His Dark Desires: A BWWM Billionaire Romance (4 page)

T
hey’re going
to kill me…

I was stuck inside my own head, repeating that phrase over and over. As wonderful as he was being about all this, James would surely get sick of my rants.

He really didn’t know what he was in for, so I couldn’t blame him for being so naive about all of this. His family had always been supportive of everything
he
did. James was their first-born, and they pushed him hard, but they also let him know under no uncertain terms that they would stand behind him no matter what he chose to do.

Not my parents.

My phone vibrated again as I heard the shower stop. I snatched it up and walked to the window to glance nervously at the parking lot. I was being paranoid, convinced that Mom and Dad would track me down at the hotel where James and I had spent the night. For years, I’d had these wild dreams of them implanting a microchip in me.

Y
our mother
and I expect you home in the next 30 minutes or there will be consequences.

I
f I weren’t so preoccupied
with the current state of affairs, I would have found it comical that my parents were considering punishing me. I mean, imagine that: a pregnant 18-year-old, grounded.

I don’t blame them for being worried. I had stayed out all night with a man for the first time. But at least I had the decency to send them a text last night and explain that I wouldn’t be home and that there was no need to worry. That I was sleeping at a friend’s house. Okay, so it was a little white lie. Apparently, parents have a radar for these kinds of things. And when I didn’t come home for breakfast before work, they got worried. Dad called twenty minutes ago, and I told him that I was already at work.

“I want to believe you, Audrey. I really do,” he had said calmly. “But when you left here yesterday, you were wearing sweat pants, and you were without your vehicle. I want an explanation, now.”

I stood there dumbfounded, struggling to cover my lies that were growing faster than my pregnant belly. But the best I could come up with was that I was right in the middle of something, and I would explain everything later that evening.

Explaining stuff later never works with my parents. They want explanations and they want them now. And they were about to get them, whether they were ready for them or not.

“
S
top worrying
,” James said. “It’s not good for you or the baby.”

What is it with men telling us not to worry? That’s like telling us not to walk without swaying our hips or to stop wanting high heels and chocolate.

It doesn’t work.

“You know that the worry function isn’t a switch, right? I can’t just shut it off.”

James raised a brow at me. That was his way of saying I better tread lightly. He had made it clear that he would not tolerate my sass mouth, but even his looks of mild disapproval were always followed by a show of support.

“I know, sweetheart. I just don’t want you getting stressed out. You need to trust I won’t let anything bad happen.”

He gave my hand a squeeze and I knew he was right. I shouldn’t worry about anything as long as he was by my side. But still, I was terrified of what would go down once we got to my house. I started sweating profusely and felt like the earth was spinning way too fast. This was too much for me to process.

We pulled into the driveway and I felt like I was going to pass out. My parents would see us together, and they would know. I grabbed James’ arm.

“Wait!” I snapped.

“I haven’t even gotten out of the car, Audrey. What am I waiting for?”

“I’m not ready to tell them I’m pregnant yet. Can we wait? Do it later?” I pleaded.

James took a deep breath and looked out the window, lost in thought.

“I know you don’t understand,” I continued. “But just try and see it from my point of view. Please, James.”

James looked at me with understanding and grasped my hand. “It’s not that. I do see it from your point of view. It’s your parents I’m having a hard time with right now.”

He paused before continuing.

“You are the most precious thing to me. You and the baby. And it saddens me to think that your parents would not be supportive of us. But I understand that this is a burden for you. So, yes, we can wait to tell them about the baby until you’re ready.”

I closed my eyes and breathed a sigh of relief.

“Thank you.” I said, feeling worlds better. It was much easier to face telling Mom and Dad about our relationship without bringing my pregnancy into it. I immediately drew strength from James.

“I love you,” I added.

“I love you too. Now let’s get this over with, alright?”

Get this over with
…

And now he was speaking a language I understood. I smiled at James, thrilled that I had found someone who could be so disciplined, structured, and firm, yet so flexible and understanding. If I had been given the opportunity to handpick the love of my life, I don’t think I could have chosen a better man.

My moment of joy was fleeting, and as the smile slowly diminished from my face, James read me like a book. He turned around and saw my father waiting outside on the front porch.

“Just let me do the talking. When they see how much I love you, they won’t help but to approve.”

It was my turn to raise a brow at James. If only it were that simple. My parents were reasonable people, but only when it came to things that they thought were reasonable situations. Dating outside of my race was not reasonable to them. I was grateful we were not going full force with the whole truth just yet.

Without waiting for us to get out of the car, my dad started walking down the sidewalk. I could see Mama peeking out through the window, and I thought she was being smart, staying inside. Then again, she had to get to work soon. I could only imagine what was going through her head at the moment.

We both got out of the car at the same time, ready to face the music head on.

“How you doing, sir?” James asked, extending a hand to my father. In those few minutes that I waited for him to reply, it was as though I was waiting on the apocalypse. Dad seemed to be sizing him up, which was weird because they had already met. Finally, my dad extended his hand too. How could he not? James was being polite, and really, there was no way for him to know what was going on? For all he knew, James could have saved me from an ax murderer the night before.

“Pretty good, I suppose.” My dad glanced at me and I looked at James, avoiding his judgmental stare.

“Audrey, go on inside while your boss and I have a few words.”

James looked at me, and I’m sure he could see the fear on my face. He held up his arm, as if to block me from moving.

“Ah, actually Mr. Braxton, Audrey and I have something we’d like to discuss with you, if that’s fine with you.” I was so proud of how polite James was being. If I had been in his shoes, I probably would have lost my temper by now. But I guess that’s why James was doing all the talking instead of me.

My dad placed his hands on his hips and tilted his head in a signature Braxton move.

“Is that so?” Dad asked.

“Yes sir. Would it be possible to go inside where we could all get comfortable?”

Bold and ballsy. That was James. He was getting ready to find out just how bold and ballsy my dad could be. Daddy just stroked his chin and kept his eyes fixed on James.

“I think whatever you have to say can be said out here. My wife is busy getting ready for her work day and I don’t want to upset her.”

Oh brother. This is the part where I started to get frustrated. I knew my dad could be gruff, but this bordered on crazy. There was just no reason for him to refuse to let my boss in the house.

James did this little cute twitchy thing with face, something that he did when he got frustrated. I had seen it a couple of times when he had certain clients on the phone.

“Of course, I understand,” James said, still maintaining an air of composure. I took a few steps towards him, wanting to wrap myself around him and hide my face from the world.

“When your daughter started working for me several weeks ago, I was amazed at how well she took on unfamiliar tasks.”

Reference to my virginity. Nice, James…

“As the days wore on, she continued to impress me with the way she would tackle anything I asked her to do,” he continued.

Reference to my ‘amazeballs’ blowjobs, as James would say, and the way I tackled his cock with such animalistic lust.

“Before I knew what was happening, I began to fall for her.” James smirked and rubbed his hands together before continuing. “Well, I’m sure you’re aware of how wonderful your daughter is. I don’t need to convince you.”

James held out his arm to me, and I snuggled in close, relieved that everything was out in the open once and for all. Well, most everything.

“No, you don’t need to convince me on how special Audrey is. She is one of a kind.” My dad was even toned in his response, and I wondered what he had up his sleeve. There was always something up Daddy’s sleeve.

“However,” my dad continued, “she is
my
daughter, and she is living under
my
roof, and shall abide by
my
rules, which strictly forbid her from dating anyone that we don’t approve of. Now, with all due respect, sir, I kindly request that you leave our property, and let me deal with my daughter the way I see fit.”

My jaw practically slammed into the asphalt of the driveway. I knew Dad wouldn’t be happy, and quite frankly, I expected him to disapprove and completely derail on me, but I don’t think I quite expected him to be so rude to someone close to his own age. I looked at James as a successful businessman and professional, so I expected my family to view and treat him the same way. But no go, obviously. I wasn’t sure if James would let my father talk to him like that. And at that point, I wasn’t sure whom I would obey if James insisted I leave with him. I was carrying his baby, after all. I had a sense of duty to him. But my parents were still my parents, and I still lived under their roof.

“Audrey, go inside with your father, and we’ll talk later.”

“No you will not talk later, and that’s a promise,” my dad responded.

I literally wanted to scream right then.

“Audrey, get in the house,” my dad added.

I stood still for a moment, pleading at James with a look. He just nodded at me.

He knew it and I knew it. We were not going to win this battle, at least not right now. I understood that James simply wanted to keep the peace at the moment in order to prevent me from getting totally stressed, so I went with it. But this was far from over.

I took a few steps back and watched James pull out of my driveway while I fought back the waterworks. This was tearing me up. And if I thought it couldn’t get any worse, I was wrong.

“I’m very disappointed in you, Audrey. You are forbidden from seeing him again.”

I turned and looked my dad square in the eyes.

“Like hell I am.”

“
I
s having
a normal life so much to ask?”

A rather stupid question given my circumstances. I don’t think anything in my life would be normal from here on out. But a girl can dream, can’t she? James pulled a few mugs out from the kitchen cabinet and set one down on the bar in front of me.

“In light of your upbringing, I don’t think you ever stood a chance at having a normal existence.”

James was blown away by my parents’ behavior the previous day. Couldn’t say I didn’t warn him, but I think he was hoping against hope that I was being overly dramatic. I have a tendency to be that way, but not when it comes to my home life.

“Yeah, well, that’s the sad part. Until recently, all of that would have seemed normal.”

James poured some hot tea into my mug then filled his own.

“You mean until you learned what true love was, and what it’s like when something gets in the way of true love?”

I pointed a finger at James as I took a sip of tea.

“You do know it’s killing me that you’re being treated that way, don’t you?” James pulled his phone out of his pocket and glanced at the screen. “What did you tell them this morning, by the way? I’m surprised they didn’t blockade the driveway to prevent you from leaving.”

That had actually crossed my mind as a possibility. I was sure Dad would hogtie me to the bed or something crazy, but fortunately, it didn’t come to those extremes.

“I told him I was going to work. He tried to stop me, but I explained that it wasn’t right to quit without notice. That you depended on me to take care of some business things.” I shook my head in disbelief. “I honestly think that he never really believed this was a real job.”

James widened his eyes at me. “That’s really sad, sweetheart.” He set his phone down on the bar then spun it around.

“And speaking of this being a real job, looks like you’ve got your first task of the day.” There was a message on the screen from a new client placing an order, which would mean I’d need to go to the client’s office, then spend the rest of the day on the phone with vendors.

“I can see that,” I said, happy to have something to do that didn’t involve drama of any kind. James walked around to my side of the bar and spun me in the stool until I was facing him. He leaned down and kissed me for the first time since yesterday morning, and all my anxieties washed away, just like that. I wrapped my legs around his waist and pressed myself up against him, allowing the rest of my body to melt into him and his warm embrace.

James found the buttons on my blouse and popped them, one by one, as I sat helpless to his advances. I always loved the way he took what he wanted from me, without asking. He had this way of reading me, of knowing what a woman wants, I guess.

James scooped me off the stool and started carrying me down the hall.

“Um, James, isn’t Kristin around?” It would have been so nice to forget about his ex-wife, but having her on property made me uncomfortable. At least she was in the pool house. But she shouldn’t have been there at all in my opinion.

She had the affair. She left him.

Here I was, pregnant with his child, and didn’t have any kind of luxury other than being harassed by my parents. My blood began to boil at the thought of Kristin ruining our moment. Worst timing ever.

“Kristin’s in the guest house,” James said. “She’s not allowed to come and go here as she pleases. And she knows that.”

James cupped my ass as he started up the stairs and I nuzzled his neck. At least there had been some rules established.

“So, we’re going to play in the master suite before I go see this client?” I murmured, smiling from ear to ear. Being pregnant had made me insatiable.

James leaned over and set me on the steps. Without wasting a minute, he fell on my lips and he let his hand trail down to the button on my pants. I eagerly pulled them off and spread my legs, and he unzipped his own pants, pulling out his hard wand to make it magically disappear inside my now dripping pussy. I gasped as he entered me and my legs trembled as my whole body tensed against him.

James placed both fists on the stairs as he fucked me, and I let my eyes flutter closed so I could feel his every move. I loved watching him tower over me in one long swoop of muscled mass. But occasionally, I do this thing where I disappear inside my own head as he claims me.

It doesn’t take much for me to relinquish everything to James. I never felt that with anyone. I had always been on guard around every guy I’ve known. But with James, there’s just this inherent trust. Like a built-in mechanism that drives us towards one another. It makes me feel totally complete around him.

I sat up a little and arched my back, letting my swollen button rub against his cock slamming in and out of me. James moved his finger down there to expedite the situation, and my body thundered through an orgasm. Sometimes I could swear he’s stepped inside my body and can feel what I feel. He knows just how to touch me. I know I don’t have much experience, but I’m thinking that most guys don’t know how to do this.

James’ body stiffened and he fell on top of me, unable to hold himself up any longer. A few minutes later, he whipped off his t-shirt and placed it under my ass.

“Here’s a little ass bib for you,” he said.

I looked at him curiously. “Ass bib? I asked.

“Mm-hmm,” he nodded. “It’s goes under the ass to catch the come that drips out of you. Like a bib.”

“Oh my God!” I covered my mouth in laughter. “That’s so gross!”

James moved my hand away and chuckled before kissing me.

“Would you rather I call it a diaper?”

“No!” I protested.

At least I could always count on James to make me laugh.

“
I
can’t talk right now
,” I whispered into the phone. “Give me five minutes and I’ll call you back.”

I pressed the red button on my phone and tossed it on the bed. James would have to wait until I could get more details. I knew something was off with the way my parents were acting, but I couldn’t prove
just yet
whether my suspicions were on target or way off base.

I pressed my ear against the door again, trying to hear what my parents were saying, but it was futile. It was obvious my mother was upset. She barely acknowledged me when I got home this evening. Then Dad said they were going out for dinner and that they’d bring something back. When they got home a little while ago, I heard Dad snap at my mom.

“Let me handle this!” He’d said. “If you hadn’t let her spend time with that Janine girl last year, she probably wouldn’t even be in this situation.”

Janine? Wow, I hadn’t heard that name in a while. She was a good friend from school and she sure loved to party. Needless to say, my parents did not approve of me spending time with her. We had hung out a lot on the weekends, but she ended up moving back to Washington this past February. Rumor had it she had gotten pregnant, but I knew her family had moved because her grandma was sick.

Wait a minute. If I was being compared to Janine, whom everyone thought was pregnant, did that mean that my parents knew I was pregnant too? There’s no way they could know. I hadn’t told anyone except James. Well, James and that new client of his this afternoon. Had I talked about it over the phone at all? I didn’t think I had.

“Audrey?”

There was a loud knock at my door.

“Uh, yeah, Daddy?” I ran to my bed and grabbed my phone. I didn’t want Daddy to get any ideas about taking it away.

“May I come in?”

I opened the door slowly and he walked in, shutting the door behind him. He put his hands in his pockets and I sat on the edge of the bed.

“Your mother and I are quite upset with you, as you know. Particularly about this relationship you’ve decided to pursue against our will.”

“Daddy… ” I sighed.

“Let me finish, Audrey,” he interrupted.

“It has come to our attention—and believe me, we’d love it if we were wrong—but it’s come to our attention that you are… with child.”

Oh my fucking God…

I stared at him. I knew he was waiting for an answer. Specifically, he was waiting for me to tell him he was wrong. I hung my head solemnly. This is not how I wanted this whole conversation to go. Not one bit.

“Is it true?” he asked.

I nodded slowly, and my dad’s head fell back. And then he turned around and walked out of the room, just like that.

Well that was easy
, I thought.

But no, that was probably the calm before the storm.

I searched the room frantically, trying to mentally piece together what might happen. It could go one of two ways.

Option number one was that Mom and Dad would be supportive and help me out, making sure I get plenty of rest, allowing me to keep my job of course. And they would give me the emotional support the baby and I would both need in this hateful, racist world. But that seemed like a stretch.

Option number two was that I get lectured and receive the icy-cold treatment all through my pregnancy. But in the end, they pull through and spend time with the baby after he’s born. Everyone somehow manages to adjust, and they end up accepting James as my partner, and ultimately my husband, hopefully.

I guess there is that dreaded option number three, which is where they never accept my pregnancy and refuse to support me, and never have anything to do with the baby. But I had to believe that my parents loved me far too much to do something that extreme.

I believed wrong.