Forgotten Awakenings (Awakenings #2) Read online

  “Oh, I’m afraid we can’t,” Gunner grimaced. “I promised my wife that I’d take my son to the movies, give her some alone time. I’m afraid she’s been pulling double duty for the last few weeks.”

  “Same with mine,” Tank told her. “She works full time, takes care of our twins, yet never complains. Tonight, I’m taking home a pizza, a bottle of wine, and see if we can’t make another set of twins,” he said, winking at her.

  Everyone laughed.

  “I completely understand,” Elle snickered. “Thanks again for everything.”

  “No problem,” Duke said, and a moment later, the Asciari Brothers left.

  “Well, I’ve got to get back to my office.” Gabriel stood up. “I have several interviews today. Time I found someone to take Nick’s position.”

  “So you’re not upset that he’s quitting?” Sadie asked. Taj had officially been signed with Sin Records, and Nick had turned in his two-week notice.

  “No,” Gabriel said with a smile. “Surprised, but not upset. Nick’s never been happy at my company. I thought I was giving him a solid foundation for him and Ivy, but his true passion is his music. And I’m trying very hard to be supportive.”

  “He needs you,” Elle told him. “He’d never admit it, but he does need you.”

  “I know.”

  And with that, Gabriel left.

  “Well,” Samuel said, flipping open his own binder and pulling out another check. “I believe this belongs to you two.”

  “What’s this?” Elle picked it up, flipped it over, and gasped. “What the fuck?”

  Samuel threw his head back and laughed before standing up. “I believe your contract stated that if the project was done on time, you’d earn thirty percent of the commission, plus an addition ten percent as a bonus.”

  “But …” Elle shook her head. “You bought our company.”

  “And?” he asked, folding his arms in front of him.

  “What do you mean ‘and’?” Sadie quipped. “When you bought our company and merged it in, we assumed that our contract was fulfilled.”

  “Well, you were wrong,” Samuel scoffed. “We had an agreement, and I always honor my word.”

  “This is too much,” Elle murmured, struggling to keep her voice calm and even. “Two and a half million dollars. I’m sorry, but we can’t accept this.”

  She placed the check on the table and tried to pass it back to him, but Samuel stepped back and put his hands up.

  “No,” he said, firmly. “You and Sadie have more than earned every penny scribbled across that check. Take it.”

  Elle sighed and picked it back up, looking down at the all the zeros. “Fine. Whatever.”

  “Hey,” Samuel said, causing her to look up at him. “You did an amazing job on this one, Elle. You should be proud.”

  “Thank you.” She tucked the check into one of her folders before hobbling over to him, wrapping a single arm around him. “For everything.”

  —FA—

  Elle hummed to herself as she sat at her desk and checked her email once more, smiling when she read one from her mother, who’d taken to emailing her every couple days. Most of her emails were filled with mundane information, like how she’d bought a whole chicken at the market for only seventy cents a pound, or how the post office had been broken into, but only a roll of stamps had been taken. Elle didn’t mind that the mindless ramblings; her relationship with her mother had never been so strong.

  The door to the office opened and Elle looked up, smiling when she saw Callum walk in wearing a dark suit.

  “What are you doing?” he asked. “Are you working? Elle! You’re supposed to be getting ready to party.”

  “I am ready, lover,” she scoffed, closing her emails and shutting down her computer.

  Gripping her cane, she stood up, giving herself a moment to adapt to her heels. Her leg had ached all day, and she’d considered going barefoot rather than wear the pumps she’d brought to go with her red, strapless, asymmetrical cocktail dress that was made of the finest silk.

  “See?” she said, walking around her desk. “All ready!”

  Callum inhaled a sharp breath as his eyes roamed over her body, gliding his tongue along his bottom lip. “You look beautiful, baby.”

  “Thank you.” Elle felt her skin flush with heat. “You don’t look so bad yourself, handsome.”

  Callum laughed softly as he walked over to her, placing both hands on her hips and pressing his body against hers. “Have I told you today that I love you?”

  Elle nodded. “This morning when you woke me up by licking my pussy. And again when you fucked me in the shower. But I never get tired of hearing it.”

  Callum groaned, lowering his lips to just below her ear. His fingers inched the skirt of her dress up her legs. Callum slid his hands around to her ass, moaning as he toyed with the seam of her lacy panties.

  “Black or red?” he asked.

  “Why don’t you check for yourself?” Elle purred.

  Growling against the side of her neck, Callum turned her so that her black was facing him and placed his hand on the small of her back. He pressed down gently, encouraging her to bend forward.

  Elle’s heart was racing as she felt his hands return to her hips. He gathered her dress between his fingers, sliding up and over her ass.

  “Black,” he murmured, gripping the sides of her panties. “My favorite.”

  And before she could say anything, Callum slid her panties down to her knees. Elle heard the sound of him unbuckling his belt and when she looked over her shoulder, she saw him unbuttoning his pants.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “What does it look like I’m doing?” Callum pushed his pants and underwear down to his knees, sliding his hand up and down his cock. “You don’t know how many times I’ve wanted to bend you over your desk and fuck you.”

  Elle whimpered, her knees weakening. Callum slid one arm around her waist as he placed himself just outside of her pussy. Then, grabbing her hip, he slowly filled her.

  “Oh, my God,” she cried.

  “Hold on tight, baby,” Callum told her.

  “To what?” Elle laughed, which quickly turned to a moan when he pulled back and thrust into her hard. “Jesus, Cal!”

  “I told you,” he snickered, setting a quick and hard pace.

  Elle braced herself against the edge of her desk, unable to keep from moaning, groaning, whimpering, and almost weeping with each thrust of his hips. He was fucking her with restless abandonment, and she loved it, need it, craved the way he was taking her.

  “Come for me, baby,” Callum begged. “Please, come for me. I need you to come, Elle.”

  “I … I’m close,” she whimpered, feeling her orgasm building, but unable to let it take over her. “Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck.”

  Callum wrapped his hand around her throat and pulled her body up against his. The change in angles had her trembling as her climax washed over her. Callum covered her mouth with his hand to muffle her scream, his hips pressed against her backside as he found his own release.

  “Holy shit.”

  Callum and Elle whipped their attention to the door to their office, where a stunned Derek and Sadie stood, watching them with their mouths hanging open.

  “Shut the fucking door!” Elle snarled, prying herself out of Callum’s arms and trying to tug her panties up without falling on her face. He reached out for her, but she pushed his hands away. “Pull your pants up before the entire floor sees you ass!”

  Callum laughed as he yanked his pants up. Derek shut the door behind him and Sadie, the two of them smirking.

  “If we’d known the party was in here, we wouldn’t have just spent the last twenty minutes mingling,” Sadie said, her lips twitching. “Was it as good as it looked?”

  “Better,” Elle mumbled, feeling her skin pinking as she tried to get her panties back up. Huffing, she said, “I need help.”

  “Here, I —” Callum reached for her, but s
tepped back when Derek sprinted across the room and fell to his knees in front of her. “Or not.”

  “You got to fuck her, I get to clean her up,” Derek told him.

  Before Elle could utter a sound, Derek wrapped his fingers around her thighs and pressed his mouth against her pussy, sucking and lapping at her sensitive skin.

  “Oh, my God,” Elle whimpered, tangling her fingers in his dark hair. “Jesus, Derek!”

  His response was muffled. “You and Cal mixed together like this taste so fucking good, beautiful.”

  “I wish I was the one feasting on her pussy,” Sadie said, wistfully.

  Derek leaned away from Elle, tugging her panties up before he scrambled to his feet and walked over to Sadie, wrapping one arm around her waist, and placing the other hand on the back of her neck before leaning down and kissing her, giving her a second-hand taste.

  Breathing heavily when Derek ended their kiss, Sadie brought her fingers to her mouth. “Mmm, tasty.”

  “Right!” Derek laughed and looked back at Elle, winking. “I’ll finish you off tonight.”

  “You got me all worked up, and you expect me to wait?” Elle groused. “That’s not fair!”

  “What’s not fair is that motherfucker,” Derek pointed to Callum, “fucking you this morning and just moments ago. Now, I want my turn, but you’re going to earn it, beautiful.”

  Elle gasped. “You’re cruel.”

  “And you love me for it,” he chuckled.

  “God help me, I do. I really fucking do,” Elle mused. “Okay, let’s get through this party. I’m ready to go home already.”

  Derek, Callum, and Sadie burst out laughing as Elle led them out of the office and out onto the floor, where many of their coworkers were already beginning to mingle. The office had been buzzing all afternoon, the excitement of completing one of the biggest projects that company had ever handled had everyone ready to celebrate, and from what Elle had seen, it would be one hell of a party.

  Thanks to Lydia, crates of champagne and tables of food had been delivered, music was already blaring from the sound system Derek and Callum had spent the afternoon setting up, and two hundred people were mingling.

  Lydia had her arm draped around Samuel’s arm; the sound of her laughter trickled over the crowd. Next to them, stood Lucia and Aaron, much to Elle’s surprise. Gabriel and Regina were on the other side of the room with Nick and Ivy.

  “Callum!” Lydia exclaimed, leaving Samuel and rushing over to where the four of them stood. “It’s about time. We were about to come knocking, but we were afraid of what we’d … um … interrupt?”

  “Mom!” Callum’s cheeks turned bright red as several people around them laughed.

  “What?” Lydia asked, but instead of giving him a chance to say anything, she turned her attention to Elle and Sadie. “Oh, my sweet girls, I had the privilege of walking through one of the houses in Alvarez Park, and I am … Well, I’m impressed. They are gorgeous.”

  “Aw, thanks, Lydia,” Sadie whimpered, bringing her hand up to her lips as tears filled and tipped down her face. “Sorry.”

  “Oh, sweetheart, don’t apologize!” Lydia chastised. “Come sit. You shouldn’t be up on your feet like this.”

  Sadie threw Elle a look, but allowed Lydia to lead her across the floor to a small couch.

  “You’re moms kind of pushy, Callum,” Derek said.

  “Duh,” Callum scoffed, turning toward them. “I’m going grab a drink. You two want one?”

  “Yes,” Derek said, but Elle bit her lip and shook her head.

  “Someone has to drive us home, and preggo can’t reach the wheel anymore.”

  “Then you drink, and I’ll drive,” Derek said, and when she began to protest, he held his hand up. “It’s your project, beautiful. You should be able to let loose and celebrate.”

  “I thought you said we had to wait till later to do that.” Elle smirked as she walked away from them, making sure to give a little extra swing in her hips.

  As the evening wore on, Elle smiled and chatted, accepted praise and said ‘thank you’ more times than she could count. The champagne flowed and the food disappeared faster than the servers could deliver.

  Sadie hadn’t moved from her position on the couch, though she’d had to deal with the fawning of numerous coworkers, most of whom were women, who wanted to touch her belly. Her annoyance showed and more than once Elle expected her to snap at some poor woman.

  Derek and Callum split their time between Sadie and Elle, always making a point of placing their hand on the smalls of their backs.

  “You look bored out of your mind,” Samuel teased, slipping the champagne glass out of Elle’s hand and replacing it with a new one.

  “Not bored,” Elle said, smiling. “A little overwhelmed. I’ve never been one for shindigs like these.”

  “This is nothing,” he laughed, but before he could say anything else, the elevator dinged and someone shouted, “Lucia! Lucia, where the fuck are you!”

  A deadly silence filled the room as everyone’s attention turned toward the partition that separated Greta’s desk and the rest of the floor. With dirty, greasy black hair that hung in his face, the man who screamed for Lucia looked around the room, a menacing expression on his face. Broad in the shoulders, his clothes were as filthy as his hair; each knee had large rips in them, his white T-shirt had several holes, and he had a grungy flannel shirt over it.

  “Lucia!” he yelled, searching around each of them until he spotted her standing in the back of the room next to Aaron, who looked murderous as she shielded her with one arm. “Get your ass over here, slut!”

  “The fuck?” Derek snarled, pushing himself off the couch next to Sadie and standing up. “Who are you?”

  The man turned his glare onto Derek. “Dex, not that you need to know. I’m just here for that little bitch.”

  Dex started pushing his way through the crowd, knocking Kim from accounting into Dave from legal.

  “Stay away from me!” Lucia cried, gripping the back of Aaron’s shirt as she cowered away.

  “You’re mine!” Dex snarled.

  “The fuck she is,” Derek seethed, tackling the deranged man to the floor.

  Several people screamed as they scattered away from the brawling men. Elle saw Derek throw several punches to Dex’s face and gut before the other man elbowed him in the nose and scrambled away from him, searching once more for Lucia, who’d ran down the hallway leading to Elle’s office.

  “Leave her alone!” Derek yelled, grabbing the back of his shirt and slamming him against the wall.

  He went to punch him again, but stopped when Sadie screamed, “Stop!”

  Derek kept Dex pressed against the wall as he looked over his shoulder at Sadie, who’d managed to stand up and was cradling her belly. “Stop.”

  “He hurt her,” Derek gritted through clenched teeth.

  “I know, sweetie, but I’ve called the police, and they can deal with him,” Sadie said, stretching her hand out to him. “Please, don’t. You’ll only get yourself in trouble.”

  Derek blew out a harsh breath as he pushed Dex down onto the floor. “Fine. The police can take out the trash.”

  “The police ain’t gonna do nothing to me,” Dex muttered, shifting so that he was sitting against the wall as three security guards rushed into the room. “She ain’t turning me in. That bitch loves me.”

  “No, I don’t.” Everyone turned and looked at Lucia, who was partially hiding in the entrance to the hallway. “I never did. From the moment we met, you treated me like shit, always complaining about who I talked to, what I said. Telling me I was stupid, and only good for sex.”

  “You stupid, son-of-a-bitch,” Derek snarled, reaching for him, but two of the security guards pulled him back, while the third grabbed Dex by the arm and dragged him to his feet.

  “Don’t waste your time on him, Der,” Lucia said, stepping out of the hallway. “He isn’t worth it.”

  As the three security
guards pulled Dex into the stairwell, Derek crossed the floor and pulled Lucia into his arms.

  “You’re amazing, sis,” he whispered. “I’m so proud of you.”

  “Thanks, brother,” she wept. “For everything.”

  Eighteen

  Elle sat nervously on the examination table; a thin, paper gown barely covered her breasts and a blanket draped over her legs. As most exam rooms always seemed to be, the air was cold and the sound of the clock ticking annoyed her, a constant reminder of where she was.

  She looked down at her watch and sighed. “A fucking hour,” she muttered to herself. “Why does it take them a fucking hour to see me?”

  “It’s office policy.” Startled, Elle threw her hand up to her chest and turned toward the door, finding Dr. Kemp standing in the doorway. “Sorry, but I did knock.”

  “It’s fine,” Elle quipped, turning back around. “Do you have my blood test results?”

  Dr. Kemp closed the door behind her and walked around so that she in front of Elle, sitting on the round, rolling stool that were a trademark of every doctor’s office.

  “You’re pregnant,” she said. “Around five weeks, give or take.”

  Elle inhaled a sharp breath and nodded, figuring as much. Her period, which she had always been able to time to the day, hadn’t shown when expected, and after three days, she took a home pregnancy test. The two pink lines showed up in less than thirty seconds, and the plus sign in the second test she took, not trusting the first one, sprang up even quicker. And now, Dr. Kemp was confirming that Elle was indeed pregnant.

  “Where are Sadie, Derek, and Callum?” Dr. Kemp asked, concern lacing each word. “Do they know you’re here?”

  Elle shook her head. “I didn’t want them to worry. Sadie’s been so miserable lately.”

  It wasn’t a lie. At thirty-nine weeks, miserable was putting it mildly. Sadie hadn’t been able to sleep, but she was exhausted all the time. She’d taken to roaming the house at all hours of the night. Plus, she had been nauseous for days, her back hurt, her head throbbed, and she had to pee every five minutes.

  “I take it this baby wasn’t planned?” Dr. Kemp asked.

  “No,” Elle scoffed, which turned into a sigh. “Do you ever feel like you’re too needy?”