“In case Tom comes back, right?”
“Exactly.”
“Ok, I’ll do it.”
“Perfect. Meet me at the office at three, and I’ll go down with you to the precinct.”
“Thanks, Kevin,” I replied before hanging up the phone. I tossed it onto the couch and sighed. Of course this wasn’t going to be easy. It was never going to be. But it would be for the best. I kept telling myself that.
Sure enough, when I reported the breach of the restraining order, I was pretty sure the cop thought I was making it up once I mentioned the timeline. I explained why I left, that I was terrified, and thought it was the best option, but I could tell he didn’t believe me. Still, at least he took the report, at Kevin’s urging, and promised to pass it on to a supervisor who would take care of it.
My complaint was in writing, and that was what mattered, I kept reminding myself.
Still, the stress was eating at me. I knew Blake could tell, and I knew he was worried. Finally, one night we were eating dinner and he told me we were going away for a holiday for a few days.
“I can tell you need a break. I can’t spare much time from work, so it’ll just have to be a long weekend, but I’m going to take you somewhere nice, where you can relax, ok?”
“That sounds great,” I smiled, filled with appreciation and gratitude. I loved that Blake always knew exactly what was perfect for me at any given time. “Where are we going?”
“I was thinking somewhere warm. So obviously, Grand Cayman Island came to mind,” he replied with a wink, and I could have sworn I was going to pass out right then and there.
“Oh my God! Awesome!” I exclaimed. I couldn’t wait to go back to the location of the best week of my life.
“We’re leaving in the morning, so you’d better pack your things,” Blake told me. Our flight back leaves Sunday night.
“I can’t wait. Thank you, Blake. You’re so thoughtful. I really need this,” I told him with a smile.
Twelve hours later Mike was driving us to the airport for the early morning flight over to the Caribbean. Blake suggested we sleep on the plane to maximize the day, and I thought it was a great idea. The one good thing about driving through New York at six in the morning was that traffic was pretty light.
We drove to the airport, but instead of following the signs to the terminal, Mike turned us down a service road.
“Wait, where are we going,” I asked Blake.
“To the plane,” he replied. A minute or two later we arrived at a hangar with a Gulfstream sitting in the middle, and I’m pretty sure my jaw dropped to the floor.
“Holy shit,” were the words that came out of my mouth, and Blake laughed.
“Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, I don’t really fly commercial.”
“No kidding,” I replied as we got out of the car. I felt like a rock star as I climbed the steps into the private jet. All this moment needed was a crowd of ecstatic teenagers shouting my name. When I got to the top of the steps, I couldn’t help myself. I turned and waved at the imaginary crowd, causing Blake to burst out into laughter as he waited behind me.
“Oh, like you’ve never done that before,” I teased, poking my tongue out at him as I turned back around and into the plane.
“You know, I can say with complete and total honesty that I haven’t,” he replied. I stepped into the plane and was immediately greeted by the pilot, who introduced himself as Greg, and Carmen, the flight attendant. I couldn’t believe there was going to be a flight attendant there just for the two of us.
I leaned back in one of the plush leather seats.
“Man, I’m never going to be able to fly economy again,” I muttered as I closed my eyes, suddenly realizing just how easy it was going to be to have a nap in a plane like this.
“You’ll never have to, if you stick with me,” Blake replied with a wink.
“Well now that I have a reason to stick around…”I joked as Carmen brought us a couple coffees from the espresso machine at the front of the plane. I passed on mine and instead asked for a blanket, which Carmen immediately brought, and decided to get some sleep.
Unfortunately I didn’t get to enjoy the luxurious cabin of Blake’s private jet for too long, as the soft, rhythmic sound of the engines outside lulled me to sleep pretty quickly, and I didn’t wake up again until Blake softly shook my shoulder, telling me we were about to land in Georgetown.
As the cabin door opened and a blast of warm air hit me, I knew this was the perfect way to relax and try and forget about the stresses that were eating me up back in New York. A man was waiting with a car to take us back to the resort, though it wasn’t Louis this time, and to my surprise, we pulled up twenty minutes later to the Grand Isis resort.
“Wow, same place!” I muttered as we were led into the most luxurious place I had ever stayed once again. We were taken in to reception, where Leilani checked us in once more.
“It’s so nice to see two of our former guests return,” she commented, and I was impressed by her memory of the two of us. Well, Blake maybe not, but since I had just come as the guest of a radio station, I hadn’t expected her to remember me at all.
As soon as we got into the villa, Blake and I changed into our swim clothes and went out to the beach. I ran into the water with him, giddy like a little schoolgirl. I had missed the water. I mean sure, New York had rivers, and the ocean was nearby, but it wasn’t like this ocean. Pure, warm, turquoise water that you just felt you could stay in forever. This was what the beach was supposed to be like.
We stayed in the water for a while, until both of us realized we were completely starving. Getting fresh seafood at the restaurant, we planned on spending the afternoon tanning by the pool with some drinks, then going out to dinner that night.
To call this place paradise was an understatement. Dinner that night was wonderful, we went to Cay West once again, and this time I had packed appropriately. Then, Blake and I spent the whole night in bed before waking up late in the morning, having brunch by the beach, and then doing a couples trip to the spa. As the masseuse worked the stress out of my muscles I could practically feel myself melting to the floor.
“So what are we doing tomorrow?” I asked Blake as we strolled along the beach late at night, hand in hand.
“It’s a surprise. But I have it all planned out. All you need to know is it involves your bathing suit.”
“Ooh, I can’t wait,” I replied. Everything about this island was perfect. Everything about this weekend was perfect. Blake had even told me he decided we would spend Sunday night at the resort, and fly back early Monday instead of late Sunday as well. Just for me. I loved him so much, and as we made love that night, with him tying me to the headboard as he had that first night, I knew I had found the perfect man.
* * *
When I woke up the next day, I was surprisingly excited about the day’s adventure, considering I had no idea what it was going to entail.
“Oh man, that massage yesterday was perfect,” I muttered as I got up out of bed and stretched. I felt so good, so rejuvenated. I could just tell today was going to be amazing.
“It really was,” Blake replied as he sat on the edge of the bed. I looked back at his sculpted back and smiled at the fact that I was the only woman on the planet who got to enjoy that body.
A couple minutes later, there was a knock at the door.
“Oh, yeah, I ordered breakfast already,” Blake told me as he went to get the door. He came back with a tray, and also some boxes.
“What’s in the boxes?” I asked, curious. Surely it was way too much food for us to have just for breakfast.
“Lunch. We’re not going to be around, so I had them pack up some sandwiches and other little goodies for us.”
“Well speaking of, do I get to know what we’re doing yet?”
“Nope, it’s still a surprise. Though now you know we’re not going to be within eating distance of the resort,” Blake replied.
We ate breakf
ast at the table in the villa’s enormous kitchen that was obviously never used, then got ready to go.
“So what’s the dress code for today?” I asked, trying to both figure out what I should wear and get a hint as to what we were doing.
“Just casual. But bring your bathing suit, too. You know, just in case.”
Twenty minutes later we were out the door. I followed Blake as he carried the boxes with our lunch in them, until finally we arrived at the marina. Blake led me straight past the huge resort boats to a small yacht, probably about fifty feet long. Still, what it didn’t have in size, the boat made up for in luxury. Blake helped me step on and I went down to a cabin with plush leather seats, a big screen TV, a large fridge and a small table.
“I thought we could go out sailing today,” Blake told me. “And I’m going to teach you how to scuba dive.”
“What? Really?”
“Yeah. Definitely. I saw how excited you were when we saw the animals when snorkelling, and scuba is even cooler than that. It’s actually not that hard.”
I squealed with delight and joined Blake on the top deck. He seemed to know exactly what he was doing, and a couple of minutes later we were off, jetting away from the marina towards the big, empty sea beyond.
Rather than gunning it, Blake kept the boat at a comfortable cruising pace. I sat down on the seat next to his driver’s seat and let the wind whip my hair around, let it hit my face, along with the occasional mist from a larger-than-usual wave.
I laughed as we made our way past tiny little islands, not big enough for anyone to live on, and got further and further away from Grand Cayman. Eventually Blake cut the engine and set down the anchor.
“So, ready to learn how to dive?”
“Am I ever!”
Blake brought out a couple of wetsuits and the scuba tanks.
“They’ll be really heavy, so be careful, but once you’re in the water they’ll feel weightless,” he told me as he strapped me into my oxygen tank. After a ten minute lesson, I took a deep breath and jumped off the edge of the boat.
At first I held my breath, instinct telling me not to breathe when I was underwater, but then I slowly let out a breath and took one in through the mask.
I sounded like Darth Vader, but sure enough, air filled my lungs and I exhaled, trying to do so slowly, as Blake had told me.
A second later I felt him splash into the water next to me. He emptied the air from my lifevest and we made our way under the water. I followed behind Blake as he led me under the waves to the most amazing coral reef I’d ever seen in my life. Thousands of fish, of every color of the rainbow darted in and out of the coral, an eel slithered along the bottom of the sea floor and the sunlight glistened through the waves, making everything look ethereal.
Blake had been right, this was a million times better than snorkelling. When scuba diving I felt like I was part of the water, like I belonged here with the fish. Blake took my hand and led me along, we watched as an octopus darted past and into some rocks.
It felt like we’d only been under for a few minutes when Blake checked my oxygen levels and took me back to the boat. We climbed back on board and collapsed on the deck. Scuba diving was harder than I thought! It was so incredibly fun though, I hadn’t realized how tired I was until I got back on deck.
Blake brought out the boxes of food from the resort and we ate our picnic on the top deck of the yacht, while the sun beat down on us and the crystal waters rocked us gently.
I could feel myself starting to get sleepy, just from the slow rocking of the waves, and I closed my eyes for a minute, just to rest and get my head back together.
When I opened my eyes, Blake was in front of me, on one knee, with an open jewellery box in his hand. It was like what he was doing didn’t register with me for a while. I just stared at the box, at him, until he spoke.
“Julia, when you left, it made me realize something. I can’t live without you. I don’t want to live without you. I will do whatever it takes to spend the rest of my life with you, and I hope you feel the same way. I love you. Will you marry me?”
“Yes. Oh my God, yes!” I hadn’t even thought about the words. They just came out. But I knew they were exactly what I wanted to say. I would absolutely marry Blake. The next thing I knew he was slipping the ring on my finger. I admired the single diamond set in gold, and it glistened in the Caribbean sun.
“Is this really happening?” I whispered almost to myself.
“It is,” Blake replied, and the smile on his face couldn’t come close to matching the one on mine. I was so thrilled. I hadn’t seen this coming at all. I hadn’t imagined in a million years that this was going to happen.
“Fiancé,” I said, trying it out on my tongue. It felt good. I smiled to myself. I liked it.
“Fiancée,” Blake repeated, and we smiled at each other like two lovesick teenagers.
I wrapped my arms around him, and we fell into a heap, making love right there on the deck of the boat, with the Caribbean sun shining down on us.
* * *
I don’t think we stopped making love, except to sail back to shore, until very early the next morning. Then, we were driven back to the airport, and the next thing we knew we were back on a flight to New York. Blake and I fell asleep hand in hand as we soared back towards America.
Our first night back, Blake gave me even better news: while we were gone, Tom had been caught by security he had hired trying to get into our apartment, and was now being charged with a multitude of offenses, including break and enter, and illegal possession of a firearm. He wasn’t going to be out of prison for a long, long time. Blake was going to make sure of that.
“What if we had been here, though?” I asked, still worried.
“Well, we weren’t, and that’s what security was for. He didn’t get near the place. Don’t worry. And now he’s locked up, for good. He’s not going to be able to hurt you anymore, Julia.”
As I fell asleep in Blake’s arms that night, I slept more soundly than ever before. I had a wedding to plan. It had been a whirlwind few months, but I knew Blake and I would now be happily married for the rest of our lives.
“Owned”
Some Like It Rough Series
By Amy Aday
“Owned” is a limited edition novella comprised of the first few stories in the series, Some Like It Rough. This novella includes the full serial stories: “Losing It (Prequel),” “Snow Day with Her Professor (Book 1),” “Owned by Her Professor (Book 2),” as well as the intro scene in “Control: Domination and Submission.”
Summary:
Selena is the last virgin in her class. Her first night with her high school sweetheart, Todd can only prove to be magical. What she doesn’t expect are the things that she comes to learn about her beloved once she has given herself to him. Can she forgive and forget or will she leave him behind as she ventures out on her own quest for fulfillment elsewhere?
Then in college, Selena finds herself stranded on the side of the road during an impending blizzard. She is grateful when her rather hot literature professor happens along and offers to help. They end up at his place waiting for the storm to pass. But soon, the college freshman finds it hard to resist her sexy, older and more experienced professor. Will he give in to her? And if he does, will she be able to handle what he has in mind?
Selena is stranded at the home of her handsome literature professor during the blizzard. After an amazing night of passion, they continue down a path of carnal pleasures that they know they should not be traveling.
As the snow continues to hold them snowbound, Selena finds her sexuality explored in a way that guys her own age just can’t offer her. Trouble is, what happens when the snow melts? She soon learns that he has secrets, another side of him that she doesn’t know if she can trust.
* * *
After this novella, continue with the rest of the stories in the series:
Book 3 - Control: Domination and Submission
Book
4 - Wild
Book 5 - Destiny
Each story can be enjoyed as standalone stories, so you can pick up one or all of the series titles in any order.
* * *
Browse Amy Aday’s titles at AmyAday.com or
on her Amazon author page at amazon.com/author/amyaday
Don’t forget to sign up for the Amy’s newsletter at http://list.amyaday.com
to get specials and updates on new releases.
* * *
“Owned”
Some Like It Rough Series
By Amy Aday
Selena sat on her bed, her pillow hugged tightly to her chest. Last night had been homecoming at school. She was the head cheerleader on the varsity squad and her boyfriend, Todd Ingram, was the team quarterback. They were popular among the other kids and it was no surprise when they were announced as Homecoming King and Queen.
Selena had been so excited about everything. The homecoming dance that followed the game was fantastic. Todd looked gorgeous in his suit and tie and she felt beautiful in the baby blue sequined dress that she and her mother had shopped for weeks to find. Her long hair was pinned up in loose ringlets and the dress brought out the blue in her eyes. Everything was perfect.
Todd’s parents were away for the weekend and he had the house to himself. She had told her parents she was going to spend the night with one of the other cheerleaders after the dance. It was supposed to be the first time she and Todd had sex and she was excited and scared. What if she was bad at it? Then again, how could she be? She loved Todd and it was going to be magical.
As the homecoming dance began to wind down, she and Todd quietly made their way to his car and headed to his house. Her heart was beating almost out of her chest. She wasn’t sure if she was ready for this but there was no turning back now. She and Todd were two of the oldest students in their senior class, having turned eighteen right after the school year started. That made her the oldest virgin in the class. Todd had been with several girls in school. So, at least he was experienced.
Shades of Submission: Fifty by Fifty #1: Billionaire Romance Boxed Set Page 69