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Table of Contents
DEAR READERS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
CHAPTER FORTY
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
EPILOGUE
THE BRILLIANCE TRILOGY
THE SAVAGE TRILOGY
ALSO BY LISA RENEE JONES
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
DIRTY RICH BETRAYAL:
LOVE ME FOREVER
Book two in Mia and Grayson’s duet
LISA RENEE JONES
DEAR READERS:
I’m so glad to be back for Grayson and Mia’s long-awaited finale! If you haven’t read their first book, Dirty Rich Betrayal, please be sure you read that first. I’m going to give a quick, but spoiling recap of that book just as a refresher before you dive into Love Me Forever.
When we were first introduced to Mia and Grayson, she was returning to him a year after she left him broken-hearted. But she was broken-hearted herself. Mia and Grayson were in a loving and devoted relationship before she found him in his office with another woman pressed against him half naked. The betrayal she felt seeing the love of her life seemingly cheating on her came on the heels of Grayson trying to protect her and removing her from a case she was supposed to be working on. Those two instances back-to-back created a lot of doubt in their future for Mia. Wrong or right, and despite her love for Grayson, Mia had to leave and find her own path and identity away from Grayson, and away from his supposed betrayal.
As she’s returning to him, it’s a year later. She’s since gone to work for one of Grayson’s enemies, Ri, who promised her a job that would help pay for her father’s gambling debts. But since coming to work for him, he’s tried to make a move on her despite her rebuffs and she’s now come across evidence that’s he’s out to destroy Grayson and his company.
As Grayson, Mia, his two best friends, Davis and Eric, and the men of Walker Security, come together to try figure out Ri’s end game, Grayson and Mia fall back into their desires. They’ve always been undeniably perfect for one another, and once Mia learns the truth that Ri is the one who set Grayson up by paying the woman to attack him and let Mia see, she is slowly letting her guard down against him again.
But nothing will prepare them for what they’re about to confront. Grayson and Mia have known their share of heartbreak, losing both of their mothers too early in life, Grayson’s recent loss of his father (which Mia did come back for because she couldn’t leave Grayson alone in a time like that), and their time lost due to Ri’s scheming, all of it led to this moment. The moment they must take down Ri. But it puts Mia directly in harm’s way. Blake, Ri, Grayson and Mia find themselves in a stairwell in a face-off with Ri pointing a gun at Mia’s head as he holds her hostage.
Thankfully despite Grayson’s plea for Ri to kill him instead, Blake is the one who takes a shot at Ri and gets them out of an immediate threat. Or so they thought. There is still the press, and the Feds to deal with to try to uncover the ongoing threat to Grayson and his company, as Ri had recruited many people to help in his destruction. So as Grayson and Mia start their lives together again, newly re-engaged, they must pick up the pieces of the wreckage Ri left behind and the danger isn’t over like they thought it was. And that’s where we pick up...
Just a side note: this continues seconds after book one ends, as such, if you’re familiar with Eric’s story (The Filthy Trilogy, which is available now) don’t be too confused because this is still a timeline where Eric and Harper story hasn’t happened yet!
xoxo, Lisa
CHAPTER ONE
Mia
Ocean wind teased with salt washes over Grayson and I as we exit the lighthouse, our special place, and head back toward his Hamptons mansion. I glance down at my finger, where the gorgeous emerald-cut diamond with hints of blue was placed only minutes before. It’s beautiful and it should never have left my finger, but it’s back now. This Friday evening has brought proof that love, real love, never dies, no matter what evil tries to destroy it. But it’s still painful for Grayson and me to know that I let Ri, a man who was eaten alive with jealousy over Grayson, use me as a weapon against him. Now Ri is dead.
“Does it bring back bad memories?” Grayson asks. “Because if it does, you can pick a new one.”
“This is my ring,” I say, stopping to turn to him. “I love this ring. You had it designed for me. No one gets to take this from me ever again.”
He cups my face. “I don’t want anything that will muddy up our future. Not again.” He strokes an errant lock of hair behind my ear. “The ring—”
“Is perfect. I am back where I belong.”
“Yes. Yes, you are.” He motions to the house, and we turn and start walking again, his grip on my hand firm. He still feels like he could lose me again. And I get that. He quite literally just lived through a man holding a gun on me, with the intent to kill me. So did I, but that isn’t where my head is right now. I’m worried about Grayson, not me, which is why my eyes land on the gorgeous mansion that is our destination, with such a heavy heart. It was his father’s. When I left Grayson, we lost the chance for his father to be a part of our wedding. I loved that man. I still can’t believe he’s gone. And with that, my eyes burn and my mind slides back into the past. Back to the day we told him we were getting married, back before Ri tried to destroy us.
“I feel so nervous,” I say as we park in the garage of the Hamptons house where Grayson’s father is waiting on us. “What if he doesn’t want me to be your wife? We’ll be here with him. It will be awkward.”
“Baby,” he says, killing the engine and turning to me. “He loves you.” He takes my hand and kisses it. “I love you. He sees that and frankly if I didn’t, the man would call me a fool. You won him over from the moment he sat across from you and you met him.” He strokes my cheek. “Let’s go in.”
I nod and we both reach for our doors. By the time I’m steppi
ng out of the car, Grayson is there, pulling me to him and kissing me. God, I love this man. I love him so much and when my palm lands on his chest, his heart thundering under my hand, I know he’s feeling the same thing because that’s how it is with him. I feel him, and he feels me and from the day we met, we connected, inside and out. From the first time we were here in this house, I could no longer breathe without this man.
He kisses me. “Come on. Let’s go share our news.”
“Maybe I should take off the ring until we tell him?”
“The only time I ever want you to remove that ring is when we’re saying our vows and I’m putting it back on you.” He takes my hand and leads me forward, his words and actions warming me all over. Everything he does is right.
We enter the house and find his father in front of the TV watching the Yankees play. “Holy hell,” he shouts at the TV. “Hit the damn ball.”
I laugh at the behavior that has become familiar these past few months and somehow makes him far more human than the billionaire businessman would be otherwise. He turns to look at me. “Mia,” he says, motioning me forward. “Come give me a hug.”
I warm with his invitation that is also now quite familiar. He treats me like the daughter he never had and has since that night at the gallery event when we’d come out of the closet. I hurry forward and give him a hug. “Don’t worry,” he says. “I have a hot date tonight. I won’t be here bugging you and Grayson.”
I pull back to look at him. “A hot date? That sounds promising. You’re finally going to start dating again?”
“A date with a whole lot of money,” he says. “She’s about twenty years younger than me and a client, but the money works. I’ll take the money.”
Grayson steps to my side and pulls me under his arm. “It’s time, Dad. You need to date.”
“No,” he says. “Your mother was it for me.”
“She wouldn’t want you to be alone,” Grayson says.
“She shouldn’t have been so damn perfect then. How the hell can anyone follow that?” He cuts his gaze and I’m pretty sure this big, tough, amazing man is fighting tears. I think he’s here this weekend because he needs Grayson.
“I understand in a way I never did before,” Grayson says, his fingers flexing on my shoulder. “Mia and I are engaged.”
His father looks at me. “You said yes?”
“You doubted that I would?”
“I’ve seen you struggle with your fear of his money,” he says.
“Not his money, though yeah, at first I felt like we had a conflict of power. He had it all and I had none, but he did well. You taught him right. I’ve never felt that he used that against me and so that left me with my fears of him feeling like I was here for his money.”
“And now?”
“And now, I want you both to know that if Grayson doesn’t draft a prenup, I will. I’m never going to give him a reason to stay with me to save his money.”
Grayson turns me to face him. “I will never—”
“Time and years change things,” I say. “And when we reach the downs of the ups and downs, you will never think about the money and neither will I.”
“Mia—” Raymond says.
“Mia,” Grayson interrupts. “We’re not doing a prenup.”
“Both of you look at me,” Raymond orders.
We both snap to his command, which is just a sign of how much respect we share for this man. “This is how this works. Mia, he needs you to know you have money if you divorce because then he knows you’ll never stay for the money. Grayson, she needs you to know that money is limited, so you know she’s not here for all that fucking money you have. Don’t either one of you argue. It won’t matter if you stay together like I did with Melanie, but it makes sure there is never a fight about money. Agree now, both of you.”
“I don’t want a guarantee of anything,” I say.
“I don’t want her to have limits,” Grayson adds.
“Neither of you has a choice,” his father says. “This is the complication of money. It is what it is. Do this. It worked for me and Melanie. I’ll leave you both to talk about it.” He grabs the remote and turns off the TV before he heads for the patio door.
I turn back to Grayson and before I can even speak, he’s pulling me close. “My parents were happy, Mia. They didn’t need that agreement. They were so in love, just like us.”
“Then we need to listen to your father. If he says this is how we avoid conflict, we need to listen. Please. We’ll let him guide us.”
Grayson pulls me to him and kisses me. “Let’s just plan the damn wedding, woman.”
“I want nothing more, but please. Let your father guide us, Grayson. Please. I’m begging you.”
He studies me long and hard before he laces his fingers with mine, and we head for the patio, where we exit to find his father waiting on us. “Well?” he prods.
“Agreed,” Grayson says. “We’ll let you guide us.”
Relief washes over me and his father looks at me, proving that I’m always present and an individual to him, which is exactly how Grayson treats everyone. As if they matter. I nod. “Yes. We will trust your guidance.”
He smiles a warm, wonderful smile and says, “Let’s plan the wedding of a century.”
“Penny for your thoughts,” Grayson says, as we now step onto the very patio where his father had declared our future wedding the wedding of the century.
“I hate that your father won’t be here for the wedding.”
He strokes my hair and pulls me close, his touch, and the delicious woodsy scent of him familiar and right. I missed this man when we were apart, desperately missed him. “Me, too,” he says. “Me, too, baby, but some part of me believes that he is now resting in peace, knowing we’re back together. And that no matter what we face over Ri or anything else, we’re facing it together.”
I try not to think about what we might face over the Ri incident. Right now, I’m with Grayson, and we’re engaged again. That’s all that matters.
CHAPTER TWO
Mia
I wake Sunday morning to raindrops pitter-pattering on the bedroom window and Grayson’s big strong arms wrapped around me, his woodsy scent teasing my nostrils. That scent is home to me. He is home to me and for just a moment, I think about the night I left him. I think about the woman who flung herself at him. It was such a damning moment, and yet, I should have known Grayson wasn’t that man.
“You’re awake,” he murmurs softly, nuzzling my ear.
“Yes,” I whisper, and when his hand runs over my bare arm, goosebumps lift on my skin and my nipples pucker. Just that easily, I’m alive in ways that only this man makes me alive. I’m aroused in ways only this man can make me feel.
A blink of a moment later, his hand is on my breast, his other sliding between my legs, and when he discovers just how slick and wet I am, his low, guttural murmur of, “Holy hell, woman,” spreads a smile on my lips, one that becomes a moan when the extremely hard length of his erection presses inside me. His body curls around mine and even as he thrusts, I’m pressing into him.
Heat burns between us and explodes into what is almost desperation. I’m not sure if it started with Grayson or with me, but now it’s ours. We own the desperation together. It’s not until a long time later, when we stand under a hot shower again, that I really start to process how badly the events of the past few years impacted Grayson. He lost his mother. I left him. His father had a heart attack while he was golfing with him. Now he just watched a monster hold a gun to my head. That desperation started with him and I understand. That was all about how much he needed to feel me close. How much he needed to know I’m alive and well. It’s a powerful thing to be loved so deeply.
“I love you,” I say, running my fingers over the dark stubble on his jaw. “With all my heart and soul, with all that I am.”
His hand slides over my wet hair. “And I love you.”
“I know. I won’t ever forget again.”
> “You don’t need to keep telling me that, Mia. We’re here. We’re together. And we’re starting fresh, new.”
“I don’t want to be fresh. I don’t want to be new. I loved the us of the past.”
“We can be both, baby.” He catches my hand and holds up my finger, showing me the ring he’s recently put back on it. “We can be anything we want to be together. And we will,” he promises me before he kisses the diamond. “Let’s go make coffee and talk about the wedding.”
“Yes,” I say, scolding myself for turning our morning into something heavy. “Let’s go make coffee and talk about the wedding.”
A few minutes later, Grayson has dressed in jeans and a T-shirt and headed into the kitchen. His departure feels abrupt and I’m concerned that there’s more going on with him, or even this Ri situation than I know. I quickly dress in jeans and a T-shirt myself, apply some make-up before throwing some product in my wet hair, making quick work of drying it. In between my rushed morning routine, I exchange text messages with my father, assuring him I’m doing well. Finally, I finger comb the brown strands of my hair to find it’s still damp, but my impatience to join Grayson has me leaving it this way.
Feeling that urgency, and the clawing sense of that man needing me, me and my soon-to-be frizzy hair hurry out of the bedroom and walk down a long hallway and round the corner to the grand living room that attaches to the kitchen. I find Grayson facing the marble island, hands on the surface, muscles bunched in his shoulders, his chin to his chest. I’m right. He’s not good. He took care of me after the shooting. He was a rock for me, but I haven’t taken care of him. That man stood there in a stairwell with Ri holding a gun to my head, afraid for me, and prepared to kill for me. How many women have a man who would kill for them? Or die for them?
I do.
I do and he’s an amazing man.
With soft steps meant not to startle him, I close the space between us, shocked when this man who is always in control of his surroundings doesn’t even know when I approach. I step behind him and wrap my arms around his waist. Or I intend to. Grayson catches me and pulls me in front of him, and suddenly I’m caged between him and the island, the intensity of his emotions crashing into me. “I want to keep you locked away,” he says, his voice low, rough, almost guttural, “to make sure no one can ever hurt you the way he intended to hurt you.”
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