by Claire Adams
I unfolded a white sheet of paper and let my eyes scan over it, trying to focus on the gift and not the different points in my head that I planned to give her to convince her to stay with me.
"It's the old Vanning Place. I don't know if you know where it is, but my father said..."
"Wait. What?" I pulled the page up to my face and scanned it, realizing that it was a deed to half the property. "Oh my God, Chloe...whose is this?"
She moved up to hover in front of me and pointed to the owner’s name.
Finn J. Warner.
"What? I don't understand." I tugged the paper down as my heart sped up. "You're giving me half of the Vanning Mansion?"
"Yes." She sat back on her heels looking quite satisfied with herself.
"Who has the other half?" I moved down to my knees in front of her, trying to be careful of my cast, but not really giving a shit about it.
She slid her hands over my chest and clasped them behind my head. "I do."
My heart almost stopped in my chest. I had to look like an idiot, but I was shocked into silence. She had half of the mansion and I had half, too...
"So, you're staying here with me?" I couldn't stop myself from asking.
"Yes, baby. If you'll have me."
I leaned in and kissed her with every ounce of fear and worry, every drop of love and desire I had for her. We tumbled over, and I rolled on top of her, pinning her to the ground and making love to her mouth as the realization over what she'd given me rolled through me in consuming waves.
She was staying, she wanted to be mine, and she had purchased the mansion I wanted to build my dreams on since I was a boy.
I broke the kiss and closed my eyes, panting softly above her lips. "This can't be happening."
"It is, baby. My father gave me the money for my clothing line, but I'm going to invest it in refurbishing the mansion. Let's build the lodge you want and open a new resort here together."
"Chloe." I stared into her eyes. "Baby, that money is for you, and you have dreams that aren't here in Colorado."
"Things change. I realized when you rolled your damn self down that mountain that all I wanted was a chance at something great with you. If that's here, then it's here. My dreams have shifted. I just need you to say yes. To me. To us. To this."
"Hell yes to all of it. I'm blown away." I moved back down to kiss her again and didn't stop until my father pushed at my butt with his foot.
"Breakfast is ready, and I'm pretty sure I taught you better than to drag some pretty girl to the floor and make out with her." My dad pushed at my butt again, and I grinned up at him.
"She likes it. Ask her." I moved back a little.
"I love it. I love him." Chloe smiled and pulled me back down, showing my old man a thing or two.
He was never going to believe what this woman had done for me. Hell, I couldn't believe it.
I was ready to give up every dream I'd had for the last twenty-seven years to see hers come true, and she turned the tables on me. She worked magic deep inside of me and repaired parts of me that I didn't think would heal. There would be a day not too far in the future that I would ask her to be my bride, and then we'd start a family together.
"I love you so crazy much, you incredible woman." I ran my hand through her hair and smiled down at her.
"How about you show me just how much tonight in that big comfy bed of yours."
"Oh, I plan to. Let's eat these pancakes and get out of here. I ain't had nearly enough of you."
She smirked, and I growled.
"Don't even say it," I mumbled against her perfect mouth.
"I ain't." She pulled me back down and stifled my laughter with her soft tongue and long, hot kiss.
Epilogue
One Year Later
Chloe
The last year had been magical. Living with Finn in his small cabin was perfect for us starting out. It forced us close when we got tense with each other and left little room for anything but hot make-up sex. Our fathers had finally had their long sit-down talk and worked through the madness from their younger years. Over the course of the year, they became friends again and started meeting for coffee every Friday morning.
Finn and I saved up some money and bought Milly and Clark a trip to Florida for a week during the summer—the hope was that they would find something in each other that could turn into romance. It worked. They were married a month ago in a small family wedding, and my dad was Clark's groomsman.
Parker started taking free lessons from Finn on his snowboard, and I finally let the two of them goad me into learning how to do it, too. I snuck away for an hour each afternoon for two months to figure out how to get really good at the sport. They figured I was looking at new patterns for the designs my father and I were working on. When we got our first full snow, I pulled out my tricks and memorized the shocked looks on their faces at seeing just how good I'd gotten.
Finn made love to me that night so passionately that I thought I might never recover from it. Where my wish list included a man who had a knack for fashion, I'm thinking his was finding a woman that could snowboard. I worked harder to get even better at it after that.
My father met someone at Clark and Milly's wedding that they all went to school with, and he'd been dating her for the last three weeks. She was sweet and reminded me a little too much of Mom, but I've kept my thoughts to myself on it.
The lodge that my father purchased for me to fix up is fully functional, the doors having opened in late October. Parker works in the ski shop, and I spend most of my days working on various designs for the clothing store that's nestled into the side of it. Finn's in love with the place and spends more time there than he does with me. I'm not jealous… Well, maybe a little.
It was Christmas once again, but unlike last year, this year, we were all healthy and happy. At Finn’s request, we invited everyone to the lodge for a big Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve. We had to wait until after the seven o'clock church service, which his father dragged us all to, but afterward, we piled up in various vehicles and drove back to the lodge.
"Everyone around the table together? It's going to be great. I’m excited." I squeezed Finn’s thigh and pressed my lips against his arm.
"Me, too, baby." He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and tugged me in tighter.
We still had the old truck, namely because he wouldn't part with it. I think he enjoyed the fact that I could sit right against him and not more than one person could fit on the other side of me.
"I had the kitchen prepare a bunch of different stuff, just in case everyone had different traditions." I moved to my side of the truck as we pulled up to the lodge.
"It's going to be great, Chloe. Go on up there, and I'll meet you shortly. I want to see if anyone needs help with bags or anything."
I nodded and got out of the car, jogging up the stairs and letting the beauty of the Christmas lights against the large snowy mountains take my breath away. I'd learned to love Colorado—not the cold, but the serenity and beauty it offered. I had loads of jackets and various sweaters that I'd designed with functionality in mind, but not forgetting about fashion. They sold like crazy, but the best part was wearing them myself and enjoying a ride down the slopes with my man in them, too.
The smell of pumpkin pie and roasted meat filled my senses when I walked into the main hall, and I paused to look around. It was odd to see the place empty, but Finn was quite serious about not booking anyone for the days right around Christmas. He wanted it to be all about us. He promised that next year we could open it up to the public, but for this first year, he wanted just family and friends.
I agreed readily, and I was glad I did. Warmth enveloped me and strong emotions washed over me. My life was nothing like I'd expected and yet so much better than I could ever imagine.
"Chloe..." Finn called to me, and I turned as he walked through the large ornate doors I'd just come through. Everyone piled in behind him, and my heart skipped a beat.
&nbs
p; "What, baby?" I stood in stony silence, feeling like something was upon me, but not knowing what.
"I wanted our family and friends to be here tonight for a special reason." He smiled and moved to stand in front of me, taking my hands and leaning down to brush his lips past mine.
"What reason is that?"
"When we first met, I was a different man. A man I didn't at all want to be, but I didn't know how to move past it. I had such big dreams, and yet I left them tucked behind a reality that tore me down and left me barren. When you showed up...the first day I met you..." he paused as his eyes filled with tears.
Mine did, too. "When I almost busted my head on the ski lift?"
He laughed with thick emotion in his throat. "Yes. You changed everything. You helped me find myself, making me want to be a better man, if nothing else, then for you. I owe you everything, Chloe. I want to build our house together and make it a home with babies that drive you nuts and rule the place. I want to hold you as we grow older and continue to make plans together that go as far out as we can see."
I pressed my hands to my mouth, pushing back the soft cry that beat against my teeth as he dropped to one knee in front of me and lifted a beautiful diamond ring up toward me.
"Will you be mine forever, baby? Will you marry me?"
"Of course, I will. Yes." I got on my knees with him and knocked him over with a hug that turned into a long kiss.
"Oh, God. Get a room!" Parker yelled, and everyone erupted in laughter, reminding me that life was so much bigger than we sometimes let it be. It was about friends and family, dreams and love.
It was about me and Finn.
The waves and the snow.
Click here to continue to my next book.
Get Each of My Newly Released Books for 99 Cents By Clicking Here
Click here to get my book Swipe for free
BILLIONAIRE BEAST
By Claire Adams
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2017 Claire Adams
Chapter One
Aiden
There’s nothing quite like sleeping on Victorian furniture, and it damned sure wasn’t built for a situation as informal as passing out drunk. I woke up with a splitting headache and a crick in my neck, but worse than that, I wasn’t alone. There was movement from the other side of the room.
I opened my eyes with a wince, then adjusted my lids to slits so I could peek out and see who was there with me. I didn’t remember picking up anyone from the bar, but it wouldn’t be the first time I’d brought home a woman and forgotten about it.
“Well, Aiden Joseph Walker, it’s about time you wake up.” The familiar voice made me cringe, as did the use of my full name. A grown man of nearly thirty should never be called by his full name, and only two people had ever done so in my life as far as I could recall. One was my mother, who’d been dead for over a year, and the other was Mattie Johnson, our family housekeeper who had mothered me alongside Mom my entire life.
“I was beginning to think you were dead. Lord knows there’s something dead in this house. Smells like it, anyway.” She waved her cleaning rag through the air and then turned to wipe down the family clock that hadn’t had the correct time since I was twelve and pulled the pendulum too hard. Mattie had tanned my ass, and Mom had let her.
The only thing dead in the house was my sense of humor. “Shouldn’t you be somewhere spending the insane retirement fund I paid you to leave me the hell alone?”
“You shut your mouth. I don’t work for you anymore, and Lord knows why I bothered coming here, but I won’t have you disrespecting me.” The crack of the dishtowel popped about two inches from my ass before she turned around and went right back to wiping down the things around me. The smell of a chicken boiling set my mouth to watering, but I wished she hadn’t done that. My appetite wasn’t what it used to be.
I sat up and wiped my eyes and scrubbed my fingers through my thick beard, giving it a scratch. “I don’t understand what’s so hard about respecting my wishes.”
“Your wishes are getting out of hand. Look at this place, Aiden. It’s a pig sty. You might want to grow your hair and beard to look like you haven’t got two pennies to rub together, but this home needs attention, whether you like it or not. The grass is knee deep, and there’s a good year’s worth of overgrowth out on the hedges.”
“Yes, and that’s because when I gave the gardener his payoff, he left and had the good graces not to come back.”
“So that’s it, you want to sit up in here and let this place crumble around you? I’ve sat on my hands for too long, boy. If your parents could roll over in their graves, the ground would be shaking just knowing how you’re handling things around here. Your mother would take a razor to that face in your sleep and your father — he’d be damned embarrassed of you.” I pegged her with a hard glare, but she held her chin up defiantly.
“Well, you can stop worrying. They won’t be anything. They’re dead.” They’d died fourteen months ago in a tragic plane crash along with my sister, Ally and her boyfriend, Shawn Patterson. I hadn’t handled things well since then.
“Boy, to hear you talk. I’m glad I don’t have to stick around and hear it.” She shook her head and kept on cleaning.
“So does that mean you’re leaving?” I patted down my pockets until I found my wallet and the key to my bike.
“I’ll be leaving when I get this living room cleaned up. I made a good dent in the kitchen already, though I’m going to work on throwing out those science experiments you’ve got growing in the fridge. You’re going to end up in the hospital if you eat that food.”
“I’m not eating any of it.” My keys jingled in my hand as I opened my wallet and thumbed through my bills.
She turned and shook her rag at me. “Damn right, you’re not. I’m boiling some chickens now. I’m going to fix up some of my chicken noodle you used to love so much as a child.”
“It’s really not necessary, Mattie.” I stared into her dark eyes as she narrowed them at me.
“I know what’s necessary and what’s not, but you’ll be thanking me when you’ve got a full stomach. You look like you’ve lost a bit of your bulk.”
I hadn’t lost that much, but she was right. I’d been much bulkier before the accident and hadn’t cared much about myself since. Going to the gym hadn’t been en route of my destructive life’s path, but I certainly hadn’t withered away. I glanced down to my abs and was thankful they were still defined, although not as prominent as before.
“You don’t have to do anything, much less clean up.”
“I’m not leaving until these two front rooms are presentable and there’s a hot meal to get you through a day or two. You can argue with me all you want, but it isn’t going to change a thing.”
“Knock yourself out.” I took my keys out of my pocket and went out to the garage to get on my bike. I glared down the line of my parents’ cars as I cranked my engine. I wondered if any of them would even crank anymore. Surely the batteries had died by now, but it wasn’t like I’d ever drive them.
My father’s classic Shelby, which he loved to torment me with and had never let me drive, his ’Vette, which he drove to and from work to compete with Layne’s, and the family classic white Rolls, which he kept for Easter Sunday when Mother would force us to go to church. The entire collection had a good layer of dust collecting.
My sister’s newer Mustang, which had been towed to the house from the airport along with Mom’s Land Rover, was going to waste, but I didn’t care. They could sit there until they rusted. I couldn’t bear to think of anyone else driving any of them. I thought back to my little sister and the day my father bought her that car. She was in tears as she hugged him, and then I’d had to teach he
r how to drive a stick before she could use it.
Without another thought, I sped off with the memories of my sister twisting like a corkscrew in my gut.
I hauled ass out to the only place I frequented, a bar called Jay’s Pub, and hoped that when I returned home, Mattie would be gone. Deep down, I felt a pang of guilt for talking to her so harshly, but I’d asked the staff to move on and leave me be. So far, she was the only one who still reached out. I didn’t think her any amount of her cooking or cleaning would make me feel whole again, but if it helped her, I’d let her do what she had to. But I didn’t have to be around to see it.
I walked into Jay’s and headed for my usual place at the bar only to be held up by Meagan, who stepped out in front of me. “I was wondering if you were going to be here later; you’re an early bird today. It’s not even dark yet.”
“I’m here all the time, so I don’t know why it is such a wonder.” I pushed past her and went to the bar where Glen had just put down a beer for me. Good old Glen, he knew what I wanted before I even had to ask; now if he could only get rid of Meagan for me.
She raked her hand through her stringy brown hair as she narrowed her blue eyes. She was pretty enough for a random lay, but not really my type. “You don’t have to be snippy, Aiden. I haven’t seen you in a while is all.”
Her smile was laced with honey, and she had a gleam in her eye that I’d seen before. The last time though, she’d been on her knees and I’d had my cock down her throat. It was much too early in the night for that, and I didn’t have enough alcohol in me to start making promises.
“Well, if I need you, I’ll find you. For now, I’d like to sip this beer and talk to my best friend Glen, here.” I nodded in his direction as I brought the beer to my lips.
