Forbidden: A Stepbrother Secret Baby Romance
Page 16
And he is mine. Officially. The paperwork proves it.
“Okay, so you know how I said it didn’t matter what the papers say?” I ask. “I lied. Now we don’t have to be around that shit face Paul for any reason, ever again. What a fucking relief that is.” Tessa, Ryan and I are in a three-way hug when the doorbell rings. “It’s probably Julie,” I say. “I told her to drop by tonight to see the decorations.”
“They’re lovely, by the way,” Tessa says, wiping her eyes of the joyous tears that have gathered there.
I open the front door. “Merry Christmas-“ I stop mid-sentence.
Cassie is standing there, holding her purse like I’m about to steal it from her. “Merry Christmas to you as well,” she says softly. “May I come inside?”
I look at Tessa, who nods. “My house is your house,” I reply.
Cassie doesn’t sit down. “I won’t be here long,” she says. “I just came to apologize on behalf of myself and your incredibly stubborn father. I realize that I was horrible to all of you. I am deeply sorry.” She takes a breath and holds it.
I wait for Tessa to respond. She’s the one who needs to dole out forgiveness, and only if she wants to. I’ll just follow her lead.
Tessa opens her mouth. “You defended me today. You’ve never done that before.”
Cassie nods slowly. “I meant what I said. Suzanne is a miserable bitch and you are not a whore.”
Tessa actually laughs. “Thank you.”
“This is a lovely place,” Cassie says. “It reminds me a bit of where Tessa’s father and I lived when we first got married.” She looks at me. “I heard your business has officially shuttered,” she says.
I nod and shrug. “Well, I can’t do much with no resources. Lyle’s scorched-earth policy is infamous.” My dad had destroyed all my business connections and the venture capital deal I’d worked last month. Everything I had was gone within two hours of leaving his house, down to the defense contracts I needed to keep my business going, just as I knew it would be.
“His offer still stands legally. If you’re married by New Year’s Eve, he still has to complete the deal,” Cassie says.
Tessa holds out her hand. “Well, we are engaged now.”
Cassie’s eyes fill up with tears as she takes her daughter’s hand. “Oh, it’s beautiful,” she says earnestly. “Congratulations to both of you. And I honestly mean that with all of my heart.”
I look into her eyes and know it’s the truth. “I know you do,” I reply. I grab Tessa’s hand, Ryan still settled into the crook of my arm. “But we’re not taking the deal. We’re fine on our own. I swear.”
Cassie exhales with relief. “Lyle will come around some day, I know he will. But if you two ever need anything, please. I’m only a phone call away.”
“We’d love for you to stay for dinner,” Tessa says.
Cassie’s face softens. “I would love that. It does smell divine in here.”
“Jax cooked enchiladas.”
That night, we all settle around our tiny dining room table: Tessa, Ryan, Cassie, Sam, and Julie who had stopped in early and wanted to join in with the celebratory festivities. I look around the table at my family and feel proud for the first time in my life.
I squeeze Tessa’s thigh flirtatiously under the table top. She flashes me a smile in return. I’ll be cashing in my good-father-chips later this evening for some good, old-fashioned fucking.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
JAX
NINE YEARS LATER
“Ryan! Come help your sisters with their shoes!” I yell into the backyard. Ryan drops his basketball and comes running immediately. I give him a high five as he runs through the back doors of the house. “Atta boy,” I say as Ryan passes me.
Tessa walks past both of us, looping earrings through her ears. She smells like jasmine and lavender. I grab her hips as she walks past me. “Not so fast, Mrs. Hadley,” I murmur in her ear. She twists her head so I can kiss her cheek. Her nearly-nine-months-pregnant stomach is so large that this is the only way we can kiss. I don’t mind it. Her ass fits nicely against my-
“Eww! Stop kissing!” shrieks a chorus of voices from behind us.
“Busted,” Tessa says, laughing. “Go out to the car. We’ll be there in a second.” The kids run out of the house and into the garage.
“You nervous about tonight?” I ask her.
“What? About putting the finishing touches on an enormous landscape mural in under an hour in front of a hundred strangers? While standing on scaffolding? While about to go into labor probably at any second?” Tessa gives me a smirk. “Nah. I can handle anything. I have seven kids, and I’ve got you.”
I grab her sides and pull her as close to me as her stomach allows. “I’m going to fuck you so hard tonight.”
Tessa blushes. We’ve still got the same fire we’ve had since that first night in San Francisco.
That might explain the seven children with one on the way, come to think of it. I can’t ever keep my hands off of my wife.
An hour later, we’re standing on the wharf, a microphone set up. The mayor is presenting Tessa with an award, and some idiot decides to let me speak in front of her fans assembled here.
I grab the microphone. “I’m Jax Hadley, also known as Mr. Tessa Bennet,” I joke. “I’m just the Trophy Husband.” The crowd laughs. “And I’m more than happy to be it. My wife needs no introduction, honestly. She’s sold paintings everywhere, and her murals cover the California coastline. I’m also Mr. Mom. I stay at home with our six daughters and Ryan, our only boy. Wave, Ryan!” He waves sheepishly. “Our oldest daughters, Ella and Jamie, are eight years old. They’re the two mini-Tessas there in the front row.” I smile as I see their shiny hair and brown eyes. “Then there’s Alex, our curly-headed six-year-old; Hannah, our boisterous four-year-old. And then the second set of twins, Allison and Leah, who are tucked into the stroller there.” The crowd oohs and aahs at their adorable, chubby cheeks with pacifiers sticking out of their mouths. “And we have one more on the way. Hopefully a boy to balance out the estrogen in my house.”
Everyone laughs again.
“But really I just want to say, before my wife finishes up this gorgeous mural behind us, that there is no one in the world I love more than I love her. She’s my everything. And I’m glad that I get to share her with all of you.” The crowd applauds happily, and I grab Tessa to kiss her. I make sure the microphone is turned off as I whisper in her ear. “Remember when I told you I wanted to fuck you on a stage in public? Now’s our chance.”
Tessa slaps my arm. “Maybe when I don’t look like a beached whale,” she replies, kissing me again.
“You’re the sexiest beached whale I’ve ever seen,” I retort. “Now go finish that painting so we can get home and I can finish you off.”
Tessa climbs up the stairs with help from her assistants. I go back into the crowd to hug all of my kids. The sun is setting over the ocean, and I realize I have everything I could ever want in this moment. Everything is perfect.
I am home.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Vesper Vaughn weaves her fiction from her backyard writing studio nestled in the sunny, star-studded hills of Hollywood, California. Her interests include: smart-ass, sexy men; romantic comedy movies; gin and tonics, all Shonda Rhimes television shows, and the Hemsworth brothers. She is the author of the reader-adored bad boy romance novels STEP WILDE, HITMAN’S HOOKUP, and BABY LOVE.
MORE STORIES BY VESPER VAUGHN
STEP WILDE: A STEPBROTHER ROMANCE
He’s the hottest movie star on the planet – and he wants me all for himself.
OLIVIA:
After years of hard work and discipline, I’m still a struggling script supervisor. This job in Italy should be my big break … but he’s there. Roman Wilder, aka Wilde, the hottest movie star on the planet. The guy I spent one incredible night with back when he was an impossibly sexy theater student. I can’t avoid him--he won’t let me. Then my mom calls to tell me she’s met a great guy … who happens to be Wilde’s dad.
My life is going off the rails, and it’s my new stepbrother’s fault. So why is a single touch from him still enough to melt my panties?
WILDE: Life is too short to spend it being bored. I may run naked into crowds of paparazzi, but that doesn’t mean I’m completely reckless … except when it comes to Olivia. She broke my heart with that one-night stand. I don’t care if she’s my stepsister. I don’t even care about my ex trying to blackmail us.
I want Olivia back. And this time, I’m not taking no for an answer.
Available through Amazon for purchase or FREE through Kindle Unlimited
HITMAN’S HOOKUP: A BAD BOY ROMANCE
What if the man you hooked up with on a dating app turned out to be an international assassin?
LILY: I’ve always lived for adrenaline. But one night with Cruz has given me more adrenaline than I bargained for.
After being put on a leave of absence from my job as a surgeon, I’m tearing at the walls for an adventure. When I download Pyre, the hot new dating app, all I want is sex with a stranger. What I get is Cruz, the sexiest, most dangerous man I’ve ever laid eyes on. Now I’m on the run from assassins…with an assassin by my side.
CRUZ: I work alone. But for this mission, I need a believable cover – a hot woman on my arm. From the second I see Lily on Pyre, I know she has to be mine. The only problem is that I’m the man who nearly destroyed her career. She just has no idea I was the one behind the destruction.
The truth would kill our relationship; that is, if my assassin ex-girlfriend doesn’t kill us both first.
Available through Amazon for purchase or FREE through Kindle Unlimited
BABY LOVE: A BAD BOY BILLIONAIRE ROMANCE
He’ll take half of my business and all of me.
RACHEL: My business is poised to change the medical world. But I need cash. Fast. When I go on the reality show Boiler Room, I’m only there for one of the billionaires to invest in my business.
When Zane Reid, former football champion and billionaire tech hottie, offers to give me money for my startup, I’m suddenly as flush with cash as I am with hormones.
He’s sexy, he’s rich...and he wants me to have his baby.
ZANE: Business is about give and take, and I give generously inside the bedroom and out of it. From the moment I see Rachel I know she’s the one.
I’m supposed to be focusing on business details but all I can focus on are her dangerous curves.
I have plenty of what she needs: money. And she has what I need. I want her pregnant with my baby. I want her to be all mine.
I always get what I want.
Available through Amazon for purchase or FREE through Kindle Unlimited
Table of Contents
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
STAY IN TOUCH
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MORE STORIES BY VESPER VAUGHN