A Bride Worth Billions Read online

  “Yikes. I have to go, but we’ll catch up.”

  “Ok, but don’t forget to stop by my house tonight. I have a surprise for you.”

  “Another surprise?”

  “It’s your birthday! You have to celebrate it right!”

  “Okay, if you say so. See you tonight.” We said good-bye and I hung up.

  Content, I walked back to my desk thinking how lucky I was to have such good people in my life and part of me, that still felt guilty for the person I’d been all those years ago, felt that I didn’t deserve them at all.

  Dirty Things

  “Do you think this skirt is too tight?” Becca said spinning around in a leopard skirt that was definitely too tight, but that’s how she wore all her clothes.

  “Of course it’s too tight.” I responded.

  “Oh good,” she said not missing a beat as she slid on a red crop top to go with it. If she were as voluptuous as I was, her look would have seemed over the top, but since she was so small she looked more like a school-girl trying to play dress up, so she came across as cute. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that though. I knew she was going for sex goddess, not cutesy.

  She finished her look off with scary high wedges and red lipstick. She then tied her long blonde hair back in a sloppy ponytail and inspected her look.

  “I think I look fabulous,” she said posing in the mirror throwing herself kisses. I rolled my eyes mockingly and inspected my look too.

  I was wearing just a plain white maxi dress and a butterfly necklace Becca had surprised me with for my birthday. The dress was tight in the bust and flowed away from my waist and hips. It left a lot to the imagination, I thought wryly to myself. Modesty was something new I learned, after Josh. It was something that I also greatly valued now. Showing my body, as far as I was concerned was off-limits, much to Becca’s consternation.

  She eyed my clothes, “You look like a hippy.” She obviously had no problem speaking her mind and telling me how she really felt.

  “Thank you.” I said deliberately goading her.

  “That wasn’t a compliment.”

  “I know.” Becca didn’t know much about my life before she met me, besides a bare bones story about my parents’ deaths and how I ended up living with my aunt. She didn’t press me for answers to certain questions and immediately backed off when I became reticent to talk about my past. She respected that my past was a closed subject.

  “How about you at least put on some makeup? Lipstick? Mascara maybe? Come on, makeup is fun,” she whined.

  I gave in and added lip gloss to my full pouty lips and looked in the mirror. My dark brown eyes were round and large, giving me an almost doe like look. I also had blonde hair and most people commented that I looked so innocent, almost angelic with my wide eyes, ringlets of blonde hair and full mouth. I saw what they saw, but I knew I had more in common with the devil than I did with angels.

  I left my blonde curls loose around my face and didn’t give my reflection another glance as I walked out of Becca’s house, heading to my car.

  “Hey, you want to take my car or yours?” I asked.

  “Umm, we’ll take mine,” she said looking at my small red sedan that had seen better days.

  Becca drove a vintage Porsche and I wasn’t offended at all when she wanted to take her car instead.

  “I love this car,” I said for the umpteenth time as I slid in next to her.

  “This car is my baby. In fact, I think if I had a baby I would still love this car more.” She said stroking her hand across the dashboard lovingly.

  “Becca, you don’t mean that.”

  “Um yes, I do. I don’t have a maternal bone in my body.”

  And on that note, she accelerated and all thoughts of our previous conversation escaped both our minds as we each settled into our own thoughts. She had the top down and my hair was blowing everywhere, but I didn’t care. It felt great to be alive, I thought to myself. Who knows if I would be if I had stayed with Josh? I hadn’t seen him in at least five years. Thank God.

  I admired the night time view of the city as Becca masterfully drove her Porsche, switching lanes with the ease of a professional driver. I thought to myself, she had missed her calling. She should have been a stunt driver given the way she was so composed behind the wheel. You would think she and the car were one.

  Finally we pulled up to our destination. I instantly fell in love with Mr. Steward’s house. It was like a house in a fairytale. Ivory covered the outside of his modest home and large trees lined the driveway. The driveway itself was cobble stone and the whole house just had an Old World feel to it as if it belonged somewhere in England instead of in the suburbs of the Midwest.

  “Nice place. Really quaint, almost cottage like.” Becca commented pulling up and parallel parking the car next to a row of cars that lined each side of the street.

  “Nice turn out. Your boss must be popular,” she said noting the number of cars.

  “He’s really a great guy. There are eight of us on his team, so I wouldn’t be surprised if everyone showed up.”

  We approached the door and even the night smelled fragrant around his home. I spied a night blooming Jasmine plant not too far from the front door as the source and breathed in deeply, sticking my nose closer to it.

  And that’s exactly when the door opened. And the woman who stood there, studied me curiously.

  “Hello ladies,” she said amusement in her deep voice. She was thin and tall and had to be in her early fifties. Dressed in a light-weight linen skirt and top with gaudy jewelry, I assumed she was Mr. Steward’s wife.

  “I’m Sadie, Clinton’s better half,” she quipped, “Come on in.” She stood back and we entered, extending our hands in greeting, “I’m Skylar and this is my friend, Becca.”

  “Skylar,” she said my name with interest. I wondered what Mr. Steward had told her about me when he appeared suddenly at my side, “Skylar, you made it. Great! And you brought a friend. I’m Clinton, Skylar’s supervisor.” He said extending his hand to Becca. “And you all have met my wife, Sadie. Come meet the rest of the family.” He said leading us away from Sadie who was already opening up the door for more guests.

  Everyone had indeed showed up and I waved and smiled at my coworkers who were busy socializing among each other and devouring Mr. Steward’s food. It did look delicious. As I became distracted by my stomach growling, Mr. Steward cleared his throat and I realized that not only was he talking to me, but he was introducing me to someone.

  “I’m sorry, what?” I said smiling at him apologetically and then I noticed the man next to him and I could barely breathe as my eyes locked with his.

  “This is my son, Elias,” Mr. Steward said and I only nodded absently as I inspected the man in front of me. He looked, for lack of a better word, dangerous. He was dressed in slim fitting black jeans and a tight black shirt that accentuated his lean, yet muscular physique. He didn’t have an ounce of body fat, from what my eyes could tell. He was all sinewy muscle and quiet strength and as my eyes traveled up, taking in his wide shoulders and thick neck and finally reaching his face, I was mesmerized by his dark eyes, so dark brown that they were almost black. He looked back at me not smiling, just studying me, and memorizing every inch of me blatantly taking his time to let his gaze linger on my lips, the fullness of my bust before giving my dress a cursory glance. In that cursory glance, I felt I might as well have been nude.

  “Skylar,” He said only my name as he extended his hand to me. As he took my hand in his, he rubbed his thumb lightly across it. I felt a tingle of heat go up my back and I hoped he didn’t notice my quick intake of breath. “That’s a beautiful name.”

  “Thank you,” I murmured and then to my chagrin I absently mumbled under my breath. “I think I might love you.”

  “Excuse me?” he said leaning in closer, amusement on his face.

  I turned beat red and I heard Becca stifle a giggle. I briefly caught an equally amused look in Mr. Steward�
�s eyes as he promptly excused himself and walked away.

  “I think I saw a cutie in the corner, I’ll be back,” Becca said also disappearing suddenly into the crowd.

  I wished at that moment that I could disappear just as quickly. I prayed that he hadn’t heard me. I didn’t believe in love at first sight and my mouth normally didn’t spout undying words of love towards strangers so I had no idea what had gotten into me.

  “Would you like a drink, Skylar?” He asked and I nodded, suddenly tongue-tied now that I was alone with him. At least, that’s what it felt like. In his presence, I didn’t even notice everyone else around us. The noise seemed to be drowned out. Everything around me was a blur besides the man standing in front of me, studying me curiously, no emotion in his eyes.

  He gestured for me to follow him and he led me into the kitchen, which had a swinging door. As soon as we entered, all the noise was muted and it was finally just the two of us.

  “So you work for my father?” he said reaching for a beer and opening it before handing it to me.

  “Yes, spreadsheets and stuff,” I said feeling silly for not having something more interesting to say to him. He ran his hand across his freshly shaved head and I couldn’t help but think that everything about him said military: The bald head, the perfect stature, the tightness of his body.

  “Are you in the military?” I asked.

  He smiled then, “What gave it away? The hair cut?”

  I grinned, not even thinking of mentioning that his perfect body was also a dead giveaway, “Yeah, the haircut had something to do with it.”

  He stroked his chin and looked down at me. I liked how his olive-complexion seemed so perfectly tanned, given his skin a warm glow, “Navy SEAL,” he said shortly.

  “Active duty?” I asked.

  “Yeah, but I’ll be done this year.”

  “What are you going to do after?”

  He leaned his lower back against the counter, getting comfortable and folded his arms across his chest. I had to cross my hands over each other to keep from reaching out and touching his forearms. Who knew that even forearms could have muscles? And the way his arms bulged under his shirt, which rode up showing his massive biceps, made my mouth water.

  “I don’t know what I’m going to do. Sleep. That sounds like a good option.” He took a swig of the beer I hadn’t noticed in his hand and I found even that motion unbelievably sexy.

  Nervously, I took a sip too and looked at him as I did. His eyes lingered on my lips as they closed around the bottle and I took a sip and then slowly took it out my mouth. My tongue darting out briefly to catch an errant drop.

  His eyes seemed to dilate at the movement and something told me that from the snugness of his pants around a certain area of his body, he wasn’t immune to the sexual energy that seemed to hum between us as well.

  “Elias---”

  “Skylar---” We both spoke at the same time. “You first,” I said.

  “I think it’s painfully obvious, at least for me, that we’re both crazy attracted to each other. Why? I’m not sure. I think you’re hot, even in that hippy dress. And if the way you can’t keep your eyes off my body is any indication, you feel the same way. Am I right?”

  My mouth was hanging open at this point, I was sure. I hadn’t expected him to be so well, blunt.

  I nodded mutely and he continued, “I would like to rip your clothes off and have my way with you. But before that, I would like to take you out on a date. We can get to know each other for a few weeks and then maybe we can go to my place and do some dirty things to each other. But until then, how about dinner?”

  I felt heat all over my body wondering what those dirty things would be. Elias had rendered me speechless, “I would like that very much.” I finally said, finding my voice and swallowing hard.

  “Which part?” He said and from the tone of his voice, I knew he was taunting me.

  I squared my shoulders and tried to sound worldly and sophisticated as I said, “All of it.” And suddenly I felt daring as I added, “Especially the dirty things part.”

  He smiled then. A huge smile that only served to make him even hotter and my skin flushed in desire.

  He kept that wolfish grin in place as he walked towards me. He reached out and touched my face, lazily allowing his hand to trail down my cheek before he placed his fingers in my hair and pulled me closer to him.

  “And now is when you kiss me?” I whispered as he brought his lips close.

  “Shhh...You’re ruining the moment,” he said as my lips met his and I moaned instantly upon contact moving closer to meld my body against his own. His lips moved over mine softly at first and then he groaned and pulled me closer as if he couldn’t get enough of me, assaulting my lips with his own, pushing his tongue into my mouth, exploring me impatiently, all while he held my head steady, catching my sighs and moans against his lips.

  When he was done he reluctantly let his hand fall from my hair and then he tweaked my chin, “I’m looking forward to us,” was all he said as he turned around and walked out the kitchen, leaving me standing there at the counter, clutching the beer that was still in my hand, a hand that now shook in the aftermath of Elias’s passion.

  In Public

  “You hit like a girl,” Elias said standing back watching me swing the bat as the balls came zooming towards me.

  “Thank you,” I retorted and he laughed.

  “I’m being an ass. I know. I can’t help it sometimes.”

  “No kidding,” I said not cutting him any slack. We had been dating now for two months and it had to be the most wonderful if not frustrating two months of my life. He was the perfect boyfriend if I could call him that. Thoughtful, doting, sexy, adventurous, so that was the wonderful part. He respected my opinions, treated me well and I enjoyed our sarcastic banter. The frustrating part was our sex life or I should say our lack of a sex life. As he mentioned that first night, we hadn’t just jumped into bed together. We had spent these past two months getting to know each other. He hadn’t once invited me back to his place for anything more than a drink and my attempts to get him back to my place to get him in bed always ended with him lightly swatting me on the butt and telling me to be a good girl and then he would stroll out the door.

  It was driving me crazy, but at the same time I thought it was sweet that he was genuinely interested in me and not in just sex. But as I studied him from beneath my lashes, I realized that he was the type of guy who sex came easy to. I’m sure he could have any woman he wanted, but for now he wanted me, all of me it seemed, and strangely enough, I wanted him to have it.

  Spreading my legs and sinking down a little, I tried to perfect my form as the next ball came hurling at me and I hit it!

  “I hit it! I got it! I got it!” I said bouncing up and down. I ran to Elias, kissed his mouth and then kept jumping up and down. He shook his head and then started bouncing up and down with me, revealing his goofy nature under that tough exterior as he high-fived me when we were both calm again and said, “Good job. It only took about twenty tries, but good job nevertheless.”

  I looked at him and stuck my tongue out at him, “You’re not funny.”

  “I’m hilarious and if you stick your tongue at me again, the fun in this batting cage will go from rated PG to rated X.”

  I couldn’t resist and stuck my tongue out at him. He lunged for me and I ran off giggling and screaming out the batting cage door. Elias easily caught up with me and picked me up, carrying me as if I weighed close to nothing. He tossed me over his shoulder and I squealed as he started to spin with me in his arms.

  “Put me down! Oh my God, Elias put me down!” I screamed laughing. He finally obeyed and plopped me down gently on the ground, butt first.

  “You’re so lucky I can’t properly defend myself,” I said giving him a pretend angry glare. He ignored it and reached for my hands, pulling me up. He then kissed the back of each one, before wrapping his arm around my waist.

  “So w
hat’s next, hon?” he asked as we walked towards his car together, silence all around us.

  I leaned over and whispered in his ear boldly, “I don’t know. Maybe sex?”

  His gaze was heated as he studied me carefully and said, “Your wish is my command.”

  It was late and the parking lot was empty, only Elias’s car remained. I didn’t know how much longer Elias could wait, but I wanted him right there and now. Apparently he felt the same way because we didn’t make it inside the car. He backed me up against the hood and picked me up, shoving my maxi skirt up my thighs and pushing my panties to the side. Without hesitating, he stuck a finger inside me, while kissing my neck and using his other hand to free one of my breasts from the constraint of the tank top I wore. I thrust my hips against his hand, wishing his finger to go deeper, as my wet sex clenched around it, throbbing, wanting more. I would have come then, but Elias pulled away his finger and instead began to unbutton his pants. He freed his sex and I greedily grabbed it, admiring the length of it, rubbing my hand up and down his warm shaft.