Always Mine

by Ruth Cardello

  Ian shook his head. “Oh, boy. Well, love may have taken his heart, but his ego is intact.”

  A general chuckle spread through his family.

  “Laugh all you want,” Asher said, “because Mom is now turning her matchmaking eye at the rest of you.”

  Sophie smiled in the face of her shocked children’s faces. “I’d like grandchildren while I’m young enough to enjoy them. Is that so wrong?”

  As the group laughed again, Emily wrapped an arm around Asher’s waist. She loved watching him laugh with his family.

  My family soon.

  She closed her eyes briefly. Mom, your dream brought me mine. Thank you.

  That night Asher took Emily to his apartment—their apartment from that night on. He took her coat and although he was excited to finally have her alone, there was something he wanted to show her before he carried her off to his bed. “I have another surprise for you.”

  “Another one?” Emily’s eyes flew to his. “I’m not sure I can take anymore. I’m already so happy I might pass out.”

  He chuckled and kissed her gently. “Stay conscious. You’re going to love this.” He looked at the door of his spare bedroom and said, “At least, I hope you will.” He turned her around and covered her eyes with his hands. “Now walk.”

  “So bossy,” Emily said with a laugh. “But I love it.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” he said as images of what they’d do after he gave her the surprise flew through his head. It was difficult to concentrate, but he wanted to do this for Emily. They stopped at the door of the spare bedroom and he said, “No laughing.”

  She put a hand over his on her eyes. “Oh, did you make something for me? I’m sure I’ll love it.”

  He swung the door open and lowered his hand. Emily gasped and walked inside. What she seemed to notice first was that her own sketches, the ones she’d left in Paris, were framed and hung all around the room. She stopped and touched one of them. It was her sketch of the two of them lying in bed together with their legs and arms entwined, basking in the afterglow of their lovemaking. She threw her arms around him and kissed him so passionately he almost lost control. He broke the kiss off, though, and said, “Did you notice what I added to your collection?”

  Emily turned back to take a second look and her head tilted to one side as she took in the framed painting beside her sketch. “You drew stick people.”

  He took her hand in his and ran it over the painting. “3D stick people.”

  She looked around the room, a huge smile spreading across her face as one of his sketches caught her attention. “Does that one have a boner?”

  He wiggled his eyebrows at her, loving that she was reacting to his gift the way he’d hoped she would. “It does. Do you want to feel it?”

  She started laughing softly, then harder and harder until it was impossible not to join her. When she could finally speak, she said, “I love it. I love all of it. And I love you, Asher. I love your bossy side, your goofy side, your sexy side.”

  “Wait, I do not have a goofy side. Take that back.”

  She sidled up to him and grinned. “You drew a stick person with a boner. That’s goofy.”

  He swung her up in his arms. “It was an artist detail that added to the overall ambience of the piece. Besides, you taught me to laugh again, and you’ll pay for that.”

  “Bring it on,” Emily said with a sexy laugh. “Bring it on.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  ‡

  A couple days later, Emily was sipping coffee on the couch in the apartment she now shared with Asher when she noticed a package on the table near the door. It was addressed to Asher and felt like a book. She was curious, but she placed it back on the table.

  “You can read it if you want,” Asher said from behind her.

  Emily swung around. “What is it?”

  Asher pulled her into his arms and hugged her. “Something the Andrades sent me. I skimmed a few pages, but it’s my deceased aunt’s journal. I have no desire to read it.”

  “I might, if you’re sure it’s okay. I wish my family had kept journals.”

  Nuzzling her neck, Asher said, “What’s mine is yours, at least, as soon as you pick a date.”

  She went up on her tiptoes to give him a quick kiss on the lips. “I will. I’m looking for the perfect location.”

  “Pick one soon or I’ll pick one for us.”

  Emily wriggled against him. “I do love it when you talk tough.”

  “What else do you love?”

  Emily ran a hand down his chest, over his flat stomach, and cupped his erection.

  “How much time do we have?”

  “As much as we need,” Asher groaned and claimed her mouth with a kiss that led them back into the bedroom. A while later they were naked and sprawled together on the bed.

  Completely at peace with the world, Emily said, “Do you think your family is worried that we haven’t surfaced from your apartment yet?”

  Asher kissed her bare shoulder. “They’d be more worried if we did. I do need to get back to work, though. Brice is after me for a change. He said—”

  Emily rolled onto her back and stretched, and Asher stopped talking. Emily chuckled. “What did he say?”

  “Who?”

  “Never mind,” Emily said and snuggled back up to Asher. Asher’s business was waiting for him. A construction company in New Hampshire was waiting to discuss their bid with Emily. Neither mattered in that moment. “Why do bees make terrible friends?”

  Asher shook his head. “Why?”

  “Because they’re always too buzzy to do anything with you.”

  Asher met Emily’s eyes and they both started laughing. “That was awful.”

  Emily rolled on top of Asher and joked, “You think you can do better?”

  He looked up at her seriously and said, “Never. You are my life, Emily, always mine. Don’t ever doubt that.”

  Emily looked up at him and shook her head with a smile. She’d known a love like theirs was possible because she had witnessed it from her grandfather, but she’d never dared hope for it for herself. “If I ever do, I’ll look at the painting of you with the boner and—”

  He gave her ass a slap. “Remember that it was drawn with love.”

  Emily laughed and between kisses said, “Yes, that’s what I was going to say.”

  Life was good, but she had a feeling that, with Asher, it would get better and better. Always his? Absolutely.

  THE END

  Be the first to hear about my releases

  By Clicking Here!

  One random newsletter subscriber will be chosen every month in 2015. The chosen subscriber will receive a $100 eGift Card! Sign up today by clicking on the link above!

  Acknowledgements

  I am so grateful to everyone who was part of the process of creating Always Mine. Thank you to:

  Private Daniel Dubois of the Woonsocket, Rhode Island Fire Department, for helping me decide how and what to burn. And his wife, Kathy Dubois, for joining me on this publishing journey. I am so grateful for all you do.

  Nicole Sanders at Trevino Creative Graphic Design for my new cover. You are amazing!

  My very patient beta readers. You know who you are. Thank you for kicking my butt when I need it.

  My editors: Karen Lawson, Janet Hitchcock, and Marion Archer.

  My Roadies for making me smile each day when I log on my computer. So many of you have become friends. Was there life before the Roadies? I’m sure there was, but it wasn’t have as much fun.

  Thank you to my husband, Tony, who is a saint—simple as that.

  Other Books by Ruth

  The Legacy Collection:

  *Also available in audiobook format

  Where my billionaires began.

  Book 1: Maid for the Billionaire (available at all major eBook stores for FREE!)

  Book 2: For Love or Legacy

  Book 3: Bedding the Billionaire

  Book 4: Savi
ng the Sheikh

  Book 5: Rise of the Billionaire

  Book 6: Breaching the Billionaire: Alethea’s Redemption

  Book 7: A Corisi Christmas Novella

  The Andrades

  *Also available in audiobook format

  A spin off series of the Legacy Collection with cameos from characters you love from that series.

  Book 1: Come Away With Me (available at all major eBook stores for FREE!)

  Book 2: Home to Me

  Book 3: Maximum Risk

  Book 4: Somewhere Along the Way

  Book 5: Loving Gigi

  Recipe For Love, An Andrade Christmas Novella

  The Barringtons

  A new, seven book series about the Andrade’s Boston cousins.

  The first series in the Barrington Billionaire WORLD.

  Book 1: Always Mine

  Book 2: Stolen Kisses (Available for Pre-order)

  Book 3: Trade It All (Coming 2016)

  Book 4: Let It Burn (Coming 2016)

  Book 5: More Than Love (Coming 2016)

  Book 6: Forever Now (Coming 2016)

  Book 7: Never Goodbye (Coming 2016)

  *Look for a linked series set in the same world, written by Jeannette Winters (my sister).

  You won’t have to read her series to enjoy mine, but it sure will make it more fun. Characters will appear in both series.

  Author Jeannette Winters

  Book 1: One White Lie (Coming late 2015)

  Book 2: Table for Two

  Book 3: You & Me Make Three

  Book 4: Virgin for the Fourth Time

  Book 5: His for Five Nights

  Book 6: After Six

  My characters also appear in her Betting on You Series in the Billionaire’s Longshot.

  Book 1: The Billionaire’s Secret (FREE!)

  Book 2: The Billionaire’s Masquerade

  Book 3: The Billionaire’s Longshot

  Book 4: The Billionaire’s Jackpot

  Novella: All Bets Off

  Lone Star Burn Series:

  Fun, hot romances that roam from the country to the city and back.

  Book 1: Taken, Not Spurred

  Book 2: Tycoon Takedown

  Book 3: (Coming soon)

  The Temptation Series:

  Guaranteed to put you on Santa’s naughty list.

  Twelve Days of Temptation and Be My Temptation

  Two hot novellas about one sizzling couple.

  Other Books:

  Taken By a Trillionaire

  Ruth Cardello, JS Scott, Melody Anne.

  Three hot fantasies about alpha princes and the women who tame them.

  Author Biography

  Ruth Cardello was born the youngest of 11 children in a small city in northern Rhode Island. She spent her young adult years moving as far away as she could from her large extended family. She lived in Boston, Paris, Orlando, New York—then came full circle and moved back to Rhode Island. She now happily lives one town over from the one she was born in. For her, family trumped the warmer weather and international scene.

  She was an educator for 20 years, the last 11 as a kindergarten teacher. When her school district began cutting jobs, Ruth turned a serious eye toward her second love– writing and has never been happier. When she’s not writing, you can find her chasing her children around her small farm, riding her horses, or connecting with her readers online.

  Contact Ruth:

  Website: RuthCardello.com

  Email: Minouri@aol.com

  FaceBook: Author Ruth Cardello

  Twitter: @RuthieCardello

  Excerpt from Maid for the Billionaire, Book 1 of the Legacy Collection

  Available at all major eBook retailers for FREE!

  Dominic Corisi knew instantly that Abigail Dartley was just the distraction he was looking for, especially since having her took a bit more persuading than he was used to. So when business forces him to fly to China, he decides to take her with him, but on his terms. No promises. No complications. Just sex.

  Abby has always been the responsible one. She doesn’t believe in taking risks; especially when it comes to men – until she meets Dominic. He’s both infuriating and intoxicating, a heady combination. Their trip to China revives a long forgotten side of Abby, but also reveals a threat to bring down Dominic’s company.

  With no time to explain her actions, Abby must either influence the outcome of his latest venture and save his company or accept her role as his mistress and leave his fate to chance. Does she love him enough to risk losing him for good?

  Chapter One

  By dying now, his father had won again. That old bastard.

  Dominic Corisi slammed the door of his black Bugatti Veyron and stepped onto the sun baked Boston sidewalk without giving the million-dollar vehicle a backward glance. The joy of owning it was dead along with his desire to answer the incessant ring of the cell phone he’d ignored since yesterday. Rather than turning it off, he’d muffled the noise by burying the device deep within a coat pocket, maintaining the connection to his life like a distant beacon.

  Despite the oppressive heat, he paused at the bottom stair of his old brownstone. There was nothing spectacular about it, outside of its location near the upbeat Newbury Street. If he remembered correctly, its rooms were small and the main staircase had a creak that he never did get around to fixing. It was nothing like the sprawling mansions he now owned in various countries around the world.

  But it was the closest thing he had to a home.

  His phone rang with a tone he couldn’t ignore. Jake. His second in command would simply call again, killing whatever chance Dominic had of finding a moment of peace inside those brick walls. “Corisi,” he barked into the phone.

  “Dominic, glad I caught you,” Jake Walton said smoothly, as if he hadn’t unsuccessfully rung twenty times in the last two days. That was Jake, calm and professional, even in the storm of hostile takeovers. Nothing fazed the man.

  Normally, Dominic appreciated his even temper, but today it grated on him. Maybe the forty or so hours without sleep were beginning to catch up with him. He fought an impulse to toss his phone over the metal railing. The world wasn’t the orderly, rational place Jake liked to organize it into. It was messy. It was ugly. And, most recently, it lacked justice.

  “How is Boston?”

  The inane question almost sent Dominic over the edge. “How do you think?”

  It was probably too much to hope that Jake’s uncharacteristic silence signaled an end to a conversation Dominic wished he had avoided.

  “We need to discuss the China contract. The Minister of Commerce is expecting to meet with you tomorrow to cement the details. This is your dream, Dominic. By next week, Corisi Enterprises will be a major global player. What do you want me to tell the minister?”

  “I don’t know,” Dominic said wearily.

  Jake made a sound somewhere between a choke and a cough, then was speechless—a revealing response for a man who handled irate international diplomats without missing a step. He was the fixer and navigated the unexpected with ease. Until now.

  Poor Jake. Nothing in their shared history had prepared either of them for Dominic’s sudden desire to withdraw from the world. The creators of financial empires didn’t take sudden vacations and they most certainly didn’t hide, especially not after having laid the groundwork for the single greatest business venture of the century. Bill Gates himself had called last week to discuss the ramifications of the negotiations.

  “Jake, I need to drop off the radar for about a week. Why don’t you take over the China contract?”

  “Okay . . .” Jake said awkwardly. In another situation, Jake’s loss of composure would have been amusing.

  “Can you handle it or not?” Dominic challenged. He could barely think past the throbbing of his headache.

  Maybe coming to Boston was a mistake. It had been here, at seventeen, that he’d walked away from his inheritance and waited tables to fund the search for his mo
ther. Here, in this very brownstone, that he’d cultivated a hatred for a father who had denied both involvement and interest in the disappearance of his wife.

  Jake’s voice slammed Dominic back into the present. “No problem. I’ve followed the progress you’ve made with the Chinese Investment Promotion Agency. They’re eager. I’ll clear my schedule and cover yours. Duhamel will forward all of your calls to me until further notice.”

  “Good.”

  “Dom . . .” Jake hesitated. “It’s normal to need time to grieve. You just lost your father.”

  A harsh laugh escaped Dominic. “Trust me, I’m not grieving his loss.” He leaned a hip on the metal railing and looked up at the building he had instinctively returned to, searching for the man he’d once been and hoping to find something there that would shake off the immobilizing apathy he felt for all he had done since—high expectations for brick and antique wallpaper.

  Jake said, “That’s what worries me. No matter what your plans were or what he once did to you, he’s gone now. You’ve got to let it go.”

  Jake was asking the impossible. Of course the past mattered. Sometimes it was the only thing that did. “Just do your job, Jake. If you can’t handle it, tell me and I’ll promote Priestly to help you.”

  For the second time since they had met at Harvard, Jake lost his temper. “That’s bullshit, Dom. You want to send Priestly to China? Send him. You’re absolutely right—you’ve made me a very rich man. I don’t need this. But heed my warning: you won’t be a billionaire for long if we both step away from the helm. A lot is riding on this contract. The lawsuits alone will freeze your assets if you screw this up. You invested too much of your own and you’re playing with the big boys now. Governments are not very forgiving when it comes to last minute walk outs.”

  The speech should have shaken Dominic, but it barely breached the numbness that had settled in since he’d received the phone call from his father’s lawyer. What did all the money matter anyway? He’d wasted fifteen years amassing an empire that would allow him to throw down a forced buyout contract on his father’s enormous mahogany desk. Dominic should have taken action years ago, but no level of prior success had felt like enough. He’d choreographed the day from both sides, building his company while undermining his father’s, always working toward that one absolute win. Dominic had counted on his father’s desperation finally forcing him to confess what had actually happened to his mother.