by Kay Maree
He takes another breath. “I know we haven’t all known each other for long, but…you feel like family to me. I don’t want to be without you.”
His eyes are sincere, it physically hurts to look at him. I glance down at the table. He’s laying it all on the line. He’s offering us everything, everything we’ve never had, everything we’ve always wanted. Love, a family, a home.
Cam looks over at me. I can see she’s biting her lip, which means she’s nervous because I do the same thing, which I’m doing right now. This is a big decision for us. But as we look at each other, I know what she’s thinking. I don’t need to talk to her, because the answer is so clear.
I turn back to Maverick.
“Yes,” I say.
“Yes?” he asks.
I grin. “Yes.”
“Yes!” Cam yells, wrapping her arm around my shoulder. I squeeze her to my side.
“Then, I think we have some things to do,” Maverick says to us with a wink.
“Group hug!” Cam yells, and we all grab each other.
I look over Cam’s head at Maverick.
“Thank you,” I mouth.
“Thank you,” he mouths back.
And just like that, we are a family.
EPILOGUE
MAVERICK
Five months later…
“I call this room!” Cam yells from the second floor.
I walk upstairs to find her in the master bedroom. “Nice try,” I say. “I have something even better for you. Follow me.” Cam follows me up to the third floor. It has sloping ceilings and is converted from some old attic part of the mill. It’s one giant room but there’s a bathroom up here.
I throw my hands out as I turn in a circle. “This is yours.”
Cam stops and stares at the room. “The entire floor?”
I nod. I point to the far side of the room. I had the builder put a small library in there with floor-to-ceiling shelves. I also stocked it with books. There’s a small desk on one side and a big comfy reading chair already in place.
“No way!” she squeals.
“Yes way.”
“OMG! Seriously? Like for real, real?”
I laugh. “Yes, for real, real.”
Cam jumps onto me like a monkey, squeezing my neck tight. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
I chuckle and slowly set her down. “I need to go tell the movers where to put stuff. Will you be OK up here for now?”
“Heck yeah!” she answers as she heads over to the bookshelves to peruse what I put on the shelves. I nod and head down to the master bedroom, where Bridget is hanging up clothes in our closet. Our closet. I smile at the thought.
I come up behind her and wrap my arms around her. “How’s the closet coming along?” I ask, nipping at her ear. She squirms against me, and my dick hardens on command.
She laughs and pulls away. “Oh no. Not now. We have to unpack. Plus, the movers haven’t even finished yet.”
I shrug. “I can get them to set the bed up first.”
She rolls her eyes at me. “You’re impossible, you know that?”
I pull her back against me. “Impossibly in love with you,” I say.
She grins wider than I’ve ever seen her grin. “I’m in love with you, too.”
“Well, good. Now that we’ve cleared that up, let’s go get the bed set up.”
She playfully slaps my chest. “After we get settled, let me enjoy this moment, OK?”
I smile at her. She knows I will do whatever the fuck she wants because she has me wrapped around her little finger so fucking tight, I’m probably cutting off circulation. I couldn’t be prouder of my girl. My girl. She graduated last month with her degree. She quit the restaurant and now works full time for me. She’s also working on starting up her own company as a marketing consultant.
The gym is doing great. We hired two other full-time employees, and a few people to teach some classes. Z has come back on as a silent partner, helping fund some much-needed renovations. He was all game after seeing Bridget’s plans and the projected profit margins.
And last week, we closed on our first home together as a family. Bridget did have to go to court and get permanent custody of Cam, which wasn’t too hard since she had a full-time job at my gym. I made them both go to therapy. I think it’s helping. Cam’s less jumpy now. She even made friends with our neighbor’s daughter when we started moving in last week.
I have one last surprise for my girls, for now anyway.
Bridget
“Last box,” I say as I set it on the bed in our room. I put my hands on my hips. We’ve spent the last week unpacking and organizing. It’s finally starting to feel like home. There are even pictures on the walls. It’s a dream come true, better than a dream come true.
“What’s in that box?” Maverick asks from behind me. I look back down at the label and frown. I don’t remember this box.
“I…don’t know. We didn’t mark it.”
I slowly peel back the tape. Inside there are a ton of those little foam packing peanuts and a smaller box. I open that and freeze. I carefully pull it out and stare at it. It’s a jewelry box.
“What is it?” Maverick’s voice booms from behind me.
“I…it’s a jewelry box,” I say confused as I start to open it.
“What’s inside?”
The world stops spinning as I open the box and see the most beautiful ring. It’s a garnet with two small diamonds on either side of it.
I turn and Maverick is on his knee. I stop breathing.
“Breathe, knockout. I have a very important question to ask you,” he says as he takes the box from my hand and removes the ring.
“This is a garnet. It symbolizes fire and passion. You’re a fighter, Bridget. Both you and Cam are fighters. And you brought a passion to my life that I didn’t know was missing. I love you both with all my heart, and I want us to be a real family. I want you to be my real family. Will you do me the great honor of being my wife, Bridget Anne Haddon?”
A tear escapes my eye and rolls down my cheek as I let out a breath. I notice Cam is at the door and there are tears running down her cheeks, too.
I nod. “Yes,” I say. He slides the ring on my finger and pulls me into his lap. Then he kisses me in a way that Cam should not see.
“Get a room!” she yells from the door.
“We are in it,” I say against Maverick’s lips which are curved into a smile.
“Get in here, little fighter,” he says and Cam jumps onto his back. We hug as a family. It dawns on me at that moment, that when I first met Maverick, I only saw him as a fighter, but he’s so much more than that. I didn’t see Cam and me as fighters at all. And in the end, we all ended up being fighters.
About the Author
S.E. Rose lives in the DMV. And if you know what that means, then you know where she lives. She currently resides with her husband, two children, and always at least two cats and usually other random creatures her children decide they need. While she works at a desk during the day, her evenings and weekends are devoted to writing and editing her romance novels. She loves all things wine, coffee, tea, and dark chocolate. In her spare time, she enjoys photography, traveling, going to concerts, and reading.
Learn more about upcoming books from S.E. Rose at www.seroseauthor.com or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram @seroseauthor. She has many other social media accounts and you can find them all at: https://linktr.ee/seroseauthor .
Other Books by S.E. Rose
Deceitful Destiny Series:
Island (Book 1)
Secrets (Book 2)
Bravura (Book 3)
Determination (Book 4)
Home (Book 5)
The Poisoned Pawn Duet:
A Fierce Princess
A Valiant Prince
Novels:
Chronicles of a Hot Mess
Chronicles of a Rockin’ Mess
&n
bsp; The Decoy
Novellas:
Neighbor in Apartment No. 5
The Tinsel Tango
Want to learn more? Visit www.seroseauthor.com.
The Doms
SAMMY KING
THE DOMS
Copyright © 2019 by Sammy King
The right of Sammy King to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her under the Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000
All rights reserved. This publication (or any part of it) may not be reproduced or transmitted, copied, stored, distributed or otherwise made available by any person or entity (including Google, Amazon or similar organisations), in any form (electronic, digital, optical or mechanical) or by any means (photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise) without prior written permission from the author.
This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.
CHAPTER ONE
Alaina stood in front of the huge wrought iron gates that led to the imposing white stone mansion. She chewed on her bottom lip wondering whether she really needed a job that badly. Maybe she could go back to the club, maybe she could beg Frankie for her old job back, she could even promise that she wouldn’t punch another customer who grabbed her ass. Shaking her head, Alaina reached out with a trembling finger and pressed the buzzer beside the gate and waited.
Her heart was beating out of her chest, the longer she stood there the more she wanted to flee. Looking around, Alaina knew it would be a long walk back into town. Her uber driver had continued to check with her that this is where she wanted to go. Now she wished she had told him to take her back. Alaina wished she had told him that she had the wrong address.
“Yes?” a deep voice barked through the crackling speaker, causing Alaina to startle.
“Um, hi, my name is Alaina, I’m the new housekeeper?” she said kicking herself for the way her voice trembled with nerves.
Alaina’s best friend Kelsey told her she was crazy to take the job without meeting her bosses. However, the agency that she had, had the interview with, assured her that the pay would be good and the fact that she was going to be able to live in the home was a bonus. She couldn’t continue to sleep on Kelsey’s couch and there was no way that she was going to go back to her parent’s house. That would feel too much like failure.
The gate groaned as it started to swing open. She took a deep breath and started up the long-paved driveway towards the house. The gardens were perfectly manicured. All Alaina knew about her new bosses was that they were twin recluses and were very particular about how their home was to be run. When she tried googling their names, the most she could find was that Cash and Morrisey Caldwell were the owners of one of the biggest tech companies in the world. There were no photos of them, and from all reports that she read they had never been seen in public.
That should have been enough to turn Alaina away, but after being fired from her job at the club, because she punched one of the locals in the cock, after he grabbed her ass one too many times, and then being kicked out of her house because she couldn’t afford the rent, she was desperate. When the agency told her that this job would pay her more money than she could even envision and she would have the opportunity to live in a mansion, she jumped in with both feet.
Now she was walking to the front door of the mansion to meet her future bosses that she knew nothing about. Nerves swirled around her stomach when she finally reached the large marble porch and went to the front door that stood open. Alaina bit her lip questioning whether she should just walk in or wait to be greeted.
“Are you coming in or not? I’ve got things to do today,” a gruff voice growled at her from just beyond the door where the shadows hid the man’s face.
“Sorry,” Alaina murmured before going through the door and shutting it with a soft click behind her.
When she turned to see the man that had spoken, her breath was stolen from her lungs. He was not only the biggest man she had ever seen, but he was also one of the most handsome men. He had dark hair that was cut short on the sides but left long on top with a slight curl. His eyes were a startling green that looked up and down Alaina, taking in every inch of her. When he finally got to her face, he narrowed his eyes and frowned slightly. He couldn’t have been more than thirty years old. She had assumed that the twins were elderly men. Shaking her head, she came to the quick conclusion that the man before her, wasn’t either Cash or Morrisey.
“You are younger than I was expecting,” he huffed.
Alaina raised her brow and put her hands on her hips, “sorry to disappoint, I am who the agency felt was the best for the job,” she replied sharply.
The man folded his arms across his expansive chest, the movement bulged his biceps, he was intimidating, from the size of him to the angry glare that he bore into her. Alaina wanted to turn and run but locked her knees to prevent from moving.
“Anyway, I’m here to work for Mr.’s Caldwell, are they here?” she asked.
The man continued to glare at her, his eyes widening slightly, before the corner of his lips twitched in a small smirk. He turned on his heel and walked away, leaving Alaina standing in the grand foyer with her mouth dropped open.
“For fucks sake,” she growled as she dropped her bag at her feet. Alaina wasn’t looking forward to working alongside that man at all. He was an arrogant ass and she just hoped that her new bosses were better than him.
She stood at the base of the stairs looking around the foyer, going over in her mind what she should do. The room that she was in was opulence to the extreme, the floor was a highly polished marble, expensive artwork and statues were dotted through the room, and an imposing grand staircase wound its way up to a second floor. When Alaina looked up the stairs, she saw a man standing at the top looking down at her, with a curious expression. She didn’t know how long he had been observing her, but seeing him standing there with a look of wry mirth on his face and his arms folded across his chest, made her wonder if he had witnessed her interaction with the man previous
Alaina’s mouth dropped open, she wondered what the hell was in the water, the only two men she had seen, were gorgeous. This man was just as tall and broad as the other, but where the other had almost black hair, this man’s hair was lighter, and long past his shoulders. He was too far away to see the color of his eyes, but he watched her with the same keen interest as the other man.
“Ah hello, my name is Alaina, I am meant to be starting here today as the new housekeeper. I’m wondering if you could possibly introduce me to either of the Mr.’s Caldwell’s?” she asked, after staring in lust for longer than what would have been polite.
The man at the top of the stairs cocked his head to the side before moving towards her, with a grace that made him appear to float rather than walk. “My brother didn’t take you to your room. Or show you what we expect of you?” he asked with a frown.
When he reached the bottom step and walked closer to her, it was then that she noticed the same startling green eyes of the man that she had first met, “you are Mr. Caldwell?” she asked.
The man smirked slightly before nodding his head briefly. Alaina kicked herself silently, not five minutes in the door and she had made a complete fool of herself, no wonder the other man, whichever Caldwell brother he was, looked at her like she was ridiculous. In her defense, she had tried to see what they looked like and couldn’t find a single picture online. She didn’t even know their ages, nothing. So, it wasn’t completely unreasonable for her to assume that the brothers were crazy old billionaires.
“I am Cash, and you I assume, have already met my brother Morrisey, if you follow me, I’ll take you to your room and then give you a rundown of what we expect from you here,” he said before he turned and walked down the same hallway that Morrisey had gone.
Cash led Alaina to a large bedroom on the ground floor. The room had a huge window that looked out towards the back of the
property that was surrounded by woods. In the center of the room was the biggest bed she had ever seen, with luxurious quilts and pillows. The whole room continued that opulent feel of the house.
“This is your bedroom, through there,” Cash said pointing towards a door, “is a wardrobe and your ensuite.”
Alaina looked around the room in shock, she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. It was the fanciest home she had ever lived, even as a child she never experienced anything like this. Her parents weren’t wealthy, just simple working class. Never in her wildest dreams would she have envisioned living in such a lap of luxury. When she looked back at Cash, she noticed him watching her with bemusement.
“You can leave your belongings here for the moment and we will go over what is expected of you,” he said, before he turned and walked from the room.
Alaina left her bags beside the bed and followed to where Cash was waiting . As he led her through the house he continued to point out various rooms, such as the laundry and the guest rooms, which he said weren’t used on a regular basis, however, she was expected to keep them cleaned and prepare them when they did host.
Once they reached the second floor of the grand house, Cash pointed out his bedroom, followed by Morrisey’s. “We will leave our laundry in the baskets for you to do each day, our bathrooms are to be cleaned every day as are our bedrooms, we expect fresh linen on the beds,” Cash explained.
Alaina nodded her head, taking note of everything he was directing her to do, hoping that she could remember everything. She wished that she had brought a note pad to write down Cash’s instructions. He continued to lead her throughout the home, pointing out other guest rooms, before they got to the office spaces.
