LOGAN
Even though I was a billionaire and Emily was from old money, we elected for a simple ceremony in my backyard. We kept the guest list small and intimate. The overall set-up was modest, nice flowers, a harpist, that sort of thing. No champagne fountains or special performances by top stars.
I was surprised. Emily was the one who wanted to keep it small and simple. I’d planned to spend whatever she asked.
She’d told me she’d already had one elaborate wedding. The important thing was the man, she said, not the pomp and circumstance.
That was fine by me. I just wanted to make an honest woman of her.
The whole afternoon was nice enough, and the weather cooperated, being slightly warmer than normal for early October in the mid-seventies and offering no rain. I wasn’t sure if Emily would accept an autumn wedding, but again, she surprised me with her flexibility.
Of course, Juniper was adorable as a flower girl. I suspected though that both my mother and mother-in-law were a bit peeved they didn’t get to implement the plans they’d developed over the decades for the world’s most elaborate wedding; they’d made a few comments here and there in the lead up to the wedding to suggest as such.
My mother even had an entire notebook prepared, complete with vendors and contractors she’d spent years evaluating. The whole thing was as impressive as it was frightening, a testament to her obsession. I hoped she now felt free.
In the end, it didn’t matter much. Or at least I didn’t care. Emily, Juniper, and I would be in Japan for two weeks. The mothers couldn’t do much to us there.
I thought about that as I sipped some water in a seat on my private jet. We’d gone straight from the reception to the airport. Neither mother really had an opportunity to complain. After all, they weren’t going to risk causing trouble at the wedding.
They’d both been all smiles at the reception and wedding. Honestly, it was hard to say. Even if we didn’t have some fancy affair, both mothers had achieved their goal. They’d successfully introduced us, and we ended up getting married. That was the ultimate end goal.
And another goal, at least for my mother, was already on its way to being completed. I glanced down at Emily, who was sitting beside me, reading through a magazine on an iPad. Her pregnancy wasn’t quite showing yet, but it would be soon enough.
Not that I cared if people did the math. She’d been living with me the last six months, so it wasn’t exactly a mystery that we’d been sleeping together.
Juniper cheered, and I looked over at her.
She was watching Moana, though she’d been getting up every once in a while to run back and forth, apparently thrilled with the idea that we were the only ones on the plane other than the pilot. I’d even decided against a flight attendant this trip. I wanted the whole thing to feel more homey and intimate, like a sort of camping trip. Just in the air in a private jet.
Still, I was happy I could give her a unique experience, even if Emily was worried about spoiling her. I could already tell we were going to have more than a few mild disagreements about that. I had every intention of spoiling Juniper and the child now growing in Emily’s womb.
I took another sip of water as I thought that over.
Emily sighed. I wondered if I had a weird look on my face.
“You can have some wine,” she said. “Just because I’m not having any doesn’t mean you can’t. I don’t want you to spend the rest of my pregnancy trying to worry too much about solidarity.”
I chuckled. “Well, just let me worry for the next few days then.”
“It’s a long flight. Some wine might help.”
“This isn’t exactly my first rodeo.” I winked. “It’s not even yours.”
“We’re going to the rodeo?” Juniper asked, her gaze still glued to the overhead screen.
“It’s an expression, sweet pea,” Emily said, smiling.
Juniper paused the movie and turned around to look at us. “I’m gonna have to share, aren’t I?”
“Huh?” I looked over at Emily, and she shrugged.
“What are you talking about” Emily asked.
“My LEGOs,” Juniper said. “I’m going to have to share them with the baby.” She stuck out her bottom lip.
I chuckled. “Aren’t you excited about being a big sister?”
The little girl nodded. “Yes, but I don’t want to share my LEGOs. The baby will drool all over them. I know it.”
Emily sighed. “Juniper, the baby can’t even play with your kind of LEGOs for several years. I wouldn’t worry about it anytime soon.”
“Oh.” Juniper’s face brightened, and she clapped. “Yay. We should buy some of those big baby LEGOs in Japan, and then the baby can play with them and not even be sad she doesn’t have my LEGOs.”
“That’s very kind of you to consider the baby’s feelings,” Emily said, chuckling. “Even if it’s going to be a while before the baby’s born.”
“You said ‘she.’ How do you know it’s going to be a girl?” I said. “Your mom and I don’t even know that.” It was still way too early for us to find out the sex of the baby.
Juniper nodded. “I’m sure of it. I had a dream it’d be a girl.”
“I guess we’ll see.”
“Keep in mind,” Emily said, “that you’re also getting this special trip. We wanted you to be able to see Japan before your sibling was born.”
“Thank you, Mama,” Juniper said. “Thank you…” She stared at me. “May I call you Daddy now?”
The question warmed my heart. I wanted to say yes, but I looked over at Emily for permission. She nodded.
“Sure, Juniper,” I said. “You can call me Daddy.”
“Yay.” She smiled, turned back around, and started her movie back up.
“Huh,” I said, after a few seconds. “I won’t have any good advice to even give her.”
“What do you mean?” Emily asked.
“I have no idea what it’s like to have a younger sibling. I was an only child.”
Emily blinked, and then her eyes widened. “So was I.”
We both laughed at that.
* * *
Two weeks later, Juniper snoozed in the limousine. We’d had a long flight back to Nashville, but she’d taken it like a champ. She’d wanted to play with some of her new LEGO sets, but Emily told her no. An airplane isn’t exactly the best place for precision work. At least I had a full library of movies for her to watch.
When I was her age, the longest flight I ever had to suffer through was only five hours. I was impressed she could handle the huge flight with only minimal complaints.
I couldn’t help but worry about some things. I shook my head.
“What’s wrong?” Emily asked.
“Do you think she liked it?” I lifted my eyebrow and tilted my head a little, studying her.
“Tokyo?”
“Yes.” I smiled at her returned question. She knew what I was talking about.
Emily looked at me like I’d grown another head. “How could you ask that? She loved it. We had to carry her crying onto the plane. We’re lucky she didn’t try to renounce her American citizenship and set up shop in Odaiba.”
I laughed. Emily was right, of course. I don’t know why I was so worried about the trip. Maybe because it was our first big trip as a family. I wanted it to be perfect.
We’d probably personally pushed the Japanese GDP up one percent with all our LEGO purchases, and we’d visited all sorts of interesting places. Juniper seemed to like them all, but I wanted to make sure.
“We should take a big trip every year,” I said. “To a different country.”
“I’d love that,” Emily said. “And I think she will as well. Maybe starting a bit after the baby is born, though.”
“Sure.”
Emily’s phone rang. She frowned and pulled it out of her purse.
“Mama. I told her I’d send her a text when we got in, but somehow she already knew.” Emily sighed and tapped the phone to answer it. “Hello, Mama. Yes. Yes. On our way home now. Yes.” She tilted her head. “Oh, she’s asleep. Little thing is so tuckered out, but she loved the trip. Okay. Yes. Wait. What? Are you kidding me?” She listened intently for a long moment. “Okay, thanks for letting me know, Mama. We’ll see you tomorrow. I love you.” She ended the call and slipped her phone back into her purse.
She shook her head, her face a mask of shock. My heart kicked up. I’d wanted the perfect honeymoon, but perhaps tragedy had ruined it at the end.
“What’s wrong?” I said.
“Nothing. I was surprised is all.”
“By?”
“We’d gotten so caught up in the wedding and the Tokyo plans, I’d let it slip my mind.”
“Let what slip your mind?” My shoulders and neck tensed. I wanted to reach up and rub them but hoped I didn’t give my internal struggles away.
“Lionel’s trial.”
“Oh.” I let out a long sigh as discomfort filled my chest. “Did that bastard manage to wiggle out of getting punished?”
“No. Not at all.” Emily shook her head. “He was convicted. He’s been sentenced to two years in prison.” Her gaze flicked to Juniper. “What am I going to tell her?”
“The truth. That’s all you can do.” I pursed my lips as my heart contracted in my chest. Fuck Lionel for putting Emily in this situation, and yet, it was going to happen no matter what. He was a bastard and finally had gotten what he deserved.
“But…” A soft smile appeared on her face.
I wasn’t quite sure why she’d had such a sudden change in demeanor, but I didn’t like seeing her upset, so I welcomed it.
“You were going to say something?” I asked as my shoulders started to relax. There was something she wasn’t telling me. Anticipation and hopefulness swelled inside of me.
“I was going to say she’d have to go without a father, but I was wrong.”
“Oh? How?” I reached out and ran my hands down her arms, pulling her a little closer. God, she was so beautiful it hurt.
Emily reached up and ran her soft fingers over my cheek. “Because she has a better stepfather anyway.” She leaned over and gave me a soft kiss. “You’re the best thing to ever happen to us, Logan Hawkins, and I’m proud to be Mrs. Emily Hawkins. I love you.”
She leaned her head on my shoulder. I stroked her hair and pulled her in tight. Every desire I’d ever had came to fruition at that moment. I had a family now, with one more member on the way.
I almost felt too blessed. I had a perfect and beautiful wife. I had an adorable and loving stepdaughter, and soon I’d have another child, another daughter according to Juniper.
All these years I’d been trying to feed my soul with success and money. In the end, I just needed the love of a good woman. Funny how matters of the heart always sneak up on you when you least expect it.
“I love you, Emily,” I said softly as I closed my eyes and kissed the top of her head. She was my forever, and I wasn’t ever going to let go. “And I will always treasure you.”
That’s the end of the Billionaire’s Single Mom. Below I included 4 of my previous books to read as a free bonus.
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BILLIONAIRE RIDES
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
Ethan
"Is there anything else I can do for you, Mr. Colson?"
"Yes: blow me," I stated.
I leaned back in my chair as my beautiful assistant Angela got down on her knees beneath my desk and went to work. I ran my hands through her red hair as her head bobbed up and down and her mouth worked enthusiastically. Within a few moments, her expert tongue would bring me to climax and I'd shoot my load down her eager throat, and then watch as she picked up her files and went back to work.
This was the life, and I was living the dream every man wished for — only it hadn't come easily. I'd started working at 13 when my mother ran out on my father and me for another man. My father had been weak and couldn't take it. He turned to drinking and could never hold onto a job, so it was up to me if we were going to keep from starving out on the streets.
It was tough, but even though I was working full time, I still managed to keep top grades in school. One of my teachers noticed and recommended me for a special internship in the Business Leaders of Tomorrow program at his alma mater. My father had remarried by then, and I knew he'd be okay on his own, so I went ahead and applied, never thinking that I'd really get in — but I did.
They admitted me on full scholarship, and when the program was over, I was offered full-time employment at one of the nation's top manufacturers of engine parts: Krueger Auto Parts. Even without a fancy degree, I could do the job of running the shipping and manufacturing warehouses in every town I was sent to, and soon I was brought to work in their corporate headquarters in Los Angeles.
I worked my ass off, coming in early every morning and staying late every night. I took on all the shit assignments nobody wanted to do and volunteered to work weekends and even holidays. I climbed up the ranks faster than anyone had ever seen, and by 30, I was running the motorcycle parts division for Krueger.
The job was my passion, and I worked closely with scientists and engineers, wanting to learn everything I could about what made bikes run better, faster, and more efficiently. I talked with long-time riders and kids just starting to learn what they wanted in a bike. On my days off, I went for long rides in the California countryside to get a feel for the wind in my face, the tires on the road, and the motor between my legs. It was a powerful feeling, completely freeing, and I wanted more. Most importantly, I understood what drove our customers and how to give them the best riding experience possible.
I took my ideas to the CEO and founder of the company Martin Krueger, but he didn't give a shit.
"Do you have any idea how expensive it would be to start manufacturing this motorcycle? We would have to sell 100,000 to make a profit," Krueger said, crossing his mushy arms over his fat belly. His balding head was always beaded perspiration, and his skin was a shade too pink, like an angry little piggy.
"So, we'll sell 100,000. I'm willing to work with marketing to get our name out there, not just as a parts manufacturer, but as a creator of the country's best motorcycle. Once riders try this bike, they'll sell themselves. I just need our factories to build them," I said passionately.
I believed in the product I had worked so hard to develop. I'd created cost estimates, profit projection reports, and even had a sample of the bike created as an example, using my own savings. The bike had been test-driven by a dozen different riders, and they all loved it. I knew the bike would be a huge success — if only Krueger would give it a chance.
Unfortunately, Krueger was too stodgy and stuck in his ways. He handed me back my research without even taking the time to look at it.
"If we manufactured that many bikes and they didn't sell, it would ruin us. Just stick to your job of managing the parts warehouses and leave it to Harley Davidson to build the bikes. I didn't hire you for your creativity. Why do you think I plucked you out of the intern program instead of going for someone with a business degree? It's because I want someone who will just be a cog in the engine I designed and not try and one-up me with dumb ideas. Don't forget who signs the paychecks around here. Now quit wasting time and get back to work."
That's when I quit. Krueger gave me a nice severance package, after I put the portly piece of shit in a headlock and threatened to expose some of his muddy little secrets to the media.
I used the money, along with what I made selling off all my Krueger stock, to invest in my own motorcycle company. The bank didn't want to give me a business loan at first, but I had a good reference to co-sign with me — my old teacher was now a professor at the Ivy League university where the banker wanted to send his son and the professor promised to give him a letter of recommendation.
It was all I needed, and Speed Motorcycles was born.
I named my first bike The Rebel, and it sold 200,000 units the first year and double that the next year. After that, I designed the Chrome Cruiser and then Highway Man. Each design was more successful than the last, and when Krueger came to me begging for the contract to distribute our patented specialty parts, I did one better and bought the son-of-bitch out. Now, all parts for Speed Motorcycles bikes were manufactured and sold by our own distributing subsidiary, Krueger Auto Parts, and fat, old Krueger gets his paychecks signed by me.
I could have fired him after that and destroyed his company by selling it off bit by bit, but that's not my style. People don't learn from cruelty. They learn from discipline, carefully measured and distributed with thoughtful intent.
That's how I lived my life from the days of my childhood, when I was just 13, and needed to balance work and studies and caring for my old man. It's how I made it through a grueling internship and years of shit jobs climbing up the corporate ladder, and how I managed social relationships and dating after being abandoned by the one woman who should have loved me. I lived my life by a strict code of adherence.
Of course, being disciplined didn't mean one didn't deserve a reward for work well done. That's where my assistant came in.
Angela Stratham was everything I could want in an assistant. She was 26, bright, hardworking, and sexy as hell. She had emerald-green eyes and voluptuous curves she didn't mind showing off. We'd started screwing around in my office about six weeks ago when I came into my office late one night to find her naked, draped across my desk. It had been a rough day at work, and she provided me with just the pick me up I needed. We'd been fucking around ever since, but I wouldn't call her my girlfriend — more like a really attentive assistant who gives great head.
At the age of 42, I'd given up dating years ago. Women were always throwing themselves at me, but it wasn't real. I worked hard to stay in shape with regular workouts in the gym, and I knew I had the kind of looks they found attractive. I kept my black hair cropped short, and I'd been told more than once that my gray eyes flecked with blue and gold looked like swirling clouds in the middle of a thunder storm. It was all bullshit, though.
These women who were always flinging themselves weren't interested in me. They didn't want to know the real Ethan Colson; where I was born, what I liked, what my favorite foods, movies, and books were. They didn't want to know about my hopes, fears, dreams, and ambitions. They just knew I was the owner and CEO of the country's top motorcycle company. They only saw the luxurious suites of our corporate offices, the fancy cars I rode around in when I wasn’t on a bike, and the sprawling estate of my Beverly Hills mansion. When they looked at me, they were only seeing dollar signs.
Seeing the way my mother had destroyed my father when she left him had taught me one valuable thing: never open your heart to a woman. There was always a part of my father that was visibly scared. He catered to her every whim, he was vulnerable and cowardly. He had been broken and the wounds never fully healed.
I tried having a girlfriend once in college, but when she broke my heart, I saw just how vulnerable an organ it was, and I knew I was in danger of suffering the same way my father had. So, after that, I vowed never to put my heart in jeopardy again. Sure, there was always a beautiful date on my arm for parties and special events — and don't get me wrong, I got plenty of sex — but I never had a relationship with a woman. It was too messy and put too much at risk, so I always cut them off after a date or two. This office fling with Angela had already gone on too long and it was time to end it.
It's just that I was getting tired of being alone, of waking up each morning to an empty pillow beside me and not have anyone I could talk about my day with at night. I realized I was getting sentimental; I turned my attention back to the incredible feeling of Angela's hot wet mouth on my throbbing cock.
"Suck it, baby. I want you to drink my come." I ran my hands through her hair, encouraging her to work even more enthusiastically.
Just then, my office door swung open and Keith Wilkes stuck his head inside. He had the California-blonde looks that were so prevalent here in the City of Angels. People liked him instantly, which made him the perfect guy to head up my marketing department.
Advertising was my one weak point. I liked designing the bikes, figuring out to streamline them and give them more power, crunching the numbers, and finding ways to make things work. I did not like schmoozing people, asking advertisers and investors for more money, or pandering to customers. I left that up to Keith, and he did a terrific job, netting me millions of dollars over the years. There was no one I trusted more. Still, he didn't need to know the secret dirty deed that was happening under my desk.
"We're about to get started with the selections of the models for next month's magazine. Do you want to sit in?" he asked casually.
Angela was completely hidden under my desk, and he had no idea she was there. Still, hearing his voice startled her, and she jerked up her head. I forced her back down, letting her know I wanted her to keep going, and she continued the blow job while I talked to Keith. The excitement of being so close to getting caught doing something so taboo only heightened my pleasure.
"Have you selected a model for the cover yet?" I asked. I was surprised by how normal my voice sounded, even as Angela sucked my shaft with greater fervor and I felt myself nearing climax at an alarming rate.
"No, not yet. I've narrowed it down to the top dozen, and I was going to see how each of them looked on the bike before making a final choice."
"Great, go ahead. I'll be right there." God, what Angela was doing to me felt incredible. I never wanted the moment to end, but I knew it was about to.
Keith nodded in consent and closed the door behind him as he left. No sooner had it clicked shut than I blew my wad, shooting my hot seed down Angela's throat. She guzzled it eagerly and then licked me clean. Afterwards, she zipped my trousers closed, stood up with a smile, and said, "Is there anything else I can do for you, Mr. Colson?"
"That will be all for now." I flashed her a grin and watched her fine ass sway as she walked away.
Yes, she was a mighty fine assistant. The relaxing blow job she'd given me was just what I needed to clear my mind and focus on the photoshoot. We were preparing to launch a new ad campaign for our newest bike, The All-American. The model chosen would be featured on the cover our publication, Speed Magazine, sitting on the bike. In a town like L.A. that was flooded with beautiful young women anxious to become stars, it was going to be one girl's lucky break.
I'd told Keith I wanted a sexy blonde for the photoshoot, and he didn't disappoint. When I walked into the room, it was filled with a dozen gorgeous young blondes, all dressed in bikinis and high heels.
"These are the finalists. What do you think?" Keith slapped me on the back as he saw me walk in.
"Start putting them on the bike one a time so we can see how they look. When I see the right one, I'll know it."
Keith and I sat side-by-side in chairs as the girls were brought up one at time by Keith's assistant to model with the bike. Some of them were clear professionals and knew how to pose on the motorcycle with perfect poise. Others were clearly a little a lost as they did their best to sit on the bike in a sexy position without falling off. One girl in particular seemed to be having a tough time.
"What's your name?" Keith asked her with a frown as he scribbled swiftly on his tablet.
"Kayla Brandt."
She handed us each a copy of her résumé and a quick glance told me she was 21-years-old. Perfect.
I didn't want the baby-face looks of an 18-year-old, but our cover model still needed to look young and vibrant, with no wrinkles, a perfect body, and large breasts. I knew it was crazy in a town like L.A., but I really wanted a girl with natural breasts and not the kind purchased at a plastic surgeon’s office. There was just something about the way those fake breasts never moved that was a major turn off for me. I wanted a real girl, with real, God-given tits; what could be more All-American than that? And I wanted them to be big and perfectly round with that little bit of bounce that made every guy's dick instantly hard.
This girl had that. Everything about her was fresh, and pure, and as American as apple pie.
The photographer positioned her on the bike while the assistant adjusted her bikini top. Then he started snapping some shots as I read the rest of her résumé. It was disappointedly sparse. She worked full-time as a waitress, had no formal training, and basically no references of note. It was the kind of poor résumé I usually tossed right in the trash, but with this girl, I couldn't. Perhaps it was her lack of experience that I found so attractive. She didn't have any of the pretenses most L.A. models had. Everything about her was natural. I closed her file to just sit back, watch, and enjoy.
Kayla was fumbling awkwardly with her bikini top as she posed with the bike, and I heard the photographer tell her to stretch her arms out towards the handlebars. Suddenly, the strings of her bikini came untied and the top came falling down, giving me a full view of her naked breasts. They were magnificent: full, round, and slightly misshapen in that perfect way that natural tits fall when they're ripe and ready to be devoured. I wanted her like I'd never wanted any woman before.
Blushing furiously, she struggled to cover herself and ended up knocking the bike over. It fell to the floor with a noisy crash, and she ran from the room, clutching her top and crying.
"Good riddance to that mess. We can forget her all together," Keith said, but I'd never been more captivated by a girl in my life. I wanted her to be the new cover girl of Speed Magazine, but after that disaster, it was going to be tough. Still, as I thought of the sweetness of her smile and the perfect way her breasts jiggled as she walked, I knew I had to find a way to make it happen.