Chapter Twenty-One
Epilogue
I ran down the beach as fast as I could, but even the punishing pace couldn't burn away the joy I felt. The beach house was more than my finish line. It was my home.
"What's your hurry?" Penn called from the deck. "Now that you're done with your morning run, we're going back to bed, right?"
I laughed despite my heavy breathing. "I thought you wanted to sleep in."
"Only with you." He caught me as soon as I stepped on the deck.
"Stop! I'm all sweaty!"
He nuzzled my neck and growled deep in his throat. "And you taste delicious."
"No, really stop. We have to get ready. Today's the big day," I reminded him.
Penn didn't stop until his kisses made me lose track of all time. Then he leaned back and beamed down at me. "We can be late, can't we?"
I shook my head, though I was too content to leave his arms. "The ceremony can't start until we're there."
"I can't wait to walk you down the aisle," Penn said with another hungry kiss.
This time I did push him back, the bright ring on my finger glinting in the morning sun. "That's not until April. Today is all about your parents."
"Today is all about love, as my mother keeps reminding me. Surely, she'll understand if love is what makes us late."
I couldn't resist Penn any longer. I distracted him with a kiss and then lunged for the sliding glass door. "I'll race you to the shower."
He caught me halfway through the kitchen and I was overjoyed when those hard, tattooed arms closed around me. I looked up at him and wondered again how lucky I was.
Once we were done with assumptions, it was just us, and we were so very happy.
BAD BOY BILLIONAIRE
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
BAD BOY BILLIONAIRE VOLUME I
Jack
There was a gentle breeze blowing as I poured the champagne into tall flutes and handed them to the two bikini-clad girls tanning on the deck. The captain had anchored the boat in a quiet spot just off the coast of Santorini, and I was enjoying the sun and sea with my companions. We were about to head north to Athens, where we would celebrate my thirty-third birthday with a party that would keep the whole city talking for months.
"Jack, I'm out of champagne again," the tanned blonde pouted as she held out her glass. She was the heiress to a Greek shipping fortune and, as a result, was very spoiled, but I enjoyed her company—and her body.
"Well, that will not do at all, will it?" I said as I pulled the bottle of Cristal out of the icy bucket and refilled her glass. "You must stay hydrated, mikri prinkipissa!"
"I'm not a little princess," she giggled as she sipped the cold, bubbly liquid. "I'm rich, but I'm definitely not royalty."
"I am!" the brunette next to her piped up, "and I'm out of champagne, too!"
"What an affront to the crown!" I cried. I hit the button that connected me to the staff below deck and said, "Another bottle of Cristal for the ladies!"
"Right away, sir," the voice replied and, in moments, a staff member dressed in pure white emerged from below, carrying an ice-cold bottle of champagne wrapped in a white napkin. He waited for my nod before popping the cork and sinking the bottle deep into the bucket of ice.
"But I'm still empty," the brunette pouted.
I grabbed the bottle and refilled her glass, smiling as she tugged at the strings that kept her bikini bottoms up on her hips. Both girls had long since removed their tops, allowing me to admire their oil-coated breasts. This offering seemed to be leading somewhere else entirely.
"You're a very naughty girl, prinkipissa!" I playfully scolded her as she tugged the thin strip of material away from her body and tossed it at me.
"You have no idea, Jack," she purred. She and her blonde friend leaned forward and grabbed my hands, pulling me down between them on the lounging bench.
Before I knew it, they had stripped me of my swim trunks and were taking turns wrapping their hands around my stiff shaft as they kissed me and pressed their naked bodies against mine. I gave in to their ministrations as I lay back and watched their glistening bodies move over mine. These tanned nymphs always managed to find my weak spots and exploit them, much to my delight—and often theirs.
Just as the blonde was about to take me deep into her mouth for the second time, a staff member emerged from below deck holding a phone.
"Sir, you have an urgent call," he said as he managed to keep his eyes above the action happening on the lounge.
"Can't you take a message and tell them I'll call back?" I said, irritated, as I watched the brunette princess playfully fight for her oral rights.
"It's your mother, sir," he said. "She said it is urgent that you answer the call. No matter what you are doing."
"Son-of-a-bitch," I swore under my breath as I pushed the girls aside and pulled my shorts back on. The one thing I knew about my mother was that she never cried wolf. If she said it was urgent, then it was urgent.
I descended the stairs and entered my office where the phone sat waiting for me. I took a deep breath before I picked it up.
"Hello, Mother," I began.
"Jackson Fitzgerald, you need to come home," she said solemnly. "I need you here, now."
"What's wrong, Mother?" I asked, playfully adding, "Can't the king fix things for you anymore?"
"Your father is dead, Jack," she said and then went silent.
"Wait, what?" I replied, unsure that I'd heard her correctly. "I thought you just said Pop is dead."
"I did," she replied. "He died this morning on his way to meet with some new investors."
"You're kidding me, right?" I said, trying to process the news, "He can't be dead. He's the healthiest man alive. He's obsessive when it comes to his health!"
"I'm sorry, Jack," my mother said, "I know it's your birthday and that you had a party planned, but we need you to come home right away."
"I'll get there as soon as I can," I said, adding as an afterthought, "Are you okay?"
"I'm . . . I'm . . . I don't know what I am," my mother said, sounding small and scared. "I didn't expect this."
"I'll get home as soon as I can. I promise," I said, trying to reassure my mother from thousands of miles away. "Where's Lincoln? Why isn't he there with you?"
"He's in California on a big case," she said quietly. "He said he'd try to get home by the end of the week."
"Son-of-a-bitch," I cursed under my breath.
"Jackson Fitzgerald!" my mother scolded. "Do not say those words! They are vulgar!"
"Sorry, Mother," I apologized, but I wasn't sorry at all. I was pissed at my brother for not hopping on the next plane back to New York to be with our mother as she grieved. "I'll get to Athens and catch the next plane out. Probably in the morning."
"Hurry, Jack," she pleaded. "I need you here."
"I'm on my way, Mother," I said then added. "I love you. I'll be there as soon as I can."
"I love you, too," she said, before hanging up.
I instructed the captain to pull up the anchor and head for Athens. Then I walked back up to the top deck where the two girls had resumed sunbathing. They both looked up expectantly, ready for me to rejoin the fun.
"C'mon, Jack!" the blonde called. "We kept your spot warm!"
I looked at the beautiful, naked bodies lying on the chaise lounge in front of me. I pushed my shorts down around my ankles and slid in between them.
"Have your way with me, girls," I said. I cupped the blonde girl's breast while the brunette princess straddled my hips, giggling as she began rocking herself to an orgasm of unparalleled intensity. I let go and pushed my sorrows aside as I gave in to the hedonistic pleasures of the girls' bodies as the yacht sped toward the mainland.
Reality could wait until we arrived.