Mimi walked in wearing a simple rose sheath, similar to Kendra’s. “Hey Mom, someone’s been calling for you.” She held out the tiny bundle wrapped in a hot pink blanket for Skylar to take.
“Hey baby,” she cooed to her and Ryder’s two month old daughter, Brooklyn Marie Tompkins. Six weeks after declaring their love for each other, Skylar found out that her flu was in fact baby Brooklyn. Ryder proposed right away but she told him no. They needed to get to know each other and make sure their love would sustain them for the long haul, not a baby. Ryder reluctantly agreed and did everything to show her just how great they were together. He dropped everything when she fell ill, kept her well fed and rubbed her feet after a long day at the office. He’d been perfect. So perfect that after her six month checkup, she’d proposed to Ryder over the sound of little Brooklyn’s heartbeat. “How’s my baby,” she asked and snuggled the baby close. “Mimi thank you for agreeing to be a bridesmaid and for holding Brooklyn so she’s part of the ceremony.”
She blushed all the way to her ears. “You don’t have to thank me Skylar. You’re Ryder’s girl and he’s my best friend so you’re my girl too.” She shuddered and then laughed at her words. “You know what I mean.”
“I do.”
“She does,” Kendra piped in. “What I want to know is, what’s going on between you and Hunter? You two are creating so many sparks I’ve got the fire department on standby.”
Mimi rolled her eyes. “You’re mistaken.” She reached out for Brooklyn. “I came up here because the planner said you have five minutes. I’ll be at the bottom of the stairs, waiting.” She left as quietly as she came.
“I’m not buying it,” Kendra said breaking the silence.
“Me either, but let’s leave it alone. It’s a touchy subject, I think.” She gave herself one last look in the mirror. “Let’s go get me married!”
***
“I can’t believe you made me your best man,” Hunter told Ryder as he fixed his bow tie in the mirror. “You really need some friends.”
Ryder laughed and clapped his brother on the back. “If you stopped being a dick we’d be great friends.” He shoved a glass of champagne in his brother’s hand. “Seriously, thanks for doing this. I need you by my side when I make Skylar my wife.”
“I am happy for you little brother, even though I think you could be together without making it so…permanent.”
Ryder laughed and shook his head. “I want permanent. I want her there, next to me until the day I die.”
Hunter shivered. “Well at least you got an adorable kid out of it.”
That had surprised Ryder more than anything. Hunter was a great uncle and Brooklyn adored him as much as he adored her. “She is beautiful.” His daughter had her mother’s fiery red hair and her father’s deep blue eyes and her uncle’s devilish dimples. She was a well loved baby.
“She gets that from me.”
Ryder threw his head back and laughed. “Whatever gets you through the day, Hunter.”
“I know that one lucky lady will help me get through the night.” He wiggled his eyebrows.
“You’re incorrigible man. Let’s go take our places before Aunt Marie finds us and tells me how to please a woman.” He cringed at the thought.
“Hey I love that old lady, she gave me a groomsmen’s gift. It was a box of sex toys.” It had been the strangest conversation he’d ever had, but the old woman knew her stuff.
“Let’s not talk about it. I’m getting married!”
The ceremony felt long to Hunter, but even he couldn’t deny the love shining in his brother’s and Skylar’s eyes. Those two had what it took to make their love last. At least he thought so, not that he knew what it took.
The crowd erupted when Ryder kissed his wife long and hard, and Hunter caught a haunted longing look on Mimi’s face. The sight of her always made his heart squeeze, but when she held Brooklyn he felt as though a piece of his heart was missing. The bride and groom fled up the aisle amidst a flurry of rose petals and Hunter reached for Kendra’s hand. As the best man he would escort her for the evening. When he went to whisper in her ear, it wasn’t there. Well it was there but it was much lower. “Mimi. You look beautiful today,” he told her mostly out of habit, but she did. Pink suited her pale skin.
“You always clean up well, Hunter.” Her words were sincere but he hated the sadness that seemed to follow her everywhere. “Kendra wants that groomsmen so we’re stuck together.”
“I don’t feel stuck at all. I can’t wait to dance with you again.”
She scoffed loudly. “Sure, Hunter.” She pulled him up the aisle where they would stand in the receiving line.
“I mean it. I loved dancing with you and tonight you can’t say no.”
She glared at him. “What’s this? Are you hoping I’ll be your lucky bridesmaid that you can screw all night since you leave for China in two days?”
He hadn’t been thinking that but now that she’d put the thought in his head, it was perfect. He could hold her in his arms again, press his body to hers all night for one enchanted evening, before he spent the next six months drumming up business in China. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
“Well, good then.” She crossed her arms and refused to let her disappointment show. He didn’t have to shut the idea down so quickly.
“I said I wouldn’t dream about it Mimi, not that I didn’t think about it or hope it would happen. And since you planted the seed,” he leaned in until his lips brushed against her ear, “it’s all I can think about.”
THE END
Billionaire’s Unexpected Crush
Nyla Lexington stood outside of the biker bar with the bright neon signs, and flashing lights. Unsure if she wanted to go in, she hesitated. She could smell the smoke from here, she knew this wasn't a place she'd ever run into her ex-husband, as he preferred higher-class bars and clubs.
Having her divorced finalized a couple weeks ago, she knew it would take some time before she emotionally got over everything, legally it was done. She was a lawyer, she knew how these things worked, but she wanted to do something risky and reckless tonight to celebrate as a moving on thing.
She always did everything right. She graduated high school with a good GPA, went to college and got her law degree, then got married. Her husband had been another lawyer in the law firm where she'd worked for almost ten years, a seven year marriage, down the drain.
He'd cheated on her with at least three clients that she knew about, four secretaries and goodness knows how many other females outside of the work place he'd been intimate with. She was just thankful she hadn't contracted any S.T.Ds from him, or had children with such an ass.
For once, she wanted to do something out of character, and fun. She'd always liked a bad boy and a man in leather. A biker bar seemed like a good place to pick up a hot man who had an edge of danger.
Apparently marrying a man who'd pretend he was an angel was nothing more than a wolf in sheep's clothing. Disgusted that she hadn't seen through it earlier, or seen the warning signs before she married him, she couldn't blame anyone but herself.
Nyla walked to the doors and walked in, she was immediately assaulted by the thick smell of smoke, sex, and beer. She walked in and went to the bar and ordered herself a martini on the rocks. She wasn't much of a beer drinker, but she could shoot tequila with the best of them. Before she drank, she wanted to get the lay of the bar and see what kind of people were here first.
She was feeling adventurous, but still, she couldn't bring herself to be so stupid she got herself killed.
Sipping her martini, she sat back and watched people play pool and dance in the middle of the bar. The sweaty grinding on the small dance floor had Nyla slightly aroused as she watched the groping and kissing.
Ducking her head to sip on her drink, she eyed everyone from above her glass.
Until he walked in.
Her heart was pounding as she saw him. Hot in mostly all leather, with a bandana around his head
and his leather boots made her want to go over there and touch him. She literally felt like she was about to start drooling.
He didn't need to act tough, he looked tough. His leather vest over his white t-shirt showed off the tattoos all over his arms. He walked with an air of confidence and a grace that belied his large size. His arm muscles were as thick as tree trunks and his narrow waist tapered into his pants to show his fit build.
The man was incredibly sexy. Nyla drank the shot quickly and then ordered another one, watching him from a distance. She needed more liquid courage than two drinks if she was going to approach him, and because of it, she ordered three more drinks back to back.
A group of men in the back apparently had noticed her drinking and worked their way over to her at the bar, nodding to the bartender, they tossed a few dollars on the bar and ordered her another drink.
Nyla was intimidated; there were three of them, and one of her. Grungy and dirty looking, they smelled like smoke and as if they hadn't bathed for a few days. This was not the type of bad boy she wanted. She preferred men with hygiene.
They started to crowd her, and her head spun a little bit from all the alcohol. She left the drink they'd ordered her untouched on the counter.
"Don't be rude, we bought you a drink," The shortest one told her. He was also the meanest looking one. "I've had enough, thank you though." Nyla said, trying to avoid confrontation.
"Now that's just plain nasty. We bought you a drink; you should at least take a sip so Eddy here doesn't get offended." The guy wearing a leather vest with patches all over it, including a patch that said 'I heart rape'.
Nyla gulped and shook her head, and went to squeeze around them when the largest of the men who had a large beard grabbed her arm.
"No precious, you aren't going anywhere, we came over here to give you a good time, and you aren't leaving until we are done." He laughed and his fingers tightened painfully on her arm. "Pick up that drink, or I'll force it down your throat."
Nyla glanced at the bartender helplessly, who turned his back on her and started to polish a glass with a rag.
Yeah, great, thanks for the help asshole, Nyla couldn't help but think as she stared at his back in shock.
She looked desperately around the bar to see if anyone would help her, and realized that no one intended to intervene.
The shorter man tried to grope her.
Nyla tried to slap his hand away and earned a laugh from all three of the men.
"Stop, I'm not interested," Nyla told them and tried to grab her purse off the counter to leave realizing she'd almost forgot it.
"No, honey, we are very interested in you. I love me a woman with curves, and you wore that dress on purpose, didn't you. To draw attention. You got it, now you can't take it back." The bearded man sneered at her as he reached out and touched her cheek.
Nyla jerked her head away and looked around the room in fear and finally made eye contact with the hunk that had walked in a few minutes earlier.
He cocked his head as he looked at her and seemed to be assessing the situation, Nyla hoped her face showed her fear and that he'd come help her.
Ethan Timmons stared at the curvy girl at the bar who looked panicky. She was surrounded by three men who looked rather suspect, and he was deciding if he should intervene.
With his military background, he knew he could take on three half drunk bikers by himself, but he generally tried to avoid confrontation. Normally, he avoided regular clubs because people recognized him. He was extremely rich, his grandfather was still alive and kicking, but he was the heir to a huge diamond mining company, and oil properties all over the world. His inheritance ran into the billions. He had no desire to have women drooling all over him because of his money, so he tried to avoid places where he thought women would figure out who he really was.
Ethan had come here to drink and play pool. He hadn't been looking to rescue a girl who stuck out like a sore thumb, a lamb among sheep.
What kind of idiot woman would flaunt her assets in a bar where the women punched harder than the men?
Her dark hair was done up and curled slightly around her face and neck, her red mini dress hugged every curve like someone painted it on her, and her gigantic breasts threatened to spill out over the top. Her black heels showed off her ankles and legs to perfection. She was curvy in all the right places, soft and feminine looking. In a bar where half the women dressed like men and acted tougher than snot, she definitely stood out.
If she had been trying to pick up a man, she bit off more than she could chew. Ethan just wasn't sure if he wanted to rescue said damsel in distress.
If you wanted to tangle with bikers, you needed to be able to handle it when you drew the wrong attention. She looked completely lost and out of her element.
Sighing to himself when her puppy dog eyes made eye contact with him, he couldn't leave her to be molested or raped by the half drunk idiots accosting her. Wishing he'd avoided looking at her, he was a sucker for a damsel in distress.
He got up, his pool cue in hand and walked over to the bar.
"Is there a problem here gentlemen?" He asked nonchalantly, watching for signs of aggression.
"Go away prissy boy, she's ours." The short man told him and reached out to grab the woman's breast through her dress and making her squeak and try to back away from him.
"It doesn't appear the little lady is willing, and I'd wager since there's plenty of willing ladies around here, you should probably let her go and find meat that wants to be caught." He said, his voice going hard when the man reached for a knife in his pocket.
The man flicked his little pocket knife open and Ethan resisted the urge to laugh. His black-ops training would come in handy in a fight, he might be ex military, but he still practiced and didn't let himself get rusty. You never knew when you'd need to fight for your life.
Like in a bar. With drunken fools.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, I'd hate to hurt you," Ethan warned him, and watched as the other two men pulled similar type weapons from their back pocket and turned away from the woman, letting her arms go.
She grabbed her purse and ran to the woman's bathroom, leaving him alone with the three men, not even bothering to say thank you.
"You ass! You scared her off!" The man with the beard yelled at him.
The man with the pocket knife lunged at him, and Ethan danced out of the way, and grabbed the man's wrist and twisted, forcing him to drop the knife.
"Keep fighting and your wrist will break from the pressure. I'd rather not break your wrist. Let's settle this like gentlemen, shall we? You walk away, and no one gets hurt." Ethan told him, the adrenaline from the fight hitting his system and making him hyper focus on the three men in front of him.
"Fuck you man," The short man said as he came to kick him between the legs.
Ethan let go of the man's wrist and jumped out of the way of the kick, stumbling backwards.
The bartender looked at the four of them and shook his head. "Take this outside, or I'll call the cops. Now."
The men froze at the mention of the cops and Ethan took the opportunity to take a few steps back and try to get out of kicking or hitting reach. He bent down and swiped up the pocket knife and closed it.
"I believe this is yours?" He held it out to the man whose wrist he'd bent painfully to make him let go of the knife.
The man didn't say a word but took it from him his eyes slightly averted, not wanting to meet his gaze.
"Are we good now, or do we need to finish this in the parking lot?" Ethan asked the three men who exchanged glances and then the bearded man spoke up.
"No, were cool. Our beef really wasn't with you anyways. We'll just wait for the little lady to come out of the bathroom." The bearded man told Ethan, flashing his yellow, broken teeth.
"Well, I can't let you do that, I claim her as mine. I'll fight for her." Ethan announced and stared them down until all three of the men dropped their gaze from his face.
<
br /> "Fine. She's not worth it." The short man said and turned to the bar and pounded his fist to get the bartender's attention and ordered a beer.
Ethan walked over to the girls’ bathroom and knocked on the door.
"It's safe to come out, let me walk you out to your car though." He called through the door, crossing his arms like a bouncer, he waited for her to come out.
Nyla had her fingers painfully tight gripping the sink as she leaned on it and was hyperventilating in the bathroom, she'd been sure she just abandoned the poor man to his death, she didn't think a man could take on three, burly bikers by himself.
When she heard him yell through the door to her she almost had a heart attack, she'd been scared to come out of the bathroom and hadn't been able to figure out how she was going to get to her car to get home.
Coming here was stupid on her part, she realized that now.
Walking over to the door, she opened it and looked around outside, seeing the men drinking at the bar with their backs turned to the rest of the bar.
"How did you do that?" She whispered to him in awe.
"I just reasoned with them, and the bartender threatened to call the cops on them if they didn't stop fighting in the middle of his bar." He shrugged, "I'm Ethan."
"Nyla, I'd say it's nice to meet you, but I'd have rather it been under different circumstances. I don't normally need rescued." She told him, and then glanced down at the ground, looking embarrassed.
"Would you like a drink?" Ethan asked her, he looked down into her eyes and realized he was drawn to her. Something about the hurt expression on her face making her look like a wounded animal brought out his protective instincts.
"I'd love a drink with you, I'm just not sure here is a safe place to do it," Nyla told him and then decided to be bold. "But, I have plenty of alcohol back at my condo, no pressure and no hurt feelings if you don't want to join me."
ROMANCE: Sleeping With The Sheikh (Billionaire Alpha Male Sheikh Romance) (New Adult Forbidden Series Short Stories) Page 34
