A Real Man: Limited Edition

by Jenika Snow

  Although truthfully I was loving the alpha, possessive nature of Noah.

  And even though I didn’t want him to keep his hands off me at the office, I also wanted to keep work separate from what we had.

  But it was hard being proper and professional when he was near.

  I felt this rush of heat fill me at the thought of him.

  He was important to me, and I knew I was important to him.

  “You need a ride?” the guy who’d been behind me asked. I looked at him and shook my head.

  “No thanks. I’m waiting for someone.”

  He lifted his car keys, pointed toward the parking lot, and I heard a beeping as he disengaged the alarm. “You sure? I have plenty of room and can drop you off wherever.”

  “Thanks, but no.”

  Just then I heard the sound of a car approaching. I turned to see Noah’s Mercedes pulling up to the curb, the black metal gleaming. The man was still standing there, eyeing the car. The driver’s side door opened, and I saw Noah’s big, imposing, and muscular body come into view. He walked around the car, his focus on the man standing just a few feet from me.

  Noah wore sunglasses, but I saw the tightness on his face. He reeked of possessiveness, and this territorial air surrounded him. Noah stepped between the guy and me, his back toward me, his big body blocking out the much smaller man from my view. Although I should have said something, just got in the car, giving Noah a nonverbal cue, I couldn’t move, not sure what was going to happen.

  “Hey,” the guy said, smiling but starting to shift on his feet. I could see him around Noah’s massive bicep. The guy looked worried.

  Yeah, Noah could be intimidating all on his own, without saying a damn word.

  “Noah,” I said. But before I could tell him to get in the car, that this alpha, staking-his-claim attitude wasn’t necessary—even if I did love it—he turned around and faced me. He slowly took off his sunglasses, put them in his suit jacket pocket, and stalked forward. I had no clue what he was doing, but a glance toward the random guy who still stood there told me he was pretty confused by the situation.

  Noah wrapped his hand around my waist, pulled me toward his huge, muscular body, and used his other hand to cup the back of my head.

  He slammed his mouth down on mine, speared his tongue between my lips, and mouth fucked me in front of anyone who happened to be watching.

  Noah staked his claim. He was marking me, engaging in a pissing contest, and letting this poor guy who didn’t know what the hell was happening, know exactly who the alpha was. And like every time Noah touched me, I got lost in the moment. I was a slave to my desires, to the man I was head over heels for. I was helpless to stop anything from happening where it concerned Noah, because this man had become my everything … just like I was his everything.

  And when he finally broke the kiss, I was left gasping for air and clutching him.

  “That’s how you let someone know who you belong to, baby,” Noah said, his mouth by mine, this smirk on his face.

  I looked around Noah’s shoulder to see the guy hauling ass away from us, and laughed softly. “You scared him away.” I rested my forehead on his bicep, loving the feeling of him lightly sliding his hand down my head and along my back.

  “Good. If he’d been smart, he wouldn’t have even looked your way.”

  All I could do was shake my head and smile. There was no changing Noah, but then again, I didn’t want anything to be different with him. He was perfect for me exactly the way he was.

  Noah

  “Come here,” I said in a deep voice, my body on fire for her. We’d just eaten, but I was still hungry … for Harley.

  I was at the table, watching her as she brought a bottle of wine and two glasses, the delicate stems between her fingers. She smiled at me, but it was all sexy, all seductive.

  “Set those down and come here, baby.” She did as I asked, and I pulled her onto my lap. “You know how much I love you?”

  “About as much as I love you?” She smiled and leaned down to kiss me. I didn’t let her go. I cupped the back of her head and held her there, slipping my tongue along hers, making her give me her sensuality, her passion. “There’s no way you could love me as much as I love you,” I whispered against her lips. “My love for you is all-consuming.”

  “And so is mine,” she replied softly.

  It might have only been six months since we’d started seeing each other, but I knew this woman was for me. But she needed time before I scared the shit out of her and proposed. I would give her all the time in the world, because I knew she was it for me; she was the one.

  I wanted her as my wife, as the mother of my babies, and if patience was what I needed to get that, I had enough to fill the fucking planet.

  “I can’t promise you I’ll tame my possessive ways, but I can promise you the world, Harley.” I cupped her face. “I can promise you my undying love, devotion, and that you’ll never have to worry about trusting me.” I slid my hand around her head to cup her nape. “I can promise you I’ll always be true to you and that you’ll always come first.”

  The smile she gave me had my entire body coming to life. That’s all it took from her, just one look, one touch.

  “All I need in this world is for you to love me.”

  I leaned in and kissed her, and just barely pulling away, I said against her mouth, “You have that tenfold. My love for you is undying.” I looked into her eyes. “You are my world. You make me want to take my next breath. Without you, a part of me is missing.”

  Sappy? Maybe.

  The truth? Absolutely.

  And if I couldn’t be honest with the woman I loved, what was the fucking point?

  If I couldn’t let the woman I loved know she was my everything, there was no point in trying to be a better man.

  And Harley had shown me all of that and more.

  11

  Harley

  One year later

  Watching Noah work a conference room was the most erotic and attractive thing I’d ever witnessed.

  “The fact we are down half a point may seem small, but it’s inexcusable.”

  He looked so fierce as he laid it out raw and bare for the boardroom. I took notes for my division, ready to brief everyone on my small but still important team about what Noah said. After being with Wright Industries for such a short time, I helped with the financial aspect of the payroll division. Of course, I hoped one day to be more in-depth with the human resource aspect of it all since that’s what I had gone to school for, and my degree was specialized in business management. But for only being with the company for a year, I’d worked my ass off to get where I was.

  “So at our next meeting, I not only want to see those numbers back up where they were in the past reports, but I want us to exceed them.”

  I shifted in my seat, the room growing hotter; the fact I could watch him all day commanding the room made me want to say screw proper etiquette and demand he take me now.

  “Meeting adjourned.”

  Everyone got up and left, but I stayed there in my seat, sweat beading between my breasts. He stared at the door, and when it clicked shut, the last person leaving, he turned his head and looked at me.

  “Did you get that all down?” he asked, lifting a brow, his voice low, deep.

  I nodded, feeling like sand was suddenly in my throat.

  He kept his eyes on me as he walked over to the windows and shut the blinds one by one. I knew what he was up to even though he said nothing else. He walked around the table and stopped when he was a few feet from me.

  “You think you can dictate what I said to your team?”

  I nodded again, my head angled back as I stared up at him.

  “Marry me,” he said right beside my ear, the words spoken softly but still very real.

  I pulled back and looked into his face. He cupped my cheek and smoothed his thumb along my bottom lip. “I know this isn’t the most romantic way to propose, and although you�
�re already mine, I want you to be my wife. I need that, Harley.”

  I didn’t know what to say for long seconds, but the answer was already repeating in my head over and over again, I couldn’t find my voice.

  “I’ve wanted to ask you for so long, Harley.”

  “Noah,” I finally said.

  “This is right,” he said and lowered his face so it was close to mine. “We are so good and right together. We were meant to be together.”

  The tears came before I could even try and stop them. He was right, and I found myself nodding.

  “I want you by my side for the rest of my life. I want us to create a home together, to have a family.” He placed his hand on my belly. “I want my babies right here, want to watch as you get big because of what we created growing inside of you.”

  Although Noah might not be the flowers-and-chocolate kind of man, never let it be said he didn’t know how to make a woman swoon with his words.

  “Marry me, baby.” He took my hand and placed it over his heart. “You’ll always own this.” He added a little pressure where his hand covered mine on his chest. “In my heart, in my life. You own me.”

  “Yes,” I finally said. “Of course I’ll marry you.”

  He pulled me against his chest a second later, cupped the back of my head, and said by my ear, “I’ll make you the happiest woman, Harley.”

  He already had.

  Epilogue

  Noah

  Nine months later

  If I’d had my way, I would have married Harley a year ago. I would have jumped headfirst into this with her. I knew she’d be mine from the beginning, but I’d also wanted to give her time to understand what she was getting into with me.

  I knew I could be a jealous man; I was possessive and demanding the majority of the time, but there was nothing in life that meant more to me than the woman I was waiting for.

  When the music started playing, everything and everyone faded away. I focused on the aisle, and my heart stopped when I saw her turn the corner and stop at the end, right before the entrance. The sun streamed through the stained glass of the large double front doors, the light framing her, making the front of her body slightly shadowed.

  Her father was on one side of her, and as she walked closer, I couldn’t help but feel the most intense emotions to ever consume me. I’d always felt this with her, but seeing her coming toward me, about to say her vows, about to be my wife, had the possessive side of me rising up like a feral beast.

  And then she was given to me by her father, and all I wanted to do was pull her in and kiss her senseless. I wanted to mark her as mine in front of everyone. But I was a gentleman, and I could rein in my baser urges, at least for right now.

  As we started the ceremony, said our vows, and were pronounced husband and wife, I felt this solid completion fill me.

  I pulled my new wife in close, slid a piece of hair behind her ear, and let my fingers skim along the shell. I stared into her eyes. Although she’d always been mine, right now, at this moment, it was official.

  “I told you you’d be mine,” I whispered. I didn’t care who heard me, but this was for her … only her. “There is nothing more important to me than you, Harley, and there never will be.”

  “And you’re mine,” she said softly, smiling.

  Yeah, I was. I was really fucking hers, and nothing would ever change that.

  Now I just hoped she was ready to make some babies.

  The End

  Arrogant Holiday Bonus

  Eggnog and spankings

  Noah

  Before Harley came into my life all I’d thought about was making accomplishments with my career. I’d done a pretty good job of it, too, but it wasn’t until she walked into my office all those years ago that I realized the greatest goal I should have strived for was making sure the woman I loved more than life itself was always happy.

  And so far I was making sure that was a reality.

  There was nothing more important than Harley. There was no other priority more important than providing for her, and making sure that she never wanted for anything. She needed her space at times, and I gave it to her, well, as much as I could. I was a possessive bastard, territorial of her, and made sure she knew that.

  I made sure everyone knew that she was mine.

  The last of our dinner guests were heading out, and thank fuck for that. I enjoyed entertaining, liked throwing and attending parties, but tonight I had something more important on my mind.

  “Fabulous gathering, Noah.”

  I smiled and nodded at Harrison Keely, one of my businesses associates, but my focus was on my wife.

  “Thanks for coming.” We shook hands, I gave his date a smile, and Harley saw them to the door. Once they were gone, the door was shut, and the sound of Christmas music that played in the background wasn’t drowned out by conversation, Harley turned around. The white lights we had around the place made her glow, and fucking hell, did she look gorgeous.

  She wore this white lace dress with feather accents around the bottom hem. Her curves were out of this damn world, and there wasn’t anything more I wanted to do right now than tear the fucker off and be with her.

  The look she gave me told me everything I needed to know.

  She was ready for me.

  “Maybe we should clean up?” she asked, lifting an eyebrow and glancing around. I didn’t give a fuck about the messy table, or the half-empty glasses of eggnog around the place. My dick was hard, my balls were full and drawn up to my body, and I wanted to fuck my wife.

  I wanted to put my baby in her … tonight.

  Harley

  The way Noah looked at me had shivers racing up my spine. We’d only been married a year, but since our honeymoon we’d been trying for a baby. It had gotten to the point we’d gone to see a specialist. Tracking my cycle, making sure we did it when I was ovulating, kind of took the “fun” out of it all. But we both were ready for a baby, and there was nothing more I wanted than starting a family with Noah.

  But I was ovulating right now, my temperature had spiked, and right now he needed to be together. If the dinner party hadn’t already been planned ahead of time, and I was adamant we keep it as planned, I knew he would have said fuck it all.

  He would have said that in a heartbeat.

  Yeah, I knew he didn’t care about any of this, not when it came to me. If that didn’t make a woman feel wanted, I didn’t know what in the hell did.

  “Come here, baby.” That tone of his, so arrogant, so commanding, did something wicked to me.

  I was in front of him only seconds later. He had his hand behind my head, had his fingers tangled in my hair, and leaned down to kiss me. There was no foreplay, no waiting for this to happen. It wasn’t just about trying to make a baby. He was ready for me, had been watching me the entire night … following me with his gaze for hours.

  My man wanted to devour me.

  He slid his other hand down and cupped my ass. He gave it a squeeze, and groaned in response.

  “I want to make love to you, but I’m so fucking worked up, Harley.”

  Yeah, I was too.

  “I just need you inside of me.” He groaned against my mouth, and before I knew what was happening, we were moving into the kitchen. He had me bent over the granite island, pushed my dress up so it pooled around my waist, and pulled my panties down. My pussy was soaked, my nipples were hard, and I knew I’d get off before this even really started.

  The sound of his zipper going down was an auditory orgasm.

  And then I felt his cockhead at my entrance only a millisecond before he plunged into me. He pounded my pussy like he owned it…

  Because he does.

  When I came I didn’t hold in the groan of pleasure that left me. It felt good. He felt good.

  His cock was so big, so thick and long, that all I wanted was to be stretched to the max. Even after all this time it felt like this was our first time back in his office.

  He p
ulled out, and I knew he hadn’t finished. But before I could say anything, Noah had me turned around, his hand cupping the back of my head, and was kissing me until I was breathless. Despite having gotten off once, I wanted more.

  He pulled back, and the look he gave me was full of love, full of promise. “Let me take you to bed. Let me make love to you.”

  He’d gotten me off, held back his own orgasm, and now wanted to take this slow.

  I smiled, wrapped my arms around his neck, and pressed my chest to his. I loved this man more than anything else, and the one thing I knew would make us complete, would make us a family, was both of us in one little person. I rose up and kissed him, my frantic need turning warmer.

  “Take your wife to bed, and let’s make a baby.”

  He made a deep sound before scooping me up in his arms and carrying me to our room.

  Noah

  Five weeks later

  I could see she was nervous, so I reached out and pulled her close. My heart was thundering, my palms were sweaty, and I was so fucking nervous I felt nauseous. I’d felt like this numerous times over the last twelve months, and not knowing what that test would reveal.

  It was like I was on a ledge about to fall over.

  I looked over Harley’s head at the white stick on the counter. That little fucker would tell us if she was pregnant or not. It would let us know if we’d be parents or have to try again.

  It had the possibility to break us with just a line.

  I leaned back and cupped Harley’s cheeks. I stared in her eyes, willing her to try and be calm. “No matter what this says, things will be okay.”

  She smiled and nodded, but it didn’t really reach her eyes. “And what if it says negative?” Her voice was soft, distant. She was so worried that it ate at my heart.

  “Then we’ll try again, and again, and again.” I smiled. “We’ll try however long it takes, baby.”