Baby Eros was cooing in his mother’s arms now that they were in Archer’s visionary banquet hall, and proud papa, in his tux and tails, paused to snap their picture.
“Archer, you’re meant to be in the picture along with your bride,” said Athena with a chuckle from somewhere behind him. She was walking towards them with a beaming smile, and the glisten of tears still shining in her eyes as she took them all in with love in her heart. “Get over there and I’ll get the three of you, shall I?”
While she was busy snapping, one of the ushers stepped up to Athena’s side. “Pardon me, ma’am, but I believe the undesirable person that you mentioned has arrived and she’s refusing to leave until Archer acknowledges his child.”
“Of course,” said Kady with a sigh. She knew this would happen. Archer had spent weeks trying to convince her that she wouldn’t be a problem now that Archer was back, and they had proven without a doubt that Mia had been lying and scheming against them the whole time. But Kady knew what type of person Mia really was, and she also knew she wasn’t going to just give up her crazy quest to ruin them, to get Kady out of Archer’s life and steal him for herself. Kady sent a look at Archer from under her lashes, watching as he smiled down at their precious baby boy. The only thing Mia could never understand was that their love for each other was stronger than any insane scheme. She gave another annoyed sigh before continuing. “Bring her here, and instruct her to behave herself along the way or you have my permission to throw her right out again. This is one day I refuse to let her ruin for us.”
“As you wish, Mrs. Devonshire.”
Kady sighed with contentment, hearing him call her that. She and Archer shared a pleased glance before they were forced to bring their attention to Mia Chong. She was dressed in a wedding gown as well, and she kept waving at everyone as if she’s the one who had just gotten married.
“What are you even doing here? This is mine and Kady’s wedding day.” asked Archer irritably as he took her appearance in.
“I’ve brought our baby along to the wedding, my love,” she said, moving as though she intended to kiss him. The tone of her voice gave Kady the chills, and it was like she was completely disconnected from reality,. She could only believe all the lies she had been spreading over the past year until all that was left for her was her lunatic fantasies all revolving around her husband. She felt a secret thrill at the thought of Archer Devonshire as her husband, but this woman’s presence dampened her present happiness. Kady insinuated herself in front of the woman and placed herself right on Archer’s lap.
“What do you think you are doing?” Mia hissed, her eyes widening in outrage and hatred.
“Sitting on my husband’s lap,” Kady replied calmly. “Look, Mia, I don’t know what your problem is, but you really need to get some serious help. It’s time to come back down to reality land now. Didn’t you come in here to show off your baby, by the way? I don’t see one with you.”
“She is waiting in the car,” Mia explained.
“I’m rather surprised they let you have a baby in your possession at all,” Archer pointed out. “And Mia, I did get back the results of that paternity test with its negative results. You know very well that the child doesn’t belong to me. Don’t you think you should be going after the real father instead?”
“That test was wrong!’ she shouted desperately. “It had to be.”
“Mia, not for lack of you trying, but we’ve never had sex,” Archer pointed out. “The only possible outcome had to be negative where I’m concerned. I don’t know who got you knocked up instead, but that doesn’t especially concern me. But I’m with Kady, and that’s how it’s going to stay. So if you’re not here to celebrate that fact, you have no place being at our wedding.”
“You’ll regret this, Archer!” she shouted angrily. “You and your little wifey are gonna pay someday. You just wait!”
“If you will kindly remove this woman from the party, Reed, it would be much appreciated,” said Archer as he stood and took one of Kady’s hands. Athena took her grandson while Reed dragged Mia away, and the newlyweds cast each other a smile, already lost in each other’s eyes, both shining with love and happiness. “Well then, everyone, isn’t it about time for that first dance?”
A general cheer went up among the six hundred people in attendance, and then Archer led Kady out into the center of the floor. Someone turned on the strobe lights and lowered a huge globe that slowly revolved, casting little bits and flashes of soft light that swirled around them, and then a slow song began to play. Archer took Kady into his arms, and they began to dance the night away.
“Now I’m glad we chose the buffet style,” said Kady with a grin. “Isn’t it much better with everyone eating whenever they like?”
“It is, my dear, but I do believe this crowd is still waiting for you to toss your bouquet.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Kady chuckled. “I’ll get up on the stage and you can have them announce it.”
“No, I’m going on the stage as well,” Archer said. “I want to throw your garter.”
Giggling, Kady agreed, and they danced, holding each other impossibly, somehow closer as the last few chords of the soft, romantic song played to their end. Archer leaned down and placed the sweetest kiss on her waiting lips, and she sighed in complete bliss. Kady couldn’t believe that she would get to do that forever.
Archer held up his hands to get everyone’s attention, announcing that they were going to be tossing the bouquet and the garter belt, and the crowd started clapping and whistling as the men and the women separated into two different groups. Soon the two of them were side by side looking out on the sea of faces. Archer twirled Kady around a few times, then faced her away from everyone, and she threw the flowers behind her head. Athena caught them with a surprised look on her face.
“Oh, my, looks like I’m getting a new daddy,” Archer cooed, and everyone laughed.
Then Kady turned her leg so Archer could remove her garter. She giggled as his questing fingers lingered beneath her dress a bit longer than necessary, and then finally the little fabric ring was in his hand.
“Okay, so who’s the lucky guy?” he grinned, throwing it out into the crowd. A man who looked to be about sixty caught it in his hand, and grinned hopefully in Athena’s direction. She blushed furiously at his regard and began to fan her face.
He sauntered over to her. “May I join you?” he asked, offering Athena his arm.
“Um, sure,” she said as she took it.
The crowd went wild, laughing and teasing the pair of them mercilessly. Dee returned to Athena’s side with little Eros and asked, “Did you want him back yet, miss?”
“Oh, not quite,” she said with a chuckle. “I do believe someone was about to ask me to dance.”
Bowing slightly, the man at her side replied, “Your wish is my command, my lady.”
“Wow, those garters sure do know how to pick ‘em,” she said with a smile as the man led her away. “Archer? Do remind me to thank your bride!”
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Divorced by Default
It was supposed to be a routine divorce case... until she allows her professionalism to slip.
The Billionaire's Secret Mistress
EXCERPT from The Billionaire's Secret Mistress
Angela woke up with absolutely no idea where she was.
“Good morning, sleepyhead. It’s nearly noon.”
Her head shot up at Dimitri’s voice. He stood in front of the bed, fully dressed and looking surprising fresh. He was holding a small tray.
“Shit,” she squeaked as last night slowly came back to her. “Oh, shit.”
He raised an eyebrow as he set the tray down on the bedside table. “Now, that’s a nice welcome.”
“Good morning,” she whispered, her face flaming. She pulled the sheets up to her neck, wincing at the crinkle of satin. “Um, sorry for sleeping so late.”
He sat on the edge of the bed and handed her a
tall glass of tomato juice with two aspirins. “Good morning, yourself.” His eyes crinkled up in a smile. “I thought you could use this.”
“Thanks,” she muttered, wincing as pain lanced through her head again. She popped the pills in her mouth and washed them down with a grateful swallow of juice. Her mouth felt parched and she drowned the glass in three more gulps. “Thanks,” she repeated, setting it down on the bedside table.
His eyes crinkled up in amusement. “You said that already.”
Angela smiled timidly at him. Her stomach suddenly gave an audible groan and Dimitri laughed.
“Breakfast?” He stood up. “I didn’t know what you would like so I ordered some of everything.” He nodded towards the dining area. “It’s all set up in the dining room.”
For the first time, Angela leaned over to peer through the open door. It was opulently decorated with a sleeping and dining area. She could even see a large circular living room, all done up in rich browns, dark reds, and gold.
“This is a nice room,” she said as a lame attempt at conversation. “Um, is this the penthouse?”
“The Presidential penthouse,” he said smoothly.
“Last night was fun,” he whispered, kissing the corner of her mouth. “I’m not usually as raucous, though. I… apologize for my rather uncouth behavior. Especially involving the other girl.” He wrinkled his nose as he tried to recall the redhead’s name. “Whoever the hell she was,” he added with a small laugh.
“It’s okay,” she said with a slight grin.
He cupped her cheek, his fingers lingering on her skin. “Do you know that I’ve always had a thing for black girls?”
“Do you now?” She whispered, nuzzling into his hand.
“Yes. And I would really like to see you again.”
“I would like that too, Dimitri. Very much.”
His eyes suddenly darkened. “There’s something you need to know, though.” He laced his fingers through hers. “I can’t date you. I don’t do relationships. Especially not with someone from the office.”
“What do you mean?”
He cupped her face, pressing his lips to hers in a slow, languorous kiss. “I would like to fuck you again,” he whispered, running the very tip of his tongue around her mouth. “I want to be buried deep inside you again, baby. Feel that soft pussy open up for me.” He suddenly pulled back and looked at her, the smile vanishing from his face.
A chill ran through her spine at the unexpected coldness in his face. “What’s wrong, Dimitri?”
He forced a smile and shook his head. “Nothing. I would really like to see you again, Angela. But I won’t sugarcoat it for you. For reasons that I can’t delve into… I just can’t date you. I can’t be your boyfriend. We can hang out, have sex, go to the occasional dinner… but please don’t expect more from me, Angie.” His eyes were almost pleading as he looked at her.
Angela searched his gaze but found nothing there. His face was closed, blank almost, giving nothing away.
“Can I ask why?” She finally asked.
“No.” He kissed the inside of her wrist. “Let’s just leave it at that. And I would also appreciate it if we could leave our… affair out of the office.”
She shuddered as his lips traveled up her wrist, slowly kissing her inner arm, moving higher and higher, his lips skimming past the side of her breast to land on her bare shoulder. A faint moan escaped her lips as he bit down on her, marking her black skin with prominent teeth marks. Her fingers knotted in his hair, tugging lightly on the strands as his mouth explored her neck, sucking and nibbling on an acutely sensitive area.
“What do you say, baby?” He whispered, pushing the sheets down and brushing his lips down to her breasts.
“What… what do I say to what?” She groaned, unable to halt the fierce assault of sensations that ravaged her body.
“To our… arrangement.” He captured one hard, nipple between his lips, sucking in his cheeks to draw it deeper into her mouth.
“Oh…” She closed her eyes and lay back in bed, allowing herself to be swept away by his erotic ministrations. “Oh, yes…”
About The Author
From her ranch just outside of Phoenix, Arizona, Destiny Davis escapes the desert heat by spinning yet another gripping novella from the air- conditioned comfort of her modest home. This independent author is a dreamer with a wild imagination, and that's evidenced by her captivating, original romance stories. Destiny developed a love for the romance genre at an early age and still enjoys reading these books as much as she does writing them. Her style is unique and her writing filled with riveting characters and situations that will have you completely transfixed.
Destiny's books are hard to put down, and she's always working on another intriguing tale. In college, Destiny Davis excelled in writing and parlayed that skill into a full-time career penning romance stories and articles for her local newspaper. In her free time, she enjoys horseback riding and spending time with her two yellow Labrador retrievers. She hopes to someday find a man as romantic as the ones she writes!
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Dazzle: The Billionaire's Secret Surrogate (Contemporary BWWM Romance) Page 16