by Alexis Gold
“I was afraid! Of not pulling it off!” She laughed and touched his cheek with her hand. “You were amazing,” she told him softly.
“So were you.”
Wade bent forward and kissed her. It was a long, deep, passionate kiss that Delaney felt all the way in her toes. She caressed his strong chest as he held her with one hand around the back of her neck and the other around her waist. Thunder cracked outside, but they kept on kissing through the storm. Nothing could come between them now.
Wade picked her up, his hands gripping the backs of her thighs firmly, and backed her up against the wall of the barn. She made an “umph” sound as her back connected with the wood, and they both giggled. He kissed her neck as he unbuckled his belt and let his jeans fall around his ankles.
Delaney’s skirt was easily hitched up around her waist. Wade ripped off her pantyhose in one fluid motion. Her arms tightened around his neck as he sunk her down on top of his manhood. She moaned as he slid into her wetness and filled her up.
“Oh, Delaney, you’re perfect,” Wade whispered, burying his face in her breasts.
She rocked against him rhythmically, getting lost in the sensation of giving herself over to him completely. He thrust into her, holding onto her shoulders for support, never once making her feel like she would fall or slip from his grasp. He was breathing harder now, and Delaney knew he was climbing fast.
She pointed to a couple of blocks of hay. Wade carried her over to them and lay her down gently without slipping out of her, even for a moment. They made love in the old barn as the rain poured down, surrendering to each other fully.
“I love you,” Delaney murmured in Wade’s ear, and then nibbled on it gently.
Wade nearly passed out at how good it felt to be nibbled on and loved. He brushed a piece of stray hair out of her eyes, and replied, “I love you, too, Delaney.”
* * *
John was preparing a dinner of salad and macaroni and cheese when they came into the house, out of breath and drenched from the rain.
“Where have you two been?” John asked as he chopped up lettuce.
Wade was surprised to see him in the kitchen; John didn’t usually cook, but tonight was a special occasion, and he was obviously in a very good mood and feeling energized.
“We got stuck in the rain after putting Whinny in her stable,” Wade said by way of excuse, but it was a terrible one as the stables weren’t that far away. Delaney giggled, and Wade squeezed her hand trying to get her to stop, but it was too late. John saw the look on their faces, the way the stood next to each other, not letting go, as if they were magnetized to each other.
Wade was embarrassed, but John was happy for them. There was nothing better than a first love, and to see it brought John tremendous joy. He had happy news for Wade, and he was glad to be able to deliver it on such a happy night.
There was knocking at the door, and Delaney ran to open it. Jacob, and his entire family—all seven of them—stood on the doorstep.
“Come on in!” John hollered from the kitchen.
“What are all of you doing here? I thought you’d want to celebrate at home!” Wade asked, surprised to see them all. Even though they were neighbors, he hadn’t seen Jacob’s parents since he was a teenager. As they packed into the house, Wade realized how good it felt to be with people he considered family.
He led them into the living room and Jacob popped a bottle of champagne. Wade didn’t go get glasses because Jacob insisted on drinking it straight out of the bottle, and that was just fine with him.
“We wanted to come over and thank you,” Jacob’s father said to Wade. “We were all in a state of panic. The ranch has been in our family for generations. There’s nothing else we know how to do. If we lost the ranch, we’d also be losing a way of life.”
“There’s no need to thank me,” Wade said. “If Jacob hadn’t come to me in the first place, it never would have happened. And Delaney did as much as I did, if not more. It was a group effort.”
“Well, our family sure does appreciate it.”
Wade put a hand over his heart and bowed his head.
“A toast!” Jacob exclaimed. “To our families, to our ranches, and to being cowboys!”
“And to Delaney for swooping into my life and changing it for the better,” Wade added.
Delaney sat at his feet, her head in his lap. He stroked her long hair, and smiled at her, his heart breaking at her compassion, her beauty, and her generosity. Wade realized he couldn’t have been happier.
Jacob took a sip out of the big bottle of champagne, and it got passed around the room. John walked in, and his heart burst with joy. Tears filled his eyes as he said hello to his old friends. He took a sip of champagne, and nearly spit it back out when Jacob’s father said he hadn’t aged a day.
“Now I know you’re a liar,” John chuckled, “because I’m older than an oak tree, or at least that’s what it feels like!”
“Well, apparently you’re not too old to rob a bank!”
The old men laughed together, and the children played by the fire. Delaney basked in the serenity of feeling like she was a part of something bigger than herself. She looked at Wade, and they both, for the first time in their lives, felt like they were home.
* * *
Delaney woke to the sound of roosters, like she had for the last year. The sun streamed through the bedroom window and splashed her face with warmth. She put a hand on her huge belly and smiled to herself. She wondered where Wade was; he was probably out surveying the cattle.
She usually heard him get up and out of bed, so she was surprised when she rolled over onto a mound of sheets instead of his familiar body. Slowly, she sat up, rubbed her eyes, and looked around for her silk bathrobe. Shrugging it on to her shoulders, she stepped over to the window, opened it, and felt the cool air that flowed into the stuffy room.
Almost a year had passed since she moved to the ranch with Wade and John. She’d become accustomed to the slower pace of life, the beautiful rolling hills, and waking up early to roosters crowing. She still had her job at Sally’s Diner, but she only worked three days a week.
The other days she helped out on the ranch. With the extra money they had stolen, they bought a small herd of goats. Delaney was their shepherd. She milked them every morning, and was learning how to make cheese and soap. More than ever, she was happy.
She made her way down the hallway to the kitchen. It was strange that all the lights were still off, especially since Wade had already gotten up. She found the kitchen light and flipped it on.
“Surprise!” Wade, John, and Jacob all hollered in unison and nearly scared the socks of off Delaney.
“What is all this?” she exclaimed.
A big, magnificent breakfast of fruit, French toast, eggs, and sausage was displayed beautifully on the kitchen table.
“Well,” Jacob began, “It’s been exactly a year since we robbed the bank.”
“And because you are due any day now, we thought we’d take the day to celebrate,” John added. “Which will be a welcome relief since we’ve all been working so hard lately.”
His health had significantly improved since the robbery. He figured it was because he felt he had a reason to live again.
Wade walked towards her with a glass of orange juice in a champagne glass.
“Happy we robbed a bank a year ago and pulled it off, and happy it’s almost time to have a baby day!” Wade said, laughing.
Delaney took the orange juice from him and giggled. “You guys are too much! All of this is too much.”
“Is it really too much to celebrate our favorite woman?” Wade grabbed her around the waist and kissed her neck playfully. “We are all so grateful you’re here.”
“Truly,” Jacob said. “These two guys are much better off with you here.”
“Well, I don’t know about much better,” John joked.
Delaney hugged each of them in turn. Her heart burst with love for these three men who had become s
o dear to her, who had become her family. She couldn’t imagine where she would be without them. Wade looked at her in anticipation from across the table.
He was waiting for her to finish her orange juice, for in the bottom of the glass was a wedding ring. John had given him Betty’s old ring when Wade revealed to him that he was planning on proposing to Delaney. She took another sip, almost there. One more sip, and Wade would ask her to be his wife.
THE END
Book5
MR. HANDSOME
A BILLIONAIRE ROMANCE By..
ALEXIS GOLD
Summary
Dating a billionaire is never easy. Especially when that billionaire is show-stoppingly handsome too..
Aviation Tycoon Jeffrey was more than your average billionaire. He also had billion dollar looks to go with it.
He was handsome and he sure knew it.
There was no possible way that Christina could say no to dating such a man but at the same time she knew that he would be hard to keep. Especially with so many other women after him also.
But there was something about Christina that intrigued the billionaire, and he wanted to know what it was..
Can the curvy girl win the hunk?
Chapter1
Jeffrey
I bounced one of the many stress balls I had against the large window that made up an entire wall of my office. Below my vantage point, I could see practically all of New York City, sprawling with life and activity. People trying to scrounge up from the bottom, or stay on top. I sighed deeply and bounced the ball against the glass once more.
“What am I doing, Victor? I feel stuck, not that being stuck at the top is a bad thing, but I feel like I need more from life. You know?”
Victor looked up from a productivity report he was looking over for me. My faithful assistant glanced up at me questioningly. He paused in his leisurely pacing around my spacious office. We were on the hundredth floor of the Stargate building. My father had it built just before he died, as a gesture to show the empire we created. Only fifty years in business and Stargate was one of the world’s leading aircraft and aerospace companies.
“Maybe you should date more then, find yourself a wife. Goodness knows your mother begs you to give her a grandkid enough times per week,” Victor said with a snort. I smirked and bounced the ball against the glass once more.
“Maybe I should. Or maybe I just need a change of scenery, I could take up a hobby. Something to occupy my time, something different you know?” I mused out loud while I chewed absently on my lower lip. I glanced over at Victor and saw he was facing me, the month’s reports dangled in his hand, briefly forgotten.
Victor was my best friend as well as my assistant. He always had a solution, smart as hell and sharp as a tack, I was lucky to have him at my side. Really, with his skills he deserved a CFO or board position, but he’d rather silently advise and go through monthly reports at my side.
He placed the papers down on the glass coffee table situated between the office couch and the modern grey and white set’s matching chairs. He rolled up the sleeves of his white button down shirt and put his chin in between his thumb and forefinger. Victor’s signature thinking pose.
“You know, that isn’t a bad idea. Ever thought of modeling?”
He looked at me curiously, expectantly. I pondered the idea…modeling? Well, it would definitely be different. I was more of a nerd, drawing airplanes and making sure they got built correctly for our clients. Never have I capitalized on my looks before, not even to get women.
“Modeling? Seriously?”
Victor nodded his head and then brushed his medium length jet black hair out of his face. Victor was a man’s man, growing up from strict Russian roots. He had the intense dark brown gaze, hawkish nose, strong jaw, and tall, muscular build to intimidate a lot of people. He would be the last person to suggest I dress up in clothes and pose for pictures as a pastime.
“Yeah, seriously, you’re a pretty motherfucker. Splash your face on the side of a bus, and bam—advertising. Not only for whoever hires you to model for them, but for Stargate as well. Not to mention, it’ll help you meet chicks.” Victor quirked his eyebrows at me as I thought about it.
“Yeah, it couldn’t hurt actually…and you’re right, it would be great for advertising. Why the hell not, I have nothing better to do,” I said resolutely.
“Yes, you do, you have to run this company. If you’re going to do modeling on the side, then it’s on the side. Keep it strictly to time off and the weekends, Jeffrey,” Victor gave me a severe look and I nodded in assurance.
“Of course, don’t worry, I know my priorities. I’ll tell one of the interns to set something up for me. We have to know someone on the inside of the modeling world.” I stood up to stretch my legs and put the call in to the intern working under Victor.
“Yeah, Nessa? I want to be a model, make that happen,” I gave her the order without waiting for her to greet me or anything, then I hung up without her responding at all. Victor looked over at me and snickered. Vanessa was one of our top candidates for a full time job in our public relations department, and if she kept at it, she’d soon be sitting in on negotiations with our clients worldwide. Victor and I were just giving her a hard time at this point just to see how dedicated she was to the company.
“You know, I was kind of hoping we wouldn’t keep Vanessa on anymore. She is really hot and you know how much I love smarts with an ass,” Victor quipped after I hung up.
I threw the stress ball at him and he chuckled as he caught it easily.
“What? I’m stating the obvious. She didn’t hear it so no lawsuit,” Victor assured me. I rolled my eyes while chuckling myself and turned towards the spectacular view of the city once again.
“You know, I’m thinking this modeling thing will be an adventure. In the meantime, update me. How we doing on numbers?” I got back to business with Victor and he picked up the month’s reports and flipped through a couple of pages before he pulled one out of the stack and walked over to place it on my desk. He adjusted the waistband of his slacks before he took a seat on the other side of my desk.
“Changes to the new model of the C-1200 carrier craft have taken up more time and resources than anticipated. We might have to rework some projections for the year’s overall progress. It will be slower as far as our profits and productivity, but it’s nothing we can’t handle.” Victor told me exactly what I needed to know.
“Good, as long as we’re moving forward. I’d be a little concerned if we were progressing too quickly. How about the deal with Ireland? Did they pursue the offer to buy the specialized Z-13s?” I asked Victor.
“They are back and forth with us and our competitor, Greywing. Their X-150s are ridiculously similar, but I think we’ll come out on top, as we’re cheaper.” Victor winked and I laughed at his lame joke.
“Knock, knock. Jeff, I’ve set up your first shoot. It was surprisingly easy to get you a gig as the face of freaking Armani. By the way, don’t let this get to your head. You aren’t that pretty.”
Both Victor and I laughed at Vanessa’s brazen attitude as she waltzed into my office. Vanessa went on to prattle off the details of my first photo shoot while simultaneously programming it into my phone so I wouldn’t ‘completely’ forget.
“You’re looking mighty fine today, Miss Cross. I hope we aren’t bothering you too much?” Victor turned on the charm for Vanessa and I gave him a cautioning gaze. Vanessa actually smiled, her expression turned saucy.
“You’re looking mighty okay too, Victor.” They grinned at each other and I wondered if they already had something going on. I’d have to have a talk with Victor, he usually knew better. Vanessa was attractive and all, with her blonde bombshell looks and curves that would grab any guy’s attention.
But she worked for me and in her current position as intern, she worked for Victor, too. She was smart and capable and I really wanted her on my team. I just didn’t want anything to happen where she ended u
p quitting, much less a sexual harassment case added to that.
“So that’s tomorrow night, six p.m., Mister Bates. At the Third Street Warehouse. They’ll give you what they want you to wear, obviously. This is big, it’s Armani. Do not forget,” Nessa kept her gaze on mine to convey the seriousness of my showing up.
“Don’t worry, this is something I want to do, I’ll be there. Promise.”
Nessa nodded, satisfied with my answer. Victor drew her into a conversation about Ireland and our pending deal with them. I answered a call from reception.
“Mister Bates, there is a Mister Cromwell here to see you, sir,” Julia, the receptionist, informed me. She’d worked for the company ever since my father started it up.