Epilogue
Lexa
Aiden had a habit of watching me sleep, and I sometimes wondered if that was how he spent his nights. I opened my eyes to find him at it again, and I buried my face against his chest and fought the urge to wake.
“Rise and shine, sleepyhead.” He kissed my hand and then rolled me off of him, only to rest on his elbows above me.
As I looked up into his eyes, I couldn’t believe it had been almost a year since we’d met. Things were going better than ever between us, but I was still holding my breath for a proposal and turning blue. Bre assured me it would happen, and I had to wonder if he’d talked to her about it. I’d tried to pry it out of her more than once, but she denied any involvement in such conversations.
He stared down at me with his own sleepy eyes, and I couldn’t imagine waking up to anyone else. He was my perfect match, and he’d made my life so much better that I sometimes needed to pinch myself to make sure it wasn’t a dream.
His phone made a buzzing, and he reached across to the nightstand and let out a curse. “Fucking Layne. He wants me to come up and get the rest of my father’s things. Seems he had a storage closet there. Who knew?”
“Do you ever regret giving him the business?” I stroked his cheek and closed my eyes.
“Not one bit. I’ve got everything right here in this house, everything that I’ll ever need. Including you.”
“So, we don’t have to go out to dinner tonight with my parents?” I’d been trying to talk him out of that little dinner date since he broke the news to me. I’d wanted the two of us to have a nice romantic dinner for two to celebrate our year together, but since it was also the anniversary of our families reuniting, as well as the official conception of the foundation, he wanted to celebrate by taking us all out to dinner.
“We do. We can’t back out on them now. Besides, your mother said she had some exciting news.” He shrugged his shoulders, and I narrowed my eyes. That didn’t make any sense.
“And, when did my mother say that?” It seemed she would have told me before telling Aiden, though I do think she had started to like him best. I tapped my finger on his chest as I waited for his answer, but he kissed me instead, pressing himself hard against me. I pushed him back and rolled over. “I’m waiting for your answer.”
“Don’t be difficult tonight, okay? We’re going to a nice dinner, and that’s all you need to worry about.” That was his polite way of saying that’s all I needed to know. He wasn’t going to fool me. He had something up his sleeve. The last thing I wanted was a surprise of any kind, but more than that, I didn’t want to ruin anything Aiden had planned. He loved to do things for me, and I had learned to let him.
It was his way of taking care of me, and while I wasn’t about to get into another argument with him about how independent I was, I’d learned to pick my battles and let him feel in charge.
It’s funny how when you love someone so much, you learn to let them have their way. The truth was I had learned to love it. I wouldn’t take that kind of shit from anyone else, of course, but Aiden was mine and I was his. I loved being his.
“Yes, sir,” I rolled my eyes and giggled.
“I’ll give you something to giggle about.” He tickled my sides, and I went into a fit of laughter so hard I had to warn him off.
“You can’t tickle a person first thing in the morning.” I nudged him away and sat up.
He rose up behind me and planted a kiss on my shoulder. “Mattie’s making breakfast for us this morning, so we better get ready and go down.”
I knew better than to argue about Mattie waiting on me. She’d been part of the package deal, and I had to respect the lady’s livelihood. Besides, it was nice having the extra hand around the house. It wasn’t like I could handle it alone with all those rooms, half of which I’d only been to the door of during my tour.
I’d turned one of them into a sitting room where I could work on the foundation in peace, far away from anyone else, but Aiden had learned that I was a pushover when it came to his ability to distract me from my work.
“Then I’m going to hurry up in the shower, so yours doesn’t get cold on you.” I jumped up and raced him to the shower, but he met me in there and slowly washed me from head to toe. He worked me up to such a thick lather I had to remind him that we were in a hurry and our food was getting cold.
Minutes later, we were dried off and dressed and headed off to the kitchen where Mattie was finishing up our meal. She’d baked a breakfast casserole that had become one of my favorites.
“Pete Jr. is going to be making a trip to the nursery next week and wanted to know if there are any special requests. He’s going to rework the flower beds out front and replace a few of the plants that aren’t thriving. He should be around to talk to later.” Mattie stepped over to the small table by the window that overlooked the oaks, and that’s when I realized she was talking to me. “He said he’ll get anything you want.”
“Oh, thanks, but I’m not really sure I have anything special to request.” I hoped he wouldn’t be too disappointed, but I had never really known much about flowers.
“You’re the lady of the house now. He remembers when he was a kid, and Mrs. Walker would ask for the most particular flowers. You could always request some petunias or maybe some lilies.” She went back to her stove and shut the oven off, then she went off to the private quarters where she spent her downtime during the day.
I waited until she was well out of earshot and muttered, “Lady of the house?”
“You are and not just any lady, but a special one.” His smile widened to meet his eyes. “I’d like you to start having more to do with the place, Lexa. I think it would be nice to share the place and you’ve been here almost a year and haven’t replaced anything or moved anything other than taking over that guest bedroom. It’s your home, so feel free to do with it what you like. I want you to feel at home.”
“You saw my apartment, Aiden. I never did anything special to the place. It was clean and tidy, and that’s how I liked it. I love the house the way it is.”
“Suit yourself.” He didn’t seem irritated, but I decided I’d try and have a little more say in things like gardening and my preferences of food, which Mattie had been trying to get out of me for months.
After lunch, I made a few requests with Pete and had him show me some options on my cell phone. I chose several flowers in mixed colors and hoped that Mrs. Walker would approve. I liked to honor her memory as often as I could because I knew she was still alive to Aiden when it came to Olde House.
I glanced down at the time and panicked as I realized I’d be in a mad rush to get ready for dinner with my parents. I was holding Aiden to the dessert he promised. When we got home, I wanted to be spread out like a feast for him to devour.
I ran upstairs and jumped in the shower wondering where he was, but knowing it didn’t take him half as long as it did me. I spent the rest of my hour alone getting dressed to impress, then Aiden came waltzing in and stood behind me in the mirror.
“I saw you with Pete. Did he get the flowers you wanted?”
“I had a little help choosing, but I’m certain they’ll be lovely.”
He undressed behind me and stepped into the shower. I watched his reflection, the perfect, thick cord of his muscular torso and his strong jawline, the one I loved to kiss and bite. And there were other things there I wanted to bite as well, and I heated up thinking about the pleasure he got from such teeth scraping actions.
We finished getting ready, and before long, we were in the car. He made small talk about my parents and how far along in their relationship we’d grown as he drove out toward the restaurant. The whole way there he went on and on about my parents, so much that I was sick of the both of them by the time we made it there.
“I think you’ll enjoy dinner very much.” He pulled into a parking spot and shut off the engine. We’d taken his sister’s mustang, and even though I loved the Shelby, his sister’s car was more comfortable.
“I hope so.” He came around to get me out of the car, and I took his hand when he opened the door taking a deep breath to try not to pout.
As we approached the restaurant, something felt a little off. It was the way he held my hand as if he wasn’t ever going to let it go.
We walked inside, and a small crowd of my friends and family all shouted surprise. I tried to grab hold of Aiden’s arm as I looked around and saw all the happy faces, including my parents and Bre, who’d dragged Daniel along. My smile was beaming, and I was so embarrassed, but then a hush fell over them, and I could see eyes fixed on the space behind me. I turned around to see Aiden with a tiny black box in hand.
I covered my cheeks and gasped as he dropped down to one knee. I reached for Bre’s hand as if doing so would keep me on my feet. She’d always been my support and my rock, and I knew with her there, I couldn’t fail.
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes a moment, but then he gazed up into my eyes with such sincerity that tears pooled in mine. “Alexandra Marie Patterson, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?” The crowd hushed even more as I prepared myself to answer.
Our entire past year flashed before my eyes. The night we met, who had known when I cut his clothes off and scrubbed his wounds that he would be kneeling before me at that moment asking me to be his wife. It had been a hard road, one made rockier from my lie, but here he was, and he still wanted me. That was true love. Unconditional, forgiving everything else that had happened to make the journey seem like an impossible dream.
“Yes, of course, I will, yes.” There was a collective aww that lifted up in the room as he slid the ring on my finger. Like us, it was the perfect fit.
He rose up from his knee and scooped me up into his arms, and we spun so fast that our friends and family became a blur. Then he put me down on my feet and kissed me as everyone cheered.
Even though I was drunk with emotion, I felt safe and content knowing we were meant to be. And at that moment, I could feel Shawn’s eyes on us, as well as Ally’s and her parents. I knew that somewhere, somehow, they were looking down at us and giving us their blessing.
BILLIONAIRE’S VEGAS NIGHT
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
Luna
Inside my head, there was a mess of confusion, jumbled-up dreams, and incoherent chaos. My legs twisted in the tangled sheets as I battled the urge to open my eyes. With the smell of alcohol still permeating from my pores, I took a deep breath and instantly regretted it.
Don’t move. It wouldn’t get any better if I did and as nausea washed over me in a wave, breaking a sweat on my upper lip, I dared not test the theory.
So this is a hangover.
“Luna? It’s about time you were up. It’s almost ten a.m. and…” The voice continued, saying something I missed while trying to understand what my ears were hearing.
For a brief moment, the world made no sense. That was Gabe’s voice. His smooth, naturally sensual tones were unmistakable, especially considering he was my boss. But why would I be hearing his voice? Surely I wasn’t in bed with him and this was all a crazy dream.
Without opening my eyes, I trailed my hand up to my chest to assure myself I was not naked. Thankfully, my clothes were on. I sighed with relief as I forced my eyes to welcome the light and focus on the room around me.
I had partied with him the night before. We’d celebrated and obviously drank quite a bit – p though quite a bit for me wasn’t much at all.
A black lacquered dresser with a large mirror came into focus and I glanced down at myself once again to be certain I’d felt my blouse and not the silk from the red sheets I lay sprawled upon.
Gabe was still talking. “We should eat. It might be best to get something on that stomach of yours.”
Holy crap. I’d spent the night. “I’m afraid to move because I don’t feel so well.” I glanced at him as he stripped off his robe, revealing his bare ass. Why was he naked? I realized his hair was wet. He’d recently showered. I had been out like a light, or like Lottie’s eye, as my father used to say. I wasn’t sure who the heck Lottie was or what happened to her eye, but it must have been terrible.
As Gabe pulled on his pants, I forced myself up and went to the bathroom where the steam still clung to the mirror and the smell of his aftershave lingered. I shut myself inside and leaned back against the door.
Gabe’s voice was muffled on the other side. “Take it slow. We’re in no hurry.”
Thank God for that. I made my way across the room to the granite sink and turned on the faucet. I wiped the steam from the mirror to see if I looked as awful as I felt, and what do you know, I did.
The red veins in my eyes made the blue of my irises stand out, and they were further accentuated by darkened circles and puffiness. My honey-blonde hair was as messy as usual, considering its fine texture always misbehaved during the night.
Misbehaved. I sat and evaluated myself, assuring myself that everything was intact and there were no signs of tenderness in my private regions other than the usual morning beckoning of my bladder. I should be able to tell if anything happened. Being a virgin, I’d know, right? There would be tenderness or pain and blood. I glanced down at myself as my brain went crazy searching for symptoms.
I couldn’t believe I’d ended up in his suite after respectable business hours – and worse, in his bed.
I didn’t understand how it had happened. The last thing I remembered was him offering me a taste of champagne. We had been celebrating the success of his speech and the new client he’d landed because of it.
Working as his assistant, I’d assumed a trip to Vegas would be exciting, but I had no intentions of winding up drunk. It wasn’t my style or a usual habit, and in the two years I’d worked for Gabriel Grant, I hadn’t known him to have such a reputation for alcohol, either. I tried to focus on what else had happened, but the pain in my temples throbbed away any concentration. I couldn’t remember anything.
He probably thinks I’m a fool. I wondered if I still had a job. Would I even still want to work for him? I had to get this sorted out. I finished up and hesitated as I approached the door. How could I face him? With a deep breath to steady myself, I went back out to gather my things. I needed to get the hell out of there.
I glanced around the room for my purse as a wave of pain shot through my temple. The sunlight through the window was too bright for my eyes and I winced, feeling the rolling nausea in my gut. I had to get back to my room downstairs. Being here was a mistake.
I tried to remember what had happened the night before as I joined him in the front room of his suite. He was lounged on the soft black leather of the sofa and sipping a drink.
“There’s coffee, too, if you like. I figured another dose of doom couldn’t hurt.” He lifted his drink and the ice clinked as he swirled it. The sound ricocheted into my temples, and I felt it as much as I heard it.
I poured a cup of coffee, hoping it would cure me, and stood across the room as still as a stone and tried to fight the waves of sickness enough to drink it. “What happened?”
His brows rose and he took a long pull from his drink. Well, that didn’t help me think nothing crazy had happened. “Don’t sweat it, Luna. You were amazing.” He winked. “I haven’t had so much fun in months, and we deserved a good time, you and I. The speech went well, and I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“It was amazing. Thanks.” I nodded to agree and the world seemed to tilt on its axis again; I lowered myself to sit across from him. I prayed I wouldn’t embarrass myself further by falling on my face before I left, but I didn’t want to rush out like some silly girl running scared. Besides, maybe he’d give me a clue about what had transpired before we ended up passed out in his bed, and perhaps the in between before I woke.
Moments passed in silence, and I sipped at my coffee for something to do. The warmth washed through me, easing me for the moment. I’d started drinking black coffee in college and until that night, it was the harshest thing I’d put in my gut.
Right as I was about to ask what happened, his phone rang and he leaned up to retrieve it from the coffee table where his feet were propped. Jesus, even his bare feet are sexy. I’d always known the man was handsome, but sitting across from me in his slacks with his shirt only closed by a few buttons as his hair continued to dry, he was a god. And there I sat, looking like a boozed-up college girl doing her walk of shame from a frat party.
He stared at the phone as if pondering if he really needed to talk to the person on the other end. Suddenly, I felt as if I’d worn out my welcome. I gathered enough strength to get to the edge of my chair and made it no further. “I’ll leave so you can call them back.”
He waved his hand. “Don’t bother. It’s only my sister-in-law Sandra. She can wait. I’m in no hurry to ruin my morning just yet.” He took another long pull off the drink.
“Still, I should go. I-”
Laughter rumbled from across the expanse. “You were so funny last night.” I smiled, but then fear overwhelmed me as my heart sank to my gut like a stone. I wasn’t known for my humor and I couldn’t imagine what I’d done.
As if he could read my face, he held up his hand as if to reassure. “No, seriously, Luna. You were fucking amazing, okay. I had no idea you could do those things with your mouth.”
My heart stopped, and before I could tell if it had started beating again, I was halfway to the bathroom. The coffee was about to make its reappearance and luckily, I made it in time. As I stayed on my knees, I realized I’d forgotten all about oral sex.
There wouldn’t necessarily be any signs or symptoms from such an act, and though I’d experimented briefly with that in college, it wasn’t something I did often – and definitely not with my boss. It had been at least three years since the second time in my life and the time before during my freshman year of college didn’t count.
Had I really done it? I couldn’t deny that I found him attractive. I’d always thought he was amazing, but definitely out of my league. Something had happened. It had to have or why else would I have ended up in his bed? God, no!
His knock sounded at the door. “Luna? Are you okay in there? Did the coffee get to you? You need some food in your stomach. Let me call you something up.”
“No, please, I’ll be fine.” I wiped my watery eyes and slumped against the bowl.
“Nonsense. And as your boss, I won’t have any back talk. I’ll call you up some food, and in the meantime, you get yourself a nice hot shower.” His footsteps faded away as I dragged myself up to my feet.
He was right about the shower. Now that the coffee had evacuated, I felt grimy. I turned on the hot water, setting the temperature before stripping off my clothes. I took another look in the mirror to assure I was unmarked.
I didn’t understand how he could think I’d be okay with any of this. He knew I wasn’t a drinker. I’d told him that when I accepted the champagne. One tiny tickle of the nose, and that bubbly stuff had done all this damage? Surely not. I must have drunk much more.
No, this was my fault, but he wasn’t innocent by far. Even though he seemed to care that I wasn’t well.
Could he have taken advantage of me? His reputation with women was not exactly scandalous, but it was no secret he had made his way through quite a number of them. That was nothing for a man of his fortune. He was a billionaire, after all, though the status had only officially been reached one week after I’d come along. He’d even called me his lucky charm.
Lucky charm. The memory of him and I dancing flashed before my eyes. We were at the casino, and he’d won. I remembered blowing his dice, and his arm was around me. After he’d won, and the celebratory dancing stopped, he’d pulled me in close.
“You’re my little lucky charm,” he’d said, and then he’d kissed me. My hand flew to my mouth landing upon my lips. His mouth was on mine. I’d kissed my boss.
How on earth could I have let this happen? How could he? As amused by my oral abilities as he was, there was no way things could ever go back to how they’d been. I was his assistant, for heaven’s sake. Our relationship was supposed to be strictly professional.
As hard as I tried to remember anything else between us, I couldn’t. We’d obviously gotten close enough to come back here and do what? Kiss? Make out? Perform oral sex on each other, or I on him? What a fool that I couldn’t remember.
I hated what I was going to have to do, but I’d never know otherwise. I was going to have to ask him. After that, the only thing I could do would be to resign and move on to something else. One night in Vegas, and I’d completely ruined my life. I took my time in the shower, not yet ready to go out and face the music.