GOING DOWN AGAIN
Billionaire Bad Boys
Valentine’s Short Story
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR
CARLY PHILLIPS
Copyright © Karen Drogin 2020
Kindle Edition
CP Publishing 2020
Cover Design and Photo: Sara Eirew
www.carlyphillips.com
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“Carly Phillips is synonymous with red-hot romance and passionate love.”
—Lauren Blakely, NY Times Bestselling Author
* * *
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
About the Book
Going Down Again
Author’s Note
Keep Up with Carly
About the Author
GOING DOWN AGAIN
A Billionaire Bad Boys Short Story
Alphalicious and still demanding, Kaden Barnes has everything a man could want: a beautiful wife, an adorable two year old son, and a life most people would envy.
What he misses is being alone with his wife. With Valentine’s Day around the corner, he can’t think of a better gift than a vacation to the exclusive island of Eden where sensuality reigns.
But no sooner do they arrive than he realizes something is bothering his beautiful wife. Can he seduce her into a revelation, and if so can he handle what she has to tell him that will upend their already chaotic life?
*A complete stand-alone for people who haven’t yet read GOING DOWN EASY but a special treat for those who want to revisit a favorite couple.
“Bah Humbug,” Kaden Barnes said as he passed all the red and white decorations in the department store, the hearts and flowers, and the cupids hanging from the ceiling for yet another commercial holiday.
“It’s Valentine’s Day, not Christmas,” his best friend and business partner, Lucas Monroe, reminded him in a too cheerful voice.
“Are you telling me you like shopping?” A woman brushed up against Kade, setting off his mood and sensory issues that weren’t doing well anyway thanks to the number of people in the store.
“I can deal,” Luke said.
“Well, I can’t.” Kade didn’t mind buying things for Lexie. Hell, he loved spoiling his wife and his son, Matthew—Matty as Lexie liked to call him—an almost two-year-old mini version of Kade himself.
He just hated crowds and, by extension, shopping with people around. His friends had convinced him to join them this year to buy their wives gifts. It wasn’t working for him. Kade had long since come to terms with his anxiety and other issues, but he’d also learned not to put himself in positions that exacerbated his problems.
He should have listened to his gut today.
He slid his fingers over the crystal covering his Patek Philippe watch, a motion that never failed to soothe his nerves. He’d purchased the watch with the first real money he’d made from his social media app, Blink, created by Kade, Lucas, his other close friend, Derek West, and Julian Dane.
“I want to go to Tiffany to buy something for Maxie,” Derek said, joining them from where he’d been waiting in line at Starbucks.
Kade shook his head. “I’m getting out of here. I’ll call my personal shopper for help buying Lexie’s gift.” Audrey would email him a selection of jewelry, watches, and clothing for him to choose from, along with a huge stuffed animal for his son. Shopping would be complete.
The irony was Lexie didn’t care about things, she valued people more. After all, she’d brought his long-estranged brother, Jeffrey, back into his life, and the man, raised in England by Kade’s so-called mother, now lived in the US near Kade and his father. And Lexie used to take care of her bipolar sister until Kendall had gotten the correct treatment and found happiness of her own.
Their lives since having Matthew hadn’t been simple. From colic, like Kade had had, to acid reflux, his son mirrored him in too many ways. Baths were a chore, his son finding any water temperature too hot. It got to the point where Lexie would cry, feeling like she was hurting her boy by putting him into a too cold bathtub. But that was the only way to get him into the water. Sensory issues … like Kade.
Whereas Kade’s mother had considered her son a difficult pain, Lexie was a loving mother, and she was patient with their boy. But it wasn’t easy. So maybe Kade didn’t need to buy Lexie something. Maybe he needed to take her somewhere where they could enjoy both family and alone time instead. She both needed and deserved a break.
“What do you say we take our families on vacation instead of buying gifts? I don’t know about you but I could use time away with my wife,” Kade said, glancing at his friends.
“What about our kids?” Luke asked. He and Maxie had a three-year-old, Derek and Cassie had a one-year-old, Kade had Matt, and Julian had a bunch of foster kids with Lexie’s twin, Kendall.
Kade shook his head at his friends. “Do I need to remind you that we’re billionaires?” He didn’t usually throw his financial status around, but in this case? “I love my son. I do, but I’d do anything to get Lexie alone for long weekend. We have families and nannies, don’t we?”
The two men looked at each other, nodding. “We do.”
“I know where we should go, too. Eden,” Kade said.
Derek raised an eyebrow. “The resort off the coast of Florida?”
“Don’t you mean near the Bermuda Triangle?” Luke shuddered.
“Gabriel Dare opened a nightclub there,” Kade said of the entrepreneur whose family had invested in Blink. Ian Dare in particular.
“Isn’t Eden by invitation only?” Luke asked.
“And that’s why it pays to know people. I’ll talk to Jeffrey and Julian, see if they want to come, and set it up via Ian Dare?” Kade glanced at his friends for approval on their end.
It still amazed him that he had a relationship with Julian, the man who’d been his best friend in college, fallen into a drug addiction, set out to ruin Kade’s life, and ended up married to Kade’s sister-in-law and clean for years.
With agreement from both men on an upcoming Eden vacation, Kade escaped the department store and mall and headed home with his driver, peace and quiet settling around him.
He pulled out his phone and texted his wife. Clear your schedule. We’re going on vacation. Happy Valentine’s Day and I’ll be home soon. He then turned off his phone so Lexie couldn’t yell at him for making a decision without consulting her. He knew just how to calm her down and make her see reason in person.
An hour later, thanks to traffic from the city, he walked into the new house they’d had built on Long Island to the sound of silence. With a two-year-old boy, quiet was an anomaly. “Lexie?” he called out.
No answer.
He left his shoes in the mudroom, slid his keys onto the dedicated hook, and headed to the stairs, pausing at the sight of a sexy bra on the bottom step. He scooped up the lacey garment and took the stairs, finding a pair of matching panties waiting for him on the top landing. His cock throbbed in approval.
His wife had an agenda, one he definitely liked. If this was her response to his d
emand for a vacation, he planned to issue orders like that more often.
He headed straight for the master bedroom, where the door was open, and stepped inside to find Lexie splayed out on the bed. Her gorgeous body, fuller since having his baby, naked as she patiently waited for him to come home.
“Where’s Matt and Annie?” he asked of the nanny who they’d hired so Lexie could continue to be his personal assistant in the office. Since the day she’d strode into and rearranged his disorganized organization, he couldn’t function without her. That and nobody else could put up with his demands.
“Out visiting my dad. He’s taking Matty for dinner. They’re gone for a while.” Lexie wound a strand of hair around her finger and spread her legs a bit wider. “Consider this your gift for taking me on vacation.”
He blinked in surprise. “You’re not angry?”
She shook her head and laughed, the sultry sound wrapping around him. “Between night terrors and terrible-two tantrums, I guiltily need a break. You’re giving me that. So come get your Valentine’s Day present.”
He grinned and stripped off his tee shirt, unbuttoned and slid his jeans and boxer briefs off his legs. His socks came next. Then he joined her on the big king-size mattress, sliding his body beside hers. They might sleep together every night, but lately they often woke to a two-year-old sprawled out between them.
“I miss you, Kade. I miss our time together. So a vacation is the perfect gift.”
Her smile lit him up inside. “Did I mention we’re going with everyone? The whole family?” He knew she understood who their family included.
She squealed out loud, her excitement tangible. Next thing he knew, she’d climbed on top of him, her sexy body covering his. Settling her pussy over his aching cock, rubbing them together, she leaned forward and kissed him, slipping her tongue between his parted lips.
He grasped her hips hard, holding her in place as she deepened their connection. Mouths fused, bodies rocking together, Kade didn’t need one damned thing more. This woman gave him everything, and he wanted to do the same thing in return. His money could give her the world, but he only cared about his heart and hers beating in unison while their bodies joined together.
He repositioned her and she caught on fast, shifting so her soft sex poised over his aching cock, and she slowly lowered herself down his shaft. As she gripped him in her tight heat, he closed his eyes and groaned, feeling every ripple of her inner walls and reveling in the arousing comfort of being where he belonged.
He gritted his teeth, holding himself back as she rode him, her lithe body gripping him, pumping up and down on his cock, a gorgeous brunette beauty taking her pleasure from the man she loved. He needed control, wanted to pound into her, to stake his claim and make sure she never forgot how much he loved her, but one look at the pleasure on her face and he refrained.
Instead he set his gaze on hers and lifted his hips, meeting her thrust for thrust, watching the gorgeous flush cover her cheeks, the glazed look of gratification and adoration on her face.
“God, Kade, it’s always as good as the first time,” she said as she ground her hips into his.
“You’re wrong. It’s better.” And with that pronouncement, he slid his hand between them and grazed her clit with his fingertip.
“Oh.” She let out a moan and he pressed against her harder, feeling his dick, slick with her juices, and he glided his finger back and forth over the tight bud. Her body jerked back and forth as she chased her orgasm as hard as he was holding back his own.
“Come on, baby. Come.” So he could let go and find his own release. He wanted her to come first. Always.
His words and his touch accomplished his goal. She arched her back, stiffening as she rode out her release around his cock and against his finger, chanting his name over and over as she climaxed.
Without waiting for her to refocus, he flipped them, his cock still embedded deep inside her. And then he began to pump into her hard, his balls drawn up tight, desire for this one woman consuming him. Even years after they’d met, she was it for him. Her warm body and slick sex were all it took to bring him to the edge, and when she squeezed her hands on his ass and started to come again, she took him over.
After they’d cleaned up in the bathroom, she lay in his arms, her fingers tracing circles on his chest. “Is it awful that I’m excited to get away? I mean I’m nervous to leave Matty, but I’m kind of looking forward to it, too.”
He kissed her hair. “Not at all. You should be excited. Our lives have been all about him for the last two years. We deserve some alone time.”
“I made sure we’d be alone until at least seven o’clock tonight,” she murmured, her hands skimming lower until she gripped his cock in her palm. She began to run her hand up and down, her thumb slicking over the pre-come on the head.
He was always ready for her.
The chime of the doors sounded, letting them know that someone had entered the house.
“Shit. I spoke too soon!” She scrambled out of bed and started pulling clothing out of the drawers and dressing in a pair of sweats and a tee shirt.
With a groan, Kade rose and did the same.
“Mrs. Barnes?” Annie called, the sound of her footsteps on the stairs reaching them in the bedroom.
“Coming!” Lexie tied her sweatpants and shot Kade a regret-filled glance.
And this was why the vacation was so damned necessary. Because as much as he loved and would give his life for his son, he needed more than a quickie with his wife.
* * *
With shaking legs, Lexie boarded the short charter seaplane to the island of Eden. If not for Kade’s strong arms around her, she might have turned around and changed her mind. She’d been queasy for the last few days, but she hadn’t said anything to Kade. Matty had been sick a few weeks before and she’d caught strep throat from him, but she’d gotten better quickly once she’d started the antibiotic. The small plane and possibility of turbulence affecting her stomach made her nervous, but if her husband with his panic issues could handle it, so could she.
The pilot, a pretty woman with wavy light brown hair named Joely, handled the plane like a champ, and Lexie only had one near stomach incident that she was able to keep from Kade. Joely had taken a sharp turn, then righted the plane, and Lexie was able to calm her belly. Because of the flight size, they were meeting the other couples at the resort. One look at the endless white sand and clear blue water had Lexie drooling to lie on the beach and let the sun bake her body.
They were escorted to their room, a suite that was tremendous with an incredible view of the water beyond. Tonight they had entry to Eden Elite, Gabriel Dare’s nightclub on the island, but this afternoon, they had nothing to do but unpack and just be.
She jumped onto the bed, lay down, and spread her arms and legs wide. “Paradise,” she said gratefully, looking up at the large room fan turning overhead.
Kade strode over to the desk and picked up a long card of paper. “Welcome to Eden, where reality is whatever you want it to be. Interesting.” Placing the placard back where it came from, he met her gaze.
“Can we go to the beach?” she asked, already getting up and heading for her suitcase.
“Anything you want,” he said, indulgence in his tone.
She bent over, unzipped their suitcase, and pulled out the bikini she’d talked herself into bringing with her. Although she’d had a baby, Kade loved her body, so she wasn’t going to worry. Instead she would tan herself and enjoy.
She changed in the bathroom and walked out to find her husband in a sexy bathing suit, his hard muscles testing her restraint. His gaze hot on hers, she walked toward him, braced her hands on his shoulders, and buried her face in his neck, inhaling his masculine scent. “I love you,” she murmured into his skin.
“I love you, too.” He cupped her ass in his hands, lifted her, and brought her tight against him. “Now decide if you want the beach or me.” His thick erection pulsed against her.
/> “Can we do both?” she asked, wriggling into him, waves of desire pulsing through her.
He let out a low chuckle. “Not really. It took us all morning to get here from Manhattan, and by the time we finished, showered, and dressed, it would be time to meet up with everyone for cocktails.”
She pouted and pulled away. “Beach now. Us time tonight.”
With a groan, they separated, packed a bag, and headed down to the sand, where she indulged in virgin piña coladas. Kade questioned her lack of alcohol, and she attributed her choice to not wanting to be drunk before dinner. In reality, she was starting to get concerned that this persistent nausea that plagued her was more than just a passing virus.
With a rambunctious two-year-old at home, and she and Kade already experiencing the lack of couple time, she wasn’t sure how he’d feel about another baby so soon. The antibiotic for strep had possibly dulled the effectiveness of her birth control pill, and she hadn’t asked Kade to wear a condom.
She didn’t plan on doing a pregnancy test while on Eden, and though she hated keeping secrets from him, she couldn’t bring herself to tell him if it wasn’t a reality.
“Hey, you’re awfully quiet.”
She opened her eyes to see his concerned expression, his eyes hidden by his sunglasses. “I’m fine. Just tired from travel.”
“You know how you asked if we had time for sex earlier? Well, look around us. We are utterly and completely alone.”
She’d noticed the solitude earlier. This island was strange. She knew there were other people here, but it was as if they’d conjured their own private inlet, where no one walked by. Even the server had said to press a buzzer he’d given them if they needed him. Nobody would come around without them requesting service.
Kade reached into his empty ice water cup, pulled out a cube, and began to glide it over her belly. She squirmed at the coldness, but it also felt good against her skin in contrast to the heat outside. He trailed the cube upward as it melted, tracing the outline of her bikini top until there was no cube left.
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