Nightclub Sins: A Billionaire Romance Series

by Michelle Love

  Damien’s wife and three children come up behind us and he gives us a nod and steps back to walk with them. “See you all on board.”

  Photographers are taking pictures of the people as they stop just before getting onto the giant shuttle. We pause for a photo with the kids then step through the door.

  “Wow!” Noah says as he looks around at the entry.

  “You want to really see something, keep walking, son,” I tell our five-year-old.

  Gia picks up Maggie, our two-year-old and carries her as she’s frozen in place. “I think she’s a little afraid.”

  “Not Daddy’s girl,” I say and tweak her little nose, making her giggle.

  Taking the seats that have our number on them, I strap in Noah as Gia straps in Maggie. Then she takes a seat and I strap her in too. “I like how these bonds look on you, baby.”

  “Ryker!” She gives me a wink. “Wicked man!”

  With the kids seated between us, I go to my seat, next to Noah. “Your dad has dreamt of this day what seems like forever, Noah.”

  “Are you scared? I’m a little scared,” he says.

  “Sure, I’m a little afraid.” I buckle the last buckle and tussle his dark hair. “But all great adventures start with being afraid. It’s part of the lure of it all. Only the strong of heart and mind will do something like this. Not everyone has this strength in them. You’re special, Noah. You have your mother’s strength.”

  “So do you, Dad,” he says as he holds his hand up for a high-five.

  I give him one and say, “She did give me the strength I have today. She sure did. She’s my rock, you know.”

  “Yeah, mine too. I’m not worried about Mars. Mom can take care of all of us. She’s great at it.”

  I look past the kids to find Gia resting her head on the headrest with her eyes closed. “You see what she’s doing there, Noah.”

  He turns to look at his mother. “What’s she doing, Dad? Sleeping?”

  “No, son. Your mother is praying. That’s her secret. That’s how she stays so strong.”

  “Oh, then we should do that too, Dad.” I watch him close his eyes and lay his head back. His lips move as he prays, silently.

  Laying my head back, I start praying too. When I finish my prayer, I find the cabin we’re in is now full and take off will be very soon. My heart speeds up as the speakers fill with soft music.

  They’re getting ready. The sound of the music is supposed to keep everyone calm and not so focused on the sounds of the rockets that will project us into space.

  But I focus on the sounds beyond the music. The eerie silence in a cabin full of people. Then the clicking of the ignition and the roar of the engines.

  Noah takes my hand and I look over to see Gia taking Maggie’s hand. Noah takes her other one, making our family chain complete. “Can I have everyone’s attention?” a man’s voice comes over the speakers. “I’m Captain John Stevens. I’ll be one of the people flying us all to the first manned mission to Mars. I’d like everyone to sit back, relax, and get prepared to start this eight-month journey. Once we get out of the Earth’s gravitational pull, you will be free to move around. Check out your quarters for this trip. This place is your home for now. You all share a common bond as the first settlers of another planet. So, let’s relax and enjoy this part of the ride. It’s going to be the roughest part, except for when we land. But in the middle, will be a whole lot of nothing. Once we reach the outer atmosphere, our internal gravity system will kick in, keeping us on the floor. You will hear a countdown, followed by a pretty loud explosion. Some of you may want to cover your ears. Here we go.”

  A woman’s voice fills the speakers, “Ten, nine, eight,” I look at Gia and give her a smile. She beams one back at me. “Seven, six, five.” Noah gives my hand a squeeze and I give his one back. “Four, three, two.” I brace myself for the sound. “One.”

  And here we go!

  GIA

  The rough lift-off has my body feeling very odd like a heavy weight is covering it. I want to look at Maggie, to see how she’s taking this but my head won’t move. The sound is so loud and I want to cover my ears but I’m stuck in the position I was in when the shuttle blasted off.

  Holding Maggie’s little hand, I try to breathe normally but can’t seem to take in any kind of a decent breath. This seems to be taking forever. The woman who made the countdown comes back on the speakers, “Fifteen seconds.”

  I don’t even know what the hell that means but I count to fifteen in my head and nothing happens. Then I feel it. The weight is gone in an instant and so is the loud sound of the rockets. I hear sighs coming from everyone and let out one myself.

  Looking at Maggie, I expected to see her crying but she’s grinning like a lunatic. “Fun! Do it again, Mommy!”

  “Wow, you liked that?” I ask her as I’m shocked.

  Ryker gets out of his safety harness and comes to help me out of mine. “Your face is so red, baby.”

  “I couldn’t breathe. I’m okay now,” I tell him as he sets me free then picks me up and gives me a big kiss.

  A tug on my jumpsuit has me ending the kiss and turning to find Noah, is the culprit. “Can you guys let us out of these things before you start making out?”

  “Noah!”

  Ryker chuckles as he lets me go. “Sure, Buddy.” He gets to work setting him free while I free Maggie.

  Excited murmurs are everywhere then Damien is at my side. “Did you enjoy the lift-off, Gia?”

  “Not really. But it’s all good now.”

  “The living quarters are back this way. Come, I’ll show you,” he says as he leads my family to where we’ll call home for the next eight months.

  Ryker steps up beside me, putting his arm around my waist. “I purposely didn’t come on the shuttle, so I could see it all for the first time with you guys.”

  “Are you excited?” I ask him as I pick up Maggie.

  “More than that.” He leans in close to whisper in my ear. “And I can’t wait to christen our new bed.”

  Heat moves through me and I find myself blushing. “Ryker, naughty, naughty.”

  I feel a pinch on my ass as he gives me a devilish grin. “Yes, I am.”

  Turning down a narrow hallway, I see doors along both sides, just like in a hotel. Numbers are on each door. Each individual traveler or group of them, were given a number. That number designates where you live, sit, and even when you eat. Our number is seven and we find our door, easily.

  With no material objects to covet as everyone was issued what they need, there is no need for locks on the doors, so Damien opens ours and we see a small living area with three doors off of it. “Your suite.”

  We walk in while Damien stays in the hallway. “It’s small,” I say as I can reach out and touch each person in the room.

  “Cozy,” Damien says. “I prefer to think of it in that way.”

  “You’ll get used to it,” Ryker says then kisses my cheek. “And I like being close to you, anyway.”

  Not happy about how small it is, I make my way to the first door and find an even smaller room. A set of bunk beds that are built into the wall is there and only enough room to walk in and get on the beds. “I suppose this is the kids’ bedroom.”

  “Of course,” Damien says, still standing in the hallway. “These quarters are generally for sleeping and not much else. There are large areas around the ship where you can spread out. The dining areas, the entertainment areas. The observation area is very nice and adult beverages are served there. You two should join Svetlana and me for drinks later. You could leave the children in the play area.”

  “Sounds good,” Ryker tells him. He points to the watch-like thing we all wear on our wrists. “Tap me when you’re there.”

  With a nod, Damien leaves us alone and closes the door, making the main room feel even smaller.

  Ryker opens the door in the middle of the three of them and we find a tiny toilet area. “Bathroom. Look, Maggie, the potty is in here.�
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  She claps and comes to look. “Potty!”

  We just recently potty trained her. Her joy at seeing a toilet makes me laugh and Ryker leaves that tiny room to open the door to what must be our bedroom. “The master…” he stops talking as he looks inside.

  I can’t imagine what has rendered him speechless but when I look in too, I find out. “Oh, Ryker!”

  A twin bed is all there is in the room. Tiny amounts of space are on each side of it. Barely enough room to walk. And my pregnant body will be expanding all the way there!

  “Gia, this isn’t a problem. This is great, we’ll get to be so close.”

  “I’m going to be on top of you! And I’m only going to get bigger! I didn’t think about this. I should’ve jumped in and had a hand in designing this space.”

  “It’ll be okay,” he says as he pulls me to sit on the bed. Our combined asses take up every bit of the space.

  “Tight quarters aren’t so bad. Think about it, Gia.” He gives me a kiss and I fight back the urge to cry.

  “Can we go in our room, Mom?” Noah asks me. “I want to lay on my bed. I’m taking the top bunk. I’ve never had a bunk bed before.”

  I nod and watch him take his little sister’s hand and lead her the five steps across our living room and they go into their new room and both seem very happy and excited. When I look at Ryker, I see the same damn expression on his handsome face. “You love this, don’t you?”

  “Close the door and come to bed. I think we need a naked nap.”

  I close the door, using my foot and lie back on the bed. “Take me away, Ryker. Only you can take my mind off how small everything is.”

  Unzipping my jumpsuit, he pulls it off me, tossing it to the little floor area next to the tiny bed. I watch him as he pulls his off and has more difficulty doing that than he had taking mine off. “We’ll get used to these close quarters. I know we will. When we have the wide-open spaces on Mars, we won’t know what to do.”

  “I’ll know what to do,” I say as he lays down on one side of me, stroking my tummy and looking into my eyes. I cradle his face in my hands and kiss him. Letting my mind go, feeling only his lips on mine.

  His hand makes slow strokes over my stomach then he dips it into my pleasure pool, stirring up sensations that take my mind even further away. Playing with me until I ache to have him inside of me, he finally gives me what I need. Moving his body to cover mine, he makes one hard thrust into me.

  I arch up to him and he moves his mouth off mine to kiss along the length of my neck. I moan a little as he gives me a good bite then thrusts into me harder.

  My body is quivering before I know it. My heart is racing as the wave washes over me, leaving me writhing under his attention. I’m home!

  RYKER

  A red sky greets us as we step off the ship. A gentle breeze blows and I take in a deep breath of the cold air. Steam forms when I blow my breath out.

  “Steam, we can make water just like we planned,” Damien says as he and I take the first steps onto the loose red dirt. “We made it, Ryker.”

  “We did,” I say as I look all over at the vast open space where we will make our new home. I tap my communication device. “Gia, bring them out.”

  Damien calls his wife too and they come out of the door as we watch their faces. Steam floats around them all as they walk out with much hesitation. Gia gets to me and I find her smiling. “Ryker, we’re here. We’re finally here!”

  Taking her in my arms, I kiss her as our children cling to my legs. “We’re home, baby.”

  I run my hand over Noah’s head and reach down to pick up our daughter. “Daddy, it’s windy!”

  “It sure is.” I carry her away from the shuttle, so everyone else can get out too. The eight months went by like molasses but we’re finally here. And here is where we’ll stay.

  GIA

  The baby waited a whole week before coming out to see his new world. Zane Ryker Crawford was the first-born citizen of Mars, just how Ryker wished for.

  Life on Mars is hard work. Diligence and patience are required here. We’ve managed to make things easier as time has gone by. Five years have passed. Ryker and I have had another child in that time, a girl named Cindy.

  The people here are from all over the world. We are but one race now, the Human Race. No divisions are made here. We all work hard and we all share the fruits of our labors, evenly.

  Money will never come into play. If we, the founders, have things our way. We’ve penned a constitution that makes everyone equal and set basic rules for society.

  No murders have occurred, knock on wood. We have had one death but it was from natural causes. Mr. Chadwick was eighty-seven when his heart gave out on him. He came here alone. He had no one left on Earth anyway and he was proud when he told us, he’d make a name for himself here, as the first person to die on Mars.

  It seems most people want to be remembered for something, no matter where they are. I want to be remembered as the woman who once was lost but found her way and ended up as a founder of Mars.

  Ryker wants to be remembered as the man who didn’t let adversity stop him from achieving his very large goal of getting here. And he’s also happy he’ll be remembered as having the first child here too. His planning paid off for him.

  Planning, preparation, and follow-through are important things to remember when you want to reach your goal. Any goal. And most goals aren’t easy to get to. Most have a road filled with hard work, trials, tribulations, and even disappointment. In the end, though, when you reach that goal that seemed like it would never come, how you feel is beyond amazing.

  Focus is the key. One must remain focused if they want to see their dreams come true.

  I wasn’t lost when Ryker found me. I was hiding from greatness. He forced me to come out of hiding and grab the brass ring, joining him in a future most can only dream about.

  The time has come for us to settle in and just live now. And I think it’s safe to say, we will all live happily ever after…

  The End.

  Thank you for reading Focus

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  6. Shattered

  A Billionaire Romance

  A beautiful artist is the victim of a savage attack just two days before her lavish Upper East Side wedding. Lila Tierney is stabbed and left for dead and her handsome billionaire fiancé arrested for her attempted murder. Can Lila recover from her terrible injuries in time to save her betrothed from a life in prison? Lila fights for her life while everything falls apart and she is left wondering who to trust – and who to love…

  Shatter Me Part One

  Now…Upper East Side, Manhattan

  Lila stepped out of the dress, smiling as the assistant gathered the fabric up and stood, her eyes questioning. Lila nodded. ‘It’s perfect, thank you. I’m sorry you had to make those alterations, but Richard’s mother is a lot slimmer than I am.’

  The assistant, Tess – they’d become good friends in the months since they’d met – rolled her eyes. ‘Oh stop. I’d kill for your curves.’

  Lila flushed and thanked her as Tess turned to go. Lila looked in the long mirror at her reflection. This was really happening. Lila Tierney, artist, orphan, native of Seattle, Washington was marrying into one of the oldest, wealthiest of New York families. She who had spent many a night sleeping in her car because she couldn’t make rent or making a bag of rice last for a week. Stealing apples from neighbor’s trees with her best friend Charlie when they were kids in the children’s home.

  Eighteen months since Richard’s proposal and she couldn’t quite believe the whirlwind that had overtaken her life. Now here she was, in the most exclusive bridal boutique in Seattle – one that was by invitation only – trying on dresses for their wedding. Thankfully Delphine – Richard’s effortlessly chic mother – had offered her own wedding dress, and although Lila had been skeptical, it was perfect, simple,
light, comfortable but classic.

  Lila shook her head. Jeez, what on Earth had happened to her? She wasn’t the type for tradition – or even marriage – but the joy she had seen in Richard’s eyes when she had agreed to marry him…his happiness made her glad. And his family – far from the Upper East Side snobs she’d expected – were welcoming, warm, especially Delphine who had taken the shy Lila under her wing and made her feel a part of their family. Delphine, the mother to five, didn’t play favorites with her children but did with their partners; Lila was her buddy, her pal and Lila was very fond of the older woman.

  Her cell phone beeped. A text from her best friend, Charlie. How’s it going?

  She called him back, her chest warming when she heard his deep, loving voice. ‘Delphine’s dress…it’s perfect, not over the top, but just…me.’

  ‘I’m glad to hear you’re not going too Upper East Side for me.’

  She smiled down the phone at her old friend. ‘Hey, West Coast, Best Coast, always.’

  ‘Glad to hear it. Look, I might come and meet you, take you for lunch. I could be there in five minutes.’

  She gave him the address. ‘I’m starving, so hurry.’

  ‘When are you not hungry, Fatty?’

  She blew a raspberry down the phone and hung up, grinning to herself.

  She dressed hurriedly, snagging her hairbrush and dragging it through her tangled, shoulder-length dark hair. Her simple cotton dress was pink and made her golden skin glow, her big violet eyes wide and shining. She smiled at her reflection. Lately, her face always seemed flushed and excited, and Lila decided it suited her.

  She finished tidying herself up, grabbed her purse and pushed the curtain of the dressing room aside. She started as she saw a man, a ski mask covering his face, standing directly outside the cubicle then as he clamped a hand over her mouth and pushed her against the wall of the fitting room, she saw it. His knife. Without hesitation, her attacker drove the blade into her belly again and again.