Ruthless

by Deborah Bladon

  I steal a tender kiss from his mouth. “I want this to be forever.”

  “You’re done, Bella.” He tangles his hand in my hair. “I’m the one. You’re done looking.”

  “I knew you were the one when I sat down at Atlas 22.”

  His chin lifts. “You did?”

  “I felt something that night I’d never felt before,” I confess. “I felt comfortable and complete.”

  Cupping a hand under my ass, he flips us over until he’s hovering above me.

  His thick cock rests against my inner thigh. “I always want you to feel that way with me. “

  I want that too.

  “You’ll marry me,” he says, inching his body closer to mine. “You’ll be my bride one day.”

  Nodding, I let out a small moan. “I will, and you’ll be my lover every day.”

  “For the rest of my goddamn life.”

  I suck in a breath when the tip of his cock slides over my slick cleft. “I’m on the pill. I’m clean if you want to…”

  I cry out when he enters me without warning.

  “Jesus,” he bites out the word between clenched teeth. “I’ve never done this.”

  I haven’t either.

  The feeling of his bare flesh inside of me almost sets me over the edge. “I could come already.”

  “You will.”

  He pumps deep, and again. Each thrust is more exquisite than the last.

  We make love with slow strokes with the sun hitting our skin as the world slips away.

  ***

  Hours later, we’re sitting on his bed with the sheets tangled around us.

  “I spoke to Ivan when you fell asleep.”

  I had drifted off after we made love. Barrett had offered to clean me, but I wanted to feel his release. Once I woke, we showered in the tiny stall with his elbows hitting the walls and my laughter filling the small room.

  I run a hand through my wet hair. “About coming back to Garent?”

  “No,” he answers quickly. “I have other plans.”

  “Adler Estates?”

  “Hell, no.” He laughs. “Irving will recover. He’ll go back to barking out orders. I’ll stay clear of that and him for now.”

  I arch an eyebrow. “There’s hope for you two?”

  He shrugs. “I have no fucking idea. Time will tell.”

  I move past the discussion about his dad. “What are your plans for work?”

  “We’ll get to that.” He circles his fingertip over my bare thumbnail. “First, I want to tell you about my agreement with Ivan.”

  I move back slightly. “What agreement?”

  “You’re in charge of the rebranding of the bookstore.” He jerks a thumb over his shoulder. “We’re four blocks from there so on your way home from work every day you can stop in and check progress. You’re taking the lead on this. It’s hands-off for the interim CEO of Garent. This is all you.”

  I hone in on the one thing he just said that caused my heart to skip a beat. “On my way home?”

  “Move in here, Bella.” He rests a hand on my bare thigh. “Live with me. Love me. Let me spoil you with backrubs, and good food, and great sex.”

  “Yes,” I say because I want nothing more. “I’ll move in.”

  He kisses me softly on the mouth. “We’ll bring your things over whenever you’re ready.”

  Soon. I have to tell Gina. I know she’ll be happy for me.

  “I’m looking at office space a few blocks from Garent’s building next week.”

  A smile curves my lips. “For?”

  He kicks himself free of the tangled bed coverings before he stalks toward his clothes.

  I stare at his body. “You’re beautiful.”

  That rewards me with a dimpled grin. “Said the most beautiful person in the world.”

  I laugh off his comment. “What are you doing?”

  He scoops his jeans off the floor and tugs something from the back pocket. “I made some mock-ups of my new business cards.”

  He hands his business card from Garent to me.

  I question him silently with a perk of my brows.

  “Turn it over.”

  I flip it and read what’s written in his handwriting.

  Adler Consulting

  I look over at him when he settles next to me again. “You’re starting your own business?”

  With a curt nod, he answers. “I’ve been batting the idea around for years. I’ve saved a lot of money. It gives me enough of a cushion that I can take the plunge. Now seems like the perfect time.”

  With skepticism edging my tone, I ask the obvious question. “Did you quit Garent because of us?”

  “I don’t want to sneak around town with you.” He tucks a lock of my hair behind my ear. “That factored into it, but there’s more. Ivan planned to bring Duke back as CEO eventually. He told me as much when I called him from California. To stay with the company long-term, I would have had to move back to Chicago for a job there. I wanted out and Ivan let me go without a fight. I’ve considered starting my own venture for some time. This is the push I needed to do that.”

  I cock my head. “Tell me more about the business.”

  “There’s value in helping people rework their visions. I saw that in what we started to do for Misty and Rusten. I saw it with Empire Soaks. I want to do more. Business management consulting, rebranding, corporate reorganization, you name it.”

  “Wow.” I stare down at the card.

  “This is your dream too, Bella.” He reaches for my hand. “I saw it in that notebook you had in your desk drawer.”

  It is. This is what I’m working toward. I want my own firm, so I can help people achieve their dreams. I’ve been keeping notes for years about my vision. Working at Garent is giving me the hands-on knowledge that I need.

  Another business card lands in my hand.

  I glance up at him. “What is this?”

  “Flip it over.” He directs me with a spin of his fingers in the air.

  I do.

  Calvetti & Adler Consulting

  My hand shakes as I read the words over and over. “Barrett.”

  “I know you’re tied to Garent until your current contract is done.” He runs a hand over my hair. “I’ll get us off the ground and maybe by then, we’ll be looking at this.”

  He pushes another card at me.

  I flip it over immediately.

  Adler & Adler Consulting

  He taps a finger on the card. “You’re the first Adler in that equation. I want to make that clear. You always come first.”

  Tossing the cards on the bed, I crawl on top of him. “You’re going to make every one of my dreams come true, aren’t you?”

  With a slide of his hips against mine, he kisses me. “I am. Starting right now.”

  Epilogue

  Six Months Later

  Barrett

  “This is our second wedding in three months,” I point out to Isabella as I adjust the collar of the white button-down shirt I’m wearing. “First, Max and Dan, and now this vow renewal.”

  “Max eloped.” She shrugs a little. “You had a good time in Vegas.”

  I had a fucking blast. Isabella and I did the strip right. We ate well, she gambled her way to a thirty thousand dollar windfall at a poker table, and we spent a hell of a lot of time in bed.

  We’ve been enjoying as much time as we can together since I left Garent Industries and she moved in with me. She’s working side-by-side with Nellie Garlin. Duke will return to his post next month. My business is flourishing and when Bella’s contract with Garent runs out, she’ll join me full-time. I left that decision in her hands, where it belongs.

  Her first meeting with Beatrice was rough. There were a lot of tears and questions. Bizzy is still Team Irving, so it was hard for her to grasp that the things our father said back then weren’t true.

  We took Beatrice, Felicity, and her husband to meet Marti and Bella’s parents at Calvetti’s for dinner one night. The food
was good. The conversation was even better.

  Beatrice was happy to sit at a table where every person present could engage her in conversation. I kept up with everyone else. Learning sign language cemented my new bond with my sister. Time and healing will help us grow even stronger.

  We don’t have to see eye-to-eye on everything, but we love each other. That’s what matters when you put your head on your pillow at night.

  Monica’s learning that lesson too. A new gray-haired actor at the community theater she’s been directing at in Chicago has become an important part of her life. I’m happy for my mom. The drama he brings to her life is exactly the type she needed.

  “I happen to think it’s very romantic that Misty and Rusten want to renew their vows inside their store.” She skims her palm over the front of the little black dress she’s wearing. “A candlelit ceremony. Old books. What could be better than that?”

  This is it.

  I tug the small ring box out of the front pocket of my pants and drop to a knee on our bedroom floor.

  “This is better.”

  That turns her right around.

  Her mouth drops open.

  “Isabella Calvetti.” I look up into her beautiful blue eyes. “You were made for me.”

  “Are you asking me to marry you?” she interrupts.

  Her bare feet pad across the hardwood floor until she’s right in front of me.

  “Let me get through this.”

  “May I?” She points at my leg.

  May she what? I nod because I’m curious as hell.

  Draping an arm around my neck, she sets her sweet ass down on my thigh as if it’s a chair. “You go first.”

  “First?” I wrap my arm around her waist to balance her weight on my leg.

  “I want to propose too.”

  Jesus, this woman. I love the unpredictably she’s brought into my life. “Why don’t you go first?”

  “You’re sure?” she asks with a smile.

  I press a kiss to her mouth. “Go for it, beautiful.”

  Her fingers skim over my eyebrow. “I didn’t know that a piece of my heart was missing until I found you.”

  Shit. This is going to rip me in two.

  “You make me happy in ways I didn’t know existed.” Her fingertips run down my cheek. “If you marry me, I promise I’ll make you that happy too.”

  “We’ll conquer the world together, my Bella. We’re a great team.”

  “Our baby is going to be so badass.” She laughs.

  My heart skips a beat. “When we have a baby it will be so badass.”

  We agreed to start trying a month ago. We both know how quickly life can change so we’re going full throttle. We want to experience as much as we can together.

  She darts to her feet. “I don’t have a ring. I have something else to give you instead.”

  I stay where I am because I’m pretty fucking sure that I’ll fall over if I try to stand. I sense what’s coming. My heart is hammering inside the wall of my chest.

  She scurries over to her purse. Reaching inside, she clasps something between her palms.

  Once she’s back in front of me, she taps on my shoulder. “Open your hand, Barrett.”

  I do. I take the card that she’s been shielding from my view.

  It’s one of my old business cards from Garent.

  “Flip it over,” she says in a voice that’s barely more than a whisper. “Flip it over now.”

  I do.

  I fall back on my ass when I read what she’s written.

  Adler & Adler & Adler Consulting

  “Bella.” I look at her face and then her flat belly beneath the dress. “What is this?”

  She drops to her knees. “We’re having a baby.”

  I tug the pear-shaped diamond ring out of the box and slide it onto her finger.

  “I’ll marry you, Bella.”

  Staring down at the ring, her eyes fill with tears. “I’ll marry you too.”

  She flies into my arms, and as I hold her against me, I take it all in. This is my life. This is my future. This woman is everything I’ve wished for, and we’re about to make all of our dreams come true.

  THANK YOU

  Thank you for purchasing and downloading my book. I can’t even begin to put to words what it means to me. If you enjoyed it, please remember to write a review for it. Let me know your thoughts! I want to keep my readers happy.

  For more information on new series and standalones, please visit my website, www.deborahbladon.com. There are book trailers and other goodies to check out.

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  Thank you, for everything.

  Preview of BLOOM

  BLOOM, a hot new standalone from New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author, Deborah Bladon.

  Liam Wolf should come with a warning.

  The man is all kinds of hot.

  He’s nailed down the tall, tattooed, gorgeous-as-sin look.

  I shouldn’t be swooning over him.

  He’s in my floral shop to order a bouquet for the woman of his dreams.

  I swallow the bitter taste of envy and design a to die for arrangement.

  I offer to deliver the flowers personally because I’m a glutton for punishment.

  The delivery should go off without a hitch.

  It doesn’t.

  I end up at Liam’s office with the bouquet in one hand and a no thank you note from his ex-girlfriend in the other.

  I walk away. Liam follows me.

  What blooms between us is based on a rebound.

  We agree to a simple no-strings-attached fling, but I soon discover that nothing in Liam’s world is simple.

  Chapter 1

  Athena

  My floral shop, Wild Lilac, seems to be the place for all the hot guys in Manhattan to come when they want to buy their girlfriends flowers.

  Today is a perfect example of that. One of my first customers this morning was a hotshot NHL hockey player. I only know that because I saw his face on a billboard in Times Square during the playoffs last season.

  After he bought and paid for the perfect bouquet for his special lady, a looker in a suit walked through the door.

  It took him over an hour to choose the arrangement he wanted. I was happy to oblige since it turned out to cost a small fortune. It will be delivered tomorrow right before he goes to the yoga studio she owns to drop to one knee to ask her to spend her life with him.

  I look over at the man who walked in less than a minute ago.

  He’s hot-as-sin.

  His dark blond hair is pushed back from his face and skimming the collar of his black button-down shirt. The sleeves are rolled up to his elbows, so the black and gray tattoos that cover his muscular forearms are visible.

  He looks semi-corporate since he’s dressed in black pants and shoes.

  I turn to the side to stop myself from staring at him.

  “Excuse me?”

  If there ever was a perfect voice for phone sex, it belongs to this man.

  I look over at his face. His jaw is covered with a trimmed beard. His blue eyes pierce through me as he stares at me.

  The man is a gorgeous giant. He must be at least six-foot-five.

  “Can I help you?” I ask cheerily from behind my checkout counter because swooning over the clientele will not pay the rent on this place.

  “I need some flowers.” He huffs out a laugh. “Nice flowers. I want something extra special for a woman I’m seeing.”

  Something deflates inside of me. It’s not as though I was expecting him to be in here buying flowers for his mom. That mad rush happens in May. It’s late September. The bulk of my orders right now are gestures of undying devotion, new baby arrivals, birthdays or sadly, red rose heavy arrangements to honor the recently departed.

&n
bsp; His eyes skim the front of the black sweater I’m wearing. “What’s your name?”

  That’s not a question I’m asked often since I usually have a nametag pinned to my chest, but this sweater and sharp objects don’t play well together.

  “I’m Athena.”

  “Nice.” He flashes me a smile. “I’m Wolf.”

  “Wolf?” I question back because that’s got to be a nickname. “Your name is Wolf?”

  His hand jumps to his chin. Smoothing his fingertips over his beard, he huffs out a laugh. “It is. I’m Liam Wolf.”

  “Liam,” I repeat his first name because it suits him in some abstract, unexplainable way.

  The breadth of his shoulders and his height make him intimidating to look at, but his eyes and the tone of his voice tell a different story.

  I’m running a business, so I go to the heart of the matter. “What kind of flowers are you thinking of?”

  “Whatever takes your breath away,” he says.

  Never mind the flowers; that statement did the trick.

  Speechless, I stare at him.

  He bows his chin. “I’m looking for an arrangement that will surprise the hell out my girlfriend. It has to be unique. Do you think you can handle that, Athena?”

  I can handle anything, even creating beautiful bouquets for men like him to give to other women.

  “I’m up for the job.” I smile.

  Sliding a credit card and a sealed envelope toward me, he takes a pause. “Her name and address are written on there. I need you to take that to her with the flowers today.”

  All of my deliveries have already gone out, and it’s nearing five now.

  “My delivery cut-off is at two o’clock.” I glance down at the large silver watch on his wrist. “I can have this in her hands tomorrow.”

  “It has to be today.” He leans both hands on the counter. “I’ll pay extra if you can get it to her before seven.”

  Who am I to stand in the way of true love? I have nothing planned for tonight, so I do my good deed for the day. “I can take it to her personally. No extra charge.”