Fearless Kiss: A Billionaire Possession Novel

by Amelia Wilde

  I can’t look away from Gideon. “I planned something for you,” I say, and my voice is choked with all the emotions I’ve been shoving deep down today.

  “Why?” The word is soaked in heartache, and it’s all I can do to keep tears from spilling out of my eyes.

  “Because you were right,” I say, over the sound of the plane’s engines.

  “Right about what?”

  “That life—” I blink another wave of tears back. “That you can’t live it if you’re going to be afraid. Sometimes, you can try shit out and it turns out really, really well.”

  He grins, a sheen of wetness in his eyes. Dave and Hank look away. “I don’t think I ever said that to you.”

  “You didn’t have to. You took me to places I never thought I would go. That I was always too afraid to visit. And you showed me that my sister—” I have to stop again, but I want to get the words out before it’s time to jump out of this damn airplane. “My sister isn’t letting that accident rule her life, and I shouldn’t either. She was so mad at me for walking out on you.” I let out a laugh that’s almost a sob. “She’s a bigger daredevil than you are, and I never saw it. I’ve been spending all this time worrying, and none of it actually seeing her.”

  Gideon’s mouth works, and when he speaks again his voice is firm. “You don’t have to do this.”

  “I do.” Then, because I can’t stand it anymore, I lean forward and press my lips against his. He tenses for just the barest second, and then he wraps his hand around the back of my head, kissing me so hard I’m sure he’ll leave a bruise.

  When he pulls back, Hank lets out a low whistle. “Damn. Are we about to see a proposal?” He and Dave laugh together, but Gideon’s eyes are locked on mine, blazing with heat and hope.

  “I’m sorry, Kennedy. I should have woken you up from that damn nap.”

  “I should have realized that Abby’s an adult, and a schemer, too. She was going to convince you to do something I wouldn’t approve of, guaranteed.”

  He pulls me closer, kissing me again, softly. “I love you.”

  “I love you.”

  “Please don’t walk away from me again.”

  “I won’t.”

  I breathe him in, relishing his clean, spicy scent, my entire chest exploding with warmth and love and a rightness that rights the entire world around me.

  Then Dave taps my shoulder, and my gut plummets back into my shoes.

  “Kennedy. We’re just about there.”

  Gideon’s eyes shine with glee.

  When the green light goes on, Hank rises and triple-checks the clips that bind his harness to Gideon, who’s grinning like a maniac. They move toward the open door of the plane, the wind whipping by.

  I don’t know if I can do this.

  Gideon turns back. “I’ll see you on the ground, pretty thing.”

  Then Hank is counting—one, two, three—and on three he pushes them out of the plane, tumbling gracefully into the air. I choke back a scream.

  It’s my turn.

  Dave and I stand, and he clips our harnesses together, his hands working over everything two times, then three. I’m so tense that my muscles must be vibrating more than the plane itself. My face feels pinched, and I can’t get my breath.

  “Ready?”

  “Yes!” I scream, and Dave laughs, his voice low in my ear.

  My entire body wants to lurch backward, back toward the safety of the plane, but Dave is moving us forward, toward the open door.

  It’s a gorgeous day.

  The sky is a clear blue, and below us, New York City’s skyline is rising from the earth. From here, everything looks clean and fresh.

  I still don’t want to jump out of a plane, but I think of Abby. I think of Abby, and how she clawed her way back after the accident, and how she never lets it get the better of her. I think of how shocked she’s going to be when I tell her what I’ve done. And I think about how, after this, nothing will ever be the same. I’ll have officially moved on, and I’ll have jumped out of a plane to prove it.

  I don’t have time to think anymore because Dave is counting—one, two, three—and then it’s out of my hands, because we’re tumbling into that cool blue sky.

  I scream, releasing the pent-up energy and fear, and then I suck in a breath. I’m weightless, I’m flying, I’m free, and New York City is so beautiful beneath me, the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, and I’m doing this. Nothing will ever hold me back again. Not after this. It doesn’t feel like falling. It feels like soaring.

  It surprises me when the minute is up, when Dave pulls the parachute, and then we’re descending over the skyline.

  “You’re doing great!” he says into my ear, and for the first time I realize that I’m crying.

  “I know!” I shout back, the joy filling me to the brim. “I know!”

  The only thing that could top this is being in Gideon’s arms, and I’m flying toward him now. I’ll be kissing him before I know it. I take a big breath of the crisp, cold air, feeling alive and free and glorious, ready to touch down into my brand-new life.

  Epilogue

  Gideon

  Kennedy screams all the way down the zip line, her voice echoing off the walls of the canyon as she flies through the air. From the ground, she looks like a mythical creature, her hair streaming out of its ponytail behind her, the color like fire in the sun.

  She lets out one last screech as she hits the last fast section and starts to move backward, throwing her arms out like she’s flying. Then I can’t help but laugh along with her. Kennedy, it turns out, giggles uncontrollably when she’s overtaken by an adrenaline rush, and it’s a sound of such pure joy that it’s impossible not to join in.

  She comes to a stop, and two attendants hurry out to unclip her from the harness, and then she’s dancing toward me, clapping her hands, eyes bright. “That was amazing.” She takes a big breath, then lets it out, putting her hands on her hips. “I don’t know, though.”

  I wrap my arm around her waist, pulling her close and kissing her forehead. I’d like to kiss far more of her, but that will have to wait until we’re back at the lodge. “You don’t know what?”

  “I don’t know if I liked that one better, or the one through the rainforest.”

  I let out another laugh as we head back toward the tour vehicle that will take us to a private airfield half an hour away, where we’re going to board a chartered flight back across New Zealand to Edenhouse, the luxury lodge I chose for this time around. Kennedy reminisces about the zip line trip we just took all the way to the airfield, and on the flight back settles into a warm contentment that I can’t get enough of.

  I want to get her clothes off the moment we get inside, but I have other plans.

  “So, was it a good day?”

  She grins up at me, running her hands through her hair, tossing it back up on top of her head in a loose bun. “Every day with you is amazing.”

  It’s about to get even more so.

  Evening is settling in around us, and Kennedy changes out of her shorts and top for a flowing sundress that makes me want her even more. When she emerges from the bedroom, I press her up against the wall and kiss her—just enough, not enough to have us tumbling to the carpet.

  When we come up for air, her blue eyes are shining. “I’m starving.”

  She starts to head for the kitchen, but I catch her arm. “I’ve got something ready.”

  It’s waiting on the front porch, and when we step outside the door, Kennedy gasps like she’s never seen a setup like this before. It’s one of my favorite things about her. In six months, she’s never gotten tired of my surprises. It’s still just as thrilling to her as always. “Gideon!”

  The table does look lovely, set with candles and china and white linen, the perfect complement to a day spent soaring through a canyon. Kennedy beams up at me. “What’s the occasion?” I tuck her hand into my arm and lead her over next to the table, and she takes in a big breath of the warm air.
“Is it a surprise?”

  She narrows her eyes, still grinning, when I take both of her hands in mine. “I wanted to ask you something.”

  “Well, ask,” Kennedy says, wrinkling her nose a little.

  So I drop down to one knee.

  Her mouth goes into a round o, and her hands flutter upward like she wants to hide it, but decides not to. “Gideon…”

  “I thought you were perfect from the moment I saw you.” My voice shakes a little. Get it together, Gideon. I slip my hand into my pocket, drawing out a small velvet box. “Kennedy Carlisle, there’s no bigger adventure than being in love with you. For as long as I’m drawing breath, I want to be by your side, and I want you to be by mine.” Tears are coming to her eyes, pricking at the corners, but she’s radiant, glowing. “Will you marry me?”

  “Yes,” she whispers, and drops to her knees to throw her arms around my neck. “Yes!” I open the box and she gasps again. It’s not a traditional diamond—it’s a rare black opal, small and glittering, totally unconventional, just like she is. When I slip the ring onto her finger, Kennedy bursts out in a laughter that’s so joyous and pure I wish I could bottle up the sound.

  Then she’s scrambling to her feet, pulling me up with her, kissing me hard, lighting me up from the inside. “Every single breath, Gideon,” she says, her voice bursting with love. “Every single one.”

  Miss the first Endless Kiss novel?

  The heel of my shoe slips perfectly into the crack… and snaps off like a twig.

  The sidewalk is just damp enough that even though I try to balance myself, even though I try hard, I can’t quite get purchase with my other foot. My right knee twists painfully as the heel gives up on its last inch of life.

  I lose my grip on the box—then catch it again—but I’m still falling, and—shit—the street has suddenly become a giant wind tunnel, right now, right at this moment. The gust of wind coupled with the driving sheets of rain are so strong that it whistles as it seizes the clear lid of the box. I scramble to slam it down back into place, but too late I catch sight of the horrible angle of the box—too late to stop the jelly doughnut that was perched right on top from flying out and right into the opening of my raincoat, smashing its innards onto what had been until seconds ago my neatly ironed white shirt.

  My knee slams down onto the concrete, putting an end to this embarrassment, and doughnuts go scattering in all directions. There are only about a dozen survivors, and then there is me, kneeling on the sidewalk, my knee throbbing in burning pain, the heel of my right black stiletto broken, the raincoat hood blown off my head, while a car—black and sleek and by the looks of it way too expensive for me to ever dream of owning—glides up to the curb just in time for whoever is inside it to witness the whole thing.

  The driver hurries out, bustles swiftly around the side of the car closest to the awning, and pulls open the back door on the passenger side, standing aside for a tall, elegant man who is so gorgeous that he must be a descendent from some kind of Greek god to step out onto the sidewalk. He fixes his flashing blue eyes on me, and then his lips appear to dip into a frown, just a little.

  I have to choke back a gasp. He’s that sexy.

  Worst of all, I recognize him.

  My embarrassment is just beginning.

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  Books by Amelia Wilde

  Standalone Novels

  Heavy: A Second Chance Romance

  The Endless Kiss Series

  Reckless Kiss

  Fearless Kiss

  Shameless Kiss

  The Second Chances Series

  Never His

  Only His

  Always His

  The Dirty Series

  Complete Dirty Series: Boxed Set

  —Individual Titles—

  Dirty Rich

  Dirty Royal

  Dirty Rogue

  Dirty Ransom

  Dirty Rumor

  © 2017 Amelia Wilde, All Rights Reserved

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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