Taking on the Billionaire

by Robin Covington

  He was wearing her favorite suit, as midnight black as his hair and slim cut on his athletic build, with a crisp white shirt underneath. He moved like a large cat, smooth and graceful in his individuality, and the beautifully cut suit emphasized every muscle of his body. Adam was a beautiful man, sexy as hell, and several of the reporters murmured their admiration while she bit back the urge to tell them to back away from her man.

  Because he wasn’t her man. Not anymore.

  The sight of Justin and then Franklin Thornton following Adam onto the stage ripped her out of her thoughts. It roused the crowd into a groundswell of murmurs and the flash of cameras highlighted the screen that descended from the ceiling to span the width of the area. Tess tried to get a read off their expressions and while Justin was sedately smug and Franklin was furious, Adam was a cool customer. He was poised and calm as he approached the microphone, his charismatic smile capturing everyone’s full attention. She wished that he would notice her but he didn’t even look in her direction and she wondered if he even knew she was there.

  “Good afternoon, my name is Adam Redhawk and I am the co-owner and CEO of Redhawk/Ling. On behalf of my partner and CFO, Justin Ling, and the President of Trident Investments, Mr. Franklin Thornton, I want to welcome you all to the announcement of an exciting collaboration between our two companies. Since Justin and I started Redhawk/Ling ten years ago, we have been committed to developing and creating innovative products that change the way we live for the better. Trident has been a leader in recognizing and financing projects that started in somebody’s garage and those created in a state-of-the-art facility. Together we want to be part of a future that encourages and supports new, fresh and talented inventors to take the risks that create positive change that will impact generations to come. To that end, we are announcing the creation of a program that will recognize the best of the best in new ideas and give them the space, opportunity and the funding to make their dreams a reality. Ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to present to you the Michael Roberts Research Foundation.”

  Tess gaped in shock as Adam pressed a button on a remote control and a photograph of her father appeared on the large screen behind him. As his words penetrated the confusion and connected with her brain, a slideshow began that featured her father throughout his career, his inventions and finally a photo of their little family, smiling and leaning on each other. Tess didn’t bother to wipe at the tears streaking her cheeks, not wanting to miss one of the images on the screen. Mia made a choking sound beside her and reached out to grab her hand, her sister’s fingers cold against the suddenly overheated temperature of her own skin. And while Mia’s grasp kept her grounded the expression in Adam’s eyes as he met her gaze made her heart fly.

  Adam paused a beat and then continued, never breaking eye contact with her. “Mr. Roberts was a tireless and brilliant scientist and engineer who was integral to the development of what is now Silicon Valley. Unfortunately, his life was cut short but this foundation will ensure that his enthusiasm, dedication, brilliance and innovative spirit will live on. To that end, Redhawk/Ling and Trident have endowed the foundation with matching grants of ten million dollars each with future opportunities for other companies to join us.” Adam gestured toward Justin. “I’m going to hand the Q&A over to Justin Ling.”

  Tess watched Adam step down from the stage and stride across the room directly to where she sat. His expression was intense, his stride powerful; everything about him telegraphed that he was coming for her. She rose from her seat, poised to meet him eye to eye. If they had any chance to work, it was how it had to be.

  He stopped in front of her and held out his hand. “Walk with me, please.”

  It wasn’t a question she had to consider. She would go anywhere with Adam Redhawk.

  Tess ignored the murmurs and quizzical looks thrown in their direction but threw a quick look toward Mia. Her sister’s thumbs-up and big smile contrasted with her tear-stained cheeks. Mia nodded, giving her blessing as Tess headed out of the room.

  They said nothing as they progressed down the hallway from the conference room, up the large, center staircase and past Estelle’s desk. Adam opened the door to his office and tugged her inside, shutting it firmly behind them. He turned, his eyes dark as night and filled with enough heat to make her shiver.

  “Adam.” She gestured toward the conference room full of people. “I don’t know what to say. What you did out there—”

  “What I did was make things right,” Adam said, advancing forward one measured step at a time. Tess wasn’t one to run and she stood her ground, her breath quickening when they stood close enough to exchange body heat. His warm, sharp scent surrounded her and she inhaled deeply, drinking him in like a woman dying of thirst after days spent in the desert. “What I did was try to make up for the wrongs committed by Franklin against your father.”

  “Those are things Franklin did. They are on him and only him. They were not your mistakes to fix.”

  “Yes, they were.” The timbre of his voice, the earnest expression in his eyes told her that he believed it, that he thought what happened was his responsibility. She’d believed the same thing for so many years, convinced that the sins of the father could be levied against the son but she’d been so wrong.

  “No. No.” She shook her head. “Why would you think that?”

  “Because I love you.” Adam lifted his hand and cupped her cheek, holding her still so that their eyes remained locked together. It was unnecessary; she would never look away from him as long as he looked at her the way he was looking at her now. “It didn’t matter who was at fault. You were hurting and I could make it right. I did it because I love you.”

  Damn. She’d thought about him saying the words to her more times than she could count and the reality was better than anything she could have imagined.

  “And what exactly did you do, Adam?” she asked, reaching out to grasp his lapel and draw him down even closer. His gaze dropped to her mouth and back up to meet her eyes, his lips twisting into a sexy slip of a smile that made her shiver in anticipation. “The foundation. My father... Franklin. What did you do to make that happen?”

  “It was very simple in the end. I took copies of the information to Franklin—the file you had on his years of illegal and unethical conduct, the evidence of the mole and his payment for industrial espionage—and told him that I would give it all to the authorities, the SEC, the press, if he didn’t help make it right. I made him agree to give the money for the foundation in your father’s name. I’m not naive. He doesn’t give a shit about the pain he caused or what I think of him, but he lives in mortal fear of losing his power, his company, his reputation. He cares about that more than he’s ever cared about anyone, including me.” Adam shook his head, his left hand slipping around her hip, settling in the small of her back to drag her body against his. “And I don’t care about why he did it. I only cared that this would make everything you’ve done worthwhile. I wanted to give you and Mia peace.” He leaned in, his lips brushing over her eyelids, his large hand lowering to cover her stomach. “I wanted to give us a chance to be a family. A real family.”

  Tess reached up, grasping his face in her hands and pulling him down to her in a kiss. It was hot and wet and deep and left them both panting and clinging to each other. Adam had given her so much. Now it was up to her to find the words to ensure that he knew how she felt, what she really wanted.

  “I love you. And from now on, I will be your family.”

  Adam’s grin was sexy and predatory and the last thing she saw before he took her mouth again in a kiss that started a little sweet but quickly morphed into a deep, dark press of lips and tongues. He groaned, his hands roaming all over her back, her face, her arms, her ass. He lifted her up, walking them both backward until he placed her on the desk. Adam settled between her legs and she moaned when his erection pressed against her core.

  Suddenly, th
ere were too many clothes between them; too much space and air and distance. Tess wanted him inside her, needing them to be one in every way that counted. She had his heart, she needed his body, his strength.

  She reached for his belt, remembering at the last moment that they were exposed in his office. Anybody who walked by would see them and there were several dozen reporters in the building at this very moment. This might be the time but it wasn’t the place.

  Tess reluctantly broke off the kiss. “Adam, we can’t.” He looked confused, lust drunk, and she nodded toward the floor-to-ceiling glass walls of his office. “I don’t really want to give any of the press this kind of story.”

  “Oh. Let me show you some of the upgrades I had installed in the office.”

  She watched as his confusion morphed into the expression of someone who ate not one, but every single canary. He lifted his left arm, tapped on his smartwatch a few times and then blinds began to descend from a hidden place in the ceiling. In less than a minute, the office was enclosed, intimately private.

  Tess laughed. “I love this kind of upgrade.”

  Adam leaned over her, his finger tracing down from her collarbone to the cleft between her breasts. His touch was electric on her skin and she shuddered when he deftly undid the first button on her blouse and grinned his wicked grin.

  “So, where were we...?”

  Epilogue

  Five months later.

  “Justin is acting really weird.”

  Adam wrapped his arms around Tess and pressed a kiss against the bare skin of her shoulder. Tess smiled and leaned back into him, humming contentedly when he covered the baby bump with his hand. At five months pregnant, the morning sickness was gone, her energy was back, and none of her old clothes fit anymore. She really was glowing and her voluptuous body was even more lush and beautiful. She was the sexiest woman he’d ever seen.

  Normally she was a complete and total distraction for him, but not right now. His best friend and business partner was really acting weird.

  “Well, Justin is weird,” Tess commented, reaching out to snag a carrot stick from the buffet table. “So, isn’t that normal for him?”

  “I guess so,” Adam agreed but he wasn’t convinced. “Sarina is acting weird too.”

  From their position they could view the entire party. It was a family and close friend affair for the gender reveal; an odd mix of all of the people in their lives. Among a couple of dozen other people, Mia and Estelle were there, along with Roan, Sarina and Justin.

  And Justin was definitely avoiding Sarina.

  And Sarina was avoiding Justin.

  “What the hell is that all about?” Tess asked, twisting to look at him. “You don’t think Justin said something to her?”

  “I don’t think so. They just met and even Justin can’t piss somebody off that fast. It could just as easily be Sarina being her usual grumpy self.” Adam watched his sister closely, and while he didn’t know her well yet, he knew the difference between her usual I’m-pissed-off-at-the-world-in-general personality and when her dislike was aimed at one particular person.

  And Sarina looked like she wanted to murder Justin. Slowly. Painfully.

  If Justin had pissed her off, Adam would kick his ass. Sarina had initially declined to attend today but ultimately the universe had intervened and busted the motor on Sarina’s Harley. Unsurprisingly, Sarina had refused his offer to pay to have the bike fixed or to buy her a new one and so she was hanging around for a few weeks and working at Redhawk/Ling to get the funds.

  He shook it off, turning Tess in his arms and kissing her softly, with a hint of heat and a whole lot of promise for a private celebration later. “But I don’t want to talk about them. I want to talk about whether you want a boy or a girl.”

  “Yes.” Tess grinned, refusing to tell him her preference. It was their private joke and now he wasn’t sure if he wanted to know. He knew everything he needed to know. He knew that she loved him and that she wanted to create a family together.

  It was more than enough. It was more than he’d ever thought he’d have. Adam was slowly making progress with his brother and sister. The years had made them into such different people but they were all in this together, tentatively making memories and reforging bonds. Becoming a family. And now he was going to have a family of his own.

  Redhawk/Ling was still riding high after the success of the app launch. The investors and employees were still celebrating the success and the money in their pockets. The Michael Roberts Research Foundation had awarded the first round of grants to promising inventors, with Tess and Mia delivering the first checks in person. They were making a difference in the world.

  He had a very, very good life.

  “I love you, Tess,” he said, nuzzling against her throat before whispering into her ear. “And I want to spend the rest of my life with you. You and me and our baby, forever.”

  When he pulled back to look down at her, Tess was smiling at him, her cheeks flushed with her happiness. “I love you too. Always.”

  “Break it up, you two!”

  They were interrupted by Mia, bringing over to them the box rigged to reveal the gender of the baby. Adam had been told that they would both tug on the ribbons sprouting from the top of the box and confetti and balloons in either pink or blue would spring into the air. Both of them had thought that the idea was silly but now that the moment was here, Adam was surprised at the rush of excitement bubbling in his belly.

  He was going to be a father.

  They both reached for a ribbon and Adam leaned over and took Tess’s mouth in a quick, hot kiss. He winked at her and gestured toward the ribbons. “On the count of three?”

  She nodded.

  “One.”

  “Two.”

  “Three.”

  * * *

  What’s going on

  between Justin and Sarina?

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  Robin Covington

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  The Wife He Needs

  by Brenda Jackson

  One

  “So, when is the wedding, Garth?”

  Garth Outlaw raised his eyes from studying his cards. Was his brother playing mind games to mess with his concentration?

  “And just what wedding are you talking about?”

  Garth glanced around the table and saw the smirks on the faces of all four of his brothers. Even Jess had made a trip home from the nation’s capital for a week long visit.

  “Is anyone going to answer?” Garth asked.

  Jess grinned as he threw out a card. “I heard it from Dad the moment I walked through the door. He claims you’ve gotten over Karen Piccard, decided to settle down and do whatever needs to be done for the benefit of the company, which includes getting a wife and making babies to guarantee the Outlaw dynasty. Those were his words, not mine.”

  “We heard the same thing,” Cash said, with Sloan and Maverick nodding in agreement.

  Garth didn’t say anything. Being the oldest son of Bartram “Bart” Outlaw wasn’t easy, especially when his father liked spreading information that wasn’t true. However, in this case, it was. At least partly. He was planning to do what needed to be done for the company. But he seriously doubted he would ever get o
ver Karen. She would always have his heart.

  “No wedding date has been set because I haven’t chosen a bride.”

  His brother Cash sat up straight in his chair. “Are you really thinking about settling down with a wife and making babies?” he asked, as if the thought of doing such a thing was as unheard of as living in outer space.

  Garth threw out some chips. “Why not? I don’t see any of you guys rushing to the altar to continue the Outlaw legacy. Not even you, Jess, and you’re the politician in the family. You of all people should be thinking about acquiring a wife.” A couple of years ago, Jess had gotten elected as a senator from Alaska.

  A grin touched Jess’s lips. “No, thank you. I’m not ready to fall in love.”

  Garth shrugged. “Who said anything about falling in love?”

  “You’re thinking of marrying a woman you don’t love?” This question came from Sloan.

  “For me there’s no other way.”

  There was no reason to explain what he meant. They knew.

  “And you’ll do it because Bart says it needs to be done?”

  Garth rolled his eyes at his youngest brother, Maverick, who’d been quiet up to now. “No, I’ll consider doing it because I think it’s about time I settled down. I’m thirty-eight, and dating gets old.”

  “Speak for yourself,” Maverick said, grinning. “I happen to enjoy dating a lot of women.”

  Garth shook his head. “And Walker got me thinking. Look how long he was a loner before he got married. If he can do it, then anyone can.”