Billionaire Protector

by Kyanna Skye

  “Oh, yeah. Uh, you know I told you I was here undercover? Well, uh, the look isn’t my real name. It’s Ashton. Ashton Ferra.”

  Neva’s eyes widened and anger filled them. “You lied to me about your name? How could you do that?”

  Ashton stared at her in wide-eyed disbelief. Out of all the incredible things he had just come clean about to her, she was mad that he had lied about his name? He couldn’t contain the laugh that bubbled out of him, and a moment later, Neva cracked up right along with him. Finally, he pulled her close, kissing her soundly on the mouth.

  “God, I love you.” He whispered to her.

  “I love you, too…Ashton.” His name had never sounded sweeter.

  Epilogue 8 Month Later

  “Just breathe, baby. Come on Neva, you can do it. Just breathe.” Ashton repeated the words, just like they had practiced over the past months, getting ready for just this moment. The moment his son would come into the world for the first time. He was excited and nervous and so scared he thought he might pass out or vomit or both.

  Neva laid back on the white hospital bed, looking like a goddess as she inhaled slowly and then exhaled. She was barely even sweating while he was standing there in a pond of his own making. It didn’t seem fair. Wasn’t she the one who was supposed to be screaming and crying and making all sorts of noise and he was supposed to be the strong supportive one?

  “It’s alright if you want to wait outside, Ashton. The contractions are getting closer together. It shouldn’t be too much longer.”

  He stared at his beautiful bride flabbergasted.

  “Absolutely not! I wouldn’t miss this for the world.” He tried not to grow pale faced as the doctor did something behind a pale blue curtain, making Neva wince.

  “Are you okay, love? Can I get you something? Are you breathing?” Ashton asked the questions rapid fire.

  “Ashton, I’m serious. I’m okay. There’s nothing you can get me, now. And of course, I’m breathing.” She shot him a look from the bed that let he know he wasn’t being helpful, but he couldn’t help it.

  “Okay, Neva, it’s finally time to push.” The kind voiced doctor said, and his wife nodded as if she had just been given battle orders. He clenched her hand in his. Don’t faint, he told himself over and over. He had never been this terrified before, not through all of his missions with the Special Forces.

  With gritted teeth, Neva began to push, giving him one last warning look.

  “He better not come out with fur.” She said softly, not even noticing the doctor’s odd look. And then there was no more time for words as she began to push in earnest. This child was ready to greet the world and Ashton couldn’t wait to meet the little baby that had become their entire lives over the past eight months.

  It seemed like forever, but several minutes later there was a loud cry as his son was born and Ashton couldn’t hold back the tears that threatened at the corner of each eye. His son. His baby. The doctor moved to cut the umbilical cord but paused, turning back with a look of surprise. Surprise? Ashton thought. Why would he be surprised?

  “Uh, alright Neva. Now I’m going to need you to push one more time, okay honey? It looks like we had a little someone hiding behind her big brother.”

  “What?” Ashton and Neva exclaimed at the same time, but there was no more room to talk as Neva pushed again and soon a second cry joined the first.

  “Twins?” Ashton whispered, dumbfounded. Twins were incredibly rare in the shifter world, he only knew of two other instances, but they were special indeed. So special that they were revered by his people because of their special abilities, even beyond that of the norm.

  “Twins, Neva.” He said again softly as one of the nurses handed him his newborn daughter, freshly cleaned and swaddled. Their son was gently placed in Neva’s arms and she looked up at him with love and wonder shining in her gorgeous brown eyes.

  “I know, Ashton. It’s amazing.” She whispered, grasping his tiny hand in hers.

  “You have no idea.” He whispered softly back as he stared down at his daughter. She had his eyes and nose and her mother’s lips. Love like he had never felt flooded him and he had to bite back a cry of joy. Never in his entire life had he ever done anything to deserve this, to deserve them: his amazing wife and two beautiful babies. A son and a daughter. Joy filled him to the brim and it was all he could to stare down at his family. No, he didn’t deserve them, but he would spend a lifetime making himself better, a lifetime trying.

  He glanced down at Neva, her lids already dropping as exhaustion set in but the smile she sent him set his heart on fire.

  “I love you, Ashton.” She said the words and they twined their way inside him, wrapping around the part of him that would always belong to her and her alone, the part that would be there forever. He smiled back her, everything he felt shining at her from his eyes, and from the special connection they would always share.

  “I love you, my heart.”

  The End

  The Ape’s Redemption

  What if Owen’s secret endangers not only their chance for love but Lucy herself?

  Lucy Harrison thinks of herself as a plain Jane. She moved from a small town to LA with hopes of being an actress but so far things have…not gone as planned. Unemployed and forced to sleep on the most uncomfortable couch she’d ever encountered, every day gets harder and harder just to scrape by. But she refuses to give in and refuses to give up on her dreams, even if it means taking a job that she has no idea what she’s in for.

  In walks Owen Trent. The epitome of tall, dark, and handsome, not to mention totally loaded and owner and CEO of his own major real estate business. He was once known as an eccentric playboy but has grown less playboy and way more eccentric over the past few months. For Lucy, it seems like the perfect opportunity to make some desperately needed cash. The only problem? Every night at ten o’clock he asks her to lock him up and chains and leave him there until the morning.

  As an aspiring actress, it’s not the weirdest thing she’s ever been asked to do, but as they grow closer, and Owen’s secret life is revealed more and more, she finds this enigmatic man harder and harder to resist. But what if his secret endangers not only their chance for love but Lucy herself?

  Chapter 1

  “That’s a wrap, everyone!” The director yelled from his seat behind the slew of cameras. “Great job, really great! And, can I get a round of applause for our leading lady, Lucy Harrison!” The rest of the cast and crew started clapping, whistles of praise shouting out into the balmy Los Angeles air to wrap around her, forcing her to grin even wider. She gave a graceful wave, silently thanking everyone for their hard work over the past few months of filming.

  Sometimes, it’s still hard for her to believe that she’s come so far in just a few short years. From sleeping on a ratty old couch to being a lead actress in a big box office film. It truly was a dream come true. Nobody thought she could do it, not her mother back in her small, rural hometown of Reedville in the middle of nowhere America, and if she was honest with herself, for a long time she hadn’t believed that she could make it either. But hard work and perseverance had finally paid off and now instead of Lucy Harrison, unemployed and basically homeless, she was Lucy Harrison, successful actress and movie star.

  She’d gotten her first big break on the stage, a small time play in an independent theater but that role had opened up her world, and the path to where she is now. And she hadn’t looked back since. She turned to head towards her trailer to get out of the slinky wardrobe she was currently in but a voice calling her name stopped her.

  “Miss Harrison? Um, Miss Harrison?” The sound caught at her, tugging her towards its source standing just outside the barricade that was put up on the entire set after a too eager fan tried to break into her trailer. She looked over, searching for the owner of the voice.

  “Miss Harrison?” It called again, and she traced her gaze around the small crowd of people trying to catch a glimpse of Hollywood ma
gic. Finally, she moved her gaze down, and down a little more until she spotted the little girl. Barely tall enough to reach the top of the wooden barricade she had blond hair pulled up in pigtails and bright blue eyes that stared up at Lucy with keen admiration and a whole lot of shyness.

  Lucy sent her a soft smile and walked closer, ignoring the gasps and oohs and ahhs coming from the crowd as she knelt down in front of the little girl.

  “Please, call me Lucy.” She whispered, trying to ease the little girl’s obvious shyness. “What’s your name?”

  “My– My name is Olivia…Olivia Trenton. You’re so beautiful, and you are my favorite actress ever in the whole world.” Olivia blushed, and Lucy stifled the delighted chuckle not wanting to make her feel any more uncomfortable.

  “Olivia, you’re beautiful too and thank you so much. I always love to meet a real fan.” She thinks momentarily of the creep who tried to break onto the set but dismissed it. It was all part of the price she paid to do what she loved, act. And she wouldn’t change any of it for the world.

  “Lucy, will you…will you sign this picture for me?” The little girl held up the glossy photograph, and Lucy gladly took it and the preferred pen, signing her name with a flourish across the bottom corner and leaving a note as well. To Olivia, my biggest fan, always remember to follow your heart no matter where it might lead you.

  Lucy handed back the autographed photo only to get belted in the face with…something. She frowned down at the small, white, puffy object that had just bounced off her forehead and picked it up. What the hell? It was a bit of popcorn. She looked up just in time to get hit with several more pieces. Olivia was still standing there, this time with a bowl of the ammo and more and more pieces of the stale popcorn were being pelted at her.

  “Hey, what are you…?”

  “Lucy. Lucy, wake up!” A voice said, but it wasn’t the girl's voice any longer.

  “What? What’s going on?”

  “Lucy! I’m serious. You need to get the hell off my couch. Now!”

  Lucy’s eyes snapped open, and she took in her surroundings with a sense of disappointment as reality settle in once more. Bleak. Lonely. And damned uncomfortable. She shifted on the couch she’d been relegated to last week trying to avoid the misshapen lumps in the old piece of crap…er, furniture. Probably shouldn’t call the only home she has left in the world crap, but there it is. Ever since Lucy hadn’t been able to make rent her roommate Tina had found a replacement, someone who could actually pay the rent and had gladly kicked her out of the only other bed in the small apartment and onto this old, terribly uncomfortable couch.

  “This is getting so ridiculous, Lucy,” Tina sneered down at her, still tossing the occasional kernel of popcorn, “You haven’t been able to pay rent in over a month. I’ve let you stay here, but I have a new roommate now, one who actually gives me money for the space they take up rather than just acting like a parasite.”

  “A parasite!” Lucy says, trying to defend herself but it makes it hard when it’s the truth, however unkind. But life had been cruel for her these past few months. She hadn’t been able to find any sort of job and the little savings she did have had dwindled long since.

  “Yes, Lucy, a parasite. I’ve told you this before, but you need to find another place to live.”

  “How can I? Without work? Without any money?” Lucy pleaded, fighting back the torrent of self-loathing.

  “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe you should try and get a job.” Tina threw a bundle of papers in Lucy’s lap before turning away with one last sneer. She’d never been the nicest person, but as long as Lucy paid the rent at least she was civil. Now even that thin veneer was gone leaving Lucy exposed to her razor sharp tongue.

  She glanced down at the papers. They were the classified section of the newspaper but just like the hundreds of other times she’d scoured the pages what jobs were hiring were few and far between, and she wasn’t qualified for the ones that were looking.

  Lucy turned the paper over, and her eyes fell on the situations wanted column. Most were thinly veiled ads for prostitutes, or companies looking to hire paid escorts. For the barest second, she wonders if she could go down that dark road but shakes it off. It will never happen, not her. She may be sleeping on a couch and seconds from being homeless, but she had more pride than that, more respect in herself.

  The words of her mother echo in her ears. The night she left home they’d had a major fallout, and her mom had told her this would happen. That Lucy would move to LA and end up on the streets. That she would never achieve her dream of being an actress. She bites back tears as the reality of her situation once more sinks in and as she does a post at the bottom of the page catches her eye. In big, bold letters it reads Caretaker. No experience necessary. Must live in. Compensated well.

  Chapter 2

  Despite herself, Lucy read the words of the ad again, unable to look away as a spark of curiosity tumbled through her. The idea of a job and a new place to live was enough to almost make her mouth water at the temptation. Could this be the answer to the last few excruciating months?

  Lucy searched for any more information about the job, but the ad in the paper is only those few brief lines, nothing more. No address, no company name. She squinted, holding the paper even closer to her face. Wait a minute. There’s a phone number in the unbelievably small text at the very bottom. Without letting herself second guess her actions, she hastily grabbed a pen, tearing off a little empty corner of the classifieds and scribbling the number.

  A thrill shot through her but a second later, doubts began to swirl. What would she be caring for? Or who? The posting has no other information. It could be anything at all.

  Well, no way to find out until I dial the damn number, she mumbles to herself as she glances over her shoulder. Luckily Tina is ensconced in the bathroom, and the sound of the shower running means she’ll be in there for at least another twenty minutes. Not that it would have mattered, she tells herself as she reaches for her prepaid cell phone. It’s all she can afford at the moment, and she releases a sigh of thanks that she still has some minutes left. She glances at the closed bathroom door one last time. She’s also thankful that she won’t have to make this call with Tina’s snarky, cutting comments and mean looks cast in her direction. Especially if it ends up being nothing.

  You don’t know until you call. That’s right. Before she can give herself any more time to stall, she quickly punches in the number and holds the phone to her ear. It rings and rings, for so long that she wonders if it was a fake number but finally a crackle on the other line announced that someone picked up the phone.

  “Uh, hello?” Lucy says when no other sound comes from the line. “Hello? I’m calling about the listing for a caretaker position that was posted in the LA Times classified section?”

  Another few seconds pass by, and she almost hangs up as her heart starts to sink. But a sudden voice stops her.

  “Your name?” It’s a male voice, rough but cultured, and oddly intimidating even over the phone.

  “Lucy…Lucy Harrison.”

  “You will come in for an interview,” It was not a question, “Do you know where Kershing Street and Lake is?”

  Lucy mentally drew a map of the city. She didn’t know it totally yet, having just moved there a little under a year ago but she knew those street names. And where they intersected was one of the most exclusive and expensive areas in all of Los Angeles. Her brows shot up in surprise. What the hell kind of job would she be interviewing for?

  Before she could get out any sort of answer, or ask any of the questions that were circling around her head the man on the other line of the phone was rattling off an address and a time to be there, less than an hour from now.

  “Be prompt.” Were the last words and then a click on the other line when he hung up. Well, that was kind of weird, Lucy thinks to herself as she slowly lowers her phone. An hour. That will give her just enough time to get cleaned up, try and scrounge up a passabl
e outfit and catch the bus that would take her across town. A small, hopeful smile broke across her face as she jumped up from the couch and went to get changed.

  Fifty-five minutes later exactly she was standing, staring in awe at one of the most magnificent and secluded houses she’d ever seen in her life. Lucy wasn’t even sure if it was appropriate to call it a house. Palace? Mansion? Whatever it was it was enormous and centered on a property that seemed to stretch for acres to either side of her. It is so heavily forested that she almost felt like she was walking through a hidden jungle as she made her way up the winding path to the front door.

  She raises her hand to knock on the door but before she can even make contact the door swings open. An incredibly tall man in a somber looking black suit stares down at her.

  “Miss Harrison?”

  “Um, yes. Hi, I’m Lucy.” She sticks out her hand in greeting, but it's ignored as the man turns around, heading back inside. It’s obvious that he expects her to follow.

  “This way, please.” He says, not even bothering to look back as he heads up a winding set of stairs.

  “Sir, I, uh, would love to find out more about the caretaker position? Would you be needing–.”

  “I won’t be needing anything.” He interrupts her. “Mr. Trent is this way. He will be conducting the interview.”

  His tone cuts off any further questioning but apparently, he is just another employee of this Mr. Trent. Well, at least I have a name now. That was a hell of a lot more than she had a few seconds ago.

  We finally reach the third-floor landing, and he opens a large wooden door into a dark room that seems to be some sort of office or study. There are walls lined with books and a massive oak desk to one side. Behind the desk is the man that must be Mr. Trent. The image in my head of an elderly man stooped over and feeble immediately disintegrates as a tall, muscular man who couldn’t be more than thirty stands to his feet and walks around the desk to lean against the front.