by C. C. Piper
Since Joshua’s birth, he’s been giving me pecks on the cheeks, forehead, and the lips, keeping his affections frequent but not overtly amorous. Now, though, he kissed me like he meant it, like the salvation of his soul was on the line. I could relate. Today marked the point of us being able to resume sexual activity, and I couldn’t wait. Joshua had just started sleeping through the night, so with any luck, we’d reconnect tonight in every way possible.
I glanced down at our son. He had a head full of dark curly hair and had Trevor’s striking amber eyes. He was beautiful beyond measure.
Reluctantly, the man I loved backed away, and if the bulge behind his suit pants was any indication, that lip-lock had made quite an impression on him. “Do me a favor and remember how much I love you two while I’m gone, okay?”
He said this every single day before he left. The sentiment made me glow from the inside out. “Just as long as you do the same.”
“Always,” he said, as he quietly clicked the door shut behind him. And thanks to Trevor Keller, I would forever know exactly what that word meant.
THE END
Off Limits
A Dark Billionaire Romance (The Billionaire’s Secret Club Series Book)
1
Alaina
As I traipsed across the campus at Seattle University, I twisted my infinity ring around my pinky and took in a deep, cleansing breath. The ring had been a graduation gift from my parents, though I suspected my dad had more to do with it than my mom. For years I’d worn it without giving much thought to what that symbol meant. Infinity equaled forever, as in, I’ll love you forever.
But I knew love tended to be conditional rather than infinite.
Oh, well.
The familiar scents of pine, fir, spruce and redcedar permeated the air, reminding me of my childhood. This was a place so unlike London, where the ever-present odor of exhaust fumes and petrol reigned. Not that living in the heart of Britain was an urban nightmare or anything. I’d enjoyed residing there over the past three years.
Almost everything about that city was historic with a capital H. London was a fascinating location, and it had been amazing to experience it firsthand. But it couldn’t compare to the pristine greenness of the Pacific Northwest. At least, not to me.
I’d returned because I wanted to strike out on my own as an entrepreneur, something far easier to do in America than in England. As an expat, I would’ve had to jump through about a million different hoops to begin a startup overseas. Doing the same here would still require a lot of effort, but there were more opportunities overall. Opportunities I intended to take advantage of.
On my way to my cute little aqua Mini-Cooper convertible – one I’d purchased while in England – I caught sight of a group of tall men in red jerseys, the Seattle University Redhawks. The Redhawks were the college’s Division One basketball team, and they competed frequently in the NCAA championships.
But it wasn’t the fact that this mass of admittedly handsome players were eyeing me as they strutted by that caught my attention. What made me do a doubletake was a flash of bright copper hair. I scrutinized them again, narrowing my eyes as I searched for August “Auggie” Cunningham. But the redheaded guy I saw wasn’t him. Auggie wouldn’t show up nearly five thousand miles away from his beloved alma mater in Oxford, anyway.
My ex-boyfriend was probably too busy boinking my ex-best friend and roommate, Gwen Howard to be thinking about me.
He – or they – were the other reason I’d moved back to the States. I’d thought of Gwen as a sister, as my British BFF. And I’d thought Auggie and I would go the distance, as well. We’d made plans as a couple, and since we’d been together for over two years, I’d believed in those plans with all my heart.
I would obtain my British citizenship. We would settle in some quaint cottage just outside of London and commute to work so we’d experience the best of both worlds. We’d discussed getting married sooner rather than later, and we also wanted to start a family within the next three to five years.
But it turned out, Auggie wasn’t half as interested in that plan as I was.
I still remembered returning to the flat I shared with Gwen that godawful afternoon. I’d come back home earlier than usual because one of my summer classes had been canceled. I’d been looking forward to having the place to myself, the peace and quiet would help me develop my newest set of designs for the handbag business I wanted to create.
Then, I’d heard a noise. At first, I didn’t think anything of it. We had neighbors all around us, and sometimes they could be loud. But as I headed toward the back of the flat, I realized that the sound had been coming from our abode. I called out:
“Gwen? You home?”
As I listened, I heard music. Gwen loved hard rock, the more percussive the better. She sometimes got us into trouble because she liked to play it loudly at all hours of the night. So, other than the fact that she wasn’t normally at home at that time of day, I hadn’t thought much of it. Not until I heard something banging around in my room.
I didn’t understand why Gwen would be in my room rather than her own. Was she looking to borrow something? Was she dancing through the entire house?
“Gwen?” I raised my voice again, but the music drowned it out.
The whole situation was just odd enough that I pushed my way past my door to see what was going on. What I saw froze me in my tracks as if I’d been transformed into an ice sculpture.
My boyfriend was plowing into my best friend from behind and the force he was using made the headboard – my headboard – crash over and over again into the wall. All I could focus on was their bare, perspiring skin as they continued to go at it doggie style on my bed.
To this day, I couldn’t remember saying anything, but I must’ve shrieked or something because both of them twisted at the same moment in my direction.
“Alaina…” Gwen had sputtered out. “You’re home.”
No shit, Sherlock.
I’d thought this rather than saying it aloud, though. My mother’s nagging comments about a lady never cursing still rang in my ears despite her being so far away.
“This isn’t what it looks like, darling,” Auggie said next, and I blinked at him.
“What else could it possibly be?”
“Erm…” It was rare for my boyfriend to be at a loss for words, but this time he appeared to be struggling for them. “Okay, it is what it looks like, but I can explain.”
“Explain, then,” I demanded. I didn’t know why I wanted him to, but I did.
“We were going to wait to consummate the relationship until we were engaged, right? Well, this was my way of leaving you alone ’till then, of keeping that promise.”
Up until that moment, I’d always thought of Auggie as an intelligent man. He was known for having book smarts out the wazoo. But apparently, he’d missed growing some crucial brain cells when it came to common sense and decency. Gwen’s minimal decency must’ve have kicked in because she seemed to decide that disengaging her body from his might be a good idea. After pulling away, she covered herself with my comforter and hid her face in shame.
She’d certainly earned it.
“Are you seriously saying that cheating on me with my best friend equates to you being honorable, somehow?”
His mouth opened and shut a few times, his copper hair glinting in the sunlight coming through the window. They hadn’t even bothered to close the blinds. Time slowed to a near stop as I absorbed the catastrophe of the scene. My BFF – ex-BFF – cowering to hide herself in my blankets. My boyfriend – ex-boyfriend – standing there naked as a jaybird making excuses. I’d never even seen him completely in the buff before that very minute.
How stupid was I?
“Get out,” I ground out, surprised at the steadiness of my voice. But neither of them moved. “I said, get out.” To my knowledge, I’d never sounded so ruthlessly cold before. The amount of hate singing through my system was so high that I was a bit afraid of m
yself. My blood pressure must’ve skyrocketed because the tension in my muscles made me feel like I might break.
Auggie stooped to grab up his pile of clothing and backed slowly out of the room. Gwen began to take my comforter with her, until I glared at her so fiercely that she seemed to take the hint. She dropped my bed linens and disappeared into her room across the hall, bolting her door for good measure.
For a long while I simply stood there, breathing in the pong of sex and sweat mixed with his cologne and her perfume. Then, I packed up my things, dialed up a hackney carriage (which at home was called a taxi), and went straight to Heathrow. In the wee hours of the next morning, I found myself in my childhood bedroom on my parents’ sprawling estate.
My dad had welcomed me back without prying. Maybe that was why I’d always been a daddy’s girl. My mother, on the other hand, responded with twenty questions. One of which was “Alaina, have you gained weight? I don’t recall you being this rounded out when we came last Christmas.”
Ugh.
Luckily, my father had tugged her out of my room saying he was sure I needed to recover from the lengthy and impromptu trip I’d just taken. A few hours later, I awoke when my brother Andrew poked his head into my room like he did when I was seven and he was fourteen.
“What’s up, buttercup?” Andy asked me as he sat on the edge of my frilly double bed. That’d been his nickname for me ever since I could remember.
“Nothing much,” I mumbled.
He nudged my knee. “There’s no real reason why you upended your life by taking an unscheduled flight home in the middle of the night?”
“Well, I did catch Auggie in bed with my roommate.”
His eyes went huge. “Holy fuck! Really?”
I nodded, and I couldn’t say why, but it was that action that brought all my emotions to the fore. I sort of collapsed in on myself as I became a weepy bundle of girl. My big brother did his best to console me by patting my back and murmuring quiet words of comfort. I cried for a long time until...
“Want me to go over there and beat him to death with one of those cricket bats?” Andy asked me, and something about the image of that made me giggle like a little kid.
Things got better after that. Except for when I spotted any guy with dark red hair similar to Auggie’s.
Guess I needed to work on that.
I hopped behind my steering wheel and accidentally pealed out of the parking lot.
Calm down. It wasn’t him, and it never will be.
Too bad telling myself that didn’t help much. I did my best to shake off all my wayward thoughts and feelings about my ex as I hurried down the road toward my father’s law firm. Daddy and I had a lunch date.
Williams and Chung had been the name of the firm when I left three years ago, but since the elderly Mr. Chung had retired and my brother had been made partner, now it was Williams and Williams. I’d been away when Andy’s promotion had come through, though I’d sent him a congratulatory gift. Once I arrived in front of the gray five-floor building downtown, I happened upon someone pulling out of their space.
Score! Parking was usually in the vicinity of impossible this time of day. Looked like maybe the Fates were peering down at me with more kindness all of a sudden. Lord knew I’d had enough crappy luck lately to last me a good long while.
The day was unfettered by rain or clouds, and while that was nice, it meant I had to shade my eyes with my hands as I glanced upward. Another name had been added to the outside façade in brilliant golden lettering, but the glare meant I had to squint to read it. I rushed over the concrete curb with my gaze still fixed on the placard above me.
Williams, Williams, and K…
“Ooomph,” I grunted out as I collided with something as solid as a brick wall. I fell back a pace, nearly losing my balance and taking a header, when a large hand reached out and snatched me from death’s grip. Okay, death’s grip might be a bit dramatic, but if I’d taken that tumble it would’ve hurt.
A lot.
Grasping onto a surprisingly sturdy arm considering it was clad in a high-end suit, I peeked up into the face of my savior. His dark chestnut hair was just long enough to slip over his forehead, and his square jaw was covered with delectable scruff. He had full yet firm lips, a straight nose, and chocolate brown eyes. These recognizable features had made frequent appearances in my dreams since the tender age of sixteen. And at this angle, I was also able to make out the last name on the façade.
King. As in Mason King. My brother’s best bud. Someone I’d known all my life. At some point during my three-year absence, he’d apparently made partner, too, though I didn’t recall anyone telling me.
Mason had been my secret and most agonizing crush for what amounted to an eternity, and I’d literally run right into him.
Dear Lord, kill me now.
2
Mason
“Buttercup? Is that you?”
She huffed. “I genuinely and sincerely wish you and Andy wouldn’t call me that in public.”
I grinned as I peered down at my best friend’s baby sister, not bothering to disguise my astonishment. The last time I’d seen Alaina Williams, it had only been for the briefest second as I’d hurried to catch my flight to San Francisco to finish Law School.
That had been five years ago.
I always thought of her as she was when I’d left for college. Back then, she couldn’t have been more than twelve, wearing braces and a perpetual – yet adorable – blush. Back then, I was a youthful college undergrad without a care in the world. I stayed so busy having a good time, I didn’t give her much thought again.
Well, that’s a lie. I had thought about her at times. But not in any type of creepazoid fashion. I’d always liked her. When she relaxed around me, she was quite a hoot. Goofy, creative and innocent. She was the type of kid who laughed easily and wrote things down on the inside of her arm so she wouldn’t forget. I’d found these quirks of hers charming. Charming and sweet, if naïve.
My first years as an attorney had been spent in San Francisco. Then, I moved back to Seattle, the town Andy, Alaina and I had all been born and raised in, while she was still in London. But I’d had no idea that she’d changed so much. Matured so much.
That cute and slightly awkward teenager had been replaced by this young yet far-too-attractive woman. We still had a hold of one another, and I realized that every place we remained in physical contact was tingling in a rather noteworthy way. An enticing way. An arousing way.
Shit!
Back off from your bro’s kid sister, asshole.
I released her, and she stumbled backwards. So, I grabbed her, thrust her up off the worrisome curb, and let go of her once she was safe again. Sheesh.
Although she was no longer in my arms, I couldn’t seem to tear my eyes from her. Her long wavy blond hair had been swept up into a messy bun, and the flyaway tendrils that drifted along her creamy neck were doing strange things to me. So were the understated gold earrings she wore that dangled beneath her earlobe and caught the light whenever she moved. And so were her bow-shaped lips and hazel eyes.
Those eyes were so fascinating. Deep blue along the outside, a lighter bluish green on the inside, and a starburst of brown around her pupils. The aromatic essence of something floral drifted around her and over to me, and I inhaled the heady fragrance. Then, on top of all that, there was her body.
Good God.
Her figure had become this shapely hourglass. The simple short-sleeved Seattle University t-shirt she had tucked into her skinny jeans this warm September day only served to accentuate this.
Let me say it again.
Good God.
Then, from directly behind me, came one of the two men I most didn’t want privy to my current thoughts.
“Ready for lunch, sweetheart?” said Bryant Williams, the senior partner of my law firm and Alaina and Andy’s father.
“Sure, Daddy. I’ve been hungry for that sushi all morning.”
“Let�
�s get to it, then. Mason, you two get a chance to catch up?” he asked me, and I surreptitiously cleared my throat.
“Well, we just sort of bumped into each other.”
“Literally,” Alaina put in, a small grin lighting her features. The braces were gone, and her smile was perfect and white. Beautiful. Especially since that smile was highlighted by those rosy lips of hers. Unlike many of my recent dates, Alaina was tall, only a few inches shorter than my own six three. It put us on more even ground, lining us up, which I liked.
Yeah, she’s in an awesome position for smooching the living daylights out of me, my traitorous lizard brain chimed in.
Shut up, you horny bastard.
“I’ll be taking her off your hands for now,” Bryant said, putting an image of my hands all over her in my head.
What the ever-loving fuck was the matter with me?
“Excellent,” I replied in a higher pitch than usual. “Have fun.”
He waved, led his daughter to his Mercedes sedan, and zoomed off. I stood there staring after them, even once the car had vanished around the corner. Andy had mentioned her return, but I hadn’t expected her to morph into someone so captivating she might be asked to walk a runway at any moment.
That idea threw an image of her in a swimsuit into my mind. Maybe one of those barely-there bikinis. My phone went off, and relief flooded me. I welcomed the distraction. A quick glimpse showed me the person on the other end of the line was a colleague of mine who I’d been friendly with for years, Trevor Keller.
“Trevor. Haven’t heard from you in eons, dude. How are you?”
“Fabulous, man. Really great. My little boy is six months old now, and I got engaged to his mom last weekend,” he answered.
“Seriously?” I asked him, wondering if he was yanking my chain.
Trevor had been a terminal bachelor ever since I’d known him. The man didn’t even date except through a service that provided paid escorts. I knew this because he and a couple of my other business associates, Richard Boswell and James Carter, had ties to the woman in charge of the same “club.” She liked to stay anonymous by going by the somewhat ridiculous moniker of the Wish Maker.