by Adair Rymer
“No. We're not engaged,” I said, admitting the truth and throwing away my hotel. Claire looked surprised at that, she assumed I'd lie. Twenty-four hours ago I would've lied. Hell, I'd have burned the place down before I gave it to Bianca. “I failed to meet my clause in the contract. The hotel is yours.”
So much can happen in twenty-four hours. A man as far gone as me could take his first few steps toward where he wanted to be. But I couldn't do that if the foundation I built my new life on was a lie.
“I see,” Bianca said softly. Respect. That was what was in my sister's eyes before. Of course, I couldn't place it, she'd never looked at me like that until now. “I will have a new document written up for you to sign on Monday. Until then, nothing changes. You don't have to leave.”
“A new document? Are you still taking the hotel?”
“Of course I am!” The cold edge to her tone came back, then softened. “I would, however, like to keep you on as building manager. Although you haven't met our previous benchmarks, I can see that there's something different about you now.”
“I don't know what you've done to him,” Bianca addressed Claire directly. “But I am impressed with this new sense of honesty and responsibility.”
“I didn't bring out anything that wasn't already there.” Claire shrugged and then added with the a half smile, “Even if it was buried pretty deep. Bianca, you own my college, right?”
Bianca nodded.
Where was Claire going with this?
“Would it be possible for you to open the archives for me tomorrow?” Claire continued, apprehensively. “I have this massive grants audit to finish Monday.”
“Absolutely not.” Bianca's response snapped so quickly that Claire physically took a step back. “It's a government-mandated holiday. And even if it wasn't, those security guards have families.” Bianca's jaw clenched, the action drained the color from her lips. “Brenda is making you work this weekend? That is strictly against company policy. I'm going to have a talk with her, and when I do I better not hear that you did work this weekend.”
I chuckled to myself. Bianca was even harsh when she was trying to help someone. It always amazed me at how she could remember all her employees' names, even someone as far down the list as Claire's boss. My sister was a hard woman, but she wasn't heartless. She just wanted the world to think she was.
She was a bitch, I was a whore and our parents were dead. Our whole family was a fucking mess.
Having finished everything she came for, Bianca opened my door to leave. But before she did, she turned back to me. There was regret and hesitance on her face, two more emotions I'd never seen in her before.
“What I said to you earlier...” Bianca's cold tone thawed even more. She sounded almost human. “It was unfair. I don't blame you for what happened to our parents, Maynard. I just want you to know that.”
And with that she left.
She wasn't much for heartfelt decelerations, but I could tell she meant it. And that meant a lot to me.
“Your sister is terrifying.” Claire walked over, pulling at her T-shirt gown as if she could make it longer.
“You should see her during a hostile takeover. She's made grown men cry.” When Claire was in arm's reach, I grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. We stayed like that for a few minutes. It was nice.
Hearing that from my sister lifted a heavy weight from my chest. The thought of shedding some of this guilt I carried around was freeing. I pried myself out of the hug to face Claire. I had a long way to go to redeem myself in Bianca's eyes, and in my own, but this was a start.
With Claire by my side, I honestly felt like I had a real shot at happiness.
The only question that mattered now between us was what happens next?
Chapter 10
Claire
“So what happens now. “Will I—” I shrugged, trying desperately to put up my emotional defenses. Maynard's open foyer suddenly felt as if it dropped a few degrees. “Will I see you around?”
That moment I was dreading had finally come. It was the end of the night and now I had to face reality again. It was time to wake up from this crazy wonderful dream, where I fell in love with a billionaire.
“No more cloak and dagger, Claire.” Maynard stepped toward me. “I'd like to see you again, more than that actually.”
Was he seriously asking me out?
“What are you saying?” Glittering hope shined between the cracks in my defenses. Please let this be real...
“What I'm saying is—” Maynard's face held no coyness, no mischief, just simple honesty. He took my hand and looked deeply into my eyes. The anticipation that hung in the air between us was thick enough to cut with a knife and serve for dinner. The staccato beat of my heart quickened as he finally spoke. “Can I have your number?”
Before I could stifle it, a laugh burst from me. The raised crease in his lips gave him away. I touched my forehead to his broad chest, not bothering to hide my smile. I couldn't believe I'd found someone with my same offbeat, horrible sense of humor. “That is so the wrong answer.”
“Cut me some slack, I'm new at this whole thing.” Maynard stared down at me. So many girls always flocked to him, he probably never had to ask anyone out before. “Claire, what's your last name?”
“Why?” My smile still lingered as I looked at him.
“It feels weird to ask a girl out without knowing her full name.”
I stepped away from Maynard and formally extended a hand for him to shake. “Hi, I'm Claire Ellen Tremont. It's nice to meet you Mr. Cooper.”
Maynard pushed my arm aside and swept me off the ground in a big hug. He carried me back to his bedroom, kissing me as he walked. Having let my nose clear, when we got back into the room I realized just how strongly it smelled like sex. But it was our sex, and it came with such amazing vivid memories.
We tumbled onto the bed together with the grace of a comet crashing to earth. When we finally came to a stop, Maynard looked at me.
“Well, Claire Ellen Tremont, will you be mine?” The light seemed to make his eyes twinkle, but maybe I was just seeing what I wanted to see. “Answer carefully. Dating a billionaire comes with a lot of strange baggage.”
“Are you asking me to be your girlfriend?” I prodded at him, while doing a terrible job at concealing my excitement. Maynard just raised his eyes and smirked a little deeper. The expression said 'what do you think?'
What did I think? He was a stranger and a mistake when I woke up, then he became my fake fiancé and now? “Yes. I would like that. A lot.”
I hugged my new boyfriend. My smile was so big I thought that it might get stuck like that. “Do I get a title? I imagine dating someone like you comes with a title.”
“The closest title I could think of would be chaperone.” Maynard laughed. It was such a sweet sound, a sound that few people probably ever heard. I felt honored to be let so close to him, when he pushed so many others away. “Spend the night with me.”
“What about your rules?” I asked, still trying to understand my place in everything,
“Rules are made to be broken.” That characteristic smirk crept across his face, between kisses. “Besides, I don't need them anymore.”
I didn't know what would happen in the future or what kind of challenges we would face as a couple. It still had only been a day since we met, it was way too early in the relationship to know if we would last.
But as drowsiness took me, in Maynard's arm's I found peace.
Only time would truly tell, but I had a lot of faith in us. I felt like Maynard and I could take on the world together. I nuzzled into him and watched the snow lightly fall until we both fell asleep.
END
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Adair Rymer lives in New England and loves whiskey and her cat. She is always daydreaming of lovers and how to push her own literary boundaries. She loves her motorcycle and her men filthy and i
s keen on a hot cup of Coca Tea.
And above all else, she loves the people who buy her books, who encourage her to continue living her passion.
More books from Adair Rymer:
Too Rough for Love
Too Wild to Ride
Too Fast for Hope
Riding for Her
Outlaw Road
Undercover Badass
Getting Mine: Stepbrother Romance
Obsession: Bad Boy's Secret Baby
Full Shred: Billionaire's Secret Baby
Connect with Adair!
Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/Adairrymer
Goodreads- https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8990152.Adair_Rymer
Amazon- http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00P5PQ4GE
Twitter- https://twitter.com/AdairRymer
Email- [email protected]
Other Adair Rymer Romances:
Steel Veins MC Romance Box set
Contemporary Romance/Suspense-- This collection contains all 3 books in the Steel Veins series.
Too Rough For Love (#1)
Too Wild To Ride (#2)
Too Fast For Hope (#3)
When the Steel Veins MC rolled in, Star's life was changed forever. Her only chance of surviving the vicious gang lies in the hands of a terrifying, yet dangerously handsome biker, Remy "Poet" Daniels.
But Remy's MC has twisted itself into something he doesn't even recognize anymore, and as long as the two remain with the club, he can't keep Star safe.
All alone and hunted, they are forced to overcome rival clubs, hit squads, corrupt cops and death itself.
Their old lives reduced to ashes, one young woman and an outlaw are forced to trust each other to survive. Can Star live in his violent world, or is Remy's love just too rough?
Author's Note- Hang on tight! This is a fast, brutal, explicitly sexy and heart-wrenching series. This thrill ride is NOT for the faint of heart!
Riding For Her: MC Romance
Hendrix:
For five long years I echoed the words Honor, Loyalty and Brotherhood off my prison cell walls. It's all that's kept me going.
Now on the outside, seeing my club all twisted up, all I want is my freedom, freedom from everything--
Including that brotherhood.
Pres' wants one last ride out of me then all my debts are paid.
Bullets, fire, a god damned army, nothing will keep me from finishing this run! Except the one thing I hadn't counted on.
A girl named Maya.
Maya:
Falling in with a dangerous, rival MC, getting dragged halfway across the country and nearly getting killed... There was nothing I wouldn't do to save my baby sister.
Being the daughter of a corrupt MC President, I promised myself I would never let a biker hurt me again.
What I wasn't prepared for a was man like Hendrix. He pierced parts of my mind and heart that no one ever has.
This one ride was supposed to change everything.
I didn't think it could change me.
Outlaw Road (A MA Romance)
I'm no hero... But I'm all she has
Ronin
I've always made bold moves. What can I say? Life gets too easy.
But when that poker game ended... I didn't expect to win myself a gorgeous girl.
She's wild, determined, and clearly has a death wish. My kind of lady.
Too bad she hates everything about me.
Flora
I was supposed to save my sister.
No matter how hard I tried, I still failed. Now I've been kidnapped by the same men.
After being used and hurt by bikers, I never expected one to help me.
But I still don't trust him.
He's as bad as the rest of them... So why does he keep protecting me?
Undercover Badass (MC Romance)
I was so close to getting what I wanted that I could f*cking taste it!
I rode with the Phantoms, the most vicious, ruthless and evil club in the country. My life was a car crash of sex and violence and above all else- The lies that kept me alive.
I only had one goal and it was finally within reach. Nothing could stop me...
Except this smart and sexy bounty hunter chick, whose hellbent on bringing me to justice. I'd never seen a woman as strong and professional as Elisha, and the thought of tearing off all her nice clothes sets my body on fire!
Every time I try to get away, her silky, brown skin begs for my rough, hard touch. If I don't ditch her, she'll unravel everything about me. With my bloodthirsty club hot on our heels, I'm the only hope she has to stay alive.
The only way to save her is to tell her my darkest secret, and that means destroying everything.
Getting Mine: A Stepbrother Romance
Dangerous. Unpredictable. Damaged. And every girl's secret fantasy.
Arsen Constantine is many things.
I'm Valentine Dawson.
You might recognize me from that crazy-popular movie trilogy I star in, but if you think that's drama, you haven't met my stepbrother...
When someone attacks my family, guess who shows back up to protect me?
He doesn't care that we're related now. Now he thinks that I'm his property. After one sweaty, heart-stopping mistake, I almost was... And that was just the beginning.
Nothing will stop him from making me beg.
Obsession: A Bad Boy's Secret Baby
I'm a pure American badass, and she's carrying my baby
I've got enough in my jeans to satisfy any girl, but my heart only wants one of them.
And she hates my guts. =
I can't blame her. My family ruined Kait's life, took everything she and her father had. I didn't know it back then, but Kait doesn't care. As far as she knows, I abandoned her and ran off to the Marines.
Now I'm back, and the military has made me tougher, harder, and hotter than ever.
You'd think they'd treat me like a hero, but everyone in town hates me and the cops won't stop screwing with me.
Worse?
If Kait's brother finds out that she's carrying my baby... he'll kill me.
But I lost Kait once. I won't do that again.
Full Shred: A Billionaire's Secret Baby Romance
The billionaire prince of NYC is going to show her exactly why it's called the city that never sleeps.
Maynard
When I met Claire I only had three rules.
One by one she made me break them all, and I broke her heart because of it.
Now I'll do what it takes to make her mine again.
Even if that means losing my family's billion dollar company and getting thrown in prison in the process.
I don't give a damn about the consequences.
Nothing will keep me from Claire.
Claire
I am pregnant and screwed.
My dream was to become the first in my family to ever graduate college.
How the hell am I supposed to concentrate when his ice cold cobalt eyes makes my body shiver, and his flaming tongue makes my blood boil?
This fully shredded, filthy, bad boy didn't just break the mold, he made it explode. Then he made me explode!
Just when I thought we might have a chance the worst happened. If the pregnancy test result doesn't destroy us, a dark secret from my past definitely will...
I know what I need to do, I just hope he doesn't make my knees too weak to do it.