Evergreen: An Alpha Billionaire Romance

by Michelle Love

  Now that things were settling down - albeit with the ongoing search for Emory – Clem was missing her Italian lover. One night, she thought, one night was all we had – and then she felt guilty. It was looking increasingly likely that Luca would never have another night with his love. God, poor Luca. Her ex-husband was a shadow of his former self – a broken man.

  Bree…well, Bree was Bree. Never one to show her emotions, her daughter was handling things stoically but Clem knew that Bree too was mourning Emory. The young teacher had become part of their family now; even Clem accepted it. She would never forget that young woman’s bravery, but she didn’t hold out much hope that Emory was alive. The coastguard had swept Elliott Bay and the coastlines that surrounded it but had come up with nothing.

  Clem sighed. She had decided to go back to work, but now, sitting in her office, she couldn’t concentrate. How had her life become this, so quickly, so brutally? She needed something new, a project, a reason to function. She glanced at the photograph of Bree on her desk. It was a couple of years ago – Bree was dressed in her hockey uniform, covered in mud, with a huge grin on her face. The Auburn School badge stood out proudly on the shirt. Clem suddenly thought of an online article she’d seen shortly after the massacre at Auburn. It had been titled Just Another School Shooting, and it had caused outrage amongst some people who hadn’t bothered to read the article. Clem had read it five times and had found it deeply moving. The title referred to the fact that America was getting used to these acts of horror and that jaded news reporting didn’t take account of the personal stories, the real people affect by these tragedies.

  Clem found the article again via a search engine and read it through. An idea was forming in her head, but she couldn’t quite make it into a solid enough plan. Start at the beginning, she told herself. There was nothing Clem did better than organizing her thought. First things first, talk to the author. She scrolled back up to the header. The article had been written by Tatiana Mendelssohn. The copy included a Twitter link and an email address care of the online periodical. Clem clicked on the email address, opening up a draft in her Outlook folder, and began to type.

  Zea woke up in her bed, wrapping in the comforter. She must have fallen asleep talking to Flynt. He was asleep in the armchair next to the bed, and she smiled as she watched him. God, this man…it was dangerous but she could fall for him so easily.

  Like you haven’t already. Shut up, she told herself. Could she trust him, or was this show of The Good Samaritan just because she’d been…

  Raped. She said it to herself. An act of violence. Jared Podesta was an evil, manipulative son of a bitch who had violated her in the worst way. Rape. Asshole, she whispered to herself, I hope you rot in hell, Jared Podesta or whatever the fuck your name is. No more.

  She had decided that earlier but now she repeated like a mantra. No more would she let David’s actions in Auburn define who she was. Nor would she ever be ‘the girl who was raped.' She was Zea Azano, a trained chef, an excellent chef. Zea looked over at Flynt again, and although she smiled, she knew that even Flynt could not be allowed to hold her back.

  ‘I can feel you watching me,’ Flynt mumbled and opened an eye. He chuckled as she burrowed into the cocoon of her comforter and feigned innocence. ‘And you’re a terrible hider.’

  He suddenly moved onto the bed next to her and tried to tickle her. Zea yelled, laughing furiously until he gave up but kept his arm locked around her. Their faces were inches apart.

  ‘Hello pretty girl,’ he said softly, and the tender, loving tone in his voice made all the emotions rush out of her.

  Zea felt the hole in her chest crack open, and she began to sob, letting all the grief, anger, fear, hurt out. Flynt’s arms tightened around her. Finally, her tears stopped, and she looked up at him, touching his cheek.

  ‘Flynt…I…’ But he didn’t let her finish. He kissed her again, harder, sliding his hand under her hair. He pressed his body against hers and felt her respond. Then they were tearing at each other’s clothes. Flynt slid his hands under her t-shirt and tugged it over her head. Zea kissed his stomach as she removed his shirt.

  He looked down at her. 'Are you sure?'

  She nodded. 'I love you. I'm sure.' And suddenly she knew the truth of those words.

  'You love me?'

  'More than anything.'

  He kissed her, crushing his mouth against his. 'I love you too, baby. Just me and you now. For all time.'

  She smiled, but her eyes were sad. 'Make the world go away, Flynt.'

  He pressed his lips to her forehead, kissing away the crease. 'Anything for you, darlin'. Anything.'

  She felt the hurt slip away as he moved inside of her. Flynt moaned, whispered her name and she kissed him, tightening her legs around him, pulling him deeper into her. Their lovemaking became intense, their eyes locked on the other’s, their breath quickening.

  Zea’s back arched and he gathered her to him as she came, marveling at the ecstasy on her face, feeling her fingers digging into his back. As he felt himself climax, he buried his face in her neck, moaning her name over and over. Flynt knew he had spoken the truth when he told her that he loved her but somewhere deep inside of him, his old nature called out to him. Telling him to run.

  And he didn’t know if he would be strong enough, that his love was strong enough, to ignore that call.

  Jesse leaned over to Bree’s side of the table. ‘Earth to Bree. Good People of Earth to Bree.’

  She grinned but still didn’t put down her cell phone. ‘One second, babe.’

  Babe? She flushed from the roots of her hair and grimaced. ‘Sorry about that.’

  Jesse looked amused. ‘Don’t apologize…I liked it.’

  Over the past days with Jesse, heated, tension had built between them; the odd look held too long, the brush of a hand against another, the desire to link fingers. Their chemistry was palpable, and Bree increasingly found herself short of breath in the best way when she was with him.

  He was the first person she thought about now when she woke, the first person she wanted to talk to. Even though they had known each other for such a short time, she felt as if they had always been friends, confidantes…partners.

  Now, as they sat in the coffeehouse, Jesse moved round to sit next to her. The couch they had taken over was set in a little alcove, away from the sight of the other patrons.

  His hand came up to stroke her cheek with his thumb; Bree couldn’t tear her gaze away from him.

  His lips were against her skin then, seeking her mouth. She sighed, sinking into the kiss.

  Jesse raised his head and smiled at her, and they both laughed.

  ‘Wow.’ Bree was trying to catch her breath. Jesse nodded, laughing.

  ‘You can say that again. Bree, I have never felt like this before…have you?’

  Jesse brushed away the hair that was sticking to the sweat on her face. All the tension from earlier was gone. He ran a finger down her cheek. ‘I’ve been waiting a long time for this day.’

  ‘I know.’ Her voice was so soft he could hardly hear her, but her eyes were shining.

  ‘Wanna go hang out somewhere more private?’

  Bree nodded, suddenly unable to speak.

  Hand-in-hand they walked out into the coffee shop. Jesse’s cell phone beeped.

  ‘Ignore it.’ Jesse said softly. ‘You didn’t answer my question.’

  ‘What question?’

  She laughed as he rolled his eyes and relented. ‘No, Jesse, I’ve never felt like this before.’

  He grinned widely. ‘Good, I’m glad to hear it.’ He took her in his arms and kissed her again. ‘Bree Saffran, I don’t know about you, but I’m really excited about where this is going.’

  Bree smiled up at him. ‘Me too, Jesse Kline. Me too.’

  Standing alone in his apartment, staring at out at the inky Washington night, Luca Saffran squeezed his eyes shut, his chest constricting suddenly. He pictured Emory next to him, her hand in his. He
could almost feel her skin against his. He balled his fists up and tried not to sob. Please come home, and I'll try, Emory, I'll try desperately not to tell you how much I love you. And how scared, how terrified I am that you've been taken from me forever. That the monster you were married to, fired hot metal into your precious body and murdered you. Please, please wherever you are.

  Come home…

  EVERGREEN

  An Alpha Billionaire Romance

  Part #5: Bree

  By Michelle Love

  #5: Bree

  Seattle

  Clementine Saffran put the phone down slowly. Her ex-husband Luca sounded…god, she didn’t want to think what he sounded like but his voice when she’d answered his call had been steady but hollow. Heartbroken.

  ‘I know it’s a lot to ask,’ he’d said in quiet voice, ‘but I really need to talk to someone.’

  She hadn’t hesitated – regardless of their divorce, she had spent over half her lifetime with this man. He was still and always would be, her best friend.

  ‘Come over, I’ll be here,’ she’d told Luca. Bree was out of the house again, somewhere in the city with Jesse Kline and Clem was glad her daughter seemed to be doing better.

  Emory Grace’s disappearance hung heavily over the entire family. Emory Dutta, Clem corrected herself. Emory would not thank her for calling her by the name of the man who had once been her husband, had often abused her, and now, had more than likely, murdered her in cold blood.

  Clem blew out a long breath. The past few months had been a whirlwind of tragedy and terror. Six months ago, she barely knew Emory, just from meeting her a few times at parent/teacher evening at Auburn College, the very exclusive, very expensive private school that Bree attended. She’d liked the young woman, saw her intelligence, her warmth but damn if she had no idea just how interlinked their lives had become.

  You’re distracting yourself. Clem sighed. Yes, she was trying to, anyway. Trying to distract herself from the paparazzi photograph of Maximo in the newspaper today. The photograph of him with his arm around a stunning woman, an Italian actress, the blurb said. Clem didn’t recognize the name but then, she couldn’t remember the last time she watched a movie. Maybe she should see more now Bree was so often out. There you go again. It won’t work, Clementine, you can’t stop thinking about Maximo for one second, can you?

  ‘Shut. Up.’ She told herself through gritted teeth then sighed. The photograph was haunting her. She recalled that blissful night she had spent in Max’s arms, his sensuality, his prowess in bed, his huge, thick cock driving her to abandon. The pain of seeing him with another woman made her stomach ache. Maximo had stepped up when Bree was abducted; was still, as far as she knew, holding Raymond Grace somewhere he couldn’t be a danger to anyone, but as for his relationship with Clem…

  You are not ready for what I need, and I do not have the time to wait around. His words to her the last time she’d seen him. Well you certainly didn’t waste time, did you, Maximo? Clem tortured herself with imagining him in bed with the Italian actress, plowing into her as hard as he could, barely remembering Clem’s name.

  She had worked herself up into a state by the time Luca arrived but when she saw the heartache, the devastation on his face, she silently berated herself. She let him in and hugged him awkwardly. When did their hugs get so awkward? She asked herself, hearing the answer immediately. When he fell in love with Emory. Luca had stopped being hers a long time ago but she never felt that distance until he and Emory started seeing each other.

  Not the time to worry about that now, she told herself and rubbed Luca’s arm. ‘How are you holding up?’

  Luca hesitated, seeming to struggle to contain his sorrow. Then in a flat voice, he told her. ‘The blood they found. It is Emory’s. Ray killed her, Clem, she’s dead.’

  Ice flooded through Clem’s veins as she took in the news. ‘Oh god…Luca, what are you going to do?’

  Luca was dry-eyed which surprised Clem. Instead his dark brown eyes were fierce, furious. ‘I’ll make sure he pays for what he did, Clem, I swear. I need your help. I need you to call Maximo Neri for me.’

  Oh, god no… ‘Luca, with me and Maximo – it’s complicated.’

  Luca stared at her. ’You won’t help me?’

  Her heart sank at the betrayal in his voice. You’re gonna have to take one for the team, Clemmie. ‘Of course, I will. Of course, I will, Luca, just don’t do anything you’ll regret.’

  Luca looked away from her gaze. ‘There’s nothing I could do to Ray Grace that I’d regret,’ he said softly, ‘except let him get away with murdering the woman I love.’

  God, it was still a spike to her heart to hear Luca say that about another woman but she shook it off. Jealous of a dead woman? No way. She squeezed his shoulder.

  ‘I’ll get you a drink and I’ll call Max.’

  Luca gave her a grateful smile. ‘Thanks, Clemmie.’

  Clem left him in the living room and walked to the kitchen. Her chef had left for the evening so the room was quiet and she snagged her phone from her purse as she poured Luca a glass of scotch.

  Maximo’s voicemail kicked in and she stuttered through a greeting. She wondered if he was fucking that actress right this moment and the thought made her tongue-tied with jealousy. She cleared her throat. ‘Max…we’ve just heard – the blood they found at theory was Emory’s. It looks like Ray Grace told the truth – he did shoot her.’

  What she was saying hit home then. ‘God…it’s too awful and as you can imagine, Luca is beside himself. Devastated. Angry. Max, I’m concerned what he will do if you tell him where Ray Grace is. I won’t stop him contacting you – in fact, if you could call me back as soon as you get this, I’ll put you on with him, but Max, please…Luca will kill Ray Grace and I won’t let him go to prison. Not for that scumbag. Even for Emory’s sake. She can’t suffer anymore. But Luca can. My daughter can.’

  Clem sighed and took a breath. ‘I’m sorry about this all. I’m sorry I involved you. I’m sorry, Maximo.’

  She ended the call and her emotions took over and she began to sob quietly into her hands. It wasn’t until she felt Luca’s arms around her that she felt strong enough to let her cries subside. The two of them held each other for a long time before Luca let her go.

  ‘Come on,’ he said, ‘let’s go sit and talk.’

  Ten minutes later, Maximo called back. She handed the phone to Luca and stood, not wanting to hear Max’s voice or she might crumple. She hoped he wouldn’t tell Luca where Ray Grace was but if he did, she couldn’t blame him. All she could do then would be to try and stop Luca from committing the worst revenge and ruining his life.

  Her heart sank even further a few minutes later when Luca came to find her. His face was alive with furious excitement. ‘Thank you, Clemmie. I know you meant well but listen to me: for Emory, I must do this. I’m going to finish this one way or another.’

  Bree Saffran lay with her head on Jesse’s shoulder and breathed in his clean smell. They were in his apartment, a vast open plan loft with exposed brick work and walls and walls of bookshelves stuffed with fiction and non-fiction. Most notably was his collection of science-fiction; Carl Sagan, Ursula K. Le Guin, Octavia Butler, Asimov. Bree had teased him when she first saw them. ‘You’re a nerd,’ and he had laughed and shrugged.

  ‘Guilty.’

  But she had loved it and they had spent hours talking about their favorite books and movies.

  Physically, however, they hadn’t progressed beyond kissing. Bree, still a virgin at nineteen, was nervous of making the leap, even though she was growing increasingly frustrated at herself. Jesse, ever patient, told her it was okay, he could wait, eventually they’d get there but Bree didn’t want to wait any more.

  She looked up at him now. ‘Jesse?’

  ‘Yes, babe?’

  She looked into those bright blue eyes and lost herself in them. She didn’t say anything else but pressed her lips to his and tightened her arms round him. Jess
e caught on immediately and smoothed her hair away from her face.

  ‘You sure?’

  She nodded, sliding her trembling hands under his shirt, feeling the quiver of the muscles in his hard chest as she touched him. Jesse groaned slightly and gathered her to him, rolling her onto her back and pushing her t-shirt up, shifting down to trail his lips across her belly. Bree’s senses reeled and as Jesse slowly undressed her, she felt as if every nerve ending in her body was on fire.

  With her breath catching in her throat, she freed his cock from his underwear, stroking the thick column, cupping his balls in her other hand. When she heard his gasp of pleasure, all her nervousness suddenly vanished and she hooked her legs around his hips, teasing his cock until it was engorged and throbbing.

  Jesse’s hand was on her sex, stroking her clit, making her shudder and gasp. His eyes were soft with love and he smiled down at her. ‘You rock my world, Bree Saffran.’

  Bree gazed up at him and knew she had found a home for her heart. ‘I love you, Jesse.’

  Jesse grinned and deftly stroked a condom onto his quivering cock. ‘If you change your mind at any time,’ he whispered, ‘just tell me and I’ll stop.’

  Bree smiled, her eyes filled with tears. ‘I won’t…’

  She gave a small cry and Jesse pushed into her, the sharp pain quickly gone and they began to move together, Bree finding her rhythm naturally. Her legs wrapped around his waist, and her lips sought his. When her climax came, it was nothing she had ever experienced and she gave herself over to it fully, gasping and moaning as Jesse drove her crazy with joy.

  Afterward, they showered together, unable to keep their hands off each other. ‘Thank you,’ Bree said quietly, ‘thank you for making it so special.’

  Jesse smiled. ‘Bree, you have no idea how much you mean to me. I am so in love with you.’