A Love Like This

by Kianna Alexander

  “Now.” She ground the word out through clenched teeth, pressing her pelvis against his.

  He obliged her, pressing his length between her thighs and entering her in one swift, smooth motion.

  A high-pitched cry left her throat as she experienced the sheer joy of him filling her.

  And there, with the moonlight streaming in between the slats of the shutters, he made love to her until she screamed his name in the darkness.

  * * *

  Devon looked up at the cloudless blue sky, thankful for the warmth and beauty of the day. He stood on the beach, flanked by Campbell and Savion. They each wore crisp white shirts and black slacks, though Devon was the only one with a sterling rose pinned to his shirt pocket.

  Belinda stood close by as well, wearing a lavender robe. She’d recently gotten ordained on the internet, at Hadley’s request. Belinda wasn’t especially religious, but if her outfit was any indication, she was taking her role as minister seriously—at least for the day.

  From where they stood, they had a full view of the back of Monroe Manor and its grassy lawn, which was miraculously green despite the lingering winter.

  That wasn’t the view that concerned him, though. He was watching the back door, waiting for Hadley to make her appearance. He supposed he should be more patient, because it was a bride’s prerogative to take her time getting ready on her special day. It seemed their relationship had spoiled him, because he’d gotten used to things flowing quickly but naturally between them. It was early February, barely a month since he’d proposed, and they were already about to take their vows.

  The old saying said, “You can’t hurry love.” As far as Devon was concerned, there wasn’t any need. It moved fast enough without any interference from him.

  Finally, she walked out on her father’s arm. The white runner than had been spread out from the back door to the spot on the beach where everyone had gathered served as her path as she walked slowly toward him. He couldn’t hold back his grin as he took in the sight of his radiant bride. She wore a white halter-top pantsuit encrusted with crystals and pearls. A sheer white coat covered her bare arms, and her feet were bare, save for the jewelry around her ankles. As he’d asked, she left her hair down, accenting her flowing curls with a large white flower tucked behind her ear.

  By the time Carver placed his daughter’s hand in her fiancé’s, Devon could barely contain his excitement. He couldn’t believe how incredibly fortunate he was. The fact that she’d agreed to be his wife seemed like a miracle to him.

  They turned to Belinda, who performed the ceremony with a broad smile on her face the entire time. Devon was aware of the watchful gazes of their parents, her brothers and the few friends he’d invited, but he had eyes only for his bride. He spoke his vows loud and clear, to let her know that he had no doubts about their future. She spoke hers in kind, and the softness in her eyes as she pledged her love to him touched his heart.

  When Belinda pronounced them man and wife, Hadley threw her hands in the air and gave a little cheer. He cut her impromptu celebration short by pulling her into his arms for a lingering kiss.

  The party went on late into the evening, underneath a tent the Monroes had set up in their backyard. Sitting in the throne-like chair he’d been assigned, Devon cradled his wife’s hand in his own.

  She stood suddenly, then leaned down to kiss him on the forehead. “I’ve gotta go to the little brides’ room. I’ll be right back.”

  After she walked away, Savion strolled up, a glass of champagne in his hand. He reached out to shake his brother-in-law’s hand. “Welcome to the family, man.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Got a little something for you. Call it a wedding gift.”

  Devon leaned forward in his chair. “Aw, Savion. You didn’t have to...”

  “Listen up, Devon. Remember what you said a couple of weeks ago about opening a production studio here on the island?”

  He nodded. “Of course. I’ve been looking into what I need to do, and I’m ready to make some moves as soon as I find a location.”

  Savion winked. “You’re in luck. Neville South withdrew their proposal, so...it looks like that last piece of Monroe family property is yours now.” He reached into his shirt pocket, pulled out a folded sheet of paper and passed it to him.

  Opening it, Devon’s eyes widened. “It’s the deed to the land plot.”

  “Congrats, man.” Savion turned and started to walk away.

  “Hold up, Savion. This is too much. I mean, I can buy the land...”

  Carver strode up then, smiling. “Nonsense. It’s my wedding gift to you, and in our family, we don’t turn down generous gifts such as this.” He patted him on the shoulder. “Just say thank you, son.”

  An amazed Devon parroted his new father-in-law. “Thank you, son.”

  Chuckling, Savion and Carver walked away.

  When Hadley returned, she climbed into his lap instead of returning to her own throne. “What’s up? Your expression tells me I missed something.”

  He passed her the deed. “Looks like we have land for my studio.”

  She covered her mouth, tears springing to her eyes. “Wow.”

  “Come on, don’t cry.” He used his thumb to dash away her tears.

  She looked into his eyes then. “Stay with me forever, and I won’t have any reason to.”

  He touched her cheek. “It’s a deal.”

  And to seal the arrangement, he pressed his lips to hers.

  * * * * *

  Keep reading for an excerpt from AN UNEXPECTED HOLIDAY GIFT by Martha Kennerson.

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  An Unexpected Holiday Gift

  by Martha Kennerson

  Chapter 1

  Keylan Kingsley walked in a circle, admiring his surroundings before coming to a stand in the middle of the large NBA-inspired gym outfitted with an oversize scoreboard and arena-style seating. Standing with his legs slightly apart, bouncing a basketball, he wore a black handmade Italian suit, a taupe-colored collarless shirt, black loafers and dark aviator sunglasses.

  He looked up and scanned the ceiling, admiring all the banners that hung overhead; thirty of them, to be exact. They all represented championships won by various community leagues that this foundation supported. Keylan’s mind flashed back to a time when he’d played on one of those community championship teams an
d the memory made him smile.

  “My, how time flies,” Keylan murmured to himself, placing the ball on the floor.

  “Yes, it does. May I help you with something, Mr. Kingsley?” a sweet voice asked.

  Keylan James Kingsley, or KJ, as he was known by his family, friends and legions of fans, was the youngest son and only heir to the Kingsley family’s billion-dollar oil and gas conglomerate who chose not to follow his siblings into the business. The twenty-six-year-old basketball star was a marquee player for the Houston Carriers.

  Keylan turned toward the sound and his breath caught in his throat. He felt like he’d just been hit in the chest by a wayward basketball. Damn! She’s stunning...and fine, too. This might not be so bad, after all. “I certainly hope so, little momma,” he proclaimed, offering up a sexy smile, removing his sunglasses and placing them in the inside pocket of his jacket.

  The beautiful woman standing several feet away wore blue jeans and a white T-shirt, both splattered with green and yellow paint. She rolled her eyes skyward, dropped her shoulders and placed her left hand on her hip. “I may be petite, Mr. Kingsley, but I’m certainly not your mother,” she replied. Her voice had a sharp edge to its tone.

  Maybe I spoke too soon. “My apologies.” Keylan raised both hands in surrender. “You have me at a disadvantage. You know me but I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure, although you do look familiar.”

  “Mia Ramirez,” said the feisty, olive-skinned beauty.

  “I’m pleased to make your acquaintance. You missed a spot,” he said, pointing at the pristine-white tennis shoes she wore.

  Mia looked down briefly before returning her gaze to Keylan, where she gifted him with a wide smile that lit up her eyes. It was as if she’d just experienced a pleasant memory.

  Wow! “So...is it Ms. or Mrs. Ramirez?” he asked with a slightly raised left eyebrow.

  “I’m the foundation’s activities director. What can I do for you, Mr. Kingsley?” she replied, dropping her smile, clearly unwilling to answer his not so subtle question.

  Keylan set his mouth in a tight line. His legendary charm clearly wasn’t having an effect on Mia Ramirez. By now he should have her number, address and be making plans to meet up later. He gave his head a slow shake, pushed out a quick breath and said, “I have some mandatory community service hours I need to—”

  “Let me guess,” Mia interrupted, nodding as she slowly walked toward him. “You’d like me to work with your assistant or someone to set up some type of photo opportunity with the kids where you come in and present us with a check.” She stopped and stood two feet in front of Keylan.

  “Well—”

  “No, wait. I got it.” Mia held up her left index finger and her nose crinkled as though she’d just encountered a foul smell. “You have a couple of signed balls you want to give me to auction off for the proceeds. You get a photo op, the hours you need, of course, and I get a big check...literally.”

  Mia might look like a kid with the cute high ponytail and minimal makeup she wore, but looks were deceiving. Keylan folded his arms across his chest and stared down at Mia. “Seems like you already have a set of brass ones. You certainly don’t need any additional balls from me.”

  Mia’s mouth flew open but quickly closed as she matched his stance. They stood glaring at each other in silence. While Keylan liked Mia’s moxie, he didn’t know what angered him more: the fact that she’d made such judgmental assumptions about him or, given his time restraints lately and the fact that he hadn’t spent much time in a place he loved so much, that she had every right to question his sincerity. Keylan’s aunt Elizabeth ran their foundation and had been trying to get him to spend more time there for years.

  Keylan dropped his arms. “Look, Ms....Mrs.... whatever—”

  “Mia is fine,” she offered.

  “I’m not here to put on some show and get out of doing my community service. In fact, until about—” he checked the time on his Bulgari Diagono watch “—eight minutes ago, I was really looking forward to spending time here...with the kids.”

  Mia dropped her arms and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “Well, if you’re serious about putting in some real time here, we could always use a few extra reliable hands. I think our kids would love seeing you, too.”

  “But clearly not you.” Keylan smirked.

  “My personal feelings aren’t important. This is your family’s foundation...you can come and go as you please. Besides, you really don’t want to know what I think,” she murmured, turning to walk away.

  “Oh, but I do,” he assured her.

  Mia turned back to face Keylan and placed her fingertips in her pants’ pockets. “I wouldn’t want to insult my boss’s nephew right to his face.” She smirked.

  “It’s a bit late for that, don’t you think? I’m a big boy—I can handle it.” Keylan leaned forward. “And I can keep a secret.” Keylan returned to his full height.

  Mia smiled. “In my experience, Mr. Kingsley, men like you—”

  Keylan tilted his head slightly to the right. “Men like me?” He ignored his buzzing cell phone.

  “Yes, men too busy for their own good. Do you need to get that?” she said, gesturing toward his pocket with her head.

  “No, please continue,” he insisted.

  “Men that think the world revolves around them. Men that think they can simply smile, lie, buy or flirt their way out of doing the right thing. Men like that—” Mia mirrored his tilted head “—don’t care about anything or anyone but themselves, and they certainly don’t have time for a bunch of kids they don’t know whose families can’t afford to buy their child’s favorite sports player’s overpriced shoes that they had made overseas for three dollars.”

  “Wow.” Keylan circled Mia, coming to stand behind her. He leaned forward, ignoring the sweet scent of vanilla radiating from her petite body and the rise and fall of her breasts making his crotch suddenly uncomfortable, and spoke softly. “Good thing I’m not one of those men.”

  “We’ll see,” she said, taking a step forward and turning to face him. Keylan’s phone buzzed again. “You sure you don’t need to get that?”

  Probably. However, I won’t give you the satisfaction. “No, I’m good. When and where do we start?”

  “If you follow me to the office, we can go over the schedule.”

  “After you.”

  Mia turned and Keylan couldn’t help but admire her firm backside as his body reacted instantly. Calm down, boy...not just yet.

  “Did you say something?” Mia asked and stopped, looking over her shoulders.

  Did I say that out loud? “No, but what’s with the paint?”

  Mia smirked. “We were painting one of the smaller rooms. It got...messy.”

  “I guess you weren’t wearing those tennis shoes.”

  “Nope, socks.” Mia started back toward her office.

  “Wait. Why were you painting a room? I can’t believe my aunt wouldn’t hire someone to handle that for you.”

  Mia laughed and the sound sent a strange feeling throughout his body. “It was more of a fun activity for the kids than a real painting job, but you’re right, your aunt wouldn’t have allowed such a thing to happen.”

  “Now, that I can believe.” Keylan scanned the halls as they proceeded. “Some things never change.”

  “Pardon me?”

  “Thanksgiving was last week and this place is already decked out like Santa’s workshop, with Christmas still several weeks away. The Christmas tree at the front entrance is beautiful, by the way. I love all the kids’ ornaments on it.”

  “Yes, the decorators were here first thing Friday morning.” Mia visibly forced a smile. “I’m just glad they used the stuff the kids made. They would have been very disappointed.”

  * * *

>   Mia could feel Keylan’s eyes on her as they made their way down the quite long hall. She couldn’t understand how such an arrogant man, king of the playboys and known as an aggressive player on the basketball court, could have her body responding in a way it hadn’t in years. So what if he was tall, with a sun-kissed tan, and handsome beyond reason? Why had her breath caught in her throat at the sight of him, and why had the sudden ache and weight of her breasts made Mia think she was wearing the wrong size bra?

  It had been years since twenty-six-year-old Mia had been even remotely attracted to anyone. It wasn’t as if she didn’t like men; it was just that dating and sex wasn’t a priority of the mother to a four-year-old boy with Down syndrome. Mia hated the idea that it was Keylan that had awakened her dormant and sexually deprived body. To make things worse, she’d basically insulted her boss’s nephew to his face. Nice going, Mia.

  Mia led Keylan into a midsize office several doors down from the gym. An oak desk with a salt finish sat on the right side of the room across from a large bay window that looked out over the playground. A dry-erase calendar on the wall behind Mia’s desk outlined the year-long activities that were in several different stages of planning.

  “Please have a seat, Mr. Kingsley,” she said, taking a seat behind her desk.

  The left wall of custom shelves was filled with a few personal photos and years of memorabilia from the many events and activities she’d conducted, along with awards she’d received during her tenure. “It’s Keylan, or KJ, if you prefer,” he said, admiring all the objects on her shelves. “How long have you worked for my family?”

  “Almost five years,” she replied to his back, trying to ignore the way his perfectly cut suit draped his Greek-god-like physical form.

  “I can’t believe we haven’t met before, especially since you’re the one who organized the annual three-on-three basketball tournaments, the charity bowling and the Holiday Toys for Tots drive. Those are our three biggest charity events.”