Built to Last (The Middleton Hotels Book 2) Read online

  It was my second day at the small hotel and I was chatting it up with Harley. I really liked her. She was super sweet and was going to be marrying Jacob Middleton. I was surprised, but that wasn’t the biggest surprise. It appeared that Joseph came along for the ride. He was here, too. Our eyes connected and I wanted to storm right out of the place. What was he trying to do to me?

  Every day, I had to hold it together because I was so madly in love with him. It was hard, and here he was to drive me insane. It took me a moment to realize he’d been just as surprised to see me as I was him. So he didn’t know I was here, but it didn’t change anything. This position was temporary and then I was quitting completely. There were plenty of jobs I could get in Texas while I finished school. I was only doing this because I was on break for the summer.

  I didn’t know how long he was going to be here, but this wasn’t going to work for me if he played that game here, too. Shortly after they left to inspect the buildings, Harley asked me to help with the wedding. Having been there during much of the party planning my mother did back home, I took up the offer. Plus, it would keep jackass Joseph out of my hair.

  And it managed to work. For the next three days, I was able to avoid him.

  Chapter 9

  Joseph

  What was she wearing? This was my brother’s impromptu wedding reception and it had been three days since I’d seen her. She’d done everything she could to avoid being around me. I walked up to her not caring anymore what the consequences were. I was in love and nothing was going to stop me from claiming her.

  “Excuse us,” I hissed to the pipsqueak talking to her. I took her wrist and tugged her to the corner of the room.

  “What is your problem, Mr. Middleton?” she asked, yanking her wrist out of my hold.

  I stepped closer, invading her space. My gazed moved up and down her body, taking in what she was wearing, before I said, “My problem? I’ve got a lot of problems when it comes to you. First, this fucking dress. Is it even a dress? It’s so short.”

  “That’s none of your business. I’m not on the clock and I’m a guest at the wedding.”

  She turned to leave, but I grabbed onto her hand and spun her back around. “I don’t give a fuck about work. This is between you and me.”

  “Hello, Joseph,” my mother interrupted. “Hello, Rachael. It’s so good to see you. Don’t you look stunning.”

  I didn’t let go of her hand; in fact, I held it tighter then turned to my mother to address her. “Mother, I’m sorry, but this isn’t the right time. I need to speak with Rachael alone.”

  “Joseph Thomas Middleton. You know…” I put my other hand up to stop whatever she was going to say. I’d always been a good boy and a damn good man, but this woman had taken my sanity and I wanted some of it back.

  “Mother. Excuse me, I’ve got to get started on that horde of grandbabies you want.” I heard both of them gasp, but fuck if I was going to have this conversation with others around. I pulled Rachael to my body before lifting her over my shoulder and carrying her out the side entrance. It was a warm night outside.

  “Put me down, you big jerk.” I set her down on her feet, but I didn’t loosen my hold on her waist. There was no way I was letting her go until I got some answers. And even then, I was tempted to keep her until she confessed that there was something between us.

  “You need to tell me what the fuck I did wrong to make you hate me so damn much. Did your father tell you I threatened him? Was it the goddamn uniforms?”

  “Threatened him?” she questioned. I supposed he hadn’t told her that I planned to destroy him if he tried to force my brother to marry Rachael. Well, I’d save that for another day because it didn’t matter. It wasn’t going to happen, even if Jacob hadn’t just gotten married.

  “Never mind that. Tell me, damn it. I’ve spent the past three fucking months trying to figure out how to make you mine.”

  “What?”

  “Again, with a question. You heard me, Rachael. I’m not good at this, but I need you. I want you. Fucking hell, I can’t live without you.”

  “What about Roxie?” I knew she had something to do with all of this, but I never knew what. Either way, that was about to be settled. There wasn’t going to be any reason for her to make that assumption again.

  “What the fuck about her? You want me to fire her? Well, consider it done.”

  “You’re going to fire her?”

  “Yes. This whole time I thought it was everyone else going around making assumptions, but if she led everyone to believe we were fucking together, then she’s out.”

  “Yes, she did.”

  “I’m not, I’ve never have and I never will. I only want you, Rachael. I’m not a man who shows his emotions, so I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing, but I’m in love with you.”

  “Oh, fucking hell. This whole time?” she asked.

  “Yes, this whole time.” I nodded.

  “Why did you wait?”

  “Because…I’ve never done this before.”

  “I’ve only fallen in love once, Joseph. And I haven’t stopped loving him for the past three years.” I was about to interrupt her because I didn’t want to hear another word about this guy. My heart had cracked the instant she said those words. “See, he came to my home and I took one look at him and I wanted to be his. But he was too old for me and he was walking with another woman on his arm instead of being my knight.”

  It hit me. I was the knight. “Holy fucking hell,” I muttered, pulling her close and taking what belonged to me. It took a moment for her to slip her hands around my neck as I pressed my hands to her ass and ground my cock against her pussy.

  “Excuse me,” Julian interrupted. I growled against her lips.

  “Jules, it can wait,” I muttered, going back for another taste of her lips.

  “They want some photos. Let’s take them and get on with it. I’m sure you’re not going to want to get redressed later for them,” he said, giving us a wink.

  “I’m sorry, Rachael. He’s right.”

  “I know.”

  “Give us one minute,” I said to Julian.

  “I’ll give you three, keep your clothes on.” I gave him the finger and he walked back inside laughing.

  “Marry me, Rachael. I promise to show you every day that you’re my reason for living,” I asked, pulling out the box I carried around with me for three long months.

  Her eyes opened wide as she looked down at the ring and back at me. “Yes, Joseph,” she sobbed, nodding her head at the same time.

  “Thank you, Rachael,” I said, slipping the ring on her finger and kissing her hand. I stood up and gave her one more deep kiss before taking her hand and walking back into the party.

  “I was just about to get you,” Julian said. He looked back and forth between us and smiled when I lifted her hand.

  “You made quick work of that. Hmm…I wonder if I’ll be quick to capture. It seems like a trait in this family.”

  “Sweetheart, I have to go take these pictures.” I didn’t want to exclude her from this, but it wasn’t our wedding and our time would come very soon.

  She placed her hand on my face, caressing my cheek. “That’s fine. I’ll sit right here.”

  “I promise I won’t be long,” I said, kissing her hand.

  “I’ve waited this long. I suppose a little longer won’t hurt.”

  “And I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you.” The thought of leaving her alone made me feel like a prick. I had to get this over with as fast as possible.

  Chapter 10

  Rachael

  I was stunned, sitting there with a large diamond that was around three carats and sparklingly beautiful. The past three months had been harder than the past three years and all for nothing. I let that woman and several others get in my head. They chirped, whispered, and threatened my common sense when it came to Joseph. God, the man had been in love with me this whole time. I finally understood what the older woman was telling me. She saw it without blinders on. I felt like a fool, but I suppose love did that to people.

  The head server came up to me as I sat there. “Ms. Harrison, I have a question. Since they are all taking photos, I was told to ask you. Would you like to have more wine served?

  “Yes, please. One more round. After the photos is the cake, so we need everyone to have a glass as they cut the cake.”

  “Thank you,” he said, leaving me to sit there. I felt the demon approaching me, but I had power over her now and I wasn’t going to let Roxie play on my insecurities with their relationship. It took me until now to remember how he’d acted when she arrived. He wasn’t pleased. In fact, he wanted to say something, but everyone knew that he was the one not to say a word.

  “What are you smiling about?”

  “Why are you at my table, trying to annoy me?”

  “You know, I know you’re after Joseph and that’s not going to happen. He belongs to me. He always has.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure he has…in your mind. If you were so special to him, a single man, you wouldn’t have been his assistant all these years. He could have just married you.”

  “Stay away from him. I’m not going to tell you again.”

  “Good because I don’t want to hear it. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to speak with the staff here.” I got up and walked away from her, ignoring her dirty looks. This wasn’t the time to punch her in the face. I’d save that for after the party if she threatened me again. But I was going to hold Joseph to his word and have him fire her. No way in hell was there room for the both of us in his life.

  After about twenty minutes, the pictures were done and the party gathered around the cake where the bride and groom cut their cake. It was wonderful and I saw my fiancé smiling at me before making his way around to my side. “I was wondering if you forgot about me.”

  “I didn’t. I’m just trying to do my best to keep my hands off you. I don’t want to ruin their moment by bragging about our engagement. After the cake, I have to go talk to Roxie.”

  “Why?” I asked, wanting to see if he was going to take his stance.

  “I’m going to ask her about the rumors, and then if she plays it off, I’m going to tell her about us.”

  “I thought you were going to fire her,” I complained.

  He wrapped his hand around my waist, rubbing my hip. The simple touch made me melt. I could barely stand. I would believe whatever he said at the moment. “I am going to fire her ass, but I don’t want to ruin my brother’s wedding.”

  “Sorry, it’s just I don’t like her at all,” I admitted. I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it, but I wanted him to know it wasn’t just petty jealousy because it was that, too, but the bitch told me to leave him alone.

  “Don’t think I didn’t see that she came to you earlier. From the way you carried yourself, I know she said something terrible and you walked away like a queen. I found that so hot. I can’t wait to take you back to my room tonight.”

  “Me either, Joseph.”

  “Fuck, I love the way you say my name,” he groaned against my ear.

  He looked back to the cake and saw Julian standing next to my parents. “Jules, come here for a minute.” The big brute middle brother came over to us. “I need you to sit with Rachael. I have to go talk to Roxie.”

  “Okay, Joey boy.” He winked at me and said, “Come on, beautiful.”

  “Never mind.”

  “Relax, Joseph. I’m yours.”

  “Fuck yeah you are.”

  “Wow, since when do you speak like that, Mr. Stick in the Mud? That’s his nickname since he was a kid. I’m loving the change she’s created in you.” He walked me over to the table and got us both a glass of wine. “I won’t tell anyone,” he teased, knowing that I was only eighteen.

  “So, tell me about this whole thing with you hoping my brother jumps off a building.”

  “Oh my God, someone told him I said that?”

  “No, he heard it.”

  “Shit, that explains more about why it took him so long to say something. Things have been a mess since the day we met.”

  “Yes, and that woman is the problem. I told him several times over the years about the rumors, but he didn’t think anything of it. Joseph is all around class. Never would he do anything to mess up the Middleton brand.”

  “I get that. Unless he was getting on me, I’ve never seen more than a straight face.”

  “Hey, Rachael, I wanted to ask you something,” Harley said, smiling while Jacob had his hand wrapped around her waist.

  “Okay,” I said.

  “Do you want to stay at my house after we leave?”

  “Sure. That’s fine with me.”

  “Great, before we leave, I’ll drop off the keys at the hotel.”

  “Fantastic.” They walked away and I said, “Shit.”

  “Did you forget about my brother?”

  “I don’t know what’s going to happen. I’m here for the next month.”

  “No, you won’t be,” Joseph said as he walked up, “I’ll find someone else to take your place here.”

  “Well, Denise isn’t going to come here.”

  “We can hire another employee. I’m sure there are people around here that could use a job.”

  “You’re probably right.”

  “I know I am. It doesn’t matter either way because I’m taking you back home and there’s no two ways about it. Are you ready to call it a night?”

  “I’m ready to leave if that’s what you’re asking,” I tartly replied.

  Chapter 11

  Joseph

  Damn, I was trying to hold it together until we got upstairs. I was so fucking stiff that it was hard to walk. I tugged her away from everyone and marched out to the main lobby. She was giggling the entire time, so I paused, spun her around, her chest slamming against mine. “I hope that giggling stops very soon,” I teased, lowering my head and kissing her softly. It stopped the giggles, but elicited a moan.

  Bending down, I scooped her into my arms and carried her to the elevator. It was a slow ride up to the third floor, but I enjoyed pinning her to the wall of the small elevator. Her pussy rocked along my cock through our clothes. We both sighed and made little noises as I cupped her ass under her dress, squeezing and grinding until the door pinged open.

  I carried her out of there and down the hall to our room. She had booked me in a mediocre room, but Jacob had it switched later to the best they had. I opened the door without letting her go. The door closed on its own and I didn’t stop until we hit the bed. Our lips connected as I leaned over her with my feet still on the floor. Her hands moved into my hair, pulling my head closer as if she couldn’t get enough. I was doing my best to stop from coming in my pants, but that shit was a lost cause. I slid my hand between her thighs, feeling her wet, silky panties and stroking her. She moaned, lifting her hips against my hand and my thigh. My cock was throbbing against my belt and I needed relief as much as she did. I wanted her to come for me on my fingers because I was so close that her pussy would get round two. Slipping her panties to the left, I ran my finger along her sticky heat. She moaned, her mouth parting, letting little pants escape her lips.

  “Come for me, Rachael. Fuck, you’ve got me too fucking lost. I’m not going to make it. I ground my hips against hers while I pushed a finger between her pink lips and I felt how tight she was, and I wondered, so I pushed a little deeper and felt the edge of her innocence. We were in this together and that made me come. I felt my orgasm hit me just as I pressed my thumb against the little nub. Her body shook as a scream came from her lips.

  “Joe,” she shouted, making me shoot another load that I didn’t know I had.

  “Say it again,” I growled with my lips pressed on her neck.

  “Joe,” she said, turning her lips to my ear, then took them between her teeth. “I’ve fantasized about this for so long. I think all the virgin fear is missing from my body. Show me how to make you come again.”

  My cock hadn’t gone down, but I needed her naked. I wanted to feel her soft skin under mine as I took what belonged only to me. Stepping back and off the bed, I kicked off my shoes, then bent down and took hers off. “Take off your clothes for me, Rachael. Slowly. I’ve thought about you stripping for me so often, the thought alone made me come. What made you come for me?”

  “Watching you strip, then stroking yourself as you stalk me. Those eyes that followed me at the desk came home with me. I thought about you pulling me over the desk and taking me right there.” She panted, her chest heaving as she pictured it.

  I tossed off my suit jacket, and pulled my tie loose from my collar. She stopped lowering her zipper to watch me. “No, no. Continue, I want you to show me what’s all mine.”

  “Yes, Joseph.”

  “That’s right, only call me Joe when you’re coming. I love it from your lips as you lose control.”

  Chapter 12

  Rachael

  I was panting, three years of lustful thoughts, and here was my king, my lover, my knight in front of me. His body responding to me like I always dreamed. His thick ridge had left an indelible impression against my heated body, and I can see his long, thick cock pressed against the seam of the zipper and his belt. I closed my thighs in anticipation of what that big boy was going to do to my untouched womb. I feel my thighs shake as I lifted my dress off my body. Kneeling on the bed, I watched as he paused to admire my figure. I can feel my face heat up, but it wasn’t because I was blushing. My needs were taking over.

  I slid my feet around so I was sitting before stepping off the bed. I wanted to touch his skin as much as I could before I was too overcome with euphoria. He smiled as his eyes caught my breasts bounce from the movement.

  “Take it off, now,” he demanded, holding his tie tightly in his hands. I don’t know if it was the three glasses of wine or years of waiting, but I had no fear only desire. I reached behind my back and popped the hooks apart and boldly grabbed the straps and tossed it on the floor, letting him stare at the breasts that felt heavier for him. I pressed my hand to his chest and tore his shirt open.