Beautiful Mistakes: Contemporary Romance Boxset Books 1-4

by Victoria Snow

  I snorted. I wish.

  “Life. We’re celebrating life and the lives of the people we loved and lost too soon.”

  “Very good sir.” The waiter left and I wondered if Blake was feeling a little loose from the wine like I was. I should probably stop, but he was right. I needed to live. I needed to honor my mother by enjoying life, and right now, I was enjoying my time with Blake.

  4

  Blake

  The first real date I took my wife on was to a French restaurant. We’d hung out and ordered pizza during college, but the first time we dressed up and went out was at the end of our senior year when Joanna was getting ready to interview for a job at a French cosmetics company. Neither of us came from money, so it had seemed very posh to be at a nice restaurant. I remembered thinking that someday, I’d have enough money to take her out for a fancy meal every night.

  She didn’t get the job, but we started our own company and we’d been able to afford fancy restaurants whenever we wanted. But this dinner wasn’t like that. This wasn’t a date. Taking Bella to a nice French restaurant was only to try to make her feel better since she was clearly upset over the loss of her mom. I could relate to that. I knew dinner with her boss wouldn’t end her grief, but I knew what it was to lose a loved one and sometimes having someone who understood that helped. I knew that platitudes like, “you’ll feel better in time,” “heaven needed another angel,” or, the one I heard a lot, “you’re still young, you can remarry,” caused irritation instead of easing pain or giving soothing comfort.

  Watching her across the table, the grief hung in her eyes, but the color had come back to her cheeks and she was smiling, suggesting that this dinner was helping.

  The waiter returned with a bottle of champagne, popping the cork and pouring it for us. Perhaps the color was from the wine.

  I lifted my glass. “To your mother and to living life.”

  Bella’s smile was sweet as she raised her glass to click to mine. “To my mom and to living life.”

  I sipped the golden bubbly, watching over the rim of the glass as Bella drank hers. She was young to have endured such a loss. But Christ, she was strong and smart. And alone, I realized. How the hell had it happened that she had no one in her life to help her through her loss?

  “Where is your family if they’re not in New York?”

  Her smile faltered and kicked myself for it. “My mom was all I had.”

  Jesus. Then again, my parents were gone. But I had Lily and Joanna’s parents. “What happened to your father? Grandparents?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know my father. He was never in the picture. My mom’s parents died when I was young. She raised me alone.” She gave me a wan smile. “She was really brave and strong.” She looked down and I got the feeling she thought she was neither.

  “She raised a brave and smart daughter.”

  She gave a small laugh. “I doubt her boss would have found her blubbering like a baby at work.”

  “Hey.” I reached over to put my hand over hers to get her attention and comfort her. Her hand was small, and as my skin covered hers, warmth spread up my arm. Without even thinking, I clasped my fingers around her hand. “We all get caught off guard by grief sometimes.”

  She looked at our hands, and then up to my face. I saw gratitude and something else I couldn’t explain.

  “Thank you.” She squeezed my hand, and the warmth spread further, reaching my heart. It startled me, and I pulled my hand back. What was I doing?

  I nodded to acknowledge her gratitude, and forced myself to move on in the conversation. “So, you have no one? Surely you have a boyfriend.”

  She snorted, making me wonder if I was plying her with too much wine. “No.”

  “Why is that funny?”

  She looked up at me, blushing. “No reason. I’m just too busy to date.”

  I frowned. “I don’t work you so hard that you can’t have a life. Do I?”

  “No,” she quickly said. “No. I have time, just not the interest or opportunity, I guess. I’m not one to go to clubs and stuff.”

  “You’re young, you should be enjoying it.”

  “You talk like I’m a teenager.” She downed her champagne and held her glass out to me.

  I figured I’d be making sure she got home safe, so another glass couldn’t hurt. “No, but you’re young. Younger than me. I’m in a different place. That’s all I meant.”

  She made a pfffttt sound that was adorable. “You’re not that much older than me.”

  “I’m enough older.” I refilled my glass.

  She sipped her champagne, as she studied me. “But you’re still in your prime. You’re handsome and you’re brilliant.”

  I waited for her to say rich, but she didn’t. I liked that. She didn’t see dollar signs when she looked at me.

  “And sexy.” She put her hand over her mouth as if she hadn’t meant to say that bit.

  I started to laugh until I realized the warmth I felt from her earlier had reached my dick. It wasn’t fully erect, but I felt the telltale signs of arousal beginning in me. Guilt flooded my brain. This was a mistake. What was I thinking taking my assistant to a nice French restaurant and plying her with wine and champagne? It wasn’t appropriate for me to be offering her comfort over the loss of her mother.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “That was unprofessional.”

  I forced a smile. “It’s okay. Perhaps I should get you home.”

  Disappointment showed on her face, but she nodded. “Thank you for this. It cheered me up.”

  I stood and swayed slightly. Shit. I’d probably drank too much too. “I’ll be right back.”

  She nodded.

  I went to the men’s room to make sure my dick behaved itself and splashed some water on my face. Pull it together Blake. After years of feeling nothing but pain or nothing, my reaction to Bella was surprising and unwanted. And disconcerting. I wasn’t the rich, older boss who coveted his much younger assistant. Not when I’ve had the love of a good woman. Yes, my good woman was gone, but my love for her wasn’t. My commitment to our marriage wasn’t.

  When I returned, the waiter brought the check, which I paid and then escorted Bella outside. I’d given Hank the night off and so I ordered a car from my phone app to drive us.

  Bella gave her address and we sat together in the backseat as the driver wove through the city to SoHo.

  “Do you live alone?” I asked her, hoping she had a roommate who could keep an eye on her.

  “Yes. I’ve got a little one bedroom. I’m lucky my boss pays me well so I can live in the city.”

  I smiled. “I’m glad you think so.”

  She sighed and closed her eyes. She had an emotional day, so I let her sit quietly. But when her head fell onto my shoulder, I realized she was asleep. My first instinct was to pull away but as I looked at her, her pale skin, pink cheeks, and rosy lips, I couldn’t move. She was lovely, and my instinct was to hold her. I sucked in a breath, steadying myself from taking such action.

  Finally, our driver pulled to the curb and let us out. “I’ll escort her up. You don’t have to wait.” She was tipsy, if not drunk, and sleeping, I figured it would take time to make sure she was settled in at home. I paid the driver and then woke Bella.

  “Oh. Oh my God, I’m sorry, Mr. Alexander—”

  “It’s Blake tonight, remember.” I smiled trying to ease her worry, especially since she looked mortified that she fell asleep on me.

  She nodded, but I could see the distress on her face.

  “Come on, let me escort you up.”

  “You don’t have to do that. I’ll be fine. Really.”

  I stepped out of the car, holding out my hand to help her. She looked up at me tentatively, but then put her hand in mine. Again, warmth spread and I felt the urge to hug her close. When she was out, I released her hand. What the fuck was wrong with me?

  Her building didn’t have a doorman, but at least it had an elevator which we took up to t
he fifth floor. She swayed slightly as she worked the key and opened the door.

  She turned and leaned against the door frame. “Thank you for this evening Mr. Al— Blake.”

  “My pleasure. Are you okay?”

  She nodded, but I wasn’t comfortable leaving her yet.

  “Do you have coffee?”

  She perked up. “Yes. Would you like some?”

  I probably could use it. Too much wine had to be the reason I was feeling strange sensations around her. Yeah, but you weren’t drinking in that elevator the other day. I pushed that thought away.

  “Yes.”

  She opened the door to let me in. The apartment reminded me of the tiny place Joanna and I first had before our company took off. Small, but clean and cozy.

  I looked out the window while Bella went to the kitchen. Like our first place, there wasn’t much of a view. Now, my view was of Central Park. I loved having the space and luxury that money brought, but I couldn’t deny the wonderful memories of when I didn’t have all that. When all Joanna and I had was love and a dream.

  Bella came out of her kitchen to join me. “It takes a few minutes. My coffee maker is as old as I am.”

  I laughed. “That’s not very old.”

  She frowned, apparently not liking my comments about her young age.

  Wanting to reduce her annoyance, I said, “You know, my wife and I had a place like this in Tribeca. Except it was a walk-up and we lived on the seventh floor.”

  She smiled as she joined me by the window. “That’s where you started JoXander.”

  “Yes. Jo for Joanna and Xander for Alexander. That’s how I proposed to her. At that time, the company was a thesis project that needed a name. I suggested adding mine to hers.”

  Bella’s smile was dreamy like I was telling her a fantastic love story. I supposed it was, except there was no happily ever after for us.

  “And she said yes?”

  “She did.”

  She sighed as she looked out the window. “I’d like to find someone like you. Who’d love me the way you love her.”

  I noted she said love in the present tense, not the past as most used since my wife was dead. Her acknowledgment that my love hadn’t died with her touched me.

  “You’re a smart, beautiful woman. I’m sure there’s a good man out there for you.”

  She pressed her hand against the window as if she was searching for something. Then I noticed she was touching my reflection, placing her hand over my chest.

  “I don’t know. I don’t have any experience.”

  “In love?” There was something sad in her voice. Had she never had a boyfriend to care for her? That seemed unlikely. She was a captivating woman.

  “Any of it.”

  I frowned, not sure what she was getting at.

  “You think I’m young, but I’m pretty sure I’m the oldest virgin in the city.”

  I jerked my gaze to hers through the reflection in the window not believing what I was hearing. She was a virgin? This smart, sweet, beautiful, sexy woman?

  She turned to me. “I’ve never been touched by a man.”

  My dick shot to full tilt and while my conscious screamed for me to leave, the wine must have dulled the rest of my brain because all I could think about was touching her. My gaze raked over her body, scanning all the luscious parts of her there ware to touch from her firm plump breasts, round backside, and curve of her hips.

  That booze filled part must have taken over or maybe it was my libido because I asked her, “Do you want to be touched?”

  Her breath hitched, and I had the urge to press a kiss against her neck where her pulse began to beat faster. “Yes.”

  I stared at her and the longer I did, the hotter and thicker my blood coursed through my body. It had been so fucking long since I’d touched a woman. My dick was screaming to fuck her, and yet I stood there, unable to move.

  “Why haven’t you then?” My voice was rough with need. Did she notice? If she looked down, there was no way she’d miss my hard-on, but her gaze remained glued to mine.

  She shrugged. “No opportunity.”

  “I don’t believe that.” She had to be joking. She was beautiful and had curves made for sex.

  She gave a small smile. “When there was an opportunity, I didn’t have the interest.”

  “Have you ever had the interest?”

  She bit her lip, her teeth sinking into its plump flesh and the image of those lips wrapped around my dick flashed in my brain. If we kept this up, I’d come in my pants.

  “Yes.”

  “But he wasn’t interested in you?” That seemed impossible.

  She looked down. “I don’t think so.” I studied her, as she turned her gaze out the window. It boggled my mind that any man wouldn’t be interested in touching her if she wanted him. Even in her work clothes, she was a stunning woman. As I looked her over, I noticed that her nipples were poking through the soft fabric of her dress. Jesus, was she turned on too?

  She couldn’t possibly be interested in me. I was her boss, for Christ’s sake. I was a widower nearly twenty years older than her.

  “Why don’t you think he was interested in you?”

  She turned to me; her blazing blue eyes clouded with what I recognized as desire. Holy fuck, she was talking about me. She simply looked at me like she could not form the words. Her vulnerability made my heart ache. Her beauty and sensuality made my dick throb with need.

  I took her hand and pressed it against my erection. “Are you sure he’s not interested in you?”

  5

  Bella

  I’d had more to drink than ever before in my life, but I was sober enough to know this wasn’t a hallucination. Blake, my boss, just put my hand on his long, hard dick. Having never touched one before, I had thought little about what it would be like. It’s a body part like any other, right?

  Wrong. The minute my hand pressed against his expensive pants where his dick strained against the material, my body went flaming hot. All I wanted to do was to unbutton his slacks, yank them down, and run my hands over him. I envisioned myself dropping to my knees and sucking it, which was odd because, until this moment, putting a dick in my mouth had never appealed to me.

  Not sure if pulling his pants down was the right course of action, I simply rubbed my hand over him, taking in the length and girth of him. Holy hell it was big. Could that really fit inside a woman?

  He hissed out a breath, and I looked up at his face. His eyes were closed as if he was savoring the feeling of my hand on him. He liked it. I squeezed gently as I rubbed.

  “Fuck.”

  My boss just said “fuck” and my pussy clenched. My panties felt wet and my breasts ached. Was this what arousal felt like? I mean, I’d had orgasms, but they’d always been by my own hand. I’d never felt like my body would burn up from the inside out.

  Suddenly, I wanted him to touch me too. I took his hand and pressed it to my breast.

  His eyes opened, and in their dark depths, I saw a raw need. His hand gently squeezed and his thumb brushed over my nipple. Even through my clothes, I felt it straight to my pussy.

  I moaned, wanting more. So much more. I was burning up and the only solution was to get naked. I unzipped my dress, letting it drop to the floor as I undid my bra. I was afraid at any minute he’d change his mind, so I had to hope that he’d like what he saw and want to have it.

  His gaze raked over my breasts and I swore my nipples hardened and distended even more. Then his eyes lifted to mine. I saw desire but hesitation too.

  No. No, don’t stop. I reached out and ran my hand over his dick again and he hissed in response. I undid his belt and pants, my hands shaking with nerves but also excitement.

  “Bella.”

  I didn’t want him to say anything, so I ignored him, pushing his slacks down, and then his silky boxers, which answered my boxers or briefs question.

  His dick sprang free and it was magnificent. It stood straight out like it wante
d me. It was hard, yet the skin over it was silky soft. The tip was round and dark pink, and again, I felt the urge to suck it into my mouth. My pussy protested. It wanted this beautiful massive cock inside it.

  Worried he’d stop, I wrapped my hand around it, holding firm and stroking. I had no clue what I was doing. I was running on instinct and vague memories of a porn movie I’d once watched in college with some girlfriends for laughs.

  A bead of wetness emerged from his tip. I ran my thumb over it, rubbing it around the rim of his dick.

  “Fuck, Bella.” He let out a growl that sounded like he was fighting with himself.

  It was quite possible I was about to humiliate myself, but I also wanted this man, and if I needed to make the move, I would. “Yes, Blake, fuck Bella.”

  He let out another growl and then he moved quickly, grabbing me and pushing me back on the couch. He yanked off his tie which he’d loosened earlier, undid a couple of buttons, and then pulled his shirt over his head. I heard the clink of metal and realized he must have torn his cufflinks from the wrists of his shirt.

  He yanked my panties down and now I was naked. At first, I felt self-conscious and then, his eyes raked over my body and I started to ache all over again. He dove down over me and sucked my nipple deep into his mouth.

  I cried out as pleasure tore through my pussy. It was possible I would come before he even fucked me. He continued to suck one nipple and then the other as his hand slid between my legs.

  “Christ, you’re so wet.” He murmured as his fingers rubbed my pussy. I arched against him, needing more contact. Needing him inside me.

  “Blake, I’m burning up… oh God.” His fingers on my was nothing like when I touched myself. I was about to come. I could feel myself teetering on the edge.

  He moaned as he sat up. He took my legs and wrapped them around him as he pulled my hips toward him. His dick hit my opening, and I wanted to swallow the monster whole.

  “Please,” I begged. I was going to die from need.