“Shhh baby, none of this is your fault.”
“It is though. They found me and followed me here. There weren’t any other customers so they beat up the cashier and grabbed me… Oh Alex… It was horrible. I thought… I thought I was going to die.. What if they would have hurt you? I thought I could just keep out –running them. They could have killed you…” She wasn’t even worried about herself as she sat here bleeding from her lip. I kissed the side of her face again.
“They won’t be able to hurt anyone else, okay. It’s over baby. It’s finally over and you can breathe.” I wanted to just get her out of here and home where she can rest and feel safe. Those thugs better hope that the cops had gotten there in time to save them from Hector and his guys. The woman I love would be protected…always…no matter what I had to do.
SAMANTHA
A FEW MONTHS LATER
“Alex? Are you almost ready for lunch? The wedding planner is going to beat us there baby!”
It had been a few months since the incident at the bakery. I couldn’t help but marvel at how your whole life can change in a matter of hours or days…mine had all changed for the better and I can’t imagine what I was thinking before when I thought that I didn’t need Alex.
“Sei!” I stepped into his office. He bought us a house a month ago after he proposed to me. He said he wanted to raise our children in the Italian countryside. He had the architect design a home office for him…and me. His is on one side of the house and Mrs. Isabelle still works as his secretary. Mine is on the other side of the house.
My business is taking off by leaps and bounds…but when it is time to have those babies, Alex and I will both be here, to love them and raise them and meet each other in the middle. Today we’re meeting one last time with the wedding planner. Our wedding will be held next week in no other place than the Island of Capri. I’m so excited!
He finishes signing the document in front of him on his desk as I came in the door. He looked up at me and winked, his blue eyes sparking with mischief. My breath still catches in my throat every time. “You look beautiful,” he said. He says that every time he sees me. God, I love this man.
“Thank you, so do you. I didn’t get a bad deal.” He laughed.
“Are you ready?”
He grabbed his keys and stood up. “Ready,” he says striding over to me. The orange light from the window catches across his hair and takes my breath away. His angular face looks so sexy against the rays the light and shadow as he moves towards me. He puts his arm around me and pulls me into his side. His kiss is a sweet, lingering kiss and I sigh heavily, melting to him. He kisses my right cheek and brow and forehead and I catch a glimpse of my ring glistening from my hand on his shoulder.
“Sono anni che ti stavo cercando. Sei la mia anima gemella et io ti amo cosi tanto.”I have been searching for you all my life. You are my soulmate and I love you. I smiled again and touched the side of his face, drawing him down into another kiss. That one turned more passionate and when we broke it he said, “You know, we could reschedule…”
“Alexander! You had me four times last night, my love. At this rate we’ll never accomplish anything!”
“I’d be okay with that,” he said with a wink, leading down the stone hallway. “I can’t wait to marry you…so let’s go finish planning this damn thing. Then we can spend lots of time practicing for baby…then we can make a baby or two and then….”
Giggling as we walked down the iron staircase I tugged on him and he stopped midway. “Then what?” I asked him.
“Then absolutely positively whatever you want. We both know you’ve called the shots around here for a while, baby.”
“I love you, Alex.” I felt tears prickling behind my eyes. It took us another ten minutes to make it into the car; we were kissing as we went through the foyer and down onto the paved pathway. Me and my man.
THE END
_______________________
The following is an excerpt of Veronica Maxim’s military romance Dangerous Love Benefits - your FREE copy is available on Instant Download in our Book Club!
COLE
The first thing I noticed when I woke up from surgery was the smell of roses. That was weird. Of all the things I associated with hospitals, roses wasn’t one of them. I’d been expecting pain, the smell of disinfectant. Maybe even men in face masks staring down at me. But not roses. I tried to open my eyes, but the anesthetic still had me foggy and exhausted.
My training kicked in. Intelligence is what gives you the upper hand. So what did I know?My name is Cole Huntley. I was shipped back from the Middle East after sustaining a burn the size of a dinner plate over my hip and abdomen. After an eighteen-hour flight from hell, I was rushed into the emergency room, knocked out cold, and prepped for emergency surgery.
I could assume that I was still in the military hospital, and I seemed to be lying on a bed. Must be in a ward. Not much noise around me, but I could hear the sound of birds singing. Muted, as though it came from the other side of a window. Middle of the day. As for the smell of roses… well, nobody was going to leave flowers by my bedside. The smell had to belong to a person.
There was a person who smelled like roses in the room with me. I decided to make myself known. A little bit of major emergency abdominal surgery wasn’t going to get me down! I cleared my throat and said, “There’s plenty of room in this bed if you need to take a nap too.”
At least, that’s what I tried to say. The anesthetic wasn’t having it though, and I ended up just mumbling a long string of unintelligible syllables. Oh well. Worth a shot.
“Oh, you’re awake,” said a female voice. It’s hard to tell without looking, of course, but this woman sounded attractive. She soundedsoft. Silky. Her voice was like a caress. I sensed her leaning over me. “Can you open your eyes?”
“For you, sweetheart, anything,” I mumbled. It came out a little better this time, but still not perfect. I’m sure she got the gist. I tried to pry my eyes open, and to my surprise, I succeeded. Light flooded my brain. I was on a clean, white, sterile hospital ward, and leaning over me was one of the most beautiful creatures I’d ever seen.
“You’ve got to be the most beautiful nurse I’ve ever seen,” I said. Third time’s the charm – this time my words were a little slurred, but otherwise intelligible. A frown crossed the woman’s face.
“I’m a doctor,” she said. “Your doctor, in fact.” She looked me up and down. “My name is Dr. Piper Phillips, and I’ll be supervising your recovery.”
I swallowed hard. A civilian. Not a great start. But the doctor really was beautiful. I’d never seen anyone with hair such a golden color, or with a set of features so perfectly arranged. Her skin was smooth and radiant, and her blue eyes bore straight into me with a sharp intelligence. Not only that, but her breasts were stunning. Hidden, of course, beneath a sensible blouse, but I could see they were full, rounded and heavy.
“Well,” I said, doing my best to sound casual despite the fogginess, “You gotta promise to go easy on me, Doctor Piper. I’ve been in battle. The fight of my life.”
That seemed to reach her – a tight little smile flashed across her lips. I felt like grinning. Once you’ve made a woman smile, you’re halfway there. I lay back on my bed as she read my chart and checked me over. I can’t say I didn’t enjoy it. My pulse spiked just looking at her.
“How long have you been a doctor?” I asked as she was updating my chart.
Piper looked at me with that piercing gaze. “Four years now. Why do you ask?”
“Just curious,” I said. “You look very young. You must be one of those gifted ones.”
That got a little bit of a smile too, but not much. I could tell that she was holding back, keeping herself professional. That only made me more determined to crack her shell. I knew it was possible. I’ve got a sixth sense for when women are attracted to me. It’s one of those things that I just know. It’s not the best superpower in the world, but it has its moments.
>
“Are you wearing perfume, Doc?” I asked, making it sound like I’d only just now noticed.
“A little,” said Piper without looking up.
“Roses?”
“Yeah.” She glanced up at me this time. Each look from those perfect blue eyes was its own reward. I would have loved to have her stare at me all day. Not to mention have those tits hanging over me again.
“Huh. Well then, thanks!”
“For what?”
“Your perfume was what woke me up. First thing I was aware of.” I looked her up and down, taking in her pert little body hidden beneath her sensible clothes. My cock stirred from deep below and I imaged wrapping my big hands all over her tight curves. Oh yes, she would fit nicely under me. Her face flushed as my eyes hovered over her lips. Fair’s fair – she had been checking me over a minute ago. “Believe me,” I said, “there are worse ways to wake up. In fact, I’d have to say you’re the nicest thing I’ve opened my eyes to in quite some time.”
That did it. The smile that broke onto her face – just for a second – was a genuine one. Wide, not forced, and it reached her eyes. I smiled back, and for a minute I felt the hot tension between us. Piper glanced away. She hung my chart up on the edge of my bed and swiveled on her heel.
“I’ll come back and check on you soon,” she said, and with that she was gone. I lay back in bed. It sure didn’t seem like I was going anywhere soon. Might as well get some sleep.
As I drifted off, my head swam with golden hair and rose petals, my face fully buried between creamy tits….
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THANK YOU!
Hi! This is author Emilia Domino! I'm the community manager at Scribble XO Book Club! Thank you for taking the time to check out our authors' stories - I hope you are transported someplace romantic and happy!
I'm thrilled that we were able to offer more stories to you at no additional cost! This is our way of saying thank you for such a fantastic year! Authors wouldn't be anywhere without readers like you, so your support REALLY means a lot to us.
I wanted to invite you to join a thriving online community where you’ll find authors like me sharing our work and inspiration! It’s a fun Book Club hosted by Scribble XO Books! New book releases, behind-the scenes and other juicy reads from me and others.
Oh and membership is FREE!
Download a sizzling military romance (the excerpt included here) and find out more about our book club here: Sure, I’ll Check It Out!
Above all, happy reading!
~Author Emilia Domino
______________________
Navigation
Gemma Baby
Just In Time
Falling For You
Excerpt of military romance!
BWWM: OFF LIMITS: An Interracial Alpha Billionaire Romance (Urban African American Contemporary Series) Page 285