess this will always just be our special place.” Nikki hesitated, then shot him a sexy smile. “By the way, I have a surprise for you later, if you’re up for it.”

“I’m definitely up for it.”
What’s she up to now?,
he wondered. He was pretty sure it would blow his mind. That seemed to be her life’s mission, and he sure as hell wasn’t complaining.

It seemed like Nikki was taking an awfully long time in the bathroom at bedtime. He waited and waited and, finally, he called out, “Hey, baby, what are you doing in there?”

No answer.

“Nikki? Are you okay in there?” Crickets. What in the hell was she doing in there? Tony crossed the room and knocked. Nothing. He opened the door.

Empty. Where the hell was she? Then he remembered: She’d asked him to go down to the kitchen and get both of them a glass of water to have on the nightstands. She must’ve sneaked out of the bathroom while he was in the kitchen. But where did she go?

He was trying to figure out what to do next and where to look for her when the doorbell rang. It was ten thirty at night. Who in the world would be at the door at that hour?

Tony slipped on his lounging pants and bounced down the steps. When he got to the door, he turned on the porch light, then he peered through the peephole and saw a headful of blond hair. Nikki.

He yanked open the door and, before he could say anything, he got a look at her as she turned. She was wearing a lot more makeup than usual, and her hair had been curled. Even more shocking, she was wearing a trench coat, black stockings, and red patent stiletto heels. As he took in the sight of her standing there, she said, “Oh! Sir, I’m so sorry to bother you, but my boyfriend and I got into a huge fight and he put me out of the car. Could I use your phone?”

Ah-hah!
Tony smiled inwardly as it dawned on him what she was doing.
I’ll play along and see where this goes.
“Oh, no bother, miss. Please, come in.” He stepped aside and invited her in. “The phone’s right over there.”

She looked around until she spotted it, then went to it and dialed a number. “Damn. His voicemail. Oh, god, I don’t know what to do. I don’t know anybody else here.” She looked at Tony and plumped her lower lip out into a pout.

“Would you like something to drink?” Tony asked. “By the way, my name’s Sam. What’s yours?”

“Oh, I’m so sorry! I’m Tiffany.” She extended her hand. He took it and held it for a few seconds, then turned to get their drinks. “What’s in the drink?”

“Just the best bourbon on the market. I don’t scrimp on my liquor. I want it to be strong and smooth.” He handed her a glass and she sipped, then smiled. “Can I take your coat?”

She looked slightly panicked. “Oh, no, that’s okay,” she answered, pulling the lapel closer together. “I guess I need to decide what to do and get out of your way. I’ve interrupted your evening. I hope I haven’t ruined anything.”

“No. As a matter of fact, I’m glad you’re here. I was expecting somebody, but I don’t think they’re coming.” He worked to keep a straight face.

“Oh? I’m sorry. Well, I hate to ask, but could you take me up in town? I’ll find a room somewhere, try to figure out what to do next.” She looked around furtively, almost as though she was looking for an escape route.

“What’s your hurry? I’ve got nothing going on here. And besides, I’ve got plenty of room. I suppose you could stay until morning if you’d like.”

“Oh, no, I wouldn’t want to impose and I could never repay the kindness.”

“Hmmm.” He walked toward her and took her glass, setting it on the hall table. “I’m sure we can work something out.” He stared down at her big turquoise eyes, and she looked positively terrified; god, she was a good actress. “Don’t worry – it’ll be something you can live with, I promise.” He traced the line of her arm from her wrist to her shoulder, and she shuddered.

“I think I should probably go,” she whispered, glancing nervously at the door.

“Where? We’re a long way from town and I don’t think you’re going to have much luck walking all the way there in those heels.” He ran his hand up her back, her neck, and then into her hair.

“Oh, sir, no, I don’t know what you’re thinking, but . . .”

“Look, we’re both adults here. I’m not a bad guy, but I know what I want, and I think you’re here for the same reason, right?” She looked confused. “I saw you at the restaurant earlier. You followed me here, didn’t you? Confess,” he demanded.

He’s getting into this!,
she realized. She shook her head hesitantly, then looked down at the floor. “Well, okay, yeah. I don’t know why. I’ve never done anything like this before.”

“Oh, you know exactly why, slut,” he snarled and grabbed her hair – hard. She gasped as he pulled her head back so he could look down into her face with a menacing glare, those dark caramel eyes of his looking even darker, the gold flecks flashing. “You want a man, and tonight, that man happened to be me. How many times have you done this? Tell the truth,” he demanded, pulling her hair harder.

“Oh, god! Please don’t hurt me! I don’t do this . . .” he tugged even harder, “. . . okay, okay, I do this a couple of times a week! I don’t know why, I just need it! Please, let me go, okay? I’m really sorry I bothered you. I won’t come back. Please!”

Tony held her hair tight and untied the belt on the trench. She tried to push his hands away, but it wasn’t buttoned, so he flipped it open and peeled it back and off her shoulders. Underneath it she was wearing nothing but a black and red bustier, her nipples peeking out the tops of the cups, with a garter belt and thong to match, hot and indecent and so unbelievably fuckable that he could barely think, and his cock started to throb. She scrambled to cover herself, but he turned loose of her hair and grabbed her arms, pulling them behind her and holding them together, making her breasts jut out and up tantalizingly. Her wrists were so small that he could capture both of them in one hand, and he held them while he leaned into her. With his free hand he brusquely plunged two fingers into her folds – yep, soaked. She cried out at his invasion of her most sensitive flesh.

“We’re gonna see how much noise you can make,” he snarled and threw her over his shoulder. He took the steps two at a time, and she slapped at his back and ass as he carried her up the stairs, yelling and kicking the whole way, her stilettos falling off and tumbling down the stairs.

“Put me down! Please, put me down! Don’t do this!” she screamed. He slapped her ass hard and she screamed louder. The house was over five acres away from the others around it, and right then he was really glad he’d bought the extra land.

When he got to the bedroom, he dumped her on the bed like a sack of potatoes. She tried to scramble away, but he grabbed her arms, reached into his nightstand drawer, and pulled out a length of cotton rope, tying her wrists securely and then tying the rope to the massive headboard.
Uh-huh,
he thought,
I had a surprise planned for you too!
She squirmed and started yelling expletives of all sorts alternated with begging. He reached up to her face and pinched her lower jaw with one hand. “Shut up,” he growled. “In this room, you will address me as sir. I will do to you whatever I please, and you will beg for more. If you don’t, you’ll be punished. Do you understand?”