TORN: A Billionaire Romance Series (Contemporary Romance Novel)

by Love,Michelle

  She nods and moans, “So ready, Baby!”

  With a loud groan, I spill myself into her, making her scream again.

  Man, I don’t see how I could ever get tired of hearing her scream like this!

  Pulsing inside of her, my body gives her what she was craving. She falls onto the bed, her eyes close. I fall on the bed next to her, my hand spread over the small of her back.

  “I love you, Britt.” I close my eyes and find myself falling fast.

  She mumbles, “I love you, Jason.”

  ***

  The smell of bacon wakes me up and I find myself alone in my bed. Music is playing somewhere. It drifts through the open bedroom door. I can hear her singing along with it.

  I move my hand over the dent in the pillow where she slept the night away. My Brittany made my dreams sweet.

  Rolling out of bed, I go to the shower and find steam covering the mirror. I must’ve been sleeping very hard not to have heard her taking a shower.

  In the steam, she left a message. -Meet me in the kitchen.-

  After a quick rinse, I pull on a robe and pad down the hallway to the kitchen. The smell of bacon leads me like a puppy to her. She smiles as I sniff the air as I enter the kitchen.

  “You don’t want any breakfast, do you?” she asks as she comes toward me waving a piece of the hickory smoked masterpiece.

  “You better have made enough for me, you little tease.” I pull her into my arms and take the bacon out of her hand with my teeth.

  She giggles and runs her arms around me. “I’m not a tease. I made my man a big ol’ plate of food.”

  Sniffing the air again, I ask, “And do I smell coffee?”

  “Maybe. Go sit down and let me get you some.”

  After a long kiss, I let her go and watch her float around the kitchen, making me a cup of coffee and a glass of juice. I lean against the bar as I watch her moving about in one of my T-shirts.

  Dancing up to me, she places a steaming cup of the dark liquid in my hands and leaves a kiss on my cheek. “Enjoy.”

  I grab the bottom of the shirt she has on and pull her back to me. “One more kiss.”

  Her smile makes my heart beat a little harder, then her lips touch mine, and it stirs something inside of me. The sound of my phone ringing in the bedroom has her pulling away from me. “You better go answer that.”

  With a sigh, I turn away from her and go to see who’s calling. As I walk back to the bedroom, I hear her phone ring too. “Seems we both are getting bothered this morning,” I call out.

  She laughs then shouts, “It’s my lawyer.”

  “I hope she has good news,” I shout back as I go into the bedroom.

  My lawyer is calling me as well. “Hello.”

  “Jason, I have great news. The results are in, the kid’s not yours.”

  The wind seems to have been knocked out of me and I sit on the bed. “I talked to Bea last night, and she didn’t tell me she had the test done. The baby’s in the hospital.”

  “I suppose they ran the swab test from there,” he says. “Anyway, you’re off that hook. And if you want my advice, you need to get yourself off the Brittany hook as well. The video was disturbing, to say the least.”

  “Jackson, I know you think you mean well, but I don’t want you to say another word about Britt or that fucking video again.” The coffee is shaking in my hand as I find myself furious at the man.

  I set it down on the nightstand before I spill it everywhere. For the life of me, I can’t figure out why he dislikes her so much.

  “Okay, Jason. Anyway, I made a call to the hospital this morning to check on the results of the injuries to that Elmer guy. He’s fine. They released him after only a few hours of observation. I paid the hospital bill so they couldn’t sue you for that bill. But try to keep your fists to yourself.”

  “Will do. I think I made my point with the little asshole, anyway.” Looking out the window, I see a rain cloud move into the frame. “Guess we have rain today.”

  “Weather?” he asks. “I just gave you some great news and you want to talk about the weather?”

  “If you don’t have anything else for me, I want to go tell Britt about the baby.” I get up and start walking out of the bedroom.

  “That’s all I have for now,” he says. “I’ll call you if I get anything else from that Elmer man. And what about the pre-nup?”

  “Fax the paper over and I’ll have her sign it and have it dropped off to you.”

  “Will do,” he says then I end the call.

  I can hear Brittany’s voice going all high as she says, “He won’t give me a divorce? How’s that? I mean, an annulment should be doable. Shouldn’t it?”

  Her face is red as she paces back and forth. After a minute of her listening to her lawyer, tell her things she doesn’t want to hear, she hangs up and looks completely frustrated.

  “I see you have bad news. I have some good news, though,” I say, taking her attention away from glaring at the phone in her hand.

  Putting it on the bar, she looks at me. “Let me hear it. I need some positive words right now.”

  “The baby isn’t mine.”

  Her face is void of emotion. I think she wanted him to be mine. Then a smile breaks free. “Thank God!”

  She runs to me and I pick her up as she wraps her legs around me and kisses me. I read her completely wrong all this time.

  Her lips leave mine as she peppers my face with little kisses. “Happy, are you?”

  “Ecstatic is more like it!” she gushes. “I was trying to put a good spin on it, but I really wanted to be the one to give you children.” She looks at me with a frown. “Damn that sounds so selfish! Sorry.”

  “Don’t be. I want that too. But we do have the promise I made to Bea about if the real father doesn’t step up,” I remind her.

  “That’s okay. I can deal with that.” She kisses me again. “I can’t complain about anything else since my prayers were answered.”

  “It sounds like mine weren’t, though,” I tell her. “I was asking for a miracle with that marriage to the fuck head.”

  She pauses and seems to be thinking about something then her eyes meet mine. “Did he happen to show you that marriage license?”

  “No.”

  She pulls away from me and goes to pick up her phone. “I need to call my attorney. I just thought about something.”

  “What is it?” I ask as I pick up a piece of bacon off a plate. “And can I eat while you do that?”

  She nods and I start to make me a plate. She smiles at me as I hear her attorney answer her call, “Are you calling to say you’re sorry for hanging up on me, Brittany?”

  “No, I wasn’t. But now that you reminded me, I am sorry. It’s not your fault. But I have a question for you,” she says as she comes and sits in my lap. “Have you seen any marriage license?”

  “No. What are you getting at?”

  “I’m getting at finding out if the little troll is lying. Can’t you call the city of Los Vegas or something like that to find out if one was really issued?”

  Excitement fills her attorney’s voice as she says, “I’ll call you right back!”

  Popping a piece of bacon into Britt’s mouth, I say, “Think it could really be that simple, Pumpkin?”

  “No, but it’s worth a try. You see, I recall a lot about that odd as shit night. But I don’t have the slightest memory of even the littlest wedding.” She opens her mouth and motions for another bite.

  I place a forkful of scrambled eggs in her mouth. “If you aren’t married, what do you say to joining me in Vegas this evening?”

  She chews her food and looks at me as I try to read her thoughts. After she swallows, she shakes her head. “I don’t want to get married in Vegas.”

  “But,” I get out before she places her finger to my lips.

  “I want to get married in the little church in our hometown. Do you remember that we both went to that church when we were little kids?” she ask
s me as she gestures for me to give her another bite.

  A piece of toast seems to satisfy her as I think back to when I was young. “Oh yeah! You and I had Sunday school together. I’m surprised you remembered that. You were around five or six, I guess.”

  “That’s where I want to be able to say I married the man I’ve loved forever. I had a big crush on you that I never told you about. I watched you from afar for many years, Jason.” She picks up my juice glass and takes a long drink.

  “Is that so?”

  She nods and sets the glass back down. “So what do you say to getting married there?”

  “I say, yes. Can I get Mom on that then?” I ask her as her phone rings.

  She holds up one finger as she answers it. “I hope you have good news for me.”

  Her attorney laughs. “Kind of. You are married to the little freak but the great news is it can be annulled. I’m getting the paperwork sent to me and will be signing it for you today. It will be like the marriage never happened.”

  Britt looks at me with a smile. “Call your mom, Baby.”

  She puts the phone down and kisses me. And now I know in just a few months she will carry my last name!

  Chapter 8

  BRITTANY

  “Suck it in, Britt,” Mom says as she pulls the dress together in the back to try again to zip it up.

  “Mom, you can’t suck in when you’re pregnant! Damn it, I knew I should’ve bought another dress for this.”

  My oldest sister comes into the dressing room, carrying a white shawl. “I took this off of Aunt Gertie,” she says as she places it around my shoulders. “Now no one will see the back of the dress. Presto! Maddie to the rescue. As usual, Pipsqueak.” She touches the tip of my nose and smiles like she’s the smartest person in the world.

  “This sucks,” I whine. “I’m starving too. Nothing is going as planned.”

  The door opens as if on cue and in comes the next to the oldest sister, Sharon. “I’ve got a little snack for Your Highness. Cheese and crackers.”

  Grabbing one, I scarf it down. “This kid is going to be just like his daddy, always hungry.”

  Maddie makes a scoffing sound as she shakes her finger at me. “You're only four months pregnant, Britt. With my first baby, I didn’t even show at all until I was about ready to give birth. You’re eating too much.”

  A voice comes from the dressing room next to mine, “No she isn’t, Maddie. Let her eat,” my soon to be husband defends me through the thin wall of the old church.

  “Thanks, Baby,” I call out just before I put another cheesy cracker into my mouth. “You know, no one would ever believe two billionaires are getting married here today. Cheese and crackers and sparkling grape juice for refreshments. I think you guys should’ve taken some of our money to do this thing.”

  Mom shakes her head. “No, Mam. That’s not how we roll, Missy. So you enjoy those crackers and later on after the ceremony, you can have a pimento cheese sandwich your Aunt Felicity brought and some lime sherbet punch your granny made.”

  Jason calls out through the wall again, “Speaking of lime punch, I’m about to get me a cup of that. I’ll meet you at the altar, Pumpkin.”

  “I’ll see you there,” I call out to him.

  Sharon sits in the chair in front of the large mirror and puts on a little bit more mascara. “Maybe John will ask me to marry him during the wedding. I hope so.”

  Mom and Maddie roll their eyes as I blurt out, “Isn’t three marriages enough, Sharon?”

  She narrows her eyes at me through the mirror. “Since none of them worked out, I’d say, no to that question. Thanks for asking, though. And I don’t have any kids yet. Not like Maddie and her brood of six.” She moves her eyes to look at our oldest sister. “Don’t you and Paul have a television, Sister?”

  Mom laughs then quickly stops as Maddie glares at her. “Mother! That’s not funny in the least. Say something to your daughter, please. Every single one of our children is a blessing straight from God.”

  “Yes, Dear,” Mom says then pats Sharon on the shoulder. “Those kids are blessings, Sharon. Don’t make fun of your sister and how she and her husband procreate like rabbits.”

  Maddie’s eyes go wide as she shouts, “Mother!”

  A knock comes to the door and my father’s voice calls out from the other side of it, “Time to go, Britt.”

  The music starts up as the old lady from the church plays the piano. It's ancient and out of tune and it sounds kind of creepy but I like it.

  Mom shoos my sisters out then turns back to hug me. “I love you, Brittany. And for the record, I love Jason too. He’s really changed a lot since he was a young man.”

  “Thanks, Mom.” She lets me go and then my dad is looming in the hallway, waiting for me.

  With a little wave, he says, “Well, come on, Britt-Bratt, let’s get you hitched.”

  “Okay, Daddy.” I take his arm and out we go.

  At the end of the short aisle stands Jason in a very expensive tuxedo. It looks a little odd in this old country church. It’s small and smells kind of musty but the stained glass windows are pretty and it reminds me of home and simple times.

  Each step I take toward him has my heart going a little bit faster. Things worked out for us both. The baby’s real father turned out to be that fry-cook and when my attorney threatened Elmer with a lawsuit and some serious charges, he backed off and signed some paper she made up, stating he’d leave me alone and never attempt to contact me or blackmail me again.

  The sound of thunder makes the little wooden building shake and the sizzling sound of lightning fills the air. Dad stops as the lights blaze then go out. Only the four, slender, white candles behind Jason give any light to the church as it’s nine at night and dark already.

  “Crap,” my great grandfather shouts. He’s deaf and has no idea how loud he talks.

  “Hush, Walter!” my great grandmother shouts at him. She can hardly hear either.

  The woman playing the piano stops playing it and asks, “Does anyone else smell that?”

  Dad takes a long sniff of the air then shouts, “Fire!”

  All of a sudden there’s a stampede of nicely dressed people trying like crazy to be the first ones out the door. I’m frozen as my father tugs at me to go with him. “Come on!”

  Looking over my shoulder, I see Jason with a big frown coming toward me. Letting Dad’s hand go, I turn to Jason who puts his arm around me and pulls me to a side door no one else has seemed to notice.

  “Some wedding huh, Pumpkin?” he says with a little laugh.

  “Do you think this is a sign, Jason,” I ask as I feel very nervous all of a sudden.

  He takes me out into the dark, pulling me close to his side. “A sign? Like for us not to get married? That kind of sigh?”

  “Of course, what other kind of a sign do you think I’d be talking about at a time like this?” I ask as I try to read his expression in the darkness.

  He pulls me along with him, away from the building which I assume is about to burn down right in front of us. “I thought you might be talking about a different sign. A sign that says, getting married indoors isn’t cool. You know that kind of thing. Not that we shouldn’t get married. That’s just crazy thinking, Doodlebug.”

  We all make it out and move away from the little church that doesn’t seem to be on fire at all. Everyone is mumbling and then some of the cars that are parked in front of the church turn their headlights on.

  Several of the men walk around the church and call out randomly, “No fire over here.”

  Jason’s mother grabs his arm. “Oh goodness! We’ve walked all the way out to the cemetery! We’re treading on people’s graves. Hurry, let’s all move.”

  Everyone starts moving away then I feel Jason tug on my hand as he shouts, “Wait! Wait a minute, everyone.” He steps to one side, allowing the headlights to illuminate the headstone we’re standing in front of. He points at it. “Gramps!”

  His grandfa
ther’s grave is what we’re standing on and then another flash of lightning goes sideways in the night sky. It crackles and pops as it moves from one vein of lightning to many veins. The entire graveyard is lit up by the lightning.

  “Would you look at that?” his father says as he walks up beside Jason. “Guess the man wants to be a witness to your marriage, Son.”

  The preacher comes up and asks, “Would you like me to do the ceremony out here then?”

  Jason looks at me. “Would you mind?”

  “Me?” I ask with a high voice. “Of course not.”

  The wedding isn’t going the way I had ever imagined, anyway. Why not have it outside, at night, standing on a man’s grave?

  With a kiss to the side of my head, Jason says, “I knew I was marrying the right girl. Thanks, Gramps.”

  The preacher moves behind the tombstone of Herbert S. Waldrip and starts the ceremony as our families look on. My mother and father stand behind me and Jason’s parents stand behind him.

  I can hear my nieces and nephews running and playing murder in the dark somewhere on the other side of the church as we say our vows. The words that will hold us together through all the storms life throws at us.

  As I say the words, “Till death do us part,” the rain starts to fall in heavy sheets.

  Jason picks me up, gives me a very quick kiss then runs with me to his old pickup truck that he kept all these years at his parents’ house.

  It’s been a very long time since I sat in this truck. The cloth seat is still ripped on the passenger side. It smells like dirt and now a little like mold too. “Wow, what memories we’re making, Jason!”

  He laughs as he starts up the old truck up. Then he looks at me with worry. “Disappointed, Baby?”

  Looking into his big blue eyes, I gauge my feelings about this little wedding of ours. Then I answer, truthfully, “Not one bit.”

  The way he’s looking at me has my body tingling. He strokes the back of my left hand then pulls it to his lips and kisses the rings he’s placed on my finger. “Here we are. The first place I ever kissed you.”

  I nod and wonder what he’s about to do. We used to heat this truck up when we were younger. Another thought goes through my head as I recall he heated this truck up with more than just me.