Valentine for Hire

by Aria Cole

  The tip pressing into me.

  His cock stretching me.

  His love filling me.

  “Love you, Bryn,” he grunted, seating himself fully inside me. “Love you so damn much it hurts.”

  I nodded, owning the feeling.

  Thank God fate had put us on the same path, because spending a single day without him felt like the worst form of torture.

  “Love you back, baby. I’ll always love you back.”

  Second Epilogue

  Brodie - ten years later

  “Dad!” My daughter’s shrill voice rang across our backyard. “Gavin threw a hot dog at me!”

  “Jesus.” I took another long swallow of my beer. “I’d better contain that.”

  My brother’s face cracked into a grin as he stood from the picnic table we’d been drinking beers at. “Let Uncle Danny do the honors.”

  “Wait!” Bryn called from the back door. Danny just kept on walking, weaving through the picnic tables filled with our friends and piled high with barbeque. “Do you think this is a good idea?”

  I glanced up at my pretty wife, her face still heartbreakingly beautiful, her eyes still cut deep into my soul. “Can’t hurt.”

  “It could traumatize.” Bryn uttered, coming to stand at my shoulder. Her fingers skimmed the fabric of my t-shirt, sending desperate shudders down my spine.

  Just as soon as I could get her out of everyone’s sight and all alone, my hand was definitely going down her pants. She’d been teasing me in that flippy little skirt all day, if I waited an hour longer I’d goddamn burst. “Come here.”

  My hands attached at her hips and pulled her down into my lap. “Think we can sneak out of here?”

  “Bail on our own Fourth of July barbeque?” She giggled. “I don’t think so, Mr. Merrick.”

  “Mm…say it again.” I nipped at he lips, grinding my crotch against the hot curve of her ass.

  “Shh,” she tried to wiggle away but I held tighter. No way Bryn was ever getting away from me. “Look at the kid’s eyes, they don’t know what to think.”

  It was true. My kids hadn’t spent a lot of time around my brother, not because we hadn’t tried, but because his damn schedule had stayed so busy at Elite Fling. Yes, it was still in business, there wasn’t an illegal thing about it, but he’d pulled away, given up managing the daily ins and outs and finally had more time to spend with family.

  My kids loved Uncle Danny, but you never really could predict what might come out of his mouth.

  It also hadn’t taken very many family gatherings for the secret to slip out that Danny and Max knew each other. Bryn’s sister hadn’t seemed any the wiser, so Bryn had chosen not to explain exactly how Max and Danny knew each other. Bryn and Brittany had grown a little closer over the years, and Max and Brittany had a baby now, so she was around more now than she had ever been. It was good for the kids, even if it was a little challenging for us.

  Bryn’s family was always welcome at our home, but her parents only stopped by now and again for time with the grandkids before they were off to their next exotic retirement destination.

  Bryn shifted in my lap, her skirt riding higher up her thigh.

  “You wearin’ panties under here, Mama?” My fingertips ghosted between her legs.

  “Wouldn’t you like to find out?” She winked, crossing her legs and barring my entrance. “Now, behave yourself. He just got there.” Bryn pointed at my brother across the yard. “I can’t tell what he’s saying, but he’s got the finger out. He’s wagging his finger at them!”

  She started cracking up, the way her eyes sparkled and her cheeks blushed made me fall a little harder for her every time. My hair had grown salt and pepper around the temples over the last ten years, the laugh lines deepening, but my love for Bryn had also grown. Seeing her birth our four babies had been nothing short of witnessing a miracle, watching her raise them, nurture and love them, filled my own soul up with happiness. Not a day went by that I didn’t doubt I was the luckiest motherfucker on the planet.

  “Oh, he’s coming back.” Bryn whispered as Danny walked through the crowd. He got about halfway before someone stopped him. A flash of dark hair, a warm smile, a quick touch of the hand.

  “Look what’s going on there.” I nudged Bryn.

  “No…Sophia? The social worker?”

  “She’s nice.” I tipped my head, watching as they interacted. Seeing the way my brother leaned in, hands hovering at her elbow, smile unnaturally wide. And then a laugh. The fucker laughed. “She just made him laugh.”

  “What do you think she said?” Bryn cocked her head to the side, eyebrows furrowed.

  “It must have been a riot, I haven't seen Danny laugh like that since he shoved worms down my shorts in front of my crush when I was eight.”

  “Worms? Oh god, that’s gross.”

  “Just wait, when Larson gets a few years older him and Will are going to torture each other. It’s a boy thing.” I tapped her nose.

  “A boy thing?” She huffed, eyes sliding back across the crowd eating and laughing in our backyard. “So glad we had girls too.”

  I grinned, sliding my hands up her neck to cup her cheeks. “You gave me four beautiful kids, Bryn. And you, and them, are my entire world.”

  “I know, tough guy, you tell me every day.”

  “Never want you to forget it. The day I stop telling you is the day I fail as your husband.”

  “The day you stop making me the happiest woman on the planet is the day hell freezes over, Brodie Merrick.”

  “Mmm, think they’ll notice if I kidnap you now?” I caught her lips in a kiss, soft and slow, savoring the taste of the uniquely intoxicating flavor of her. My girl.

  “Someone fill me in, I need all the details you’ve got on Ms. Sophie Watkins.” My brother slapped me on the back, interrupting our kiss and plopping on a chair next to us.

  “Back so soon?”

  “She said I was good with the kids, I think that’s my in. Can I borrow one of the kids, maybe set up a play date at the park for us?”

  Bryn’s eyes bulged at my brother. I couldn’t help but laugh when I said, “You don’t have to use my kids to get a date man, I hear there’s a website for that.”

  Danny narrowed his eyes, before straightening the collar of his shirt and standing. “I’m gonna go get her a drink, wish me luck.”

  “No bodily fluids at my house, Danny!” I called to his back. He spun, that smile I remembered from my childhood plastered across his face, before he flipped me the bird.

  Bryn and I both burst into laughs.

  Ten years on, four kids, two cars, and a mortgage later and Bryn and I were happier than we’d ever been.

  Things had fallen into place when we’d met, as unexpected as it had been.

  So what would we tell our kids someday when they asked how we met?

  As fate would have it, mommy needed a fake Valentine and daddy was one lucky motherfucker.

  THE END.

  Banger (The Dominate CEO)

  Meet Tobias Banger...

  He's the demanding, dominant, sexy-as-sin CEO of Banger Industries, and he's used to getting what he wants. Every time. He's built a Fortune 500 company from the ground up. The last thing he needs is a pretty woman distracting him from his empire.

  Curvy, sassy secretary Ellis Ford isn't just any pretty woman...

  Fresh out of college, she's smart, focused, sometimes sarcastic, and trying desperately to contain the wildfire that licks at her insides whenever Mr. Banger calls her name.

  One forbidden night while locked in a closet, and the office will never be the same...

  The chemistry between Ellis and Tobias sizzles until raw passion ignites in a frenzy of filthy words, frantic lust, and all-consuming basic instinct. He's hell-bent on claiming her. She's too blinded by his charm to see the ghosts haunting his dark eyes. Will one night with Tobias be something she'll live to regret?

  Warning: This isn't your grandmother's office romanc
e. Tobias Banger has a filthy mouth and an irresistible charm that drops panties. When he finds the woman he wants, nothing will stop him from taking her. Grab a glass of wine, charge up the Kindle, and prepare to get banged by the boss!

  ONE

  Ellis

  “Look at the way those pants hug his ass. I’ve never seen a man fill out a suit like that,” my closest friend, Victoria, cooed as the CEO of Banger Enterprises—and also our boss—walked ahead of us down the long hallway.

  I nodded, agreeing with her assessment wholeheartedly. As Tobias Banger’s personal secretary, I could definitely say that he filled out that suit even better up close.

  “I bet he’s hung,” Victoria mused, and the Frappuccino I'd picked up after lunch nearly shot out my nose.

  “Oh my God, he could have heard you.” I’d only been on the job for a month. I couldn’t afford to be let go because Victoria couldn’t keep her thoughts to herself.

  “Well, I bet it’s true.”

  “Afternoon, ladies.” Mr. Banger turned toward us and smiled deeply, making me almost choke on my tongue.

  “Mr. Banger.” I nodded.

  His eyes caught mine and held them for an extra-long beat. I had no idea what he was trying to say with those whimsical azure eyes of his, but I was pretty sure I could be convinced into doing anything he wanted when he looked at me like that for too long. There was just something about that man’s eyes that made me lose all sense of reason. Beautiful wasn’t even the right word for them; they were intriguing, intense, dominant.

  “Having a good week, Mr. Banger?” Victoria peered up at him, her fake eyelashes fluttering like crazy.

  I almost asked if she had something in her eye. Almost.

  “Great week, Ms. Young. Thanks for asking.” Mr. Banger held the office door open for us.

  We stepped in, and Mr. Banger’s hand brushed against my thigh as I passed him. His touch felt like an earthquake convulsing through my body; that small brush of his hand was all it took to send my body into a craze.

  In the month that I’d been in this position, I’d nearly talked myself into requesting a transfer at least a half dozen times already. Not because Mr. Banger was unfair in the slightest, but because my body’s reaction to him was. Just being in the same room with him made my heart beat so uncontrollably I had trouble focusing and holding a conversation with him.

  “Could I have a word with you, Ms. Ford?” Mr. Banger’s words washed across my skin and sent blazing paths of fire through my veins.

  “Of course,” I murmured, unable to even look him in the eye.

  When Mr. Banger turned around, Victoria poked me in the shoulder, eyes darting from me to him before she winked at me.

  “Don’t you have work to do?” I whispered.

  Her smile only deepened before she buzzed down the hallway, headed for her desk.

  I followed Mr. Banger past my desk and into his huge office. Glass windows overlooked downtown Chicago, his massive mahogany desk was front and center, and slick leather couches lined the walls. Mr. Banger lived the high life for sure—he never wanted for the finest things. His demands were always met, and boy, was he was demanding.

  It had taken me just one day on the job to learn that Mr. Banger had high standards and expected all of his employees to exceed his expectations. He expected perfection, and I understood that. It was the reason Banger Enterprises had risen to a Fortune 500 company in under six years. Tobias Banger was a business mogul. At just under thirty-five, he was one of the youngest men in the country with the highest stock prices on the market.

  He was a phenom.

  And I was his personal secretary.

  “Do you have any plans tonight, Ms. Ford?”

  I swallowed the lump in my throat, wondering why in the world he was asking me that. “Um, no…”

  He nodded, eyes dragging across my form before he turned to his desk. “I was looking over the numbers you submitted yesterday.” He held up the file folder I’d left on his desk yesterday afternoon as requested. “Something seems off. Can you stay late tonight so we can go over them? I’m sorry for even asking.”

  I nodded instantly, not even considering the fact that I’d promised Victoria and a few friends I’d go out to dinner with them tonight. They would understand anyway. “Of course.”

  “Good. I know you have a talent with numbers, but if accounting finds an error we could have caught, that means more headaches than I want.”

  “Sure, Mr. Banger.” I snapped into work mode, shaking off my body’s reaction to him. I needed this job. I couldn’t let myself get drunk on his magnetic energy. “Is there anything else you need?”

  His eyes flicked up my body, one hand pushing across the dark stubble at his jawline. God, I wanted to lick it. I wondered what the hard expanse of his chest would feel like under my palms. His lips…

  “That’s all for now, Ms. Ford. Thank you.” He smiled politely, if a little distractedly, while he held the door open for me.

  I nodded, sucking in a deep breath as I passed him and catching a whiff of his spicy, heady cologne. I’d never smelled anyone quite like him in my life, and it only made my thoughts more inappropriate.

  “Call if you need anything,” I said before stepping out into my small office and hearing his door shut behind me. I sucked in another cool breath that cleared my head.

  I hoped I hadn’t gotten those numbers wrong. The perfectionist in me wanted to run back through them again even though I did it twice yesterday. I plopped into my chair, pulling my phone from my bag, and shot off a quick text to Victoria that I’d have to cancel dinner.

  But we’re celebrating your birthday! she replied.

  I groaned. I hated making a big deal out of my birthday, and Victoria had practically had to beg me to go out for a few drinks to celebrate. I liked being at home on the couch, cuddled up in my pajamas with my sweet kitty cat.

  Sorry, Mr. Banger needs me tonight. I texted back.

  Ohh… maybe your birthday will have a happy ending after all. ;)

  A smile turned up my lips just as Mr. Banger’s door opened and the topic of conversation himself came out.

  I slammed my phone on the desk and shot up. “Hi, sorry, I was just canceling plans tonight. Do you need something?”

  Mr. Banger paused, his eyes burning up the space between us before he parted his impossibly full lips. “I thought you said you didn’t have plans tonight. I hate to make you cancel—”

  “No, no, it’s all right. Victoria—I mean, Ms. Young—wanted to celebrate my birthday, but I’d much rather be here with you.” The words fell out of my mouth in a tumble.

  One thick slash of eyebrow arched before he said, “It’s your birthday?”

  I hadn’t meant to reveal that. “Yes, but—”

  “Then we should celebrate. You should have mentioned it when I asked.” One long arm stretched between us, and he swiped his thumb across my temple, pushing aside a lock of dark hair.

  My heart thrummed with his touch, but just as soon as it was there, it was gone again. An irrational sense of loss radiated through me.

  “It’s all right. I don’t like to make a fuss on my birthday. I’d rather just forget it, to tell you the truth.” I twisted my hands together, feeling wildly self-conscious under his penetrating stare.

  “Forget it? The day of your birth is definitely worth celebrating.” His mouth twisted up in a one-cornered smile that nearly twisted my panties with its devilishness.

  I had no reply for him. My lips pressed together as I considered the meaning behind his words.

  “I’ve got to run over to accounting, but plan on our meeting later. We’ll go over the numbers and this birthday business.” His eyes twinkled before he walked away, sucking the air out of my lungs as he went.

  How could he be so impossibly sexy? How did any of the women in this office get anything done with him around?

  I’d never been the kind of woman who fawned over a man. My focus on getting through college an
d finding a job had overwhelmed all else. I’d actually interned in this building during my last semester of college, but when I was offered a full-time position, never had I expected to be made the personal secretary of the owner of the company himself.

  I sighed, plopped back in my chair, and pulled up Mr. Banger’s daily planner, synced to my computer to keep us both abreast of meetings and other things that came up. He had a surprisingly slow week, though we’d planned it this way since he’d only just returned from a business trip to Tokyo last week. He’d been working like crazy to land a new account, so when he succeeded, he’d vowed not to work so many late hours and weekends. Because of that, we hadn't spent much time together, but apparently that was about to change.

  Starting tonight.

  Apparently I was celebrating my birthday with my sex-on-a-stick boss.

  TWO

  Tobias

  I shuffled the papers on my desk, glancing at my Rolex to find it just after five. Ellis would be in here any minute, that sweet little simper telling me she was available for whatever I needed.

  What I needed was to sink inside her and fuck her until I couldn’t think straight. Maybe then I could focus and get some work done.

  Hiring Ellis had been a blessing and a curse.

  She’d consistently reviewed the highest in our intern program, and when my other secretary had taken an indefinite leave of absence to help her husband, I’d known instantly Ellis would take her place. I knew that ideally I should have hired a secretary with experience, but I wanted someone smart and driven. I wanted more than someone to organize my life. I wanted someone who could work beside me with fresh ideas and the know-how. So I decided to pull from the interns and make this position much more than one an administrative assistant could fill.

  I wished I had seen a picture of her before hiring her.

  Not that I wouldn’t have hired her. On paper she was a dream candidate, but in person, she was so blindingly beautiful that I had trouble concentrating on a damn thing other than her. I had never in my life seen a woman that was so engaging. Had she just been beautiful I would have been fine, but her intelligence, natural kindness, and the depth of her compassion drew me to her.