by Xyla Turner
Joshua tip-toed in the bathroom and whispered, “I just put her down.”
Samantha continued to brush her hair, but smiled at her husband. He had all but taken over the mommy duties when he was home. She thought that he would not be able to cut back at work, but Joshua, to her surprise, only worked a 25 hour week. He promoted his number two, Jason Quail, to COO so now he travels less. Samantha was scheduled to return to work in another month. Joshua didn’t want her to because he wanted to take care of her, but he also understood that it is something she would need to do.
Keeping his promise, Joshua instituted an employee baby-sitting program that is free to full-time employees and discounted for part-time employees of people who work for him and other companies in the Kelly Building. This included S&W, since they had moved to the Kelly building, which Joshua tricked Samantha into doing. He brought up the time that he conceded and reminded her that number two on his list of compromises consisted of her not complaining about anything he bought her. So, he bought the lease for the space, which was huge and located on the 20th floor. Samantha tried to argue that there was nothing in writing, then he accused her of going back on her word, which caused her to concede. The S&W team was extremely happy about the move and especially with the rapid expansion of the company.
As Samantha reflected on these things, she smiled. Joshua stood behind her and massaged her shoulders. “You want a foot rub, mama?”
She paused mid brush-stroke and raised one eyebrow in the mirror, so he could see her. “You know good and well, a foot rub leads to other things, quickly.”
He raised his eyebrow in the mirror and said, “I know.”
She smiled and shook her head. “How about when we get back home?”
He continued to rub the muscles in her shoulders, which were extremely tight and said, “I’m going to hold you to that.”
She murmured, “You are really getting good at these massages!” She almost moaned.
He smiled into the mirror and said, “That’s what a pregnant wife, who craves almonds and peanut butter, has swollen feet and can never get comfortable will do to a man.”
“Mmm, I like it.”
“How long will you take to get ready?”
“Mmm, dunno,” she exhaled.
“Mama, focus.”
“I can’t focus when you do this.”
He stopped and she protested. “How long?” he smiled.
“Just ten minutes,” she frowned.
“Remember, we are just going to have a look. Trinity will be just fine. I’ve called all of the babysitter’s references and she checks out.”
“Joshua, the baby sitter is your mother. I would hope she checked out.”
He lowered his head and whispered, “Babe, they are not moving in here.”
“You don’t have to tell me.”
“Your parents aren’t moving in here either.”
“Actually, I don’t care who moves in here after we leave,” Samantha inserted.
“Touché’,” he said, “but they aren’t moving with us.”
“Agreed,” she raised her fist and he gave her a pound.
“Hop to it,” Joshua said and walked out.
“Okay, I’m so excited,” Samantha squealed.
Joshua drove 30 minutes outside of DC to Annapolis, Maryland, where their house was being built from scratch. They had finished the foundation and had laid the ground work months ago. The house would not be finished for another month. He got everything she wanted in her dream house, so now he was going to take her to see it for the first time. Joshua had called the contractors ahead of time to triple check to make sure they had what she wanted. The wall-to-wall carpet in the bedroom, an identical bathroom like in their penthouse but with a claw tub, a fireplace, den, media room, gym, a large deck, and a swing set in the back. He tried to explain to Samantha that Trinity was too young to make major decisions about the house. Samantha just looked at him, so he told them about the swing set. He got everything else he wanted, but since this was their first house together, he wanted her to have everything.
Samantha had given him everything. She agreed to be his wife and married him just months after he proposed. Mainly, because he was adamant about them being married before the baby was born. They had a semi-small wedding that Lance got exclusive rights to take pictures and write about. It was all over the magazines and Samantha made the top twenty-five hottest pregnant brides. Joshua was happy about this, but Samantha was less than enthusiastic about it, but once Roslyn, Elliot and Joshua provided her with the alternative side, she sort of came around and did the photo-shoot. She was certainly hot. Her parents and Joshua’s parents came for the ceremony, along with key people from Kelly International, and all of the S&W family. All of their friends joined them to celebrate their moment. They pushed the honeymoon back until after Trinity was born. A couple of months later, Samantha gave birth to Trinity Michelle Kelly. She weighed seven pounds and three ounces, had all of her fingers and toes and looked just like her mama. Joshua knew she would. Thick black curly hair twisted all over her head, with big brown eyes attempting to focus on everything around her. Joshua thought she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. When they handed Trinity to him right after delivery, he was mesmerized. To the point where tears rolled down his face at this little bundle that he and Samantha made, while falling in love. How someone could even think about taking her away from him, he felt forgiven for what he did. They all deserved it.
Joshua had Alura and her father’s businesses acquired by another company, tore it apart and bankrupted them; including the grandfather who tried to bail out his son’s and granddaughter’s companies. Their trust funds were liquidated, their savings was blown and any monies that were stored in off-shore accounts disappeared. Alura was placed in a mental institution, where she was heavily medicated at all times and there was a standing order that if she every escaped to never have her come back again.
Samantha asked Joshua about the bankruptcy and Alura being in an institution and what his involvement with that included. He denied and would continue to deny any participation. On some level, Joshua knew that she knew, but he also knew that she was not the type of person that sought vengeance. She might have known that he could be if forced, but there was a part of him that would never let her be tainted by his business dealings.
Joshua’s wealth accrual was legit, the means by which he was able to maintain and increase that wealth was not always legit. This was one of the reasons why he wanted to keep Trevor close, to see what and who he knew. He and Samantha continued to talk, but Joshua kept a pulse on his communications. He would get to the bottom of it, sooner or later and Joshua would be waiting.
After Trinity was born, Samantha started to ask about TEX again. She seemed concerned about Joshua’s kinks and pleasures. What she didn’t know was that although Joshua was a ‘master’, he wasn’t necessarily a full participant in the BDSM scene. He was the anonymous owner and only a select few knew that tidbit of information. His love for Samantha and his life with her relied on keeping her safe. That also included keeping her from things like TEX. He tried to assure her that she was all he needed, but he knew that she didn’t believe him, even though that was the truth.
Samantha screamed, jerking Joshua from his thoughts.
“What?” he asked.
She pointed. “Is that our house?” She was literally jumping in the seat.
“Yes, mama. That is our new home.”
“Oh my GOD, Joshua!” It looked awesome.
He smiled, this is what he lived for, to make her happy. He truly had pulled away from Kelly International, TEX and his other business ventures. He was committed to settling down, because now he had a family. One that he wanted to be there for and keep safe.
The house/mansion sat in a gated community in a cul de sac at the end. Joshua already hired someone to maintain the grounds, a nanny to help with Trinity, a cook for the family and a house keeper. Samantha did not want to be
isolated, she wanted neighbors and other kids for Trinity could play with. She did not want a spoiled, socially awkward ‘only’ child, even if it was for two years. She was adamant, so they found a plot to accommodate her wishes.
Joshua pulled into the circular driveway and barely put the car into ‘park’, before Samantha jumped out. He met her at the door and pulled out a gift box.
“I have two gifts for you.”
She beamed up at him. He handed her the gift box and she ripped it open. It contained a single golden key. She held up the key to him and turned to open the door to the house. It opened and she practically ran into the front hall and gasped loudly.
“Oh Joshua, it’s beautiful.”
They walked through every room and Samantha ‘ooh’d and awe’d’ at every single thing; the refrigerator, furnace, ovens, the parking garage, and even the cabinets. They reached the bedroom, which had their custom-made bed already installed and she jumped on it. He went to the closet and pulled out his second gift.
“Really, for me?” She was smiling showing all teeth.
“Yes, baby, for you.”
Joshua sat the gift box in the middle of the bed for her to open. When she did, there were three keys. They were gold, silver and platinum. Each one read something different:
My Heart
My Soul
My Mind
Tears started to run down her face as she crawled across the bed to reach Joshua. She gripped him in a bone-crushing hug and sobbed. He rubbed her back to calm her down.
“I love you baby.”
She mumbled in his neck, “I love you too.”
She pulled away from his neck and looked at him. “What did I do to deserve you?” she asked.
“No, mama. It’s the other way around.”
She started to shake her head.
“You have my heart, my soul and my mind.” He wiped a tear from her face, “Always.”
“You have mine too, Joshua Kelly. It feels like you always have.”
“So, I take it you like our new place?”
“I love it!” she exclaimed.
“So, can we go get our little bundle of joy now? I miss her.”
“You are so going to spoil her and she’s going to be a daddy’s girl.”
“Of course.”
“I was thinking we could christen the house first,” she inserted.
“Oh, really.” He raised an eyebrow at her.
“Really, Mr. Kelly. I have been a little naughty.”
“And you’ve been naughty. You know what Mr. Kelly does to naughty girls,” he said as he turned towards her and put one knee on the bed.
“I heard rumors, but I wouldn’t know for certain.” Samantha played innocent.
Joshua climbed on the bed moving Samantha beneath him. The mattress was still wrapped in plastic, so the crinkling noises increased as she tried to squirm away from him.
“He spanks their pretty asses until they turn red.”
“Ohh,” she looked like she was thinking. “In that case, I’ve been a very naughty girl.”
“That’s my mama.” He lowered his body to hers and kissed her deeply.
ADDITIONAL NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
Thank you so much for reading BOMBSHELL!
I hope you enjoyed Samantha and Joshua’s story as much as I enjoyed writing it. This essence of this story is based on many true stories with people I know personally and others who have shared. As I mentioned in the beginning, this topic of STD’s is not really something you will see often in a romance novel with a main character. However, one in six people have genital herpes. 21% of women have it and they may or may not know they carry this virus.
Like many other STD’s, awareness is key. Therefore a percentage of the royalties from this book will be donated to Project Accept. You can contribute directly to them or you can volunteer in a different way. More importantly, you can spread awareness in your circles.
There are many support groups for people with genital herpes that include dating websites, Herpes Anonymous groups like one Samantha attended and online groups on social media, including Facebook, Tumblr, Meetup, Yahoo and others.
I believe in accountability, so when Amazon distributes royalties, I will either post the contribution on my Facebook page or Author site.
You can find more information about Project Accept on their website.
http://projectaccept.org
Stay tuned for Trevor’s Story!
I would love to hear from you! The best way to receive info about Xyla World is to sign up for my mailing list: http://eepurl.com/bfltf9
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Xyla Turner was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. She is an avid reader of romance novels and a sucker for sassy females and dominant males. She is a lifelong learner, Vice-Principal at a Brooklyn High School and a pretty good Aunt. Outside of reading, Xyla likes to spend time with her family and friends, go on dangerous adventures and travel. She writes different genres, but her favorite is contemporary romance.
Xyla has her Bachelor’s degree in Education and Masters in Education Administration.
XYLA’S OTHER BOOKS
THE CHASE I: DOUBLE XX SERIES
THE COLLEGE PRESIDENT
BOOKSTORE CHRONICLES
ACROSS THE TRACKS
THE CHASE II: DOUBLE XX SERIES
POWER OF THE PEN
XYLA’S CONTACT INFORMATION
Xyla Turner can be reached at the following locations!
Website: www.xylaturner.com
Mailing List: http://eepurl.com/bfltf9
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AZINA MEDIA
C/O: Xyla Turner
237 Flatbush Avenue, #187
Brooklyn, NY 11217