by Dakota Rebel
“No. Fair warning, our kids will be spoiled to death, but they’ll probably think I’m a jerk, too, since I’ll probably be just like my parents.”
I leaned forward and kissed him lightly. “But I’ll love you.”
“Good, ‘cause I love you, too, and I’m never letting you go, and we’re going to be disgustingly happy.” His hands slid up my thighs, pushing under my black skater-style skirt. He growled, cupping my ass and pulling me closer to him to grind on his cock.
We were both dressed for the family party, wearing matching red sweaters with white snowflakes he’d produced from his suitcase this morning. I wore a black skirt, tights and the pair of the Louboutins he gave me last night. He wore black trousers with his own shiny black dress shoes. In my opinion, we were just too cute for words. And we definitely looked like a couple.
I smiled, knowing we were indeed a couple. And my fiancé was hot. And sweet. And mine.
“Do you think they’ll like me?” I asked. I had no family, so it was incredibly important his liked me.
“They’ll love you like I do, though my brothers had better keep their hands to themselves.”
I snorted. I had no doubt they would. Thankfully, none of them had been remotely interested when we’d met at the club that night in Vegas.
“I’m just nervous.”
He kissed that place by my ear that always made me shiver. “Then let me distract you.”
* * * *
Chase’s parents’ home was large, but not enormous or pretentious. Just a comfortable upper, middle-class home. I was kind of thankful for that. A mansion would have been overwhelming, considering I had a one-bedroom apartment back in Chicago.
As he maneuvered up the drive in his Tesla, Christmas carols played quietly on the radio. He held my hand, his thumb brushing up and down and occasionally playing with the ring he’d placed there last night.
“So I’m okay with moving here—”
“Good. Otherwise, my commute home would be a bitch.”
I laughed. “You’re ridiculous.”
“No, I love you. I lived without you for three months, and that was three months and a day too long.”
I smiled softly, dipping my chin at his sweetness. “The question is, what will I do here?”
“Plan our wedding. You can do whatever you want.”
My brow raised, and I gave him the stink-eye. “Seriously, Chase.”
“I am serious.”
I shook my head. “I’m not exactly one to sit around and do nothing. Sure, it would be nice for about a week. But after that, I’d be bored out of my mind. And don’t say you’d keep me busy. You have to work, too. You have a company to run.”
“We can use a coder.”
The look I leveled him was full of disbelief.
“We’re looking to expand into security. It’s a natural extension of what we do, with many of our clients needing extensive systems. We’ve been developing a team.”
“And you want me to be on the team?”
“Or head it up.”
I nodded. “So you want me to be on the team?” I repeated, letting him know I was not stepping into some management position he may or may not have created for me.
“We’ll talk about it,” he countered.
So this was real life, working out our differences and figuring out how to mesh together. Worth it. Totally worth it. I squeezed his hand.
Then I let go so he could park. He turned to me. “Let’s go meet Mom and Dad.”
“You haven’t met them?” I teased.
“Smartass.”
“Do they know I’m coming?”
“They do, and my mom is so damn excited.”
And she was. The second I met Sara Malloy, she pulled me into a big hug. I was passed to her husband, Sean, then embraced by each of Chase’s brothers, Luke, Bennett, Jameson and Tatum. They each seemed to take pleasure in Chase’s growls.
He yanked me back to his side, locking me against him. I kissed his shoulder. “Calm down,” I whispered. “You know I’m all yours.”
“How about some eggnog?” he said, sweeping me away from everyone. Well, almost. Luke trailed behind us.
Chase lifted his hand to forestall whatever his brother was going to say. “No business talk.”
“You’ve been gone for a week.”
“A planned week. Whatever it is, it can wait five more days until we’re all back in the office after the holiday break.”
Luke scowled.
I looked up at Chase. “If you need to talk, it’s okay. I should check in with Laura. I haven’t called to wish anyone Merry Christmas.”
Luke perked up. “Laura?”
“Yeah. My friend whose engagement we were celebrating the night I met Chase.”
His expression darkened. “Is she married yet?”
“Not yet.” My phone rang then, and I pulled it out. “Speak of the devil,” I laughed.
“Speak of an angel,” he muttered.
Shaking my head, I took a few steps away. “Laura? Merry Christmas,” I answered.
“Hey, Em. Are you back in Chicago?”
“Not exactly.”
“Crap. Well, when will you be back? I kinda need a place to stay.”
“What’s going on?” I asked, concern leaking into my voice.
Chase came up beside me, wrapping his arm around my waist. “Okay?” he asked.
I nodded, listening to my friend, who sounded really upset.
“I left home. Told them I wasn’t marrying some guy they arranged for me. He was supposed to show up today, and my dad locked me in my room because he said I was damn well going to marry Matteo. I had to break my way out!”
“Tell her to come here,” Luke said from my other side, and I realized Laura was so agitated both Chase and Luke had heard her, too. “If they know where you live,” he continued, “they’ll look for her there. They won’t look here.”
“You’re right. Laura, listen…” Quickly, I told her where I was and explained she should come to Vegas and why. Then Chase took the phone and gave her directions.
“She’ll be here tomorrow morning,” he told me, handing back the phone. I stuck it away and took his hand. He pulled me close, resting his head atop my head. I looped my arms around his waist. I tipped my head back to look up at him. I loved the easy intimacy and knowing I belonged to him.
“Guess it works out that your maid of honor will be here, since I don’t want to wait for the wedding.”
I sighed. “You have a one-track mind.”
“When it comes to you? Yes, I do. It’s you and me forever, babe. Knew it from the first second.”
I rested my head on his chest, absorbing the sound of his steady heartbeat, the sound of my future. “I know. I think I did, too.”
Epilogue
~ Emerson ~
One Month Later
Chase: Is it time yet?
Em: Ten minutes.
Chase: Too long.
Em: You’ll live. Just stay out of the water, okay?
We were back on a ship. Crazy, huh? I know Chase thought I was crazy when I told him I wanted to get married on the ship where we’d had our Christmas cruise. What could I say? It felt like full circle to have the wedding here. Plus, okay, I wanted to see the baby turtles again.
I’d probably never love the water, but Chase made me not hate it so much. Actually, truth be told, my fear had lessened greatly since I’d “saved” him on Christmas Eve.
“Have I told you how much I love that dress?” Laura asked.
“Maybe once or twice.” Who knew you could actually have Carolina Herrera design your wedding dress? I guess when you’re marrying a billionaire, dreams could become reality. My gown was a sleek, princess fantasy of silk and beads. It weighed a ton and glittered like diamonds when it caught the lights.
In the reception ballroom, huge black-and-white photos of us adorned one wall. We’d had them taken for our engagement, and our planner thought it would be a great
idea. I thought it would be obnoxious, but they did kind of look spectacular, especially as a backdrop to the thousands of pink and white flowers filling the room.
Of course, I doubted anyone would notice the décor once Maroon 5 took to the stage. Yes, my crazy, ridiculous husband-to-be got my favorite group to be our wedding band.
I’d been having a lot of Whoa! moments as I’d acclimated to being the future spouse of someone with literal money to burn. For the most part, we lived a simple life, but that didn’t mean Chase skimped on grand gestures. I was working on dialing him back.
“Luke’s going to go nuts when he sees you,” I said, eyeing the deep mauve dress that clung to her curves. It was floor-length but featured a slit to mid- thigh on one side. The halter-style showcased her slim shoulders and allowed a tasteful glimpse of her cleavage.
A blush colored Laura’s cheeks. “Nah…”
“Oh, trust me. He’s going to be spiriting you away the first chance he gets—”
A knock sounded on the door, interrupting me, and Sara poked her head in. “Ready?”
I nodded. “I was ready a month ago.” I grinned. “But someone insisted on a wedding.”
“You’ll thank me for it later. You can’t trade the memories.”
She was probably right. And she’d made sure I had plenty of memories of this whole process. She’d taken me under her wing and mothered me like I was her own little chick. Not only was I getting a husband, but I was getting a Mom, Dad and some annoying brothers in the deal. And I loved them all.
Chase didn’t know it, but his family was the greatest gift he’d given me last Christmas. And as I walked down the aisle to the beautiful man of my dreams a few minutes later, I knew it was only the beginning of many gifts we’d give each other, every day for the rest of our lives.
* * * *
Five Years Later
“Where are you going?” Chase grabbed me around the waist and pulled me back into bed with him. I sprawled over him, resting on his chest, just where I loved to be.
“You dragged me to bed so fast last night, I still need to put your last present under the tree.”
His arms tightened. “The only thing I want is right here.”
His mouth covered mine, and he rolled, covering me with his body. If I’d thought our desire would wain after we’d been together awhile, I would have been wrong. We were still going strong.
“Well, I want you to open your presents.”
“Okay.” He started to push up my tank top.
“Chase,” I protested, though it was mostly a moan. He had me aroused and ready in a split second. Just by looking at me. It was ridiculous really. Thankfully, he was just as bad as I was, always needing me, too. His cock ground against my center as we kissed, and I knew we wouldn’t be opening presents for a while. Which was okay, since it was just the two of us.
As a couple, we’d spent the last five years growing closer than ever. He was my everything now. Heck, he had been from almost the start. Some people might think that was a problem. It wasn’t for us. He was my best friend, my confidante and support, and I was the same for him. And that instant attraction we’d experienced at that club had only grown stronger.
Before I knew it, Chase had me naked and his cock was surging into me.
“Fuck,” he groaned. “How do you still feel better every time?”
“Magic,” I laughed.
He nipped my bottom lip, before bending to take a nipple in his mouth. “Love magic.”
I wrapped my legs around his waist, my calves crossing over his perfect butt, and rocked up into him. The sensation of him driving so deep into me was the best thing in the world, and he knew just how to slide across my g-spot with each thrust.
We had no more words—none were needed—as we sank into the paradise of each other, our bliss cascading toward us, ready to wrap us in the sweet pleasure again.
“Chase, yes,” I managed to gasp out when he circled his thumb on my clit.
“Oh God, yeah, squeeze me like that. So…good….”
That was all it took, and we tumbled over the edge into oblivion. Moments later, we collapsed together, panting hard, still clutching each other.
“That was fast,” he muttered against my neck.
“Short but oh, so sweet,” I replied, rubbing his back. Sometimes, our lovemaking could last hours. Sometimes, we both went off like rockets. Any way it happened was good. “Can we do presents now?”
Wrestling from his embrace, I hopped out of bed and reached for Chase’s shirt from where it had been dropped last night.
He groaned, rolling onto his back. “If you have that much energy, I must be doing something wrong.”
I knelt one knee on the edge of the mattress and leaned over to brush my lips over his. “No, you’re doing everything right. I’m just anxious.”
“Okay,” he said, levering himself up. “I’m coming.” He pulled on his boxer-briefs then swept me up into his arms. I giggled as he headed for the tree.
“I have to go get your gift out.”
“I think Marco handled that last night.”
Yes, we were back on the cruise. It seemed to be a yearly tradition now. I never would have thought it would happen—me on a cruise ship every year? Crazy! But here we were.
“There’s one that’s not with everything else. Let me go get it.”
Chase’s brow furrowed, but he loosened his arms. Leaping to my feet, I headed toward the cubby where I’d stowed the small package. When I came back, I dropped back into his lap. He cupped the back of my neck, drawing me closer to him, and kissed me again. “I love you so much. You’re my best present ever. I never need anything else.”
I handed him the small package. “You might like this just as much. Open it.”
My teeth sank into my bottom lip. I was so excited, and I’d had a terrible time hiding this from him. I wanted to scream it from the rooftops.
“Nothing is better than you,” Chase said, while he opened the present, his arms still around me, keeping me on his lap and giving me a front seat view. But I didn’t look at the present. I watched his face.
His smile faltered as he looked at the piece of plastic, surprise taking his features. We’d tried for so long, and now, I got to tell him.
“I’m going to be a dad,” he whispered. “We’re going to be parents?”
I nodded happily, tears filling my eyes. I’d been so excited, but seeing his reaction was everything.
The package dropped, and Chase cupped my face, kissing me. I wrapped my arms around him as my world shifted and my back met the floor.
And it was a long, long time before any other presents were opened. It didn’t matter. Like this, with each other, we had everything we could possibly need.
Tap Here for Book Two
Luke and Laura - The Billionaire’s Beautiful Runaway
About the Authors
~ Dakota ~
Dakota Rebel is a bestselling author and a very slow distance runner who dreams of racing Badwater.
She lives in a perpetual state of exhaustion with her happy husband and two incredibly spoiled children.
Dakota loves to talk to her readers and can be found at www.dakotarebel.net.
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~ Brynn ~
When it comes to books and movies, I have one rule: there must be a happy ending. After that one requirement, anything else goes. And it just might in any of my books. Expect the unexpected.
I love hearing from readers! Please visit me on my website at www.brynnpaulin.com or contact me at [email protected].
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