Love at First Sight : Books One-Three

by Loni Ree

  I’m about to lose my mind when my phone finally rings and Chloe’s name flashes across the top of the screen. “Where are you?” I yell into the phone.

  I can hear her crying before she whimpers into the phone, “I started feeling like the room was spinning, and by the time I made it to the bathroom, I threw up all over my beautiful gown. Brianne helped me get home. She’s been wonderful. Please, come home, now.”

  I turn to Tate. “Your date helped Chloe get home when she got sick. Come with me.” He doesn’t even question me as we run out the door. By the time I get to Chloe, I’m ready to combust. The ride to my apartment seems to take forever. Tate insisted on driving because he didn’t think I was in any shape to be behind the wheel of a vehicle.

  Rushing in the door, I find Brianne sitting on the couch flipping through the channels on our television. She looks up when I rush in and indicates, “Chloe passed out after she showered. My sister was just like that when she was pregnant with her first. Hopefully, Chloe will feel better after she gets past her first trimester.” When she stands and shrugs like she didn’t just upend my life, Tate and I turn and look at each other. He signals for her to follow him to the door, and she drops the remote on the table and does his bidding. The possibility that Brianne is right keeps running through my mind.

  She walks over to Tate and asks, “Can we stop for burgers on the way to your place? I didn’t get anything to eat tonight.” As Brianne is talking, I wonder to myself if she’s the same woman we met earlier tonight. Tate shrugs and looks at me as he’s leading Brianne to the door. He turns at the door and smirks. “I’ll let the board know Monday that you’ll be out for a few days for personal reasons. You know, you sure are getting next to nothing done lately. I think I need a fucking raise.”

  “Get out. I’ll talk to you about that raise next week,” I snap, and he salutes me then takes Brianne’s hand and walks out the door. Before the door closes, I call out to Brianne, “Thank you for taking care of Chloe.”

  She looks over her shoulder and smiles. “Anytime, us girls have to stick together.”

  After they leave, I rush into the bedroom and find my love sprawled naked on the bed. I feel her skin, and she doesn’t feel feverish so I relax a little. When I turn her and pull the covers over her body, she opens her gorgeous blue eyes and smiles up at me.

  I try to hold my stern look as I implore her, “You are never allowed to fucking give me a heart attack like that again.” My trembling hand brushing back her hand proves how terrified I’ve been for the last hour.

  “Please understand, I couldn’t go back into the ballroom with vomit running down my dress, and I left my cellphone at home so I couldn’t call you. I felt so horrible, and I wasn’t thinking clearly. Brianne wanted to go get you, but I begged to her just to take me home. I really thought you needed to stay until the end of the banquet for Harlington Technologies.” She sniffles, and I take her chin in my hand so I can look right in her eyes.

  “You are way more important than Harlington Technology has ever been or will ever be. If you need me, have someone get me. I almost died when I couldn’t find you tonight. Don’t ever do that to me again.” I lean down and kiss her nose then decide we need to discuss the reason for her early exit from the banquet.

  “Are you feeling better?” Even as I’m asking, she turns a little green in the face and dashes for the bathroom. I hold her hair out of the way and pat her back while she throws up. When her poor tummy is finally empty, I help her brush her teeth and get her back into bed. Chloe is sound asleep before her head hits the pillow, so I make sure everything is locked up then shower and join her in bed.

  The next morning, I wake up to bright-eyed Chloe. She looks perfectly healthy. You’d never know she was throwing up violently just last night. While we are having breakfast, I question her about the sudden sickness. “Last night, you really worried me. Do you need to see a doctor?”

  “Oh, yeah. I have an appointment next week, but they said this could last another couple of months at least.” She smiles at me over the dining room table, and her meaning becomes clear. Brianne wasn’t wrong last night when she guessed Chloe is pregnant. I jump up and grab her, but before I swing her around, I catch myself.

  “You have no idea how happy I am. You have given me all the important firsts in my life. When you walked into my office that first day, I saw my future standing in front of me. Then you we lost our virginities together, and you became my first and only love. Now, you are going to give me my first little Nerd Boy or Boss Girl. I can’t wait to see all the firsts that you give me.” The tears roll down her face, and I lean over to take her lips.

  She whispers, “I love you,” then races for the bathroom, and I realize the next eight or so months are going to be so much fun.

  Epilogue 1

  Dylan-Five Years Later

  I stare at the picture of my daughter on the wall and shake my head. Bree has her mother’s dark red hair and bright blue eyes, but she didn’t end up with either of our personalities. She’s loud and outgoing, and the child has never met a stranger. If she didn’t look exactly like her mother at this age, we’d swear the hospital sent us home with the wrong baby.

  After the whole Charity Banquet fiasco, Brianne and Chloe became the best of friends. First impressions really can be all wrong. Evidently, the beautiful girl is extra shy and tends to project the appearance of conceit and indifference when she truly doesn’t know how to interact with new people. She has a lot in common with us, so she fits right in with the family.

  “DADDY,” is screeched at a mind-blowing decibel across the house, and I walk out of my home office to find Brianne and Bree walking in the door holding shopping bags. “Look at all the pretty clothes Aunt Brianne got me today.” My little angel runs over and holds up the shopping bag in her hands.

  I pick her up and absorb her delicate baby scent. “Did you thank Aunt Brianne for taking you shopping and for all your pretty things?” Her little head is bobbing up and down before I even finish my question. As I look over her head, I notice Brianne is grinning and nodding yes.

  “She was a doll and has thanked me many times today,” Brianne confirms, then she asks, “How’s Chloe doing?”

  I set my little one down before I answer, and she takes off down the hall with her bag flying around behind her. I call to her not to disturb her mother, and she yells back, “Okay, Daddy,” over her shoulder and keeps going.

  Then I turn to Brianne and finally answer her. “This pregnancy is really rough. Just talking about food gets her puking. I can’t wait until the baby comes. Luckily, it’ll only be a few more weeks.”

  “Thank God,” Brianne agrees, and we talk for a few more minute before she grabs her bags and leaves.

  Later that night, I get my wish a little earlier than expected. Brandon Dylan Drake enters the world perfect and healthy. Chloe’s nightmarish pregnancy comes to an end, but Bree’s little brother nightmare is just beginning. Little Brandon turns out to be JUST like me, and his big sister doesn’t know how to deal with a Nerd Boy.

  Epilogue 2

  Chloe-Twelve Years Later

  “MOM, your male offspring is going to die. Like, now and painfully.” Bree’s screech fills the entire first floor of the house.

  I lift my head off of Dylan’s shoulder and laugh. “You’re gonna have to save the young Nerd Boy before his sister kills him.”

  He grabs my hand and places it back on his thigh, turning back to the show we were watching on television before replying, “He’ll be okay. If he needs help, believe me, we’ll know it.”

  Dylan is hardly finished speaking before Brandon rushes into the room with Bree hot on his trail. They are both screaming, and we can’t understand anything they are arguing about until Dylan whistles at the top of his lungs and all the noise immediately stops.

  He points at Bree first and demands, “What did he do?”

  Bree holds up the new make-up palette Brianne bought her last weekend and shows it
to her father, but he just shrugs his shoulder so she explains, “He added some kinda goo to it. Look, it’s ruined. It’s a big block of ick.”

  Dylan runs his finger over the make-up, and sure enough, it’s hard as a rock. Little crystals break off, so he looks at Brandon for an explanation.

  “Dad, she’s always complaining about the acne on her face, so I researched it. The bacteria in the skin reacts badly to certain chemical compounds found in commercially produced make-up. I thought I could counteract the effects of the chemical compounds by adding…” Dylan and I look at each other while Brandon goes into a long explanation of how he expected to cure acne by adding certain organic compounds to Bree’s make-up. The child is brilliant but doesn’t have too much common sense. Bree completely zoned out when he got to the words “chemical compound,” and at this point, her mouth is hanging open and her eyes are glazed over. She finally snaps out of her Brandon haze, and her eyes narrow briefly before she looks at us and shakes her head in disappointment.

  After Brandon finishes his explanation, Bree throws the ruined palette at him and calls over her shoulder, “Stay out of my room, Little Man. Next time, I kill you, and your allowance is mine next week.”

  Dylan follows after Bree to soothe her ruffled feathers, and I turn to my son and try to reason with his brilliant mind. “Son, I know you want to help your sister, but from now on, please ask her before you fix anything of hers. She should have the opportunity to say whether or not she wants her property changed.”

  Then Brandon agrees. “Okay, Mom. I’m sorry I made her mad. Love you.” My mini version of Dylan runs off to invent something new. Dylan walks back into the room as my little man is running up the stairs, and I turn to my original Nerd Boy and laugh. “Well, another crisis in the Drake household averted.”

  “Until he finds something else to improve, then she’ll be ready to kill him again.” The peace lasts a whole twenty-two hours this time.

  Extended Epilogue: Part 1

  Three Years After The Taming

  The Wedding

  Chloe Drake

  Tears fill my eyes as I watch my dad and Alice become man and wife. Dad was reluctant to introduce Alice Maxwell to us, fearing I would have a hard time accepting another woman in his life. What he didn’t know was I had secretly always hoped he would find love again. Even before I had met Dylan and fell in love, I knew my dad was way too young to spend the rest of his life alone. Now, not only has he found a second chance at love, but we have a whole new extended family to embrace.

  Dylan reaches over and squeezes my hand before pressing his handkerchief into my palm. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Meredith and Tori Maxwell also have tears silently running down their faces. Their tears of joy are for Aunt Alice, who has been alone her entire life and had given up on finding ‘the one’. Even the stern Reid Maxwell appears moved by the happiness flowing throughout the small chapel.

  Weeks ago, while planning, we all decided to leave the children at home for the day. Trying to keep up with seven small ones during an intimate ceremony sounded like a nightmare, so we hired babysitters for the day. Since the chapel is closest to Ethan and Emma’s home, we arranged to have the three sitters watch all the children at their house.

  Before I realize it, the ceremony is over. Dad and Alice are beaming as they float down the aisle toward the back of the chapel. Dylan leans over and says breathily in my ear, “Come on, Boss Girl. Your crying makes me want to find a room so I can make things all better.” Then he runs his hand down my back soothingly before continuing. “But I know you don’t want to miss your dad’s reception because I’m fucking you in the chapel closet. Plus, you don’t want to lose the bet, do you?”

  “I’m crying because I’m so happy for Dad.” I sniffle into the side of Dylan’s neck as he wraps his arms around me.

  “Then smile and stop the crying,” he growls as the monster growing in his pants pushes against my stomach. I pull back slightly, and my eyes widen when I glance down at the obvious bulge at the front of his pants. He carelessly shrugs and raises an eyebrow, daring me to continue my crying. After wiping the last of my tears with his finger, Dylan closes his jacket to hide his large problem and takes my hand before we head to the back of the chapel where the rest of our group is waiting.

  Getting Caught

  Tori Maxwell

  As I glance around the reception and see all our friends and family having a blast, I realize how much my life has changed in the last three years. My closest friends and their husbands are all here to celebrate Aunt Alice’s marriage to Dan Jordan, now Uncle Dan. I’m picking up my glass when a loud commotion catches my attention. Reid is holding Ethan around the waist while Ethan is trying to attack a waiter. Off to the side, Emma is frantically trying to calm her husband, and I realize the waiter must have offended Emma in some way. I’m standing to make my way over to the scene when Reid turns his head in my direction and mouths, “Sit your ass down,” and I sink back into my chair. I’m shaking my head as the waiter finally comprehends how much danger he’s in and flees the room.

  Once Reid is sure Ethan isn’t going to chase after the waiter, he releases Ethan. Before Emma can even sigh in relief, Ethan has her thrown over his shoulder and is racing out the door.

  Reid is chuckling as he sits next to me. “We won’t see them again tonight,” he murmurs in my ear. While placing one arm around the back of my chair, he leans over and starts running the other hand up the inside of my thigh.

  “Reid!” I quietly hiss.

  But he winks at me and whispers, “The music is too loud for anyone to hear us unless you scream.” Then he continues his exploration until his finger reaches my pussy lips. I glance around the room and realize no one is paying any attention to us as my husband slips two fingers under my panties and into my wet core and begins scissoring them back and forth while rubbing my clit with his thumb. Luckily, the long tablecloth hides his ministrations from anyone, but the effort to keep my face from showing my intense pleasure is taking its toll on me. I’m biting my lip so hard that I can taste blood in my mouth. When I realize I’m going to come in a room full of people because my husband isn’t going to stop fingering me, I turn my head and bite the side of his neck to muffle my cry as the orgasm rolls through my body. His grunt of pain as my teeth pierce his skin matches my cry, and I drop my head to his shoulder and try to look as innocent as possible. He wipes his fingers on the inside of my thigh then expertly arranges my dress under the table before kissing my forehead gently.

  When he downs the drink in front of him in one gulp, I look down and see the large bulge tenting the front of his dress pants. “Looks like I need to return the favor,” I whisper and return the saucy wink. His eyes widen when I drop a napkin in his lap and slip my hand under it. Before I can carry out my plan, our little game is interrupted when Dylan and Chloe walk up to the table.

  Dylan has a smirk on his face, and a blush covers my face and neck. “Before you guys get too preoccupied, we wanted to come and ask if we need to bring anything to Meredith’s graduation celebration next weekend.” Dylan chuckles, and I feel Reid tense next to me.

  “No, we have everything covered for the barbecue. Just get a babysitter. It’s going to be adults only,” I hurry to assure them before my husband can blast his friend. His thigh is jumping under my hand, and the napkin is standing up from his hard cock.

  Chloe smiles, but Dylan leans over and whispers, “Word of advice, take it to a bathroom.” Then he stands straight and winks, and the blush covers my entire body when I realize one of my husband’s best friends knows what we were doing.

  I hear Reid mutter, “Fuck the bet,” under his breath before he grabs my hand and pulls me out of my chair, mumbling, “Stand in front of me for decency’s sake.”

  As we rush out of the room, I hear Dylan laughing and Chloe fussing at him. Once we’re out of view, Reid takes my hand and pulls me to the end of the hall, then pushes open last bathroom door. We are shocked to find Emma
pinned to the wall with her dress around her waist by her husband. “Oops,” I squeak, and they both turn their shocked faces and stare at us.

  Reid pulls me from the room and straight into the bathroom next door. After closing the door, he locks the door while lifting me against the hard wood surface. My legs automatically wrap around his hips, and my tight dress rolls up to my waist. Reid unzips his pants, pushes my thong to the side, and plunges into my wet pussy. Our cries echo around the small room as he begins hammering into my hungry core. With my body wedged between the hard wood and my hard husband, I can only hold on for the wild ride until a climax slams through my body. “Fuck, I love you,” Reid groans as his cum shoots into my pussy.

  Oops

  Emma Wescott

  I can’t believe Reid and Tori walked in on us. Ethan doesn’t even pause his thrusts after the interruption, and I’m honestly too caught up to care. When he pulls the front of my dress down and sucks hungrily on my breast, I cry out as an orgasm blasts through my body. My pussy spasming tightly around his huge cock forces Ethan to lose the rest of his control, and he thrusts wildly for a few seconds before shouting my name as his climax overtakes him. Our combined juices run down the inside of my thighs as he carefully lowers my legs to the ground.

  “I told you. You look too beautiful in that goddamn dress. We had no hope of winning the fucking bet,” Ethan groans then shakes his head as he grabs a tissue to wipe off my leg before smiling at me. “I knew there was no way I was going to make it all day without dragging your beautiful little ass into a room to fuck. When that stupid son-of-a-bitch had the nerve to touch your arm and ask for your number, fuck, I knew it was time to show all those assholes just who you belong to.”