Kendall gasped, both at Julian’s unexpected arrival and his use of that word as applied to her. She’d never told him she loved him.
She spun around to find him in the doorway, one shoulder propped on the frame, a pleased, happy smile on his handsome face. And oh, did he look good in his black tee shirt and sexy bulging muscles, his dark jeans molded to his strong thighs. She’d missed him so much.
“How long have you been standing there?” she asked.
“Long enough to know you love me and want me back. And long enough to realize you’re stronger and braver than I was. But that’s about to change because I came here to tell Kade the same thing.” He straightened his shoulders and stepped into the room, clearly prepared to stand up to Kade.
“I thought we had that conversation,” Kade said, reminding him. “And what did you do? You promised you were a good guy, and then you walked away from her.” Kade folded his arms across his chest and raised an accusing eyebrow his way.
Julian didn’t flinch, accepting his behavior and Kade’s words. “That was an impulsive, stupid response to your private investigator. I’ll tell you what. If you want to know something about my life, ask me. I’m an open book these days. Don’t go behind my back for information and don’t tell the woman I love that I’m no good for her. Because you’re damn well wrong.”
Warmth and gratitude rushed through Kendall as Julian stood up for her to her family. It was everything she’d ever wanted to see and hear.
“Looks like you two made your choices,” Kade said.
Kendall couldn’t breathe at the implication in those words. Was he really going to cut her out of his life? And what about Lexie?
“Kade!” her twin said, obviously just as shocked.
“What? I’m about to offer them my office to work out whatever is going on between them.”
Kendall’s heart began to beat again, although erratically. “You’re not… You aren’t turning your back on me?” she asked.
“Oh, honey,” Lexie said. “That was never our intention. We want what’s best for you. We just couldn’t understand that you chose… him. But now that you have, we’ll have to find a way to make it work. I can’t lose you, either.”
“Oh my God.” Kendall knew Julian was standing there, that he loved her, that he’d come to fight for her. But she hugged her twin first anyway because for a split second… well, she didn’t want to think about that ever again.
“Come on, let’s leave them alone,” Lexie said, walking to Kade, grasping his hand, and leading him out.
Kade came to a halt in front of Julian. Two self-assured, commanding men. “Hurt her and you answer to me.”
A few seconds of silence passed, in which Kendall once again held her breath.
“I accept those terms,” Julian finally said, extending a hand for Kade to shake.
Kade glanced down… and completed the gesture, causing grateful tears to fill Kendall’s eyes. She glanced at her sister, who was equally touched and affected.
She knew better than to think everything was perfect, but they’d forged a truce, and that was all she could hope for right now. Time would prove to her sister and Kade that Julian was honorable and trustworthy.
As Kade and Lexie walked out of his office, Kade turned back. “Don’t do anything in here. I don’t think my anxiety or OCD could handle the thought.” And then he was gone and they were alone.
* * *
Julian waited for Kade and Lexie to walk out the door before locking it behind them. He wasn’t so much shutting them out as closing Kendall in. To say this afternoon hadn’t gone the way he’d expected was an understatement.
He’d been prepared for a fight or, at the very least, an argument.
What he hadn’t been prepared to see or hear was Kendall standing up to her sister and Kade—who was intimidating on his best day—for him. Kendall, declaring her love for him, consequences be damned. His girl was brave. Braver than he was, and he was humbled by it all. And he couldn’t wait another minute to touch her again.
He turned, and before he knew it, she’d bolted forward and jumped into his arms.
He caught her, stumbling back before he could steady himself, and looked into her eyes. “Jesus, I was a fucking moron.”
She laced her fingers behind his neck to hold on. “I think I gave you plenty of reason to think breaking up with me was the right thing to do.” She bit down on her lower lip, something he would much rather be the one doing. “But don’t try something like that again. From now on we communicate. Agreed?”
He answered by sealing his lips over hers and kissing her for all he was worth, breathing her in as if he couldn’t get enough. Because he couldn’t. He’d missed her touch, her scent, the very essence of her being, and he never wanted to let her go.
He slid his fingers through her hair and slicked his tongue past her parted lips. She moaned and kissed him back, all the while holding him close.
His cock throbbed inside his jeans, reminding him of Kade’s warning, and unbidden, a laugh bubbled up in his throat.
“Oh my God. What’s so funny?” she asked, her eyes twinkling with relief and happiness. A happiness that matched his.
“I was just thinking about what Kade said about us not doing anything in his office.”
A smile tweaked her lips. “You so want to do it on his desk, don’t you?”
“Don’t give me any ideas, you bad girl. The man’s just given me a partial opening. I don’t want to screw it up.” He grew more serious, gazing into her eyes. “You’re too important to me. I love you, Kendall.”
She brushed her thumb over his cheek. “I love you, too. Enough to risk everything.”
“I won’t let you regret it. I’m all in. I promise. No walking away, backing out, or doing something stupid to screw things up. I’m in too deep.”
She grinned. “I’m glad to hear it because I’m in deep, too. And I’m not going anywhere, either.”
Epilogue
Miracles did happen and today was proof.
Thanksgiving, a year and three months after Kendall and Julian first reunited, Kendall invited everyone over to their new house for the holiday. As she set the table and got everything ready, she trembled, knowing she had so much to be grateful for.
She looked around her kitchen, in her house, in a neighborhood with a cul-de-sac on the same street as Nick and Lauren, in renewed disbelief. A glance at the wedding ring on her finger was yet another shock every time she looked down… and she’d been blissfully, happily married for four months.
Was it fast? Yes. Was it right? Without a doubt.
The fact that Kade and Lexie and their six-month-old baby, Matthew, and the other Blink partners had agreed to join them for the holiday was nothing short of a miracle. One she would never take for granted. And neither would Julian, who was outside placing the turkey in the deep fryer.
He was a different man now. A happy man who’d stopped kicking himself for his past mistakes and who rarely looked back, unless it was to acknowledge how much better his life was today.
Along with the Blink contingent, Julian’s sister was coming, as were Lauren, Nick, and Brian. Alex was upstairs and her boyfriend would join them, too.
She was a flexible kid, she’d had to be after all her moving around in foster care, and so she’d been willing to switch schools for her senior year. She was brave. And it had worked out. She’d made a few select friends and even met a boy. She’d applied to colleges and was going to New York University next year, smart girl, living in a dorm, and her entire life would change.
Thanks to Julian.
And in January, Kendall was starting classes to become a vet tech. She was following her dreams, with Julian’s encouragement.
“How’s my beautiful wife?” Julian asked, walking into the kitchen.
She’d never get used to seeing him, his handsome face smiling at her, the sexy scruff, the enticing muscles in his forearms, even in a long-sleeve waffle-textured shirt.
“Hi
.” She smiled and walked into his arms. “Everyone will be here in an hour.”
“Is Alyssa bringing Blackie?” he asked of his sister’s emotional-support dog.
As Kendall had hoped, one of the dogs from the Maryland trip, a black Labrador mix, had the temperament to be matched for Alyssa’s needs. She’d named him accordingly, because it was an easy name to remember. All she had to do was look at her dog.
“She is. Waffles and Steve will have company. Where are they, anyway?”
“Out back.” In the fenced yard.
Really, could life get any sweeter? There had been a time when she’d been spiraling, and any kind of calm and happiness had seemed out of reach. But with the patience and support of her twin and the right treatment, she’d found a peace she’d never imagined possible.
She leaned back and tipped her head back so Julian could kiss her lips. “I love you, Julian Dane.”
“I love you back, Kendall Dane.”
* * *
Five Years Later
They needed a bigger house, Julian decided, as he slowly dipped the turkey into the fryer. Tradition was a wonderful thing, and Thanksgiving at his and Kendall’s house had become the custom for her family and his.
He glanced over to where his ten-year-old foster son, Jonah, was playing fetch with Steve and Waffles, successfully with Steve, not so much with the fur ball who preferred to roll around with the stick or ball. Kendall was inside with Randi, their thirteen-year-old foster daughter, setting the table for their guests.
He and Kendall had made a conscious decision to foster children who didn’t have a home. After talking to various doctors, they decided that going off her medication presented too big a risk of re-hospitalization. Statistics weren’t always right, but Kendall felt strongly about not taking that chance, and he respected whatever she wanted to do. They both knew they had enough love to give, and they could make up their family the way they wanted to.
Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined he’d have a family of his own. Not growing up with his alcoholic mother, nor during his drug days, which were long past, although he still attended a monthly meeting.
And he certainly never thought he’d have a friendship with Kade, Derek, and Lucas, but he did. It was no longer a hesitant, wary tolerance.
Bygones really were bygones.
Kendall joined him outside, wrapping her arms around his waist.
“Eew!” Jonah said, coming up behind him.
He rolled his eyes. He loved his wife, so sue him. He wrapped an arm around Kendall’s waist. “What do you say to house hunting? We’re outgrowing this place,” he said as Steve ran by, Waffles merely staring from across the lawn.
“Works for me. I just don’t want to move far from work.”
She had a job as a vet tech at a local veterinarian’s that gave her flexible morning hours and enabled her to be home after school. And since Julian still worked out of the house, someone was around in the mornings to get the kids out the door.
It all worked.
Because they trusted each other.
Loved each other.
And were still as deeply in love with each other as they’d been the day they admitted it out loud.
Thank you for reading GOING IN DEEP. I hope you enjoyed my Billionaire Bad Boys series. If this is your first read, be sure to go back and start at the beginning! What’s next? The BACHELOR BILLIONAIRE Series! HIS TO KEEP coming next – PREORDER HERE.
Meet the Dares!
Dare to Love – Book 1 Dare to Love Series – (Ian Dare)
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Billionaire Bad Boys Reading Order:
Book 1: Going Down Easy
Book 2: Going Down Fast
Book 3: Going Down Hard
Book 4: Going in Deep
Dare to Love Series Reading Order:
Book 1: Dare to Love (Ian & Riley)
Book 2: Dare to Desire (Alex & Madison)
Book 3: Dare to Touch (Olivia & Dylan)
Book 4: Dare to Hold (Scott & Meg)
Book 5: Dare to Rock (Avery & Grey)
Book 6: Dare to Take (Tyler & Ella)
*each book can stand alone for your reading enjoyment
DARE NY Series (NY Dare Cousins) Reading Order:
Book 1: Dare to Surrender (Gabe & Isabelle)
Book 2: Dare to Submit (Decklan & Amanda)
Book 3: Dare to Seduce (Max & Lucy)
*The NY books are more erotic/hotter books
Read on for an excerpt of Dare to Love, Ian and Riley’s story.
Dare to Love
Excerpt
Order and Start Reading Dare to Love NOW!
Chapter One
Once a year, the Dare siblings gathered at the Club Meridian Ballroom in South Florida to celebrate the birthday of the father many of them despised. Ian Dare raised his glass filled with Glenlivet and took a sip, letting the slow burn of fine scotch work its way down his throat and into his system. He’d need another before he fully relaxed.
“Hi, big brother.” His sister Olivia strode up to him and nudged him with her elbow.
“Watch the drink,” he said, wrapping his free arm around her shoulders for an affectionate hug. “Hi, Olivia.”
She returned the gesture with a quick kiss on his cheek. “It’s nice of you to be here.”
He shrugged. “I’m here for Avery and for you. Although why you two forgave him—”
“Uh-uh. Not here.” She wagged a finger in front of his face. “If I have to put on a dress, we’re going to act civilized.”
Ian stepped back and took in his twenty-four-year-old sister for the first time. Wearing a gold gown, her dark hair up in a chic twist, it was hard to believe she was the same bane of his existence who’d chased after him and his friends until they relented and let her play ball with them.
“You look gorgeous,” he said to her.
She grinned. “You have to say that.”
“I don’t. And I mean it. I’ll have to beat men off with sticks when they see you.” The thought darkened his mood.
“You do and I’ll have your housekeeper short-sheet your bed! Again, there should be perks to getting dressed like this, and getting laid should be one of them.”
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that,” he muttered and took another sip of his drink.
“You not only promised to come tonight, you swore you’d behave.”
Ian scowled. “Good behavior ought to be optional considering the way he flaunts his assets,” he said with a nod toward where Robert Dare held court.
Around him sat his second wife of nine years, Savannah Dare, and their daughter, Sienna, along with their nearest and dearest country club friends. Missing were their other two sons, but they’d show up soon.
Olivia placed a hand on his shoulder. “He loves her, you know. And Mom’s made her peace.”
“Mom had no choice once she found out about her.”
Robert Dare had met the much younger Savannah Sheppard and, to hear him tell it, fallen instantly in love. She was now the mother of his three other children, the oldest of whom was twenty-five. Ian had just turned thirty. Anyone could do the math and come up with two families at the same time. The man was beyond fertile, that was for damned sure
.
At the reminder, Ian finished his drink and placed the tumbler on a passing server’s tray. “I showed my face. I’m out of here.” He started for the exit.
“Ian, hold on,” his sister said, frustration in her tone.
“What? Do you want me to wait until they sing ‘Happy Birthday’? No thanks. I’m leaving.”
Before they could continue the discussion, their half brother Alex strode through the double entrance with a spectacular-looking woman holding tightly to his arm, and Ian’s plans changed.
Because of her.
Some people had presence; others merely wished they possessed that magic something. In her bold, red dress and fuck-me heels, she owned the room. And he wanted to own her. Petite and curvy, with long, chocolate-brown hair that fell down her back in wild curls, she was the antithesis of every too-thin female he’d dated and kept at arm’s length. But she was with his half brother, which meant he had to steer clear.
“I thought you were leaving,” Olivia said from beside him.
“I am.” He should. If he could tear his gaze away from her.
“If you wait for Tyler and Scott, you might just relax enough to have fun,” she said of their brothers. “Come on, please?” Olivia used the pleading tone he never could resist.
“Yeah, please, Ian? Come on,” his sister Avery said, joining them, looking equally mature in a silver gown that showed way too much cleavage. At twenty-two, she was similar in coloring and looks to Olivia, and he wasn’t any more ready to think of her as a grown-up—never mind letting other men ogle her—than he was with her sister.
Ian set his jaw, amazed these two hadn’t been the death of him yet.
“So what am I begging him to do?” Avery asked Olivia.
Olivia grinned. “I want him to stay and hang out for a while. Having fun is probably out of the question, but I’m trying to persuade him to let loose.”
“Brat,” he muttered, unable to hold back a smile at Olivia’s persistence.
Going in Deep Page 17
