Claimed By Him: (Contemporary Romance Box Set)

by Alexis Winter

  The waves are huge, pounding into the rocky beach in a rhythmic pattern that has a hypnotic effect on anybody watching. I spend a few minutes studying the pattern of the waves while I wait for the perfect one. They are huge and powerful. I am going to have to catch one just right to avoid being thrown off my board in the attempt, and I want to get this perfect on the first try.

  I count the seconds between swells, noting that the third wave of each set is always the largest one, and time my attempt with the way the largest one yet curls over and begins to crash against the icy water below.

  I know something is wrong as soon as the current catches my board and pulls me into the curl, but I don’t realize quite how out of control I am until I am caught in the tube of the wave, but by then, it is too late, and the next thing I register is the crack of my head against one of the gigantic pieces of rock in the water as the wave drags me under.

  Chapter 23

  Alison

  Since coming back from Mexico, it was like my mental clarity about what I wanted was becoming more and more lucid. I knew I was in love with Vincent; I just had to grow enough courage to tell him.

  Even after I moved everything out of the apartment I once shared with Brian and told him to fuck off, he still wouldn’t accept the fact that we were done. My phone buzzed, and I pulled it out of my pocket to see the message he sent days after I’d moved my stuff out.

  Hey, Babe, I know you need space and time, and I’m trying, but I miss you like crazy. I can’t stop thinking about you. I hope you’re missing me too. I love you so much.

  I rolled my eyes and ignored the message, tossing my phone on my bed as I packed for Iceland.

  I replayed the last exchange we had, when I moved my stuff out of our old apartment.

  “Alison, please! Stop! Stop! I’m begging you!” Brian grabbed at my hands as I pulled my clothes from our dresser and shoved them haphazardly into a suitcase. I wasn’t expecting him to be home this soon; he must have dipped out of work early. I, on the other hand, was giving him the silent treatment…immature, but I didn’t know how to communicate my feelings at the moment.

  I continued packing my things as Brian tore them back out of my suitcase like it was a cartoon. I was beyond frustrated; none of this was going according to plan. He had come home about an hour after I arrived and immediately began to beg and plead with me to stay and hear him out. I could see this was going nowhere, so I finally relented. “Fine, let’s hear it.”

  “What?” He stood speechless for a moment with his fists full of my clothes.

  “I’ll listen to whatever excuse or story it is that you think will explain why I found you with your dick in Bridgette Trent.” I could see him shift nervously from one foot to the other at the mention of her name. “Let’s go into the living room.” I led the way, stopping to grab a bottle of water from the fridge.

  We sat in silence for another few moments once we reached the living room. I could see he was gathering his thoughts as he sat tensely on the edge of the couch. “Look, I know there’s no excuse for my behavior. It was a moment born purely out of lust and loneliness and alcohol. I…honestly, she came on to me first.”

  I rolled my eyes as he tried to excuse his behavior…right after saying there was no excuse for it.

  “I swear, Alison; she had been flirting with for months, sending me inappropriate emails and texts!”

  “Hold up: this had been going on for months, and you didn’t think to share it with me? The woman you loved and were engaged to? Or your boss? If she was sending you emails, you should have gone to your immediate supervisor or HR if you didn’t want it, but you didn’t! You encouraged it, Brian!” I could feel my pulse rising as I pointed a finger at him.

  “I know, I know! I know, Alison! I fucked up, okay!”

  “No, you didn’t fuck up, Brian; you made a deliberate choice. You chose her over me. Her over us. Over our love and what we built together. The trust, honesty…all gone!” I couldn’t hold back any longer, and I burst into tears. I felt like my stomach was going to expel its contents onto the floor, so I made a mad dash to the bathroom.

  A few moments later, I could hear what sounded like arguing coming from the other room. I splashed cold water on my face and took a few deep breaths before returning to the living room. “Brian?”

  “Alison, come on; we can deal with this later. Did you get anything packed?” Janelle was making a beeline for me across the floor; I could see her face was red, and Brian stood silently in the background.

  “Not really.”

  She glared at Brian and pointed right in his face. “You stay here and don’t move; understand? Your behavior is sickening, and you need to let her get some things and figure shit out, okay?” Brian nodded his head and put his hands in the air as if to surrender.

  I made my way to our old bedroom and packed a quick bag of my things before heading back out into the living room where Janelle had Brian cornered. Without a word or even a glance at Brian, I made my way out of the apartment into Janelle’s car.

  This was exactly the closure I needed. If I thought for one brief second I wanted him back, I wasn’t confused any longer. I had avoided picking my things up from Brian’s for months. I wasn’t sure if I was still secretly holding out hope or if it was just the fact I didn’t want to face him. Either way, it was done.

  And now here I am, about to lose the main I love over something so stupid. What have I done in all this to make him not trust me?

  I’m not angry at Vincent for holding my phone or even going through it if he could have. I am angry that he threw the friends with benefits shit in my face and acted like I betrayed him because my dumbass ex text me. How is this my fault?

  I wanted to stop him, but I knew his mind was made up, so I let him storm out. I pick up my phone again, not knowing what time it is back in Chicago but call Janelle anyway.

  “Hey, what’s up?” Her breathing sounds heavy on the other end of the phone.

  “Uh, did I interrupt something? What time is it there?”

  “I’m just out running; it’s the afternoon here.”

  I explain the situation to Elle, hoping she can give me a magic answer to fix everything.

  “Well, I mean…he doesn’t have a right to be pissed at you for that. Even if you were sleeping with someone else, he shouldn’t be upset if you guys didn’t say you were exclusive. I would tell Brian to go jump up his own ass and die so he gets the message loud and clear, but I’d also be very transparent about it all with Vincent. He clearly has feelings for you, sis. Guys don’t get that butthurt if it’s just a casual hookup.”

  I laugh and lean back on the bed; she always knows what I need to hear. “Thanks as always, sis. I’m going to set things straight with Vincent before he does something stupid on the water and hurts himself. I love you; I’ll see you when I’m back home.”

  I toss the phone on the bed with a huge grin on my face and grab my boots and coat and run out the door. I can picture Vincent’s face when I shout to him that I love him and demand he make love to me before he hurts himself on the waves.

  But I’m too late. Just as I approach the beach, I see him run out into the water and catch a massive wave. His balance is off, and I see him fall, the water catapulting him directly into a giant chunk of ice. I scream his name and run as fast as I can to the water, but he can’t hear me. It’s freezing, but I don’t care. I kick off my boots, throw off my coat, and run into the icy waters, but I can’t find him.

  Chapter 24

  Alison

  I was growing used to the sounds of the machines that surrounded Vincent in the hospital room he’d been set up in for the better part of a week. It had gotten to the point that the rhythmic beeping and whirring was enough to lull me off to sleep. It didn’t help that I’d barely slept since two fellow surfers helped me pull Vincent from that freezing water back in Iceland.

  The water was insanely cold, but I’d barely noticed it in my rush to get him out of the waves. When
I watched Vincent go down, my heart had leaped into my throat. I wasn’t even sure I remembered how to breathe until I started screaming for help as I struggled to find him.

  Everything had been a blur after that. Two fellow surfers appeared out of nowhere and pulled his body from the water. An ambulance had arrived, and the paramedics had seen to the bleeding gash on his forehead while I watched helplessly. I’d gone with him to the hospital, silently praying he would wake up and that everything would be ok while the paramedics also tried to make sure I was all right and not suffering from hypothermia after my dip in the frigid water without a wet suit on. My clothes were still wet when we reached the hospital, but I would only leave his side long enough to change into the scrubs they’d given me when they forced me to leave the room.

  The next day, when he’d been airlifted from the hospital to the airport and loaded onto a jet filled with medical staff to be flown back to Chicago, I was expecting him to wake up at any moment. But there wasn’t any sign of him even fluttering an eyelid in spite of all the movement.

  The doctors cleared him for travel. Since Nate had his power of attorney and a bunch of legal paperwork stating Vincent’s wishes to be brought back to Northwestern Memorial in Chicago if anything should happen to him, the doctors released him to his care. They put him a medically induced coma for the trip and to allow the swelling in his brain to decrease.

  After arriving back in Chicago, there were scans and tests and monitors and just about every imaginable piece of equipment hooked up to him soon after we arrived. He was breathing on his own. The doctors all said that was a good sign, that there seemed to be no sign of permanent brain damage, but they still hadn’t brought him out of the medically induced coma. It was disheartening, but I refused to leave the hospital.

  It took a lot of convincing from Janelle and Elise to even talk me into going for food from time to time. The only time I would leave him was when the doctors or Nate were there to take my place. If he was going to be alone, I refused to go. When he woke up, I didn’t want him to be confused or afraid. Every night I slept with my head resting on the hospital bed near his hand, so I’d wake up if he did.

  It’s Friday morning, almost a week since he fell into the water and hit his head on the rocks. I wake as the sunlight streams through the blinds. It won’t be long before the room will be flooded with light.

  I was up late last night, just talking to Vincent while we were alone. I missed him being able to answer me, but the doctors said he could still hear me. I’d passed out in the middle of mumbling a story about the most embarrassing thing that had happened to me in middle school.

  I am still stuck between waking up from the sun and trying to stay asleep a little longer when I feel movement in the bed. I ignore it at first, but when he runs his fingers through the hair that lay haphazardly across my cheek, tucking it behind my ear, my eyes flutter open quickly.

  It takes me a moment to remember where I am or that I am here with an injured Vincent. Everything registers all of a sudden, and when I look up to find him awake and grinning down at me in spite of the row of stitches on his temple, I nearly jump straight up and onto the bed beside him.

  “Vincent! You’re awake!” As soon as the words leave my mouth, I burst into tears. I shout for a nurse as Vincent covers my mouth with his hand.

  “I am, but how long have I been out? And where am I?” He looks around for a moment but doesn’t hesitate to wrap an arm around me and pull me in closer. “Don’t cry, sweetheart; I’m still alive, aren’t I?” He winces a little as he reaches up to touch the stitches.

  “Five days.” I wipe away tears that stream uncontrollably down my cheeks. He knits his brows together, looking concerned.

  “And you’re back in Chicago at Northwestern Memorial. Nate took care of it all.”

  He nods, leaning in to press a kiss to my forehead as I carefully move in to be closer to him.

  “Then he did exactly what I would have wanted him to do. I didn’t break anything, right? My brains aren’t scrambled?” He grins a little. It is like him to be trying to joke around at a moment like this.

  “Not any more than normal. They had to put you in a medically induced coma until the brain swelling decreased, but I didn’t know when you’d be waking up. They must have reduced your medication last night when I was asleep.”

  “Tell me you haven’t been here all five days.”

  I glance up at him. “Of course. I couldn’t leave you alone.”

  “Tell me you went home and at least grabbed a shower.” He groans when I just shake my head.

  “It’s a good thing I’m in this hospital bed, or I’d do something unspeakable to punish you for that one.”

  “I wasn’t going to go anywhere until I knew you were going to be all right, Vincent. I wasn’t going to leave the man I love to wake up alone while I went off to have some luxury shower,” I gesture wildly, completely unaware of the words that just tumbled out of my mouth.

  “Whoa, whoa…the man you love?”

  My heart feels like it stops beating. The words just fell out without me even realizing it.

  He grins and steals a kiss. “And who’s that lucky son of a bitch?”

  “You. For some crazy, insane, self-destructive reason…I love you.” I hadn’t said it out loud before now, but it feels good to say.

  I knew the moment I thought I’d lost him that this wasn’t just a no-strings-attached fling. This is it. True, all-encompassing love. I ramble on trying to express myself and explain the text from Brian when he cuts me off, pulling me in for another kiss. This one is long and lingering, his fingers curling around behind my neck to keep me there until he pulls away and takes a soft breath.

  “I love you too, Alison. In fact, I had planned to tell you on the beach in Iceland, but it seems my hurt feelings and petulant behavior got better of me first. Can you ever forgive me for behaving that way?”

  I catch his eyes, carefully stroking a finger through his hair as I avoid the line of stitches there. I don’t want to start crying again so instead of replying, I lean in, planting a kiss on his forehead and letting myself linger there for a moment.

  “Well, I’ve got you speechless, I think. That’s got to be a first. I don’t know if I should ask you the next thing on my mind or not since I don’t know if you’ll be able to answer me.”

  “If you ask me to go on another one of your death-defying acts, I swear to God, Vincent.” He laughs, but I am completely serious. I am not certain what is coming next, but the words that come out of his lips are the last thing I ever expected to hear.

  “Marry me?” He threads his fingers between mine, holding my hand until he brings it to his lips for a kiss. “And before you protest, I’m not brain damaged or addled. I know what I want. I knew it before I ever got on that surfboard. What I want is you. So just tell me you’ll marry me.”

  I am shocked silent for a moment. It takes me a second to find the words.

  I never expected life would take this turn…that when I rattled my way through my first airport meeting with Vincent Crawford, it would end up with both of us falling madly in love. I can’t help but remember Janelle’s comments from a few weeks ago: ‘What if you let go and find out that the what-ifs are everything you’ve always wanted?’ All of this feels right, and there is only one answer I can give.

  “Yes, yes, of course, I’ll marry you!” Tears begin streaming down my face as I lean in to press my forehead to his. “Just one small thing though…make sure you ask me again after they release you from the hospital, so I know you haven’t completely lost your mind.”

  He laughs and pulls me in for another kiss. “Oh, trust me; I’m going to ask you as often as I can until you finally say ‘I do,’ and maybe even after. Just to make sure you haven’t lost your mind too.”

  I can’t stop smiling. “Just shut up and love me, Vincent Crawford.”

  He grins against my lips, muttering, “Only for the rest of my life, Alison Ryder.”


  Epilogue

  Vincent: Several months later…

  “See something you like?” Alison can see my reflection in the window in front of her. I don’t even know how long I’ve been standing here staring at her. The golden hue of the sky has created a magical backdrop to her silhouette as she looks at my penthouse window.

  “Only the best view in the entire city.” I walk up behind her, letting my hand rest on her hip as I use the other to move aside the tumble of curls exposing her neck to my lips.

  “Mmmm” a soft moan escapes her mouth as I run my tongue up her silky skin followed by a nip of my teeth. She reaches behind her and grabs my suit coat.

  “I have watched you all day flitter about the hotel. Taking notes and pictures, giving instructions to the furniture delivery team. All eyes were on you sweetheart and I just kept thinking to myself, she’s all mine. I’m the one who gets to kiss those full lips at the end of the day.” I move both of my hands to her hips and let them slide up her body until I cup her firm breasts. “I’m the one who gets to touch these delicious tits, to suck on these little pink nipples.” I slip my hand inside her blouse and pull her bra cup down as I pinch her nipple. Her moan turns into a gasp as her head lulls back against my shoulder.

  “I’m all yours baby.” She says, pushing her ass against my rigid cock. I reach down the front of her and unbutton her blouse as I continue to nip at her neck. I remove the shirt and toss it on the floor followed by her bra.

  “Put your hands against the glass.” I say, waiting for her to comply. She looks confused for a moment before I lift her hands and press them against the floor to ceiling window.

  “Don’t move. Understand?” She gives me a subtle nod as her eyeline meets mine in the reflection. I reach between us and unzip her skirt, letting it fall to the floor leaving her in only her panties and heels.