Chasing Mrs. Knightly (Chasing #5: Chasing Epilogue) (9 page)

The Beautiful Life

We
had just found out that we were having a baby girl, and we were lounging on the couch, eating Chinese while we brainstormed baby names.

“How about Cara?” she suggested as she gobbled on the Lo Mein noodles, looking happily satisfied.

Definitely not. “I already call you cara as one of my endearments. I don’t want our child to confuse herself whilst growing up.”

She sighed before belching out loud. “
Ooops. That seriously just came out of nowhere.”

“Uh
-huh,” I said incredulously. “I guess the same goes with your gastrointestinal problem?”

She smacked my head with a pillow. “Hey
, you were the one who asked for this baby, so back off with your little remarks, buddy.”

I snorted, laughing out loud. “It’s okay that you’re gassy and you fart when you least expect it.” I was referring to her “incident” at Stella and Callum’s baby
shower.

“
Blake Knightly!
”
She reddened from embarrassment.

Bending over to kiss her burgeoning belly, I whispered to my daughter
, “That, my dear love, is your mother. She’s a tad wonky, but we’re going to love her either way. But I’m warning you, she’s quite a handful, this beautiful, gorgeous mother of yours.”

“Mock me all you want
,” she said in a warning tone, “but I’m not giving you sex for a week. Now how’s that for wonky?”

Bloody Hell. “I get hard when you lie
, cara.”

“Try me
,” she taunted.

“You bet your lovely arse I
will. I’m going to devour you all night long.”

THE END

Falling For Ava
(British Billionaires)
coming September 2014!

Clive Barrington’s
story will also be in the British Billionaires Series,
Falling For The Siren
. Coming 2015

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Read a special preview of Pamela Ann’s next novel, Bartered, the first book of The Encounter Trilogy.

More books by Pamela Ann

The
Torn Series
Order:

Scornfully Yours

Scornfully Hers

Frayed

Blasphemous

Undeniably Yours

Scorned

Fixated On You

Christmas With You

Unveiled
November 19

Crushed
TBA

Damaged
TBA

The
Chasing
Series:

Chasing Beautiful

Chasing Imperfection

Chasing Paradise

Chasing Forever
(Lucy & Toby)

Chasing Mrs. Knightly: Epilogue

Lily’s Mistake

Loving Drake

Loving Lily

British Billionaires Series:

Falling For My Husband
(Callum & Stella)

Falling For Ava
(Reiss & Ava)
September 2014

Formula Men Series:

Monza
Luca di Medici
Coming June 24

Nice
Jacques Bertrand
TBA

Barcelona
Andrès Franco
TBA

Pieces: A Duet

Pieces of You & Me

Pieces Of Us

Havoc
(Dark Erotica)

+ Upcoming Novels +

My Summer in Venice
Coming May 2014

Bartered
Coming August 2014

Breaking My Vows
TBA 2014

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Bartered (A Trilogy)

A woman could be… Everything. Anything. Nothing.

I was a connoisseur of beautiful things, women included. I didn’t just have one, but three—all exotic, stunning and would do anything I asked.

My life was grand. It was perfect and I was content with it all, until a little minx came along. The second our eyes clashed, giving me a glimpse of her violet blue depths that had a mixture of stubbornness and will but with a hint of something else…

Choices were made. Decisions were done.

And for the very first time in my life, I was challenged with something risky, merely i
gniting the animal in me.

Bartered

(
The Encounter Trilogy)

Copyright © 2014 by Pamela Ann

All rights reserved
.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to act
ual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without a written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

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Chapter 1

Hugo

“Mr. Xavier, your presence is needed sir.
”
Benoît, my head security, prompted me the second I hung up the conference call I had from England.

I considered him a moment, pausing as I raised my brow, before responding to him with a curt question. “In regards to what?”

My life revolved mostly with work. Well, it was the love of my life.
The Riviera
had been in my family for generations. It was more than a five-star luxury hotel that offered one of Europe’s finest casinos but it was a class on its own. It was a legacy that ran in my blood. It became my soul when I had nothing left going on with my life.

This
was all I had.

The power.

The prestige.

The privilege.

Benoît cleared his throat before answering me with a raised brow, doubtful. “It’s about Miss Dana Bateau sir. One of the cleaning ladies found her in your l
ibrary trying to open your safe.” He paused before sharply adding, “Sir.”

Dana…trying to open my safe… she’s been with me for about over six months and was this her first attempt? Or the first she ever got caught? I met her through Javier. A man I socialized yet never welcomed in my circle of trusted friends. Come to think of it, I didn’t have friends. I had partners, associates, acquaintances…but never friendships. I didn’t trust a lot of people—and the ones I did—it was a puny trusted circle. Dana obviously wasn’t in it. “Where is she now?” I calmly asked as I turned my attention back on the screen, starting at the message that was before me while I waited for Benoît to continue.

“She’s held in the villa sir. We’re waiting for your orders.”

“Hmm,” I murmured nonchalantly before getting up, striding into the vast glass that covered the entire wall looking down on the bright lights that showed the night beauty of Monaco. “Wait for me downstairs. I need a moment.” Gently barking out an order, I didn’t move until I heard the soft shut of the heavy oak door before strolling towards the marbled table for my humidor. Cuban cigars were lined accordingly. Precisely. Just like my life—it was a well-oiled lifestyle…and from time to time one would find some problems. The imperfections. Like Dana…

Plucking one out of the leathered case, I reached for my ivory encrusted cutter. It was a present from one of my lovers. One of the few presents that I truly enjoyed. The ivory tusk that it came from wasn’t from a poacher—or so what Evangeline promised. She said it was from her elephant pet who had became so ill they had to end her life. She loved the pet so much that she wanted me to have something beautiful that had meaning. She was one of the tribal African princesses, so I didn’t question her. Surely princesses didn’t lie? I thought with amusement as I recalled her stating the same thing. She was a woman of beauty and quick wit. I admired that about her. It was unfortunate when we ended our relationship because she was due to marry someone of high ranking from her country.

Lighting my cigar, I thought of Dana and the contents of what was in the safe. The items in there was of value…but it was of no value in regards to anything vital—those were kept in a place where no one could access it but myself.

Taking a long draw, I leisurely exhaled the smoke as I savored the smooth taste it left of my tongue when I heard another knock, angered that someone dared knock on my door when I gave orders not to disturb me other than Benoît.
“What?”

I heard the man himself clear his throat before breaking another news. “There’s another urgent matter sir.”

“
Merde!
” It was barely noon and this day led more surprises than Bastille Day.
“
Ce qui s'est passé?”
What happened? I wasn’t known for my temper nor did I often display it most especially to the people that I employed, but for the past week after that short and curt meeting I had with my father, I’d been on a short fuse, about to explode like a ticking time bomb to whomever stepped on my wrong foot. Father kept reminding me of the oath I took. Each year was the very same speech and it wasn’t as if I was going to ever forget my vow. Yet every year, at the very same day he visits to make sure I was in check—that I wasn’t being reckless as he sarcastically put it.

Reckless wasn’t part of my anatomy.  Yet the old man persisted. Though I couldn’t lay the blame on him. We both weren’t at fault that we were cursed. It has caused my father tremendous pain and suffering and his “yearly reminder” was done out of love with a hefty amount of caution. It was a curse we both grieved and would endure until we both shall live on this earth.

Benoît came into view seeming undeterred about my outburst. “It’s a matter of a Class A client sir. He was caught counting cards and when security detained him, it showed that he had insufficient funds to reimburse the checks.” 

Money made the world go fucking round and round, as it did with mine. “How much does he owe?”

“Three hundred thousand Euros,” he uttered without a blink. 

Fils de pute.
Son of a bitch
.
“This man owes me three hundred thousand euros—and he still managed to get inside my casino to gamble some more—
and security didn’t flag him?
”

“The finance department wasn’t notified until an hour ago. The security team wouldn’t have known that, Monsieur Xavier. Our men follow protocols, never fear of that.”

They did. Of course, he was right. He was the one who made sure that everything was perfect. Batard. “Where’s this man now?”

“He’s in one of the rooms next to the finance office, Monsieur.”

“Meet me in the casino in the elevator lobby in ten minutes.” I nodded nose flaring as I put down my cigar, wondering how unlucky I was to be dealing with such bullshit at such early a morning.