The Billionaire's Accidental Bride

by Love, Kimmy

  She didn't like the way that he was approaching this like a business deal, but she supposed she couldn't complain. They'd both known that their night together had been a one-night stand, so she reasoned that it wasn't fair of her to expect false formalities now. Down to business it was.

  "Alright. Tell me what you're thinking."

  "It's not my choice."

  "I want to keep it."

  Jack took in a short, sharp intake of breath at that and Annaya could see him mulling over her words. He leaned back in his chair and placed his hands on his knees, thinking hard about something. Annaya put her coffee down on the table in front of them and turned to face him. Finally, she caught those dark eyes and that spark that was undeniably between them ignited once more, so that it took her a moment longer to get her words out than she'd expected.

  "I'm not after your money or my five minutes of fame," she assured him. "I'm not expecting you to drop everything and play house with me here or for you to put me up in Vegas to be near you. Really, Jack, I'm expecting nothing. I just wanted you to know."

  "If you decide to have this baby, then you'll have my support," Jack promised her. "I'll pay for anything you need. I'll make sure you and the baby are taken care of."

  Annaya held up her hands to object and shook her head. "I want nothing," she reiterated. "Child support and things for the baby, fine. The rest I'll sort out myself. I'm not looking for a free ride."

  "Alright," Jack nodded. "I guess that's that, then. You just need to call me for anything you need. There's just one more thing."

  "What do you need?"

  "It's awkward to ask but I really need you to keep this quiet. No press."

  "I told you: I'm not after making a name for myself. You don't have to worry about me selling a story. I won't even tell anyone who got me pregnant."

  Jack looked down at his lap as though he were ashamed at what he was asking, but then he looked up at Annaya with a grateful smile and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "I'm sorry that this has been such a nightmare."

  "We should've been more careful, but never mind. What's done is done. I just wanted to get on the same page."

  "Sure. Well, whatever happens, I'll make sure you've got everything you need."

  "Thanks."

  An awkward pause filled the room as what had needed to be discussed had been discussed. There was nothing more to be said to fill the silence between a man and a woman who were barely more than strangers.

  "Are you flying home tonight?" Annaya asked at last, just for something to say to break the tension.

  "Tomorrow."

  "Where are you staying tonight?"

  "A hotel, I guess."

  "Really? I have a spare room, you know. You could stay here if you like. It looks like our paths are going to be crossing again, so it's probably worth getting to know each other."

  Annaya could sense Jack's hesitation as he weighed up his options and then finally, he nodded. "Alright. Thanks. My case is in my rental car. I'll go grab it."

  Jack left the apartment to go to his rental car downstairs and grab his things. While he was gone, Annaya raced into her bedroom to check that everything was in order. She knew that it was scandalous of her to think that anything would happen between them again tonight, especially with everything that was going on between them, but if things did end up in the bedroom, she at least wanted the bed to be made. By the time Jack returned, she was sitting innocently on the sofa, as though she'd never got up.

  "Are you hungry?" she asked. "I can order in."

  "Sure."

  The hostess pulled out a pile of take-away menus from the drawer under her TV and they ordered some Chinese food. She poured Jack a glass of wine to help lift the tension in the air and she turned on the television. It was a strange situation. Simultaneously, she felt awkward around the father of her child to-be and incredibly turned on. Even as he sat on the opposite side of the sofa from her, Annaya kept finding her eyes wandering away from the screen to his dark eyes and strong shoulders.

  She remembered how lonely she'd felt the night she'd returned from Vegas and crawled into an empty bed and once again the urge to lie with someone else struck her again. Now more than ever, the future felt scary and nothing made her feel safer when everything was falling apart, than to be wrapped up in the arms of a man.

  As if reading her mind, Jack turned to her suddenly and asked, "Are you worried about it?"

  "The pregnancy? Sure, but I know I'll be alright. How do you feel about it?"

  "I'm still struggling to get my head around it, to be honest. I was bowled over when you called. I hadn't been expecting it."

  "I'm sorry to have dropped it on you like that."

  "No. You were right to call. The last thing I'd want is some journalist turning up asking why a billionaire isn't taking care of the destitute mother of his child..."

  Annaya let out a laugh at Jack's warped priorities and she rolled her eyes. "I'm not destitute. God, your reputation matters to you a lot, doesn't it?"

  "Not mine, my father's," Jack corrected her. "I'm meant to be a representation of him and I don't do a great job at it."

  "You get in trouble a lot, then?"

  "I've been told more than once that I have more money than sense. It's probably true."

  "So, what do you do? I mean, do you work for your father or have your own job?"

  "I'm learning the business," Jack told her. "I'm finding I'm very good with the politics and not so good with the paperwork. All the shaking hands and galas – no problem, but ask me to keep track of the finances and I'm useless. My father would like me to inherit the business when he passes, but I've been told I'm treading on thin ice."

  "So, why don't you calm down a bit, if you're pushing your luck?"

  A wicked little grin appeared on Jack's face and he met her eye devilishly. "I just like having fun a little too much." He noticed Annaya raising her eyebrows in judgment and he laughed. "Don't give me that look. I'm pretty sure you're the one who suggested getting married."

  Annaya laughed. She could tell he was teasing. "I'm sure that was your idea."

  "Hmm. I guess we'll have to put it down to a shared moment of madness."

  "It was mad, wasn't it?"

  The two found themselves laughing and Annaya finally felt some of the tension lift. Yes, the situation was not what either of them had expected. Yes, there were some tricky hurdles ahead, but thank God they could laugh at the madness that had brought them here and try to find some common ground in their shared tendency to take a good time too far.

  "It was you who began it," Jack accused her, with a teasing glance. He took a sip of the wine she'd poured him, while Annaya admired the beautiful curve of his neck when he threw his head back to drink.

  "Me?"

  "You and the way you were leaning across that poker table."

  "You were the one who said you wanted to take me out that night."

  "You were the one who'd already booked a hotel room."

  Annaya gave a wicked grin to match the one that Jack had produced only moments earlier. "I hate being a third wheel to couples."

  "Tell me about it. My father has been begging me to get married for years. He thinks the love of a good woman will help me settle down."

  "I don't think ours was the kind of marriage he had in mind."

  Jack gave her a sideways glance and another mischievous grin. "I could do worse. Oh, that reminds me..." The billionaire opened his case and pulled out some paperwork, which he handed to her. "It came just before I set off this morning. The annulment went through."

  "You know, this is how I always imagined my family life would begin," Annaya joked, accepting the papers and laying them down on the side, but there was just a hint of sadness in her voice. No, she hadn't expected the birth of her first child to begin with the annulment of a seedy elopement with his absent father. It was hard for Annaya to accept that nothing had gone according to plan.

  Jack reached out and laid a
hand on her knee. "I'm going to take care of you," he repeated sincerely. "I really don't want you to worry."

  Annaya turned away from him with a sigh and looked down at her lap. "I always thought that I'd be married and settled down with a man before I had kids. I've always looked forward to having someone to come home to, you know? I just hate sleeping alone."

  The pregnant woman was surprised when she turned to look back up and the billionaire caught her with a kiss. She gasped and jumped back. "Jack!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing?"

  Jack pulled back quickly and apologized. "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me."

  Annaya knew what had come over him. It was the same thing that had come over her. It was the presence of a wild attraction between them and the knowledge that the damage had already been done, so they might as well enjoy each other. Common sense told her that she should politely ask him to leave and sensibly start planning her child's college fund. The woman inside her told her that she didn't know when she'd next be able to share a night with a man, especially one as sexy as Jack.

  It wouldn't be too long until her belly grew and then she'd become a single mom and she knew that her opportunities to indulge that wild, sexy side of herself would become few and far between. Why not give in just one last time? Besides, she didn't even remember the first time they'd had sex and she desperately wanted to know what it felt like to make love to Jack.

  Ignoring her more logical instincts and giving into her more carnal ones, Annaya leaned forward and pulled Jack towards her. She pressed her lips down over his in an urgent, passionate kiss. Immediately, he responded to her advances and he pushed her down on the sofa, kissing her deeply and hungrily.

  Annaya's heart began to beat faster and a flush rose up her face from sexual excitement and her attraction to him. She eagerly pulled his face down to hers to kiss him even more deeply. Her hands ran over the broad length of his strong shoulders and she could feel every firm muscle beneath his shirt.

  She was wearing a light pink buttoned blouse and Jack began to pull those buttons open, one at a time, exposing her white lacy bra and the smooth curve of her breasts. One of his hands cupped the lace while his other sunk into her hair and his lips continued to press down over hers, his tongue parting her lips and tasting her.

  Her head spun with arousal and the scent of Jack's musky aftershave as he kissed her again. She ripped off his shirt. Beneath the thin material, his body was even more incredible than she'd remembered. He was lean and sculpted and she ran a finger down his washboard stomach. Jack reached around to unhook her bra and let the white lace fall to the ground.

  His eyes lit up at the sight of her round breasts freed and he brought his mouth down to suck on one of her dark nipples. Annaya buried her fingers in his smooth hair and bit down on her lip as his tongue flicked over her nipple and made her body tingle and begin to ache with desire. She wanted him desperately.

  Jack reached down to unbutton her denim jeans and pulled them from her body, followed by her lacy white panties. When she was completely naked on the sofa, he took a moment to hover above her and drink in the sight.

  Her frothy hair fell over her shoulders, her pert breasts heaved as her aroused breaths came fast and heavy and her perfect hourglass figure seemed even more perfect when she reached up to pull him back down to kiss her again.

  Jack's hands ran down over her slim navel and then his fingers crept down between her legs. He pushed her thighs apart and his thumb sought out her clitoris. He began to expertly tease her until the pleasure began to make her gasp and grip at the armrest behind her head. He brought her to a powerful orgasm and she cried out loudly. Then Jack pulled off his pants and underpants and while she was still trembling from the orgasm he'd just given her, he thrust deeply into her and made a new wave of pleasure rush over her.

  Annaya grasped at his shoulders and moved her hips into his powerful thrusts, gasping and growing breathless as wave after wave of bliss made her grow weak. Finally, Jack gave one final thrust and came inside her. Then he fell down on top of her and kissed her inner neck. Annaya buried her fingers in the hair at the back of his head as the tremors died down and then she felt that sadness return. She wished that Jack didn't have to go.

  *****

  Jack slept in the guest room that night and Annaya in her own bed. It felt strange to know that he was so close but that they were in separate beds. She wished that they had more of a connection that would make sleeping in the same bed feel more natural, but they both knew that even with a surprise pregnancy, their relationship had still been just about the sex.

  Annaya foresaw a lot of heartbreak ahead of her; just because she and Jack had an undeniable and irrepressible chemistry between them that she predicted would see them always blurring the lines between just friends and something more.

  Not that she expected a relationship to arise from their bedroom antics, but she could no more imagine them sitting side by side on the sofa as they had done that night and not end up sleeping together.

  Of course, the chemistry was there now, but Annaya wondered how she'd feel when her stomach began to swell from the pregnancy and she was waddling around and Jack would undoubtedly gravitate towards the company of other women.

  Would she be jealous? Would she be lonely? She didn't want to think about it, so she pulled the covers up over her head, curled up into a ball and thought about the next awkward conversation that they'd undoubtedly be having the next day.

  When the morning came, Annaya set about making another coffee and didn't mention the sex they'd had last night, which, like the first night of lovemaking between them, quickly became an event they didn't speak about.

  She was relieved when Jack greeted her with a smile and he accepted his coffee without saying anything himself. A silent agreement not to mention the raging sexual attraction between them or what it meant for the future, was made and they both moved onto speaking about other things.

  "Will you call me if there's anything you need?" Jack urged her, as he got ready to leave for the airport that day. "You don't have to hesitate to ask."

  "I'm fine, Jack. It'll be a while before I need anything. Thank God. I'd have hated to have been huge at Natalie's wedding. The bridesmaid's dress will still fit."

  "I'm sure you'll look beautiful."

  Annaya gave him a grateful smile, but sighed. "I was looking forward to it, but now I just can't wait to get through it."

  "Why?"

  "Because weddings are full of people who've got their lives sorted," Annaya told him. "I could have coped with being on my own, but I'm not sure I can face being single and knocked up. I'm just a disaster."

  Jack frowned and caught her by the hand. He caught her eye and said firmly, "You're not a disaster, Annaya. In fact, I think you're being very strong in the face of a difficult situation."

  "You're kind, Jack, but wrong. Nothing's gone to plan."

  "Would it help if I came with you to the wedding?"

  Annaya shot him a look of surprise. "What if someone took a photo? Wouldn't that blow your cover?"

  "I think I'd be safe over here. I'll come with you, if you like."

  "Do you mean it?"

  "Yes. Didn't I say that if I ever saw you again I'd take you on a real date? This will be it. It's the least I can do, considering."

  "That would mean a lot. Thank you."

  Annaya felt her heart lift at the prospect of having a date to Natalie's wedding. It was bad enough having to ward off questions about why she was nearly thirty and still single without the secret knowledge that she was also pregnant with an unplanned child.

  Plus, it meant that Jack was serious about supporting her. It wasn't a marriage proposal, but it was an offer of more than money. It was a promise to give her moral support and Annaya knew that she'd be in need of that far more than money as the months rolled by.

  She was disappointed when it was time for Jack to go. The meeting had been strange, swinging between not knowing what to say to o
ne another and not being able to keep their hands off one another, but with Jack's promise to come with her to Natalie's wedding, Annaya was hopeful that a relationship of more substance could form. Even if she and Jack weren't destined for a great romance, it would be nice to know that they could be friends.

  She didn't expect her one-night stand to drop everything to start a relationship with her just because she'd gotten pregnant. But it meant a lot to her to know that she could rely on the father of her child for support when it was needed.

  At last, Jack left and Annaya stood at the window for a while after he'd gone, just staring at the spot where his expensive car had been parked. She still wasn't sure how she felt about the man. There was still so much about him that she didn't know. She felt that he was a man that had his priorities all wrong.

  She didn't like how he was so concerned with what the public would make of his actions and she wished that the worry of the press wasn't hanging over them. Annaya would much prefer that her unplanned pregnancy was a private scandal and not at risk of becoming a national one. She also wished that Jack's first concern would be her and not his reputation, but she knew that whatever kind of relationship she ended up having with Jack, that it wouldn't be conventional.

  He was a billionaire, after all, which was easy to forget when they were eating Chinese out of foil tins in her cramped apartment, but it was true, all the same. There were eyes on him and he had responsibilities that she could never understand.

  His values were different from hers and Annaya could tell that it would be a battle to bring him down from his pedestal and make him see her for who she was – not a PR disaster waiting to happen. She was not an obstacle to his father's fortune, but a human woman, with thoughts and feelings and a baby growing inside her. Annaya finally tore herself away from the window, not sure if she felt any better for having seen Jack. There were still too many things that were uncertain.

  Annaya took a deep breath and told herself to calm down. He'd come, hadn't he? He promised he'd take care of her. Annaya knew that Jack would not leave her wanting for the material things, not when there was the risk that one day the world would ask him to answer for his actions. But she worried that would be all he'd offer her. She thought ahead to Natalie's wedding and it cheered her up a little. It wasn't much, but it was a start: a real date with Jack Casali.