Forbidden Attraction: A Contemporary Romance Box Set

by K. C. Crowne

  “Very badly indeed,” the woman replied. “He was unable to cope. Unable to accept what happened. So he searched for people to blame. Looked everywhere for a boogeyman he could blame her death on. But it was a tragic accident. Never for one minute was it anybody's fault but our own. We should have paid more attention to her. But how were we to know how it would play out?”

  I sat on the edge of the couch feeling my heart beat in my throat.

  “Megan? Are you there?” Ruby asked. “Did you see that?”

  “I saw it all,” I said. “Shit, I got it all wrong.”

  It would be a long while yet until my first patients would be arriving, but I was still in the new practice every day setting things up. Situated right in the center of the city, I had my sights set on it being a bustling, popular establishment.

  But not only did I need it to be a success for me. I needed it be one for the life inside me too. No longer did I just have myself and the dogs to think about, I had a child to think about now.

  Sitting alone in the deserted area that would be the new reception, I looked at all the plastic sheets and stacked chairs that littered the space and wondered how long it would take until it looked more like a practice than a building site.

  But as much as I tried to concentrate on the place, I still couldn't stop thinking about what I'd seen on TV the night before. Jared wasn't a killer or a pill pusher. He was just a heartbroken guy who had lost his first girlfriend to a horrible addiction. An addiction her own father couldn't come to terms with.

  I’d made a huge mistake telling him to leave but what could I do now? I’d already moved away and was prepping my new building for my dream job.

  Looking out the window, I saw the sun was beginning to set. Now the Halloween season was over, and Christmas was fast approaching, the nights were closing in earlier. The clock on the wall told me was almost seven o'clock and I still had a mountain of paperwork left to complete.

  I leaned back in my seat and wondered if I'd be lucky enough to get to bed before midnight.

  The buzzer from the intercom sounded, and for a second, I sat confused as to what the noise was. I wasn't expecting anyone, and it wasn't as though people would just be passing through here.

  Probably just got the wrong place.

  But once again, the buzzer sounded and, with curiosity getting the better of me, I ambled down to the main entrance and pressed the button for the intercom.

  “Hello? Who is it?”

  “There's a delivery,” came a crackling voice.

  A delivery?

  Must be some of the furniture.

  Pressing the button to let them in, I heard a buzz and a click and the door swung open.

  “Hi! I wasn't expecting a delivery. I was...”

  I stopped in my tracks and stared at the delivery driver, who wasn't a delivery driver at all.

  “Jared!”

  “Surprise,” he said, smiling uncertainly.

  In his arms were half a dozen shopping bags. I could see just by looking in the top one they were filled with baby clothes.

  “Jared, what are you doing here? Why didn't you tell me you were coming?”

  “Why didn't you tell me you were pregnant?”

  His voice was a mixture of anger and excitement.

  “I made a mistake,” I said. “I know you're not who I thought you were.”

  “And who did you think I was?”

  He set the bags down at my feet.

  “Look, I know all the things Ogilvy told you because he told them to me too. But I just want you to know that whether you want to be with me or not, I want to be here for our baby. I'll always be here for them. I've brought you some stuff, but I'll be back in a few days with more. If you want any money, just ask.”

  He turned to leave but I held him lightly by the arm and pulled him back to me.

  “Don't go,” I said. “I know you did nothing wrong.”

  The tension in his face softened.

  “I shouldn't have believed Ogilvy. I should have believed you. I'm sorry.”

  Wrapping my arms around him, I held him as tightly as I could.

  “Can we start again?”

  “Of course we can,” he said, kissing the top of my head. “Of course we can start again.”

  “I love you,” I whispered to him, reaching up to kiss his cheek.

  “I love you too,” he replied, his eyes glistening.

  Epilogue

  Jared

  "Dude are you ready?" Jackson asked.

  " No I'm really not."

  "You'll be fine. I remember feeling like I was going to explode when I did it, but it was amazing."

  "Are you sure she'll say yes?"

  "Pretty damn sure! You saved her life three times and she’s carrying your baby. Who would say no to that?"

  Even with my big brother’s assurances, I was still nervous as hell. "Okay, I'm gonna go," I said.

  "Tell me what she says. But I'm pretty sure I already know the answer."

  I hung up the phone and clutched the ring box in my hand.

  Okay, you can do this. You fought the Taliban, you can propose to your girlfriend.

  So why did this feel so much scarier?

  Walking into the living room of my apartment, I saw her with her feet up on the coffee table eating a bagel slathered in chocolate spread.

  "I'm can't stop eating these," she said. "I'm like addicted to them or something."

  "You eat as many of them as you want," I said, sitting down beside her.

  On the couch next to her, the dogs were laying loyally by her side and glanced up protectively as I approached.

  "Thank you," she said, licking chocolate off her hands.

  "For what?"

  "Finally moving out your cabin and back into your apartment. I mean, I loved the cabin and everything, but I wouldn't want to go into labor up there."

  I smiled and leaned down to rub her swollen ankles.

  "OH, that feels like heaven," she sighed, leaning her head back. "I feel like a beached whale."

  "Well, you look gorgeous."

  She set down her plate and cuddled up beside me.

  "It's not long now," she said. "I can feel that they're coming soon."

  "You're not due for two more weeks."

  "But I can feel it. Like really feel it. I don't think we're gonna be waiting much longer."

  A swell of excitement spread a warm glow through my body.

  "Just promise me you'll take it easy," I said. "I don't want you pushing yourself at work when you're this close."

  "I'm fine!" she insisted. "Besides, Lucy has everything covered setting up appointments, and my replacement is getting on well."

  To my surprise, not long after she left for Denver, Dr. Curtis had been in touch to say he was retiring and selling the practice. . Except Megan had other plans.

  "I'll buy it," she said. "I'll sell my new practice, buy my old one in Station Springs and move back. It'll be everything I wanted. I'll be in my hometown with you and Ruby and Lucy and the other staff in the practice get to keep their jobs."

  It was an easy choice to make, and six months later she was back in her old office. Except this time, she owned it. A lot of changes had taken place since she returned, and the place was now heaving with a constant flow of new patients. Things couldn't be better for her and the money wouldn't stop rolling in.

  As for me, saving Megan and making the news once again made me even more in demand as a security specialist, and SecuriCorp had flourished even more. We even had plans on moving our office to bigger premises and taking on more security agents.

  And with the baby on the way, we had everything we ever wanted. Except the only thing I didn't have was Megan as my wife. With the ring box gripped tight in my hand, I stared deep into her eyes and said, "You know how much I love you, don't you?"

  "Of course. And I love you too."

  She noticed the nerves on my face and saw my fingers clutched around something tight.
<
br />   "What have you got there?" she asked.

  "Megan, I love you and I know that nothing makes me happier than knowing I get to spend the rest of my life with you."

  Sliding onto the floor, I fell down on one knee and flipped open the box to reveal a white gold band with a princess cut diamond in the center.

  "Will you marry me?" I asked.

  For a moment, she said nothing, and fearing the worst, I braced myself for hearing her say no. But she soon exploded into a scream and threw her arms around me.

  "Yes!" she squealed. "Oh, my God! Yes!"

  She kissed me hard, the bump of her stomach pressing into me. Right then, as I felt connected to both her and the baby, I felt as though I was at the center of the universe.

  "I love you so much," she said, and as she pulled away, I saw she had tears in her eyes.

  "I love you too."

  She stared at me lovingly, running her hands down my sides.

  "What did I do to luck out and get you?" she asked, then looked down at her ring. "Oh, my God, Jared. It's beautiful."

  "Not as beautiful as you,” I said. “Nothing ever could be."

  Extended Epilogue – Megan

  "Here, I'll get that," Ruby said as she reached down for the paint roller.

  "No, really I'm fine. I can do it myself."

  "No you can't! You're nearly nine month's pregnant for Christ's sake. You can't paint a room."

  "I can and I will."

  But even my optimism was maybe a bit farfetched today, and as I tried to reach for the roller, I felt ready to collapse.

  "Woah, come sit down," Ruby said. "Come on, you can decorate the nursery another time. Or better still, let Jared do it."

  "I'm okay. I just need a minute."

  Resting on a chair for a second, I looked around the room at the pale, neutral yellow walls and the crib. I ran my eyes over all the toys and knew everything was perfect. Everything except this one wall! I had painted it three times already and it still didn't look right. Nobody saw what I did, obviously, and Jared called me a perfectionist, but I was adamant I was going to get it right.

  "I can't believe he proposed to you last night," Ruby said. "On a scale of one to ten how excited are you?"

  "Twelve. Honestly, I've never been so happy in all my life. I nearly fainted when I first saw the ring."

  I looked down at it again and felt a surge of warmth, love and pride. Then I felt something else. Intense pains in my stomach.

  "Argh!"

  "What is it?" Ruby asked, jumping from her seat.

  "Shit! I think I'm having contractions."

  "No!" she panicked. "You can't be! I'm not ready for this!"

  "I don't care if you're ready. The baby is! Quick! Call Jared!"

  I was rushed into the maternity unit where Jared was already waiting for me.

  " I came as quick as I could."

  "I'm dying," I said. "I literally feel as though an alien is ready push itself out of my body."

  "You'll be fine," he assured me. "I'm right here."

  But once again, my body was wracked with intense pain and I let out a scream as I grit my teeth.

  "Can somebody get her something for the pain?" Jared yelled to the nurses.

  It happened all in a blur. As I was wheeled into a delivery room, all I could think of was the pain and all the things I had learned beforehand flown out my head. I barely remembered to breathe at all let alone take deep breaths, and all the meditation techniques I'd learned were instantly forgotten.

  "Push!" everyone kept telling me. "Just push!"

  But I was pushing a hard as I could and all I could feel was increasing amounts of pain that made me dizzy.

  "Push!" Jared shouted as he squeezed my hand.

  "Come on, push!" Ruby encouraged.

  With one long scream and one final push, I felt a surge of pain and movement, and suddenly Ruby was clutching a hand over her face crying.

  "So beautiful!" she kept saying. "Oh, my God he's perfect!"

  Jared was too shocked to speak, and just stood there, holding my hand for dear life with his eyes watering.

  "It's a boy," the doctor said. "And he's perfect."

  A screaming bundle was placed into my arms and I began to weep with joy.

  "He's wonderful," I cried, kissing his tiny cheek. "Jared, he's so perfect, isn't he?"

  "He's the most perfect angel I've ever seen."

  "Have you decided on a name yet?" the doctor asked.

  Jared and I both looked to each other and both said in unison, "If it's a boy we decided on Marcus."

  "As in Marcus from Red Cherry," Ruby added.

  The doctor smiled and gave a little chuckle.

  "That's a great name," he said. "Congratulations to the both of you."

  "Hello, Marcus," I said. "It's nice to meet you."

  Jared touched his hand lightly to his son’s forehead and teared up.

  "I love you, Marcus," he said.

  Then he looked at me and said, "Can I hold him?"

  "Of course you can."

  I held him up and Jared took him in his arms gently, as though he was the most precious, fragile thing he'd ever seen.

  "Hey, buddy," he said. "You're the most handsome little guy I've ever seen in my whole life. I'm the luckiest dad in the world."

  But as I looked at the two of them with Ruby by their side, I knew I had everything I could ever want. It was me who was the luckiest person in the world.

  Book Five - Big Bad Taboo Daddy

  15 years age gap?

  It's naughty.

  It's taboo.

  It's scandalous.

  It's.... happening.

  Noah was my cocky forty-year-old client.

  Dark. Enigmatic. Incurably broken...

  And.... incurably fine.

  But, the beast in the perfectly tailored suit turns out to have a soft side.

  And he's one h*ll of a devoted father.

  I know I know..it's wrong...

  The young and innocent city girl with a big mouth...

  And a forty-year single dad with a big... ego.

  A scandal is the last thing my family needs.

  And Noah has more enemies than I can count.

  But the pink bars on the screen tell me that this little secret...

  Won't stay little for very long.

  Chapter 1

  Noah

  In. Out.

  In. Out.

  The heaviness of my breath intensified as I felt a familiar burning sensation in my lungs. I increased my pace, and a delicious sense of heat and pain penetrated my entire body. Like a junkie, my body soaked it in and asked for more.

  The end of my run was near, but the energy coiled inside me was nowhere close to extinguished.

  A need to punch a hole through something or someone became agonizingly unbearable.

  Normally, my morning jog gave me release. It was my coping mechanism. But this morning, I wanted to yell in rage at the world, to make it pay for all the fucked up things that happened.

  Why her?

  Why couldn’t it be me?

  I didn’t have the patience to pretend I gave a fuck about someone else’s morning. She had been better at small talk, while I hated any resemblance of it. It was never genuine, always a waste of time.

  A small flame sat in my belly that I wanted to kindle into a wildfire. I wanted to take out my frustrations in a way that running couldn’t do for me anymore, to fight with claws and teeth bared. My desire to take down a bigger and more formidable enemy nearly consumed my being.

  The memories of a loving, happy family were shattered when my wife died of cancer. I was left to raise my daughter on my own and run the business my father left me shortly before losing my life partner. I didn’t know what to do with myself anymore. I wanted to be the best dad and the best CEO I could be. I wanted to be the best in general, but that wasn’t possible.

  My sturdy foundation began to crumble, and I was floundering on my own.
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  I waved to the doorman as I entered front door of my building, cooling down as I rode the elevator up to the top floor. My heart pounded against my rib cage as I took slow, steady breaths. The condo I share with my daughter resided on the top floor of the building and dominated all of it. As I hurried across the entryway to my door, I pulled my sweat-drenched shirt overhead and headed straight to the bathroom. My reflection greeted me as I glanced in the mirror. I paused and rubbed my hand along my jaw.

  The beginning of a beard covered my face, and my inky hair stood on its own, disheveled and windswept. I stared and remembered a time when I would have actually cared about my appearance. I used to shave every day and never would have let my hair get so overgrown and messy.

  Now I didn’t give a damn. There wasn’t a reason to care anymore. It didn’t matter that I looked like a panther ready to strike, all dark with vibrant green eyes. I had lean muscles that were prepared for a fight at any moment and a beast inside me that wanted to bite.

  I didn’t give a fuck if I didn’t look like a proper businessman. I was capable of running a multi-million-dollar company regardless.

  As I showered, I let my mind wander. I’d never had any desire to take over my father’s firm. Even when I was younger and thought better of the world, I would have never stepped foot in the building. But it wasn’t up for negotiation. I’d promised my father before he passed away that I would take his place. I had no plan to break my promise. Not to mention, the most important person in my life who depended on me, my daughter, Tess, needed the stable homelife afforded by my steady and generous income.

  She was everything I wasn’t, so innocent and good.

  After her mother passed, I’d had no idea what I would do. She was more nurturing and capable of handling issues with a gentle hand. In all honesty, I don’t know if I would have made it to where I was today without Carolyn by my side, and when she died, I’d nearly lost my mind.

  Tess and I grieved heavily. Hours were lost to tears and remembering my wife’s memory. It wasn’t until I heard Tess sobbing alone in her room that the situation truly hit me. My baby girl, like me, was in pain, and she was letting that pain fester and threaten to explode.