“I wanted to be romantic for you as well,” I replied as he slipped a hand up to cup my breast.

  “This is fucking sexy,” Allen growled, and he turned me to face him. He held my arms out and looked me over slowly as my body burned hot. “I can’t believe you’re mine.”

  “I am,” I promised him as I felt my thighs tense with need.

  “Are you sure that you want to be with a guy like me for the rest of your life?” Allen asked me while I stared into his face.

  “I knew so fast,” I assured him as he dropped my hands. I looked him over, seeing that he removed his shirt and pants. Allen was naked before me, and I reached out to take his cock into my hand as I met his gaze. “I am so happy with you, Allen. I know that we can have everything I want with you and the same things matter to you that matter to me.”

  I stepped closer to him, still holding him in my hand, and I kissed him hungrily. Allen pulled me against him, trapping my hand between us as he kissed me back, clutching my hair. We stumbled back to the bed, and I pushed him down, needing to taste him. I needed to feel him everywhere. Allen reached for me and pulled me down on top of him, kissing me deeply as his hands wandered over my body. I breathed in as our lips parted for a moment and then kissed his neck. I wanted to kiss him all night, but he had a gorgeous body that was all mine.

  I reached out and pinned his arms down while I kissed down his broad chest. I found his nipple and sucked it between my lips, and he groaned my name. I placed my wet pussy over his cock and slid back and forth as I sucked, feeling him harden against my clit. “You feel good, Mrs. Rogers.” His low voice vibrated through my body, and I shivered as his hand slid under the lace to grip my breast.

  I bit down, and he jerked up, making me cry out. I let go of him and moved down his body to take him into my mouth, needing to feel him all the way in my throat. I moved up and down as he gripped my hair, finally feeling free since I knew I was going to spend forever with him. I knew that I found my place in life after so much turmoil.

  I kept moving over his cock, feeling aroused as I took him harder. I loved the way that he cried out my name and fisted my hair as I kept moving, needing to feel him come in my throat. “Stop. I’m coming inside of your pussy tonight”

  I felt him pull me back and turn me onto my back as I moaned. Allen pushed up my short lacy hem and drew my soaking underwear down my thighs while I watched him. He fingered my clit for a moment, and I bit my lip, feeling the pressure building inside of me. “This pussy is mine,” he murmured, and I nodded and closed my eyes.

  “All yours,” I moaned.

  He moved his hand and placed his mouth over me, licking my folds as I whimpered. I was so ready to explode and cried out as he sucked my clit into his mouth. He kept teasing me and I was on the edge several times before he drew back and moved to position his cock at my entrance, sliding in while he drew my feet to his shoulders. Allen took me hard and deep. I grunted with every thrust. We were far beyond this being my first time and knew each other well by now. He knew just how to move to make me come so close to an orgasm that it was a beat away and he did that now as he pressed deeper inside of me. I begged him to let me come. He just kept moving and making me feel like I was flying in the air.

  How was I so lucky to meet this man as my first everything?

  Allen rolled to his back and took me with him, and I rode him for a minute. He urged me to turn around, and I crawled over him, pressing my hands to his thighs while I kept riding him. The angle was different this way, and as he slid across a certain part of me, I came with a low cry. I tightened around him as he pushed me forward to grip my hips while he fucked me. I rocked with him, still coming as he pumped his cock into my tight core.

  Allen came as I was still pulsing and slumped against my back. We moved after a few minutes and he drew the lace over my head and he buried his head between my breasts and breathed me in. “You’re perfect.” His mouth started to move over my skin, taking a nipple into his mouth as I sighed happily.

  He made me want him again as his mouth dragged over my skin. I spread my legs, and he slid inside of my sensitive body, still tingling from before. We made love slowly, whispering our love for each other as we came together.

  We went to take a long, hot bath and wash the day away with some regret. I relaxed against his body as we talked about our trip the following day. It was just one week before we came home and he returned to working long days and I began to copy write for a lot of new clients. Brandon and Noelle lived in a house a few blocks away from us, and we knew that we would see them a lot. We knew that we would have a full, busy life.

  Allen brought up the idea of kids again, and I thought about it. I knew I wanted them soon, but I told him we should wait a year and just enjoy being married before we tried for a baby. We had some time. He pulled me against him as he kissed my damp hair.

  We crawled into bed once we brushed off the flower pedals, and I closed my eyes wearily. All the emotions from the day were catching up to me, and I laughed sleepily as I kissed his chest. My hand had a pretty band on it that showed that I was his, and we had our whole future together.

  We made love in the morning before showering and then catching the shuttle to the airport. It was rushed but so intense, and I leaned against his shoulder in the seat of the van as I smiled. “We’re going to be making love on the beaches in Belize soon,” I whispered as he wrapped an arm around me. I slept during the flight and woke up to his mouth on mine, telling me that we were there.

  I yawned and stretched as we landed. We gathered our luggage and caught a cab to the resort where we were staying as I looked around in amazement. I never thought I would ever leave the United States before and now I was in paradise with my husband. We snuggled next to each other as we drove and I pointed out various things while the driver gave us a small tour. He dropped us off at the lobby of the resort, and Allen checked us in as a bellboy took the luggage to our room.

  Allen took me outside and led me to a small cottage that was on the beach. It was private and I could get up and walk right out to the water. He unlocked the door with his key card and led me inside. I looked around the beach-themed living room. There was a small kitchen and a gorgeous deck just outside of the room, and I smiled at Allen. “This is beautiful.”

  “It is your beach front home for the next week, Mrs. Rogers. We will be making some good memories here.” He dropped his bag to the hardwood floor and led me through a hallway by the hand to a bedroom. It was spacious and faced the water with a whole wall of windows, and I gasped.

  I turned to him and kissed him, wrapping my arms around his neck. “This is incredible.”

  Allen murmured something against my lips and pulled me close to him as our tongues moved together. He slipped the leggings I was wearing down my legs, and I glanced back at the windows for a moment as they dropped to the floor. “It’s dark in here right now. The sun is on the other side of the cottage so we see more out of the window than anyone can see in. Don’t worry.” Allen assured me before he brought my lips to his again.

  We kissed hungrily as we fell onto the king-sized bed and removed the rest of our clothes. Allen pinned me to the bed and kissed my neck, moving down to my nipples and sucking one between his teeth. I cried out and turned my head to see the ocean as he worshiped my body. He brought my feet to his shoulders, and he slid inside of me, murmuring how much he loved me. We made love slowly, our bodies rocking together faster as I felt my body wrapping tightly around him.

  We dressed in something comfortable and walked out to the beach. I spun around to look at the view. “Incredible. I will be out here every morning.”

  “If I let you out of bed,” Allen told me. He took my hand and held me tight as I kept looking around. We talked about the amenities that the resort offered while we walked down to the water, letting the waves wash over my feet. We walked to the lobby and looked at the list of activities, signing up for a few before we had an early dinner.

  We were both tired from the wedding and the flight and just watched a movie in bed that night. I wanted to soak in everything about this place and snuggled against him as I watched the TV lazily.

  We spent our days making love in our room, snorkeling, dining everywhere, and seeing every beach that we could in the area. I fell more in love with Allen every day as we got to know each other even more and talked a lot about how we first met.

  Since we cleared up the issues from before, we talked honestly about everything now. It didn’t hurt, and I just listened to his feelings as he held me in his arms. We were past that and moving forward to a future now. I told him I was so scared to be in that auction at all but desperate to help my sister with a better life. That and the fact I was being threatened. We talked about the days after when we were trying to live together without being wholly truthful to each other and how scared we were that it was over.

  I cried when I talked about going to his house for dinner and making things right. He kissed me to calm me down, and we ended up making love again that day as the heat flared between us.

  It was the last day before we were to fly out, and we were walking on the beach after dinner, watching the sun set. I held his hand and smiled shyly over at him as Allen watched me curiously. “I’ve been doing some thinking,” I said.

  “About what?” he asked as I licked my lips and took a deep breath.

  “I think I’d like to have a baby sooner than we originally planned.” I smiled at him, and Allen pulled me to him for a deep kiss.

  “I’ve been thinking the same thing, Nicole. I’m so happy,” he breathed before kissing me again. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.” I clung to him, and we stayed there until the beach was dark. I was looking forward to going home and starting our life together.

  ***

  END OF THE FIRST STORY

  Protected by my Boss

  I promised to protect her.

  It's a rule - I never sleep with employees.

  I swore to myself I would keep Joanna out of my bed.

  I was only supposed to keep her safe.

  A few nights alone with her hidden away.

  But I want to kiss her sweet lips.

  Feel her soft curves under my body.

  Make her whisper my name.

  Her psycho cop ex-boyfriend wants to claim her back. Crush her.

  This woman is becoming the purpose of my existence.

  I'll destroy whoever dares to harm her.

  Joanna baby, you'll be safe. And mine.

  ***

  Chapter 1

  Bastian

  I grinned down at the iPad while I scanned the offer I’d received in my email. A young startup company had a killer app that had a lot of potential. They just needed an investor to help them get going, so they came to me. Half a million dollars was pocket change to me, but in exchange, they were willing to give me fifty percent of the company. It was a great deal and a great fucking way to start my Wednesday morning—a high-end payday with a company that was going to make me even richer.

  I typed out a crisp reply to them before sending the document off again. I made a mental note to tell Roger, once he was back in after his sick days, that we needed to set up a conference call with this company. It was a pain in the ass not having my assistant here to help, but I hated the idea of someone full of shitty germs sitting at the desk right outside my door. The last thing I wanted to deal with was being sick.

  I did everything possible to make sure I didn’t get sick. I took a shit-ton of Vitamin C every day. I ran every morning, even out in cold, wintry days like this one. I ran my health and life the way I ran my business—strict and orderly with little time for bullshit.

  “Mr. Burke?”

  I glanced over at the phone on my desk when Joanna Lind’s pleasant voice filled my office through the intercom. She had a timid voice when it came to directly dealing with me. Not that I minded her shyness. It had been a bit of a turn-on since the day I hired her to help out with the front office, but also to help Roger when he was out sick. She made a nice addition to the office. She worked hard, and everyone loved her.

  And I certainly didn’t mind those killer fucking curves of hers.

  “Yes,” I said coolly. “What is it?”

  “Ashton Wilkes is here to see you for your ten-thirty meeting,” Joanna said. “Would you like me to send him in now?”

  I was partially tempted to say no. Ashton had called two days ago with a proposition that he believed I would be interested in, but I didn’t know what exactly he wanted to get me involved in. After being friends with him for a few years, he trusted me to handle whatever he had in mind. I wasn’t even sure if billionaires like ourselves had real friends, though. When it came to money, it changed people’s moral compasses. I was guilty of it myself sometimes—not that I was proud of it.

  “Let him in,” I said and turned my iPad off. “If you can move my eleven o’clock meeting to another time, that would be great, Joanna.”

  “Of course, sir. Right away.”

  So prompt and submissive. It made my mind wander in directions that weren’t appropriate.

  The doors to my office opened a minute later. Ashton strolled in and deposited himself in the chair across from me, unbuttoning the front of his suit jacket in the process. He flashed a grin that showed just how excited he was.

  “I assume there’s a reason why you needed to see me,” I said, sitting back in my chair. I arched an eyebrow at him. “Correct? I have a busy schedule to keep up with over here.”

  Ashton waved his hand airily. “Of course,” he said. “I didn’t come here to see your pleasant face this morning. I have an acquisition you might be interested in.”

  “What is it?” I asked, my interest piqued.

  “A fashion conglomerate based right here in Salt Lake,” Ashton said. “The CEO, a woman, just upped and quit after a shitty quarter, and the company is in utter chaos right now. I’m pretty sure it can be picked up cheap.”

  I caught on to the hint then. Scrubbing a hand across my stubbled jaw, I stared across my desk at Ashton with a frown. Female CEO. Fashion conglomerate. That sounded vaguely familiar to me.

  “What’s the name of the business?” I asked.

  “Jacob’s Fashion is the name,” Ashton said. “It’s been all over the news for the past two days since the CEO, Donna Jacobs, fled the country. Went to South America or some shit like that.” He paused to give me a long and hard look. “You seem to know her judging from that sour look on your face.”

  Up until a month ago, I had known Donna Jacob’s very well inside the bedroom. The woman knew how to fuck hard. She knew the definition of being discreet, too, which was an added bonus. Her tricks in bed had grown old for me, though. The relationship, as casual as it was, fizzled out on its own. We both stopped calling each other, which was a small relief for me because I hated clinginess. Donna had her own business to run, so pining after a casual fling wasn’t high on her priority list.

  I cleared my throat. “Yeah, I know her.”

  “In a business sense? Or in a personal sense?”

  “Both,” I replied and bit my tongue in aggravation when Ashton sighed. “Don’t even start the lecture. Donna and I had an agreement a month ago that whatever happened in the bedroom remained there. She didn’t give a flying fuck, and neither did I.”

  “When is this going to stop, though?” Ashton asked. “I’ve been your friend for a long time now, Bastian. The crazy one-night stands have to stop eventually.”

  “Do they?” I asked, leaning back in my chair. “I’m fine with the way things are. I’m not married anymore. I can have fun outside my work, believe it or not.”

  “I don’t think you’re having any sort of fun. I think you’re trying to lick your wounds after what happened with Sierra.”

  My ex-wife’s name awoke a tingling anger inside me. Sierra had pulled the shades down over my eyes years ago when we’d met through a mutual friend in investments. I had fallen in love with her too quickly. That had been my first critical mistake in a list of even more critical and fucked-up ones. I had let good sex blind me in other areas of my life—including my bank accounts and wallet, which Sierra gladly took advantage of until I cut her off.

  “The string of broken hearts behind you is long, my friend,” Ashton said, sighing. “I admire you for what you’ve done with your life, but don’t you think it’s time to settle back down again?”

  “No,” I said shortly. “I don’t think it is.”

  The idea of marriage sent a cold shudder through me. I had been a romantic type of guy before Sierra. The kind of guy who believed marriage was for life. My alimony checks were living proof that marriages could turn into World War III in the blink of an eye. It was too fucking painful to even think about all of it anymore. I did my best to erase the memories by either slipping in between some woman’s legs for just a few minutes of unadulterated pleasure or having a few drinks in the privacy of my home office.

  “I’ve been talking to Jennifer about a few things,” Ashton continued, playing with the wedding band on his finger. “There is a woman at her office who—”

  I held up a hand to interrupt Ashton’s offer. “No offense, Ashton, but I’m not in the mood to be set up. I’m perfectly fine with how things are in my life, and a blind date sounds like absolute torture.”

  Ashton’s phone chimed in his pocket. He pulled it out to glance at the number before slipping it back into his coat.

  “Just an offer,” he said. “I know how bad things got with Sierra, so I just thought—”

  “I’m perfectly fine with how things are in my life,” I snapped and grabbed my iPad pointedly to power it back on. “Anything else, Ashton? I have a lot of work to do.”

  “Right, of course. Just consider it.” Ashton rose from the chair and strode across my office to open my office doors. “I’ll make sure to forward everything to you about the Jacob’s Fashion business. Major money. You won’t be disappointed.”