Melody Anne's Billionaire Universe: Floating Hearts (Kindle Worlds Novella) (MacKay Destiny Book 1)

by Kate Richards

  “San Francisco.”

  Aiden’s eyes widened. “You must have flown all night.”

  “I did. Over the Bay in the fog was the worst part.”

  “I’ll bet. Look, if you just need to decompress, maybe Jim can put you up for a day or two. He has plenty of room in his house right here in the nursery. Don’t you, Jim?”

  Was he kidding? “I can’t—”

  Sarabeth lifted her eyes to his. “Really? That would be so helpful. And I wouldn’t be any bother, I promise. I can cook, if you like comfort food. And I’ll clean and do anything else you need to pay for my keep.” She took a step toward him and tripped on what was left of her hem.

  He grasped her waist to steady her, but the close contact aroused him all over again and he set her away. “I really don’t think that’s a good idea. If you need money to get home, I can loan you some.”

  She dropped her head, murmuring in a voice so low both he and Aiden leaned in to hear her. “I gave up my apartment, so I don’t have a home, just now, and I spent all my savings on this outfit. Since I just jilted my boss, I probably don’t have a job either.”

  James stiffened his spine to resist her. “I don’t think the best thing…” She tilted her face up again, a shimmer of tears highlighting gold flecks in her brown eyes, and he melted. A little. “All right, you can come home with me now and make your arrangements from there.”

  “And she can stay tonight, right, Jim?” Aiden helpfully cut in.

  He shot his cousin an evil look, but the firefighter’s grin only brightened. “Sure, why not? One night.”

  What could it hurt?

  Chapter Four

  Sarabeth’s knees sagged in relief. At least she’d bought one night to regroup. Buying the dress Jim had just turned into a rag had been a crazy move, but she’d wanted to contribute something to the wedding. She supposed the ruin symbolized the total and complete mess she’d made of her life. The gown had been over-the-top, but it seemed so elegant, so perfect for the occasion. When a girl is marrying a billionaire, she doesn’t have to worry about where her next dime is coming from. Unfortunately, she hadn’t married him. All her clothes were already at Trey’s home, picked up by one of his employees, along with a few mementos of the parents who had disappeared when she was just a little girl.

  “I can’t thank you enough, Jim, for your kindness. And you, too, Aiden. I don’t know what I would have done otherwise. I know I have to face the situation, but I’m just not up for it today. I’m so tired I could sleep for a week.”

  “Well then,” Aiden said, “I guess you two have things figured out, and I need to be at the academy soon so I’ll say good-bye. Be good now!” He trudged away between the trees. A slight limp marred his walk, and she wondered if he’d been injured fighting a fire before he became an instructor. But now was not the time to ask.

  As he climbed on a dirt bike and gunned the motor, Sarabeth could not imagine how she hadn’t heard him ride up. Then she remembered what she’d been doing at the time and her face flamed. What the heck is wrong with me? I leave my groom at the altar and end up making out with the first incredibly hot farmer I run into? She’d probably jump anyone who wasn’t a billionaire. Sorry, Trey, but I’m prejudiced against handsome, sexy men with piles of money who live in mansions. Just can’t stoop to that.

  Every single straight woman in San Francisco and most of the not-so-straight men would kill to be in her position. She had to be nuts. But right now, she was so tired, her head pounding so hard, all she wanted was to rest for a while.

  “Is your purse up there in the basket?” asked Jim. “I can bring a ladder back and get it for you after I get you settled at the house.”

  “No.” She did not have her purse. “I left it in the bride’s room at the church.” Why was that harder than almost anything so far? She felt completely naked without it. No money, debit card, brush, lip-gloss, nothing to ease the throbbing in her temples. “I don’t have anything at all. Not even ID to prove who I am.”

  Jim gave her a searching look. “Are you all right?”

  “No,” she murmured, “but I will be.” She just had to start fresh.

  “I’m sure you will,” Jim said, extending a hand. “Come on, you look like you’re about to pass out where you stand. Let’s go to my house and I’ll get you settled in the guest room for a nap.”

  “Sounds wonderful.” And it did, but the second their hands connected, a thrill raced up her arm and slammed right into her core. He’d awakened something in her with his kisses earlier that didn’t seem likely to go away. It didn’t say a lot of good things about her that, within hours of leaving her fiancé, she’d not only allowed another man to kiss her but found his touch a hundred times more enticing than Trey’s.

  As Jim led her to some kind of off-road vehicle and helped her inside, the last of her energy waned, probably assisted by the flare of attraction she’d experienced holding his hand, and it was all she could do to stay awake. He hopped in the other side and steered them away from the trees and through a series of fields of all shades of green and gold, finally arriving at the front of a log cabin. But not the kind from the Little House books. This one was big. Three stories high and made of massive logs gray with age.

  “Your dad owns the nursery?” she asked.

  “Yes, he does.”

  “Wow,” she breathed. “How big is his house?” Growing plants must be a very good business. The farmhouses back home looked nothing like this.

  “Dad lives in a regular house. We grew up all four of us boys crammed into two sets of bunk beds while dad was working for his father-in-law. First thing he did when he and Autumn, my stepmother, inherited the place was set aside a plot for each of us so we could build our own homes. I just finished mine last year.”

  She trailed him up the wide steps to the double doors at the front of the house and inside. He didn’t even have to unlock it. Things must be very safe out here. Once in the foyer, she gaped at the elegant but understated décor. The ceiling rose to three stories and a chandelier made up of what looked like millions of tiny sparkling diamonds of glass hung over their heads, sending sunlight from the many windows everywhere. The main floor of the cabin was open, a kitchen at one side with a bar and stools where a person could eat dinner, the living area furnished with overstuffed leather furniture and shiny low dark-wood tables. They were almost empty, save for a few lamps, the simplicity, lack of knickknacks adding to the subtle masculinity. The eat-at counter consisted of a solid piece of wood in muted shades blending into one another. Everything in perfect taste. That much, after months of hanging out with Trey, she knew for certain. It was also probably very expensive. Farmers in this area really must do well.

  She followed Jim up the curving staircase, pausing to try to get a deep breath. The crazy bridal undergarments she wore did not allow such decadent breathing, however. Her palm trailed along the satin finish of the banister.

  At the top, he paused, and she reached for the doorknob, but he laid his hand over hers. “Not there. Down the hall.”

  She sucked in another shallow breath at his touch and froze there until he lifted his palm. “Sure thing.” She knew she didn’t sound remotely together but there wasn’t much she could do about that at this point. Instead of trying, she stumbled forward two more doors, passing a couple of elegant landscape paintings. “This one?” she guessed. At his nod, she opened the door and stepped into a lovely bedroom with a view overlooking the fields leading off toward the horizon. The outer wall was made up of the ancient-looking logs, the queen-size bed centered in the room piled with quilts and pillows. She stumbled toward it and fell face first into the softness.

  From behind her, she heard a chuckle. “I’ll let you get some rest.”

  Suddenly, against all sanity, she didn’t want him to go. Couldn’t imagine being alone and would do almost anything for the true comfort of his arms. I don’t even know him. Yet, his presence eased her fears and made her feel safe.

&
nbsp; “Would you stay?” she heard herself saying. “Just until I fall asleep?” And I sound completely childish.

  “If you want me to.”

  Sarabeth lay on the bed on her stomach, her feet hanging nearly to the floor, speaking into the quilts. He admired the picture of her satin-encased bottom at this angle. It rivaled the front view he’d enjoyed so far.

  Sitting on the edge of the bed, he lifted her and settled her with her head on the pillows. As long as he didn’t touch her anymore, they’d have no problems. And, as exhausted as she had to be after her night in the air, she’d be asleep in five minutes, freeing him to go have that soak and check out his injuries. Then get back to work. Although he hadn’t covered the entire nursery grounds, the men there knew their business and really didn’t need him to supervise their work. He did it only because his father asked him to.

  His own business, however, did require his constant presence, and if his face looked anything like he suspected, he’d have to conduct it in an alternate way at least for a few days. Emails, primarily. And have his PA put off a few face-to-face meetings. He waited a few minutes until Sarabeth’s breathing evened out then moved to stand, but she rolled over and snuggled into him. “Thank you for staying with me. I imagine you’ve got to get back out on the farm.”

  “Well, technically it’s a nursery and a set of experimental gardens,” he told her.

  “Feels like a farm.” She rolled her head back and forth. “Darn this hair. I wish I had the energy to deal with it.”

  Jim grinned and commenced pulling pins from her hair. “I can help. It looks very uncomfortable like that.” As the pins piled up on the table next to the bed, her hair fell around her shoulders in soft brown waves. Without the hair spray and gunk, he’d bet it would be curlier. “There you go. All better?”

  “Mmm, so much better.” she murmured sleepily, one hand resting on his chest. “Can I ask just one more favor?

  “Well, you can ask, but I can’t guarantee my answer until I hear the question.”

  “Kiss me one more time?”

  He cupped her chin and lifted her face toward him. Her lashes lay on her cheeks like thick sable, and her rosy lips called to him. “I shouldn’t kiss you. You could become an addiction too easily, sweetheart.”

  “It’s only a kiss.”

  As their lips met and melded, he knew it was too late. He already knew her taste, her scent, and she’d branded herself on his soul. He devoured her, lapping at her mouth inside and out, nipping her tongue then holding it gently between his teeth. Her moan came from so deep inside, it vibrated both their lips. When they finally paused for breath, he bent to press a kiss between her breasts, inhaling her scent. “It’s more than a kiss. I need to leave you before things go too far. Sarabeth, you’re a beauty, but you’re vulnerable right now, and I can’t take advantage of a woman who’s just had her heart broken.”

  She brought her hand up and rubbed her palm against the scruff on his cheek. “How sweet of you to say I’m a beauty. I know I’m just ordinary, though. And I didn’t have my heart broken. I just had my eyes opened.”

  James leaned into her palm. “Eyes opened, how?”

  “I didn’t fit in Trey’s life. I would do better somewhere like here, out in the country with a guy like you. A farmer. Nurseryman? Well, whatever it is you do.” She shifted then shifted again. “I need to get out of this dress.”

  He froze. What was she offering?

  “Do you have a T-shirt or something I can sleep in?

  Oh…so she wasn’t offering anything. Probably for the best.

  “I’ll go to my room and get you a T-shirt.” He stood and started for the door then paused. “Any particular color?”

  “No.” She offered him a sleepy smile. “Whatever you have handy.”

  A moment later, he returned with a dark-blue shirt from the MacKay International 5K he sponsored each year. He found her standing in the middle of the room, turning in a circle, trying to reach the long row of pearl buttons down her back. “Now, isn’t this a picture.”

  “I’m glad you’re enjoying it, but would you consider giving a lady a hand? This dress was never intended for the bride to get out of herself.”

  James approached her and, grasping her hips, turned her to face away from him. “I’ll play groom, then.”

  She gasped.

  “I mean, I’ll unhook your dress for you.” He slipped the pearl buttons out of the satin loops, one by one, and the dress fell free. Sarabeth crossed her arms at her waist, holding it up. “What do you have on under this thing?”

  She giggled. “I don’t even remember, except it’s terribly confining. A long line bra, a petticoat, a waist cincher thingy… It wasn’t easy getting dressed, even with help, but the sooner I’m out of it, the better.”

  He couldn’t agree more. If she’d been tempting before, in an innocent bridal way, as she eased the dress to her feet and stepped out of it, she took on a whole new appeal. He knew he should leave the room and let her change in privacy, but he couldn’t.

  Turning her to face him, he ran his fingers through her hair, fluffing up the waves falling below her shoulders. “You’re so beautiful.”

  “I’m ordinary. But thank you.” Sarabeth touched his eye. “And you’re beautiful even with a scraped cheek and black eye. I feel so terrible to have marred you like this. Do you hate me?”

  “No. I don’t hate you.” Sliding his fingers into her hair, he twisted it into his fist. “Not at all.”

  “I’m glad,” she said. “I need to have a friend or two right now.”

  She could pick better friends than him. With the thoughts racing through his mind at the moment, his friendship could be harmful to her virtue. “Sarabeth?”

  “Hmm?” She arched a brow in inquiry.

  “I’m either going to leave now and get some work done, or I’m going to peel you out of the rest of those clothes and make love to you until tomorrow morning.” He kissed her ear and whispered, “Lady’s choice.”

  She swallowed hard, holding his gaze. “Stay, please.”

  “And not just because you need someone to undo those hooks down your back?” He bit on her lobe, and she shivered.

  “Not at all, although I wouldn’t say no to a little more help. I’ve never felt so confined in my life.”

  “Then you haven’t lived. Now, turn around like a good girl, and I’ll get started on those hooks.”

  Chapter Four

  The afternoon sun slanted through the window across the comfy bed where Sarabeth lay on her stomach while Jim undid the hundreds of tiny hooks holding her prisoner in her white wedding lingerie. She’d protested all the constraining undergarments when the bridal gown designer laid them out for her, but, now, with a hunky man removing them…she felt incredibly sexy. His big fingers worked each fastener until the strapless bra fell to the side. He ran his palms up her back, rubbing where the hooks had dug in, and Sarabeth shuddered in reaction and squeezed her eyes closed. He slid the petticoat down her legs and let it fall to the floor.

  “It’s not easy to unwrap you, Miss Sarabeth, but so far it’s worth the effort.” He rolled her over and tackled the waist cincher next. She reached for it, well able to deal with the front closure of the torture device, but he batted her hands away “I don’t know how you could breathe in this thing.” He drew the zipper down, and, when the latex parted, she filled her lungs for the first time in nearly twenty-four hours.

  “Oh my God. Air is a wonderful thing.”

  “What made you buy such an item? Much less put it on?” He slid it out from under her and tossed it aside. She’d find some gasoline to burn it with later. Sure, it was sexy, but so was deep breathing.

  “The wedding dress Domme insisted. She made the waist of the dress a couple of inches smaller than mine, claimed it was necessary for the lines…so when I got dressed yesterday, I had no choice. But if I ever get married again…” She laughed. “If I ever get married at all, I’ll do it in Daisy Dukes and a shi
rt tied up under my boobs. Barefoot.”

  “I want to be there for that…to see that.” Jim massaged all the reddened spots where her undergarments had dug into her. She wore only her white lace thong and the thigh-high stockings and garters now and felt massively free. “Do you have something against shoes?”

  “No, yes…no. I do like pretty shoes, but the stilettoes I had to wear to achieve the designer’s preferred look bruised my toes. And crushed my instep. They were gorgeous, though.” She’d planned to put them on a special shelf in her new mansion closet to admire forever. Man she’d been caught up in the “things” of the wedding. “They’re probably still in the grass where I kicked them off, soaked through from the fog and the sprinklers. Ruined.” Her voice broke.

  He reared back and eyed her. “With everything that’s happened, are you going to cry over shoes?”

  Sarabeth blinked hard, clearing the blur of tears. “No, of course not. Just symbolic of the entire mess, I guess. They were covered with crystals, with the cutest peep toe, and the long, slender heel made me as tall as a model, almost.”

  Jim bundled her into his arms and cuddled her close. “Well, if it’s a symbol you want, we’ll get you a new pair to symbolize your decision not to get railroaded into a marriage you weren’t ready for. Covered with diamonds if you like. Pearls. Rubies. Just don’t cry.”

  “You are the sweetest thing ever, but you have no idea what you’re saying. Even crystals were several thousand dollars. I can’t conceive of what real jewel-encrusted shoes might cost.” She drew a shuddering breath and patted his cheek. “Thank you, though. I appreciate the thought.” A farmer could not possibly afford diamond shoes, and what would she do with them anyway? As of this moment, she was homeless, unemployed, and didn’t even have the nerve to call someone to send her belongings…if she’d had anywhere to have them sent. “I might accept your offer of shoes, though. Maybe a pair of cross trainers suitable for walking until I find a new life.”