The hospital room is pristine white, and one of the nurses brought in all the flowers she could find before standing up as a witness. I kiss Archer once, gently because I don’t want to hurt him. And then we’re married, and even though it’s the world’s smallest, least-planned wedding, I’m the happiest bride on Earth when I see the look of pure love on Archer’s bandaged face.
“And I now pronounce you the interim CEO of Archer Industries,” says the lawyer after the room clears and he reads through some papers.
“Sorry, interim what of what?” I mumble.
“Oh, I thought you told her,” says the lawyer, glancing at Archer and then back at me.
“You can tell her. My jaw hurts too much from smiling,” Archer says through a goofy grin that I know he’s paying for with pain.
The lawyer clears his throat and glances at the papers again. “Well, Miss—I mean Mrs. Archer. When you briefly stepped out of the room to freshen up before the um, wedding, Mister Archer told me that once you two were married, you would become an equal owner of Archer Industries. A co-CEO, if you will. And since Mister Archer is currently indisposed, you are in charge of Archer Industries.” He pauses a moment, looks up at me with a gleam in his eye, and then nods with real respect. “You’re the boss now, Angie. You’re the boss.”
10
ONE YEAR LATER
ANGIE
“I guess I’m not the boss when it comes to feeding time,” I say to my hungry twin daughters Abby and Ada as they claw at my milk-laden boobs, latching on to my nipples that have been bitten red and raw—and not just from baby-mouths.
“Chill out a little, big-shot CEO,” drawls Archer from his hammock hanging over the black marble porch of our sleek, modern mansion just outside of town. He’s shirtless, and I sigh when I see the scars and stitches that are faded but will never go away.
Other than that Archer is mostly healed, though, and I thank the heavens every day for that. Among other things for which I'm grateful, of course—my healthy (and hungry) twin girls topping that list of wonderful things in my life that really is a fairy-tale now.
A modern-day fairy-tale, of course. One in which the secretary is now the boss and the boss is half-naked in a hammock, relaxed and grinning because he hasn’t stepped into the office in three months.
Not since our girls were born.
“Easy for you to say, Stay-at-Home CEO,” I shoot back. “You know, your carefully cultivated reputation as a workaholic loner and the devil himself is taking a serous hit now that it turns out you’re a stay-at-home father to two perfect angels. Ouch! Hey, kids! You're supposed to be angels! Ease up on Mommy’s boobs, Abby! You too, Ada!”
“That’s my girl, Abby! Bite harder, Ada!” Archer yells, clapping his hands and almost falling out of the hammock. Then he lowers his sunglasses and looks at my exposed cleavage, licks his lips at the milk oozing down my heavy breasts. “But leave some for Daddy, all right, girls? Daddy needs some too. Daddy needs a lot.”
“Daddy needs to dial it back before his girls are old enough to realize that he’s a pervert,” I scold, blinking as I see Archer’s cock peak his loose silk pajamas. I know what’s coming after the girls are done feeding.
Yes, I know what’s coming.
I know that even though Archer has diverted his energy and drive into enjoying fatherhood, raising his girls as he rehabs from his accident, he’s still that alpha beast who yearns to dominate, he’s still that arrogant CEO who summoned me to his office and declared I was his, his alone, his always, his forever.
And I am his.
I always was his.
And this was always forever . . .
Even when I walked away.
∞
EPILOGUE
FORTY YEARS LATER
ANGIE
“Don’t you dare walk away from me,” comes his voice from the living room, where the entire Archer clan was gathered just an hour earlier before everyone called it a night. All nine of our children, and another twelve of their children! God, talk about exponential expansion!
Archer’s in the TV-alcove off to the side of the main room, and I can see him fumbling with what looks like an old-fashioned gizmo of some sort. I sigh and walk over to him—slowly, of course. My legs don’t work like they used to. My hips creak a little after birthing all those kids—not to mention handling the incessant sex drive of my man who seems to age everywhere but between his legs. Thank heavens for small mercies.
“Or big mercies,” I mutter when I see the way his trousers are tented, see the look in his green eyes that haven’t lost that sparkle as we travelled down the twisted path of our fate, followed our destiny through forty years of ups and downs, twists and turns, tears and laughter. “What on earth are you doing with the TV, Archer? What is that thing in your hand?”
Archer raises a gray eyebrow and glances down at his erection. “In the old days we called it a cock. And it’s not in my hand. Though it will be in your mouth soon, if I have my way.”
I gasp and snort at the same time, looking around to make sure the kids didn’t hear. Of course, they’ve heard worse over the years. Maybe that’s why all our kids are so comfortable with sex, with the simple truth that sex within a loving relationship has no boundaries, can take the lovers to places that love alone can’t, that sex is a healthy part of love, an important part of love.
I shake my head as I think back forty years, to the day I stood outside the CEO’s dark office, shivering like a little girl. I think about how I’d considered myself a non-sexual person until the moment I walked through that door, entered his presence, the presence of the man I was meant to be with, a man who showed me who I was, what I was capable of being.
“Don’t TVs have USB ports anymore?” he grumbles, finally turning to me and holding up the little stick that looks about as outdated as the two of us are.
“Honey, they aren’t even called TVs anymore,” I say with a chuckle. Then I look over towards the shelves in the corner. “Here. I think there’s an old computer that has a jack on it. There we go. Plug it in right there.”
“That’s what she said,” Archer says with a wicked grin, the lines on his face reminding me of the places we’ve been together, the places he’s been . . .
“What are we watching, by the way?” I say, giggling at his lame joke and then squinting at the computer screen.
Archer doesn’t reply. Instead he walks over and draws the thick black curtains of the alcove, giving us some privacy from the rest of our brood. He’s still got that look in his eyes, and when the computer screen lights up with an image that takes me back forty years, I almost die from shock.
“You did not keep this video,” I say as my face goes red with both shame and excitement when I see my younger self walk into Aran Archer’s office, shaking like a leaf, shivering like a schoolgirl, yet steady like someone who knew that she was stepping towards her forever.
“Told you I’d pull it out when we were old and gray,” Archer says. He glances at his erection and winks at me. “The video, I mean.”
“OK, your dick jokes are getting worse and worse,” I say, shaking my head and giggling as I settle in on the big leather couch that was just the scene of a wholesome family viewing party and is shortly going to be a very different, far less wholesome scene. “And you also said you’d put it on with all our kids and pets in the room.”
“I can wake them up,” he whispers. “I got no shame in showing the kids how Daddy claims Mommy, how Grandpa shows Grandma who’s in charge, who’s the king, who’s the goddamn boss.”
“No,” I whisper as I watch myself and Archer meet for the first time, watch myself from above, get taken back to that dark awakening that pulled me kicking and screaming to a future that’s full of light.
“No,” I say again as I feel that beautiful darkness descend upon us like it’s always been there, always
will be there, is a part of us. “This is just for us, Archer. Just the two of us. Just like it was forty years ago. Just like it still is. Just like it’ll always be.”
Just the two of us.
Always and forever.
∞
FROM THE AUTHOR
Hope you liked that one. Thought I'd try something a bit . . . tamer? Was that a more "normal" romance? Do you guys even want me to write more normal romances . . . ;)
Just kidding. Those who've been reading me for years know that I'm gonna do what I do.
Hopefully they're all fun.
Lots of fun in store for 2020. But in case you missed some of the fun from 2019:
Taken on Thanksgiving
Captive for Christmas
Night Before New Years
THE CURVY FOR HIM SERIES
The Teacher and the Trainer
The Librarian and the Cop
The Lawyer and the Cowboy
The Princess and the Pirate
The CEO and the Soldier
The Astronaut and the Alien
The Quilter and the Quarterback
The Botanist and the Biker
The Psychic and the Senator
And don't forget my full-length novel series: CURVES FOR SHEIKHS and CURVES FOR SHIFTERS!
Finally, do join my private list to get five never-been-published forbidden epilogues from my SHEIKHS series.
Love,
Anna.
[email protected]
PS: For my international readers:
Annabelle in UK
Annabelle in CA
Annabelle in AU
∞
BY ANNABELLE WINTERS
THE CURVES FOR SHEIKHS SERIES (USA)
Curves for the Sheikh
Flames for the Sheikh
Hostage for the Sheikh
Single for the Sheikh
Stockings for the Sheikh
Untouched for the Sheikh
Surrogate for the Sheikh
Stars for the Sheikh
Shelter for the Sheikh
Shared for the Sheikh
Assassin for the Sheikh
Privilege for the Sheikh
Ransomed for the Sheikh
Uncorked for the Sheikh
Haunted for the Sheikh
Grateful for the Sheikh
Mistletoe for the Sheikh
Fake for the Sheikh
THE CURVES FOR SHIFTERS SERIES (USA)
Curves for the Dragon
Born for the Bear
Witch for the Wolf
Tamed for the Lion
Taken for the Tiger
THE CURVY FOR HIM SERIES (USA)
The Teacher and the Trainer
The Librarian and the Cop
The Lawyer and the Cowboy
The Princess and the Pirate
The CEO and the Soldier
The Astronaut and the Alien
The Quilter and the Quarterback
The Botanist and the Biker
The Psychic and the Senator
THE CURVY FOR THE HOLIDAYS SERIES (USA)
Taken on Thanksgiving
Captive for Christmas
Night Before New Years
THE CURVY FOR KEEPS SERIES (USA)
Bargain for the Boss
Given to the Groom
THE CURVES FOR SHEIKHS SERIES (UK)
Curves for the Sheikh (UK)
Flames for the Sheikh (UK)
Hostage for the Sheikh (UK)
Single for the Sheikh (UK)
Stockings for the Sheikh (UK)
Untouched for the Sheikh (UK)
Surrogate for the Sheikh (UK)
Stars for the Sheikh (UK)
Shelter for the Sheikh (UK)
Shared for the Sheikh (UK)
Assassin for the Sheikh (UK)
Privilege for the Sheikh (UK)
Ransomed for the Sheikh (UK)
Uncorked for the Sheikh (UK)
Haunted for the Sheikh (UK)
Grateful for the Sheikh (UK)
Mistletoe for the Sheikh (UK)
Fake for the Sheikh (UK)
THE CURVES FOR SHIFTERS SERIES (UK)
Curves for the Dragon (UK)
Born for the Bear (UK)
Witch for the Wolf (UK)
Tamed for the Lion (UK)
Taken for the Tiger (UK)
THE CURVY FOR HIM SERIES (UK)
The Teacher and the Trainer (UK)
The Librarian and the Cop (UK)
The Lawyer and the Cowboy (UK)
The Princess and the Pirate (UK)
The CEO and the Soldier (UK)
The Astronaut and the Alien (UK)
The Quilter and the Quarterback (UK)
The Botanist and the Biker (UK)
The Psychic and the Senator (UK)
THE CURVY FOR THE HOLIDAYS SERIES (UK)
Taken on Thanksgiving
Captive for Christmas
Night Before New Years
THE CURVY FOR KEEPS SERIES (UK)
Bargain for the Boss
Given to the Groom
AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE (USA)
AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE (UK)
ANNA'S WEBSITE
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ANNA'S GOODREADS
ANNA'S BOOKBUB
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Summoned by the CEO Page 6