Taylored to Perfection (Taylor Made Book 2) Read online

  “Who are you?” Adam asks just as a red-faced Smith makes his way around the corner.

  “Teague Sanders. I’m a friend of Henry’s. You need new people, Taylor. These men don’t even know we’ve left. ”

  “What is he talking about, Adam? You said you had Benji on the girls tonight.” Graham looks pissed.

  “I did. And he took Butch with him.”

  “Benji and Butch?” I snort. My giggles recede when Graham glares at me.

  “I had them stay outside. It’s not like we were leaving there with anyone,” Jules says.

  Adam has the same vein popping out on his forehead that Graham does when he’s angry, it just doesn’t happen as often. He hits a button on his phone and storms off. Jules is hot on his trail.

  “She was almost taken tonight.” Teague says to Smith and Graham.

  “I was not,” I argue. “Don’t be an alarmist. He was just getting fresh, Teague. It wasn’t anything to be worried about. There’s no way he could take me in a crowd of people.”

  “That’s exactly how he would take you. You are more at risk in a crowd like that than you would be walking down the street.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “Emme, I refuse to argue with you about this. You are wrong and I am right. Deal with it,” Teague yells. “I know the risks. I’ve lost clients before for making stupid decisions like you did tonight.”

  I start to say something, but hold my tongue. It’s not like I’ll see him again, anyway, so why waste my energy.

  He gives Smith a description of the guy from the club, and then turns to Graham. “This didn’t have anything to do with her. He wanted what was yours.” Teague repeats what was said by the man in the club.

  Smith nods when Graham looks to him.

  “Mr. Sanders, would you like to have a seat?” Graham studies him.

  “It’s Teague, and no thanks. I’ll be going. I just wanted to make sure they made it home safely.”

  “You sure have a flare for the dramatic.” I roll my eyes.

  “Excuse me?” He squints at me in barely contained annoyance. “You know what, nice meeting you.” Teague extends his hand to Graham before entering the elevator. “And good luck with that one.” He jerks his head in my direction without looking at me.

  Graham, barely able to hold back a smirk, accepts his handshake.

  “Smith.” Graham says.

  “Yes, sir.” Smith nods and enters the elevator with Teague.

  Graham turns to me after the doors close but says nothing.

  “Adam, I don’t want security on me at all times,” Jules pleads as she follows him back into the room.

  “Well, that’s too bad. I’m done being the nice guy when it comes to your safety. This is part of the package when you marry into our family. Deal with it. I’ve let it go on too long as it is.”

  “Goodnight,” Adam addresses me and Graham.

  “Did you?” Graham inquires.

  “Yes. I fired them both. I’ll talk to Smith in the morning about getting new guys. Actually, Smith needs to do an overhaul. These guys were too relaxed.”

  “I think the confusion comes from them having more than one boss,” Graham says. “Jules is not their boss. You are.”

  “I said I was taking care of it. Don’t start.”

  Despite her frustration with Adam, she quickly jumps to his rescue. “I don’t know who the hell you think you’re talk—”

  “Get in the elevator, Julia.” Adam is pissed. The use of her full name has her stopping short in her indignation against Graham.

  “Now!” he adds when she hesitates. I pull her into a hug—a small distraction so she has a moment to decide for herself what she wants to do. When she pulls away, she enters the elevator with her arms folded, looking anywhere except at Adam.

  “Don’t start with me, Graham.” I raise my hand to stop anything he is about to throw my way after the elevator doors have closed.

  “There’s nothing to start, Emelia. This conversation was over the minute you stepped off that elevator.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means that submitting to me in the bedroom isn’t enough. I’m taking charge. Period. There’s nothing to fight about because we are doing this my way.”

  “You can’t just issue…”

  “End of discussion. You’ve had a long day, so I’m not going to discuss the punishments for your infractions tonight, but this weekend, you and I will come to an agreement even if it kills both of us.”

  The warmth from the sun wakes me. Raising my arms above my head, I stretch my body. I’m sore. Graham spent the better part of Friday night attempting to fuck me into submission and discuss my “infractions”. Not that I’m complaining. There are worse ways to spend an evening, but I wince a little when I take my first steps.

  “Sore?” he smirks, walking into the bedroom while towel drying his hair. I chew my lip as my eyes drift over his naked body.

  “A little,” I blush.

  He chuckles and plants a soft kiss to my lips.

  “Good. Every time you move today, you’ll be reminded that I’m the reason you’re sore.” He kisses me again. “I’m the only one that’s been inside of you. Understand?”

  I nod my answer while his fingers lightly brush over the outside of my sex, giving me just enough to make me crazy.

  “Emelia.”

  “Yeah?” I whisper.

  “Yes what?” he dips a finger between my folds and runs it up and down the length of me, pulling my body against his. His hand wraps around my throat while his tongue finds my ear. He whispers into it.

  “I won’t ask you again, Emelia. Yes what?”

  “Yes, sir,” I moan as he pushes three fingers in me. I realized during the marathon he put me through last night that I like calling him “sir” when we are having sex. This is the one time I willingly want him to be in control. Sometimes I like to give him what he wants straight away and sometimes I like to make him ask. It’s a turn on. For him and for me.

  “Good girl.” He turns me face down on the bed, my ass in the air. He sinks balls deep into me in one move. Holding onto my wrists on each side of me, he pulls me into him.

  “Fuck.” His expletive leaves him on a deep exhale. “You are so fucking tight.” His hands release my arms and move to my hips.

  “Fuck me,” I moan as he punishes me with a frenzied pace. My nerve endings are on fire with each connection.

  “Oh, I plan to, Emelia. The only time you keep your smart mouth closed is when my dick is in you. Why is that?” His pelvis slams into my ass again and again. “If this is what it takes for you to understand who’s in charge, then I’m more than happy to step up to the plate. Can you handle being that sore?”

  I’m so close to an orgasm when he stops, his dick still deep and hard inside of me.

  “What? What are you doing?”

  “Who’s in charge?”

  “You, Graham. I’ve told you. You are.”

  “Not just when we fuck.” He pulls out once and slowly pushes down into me. “Tell me,” he says through gritted teeth, holding onto his control. He slaps my ass, and I can feel his cock jump inside of me. There’s nowhere to go. I can’t push back on him. He’s already buried inside me as far as he can go.

  “Graham,” I plead. He pulls out of me and a hiccup travels down my body.

  He runs the tip of his cock up and down my sex, never entering me.

  “Graham. Please.”

  “Please what, Emelia?” He rests his cock against the crevice of my ass, slowly moving it back and forth.

  “Please, fuck me.” I know I sound desperate and whiny, but I don’t care. He has taken my body to the brink, knowing nothing will satisfy it but him.

  “Tell me, Emelia. And not just because it’s what I want to hear, but because you mean it.”

  “I can’t.”

  “You can.”

  “Graham.”

  “Fuck, Emelia.” He moves his hand u
p and down his impressive length. “You hold the power. You know this. Ceding control doesn’t strip you of your power.” His hand accelerates as he gets closer to finding his release. “You want this? All you have to do is say so.”

  He knows I want it, need it. In these short weeks, Graham being inside me has grounded me. Gives me a clarity I was missing before. But control is a struggle for me. He doesn’t understand.

  “Emelia.” I know by his tone it’s my last warning, my last chance. My ass still in the air, our combined juices trickling down my thighs.

  “Fuck,” he says through gritted teeth as his hand continues to take his pleasure. He releases on my back and neither of us move. My ass is still in the air, my body revved up. Without a word, he raises me into a standing position and leads me into the shower where he bathes me without a word. I’m not sure, but he seems regretful. He exits the shower before I do, and he’s gone by the time I’m out.

  Undeniably this morning did not pan out as I expected. My heart warms when I find my favorite pair of his jeans with the hole in the knee folded on the shelf on my side of the closet. I pull them on with a white cropped fitted t-shirt. I braid my hair and throw on some funky jewelry pieces to complete my look.

  I’m disappointed when I enter the living area to find he isn’t there. I explore the rest of the house, seeing for the first time the work out room, his office, a library, a media/game room, four guestrooms, and several bathrooms. I also come across a full-sized lap pool. What I don’t find is Graham.

  “Emme.” Teague’s voice makes me jump. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. Graham’s not here.”

  “Did he say where he was going?”

  “He didn’t. Need to go somewhere?”

  “I think I’ll go home. I need to do a few things there.”

  “Okay. I’m ready when you are.”

  “Teague, I’ll be fine on my own. Why don’t you get settled into your new place?”

  “I’m settled. My storage items won’t be here until next week.”

  “You had things in storage?” I ask, surprised.

  “I was in between places. Plus, the apartment is already furnished with the basics.”

  Teague and I have been getting to know each other the last couple of days. Smith offered him a job as my security detail. Graham seemed to think I needed someone who “isn’t afraid to call you on your shit.”

  I have to give it to Teague, though. He also doesn’t mind pushing back on Graham or Smith by telling them he’s not here to baby-sit me. He works for Graham, but he won’t betray the trust he needs me to have in him. I think his exact words were “I can’t protect her if she’s afraid I’ll tell on her.” Despite the fact it made me sound like I was a ten-year-old, I understood what he meant.

  Graham set him up in an apartment two floors down. The floor below this one has two apartments: one that Smith lives in with direct access to Graham’s apartment, and the other apartment Mrs. Vincent, his housekeeper, lives in.

  “Is there anything you need to get done today?” I ask him.

  “I’m wide open.”

  “Cool. Why don’t we run some errands?”

  Teague wants to drive us, but the weather is perfect so I opt for walking to the subway.

  “You know you are going to have to listen to me sometimes. There are going to be times when you have to actually do what I say.” He examines me as he says it. We both stand to give our seats to an older couple boarding our car. His arms braces me as the subway car starts into motion.

  “If one more person talks to me about obeying, I’m going to lose it.”

  “Ah. I see.” His face shows understanding. “You know, the word ‘obey’ has a bad rap. People automatically go into protection mode when they hear it. Truth is, we all have someone we have to obey. We all have someone that yields power over us.”

  “Graham doesn’t.”

  “That’s simply not true, Emme. He listens to Smith. I met with Graham and Ben, and he obeys Ben. He respects him, and he listens to him. There are times I’m sure where he does something just to please his father. He listens to you. You hold power over him. It may not seem like he’s being obedient to you, but when you get right down to the actual meaning, he is. He appears to listen to your view point. He gives you as much room as he can while ensuring your safety. Someone has to be the general. That’s the way the system works. You can have an equal partnership, but you still need someone to lead.”

  “You gave the military charge of your life and look where it left you.” I reference the stories he told me yesterday. He had a difficult time transitioning back into society after the war.

  “Everything I did was my choice, Emme. I’m not a victim to society.” He studies me for a minute. “What is it you’re afraid of?”

  “I’m not afraid,” I answer petulantly.

  “Bullshit. As Dr. Phil always says ‘You can’t change what you won’t acknowledge.’”

  “You watch Dr. Phil?” I smirk at him.

  “Every day. They play it at the local VA center. I use to think baldy was full of it, but he makes sense after you start to watch. He doesn’t lose his temper. I like that about him.” He offers a gentle smile and I’m reminded how adorable Teague really is and how easy it feels with him when I have spent less than 15 hours with the guy. I can see how he and Henry are close friends.

  We exit at our stop and walk to my apartment. I haven’t been home the last two nights. Already I miss the comfort and the familiarity of the dwarfs. We climb the five flights of stairs.

  “James!” Drew sweeps me into a hug, eyeing Teague over my shoulder until I introduce them.

  “We’ve missed you, James. It’s not the same around here without you.”

  “I miss you guys, too. I just came to get a few things. I’m staying at Graham’s for a couple of days.”

  “Things are getting serious?” Drew raises an eyebrow at me, and Kyle enters to listen to my response.

  “Things are moving one day at a time. We’re still figuring it out.”

  “But you’re good? It’s moving in the direction you want it to?” Kyle asks.

  “I’m good. I’m going to make lunches for you guys for the next few days. I want to make sure you still eat healthy. I’m sure you’ve had enough crap the last couple of weeks.”

  “I do miss your cooking,” Drew says. “I feel like I’m walking in cement the last week or so from all the junk.”

  “You know, you could just make better choices.”

  “But your choices are so much tastier,” Drew teases. I ignore the narrowing of Teague’s eyes at Drew’s rote attempts at flirting.

  While the boys and I catch up, I clean up the place, make lunches for the next three days, and throw together a casserole for them to take out of the oven in an hour. I head into my alcove to grab a few things I want to take to Graham’s. A picture of Addie and Mama on the wall gives me pause. What was she thinking? How could she? I throw the things I came for in my oversized Louis Vuitton with a little more anger than I intended before I kiss the dwarfs goodbye.

  Despite his protest and only because I throw the lecture about obedience back in his face, Teague and I spend the next hour in Saks assembling a wardrobe for him. He will be expected to be in a suit and tie most of the time, and Graham’s staff has a clothing allowance.

  “You were handsome before, but you in these suits…mmm,” I growl. It tickles me that he blushes under my praise. “How are you adjusting to all the changes?” I ask.

  “I’d like to tell you it’s easy, but it’s not. I think it will take me some time. I wouldn’t have accepted the apartment if it wasn’t for the fact that Graham provides one for Smith.” He changes into my next choice. “I am looking forward to working with a purpose again, though.” He comes out for me to evaluate and tell the tailor what changes I want made.

  “I’m sure it’s not easy.” I study him.

  “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”

 
“You will,” I agree.

  Teague and I have fallen into a comfortable friendship. I think he senses it’s what I need if I really am going to trust him, and I sense it’s what he needs to feel like he’s making a difference. I can tolerate having security much more if I enjoy my security’s company.

  After I’ve placed the orders for Teague’s wardrobe, we leave Saks and I take him to pick out some everyday looks at stores that are more reasonably priced. This seems to make him a bit more comfortable. We opt for a taxi since we’re now loaded down with bags and make our way back to his apartment. In a quest for a diversion, I have made it my goal to get Teague set up in his new place.

  Not long after we make it to his place, Joy arrives with the items I asked her for this morning. It takes six trips to get everything into the apartment. Thirty minutes later the courier service shows up with the remaining items I ordered. An hour past that, the local grocery shows up with the order I placed on line.

  “This apartment is amazing!” Joy warbles as she looks around.

  “You think this is something, you should see Graham’s. There aren’t enough words to describe it.”

  “I’m back!” Teague hollers, setting a pizza and salads down on the marble counters. He grabs us some beers, and Joy and I compete to see who can eat the most pizza. For a small girl, she can put away some food. I watch Teague and Joy. He’s telling stories, and she’s laughing. His eyes dance watching her. It occurs to me that I’m already secretly rooting for them.

  Joy and I turn on the radio and get started. Joy has done a great job of picking out items that accent Teague’s personality. Everything has dual purposes, very utilitarian. There are some soft pieces thrown in for balance, and I really like the rustic artwork she snagged for the walls.

  I made Teague take a selfie with me yesterday when we stopped on the corner for a hot dog. It’s a sunny day with the city behind us. I emailed it to Joy and she had it blown up and framed. She sets it on the side table next to the couch.

  Joy has to leave at just a little after five, but I’m happy with our progress. All I have left is the closet, so it shouldn’t take me much longer. Paolo Nutini is singing about new shoes when a movement catches my eye. Graham and Teague are standing in the doorway of the closet watching me.