Page 208 of Soul Mates: Hercules Valentine and I

And there it is, the sun, finally peeping up from the east.

“So what are we going to do about your family’s claim to NZNN light?” I ask then yawn.

Hercules rubs my thigh. “First, I have to find an investor to partner with me. I spoke to Lilith yesterday. She has someone in mind and—”

“How about me?” I exclaim, cutting him off. Thinking of owning part of a company with Hercules sends an all-consuming thrill through me.

He strokes his sexy chin, eyeing me scrupulously. “You have half a billion?”

Grinning, I nod. I have a lot of money, and every day, I earn more.

“I don’t know,” he says with one eyebrow cocked.

“Think about it, Hercules. With me being a part of VTI, we’ll have some clout. Also, we have a better chance of making my family do what’s right in regard to TRANSPORT.” I sit up straight and picture my grandfather, a man I still love and adore even after hearing about the shrewd move he made on Hercules’s grandfather. “My grandfather used to say, ‘Only give them enough to keep them on the hook for the next time you need them to bite.’” I flex my eyebrows. “Max is going to need to bite my hook if he wants to solidify NZNN light. Sorry,” I say, beaming at Hercules. “Our hook. That’s if you let me partner with you.”

Hercules puts two fingers under my chin. I’m dazed by his nearness as he puts the most tender kiss on my lips. Eyes closed, my head spins as I taste his mouth.

“Umm,” he says at the end of our sensual smooch. “Yes.”

I’m blinking rapidly, waiting for the high I’m feeling to subside some. “Yes?” I sigh.

“Yes, partner.”

Chapter Seventy

Shake On It

Paisley Grove

11:27 a.m.

As soon as Hercules accepts me as his partner, he calls Lilith and advises her to arrange the sale of the company to him and me.

Surprisingly, she doesn’t even hesitate when she hears I’m the buyer. All she says is that she’ll get right on it and we should meet her at a secured location to finalize the purchase.

Afterward, we decided to sleep until eleven in the morning. We crawl into bed together, and Hercules wraps me up in his arms, guiding me against him. We’re both out soon after.

The hours seem to pass at the speed of light, then Hercules’s cellphone wakes us. Before we got out of bed, Hercules rolls on top of me, and we make love sweetly and quickly before showering and leaving the hotel room as fast as we can.

We walk to the lobby hand in hand, deciding to never hide our relationship ever again. We kiss a lot on the walk back to his place and also run over our plan for the day a few times. He also asks me about Treasure, which seems strange. He wants to know if she’s still marrying Quinton Long. The two of them have been on again and off again for the past three months. I think he offered her a role on his TV show as an olive branch.

I haven’t heard from Treasure since she flew to Iceland. But I definitely think they’re on again, and that’s what I tell him.

Hercules grunts thoughtfully.

We stop at the porte-cochere in front of his building, and he wraps our arms around each other.

“Why do you ask?” I ask.

“I have something in the works, regarding the trust. I’ll tell you about it later.”

We never even got around to speaking in depth about the trust. Too tired to question him thoroughly about why Treasure would have to be involved, I kiss him. Then Hercules helps me into the back seat of his waiting SUV. James is behind the wheel.

Then we kiss passionately before parting ways. We’ll meet up at the bank in a few hours. Then tonight, we’ll meet with our families at Hyacinth, a fine-dining restaurant on the Upper East Side. Hercules has rented out the restaurant for the night.

I’m grinning like a Cheshire cat as James drives me to my next destination.

“What is it?” I finally ask.