The Mogul's Reluctant Bride - Book Two (Billionaire Brides of Granite Falls)

by Ana E Ross

A tear slipped from Kaya’s eye onto the page. She wiped it away quickly, fearing it would smudge the ink.

  I guess you know by now that we’ve been living in Bryce’s house because ours burnt down to the ground. That day, I came face to face with my own mortality, and shortly afterward, I started writing this letter to you—just in case life throws us another curve ball and this is the only way I can explain everything to you.

  We tend to go along from day to day, thinking that this is all there is to life, but God has His way of reminding us that we’re just pilgrims, passing through a foreign land on our way to eternity with Him. We should never get too comfortable here.

  Speaking of comfortable—or not—everyone must be wondering why Michael and I didn’t leave the children with Bryce. We know he loves them and would treat them as he would treat his own. He’s a good man—loving, gentle, and big-hearted. We even thought about making both of you legal guardians.

  But we know Bryce, and didn’t want our children to become pawns in some custody battle. Bryce is very possessive of those he loves, and could be difficult and domineering in his desires to protect them at times. You’ll understand as you get to know him better. You can’t help but love him for his devotion, though.

  Kaya couldn’t stop the smile that burst through her tears.

  Kaya, I chose you, simply because you’re my sister. I wanted my children to know you, the only living relative they have. I didn’t want to do to them what our parents did to us by keeping them away from their family.

  I wish we’d grown up together, loving each other as sisters, sharing secrets and talking about boys and clothes and makeup. Every time I look at Alyssa, I imagine what you must have looked like as a little girl. She has Daddy’s big, brown beautiful eyes, just like you.

  Kaya paused to take deep gulps of air into her lungs.

  Our father loved you, Kaya. Many times I would catch him looking off into space and when I asked him what he was thinking about, he’d say, “A beautiful little princess I used to know.” And then his eyes would get all damp with tears.

  When I met you at his funeral, I knew that princess was you.

  Kaya bit her lip to stop from crying out.

  I may have had our father to tuck me in at nights and walk me to the bus stop in the mornings. I may have had his hugs and kisses every day. But you, my little sister, always had his heart. If you remember nothing else about him, Kaya, remember this: our father loved you. He longed for you up until the day he died.

  “Oh, Daddy,” Kaya moaned, curling her fist around the locket.

  I don’t know if you’re aware of the reason he stopped seeing you. I didn’t know until after he died and my mother explained you to me. Just in case your mother never told you, here’s the story mine told me:

  Our father is from Africa, the country of Ghana. He came to the United States as a foreign student and this is where he met my mother, who was also African. They fell in love, married, and had me. Years later, he met your mother and fell in love with her. It is customary for the men of his tribe to have multiple wives, so he saw nothing wrong in marrying her. Soon after, you were born. Daddy was afraid to tell your mom about us, not knowing how she would react, and since his work took him away from home a lot, it was easy for him to live a double life. Anyway, your mother became suspicious that he was having an affair, and it caused problems between them. That’s when Daddy moved out of your apartment permanently. You were about five at the time.

  Your mother had him followed and when she found out about my mother and me, she threatened to have him deported or locked up if he ever came near you or her again. I’m sorry you had to grow up without him, Kaya, but if he’d followed his heart and fought for you, he would have lost us both. To him, giving up one daughter was better than losing two.

  Kaya’s tremors were so violent, the king-size bed shook, but she forced herself to keep reading.

  I would have loved to share all this with you in person, perhaps sitting on the back porch watching the children play in the yard. But God would have it differently. He knows best.

  Kaya, please believe that I loved you. And that I know in my heart you will love my children and raise them with the same love and care I would have. I hope having them in your life will bring you some peace and somehow make up for all the years you were separated from Daddy and for those you and I were apart.

  God bless you, Kaya, my beautiful little sister. My children are in perfect hands.

  Love,

  Lauren

  Kaya folded the letter in her fist, curled up like a baby on the bed, and wept for all the years she’d spent being resentful and jealous of Lauren. For what? She’d wasted countless opportunities to know her sister. She’d give anything for one smile, one hug from Lauren now.

  But it was too late. Way too late.

  Kaya had no idea how long she’d wept, but she pulled herself together, sat up on the mattress, and unfolded the letter. Lauren had started a second one at the end of the first.

  Well, Kaya. There’s a slight change in plans since I wrote this letter to you.

  You see, Michael is a bit wary about giving the children to you since he has never met you. You’re my sister, and I feel comfortable with it. However, he has known Bryce for a very long time. He loves him like a brother and he trusts him with our children, and that’s where the second will comes in.

  We decided not to void the will we had Steven draw up because I wanted you to meet the children. I knew you’d fall in love with them and would want to be in their lives, simply because they’re family. We hoped that by the time the more recent will was read, no matter the outcome, you wouldn’t be able to walk away from them, and that you and Bryce would work something out, thus the stipulation prohibiting you from taking them out of Granite Falls if I survived Michael.

  Kaya’s jaw dropped. She had no idea there were conditions in the second will if she’d gained custody. Did Bryce know? Why would he keep it from her?

  Kaya, please don’t be angry with me. Michael and I did what we thought was best for everybody. We hope we didn’t cause too much upheaval to your and Bryce’s lives.

  A chuckle escaped Kaya’s throat. “It was one of the best decisions you ever made, my dear sister. You brought Bryce and me together, and I thank you for that.”

  Kaya gazed out at the sun rising over the lake. A warm shiver rushed up her spine as she recalled her short-lived romantic tryst with Bryce in the kitchen earlier today.

  He’d snuck up behind her and backed her into the refrigerator. His kisses had been voracious, demanding, almost punishing as his hands had roamed over her body with a desperate intensity in his touch. She’d gasped in sweet agony when he’d pulled her robe open and slid one large hand inside the neckline of her nightgown to cup the breast closest to his palm, while his other hand slid down her thigh to the hem of her nightgown. He’d pulled it up slowly until his knuckles brushed the insides of her thighs.

  “Spread your legs,” he’d ordered as his thumb caught the crotch of her panties and pulled it away from her body. “God, you’re so hot and wet already.”

  “Bryce,” Kaya had whispered, grabbing a handful of his shirt for support as her knees had buckled from beneath her. “What are you doing?”

  “Testing,” he’d said, gazing into her eyes.

  “Test— Ahhh…” A shock of desire had shaken Kaya to the core as Bryce glided a finger inside her.

  “How’s that?” he asked, pulling it out and driving it slowly back in, going way past knuckle deep.

  “Goo…goo… good.”

  “What about this?” he’d rasped, sliding another finger inside as his thumb caressed the little bud that governed the level of her arousal.

  “Oh, God.” Kaya had closed her eyes as passion zinged through her and her muscles clamped hungrily around his digits.

  “Any pain?”

  “No…no,” she’d managed as her legs trembled and her hips began moving in a rhythm that matched the tempo
of his fingers. “It feels good… so good…”

  “Auntie Kaya, where are you?”

  “Damn. We’re finishing this tonight,” he’d uttered on a groan as he pulled his fingers out of her, and hastily helped her fix her clothes.

  Kaya shivered from the memory of the passionate promises in his eyes as he’d brought his fingers to his mouth and sucked her juices off of them.

  “Sweet,” he’d muttered before stepping out onto the patio mere seconds before Alyssa sauntered into the kitchen.

  She was so ready for him, Kaya thought. She knew that if Alyssa hadn’t called out for her at that moment, she would have slithered to the floor and let Bryce take her right there in the kitchen, or on the marble countertop, or the kitchen table—wherever he wanted her. She would never say no to him again.

  “I love him, Lauren,” she said, a smile spreading across her face in anticipation of being with Bryce tonight.

  Would he leave after dinner as usual, and then sneak back into the house and her bed in the middle of the night when Haley and the kids were asleep? Even though they’d consummated their marriage, their relationship still wasn’t normal. There were issues that needed to be worked out—his living arrangements, for one. She wanted him to move into L’etoile du Nord. She wanted to fall asleep in his arms every night and wake up next to him every morning. She wanted her husband. Period.

  Kaya had no idea if it was better to bring up the subject before or after they made love again. With a sigh of uncertainty, she glanced down at the letter and read the last paragraph.

  If I could offer you one bit of advice, Kaya, it would be that you must live. Life is too short. Do all the things you want to do before it’s too late. And whatever you do, don’t run from love; don’t hide from it. Embrace it with wide-open arms, for after all is said and done, Love is all we have.

  I love you.

  Your sister,

  Lauren.

  “I love you, too, Lauren, and I pray that Bryce would grow to love me as much as Michael loved you.”

  * * *

  Bryce stared absentmindedly at the team of engineers, machinists, geoscientists, electricians, and environmentalists seated around the conference table at Fontaine Enterprises. The monotonous hum of their voices bounced off the walls and echoed in his ears, but their words were lost on him.

  He’d psychologically detached himself from the discussion a while ago when thoughts of his wife had surged to the forefront of his mind.

  It had been three days since they’d made love, and during those three days, he’d being doing nothing but relive the sexy little sighs and moans coming out of Kaya as he’d kissed his way up and down her body from head to toe. He couldn’t shake the sensations elicited from the smooth touch of her small hands gliding along his back and arms, and the velvety softness of her moist heat clamped around him.

  And God, her aroma, her musky, arousing aroma was forever etched into his brain.

  Every taste in his mouth, every scent in his nostrils, every touch to his skin sang “Kaya”. He’d been infected with her, living and breathing her. His desire to have her writhing beneath him again was driving him out of his mind. He’d reached his limit this morning when he went to pick up Jason for school and found Kaya walking around the kitchen in a white satin robe that clung provocatively to the sweet curves of her hips and buttocks, reminding him of the pleasure her delectable little body had brought him.

  It had taken all his strength to tear himself away from L’etoile du Nord with nothing but a quick squeeze of her breasts, a hungry smooch of her mouth, and the velvety feel of her wet, tight flesh gripping his fingers as he’d cornered her against the refrigerator. All he’d wanted to do was pick Kaya up, toss her over his shoulder, march up the stairs to her bedroom, and spread her out on her bed where he would have spent the rest of the day performing licentious acts on her body.

  But the house was too crowded and he’d had to get Jason to school. By the time he reached Granite Falls Elementary, Bryce knew he’d have to break a rule or he’d pop a vein in his brain if he denied himself of Kaya any longer.

  He’d love to whisk her away on his jet to a honeymoon destination of her choice, but he couldn’t do that until he knew the kids, especially Alyssa, could cope without them for more than one night. Since they couldn’t go away on a honeymoon, he would bring the honeymoon to them. He planned to make tonight exceptionally special for both of them.

  It was time she got to know him. Really know him. She’d begged for deeper penetration that night, but Bryce was wise enough to know it would have been a mistake to grant her request. He remembered too vividly the look of fear and surprise in her eyes the morning after when she’d gazed at his naked body for the first time. The fact that he was the first man she’d seen naked had deepened his affection for her. He’d given her something he’d never given another woman.

  Bryce knew he was more heavily endowed than most men. When he’d first began experimenting with sex, he’d been ever so eager to show off for the girls, but when some of them—especially the petite ones—backed out of their promises, he’d learned to be discreet, ease them into the experience of taking him. Many were surprised that their bodies could stretch that much to accommodate him, and even more surprised at the depth of pleasure he brought them.

  Even Pilar had been a little bit scared of him.

  His size was the reason he’d kept Kaya literally in the dark as he’d made love to her. He hadn’t wanted her to touch him or see him, even though at the time he was unaware that she was still a virgin—the first one he’d ever had, Bryce thought with a deep sense of affection for her. Now that she knew that she could handle him, he would have no trouble enticing her back to his bed. If her eager response to him this morning was any indication, he knew she was ready to proceed with the sexual phase of their marriage.

  Their first time had been under cover of night. Their next time would be in the light of day, Bryce suddenly decided. He couldn’t wait for tonight. He wanted Kaya to enjoy the pleasure of seeing exactly what he was doing to her.

  A groan echoed in the room.

  “What was that, Mr. Fontaine?”

  Bryce shook his head as he became aware of the constriction in his groin. Damn! Damn! Damn! He was hard as a rock. It was a desperately horny man who developed a hard-on while sitting in the middle of a conference room surrounded by his colleagues and subordinates.

  The men stared at him, waiting for him to offer some brilliant complement to their discussion. He had nothing. They had assembled to discuss wind turbine models and power, wind maps, access roads, environmental aesthetics and nuisances, and everything else associated with Fonandt Wind Energy, an emerging wind farm corporation owned by Fontaine Enterprises and Andretti Industries.

  Fonandt Wind Energy would be one of the few wind farms in New Hampshire, and its expected net production would tremendously exceed all the others put together. The other wind energy companies that were providing power as far south as Boston and north to Vermont were already petitioning the state to restrict the size of Fonandt’s farms. They knew, as Bryce did, that it was only a matter of time before he gobbled them up. It was the nature of the beast.

  As important as this meeting was to the success of Fonandt Energy, Bryce knew it would be wise to reschedule. He couldn’t concentrate, nor could he contribute anything meaningful to the meeting. He cleared his throat. “Gentlemen, I must confess that I’m a bit preoccupied. It would be in our best interest to cut this meeting short and reschedule.”

  “But, Mr. Fontaine, this is a reschedule. You postponed our first meeting a few weeks ago when one of your godchildren was ill.”

  Bryce turned his attention to Marcus Spencer, the chief engineer at Fontaine Construction. “Yes, I did do that, Marcus, and I apologize for all inconveniences this will cause each of you, but—” he added, pushing back his chair and rising to his feet now that he’d regained his composure, “since you all work for me, it’s my prerogative to cut
short or reschedule a meeting as often as I please. If any of you think I’m wasting your time, please feel free to express yourself.”

  He looked from one man to the other, and when he was satisfied that none of them would dare challenge him, he closed the folder in front of him. “Mrs. Grant will be in to reschedule at each of your earliest convenience,” he stated on his way to the door. “Good day, gentlemen.” He opened the door then closed it upon his exit.

  “Elaine,” he said, coming to stand in front of the desk of his personal assistant, a stout, kind-faced woman in her forties, “is everything all set?”

  Elaine smiled from her chair behind her desk. “Yes Mr. Fontaine. Everything is in place as you ordered.”

  “Thank you.”

  “There’s a change again,” he said. “Could you please schedule another meeting with the gentlemen?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “And I don’t have any other appointments for the day, correct?”

  “No, sir. I cleared your calendar up until Wednesday and rescheduled all your appointments. I already uploaded the revised agenda to your phone.”

  “I appreciate that.”

  “It’s what you pay me to do, Mr. Fontaine.”

  Bryce chuckled. “I will be leaving shortly.”

  “I understand, sir.”

  He was sure she did, Bryce thought as he smiled down at her. Elaine had been his personal assistant for the past four years, but he’d known her for much longer. She was still a faithful member of the church where he used to attend with Pilar, and Michael and Lauren—the church Kaya now attended regularly with the kids.