by T. S. Ryder
He changed back to human form and stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her as they faced out to the city below. She leaned over the railing to look at the tiny cars and people below. His strong arms around her made her feel like she could fly herself, as long as he was with her.
“Sometimes I come up here just to be alone and think and watch the city,” he said.
“It’s beautiful. You can see everything from up here.”
“The best view is right here, though.” He turned her to face him, cupping her cheek in his hand. “I love you, Ella, and what I said earlier still stands.”
She pulled together her eyebrows. “Which thing?”
“I know I just did this, but since the circumstances have changed a bit, I thought I’d do it again, just so you know it’s real.”
He took the ring box from his pocket and knelt down in front of her. “I want to spend my life with you. I want to have a family and grow old with you. Will you marry me?”
“What? You don’t have to do this. I mean, I know you did before just because you had to, but you don’t have to do this now.”
“I know. And that’s why I’m doing it. Because I want to.”
“Are you sure?”
He chuckled. “Yes.”
“If you’re sure, then so am I.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Is that a yes?”
She laughed. “Yes.”
He stood and kissed her, then took her left hand and slid the ring into place.
“It’s perfect,” she said.
He kissed her hand. “As crazy as this sounds, I’m happy you lied to me the day you told me you were a dog walker and showed up at my house. I guess, in some ways, we have Charlotte to thank for getting us together.”
“She’d be thrilled to hear that. Honestly, I’ll probably have to be careful for a while. She can get, umm, vindictive when she’s jealous.”
“Don’t I know it. Maybe we need to get you a bodyguard, then.” He winked. “I’ll do whatever I need to do to keep you safe.”
“Once this is public, she’ll probably tell people, though. She might tell them everything. You being a shifter, me supposedly being pregnant, all that. She might just go nuts and make up a bunch of stuff.”
He nodded. “I’ll get a restraining order. And you should, too. I’ll talk to my PR person. If it gets out that she’s nuts and a stalker, it’ll be fine. No one will believe her.”
Ella stepped into his arms and rested her head on his chest. “Thank you for forgiving me and loving me for who I am instead of who I pretended to be.”
“Thank you for being yourself so I could.”
Chapter Ten
A week after Jesse had proposed and Ella accepted, she woke with the sudden urge to throw up. She ran to the bathroom, threw up in the toilet and sat on the cool floor.
“You okay?” Jesse stood in the doorway, rubbing his eyes and yawning.
She nodded. “I guess I’m getting the flu or something.”
“Stay here today,” he said. “I’ll work from home so I can take care of you.”
“No, then you’ll get sick, too.”
“It’ll be okay, I’m sure. I’ll work in my office and you take the bedroom. I’ll have Marla bring up some tea.”
He went to the intercom on the wall and called for her to come. Ella rinsed out her mouth and brushed her teeth, then climbed back into bed. Marla came in a few minutes later with hot tea.
“Can you bring Ella something? She got sick,” Jesse said.
Marla squinted at Ella, looking her over. “Are you pregnant?” she asked.
“No,” they both said fervently.
“You look it.” Marla shrugged and left the room again to get some medication.
Ella stared at Jesse with wide eyes. Then she remembered. “There was that one morning.”
“What morning?”
“After the first time we slept together. I crawled on top of you in the morning. We were both half awake. Now that I think of it, we didn’t use anything.”
“What? We must have.”
“No.” Tears filled her eyes. “Jesse, we didn’t. I didn’t think about the fact that I could actually get pregnant.”
He tapped his finger against his lips. “Only one way to find out, right?”
She buried her face in her hands and let the tears flow.
He stood beside her, one arm around her, the other wiping tears from her eyes. “It’s okay, baby. It’ll be okay. I’ll run out and get a test. Then we’ll know.”
He kissed her forehead and left the room.
Marla came back a few minutes later with some medication.
“I think you’re right,” Ella said.
Marla smiled. “I usually am about these things.”
“Jesse went to get a pregnancy test.”
“Let’s wait on this, then.” She set the box of medicine on the bedside table and pressed her hand against Ella’s forehead. “No fever. You have that flushed look. Do your breasts hurt?”
“A little. But I thought that was just…” Her and Jesse had gotten a little rough last night. She blushed thinking about it.
Marla smirked. “We’ll see. I’ll bring you some crackers for your stomach.”
She brought the crackers and Ella was nibbling on them when Jesse came into the room, a plastic bag in his hand.
“Ready to do this?” he asked.
“I don’t see how we have much of a choice.”
They went into the bathroom and took out the pieces of the test. Jesse read over the directions while Ella went to the toilet with the stick. She peed on it, then set it on the counter.
“If two lines appear, you are,” he said. “It takes five minutes.” He turned to her and squeezed her hands. There was a long silence. “You okay?”
“I… don’t know,” Ella said, confused.
“Would you be happy? If you are?”
“I don’t know. After everything that happened…”
“It would be ironic.” He glanced at his watch. “Two more minutes.” He let out a hard breath and squeezed her hands again. “I’m kind of excited.”
“Really? But we’re not even married yet.”
He lifted a shoulder to shrug. “We can do that anytime.” He looked again at his watch, then picked up the stick.
She leaned over to look at the little window. There were two pink lines.
“Oh wow,” she said.
He wrapped his arms around her tightly, holding her to him as she cried.
“This is so weird,” she said, through her sobs. “I pretended to be pregnant before and now I really am. The universe is messing with me.”
He laughed. “Or maybe it’s giving us what we really want.”
“I don’t know if I’m ready for a baby.”
“I guess we’ll find out real fast.”
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“For what?”
“It was my fault. I seduced you and didn’t use a condom.”
“You’re right,” he said sarcastically. “You evil succubus. How dare you force me to make love to you?”
“Stop it,” she said, half laughing and half crying. “I feel really bad.”
“Well, don’t. We’ve moved on from the past, and what’s done is done. I’m happy about this, Ella. Very happy.”
She looked up at him, her eyes puffy and sore. “Are you really?”
“Yes! Why aren’t you?”
“I just can’t believe it’s really happening. I’d thought so much about it and planned so much for a fake pregnancy. And the whole time, I actually was pregnant.”
“Well, it’s a good thing we thought you weren’t. At least this way we know that we love each other and want to be married, and we knew that before we knew we had made a family.”
“I wanted to have a fancy wedding, though.”
“Then we will.”
“But how can we do it that fast? That stuff takes time and the good places book up fast.”
He winked at her. “Money can buy almost anything.”
Chapter Eleven
Two Months Later
Ella stood at the end of a wide aisle. Her white dress clung tightly to her body around her chest, then flared loosely to the ground in layers of chiffon, leaving room for her growing belly to peek out in a gentle bulge. The top layer was covered in glittering gems, like a veil of stars cascading over her. Her hair was swept high on her head and twisted into curls, more gems tucked amongst the strands.
The aisle before her was strewn with white rose petals and glitter. The wind blew cool against her skin in the evening air. She glanced behind her, through the glass walls of the elevator. From her position, she could see only clouds and the darkening blue sky behind her, and ahead, the same sky, but with a layered circle of people in chairs beneath it. And at the end of the aisle, Jesse was standing beside a minister in his white tuxedo. Candles flickered along the edge of the aisle and along the altar.
“That’s your cue.” The wedding coordinator fluffed her veil and train one last time, then stepped aside so Ella could walk out of the elevator.
There, on top of the tallest building in the city, the place where they had first flown to, the place where Jesse had proposed for the second time, they would be married. They both loved this place. It was so high above everything and so quiet once the hours for the observation deck had passed. They often flew up here to watch the world below, to make love, to talk. It had seemed like the perfect place. Jesse had made one phone call, mentioned his name once, and it was done. After paying them a nice sum of money, of course.
Armed security guards stood on either side of the elevator and were placed throughout the venue. Ella had been right about Charlotte’s reaction. When the media got hold of the information about their actual engagement and real pregnancy, she had gone crazy. Charlotte had called what seemed like every media outlet there was to try to smear them. It took one press conference, where Jesse showed the media the restraining orders they both had against Charlotte and explained how she’d cheated on him and had been pissed he’d broken up with her. He’d confirmed that Ella and Charlotte had been friends once, but that they were no longer. And that was it. The tabloids still played up the story, but no one else seemed to care.
The guards were a precaution only. They would have had them even if it weren’t for Charlotte, Jesse had said. Mostly, they were there to keep the press at bay. One thing Charlotte’s craziness had done was put them in the spotlight. The media loved them. They loved the story of the dog walker who’d been covered in mud the first day they met and how they’d fallen madly in love and had found out they were expecting soon after getting engaged. Of course, plenty of stories speculated that they were only getting married because they had to. It was ironic that that had been her plan once. But Ella loved their story. Every twisted bit of it.
She knew that Jesse loved her and wanted to be with her. No tricks of the heart, no magical spells were needed. He had proposed and she had accepted when they thought she wasn’t pregnant, and finding out she was had only increased their joy and their love. Well, once she had stopped freaking out over it and was able to enjoy the new life growing inside her.
Jesse was already a perfect father. He went to every doctor’s appointment with her. He waited on her constantly or made sure he paid someone to in his absence. She always had whatever she needed—chocolate, tea, massages, the best healthcare around. Most evenings, he would rub her feet and back and they would read baby books together before making love and lying in bed, cuddling.
Then they’d started planning the wedding, and their days were full of dress fittings and cake tastings and meetings with the wedding coordinator. Everything had come together exactly how Ella had dreamed it. Though in her childhood dreams, she had never thought her groom would be so handsome, so rich, or a dragon shifter. Their shared magical ability had only made them closer. And once the baby grew bigger, its presence drew them together more, giving off some sort of magical presence that Jesse assured her was the baby’s own magical essence. They could feel him already.
The baby stirred inside her now. She put her hand on her belly and he pressed back against it, saying hello. She closed her eyes and sent warm feelings of love toward him. He flipped inside her and she felt the warmth flow back. When she looked at Jesse, he wiped a tear from his eyes. He could feel it, too. A wave of joy rushed over her, coming from his direction. She grinned and took in a breath as she stepped forward.
The white petals rustled in the cool breeze. Ella stepped from the elevator as the music grew louder. The crowd stood to face her. Jesse beamed.
She walked forward slowly, toward him, and toward her magical future.
*****
THE END
Bonus Book 3: The Billionaire Gorilla's Baby
By: T.S. Ryder
Description
A curvy thief caught red-handed PLUS a hot billionaire who wants to make a deal PLUS a dangerous secret and an attack
Scarlett Brenan does not steal. She's an acquisitionist. Stealing would imply she was taking things that could not be replaced, and that sort of behavior would be extremely ungentlewomanly.
Yes, some still would call it stealing and she does have the moniker of the 'Gentlewoman Thief' in the newspapers, but she would never take anything from someone who didn't already have far more than they needed. Besides, she makes a point of redistributing her acquired wealth, so really she is in charitable work.
Only one person, her mentor, knows of Scarlett's humanitarian efforts… until she is caught by billionaire Maximillian Barnes in his safe.
Scarlett is certain her career is over until the handsome billionaire makes a deal with her. If she'll pretend to be his mysterious fiancée for one year, he'll give her whatever it is she wants and introduce her to his grossly rich friends for her future endeavors.
But what starts as simple play-acting becomes far too real far too quickly… and Scarlett discovers a secret Max has been hiding for years that might just ruin the game.
To make matters worse, somebody else out there knows Scarlett's identity, and that someone wants her dead.
Chapter One
Sounds of piano music and laughter wafted up the grand marble staircase to the fifth room on the right. Inside this particular room, a light breeze blew lace curtains in lazy circles while moonlight drifted through the window, shining directly into the room-sized wall safe. Jeweled necklaces, cufflinks and other trinkets sparkled in the wan light.
Scarlett fixed a silver tiara on her head, admiring the way the pale metal contrasted with her dark hair. It was something she would very much like to take with her. She smiled as she imagined herself in a fancy dress wearing the tiara, like a princess out of a fairy-tale movie. Her fingers ran across necklaces and glittering, delicate rings left on the safe shelves.
Why would a man like Maximillian Barnes have so much women's jewelry? He hadn't been seen photographed with a woman other than his elderly housekeeper in nearly five years, since the tragic death of his parents. Although he claimed to have a fiancée somewhere, the lack of evidence provided by the media indicated that this fiancée was just a fabrication.
Which could only mean that the necklaces and tiaras must have belonged to his mother.
With a sigh, Scarlett set the tiara back on its stand, running her gloved hand over the large center ruby one last time. It was truly a work of art. No, she would leave the tiara. Even though she was certain it was insured for at least its monetary worth, if it belonged to Barnes' mother it would hold sentimental value, and she did not help herself to things that could not be replaced. If she took it, she'd have to destroy it if she meant to sell it, anyway.
What she would take, however, were the stacks of bearer bonds in the safe. There had to be two million dollars' worth there, carelessly stuffed into the corner of the safe. They were hardly sentimental. Given that Barnes pulled in an estimated five billion annually, he wouldn't even mi
ss this two million. He'd have gotten it back by the end of the week. Plenty of people out there deserved it more.
Somebody new took over the piano downstairs, and Scarlett wrinkled her nose at the change of song. They were playing a 'modern' version of Mozart's Piano Sonata Number 3.
Dreadful. Absolutely dreadful. In her opinion, the classics ought to remain classics. This player was destroying all the complexity of the score, simplifying it for the repetitious strain of current pop music. It was enough to drive a gentlewoman to distraction.
And distracted she was.
She didn't hear the approaching footfalls on the carpet in the corridor outside, didn't see the hulking shadow lurking in the door. But he saw her.
When the light flicked on and she turned to see Maximillian Barnes standing in the doorway with a surprised expression on his face, Scarlett was not afraid of being caught. Rather, she was upset with herself. If she was allowing her patrons to walk in on her while she worked, well, she was becoming too cocky. Arrogance was not attractive in a gentlewoman.
And it certainly didn't help her current situation.
"Whoever is butchering Mozart down there ought to be shot," she told the billionaire, emphasizing her southern drawl as she slid her bag, packed with her tools and acquisitions, onto her back. When people heard her accent, they generally thought she was stupid. And when people thought she was stupid, it was easier to get away with things. She kept her tone light and conversational. "I simply can't stay any longer and listen to that travesty. Goodnight to you, sir."
With a smile and a wave, Scarlett darted to the window. She was fast–faster than she looked. Because her figure showed just how much she enjoyed cupcakes and hamburgers, people assumed that she was heavy-footed, slow and clumsy, the stereotypical 'fat girl' who couldn't possibly do things like scale a two-floor wall or leap between houses. They assumed wrong, though, and that usually worked to her advantage.
