With a slow smile, he released the nipple and trailed his hand slowly down my torso. Softly, he asked, "Is that a complaint?"
I knew where his hand was heading, and my hips rose in response. On a ragged breath, I said, "Yes."
His tone grew teasing. "Sure, I believe you."
His hand moved lower still, trailing down my stomach. His fingers brushed the tip of my clit, and I gave a whimper of need.
He whispered, "Say it again."
"Say what again?"
"You know."
In my addled state, I wasn't quite sure that I did. "You mean…" I was almost too distracted to think. "Yes?"
Again, his fingers brushed my clit. "That sounded like a question." In a playful tone, he said, "You're not having second thoughts, are you?"
I wasn't even sure what he meant.
Second thoughts about saying yes to his proposal?
Or second thoughts about my complaint that he wasn't naked?
I wasn't sure, and I was finding it hard to think. I had to ask, "Second thoughts about what?"
"This," he said, teasing that special spot with his fingers.
I gave a little whimper. "Nope. No second thoughts here."
"So… say it."
I breathed, "Yes."
He rewarded me with a series of little circles up and around that swollen nub. "So," he said in a tone that was almost conversational, "tell me what happened."
My mind was growing fuzzier with every passing moment. "What do you mean?"
"I want to know…" he said, stroking me just the way I liked, "… just what upset you."
Right now, our stupid argument was the furthest thing from my mind. Somehow, I managed to say, "You mean aside from the work thing?"
"Yeah, aside from that." His fingers were still working their magic. "I wanna know."
With renewed desperation, I lifted my hips. Already, I was wet and aching for him. Cripes, I'd probably been wet from the moment he'd undressed me and lowered me onto the bed with a kiss that had me yearning for more.
In my mind, I could still taste his lips, warm and sweet against my own. Somehow, I managed to say, "Upset? Me?"
Jaden gave a slow nod. "Yeah. And I wanna know why."
I breathed, "I'll tell you later."
He shook his head. "No. You're gonna tell me before." He didn't need to say before what. I knew exactly what.
What a total tease.
I protested, "Why before?"
"Because I wanna know."
"You mean now?"
"Yeah," he said, rewarding me with more of those little circles, followed by a long finger deep inside me. I loved every single one of his fingers, but they weren't what I wanted. Or at least, they weren't the only thing I wanted. With renewed desperation, I reached for the button of his jeans.
He edged back and teased, "No cheating."
"That's not cheating," I protested. "You're the one playing dirty."
He lowered his head and pressed his lips close to my ear. In a voice filled with sin, he said, "If you think this is dirty, you ain't seen nothin' yet."
A warm shudder ran through me, and I blurted out, "I know that you and Jax own this apartment. And…" I took a deep breath. "…The rent." I shook my head. "It's too low, like way too low." My hips rose when he rewarded me with another finger. In the middle of a moan, I murmured, "And I'm pretty sure I'm overpaid, too."
He gave a low chuckle. "Is that it?"
"What do you mean 'Is that it?'"
"That?" he scoffed. "It's nothing."
"I, um…" Oh, God. What was he doing now? It felt so damn good. I murmured, "It is, too."
"Nah," he said. "That's pennies."
"It's not pennies. It's…um…" Oh wow. Now, he was tracing my clit with his thumb, even as his fingers moved inside me.
"It's nothing," he repeated. "But you know what?"
"What?"
His voice was a warm caress. "You're everything."
"Me?"
"Yeah. You." He smiled. "Everything I never knew I wanted." With that, he lowered his head and took my nipple into his mouth. His teeth closed ever so slightly, giving me a nibble that made me ache in the best possible way, below my waist.
If I didn't have him like now, I felt like I'd explode into a million pieces.
Against my skin, he asked, "Anything else?"
"Yes," I laughed. "If I don't have you now, I think I'm gonna die."
He sounded highly amused. "Die, huh?"
"Yes," I insisted. "And it'll be messy, too, like with blood and guts and, I dunno, brains and whatever other stuff."
He pulled back to gaze into my eyes. "I love it when you talk dirty."
His fingers were still moving so enticingly inside me. As my hips rose and fell, I reached out with one hand. "How's this for dirty?" I snagged the waist of his jeans and yanked him closer. "If you don't take off those jeans right now, I swear, I'll…" Oh, God. His thumb brushed my clit, and my words ended on a low whimper.
He smiled. "You were saying?"
He looked so smug, that I couldn’t help but laugh even through my desire. "You're awful."
"Nah," he said. "I'm the best."
And he was.
Soon, he proved this beyond a shadow of a doubt by shedding his jeans, along with his briefs, and giving me exactly what I wanted.
Him.
His body was warm and hard, and when our hips met, I gave a happy sigh. "Finally."
He pulled out half-way and teased, "Was that a complaint?"
"No," I blurted. "Definitely not." I reached around with both hands and grabbed his ass. I yanked him tight against me and gave a little moan of pleasure when his length filled me completely.
He lifted his head and whispered, "I love the way you sound."
I smiled up at him. "I love the way you look. And sound. And feel."
Now he was smiling, too. "Yeah? Well, there's more where that came from." And with that, he kissed me hard and moved against me in earnest.
Over and over, our hips collided, and our lips met, and the world seemed to stop spinning as he delivered on every cocky promise he'd ever made.
I loved him.
And he loved me.
How on Earth did that happen?
With deep, trembling breaths, we climaxed at nearly the same time, leaving me warm and tingling all over.
Afterward, as he cradled me in his arms, I couldn't resist saying, "You owe me, you know."
"Oh yeah? What?"
"Well," I began, "I told you all sorts of things, so you should tell me something in return."
With a smile in his voice, he asked, "Like what?"
"I'm not sure," I said. "Something that I don't know."
"Alright," he said, smoothing a stray lock of hair from my face, "you remember when we met?"
"How could I forget?" I laughed. "You were awful."
"Yeah. And you wanna know why?"
"Why?"
"Because," he said, "you were so fucking cute."
I made a sound of exasperation. "Cute? Not hardly."
"You were, too," he said with a laugh. "You looked like you wanted to kick my ass. It was so fucking adorable, it scared the shit out of me."
"I was not adorable," I protested. "I was a mess."
"Yeah, a hot mess." His voice warmed. "Shit, I wanted to gather you up and take you home."
"But you were home."
"Yeah, and I left the door open, didn't I?"
"Oh sure, to torment me." I gave him a playful swat to the shoulder. "Like that whole thing about you and Jax taking turns with Cassidy. You were such an ass."
"Eh, that was bullshit," he said. "Something to get a rise out of you."
"Well, you certainly did that."
"Yeah, and I'll be doing it again." With playful doom in his voice, he added. "For years."
Now, I couldn’t help but giggle. "You promise?"
To my infinite delight, he did.
Chapter 75
; We were still lying naked in my bed when I heard the door to the apartment open and then slam shut a moment later.
I tensed. "Oh, crap."
"If that's another guy," Jaden teased, "he's about to get his ass kicked."
"Oh, stop it," I whispered. "You know who it is. She must've gotten off work early."
For weeks now, I'd been wanting to tell Cassidy about me and Jaden. And yet, I'd kept putting it off – sometimes to spare her the worry, and sometimes, if I were being totally honest, because I wasn't quite sure how to break it to her.
After all, she still thought I hated him.
And now, I didn't know what to do.
I especially didn't know what to do when I heard another voice join hers. "Oh, my God," I said. "It's your brother."
I pulled back to give Jaden a look. "Be honest. Does he know about us?"
Jaden grinned. "I might've mentioned it."
"When?"
"I dunno. Maybe a month ago."
Now, I was staring. "A whole month? And you never told me?"
"Hell no," he said. "You were crazy enough as it was."
I knew what he meant. I had been pretty crazy in my determination to keep our relationship a secret. Still, I gave him a playful push and then stifled a gasp when something on the edge of the bed slid off and thudded to the floor.
A shoe?
I didn't know, and it hardly mattered now, because the voices in the living room had gone suddenly silent.
I whispered, "Do you think they heard?" Before he could even think to reply, I said, "Oh, crap. The door."
"What door?"
I pointed. "My bedroom door. I didn’t lock it."
As I made a move to get up, Jaden said, "Stay. I'll get it." True to his word, he climbed off the bed and headed straight toward the bedroom door.
He'd gotten barely halfway when after a single knock, the door flew open, and Cassidy stood in the now-open doorway.
She gasped.
I gasped.
Whether Jaden gasped or not, I had no idea. If he did, the sound was completely drowned out by Cassidy's frantic apology, followed almost instantly by the sound of her slamming the door shut so hard that the walls literally shook.
Soon, that wasn't the only thing shaking. Embarrassed or not, I was shaking with laughter, especially when Jaden turned and gave me a look that said it all. "You're in big trouble."
I was in trouble, because I was about to marry the most impossible person I'd ever met, who, as it turned out, was absolutely perfect.
For me, anyway.
Epilogue
We were married in Hawaii the very next month. Aside from it being one of my favorite places in the whole world, it apparently was supposed to have been the site of Jaden's proposal – or so he told me the day after we'd gotten officially engaged.
Yes, that's why he'd invited me to Hawaii, to pop the question in a place that I'd always loved. It was sweet and wonderful, and yet, I felt awful for ruining it, until he reminded me that I could always make it up to him on the honeymoon, if I were so inclined.
Oh yeah. I was inclined, alright, as Jaden learned for himself.
In the end, I decided that the proposal was perfect just the way it was, especially after Cassidy gave me happy news of her own regarding a certain somebody whose last name was also Bishop.
During the month between the proposal and our wedding, we finally had the chance to get our families together – his and mine.
Mine was the easy one. Oh sure, they were scattered across the country, but at least we all got along. And, with Jaden insisting on paying the way, getting everyone together was easier than ever before.
When it came to Jaden's family, that was a little more complicated, even after I explained everything that Luna had told me during that fateful visit over coffee. But in the end, the brothers worked it all out, and I was delighted to see all of them not only attending our wedding, but also catching up after all those years apart.
As far as Darla, I finally learned why she decided to like me after all. It wasn't because of anything Jaden told her, but rather because in a strange twist of fate, my telling off Luna had earned me a special place in Darla's heart – a place reserved exclusively for people who stick up for anyone who Darla happens to love.
And she definitely loves "her boys."
Does she love me? I'm still not sure. But she did mention on our wedding day that I was almost like a daughter to her – in her words, "maybe a niece, because it takes a while to work up to daughter-level."
That was fine by me, having been blessed with amazing parents of my own.
As for Darla's real daughter, she finally gave up on both brothers and set her sights elsewhere – on a local musician who loves Morgan just the way she is.
Heaven help him.
As far as my job, I never did officially quit. Rather, I stayed on, at least for now, if only to make my new husband crazy.
Or should I say crazier?
Just like he's always made me.
The End
Fun Books & Bonuses
Starring Cassidy & Jax
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Cassidy McAllister's having a very bad night when a handsome stranger crashes to her cocky rescue. Oh sure, she was almost roadkill, and her mom's sugar daddy is on the prowl, but all of that fades to oblivion when the stranger whisks her away to a world of money, mansions, and jealous gingers.
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Zane Bennington, he was the guy who'd been making my life miserable for weeks. He was a prick. A jerk. A stone-cold ruthless bastard with no redeeming qualities whatsoever – well, except for his face. And his body. And yeah, maybe his massive fortune. But other than that, the guy had zero going for him. The only upside? He hated me as much as I hated him. Or so I thought…
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© Copyright 2019 by Sabrina Stark
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, businesses, characters and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, actual events or locales is purely coincidental.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
&nb
sp; Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Epilogue
One Bad Idea: A Billionaire Loathing-to-Love Romance Page 31