Jonah bennett, p.16
Jonah Bennett,
p.16
He nodded. “I am. Promise.”
“Good.”
As I let my hand fall, he leaned over, his lips finding mine. It was a soft graze at first, then a second, but my belly lit up by the third. That one was hot.
He cradled the side of my face as his mouth commanded entry.
I was happy to give it. I’d give him anything in that moment.
A second child? Here you go. I birthed it just now.
His hand slid to the back of my neck, and he angled his head for better access.
God, yes.
God, please.
Just, God. All day, God.
I could’ve kissed him for the rest of the night.
* * * *
Jonah pulled back a few minutes later.
However, goals. I knew what I was aiming for after this date—that and more, but definitely kissing. So much kissing.
I liked all the kissing.
Jonah pulled out of the drive and drove to the local botanical garden, which was empty when we arrived. As we got out, there were no other vehicles in the lot. I was choosing to ignore the one that followed us with Jonah’s security guards.
But I wasn’t ignoring how Jonah held my hand, taking me down the sidewalk, lights above us and on the path lighting the way, to a table by the water fountain.
I realized he’d rented the whole place. This was all for us.
I was stunned, and melting, and my stomach was doing this flutter-flip thing.
“Jonah,” I whispered.
He squeezed my hand, because he was still holding my hand.
Seriously loved my husband.
We had our own chef, and no other staff. He dished up the plates for us and left us alone.
The stars above. The lights. The sound of the running water.
It was one of the most romantic dates I could’ve imagined, and it was just Jonah.
He did this for me.
I could say that I’d remember this night for the rest of my life, but that wasn’t true. I’d remember what he did.
The food was delicious.
The garden was a sanctuary.
But I wouldn’t remember those details.
I’d remember the look in his eyes when he’d pulled into the parking lot, how ecstatic he was to see my reaction.
I’d remember the way he held my hand the entire night.
I would remember how he looked up at the stars, his thumb rubbing over the inside of my hand.
I would remember falling even more in love with him that night.
I sat across from him, listening to him tell me a story about one of the hospital volunteers, and I soaked everything up.
I would never stop soaking in this man—these moments, every laugh, every look, every caress, every story. They were locked in my head, in a vault, and I’d never give anyone the code. They were mine.
Except, well, one day Gabby could learn all about how her mommy and daddy met, then fell in love.
But until then… I leaned over, stopping Jonah mid-story, and kissed him.
I would remember kissing him, too.
I would never stop kissing him.
* * * *
JONAH
“I love you.” Carson sighed softly as I slid inside of her that night.
I was declaring this date a success. She never stopped smiling all evening.
I bent down, grazing a soft kiss over her shoulder, and decided I’d tell her in the morning that I wanted to start trying for a second baby.
THE END
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There were always whispers about my roommate at Hillcrest Academy.
The wealthiest of the wealthy sent their kids to our boarding school, and Brooke Bennett had been at the top, though I never quite knew why. She was fun and outgoing, but she kept quiet about her family. The only things she showed me were photographs of her brothers.
I became fascinated with her second-oldest brother. Kai Bennett.
He was the most of them all. Smoldering. Hypnotic. Alluring.
Kai had eyes that pulled me in and a face that haunted my dreams.
Then I met him.
He came to our school with their father, and that’s when I learned what kind of family Brooke came from. They were mafia, and Brooke’s oldest brother was dead. Her father said accident, but Brooke said murder.
Three months later, her father died, and Kai became the head of the Bennett Family. Brooke left Hillcrest for good, and that was the last time I saw her.
Fourteen years later, I’m staring at her face on the television. Brooke is missing.
Two days later, Kai Bennett kidnaps me.
** This is a 120k complete standalone.
** There is a bonus chapter from another book at the end.
* * * *
Two of my guards stood to the side of the door, and the other two positioned themselves outside.
I didn’t ask questions, and none of them said anything.
I felt it in my bones: I was waiting for Kai Bennett.
I knew I wouldn’t be able to find an escape route from the apartment. But I still looked around to get my bearings.
Inside the bedroom was a king-sized bed, and a wrap-around deck beyond two sliding glass doors. As I stepped out onto it, my heart sank.
There was nothing for me to climb onto if I wanted to make my way down. The fall could’ve fit a thirty-eight-floor hotel, and I could see rocky terrain at the bottom. It was a rock-climber’s dream, or challenge, but not mine.
“Gonna jump?”
I jerked, my hands clenching the railing as his smooth voice slid down my spine. It awakened all my nerve endings, and I gritted my teeth, hating how I reacted to him. Those were the first two words he’d spoken to me in fourteen years, making four in total now.
Why did I react to him this way?
Turning around, I found Kai standing just inside the bedroom doorway, his head cocked to the side as if he found me a puzzle.
I’d seen it before, but his presence was like a punch to my sternum. He’d been devastatingly handsome at sixteen and he was even more so now, and that set my teeth on edge.
Dressed in a business suit, the shirt unbuttoned and the ends pulled loose from his pants, he had bare feet. He looked as if this trip to see me was the last thing he had to do before relaxing completely, as if I were an afterthought.
Then he shrugged off his suit jacket and shirt, catching the collars of both and tossing them on the bed. He turned to the closet behind him, which opened to showcase an array of men’s clothes.
My mouth dried.
This was his bedroom.
Was it?
I glanced to a second closet, wondering if I’d find women’s clothes in there or more of his.
He brought out a T-shirt and pulled it on. It molded to him, revealing broad shoulders and a lean waist that had been trimmed down to a core of solid muscle.
His hands dropped to his belt buckle, and I pulled my gaze away and turned around.
“So are you?”
I turned again to find him fully clothed, wearing a pair of dark gray sweatpants that molded to his bottom half the way his shirt did to the top.
He motioned to me. “Come on. I’m tired, and I don’t want to have this talk worrying my little sister’s dear friend might jump to her death.” He snorted to himself. “She’d really be furious with me then.”
There was a twinge in his voice. Exhaustion? I heard it now. I followed him, at a reluctant pace, as he went to the bedroom’s far wall and pushed a button.
Two doors slid open, revealing an entire bar built into the wall. As he poured a glass of bourbon, I saw the slope in his shoulders. There were bags under his eyes, and a tired softness around the corners of his mouth.
“Are you going to speak, or do I need to test your vocal chords a different way?” he asked, swinging his heated eyes my way. His nostrils flared as his hand tightened on his glass.
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