The Romance Challenge, Complete Series Box Set: BBW Hot Alpha Billionaire Romance (19 page)

"Now? Here? There isn't room."

"There is if we get real close. Like
I intend to."

"Someone might hear us." But
he'd already unbuttoned several buttons on my uniform shirt and by the feel of
his erection pressing against my leg, planned to remove more clothing.

"Are we ever going to stop going
crazy every time we touch?" I fumbled with his belt buckle, caught up in
his passion. Moisture formed between my thighs and my pulse sped up.

"I hope not, for a long time."

He managed to get my shirt off and my pants
undone. I shimmied my hips and let them drop to the floor.

"Turn around. Lean over."

I did, bracing myself on his desk. I heard
the snick of his zipper being undone. Already, the heat pouring from him
enveloped me and made my body hum. He reached around, cupped my breasts, and
fondled the nipples through my bra. He'd figured out I like to have them
pinched gently to tease, then harder. One of his hands slid down my stomach, into
my panties, right to my clit. He'd learned how I liked that touched, too. He
flicked it lightly, then with more pressure, then moved his finger in a
circular motion, driving me out-of-my-mind crazy.

I rubbed my ass against him, smiling at
his sharp intake of breath. He moved away.

"Hold on a second. Don't move."

I didn't. I heard clothes rustling and the
sound of paper tearing. So he had a condom with him? I'd have to ask him about
that. Later. Right now, I needed him to finish what he started.

He pulled my panties down to my knees.
"I'm not going to last long." Remorse sounded in his voice.

"That's okay, neither am I." I
swiveled my head around and grinned at him.

His answering smile, full of lust, made my
pussy clench. I had to have him inside me. Like he knew, he gripped my hips and
with a grunt, filled me up.

Perfect. How could he fit so perfectly? I
took him, tightened around him, smiled at the moan my grip produced. I loved
making this strong man hunger. He reached around me and found my clit again,
rubbing it, teasing it, until, my hands formed fists on his desk and I came
with a groan. He followed right behind me, burying his face in my neck to
muffle his shout.

He rested his cheek on my shoulder,
leaning his chest on my back. Once again, I closed my eyes, drifting to that
special place, delighting in the way we molded together, the way our hearts
pounded in unison.

And once again, the sound of a buzz pulled
me back to reality.

"Does your phone ever stop
ringing?"

"Rarely." He straightened for a
moment, then bent and kissed my cheek. "What would you like to do right
now? If we didn't have to take care of business and could be anywhere in the
world?"

"Hmmm. Anywhere? Doing anything?"

"Yep." He moved lower, with
slow, lingering kisses on my throat.

I slid my arms down the desk and dropped
my head on my hands. My body shook, from the sheer intensity of our lovemaking.
He adjusted to accommodate my new position, still inside me.

"I'd like to be on a tropical island
with you, one where you didn't own any property and had no responsibilities.
We'd get dressed…"

"Oh, damn. We have to get
dressed?" Now his lips blazed a trail along my neck, down my shoulder
blade.

"For a short while. We go out to
dinner, slow dance together, then come back to our suite, one with a two-person
Jacuzzi, and drink champagne in the tub."

"Now you're talking. That will be our
first vacation. Soon." His words came out muffled as he nuzzled my neck.

His fingers traced my spine, and I felt
him attempting to undo the bra I still had on. I also felt his cock stiffen.
Holy crap, was he ready for another round?

A chime sounded, my phone this time. We
both sighed.

"I suppose we need to get back to
work. For now. I'll come to your room, as soon as everything is taken care of
with the wedding reception. Anywhere particular you'd like to go for dinner
tonight?" He eased out of me and I missed his warmth already.

"No place particular. As long as
you're there."

We dressed, he planted a kiss on my lips,
and we left. He headed to the reception, and I started back to my room. I
checked my phone and found a picture from Jen, of a wind-whipped tree, with
most of the leaves dropped. Dark clouds filled the background.

What's going on today here. How about a
picture of there to warm me up?

I grinned, and reversed my direction to
take me to the deck where I took a few photos. Jen would like all the wedding décor
and the sky was particularly beautiful. Like Key Largo was always posing for
pictures. I wanted to take a selfie, but knowing Jen, she'd see that I was ecstatically
happy and figure out what I'd been up to. I'd snap a few of those later, after
my post-lovemaking glow wore off.

+++

Back in my room, I lay on my bed, head
leaned back, still in a state of total bliss. Ready to fall into a snooze, actually.
That Irish lullaby Dad used to sing floated through my mind. He knew the words,
but would make up his own and create an extra verse, often in Gaelic. Sleep,
dream, he used to sing, to start the verse.
Codladh, taibhreamh.
Then
he'd come up with some silly nonsense to make us laugh. He'd always chant those
musical words, whenever he wanted us girls to go to sleep.

I bolted upright. That was it! The
password. I jumped out of bed, snatched the flash drive from my purse, and
hopped from foot to foot as I waited for my laptop to boot up. When it did, I
opened the drive and plugged in those two Gaelic words.

Hot damn! The document opened, but as it
did, I covered my eyes. Did I want to see this? Did I want to find out what my
dad was doing? What if he committed some heinous act? Did I want to know?

Yes. I had to face the truth. I pulled my
hand away and read the document.

If you've opened this file, I'm probably
dead. Most likely, it's you reading this, Amber. You were always good at
solving mysteries and puzzles. I'm sure no one else can figure out this
password and I hope Michelle will keep this little angel like I asked her to.

What you were originally going to find
here was directions to a lot of cash. Enough to keep you, your mom and Michelle
comfortable for many years if anything happened to me. How I got it is a long
story, one I'm ashamed to repeat. So I won't.

 I couldn't keep the money. It weighed on
my soul. I gave it to several worthy causes, anonymously. I'm sorry I took it
in the first place, and I don't want you to remember your old man as a thief.

What I am going to give you is, the names
of all four of us involved, and the case number from the arrest where my pals
and I got the cash. You hang onto this, and if you ever have problems, with any
of the guys, you tell them, you'll turn over the file number. There are also
pictures at the end of this document, of us stashing the loot in a car. I got
license plates, faces, enough to get them all in deep shit. They didn't know I
snapped photos. See? Your dad is pretty smart too.

Since you remembered that part of the
lullaby, that I came up with especially for you girls, I hope you'll also
remember me in a good way. You couldn't understand why I left your mother, and
maybe I made a mistake, but at the time, it's what I needed to do. I did plenty
of bad things, but I made two wonderful daughters. I always loved you and
Michelle, more than anything in this whole, wide world. Take care of yourself,
A stór.

Tears streaked down my cheeks and I sobbed
out loud.
I loved you too, Dad.
A small piece of my heart that had
withered away, beat again, and a warm feeling suffused me, like when he used to
pick me up and hug me. He'd always be a wonderful father, in my memories.

A knock on my door drew me away from my
laptop. I wiped my cheeks with the heel of my hand, peeked out the window, and
then let Nathan in.

"What's wrong?" He studied my
face closely.

"Nothing. I opened the flash drive
and found a message from my father. It's sad, kind of, but sweet. Here, take a look."

Nathan sat at the table and read Dad's
note. "He sounds like a great guy."

"He was. Not perfect, but…"

"Who is?" Nathan squeezed my
shoulder. "Now you know. You okay with what he did?"

"I am. It's closure. But about Turski."

"Don't worry about him."
Nathan's hand tightened. "I've got my people on it. They'll find him, pass
along this info from your dad. He won't bother you again."

"Turski has probably kept in touch
with these guys, the ones that took the money. I want them all to know, I've
got the drive, in a safe place where no one can get to it except me. If anyone
messes with me or my family, I'll bring it out. Can you do that? Can you get
the message to him?"

"I can and I will. You have a place
to keep it? Not at your home?"

"A safe deposit box. Tell him that.
And if anything suspicious happens to any of us, the flash drive is going
straight to… I don't know, make something up. I'll figure it out later."

"I'll tell him. And you know I'll do
everything in my power to take care of you. Starting with this." He put
the photo of the townhouse on the table. "Don't. I know what you're going
to say."

"You do not." But the corners of
my mouth lifted slightly. He probably did.

"You're going to say you don't want
to move. You don't want to be obligated to me. I promise you, no strings
attached. You'll be working with my property management company and treated like
any other tenant. When you get home, go by, take a look. The utilities are on,
so you can see it after dark, if you need to. Your half is the larger one, with
the bay window."

"Nathan…"

He touched a finger to my lips.
"Please. Just look. Then send me a picture. Of you, naked, in front of the
fireplace."

"Fireplace?"

"Two. One upstairs, one down. Or
maybe a photo of you in the whirlpool garden tub. The one in the master
bedroom. With a skylight over it."

Garden tub. Skylight. "You sure know
how to tempt a girl."

"In more ways than one, I hope."

I laid my hand on his cheek. "In many
ways. And I suspect there are more I haven't even seen."

"Oh, yeah, I've just got
started." He caressed my cheek and my toes curled. "Dinner. We should
get ready and go."

He removed his hand but the feel of his
touch remained. Dinner would be nice, but I knew where we'd have dessert, and
it would be better.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

"This is the last box in my car. You
got any more in yours?"

I padded down the wooden stairs of the
townhouse. "No, that's it. Thanks, Jen. You're a lifesaver. I'd ask you to
have a seat but…" I waved my arm around the living room, empty except for
a pile of moving boxes along the wall.

 "That's okay, I need to pick up the
kiddos soon anyway. Give me a quick tour."

"Take off your shoes. I don't have a
broom yet and I don't want to grind dirt into these hardwood floors. We'll
start upstairs." I grabbed her hand, and we trotted up, clomping our
stocking feet like silly teenagers. "Did I tell you there are three
bedrooms up here? And one of them has a fireplace and two walls of shelves? I
can get my books out of storage."

"And read by firelight. Sweet!"

I'd come home from Key Largo late Monday
afternoon, turned the heat up and my microwave on, and blown a fuse. I flipped
the breaker but nothing happened, and a call to the landlord resulted in more
nothing. A message on his machine, telling me he'd return my call shortly. From
experience, "shortly" could be anywhere from six hours to three days.

My phone chirped, reminding me of the text
Nathan had sent me earlier.

Key is in a fake rock in planter. Alarm
code 579841. Take a look. Just a look.

 An empty apartment, with working heat.
Pumpkin meowed, curled into a tighter ball on the couch and burrowed under a blanket.

Screw it. I'd deflated my air-bed and
threw the mattress, along with pillows and bedding, into a bag. Next, I
repacked my suitcase with work clothes, then grabbed Pumpkin, and her food and
bowls. I drove the two miles to the address Nathan had given me and found the
townhouse. It was just as gorgeous in real life as it looked in the picture.

Clean red brick made up most of the
building. The curved bay window on the bottom and the balcony on the top were
painted black for an interesting contrast. The building didn't appear huge from
the front but went deep down the side street. Nicely trimmed shrubs lined the
small yard.

"Stay put. I'll be back in a
minute," I'd told Pumpkin. I found the rock with the key, entered the
building, and shut off the alarm.

When I flipped the thermostat, heat blew
out, toasty and hot. No furniture, but new appliances gleamed in the kitchen. I
hauled in my bags and cat, and while Pumpkin acquainted herself with the place,
I dashed to a grocery store for a microwave meal. We'd spent a warm, cozy night
there and the next day, I called and left another message with my landlord,
letting him know I wouldn't be staying past November. My lease ran
month-to-month, so the worst he could do was refuse to refund my deposit. Big deal.

"This is amazeballs." Jen ducked
into another bedroom. "Look at all this space. You have got to let me help
you decorate. I have ideas. For furniture, floor coverings…you must get an
oriental rug for that living room."

Amazeballs, for sure. "You know I will
call you the minute I'm ready to shop. You have great taste."

"And Nathan's going to let you furnish
it any way you want? And pay for it?"

"That's what he said. The women's
shelter is coming to pick up my old stuff tomorrow from the Shit Heap
apartment."

Jen stopped running her hand over the real
stone of the fireplace mantle to turn and look at me. "You're okay with
all this? Living in Nathan's place?"

I'd told Jen the whole story of my stay at
Key Largo and Nathan. Well, most of it. She didn't get to hear the more intimate
parts, no matter how much she begged for details.

"Heck no, I'm freaking out. But I'm
going to roll with it anyway. I have to. I have to take a chance. Nathan sure
is, and it's time for me to move forward."

Jen hugged me. "I couldn't agree
more. I'm right here if you need me, anytime. But I have a feeling, you guys
will work out. Really well."

Me too. Nathan gave me the name of a
therapist who made house calls, and Michelle agreed to speak with the woman.
Talk about a huge step in the right direction. And I decided a few months of
therapy wouldn't hurt me either. I'd done some serious soul searching and realized,
I was angrier about my parent's divorce and my dad's death than I thought, and had
other issues to work on. I wanted to open up, to be all I could for Nathan. I'd
taken the first step towards trusting a man and I wanted to make sure I would
continue.

But now, time to move my butt. I had a
week to find a holiday sweater, then pack for another trip, to Sacramento to
meet Nathan's family for Thanksgiving dinner. He needed to get back to Bay
Paradise the day after the holiday, so we'd only spend the one day in
California. That Friday, I'd join him in Key Largo, for two days of fun, not
work, this time. Having a fast, private jet came in handy for quick travel.

A short visit at his sister's house would
be fine with me. I'd be nervous as hell around his family, though he assured me
they would fall in love, just like he did.

 I told Michelle we'd celebrate on that
Sunday when I got home and gauged her reaction. She was perfectly fine with
that, though the promise of a new, super-fast computer helped, I'm sure. Nathan
had talked to her on the phone on Tuesday after I'd called him and told him I
was moving in. He asked what type of system she wanted, then told her to expect
delivery by the weekend. I thought Michelle would hyperventilate she was so
excited.

I told her about him, a little, and I
showed her a picture of us together in Key Largo. We took it right before I
left and we looked adorable, both of us with our hair blowing in the wind and
the water in the background. All she said was, he was cute. But I saw her
studying the picture when she thought I wasn't looking, and she smiled. I think
she's happy I found a boyfriend.

Mom seemed surprised when I insisted the
three of us get together and cook a big meal, at least one day for the
holidays, and really shocked when I told her I wanted to visit with her husband
and his kids. She argued at first, but I wouldn't back down, so she agreed.

This love stuff has given me all kinds of
confidence to do crazy things.

My Bratty Inner Child has given a few
squawks, but I've calmed her, with slow breathing, gentle words of courage, and
wine. It won't be the easiest relationship in the world, but the rewards will
be worth the risk.

I know.

THE END