"Is this what you want?" Solana's harsh whisper in his ear accompanied more massaging of Little Jack.

"Yes... no. I..." He swore out loud. A burning sensation was already forming at the base of his spine with whatever she was doing down there. Mere seconds more and he'd be jacking off in her hand.

Her fingers stopped their caressing touch and clamped down. Pleasure turned to pain as her grip increased. "Tell me what's wrong."

Jack ground his teeth together and shook his head, needing a minute to form words.

Solana drew her thumb over the base of his cock, and shockwaves of ecstasy rippled through him. "Talk."

"I screwed up." His confession rocketed into the room. Solana's grip lessened slightly, her chest gliding over his, and more tremors of desire prickled, denying him the ability to speak.

"How?" A soft kiss on the crook of his neck accompanied her plea.

Jack closed his eyes and sucked in air. The light orange spice scent hit him, and his pulse slackened. With blood returning to his brain, he could form thoughts again. He teetered between pushing her away and pulling her closer, resting his head against her warm skin. "My deal isn't closing. Probably because they can smell blood in the water."

Another gentle press on his neck. "Why?"

"A few months ago, I made a bid to take over my ex-wife's family business. I lost." The word tasted like ash on his tongue. Jack Blackhorne wasn't allowed to fail. Every move was assessed, and the odds of success weighted. Usually, victory was influenced by bribes or blackmail, but the outcome was assured before every calculated step was made. Being on the board of Stinson Studios, he assumed he'd be a shoe in to take control after the untimely death of Ali's father left the corporation leaderless. He'd been wrong.

"Took a hit to my reputation. I should have followed that failure up with an easy win. Take over a smaller pharmaceutical company I could pressure into selling. But I didn't." Jack swallowed. Somehow, Solana's hand had left Little Jack and sat on his chest. Her head rested on his shoulder. "Now our investors are skittish. Capitalism is not a joke, such a fine line to balance. New is not appreciated as much as you'd think."

Solana didn't say anything, simply settled in, breathing in sync with him. Bubbles of what he wanted to admit burned in his throat. "I got this idea in my mind. Wanted to do something good."

There. He'd said it. Out loud. He'd sold Wolfe on the idea under the guise of diversification. Drugs were lucrative, would always be the big ticket, but no company should depend on one line of business for its income. The government could change and some liberal could get it in their mind to give free health care to everyone like other countries in the world.

But the real reason had nothing to do with Blackhorne and Cauldwell's bottom line. No, it had to do with the burning desire that was becoming harder and harder to resist. The pressure in his head reduced to a dull ache. "Build something lasting future generations could look at and appreciate. Like Stinson Studios does."

"What do they make?"

"Furniture. Beautiful classic furniture. Not my style. But it stands the test of time. My children will still be using the tables they make today. The plan was to transform the company into more modern lines. But I failed." Solana's palm found the back of his neck, her thumb stroking the chords she discovered there. "Despite Wolfe's warning, I insisted we try again. Starting a new division from scratch could take years. Buying a company with manufacturing capabilities, established vendor and supply lines set and warehouses was feasible." It had taken months to find the right company, one on the edge of bankruptcy, but viable enough to thrive with an influx of cash. Blackhorne and Caldwell cash.

"We started negotiations, but they've been screwing with us from the beginning. Testing us every step of the way. I can't lose this buyout. I can't fail again." Jack bit his lip, not sure how to phrase the next portion. "We were close to a deal. But I missed a call yesterday."

Solana's thumb paused. "Because I turned off your phone."

Her words were a statement, not a question, but Jack answered her anyhow. "Yes. Now the CFO is threatening to pull out. I'll lose two deals in a row, and that's basically a death sentence. It'll make Blackhorne and Cauldwell look weak, and the vultures will attack."

Hazel eyes searched his, her hands cupping his face. "We won't let that happen."

We. The word hung in the air between them. He'd never had a we before. Sure, he'd worked alongside his uncle, but James had made all the decisions, Jack simply executing on a plan. Wolfe attempted to fill the void left by James, and while he offered guidance and data and a voice of reason, his second in command was just that, second. Not his partner.

Chords of doubt curled in Jack's stomach, creeping up his throat. Could he have a we with Solana? She'd known he needed to talk and while a rather unorthodox technique to get him to open up, it had worked. Sharing what was bothering him was different. Distraction, avoidance, oblivion were tried-and-true practices, but they only delayed the inevitable. Maybe it was time to try something new.

Jack tested the waters. "We won't, huh?"

Her lips twitched before settling into a straight line. "We simply need to get this CFO back on the hook."

"That's the idea, but there's nothing simple about it. He's pissed I wasn't there yesterday to kiss the ring. Now he's on the other side of the world."

"So, you make it up to him. With these types, it's all about egos." Solana brushed her nose against his. "Right?"

Of course, she was right. "Too many egos." He tapped his chest.

Solana caught his hand and wove her fingers in his. "No doubt. But we can use that to your advantage. When you put your mind to it, Jack, you can be quite persuasive."

Their interlocked fingers brushed against his lips. "I can, can I?"

Her eye roll tried to obliterate the spike of lava infiltrating the green of her eyes. "Just like that. The way I see it, a little shit shovelling and you'll have this CFO back in the palm of your hand in no time."

"Shit shovelling?"

"In the club, if, say, an arrogant customer buys my server skills for an evening-" Jack nibbled on the tip of her finger-"Hey! Do you want to hear this or not?"

"I do. I do." He returned their joined hands to rest over his heart.

"Better." Her lips twitched into a shy smile. "As I was saying, I still need my tip for the evening. So, I play the game. If the customer is down in the dumps, I turn on the charm and entertain. If they need to sink into their drinks like your friend Draven, I keep the alcohol flowing. And if he enjoys biting banter, like a certain someone I know." She licked her lips and a spike of hot attraction slithered down his spine. "You make the evening as acrimonious as possible."

"Is that what you were doing? I thought you just had a bad attitude." Her playful slap tickled his chest.

"You loved every minute of it."

Another truth spilled out of him. "That I did."

"Sounds like this CFO wants some attention. Give him the real deal, rays of sunshine."

"You're the sunshine, not me."

Solana squeezed his hand. "You have a light inside you that, for some reason, you don't let others see." He didn't quite believe her, but the tiny dark corner of his heart wanted to. "I see it." Her eyes held his and warmth unfurled under his sternum. "Show him what's in here." Her knuckles tapped on his chest. "A little piece of why you'll take good care of his company."

Fear griped his guts and his head swung side to side. "That's weakness."

Solana stroked his cheek. "No, that's strength. To open up and share your vision." He stretched his mouth to protest, and her fingers landed on his lips again. "There's a time for secrets and demonstrations of force. But if that's not working, a touch of vulnerability might do the trick. Close the gap that exists between you. Show him the good in you."

Her nail dragged across the dip in his chin, and she rested her head back on his shoulder. They sat in silence as Jack contemplated her words. Wondered if he could even attempt Solana's suggestion. He curled his free arm across her waist, holding her tight. "I'm not a good person."

Hot breath fanned against his neck. "Could've fooled me."

Wasn't that the point? He fooled everyone. Played the roles that needed to be seen by the right people. Maybe he could fake vulnerability to close the deal. Trouble was all the lies, all the deceptions coated him in layer after layer of sticky dark falseness and more and more it seemed harder to move, to breathe. A part of him simply wanted something to be real.

He counted the shadows on the ceiling. "My ex-wife accused me of... not being very nice."

"Not nice how?" Solana shifted on his lap and Jack had to resist pulling her closer, pinning her to him.

"She wrote a book about emotional abuse in relationships."

"About you?"

"No." He cleared his throat to remove the lump preventing him from speaking the truth. "But only because me made a deal."

"Did you..." A tremor rippled through her. The lasting tension in her limbs ate away at him. "do this?"

Everything would end now. The truth, his version at least, couldn't be spun like Wolfe had prepared in case there was a smear campaign. He closed his eyes, embracing the darkness, not willing to look at the weariness he was positive now marred her beautiful face. "I'm not sure it matters what I think. She believed I did, and I have to own that."

The pads of Solana's thumb traced along his jaw and Jack's world went from black to full colour. She met his gaze, no disappointment in sight. "No, you don't. You aren't responsible for what other people think or do. You are only responsible for your own actions, your own thoughts."

"I wasn't nice." The words came out hoarse, like his tongue was covered in sandpaper.

Solana pushed off his lap, adjusted her skirt and settled in beside him on the couch. Close, but not close enough. Gone was the warmth of her touch, a gap of air between them. Not retreating, but not coming back into his arms, which was where he wanted her to be. Forever. She cocked her head to the side as if to say tell me.

"I never physically hurt her. I swear. I'd never do that. To anyone. Man or woman. Our relationship was complicated." He searched for a way to explain the dynamic he and his ex-wife had in and out of the bedroom. "I thought we were playing games, taunting and teasing each other to make things more exciting. Turns out I was playing chess and she was playing hopscotch."

A short nod from Solana and one of the coils in his stomach relaxed. She wasn't running for the door. The thought Wolfe would kill him for talking about this with her, with anyone without signing an NDA, first filtered through his mind. But Jack didn't want to have rules with Solana. Didn't want their relationship to be reduced to legal terms and multiple signatures on lengthy documents. Didn't want to tie her up in red tape. Tie her up maybe, but in other ways.

Her mouth set in a straight line. "Did you love her?"

Jack had asked himself this same question many times. Now, sitting here with Solana in his office, he was confident he'd never felt anything for his ex-wife like what he felt for Solana. "No. I told you, our marriage was essentially a business arrangement between her father and my uncle."

"But you must have felt something."

His hand itched to take hers, run his thumb over the threads of her wrist, feel her alive and with him. Instead, he crossed his arms over his cold chest. "I cared for her, tried to make her happy. Failed miserably. Not like Mathew. He seems to make your cousin Michelle happy."

Solana's gaze fell to the floor. "Does Mathew know? That Michelle... selected him?"

"Technically, Michelle's grandfather did the selecting. Michelle didn't have a choice." A dark shadow crossed Solana's face and Jack reminded himself Mr. Wilde had a reckoning coming. He'd acknowledge his granddaughter one day. Jack would see to it.

"But I don't think Mathew is aware. From what I saw, he was always pretty smitten." Jack shrugged. "He's actually a pretty good guy. The asshole gene in his family missed him."

The corner of Solana's mouth twitched. "Too much inbreeding in your richie-rich families."

"Careful sweetheart. That blood flows through your veins."

Solana sighed and slapped Jack's forearm. The teasing smack loosened a knot in his stomach. "Don't remind me."

His hand moved of its own accord, craving contact, and his index finger tapped on her knee. "Are you going to tell Michelle who you are?"

"Why would I?" She captured his fingers, entwining hers in his. "I don't want anything from her."

Jack tried to shake the tension out of her tight grip. "It's not about wanting anything. She's family."

"I have plenty of family, thank you." The plastered-on smile didn't make it to her eyes.

"Tell me about it." Jack tugged at her arm, unable to take the distance anymore. Solana came easily, snuggling into his side, head on his chest. "Still, there's this whole other side of you which you know nothing about. Michelle could provide answers. Plus, she might like to know you."

"Doubt it." The words were muffled against his shirt.

Jack kissed the top of her head. "You don't know until you try. If you want to meet with her, I can arrange something."

"I'll think about it." Her fingers drummed against his bicep.

"No pressure. I'm on your side either way."

Solana didn't say anything, and Jack worried he'd gone too far. Control was second nature to him, how he maintained order. The furthest thing he wanted was to control Solana. He loved her spontaneity, her freestyle approach to life, her ability to look at his world and see right through the sham.

"I mean it. I'm not saying you have to meet her. It's totally up to you."

"I don't feel pressure, Jack. I appreciate the gesture." Heat seared his thigh where her leg grazed against it. "It's kind of you."

Jack's breath caught in his throat. Kind was not a word many people used to describe him. Ever. "How about your ex-husband? What was he like?"

Her fingers stilled. "He was definitely not nice."

Jack counted to three, focusing on not seeing red. "Did he hurt you?"

"Yes." Fingers dug into his hip as if to stop him from leaving. "But he didn't get a second chance. I packed up and left that night. Served him our divorce papers in jail. Not for hitting me. He had light fingers and tended to steal the things he wanted, rather than pay for them. A car is pretty hard not to miss and one of his friends ratted on him."

Of course, Jack knew her husband had been a resident at California State Prison. The report Wolfe put together said the man was on his second stint in jail. Apparently, he'd moved from stealing cars to transporting illegal drugs in them. "Good thing he's protected behind bars."

"Whys that?"

He unclenched his teeth. "I might have to kill him."

Solana's cheek brushed over his heart as she twisted to face Jack. "One of the bad things you do?"

"Haven't killed anyone yet, that I know of." Jack swallowed. "No, that's not true. My company, the family business, it's been responsible for multitudes of deaths. The lawyers use the argument that people abuse the drugs of their own will, that what we do is noble, taking away their pain." He raked a hand over his face. "I... I don't know if I believe it. But I do know that it's too big to fail at this point."

A gentle tug at his wrist. "But is it too big to change?"

Jack huffed, his chuckle a combo of bitterness and sadness. "My parents did all the hard work."

"They may have started the business." He opened his mouth to counteract her argument. She was going to say he kept it going, but that was his uncle. He'd been too young. But, as usual, Solana cut to the chase. "And your uncle had a hand, but for the last what five years it's been all you."

"And a team of consultants, lawyers, research scientists, the sales team, janitors-"

"But you make the final decisions. You steer the ship."

Her confidence reminded him of all the employees he'd let down if the Anderson deal didn't go through. The money they'd wasted courting, bribing and pressuring to get permits approved, wheels turning, votes in their favour.

Jack reluctantly disentangled himself from Solana. "We'd better eat lunch. I'm going to need my strength his afternoon if I'm going to save this deal."

Hey D. L. here. If you've read Ruby Red, you've probably been waiting for Jack's perspective on his marriage. They say there are two sides to every story. I wanted to wait a bit, let you form your own ideas on Jack before giving this explanation.  I also didn't want this to come out of the blue for those that have not read Ali's story. 

Is Solana's plan a good one?

Can it work??

Can you believe its September???

Hope this new month treats you well, my friends.