I Have to Have Her Read online

  He got to his office and dumped her on the sofa. She made to get up but he grabbed her hands, pinning them either side of her head, locking her in place. “What the hell are you doing?”

  “You are the biggest fucking pain in my ass!” He growled the words.

  “Takes one to know one. You’re a monster. Get off me.”

  “No, I rather like it when you wriggle a little more.”

  She screamed and continued to get away.

  “You don’t get it, do you? I’m not yours to do this with anymore. I’m a free woman.”

  “You stopped being free the moment I had my first taste of you.”

  “Oh, so now you can just come and take me off the shelf when you feel like it? I don’t think so. It doesn’t work that way. Let me go.” She growled, screamed, and finally collapsed back. “I hate you.”

  He got into her face and yelled back. “And I fucking love you!”

  He pulled back to stare into her face, at her drawn brows and pursed lips.

  “Wait? What? No, you hate me.”

  “I don’t hate you, Claire.”

  “No, this is a trick.”

  “No trick.”

  “I, I’m confused.”

  “You and me both.”

  “You don’t want me.”

  He laughed. “You think so, don’t you? I lied.”

  Her frown deepened. “I … I really don’t know what to say right now.”

  “You were only supposed to be an easy fuck, Claire. I wasn’t supposed to care. I’ve been with so many women. They all want the same thing.”

  “Yeah, perfect. Keep on telling me how many women you’ve been with. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.” She sniffled.

  “I don’t mean to upset you. What I’m trying to say is I thought you were like other women, but you’re not. You didn’t take my money. You never sought to be by my side or make me fall in love with you. When I’m with you, I know you want me for me.” He let go of her hands and she didn’t move. He moved down toward her hips, touching her. “I made a mistake.”

  “What? Is this where you send me back to the party?”

  “No, I won’t send you back.” He stroked her cheek. “You know what I am. You know what I’m capable of. The men that tried to kill you, all of them are dead. There will be men who’ll try to take you from me because they saw weakness. You’re my weakness. The thought of anything happening to you kills me.”

  “You dumped me to save me?”

  He nodded and he saw the tears in her eyes.

  “I’m not used to being weak. I care about Rhianna and I know she’s safe, but you. Knowing what you did, how you would die for her, I can’t, you’re too fucking precious but I can’t do it.”

  “What can’t you do?”

  “I can’t allow you to be with someone else. I’m a selfish bastard. I want you, Claire. I love you. I can’t promise you it’s always going to be easy. I know it’s not. It’s going to be hard and painful, but I fucking love you more than anything else.” He touched her cheek. “So much, and I don’t want another man to know how amazing you are. I can’t even stand the sight of someone dancing with you. I don’t want to see you given to anyone else but me.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “I want you as my wife.”

  “Oh,” she said. “This is a big leap.”

  “I know what I want.”

  “What about what I want?” she asked.

  “Tell me what it is you want, and it’s yours.”

  He waited as he watched her. What was she going to say? Telling her his true feelings, he’d never been so open with a woman. He couldn’t live without Claire. The past two weeks were the worst of his life.

  He even went to the mansion and spent time watching her move from room to room, serving ungrateful men. None of them touched her. He told Casey to keep her protected at all times. There were even men near her apartment. There was just no way he could let her go.

  Seeing her now, the thought of her being pregnant with another man’s baby, it wasn’t going to happen.

  “I want you,” she said, touching his cheek. “I want all of you. The good and the bad. I don’t want you to dump me again. Whenever you’re angry or upset, come to me. I want to be your everything.”

  He took hold of her wrist, kissing it. “You are my everything. I was just too much of an asshole to see it.”

  She sat up, wrapping her arms around him.

  “Do I take that as a yes?” he asked.

  “A yes?”

  “You’re going to marry me?”

  She chuckled. “I didn’t come here for a proposal.”

  “You know, you haven’t told me how you really feel,” he said, cupping her face.

  “You want to know?”

  “Yes.”

  “I hate you.”

  He slammed his lips down on hers, and she moaned, spreading her thighs wide around him.

  “Do you still hate me?”

  “A little, but I think there’s a little more love there.”

  He kissed her again, moving from her lips to her neck, then down.

  “I love you, Gabriel. It’s why it has been so hard to walk away. I didn’t want to love you, but you made me.”

  “Then I’m going to keep on making you. For the rest of our lives, I’m going to make up for being a bastard to you.”

  “You can start tonight.” She worked the zip of his pants open. He swatted her hand away.

  “I was thinking more about tasting you.”

  Two weeks was too long to go without having a taste of his woman and he had too much time to make up for.

  Epilogue

  Five years later

  “I would say we’ve still got it,” Gabriel said as he collapsed to the bed. His wife, the love of his life, panted beside him.

  “Yeah, I would say we do as well. That was the third time, right?”

  “Yep, and seeing as it’s our anniversary,” he said as he lifted over her, spreading her thighs wide, “I’m not going to waste a moment.” His cock was already hard as rock and he found the wet heat of his woman, sliding in deep. “Fuck, Claire, I don’t know what it is you do to me.” He nibbled on her neck, feeling her cunt tighten around him.

  “Don’t stop,” she said. “I’m so close.”

  He slid his hand between her thighs and started to tease her clit, working back and forth, over, and bringing her closer to an orgasm. She cried out and her pussy tightened around him. Already three orgasms, and he was close to a second. They hadn’t had this time together in three months.

  Gabriel had been desperate. They’d been married five years and she’d given birth to their son three months ago. There had been a few complications with the birth and she’d needed time to heal. Not to mention the fact that having a baby was a constant cock block.

  When his sister offered to take Junior, he hadn’t argued. He’d gone home, got his son, who he loved dearly, along with an overnight bag, and he’d taken the opportunity to make love to his woman.

  He found his release but rather than move off her, he wrapped his arms around her, keeping her in place. He kissed her neck and breathed her in.

  “Do you think we’ve been selfish?” she asked.

  “I don’t care.”

  “Are you happy, Gabriel?”

  He frowned. Sliding out of her, he moved so he could stare into her eyes. “Why wouldn’t I be happy?”

  She placed a hand on his chest, over his heart. “Being married. A dad. It wasn’t anything like you’d planned. Are you happy with your life?”

  He took her hand and kissed her ring finger. “I’ve got you. I didn’t want to marry anyone but you. You’re the love of my life. My very reason for breathing. There’s no one else I want more. Junior is our son. He’s part of you. My life isn’t what I planned but that’s because I didn’t think I could be this happy.”

  “I did it, didn’t I? I tamed you.”

  “Yes, but only for you.
”

  He took possession of her mouth. Claire was the only woman for him, and he’d stick to his promise of making up the time they’d lost. He only hoped the next fifty years would be enough.

  The End

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  Inked in the Music by Kitt Rose

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  BONUS SAMPLE CHAPTER

  COCKY BILLIONAIRE

  Sam Crescent

  Copyright © 2020

  Sample Chapter

  “And don’t steal any of my shit,” Caleb Turner said as he made his way toward the door. He was used to getting what he wanted and being a billionaire, he also knew a lot of people liked to steal. Checking his phone, he saw he had an incoming call from his father.

  Without another backward glance at the curvy cleaner, he left his penthouse apartment and headed toward the elevator.

  At forty years old, everyone would have been expecting him to settle down, start a family. The Turner family was a multi-billion-dollar corporation expanding across many different venues from film, cosmetics, to the news, and competitive advertisements as well. They had it all. Whatever he wanted to do, all he needed was to gather the funds and play. He’d been working his way up the company since he was sixteen years old.

  His father wouldn’t allow him to end his education and so he had no choice but to finish high school, graduate college, and then take every single low-paying job within the company, and he’d worked his way up to a place on the board. It helped that his name also immediately granted him a place, so long as his father was happy enough to gift it to him. His father still ruled over the entire company and one day, when he retired, Caleb knew he’d be in charge of everything. He couldn’t wait. He actually loved the company. He also loved the lifestyle he’d earned. The money. Having women who would be more than happy to go on a date with him at the click of a button.

  “What’s up, Daddy,” he said, smiling to himself.

  Timothy Turner hadn’t been Daddy for a long time, but Caleb was still close to his father, unlike other men and women he knew within his age bracket.

  “I want you in the office. We need to talk.”

  “Is this about the family picnic next weekend? Don’t worry. I’ve got it all covered.”

  “I’ll talk to you in the office, Caleb, not a moment before.”

  The line went dead.

  He frowned. Why would his father cut him off? Why did he sound angry? The movie he’d invested in over six months ago had just broken box office records and was in fact greenlighted for a sequel.

  Rubbing at his temple, he walked with purpose to his car, climbed behind the wheel, fired up the engine, not taking his usual enjoyment at the sound and feel, and headed out of the parking lot. Once in the city center, he joined the endless lines of traffic. His father’s voice plagued him. What could be wrong now?

  Tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, he turned up the radio to some upbeat dance music and felt sick to his stomach. No matter how many times he thought about it, he couldn’t think of a single reason as to why his father could be pissed off. Clearly, he’d misread everything.

  He couldn’t recall the last time his father was so angry. Actually, he’d never known him to be this angry.

  He had to be reading things the wrong way. Next week was his father’s sixty-fifth birthday, and in celebration, they were having a party with friends and family over in the country house that was built upon acres of land, complete with a pool, a tennis court, and many other delights.

  After pulling into the parking lot of his father’s building, known as the TT building, he went to the elevator and didn’t even bother to pitstop at his desk, going instead for the top floor. It was well known his father was afraid of heights but had still insisted on his office being on the top floor, to show his staff facing fear was something to be rewarded.

  Entering the office, he winked at his father’s PA, Martha. She was the first woman his father interviewed when he started his company, and she’d been by his side ever since. She was close friends with his mother as well. They all were a nice group and got on well together.

  “Go straight in,” Martha said. “Coffee?”

  “Love one.”

  He knocked first. Years of being taught etiquette from his little misdemeanors was hard to break.

  “Come in,” his father said. “You made it in quick time.”

  “I was already heading into the office when you called,” he said, taking a seat in front of his father.

  “Is Martha getting you a coffee?”

  “I believe so.”

  “Good. Good.” Timothy Turner removed his glasses, which he used to look over the computer, and put his entire attention onto him.

  He hated this.

  His father wouldn’t move the conversation on until Martha brought them coffee. This was a stare-off, and the longer he waited, he knew his father was pissed. It was the unmistakable twitch of the eye that gave it away.

  He waited.

  The time ticked by.

  A soft knock at the door and his father’s command followed. Martha entered with two drinks, leaving them to it. The door closed.

  “Tell me what this is about.” Timothy slammed the paper onto the table.

  He hadn’t gotten a chance to read the morning papers. He leaned forward and didn’t need to second-guess.

  It was right there, in nice technicolor, his latest exploits. He’d met up with some women. They all had a blast. Some of the women had used drugs. He didn’t. He’d never used the damn stuff but from the look on his father’s face, he didn’t believe him.

  “It was just a little fun.”

  “No, this isn’t a little fun. You’re forty years old. You know every single member on the board is a settled, married man.”

  “Yeah, and I bet most of them have a couple of mistresses in hiding as well.” He snorted.

  “No, they don’t,” he said. “Look, Caleb, I know you think you can do whatever the hell you want and get away with it. Partying, disrespecting board members, even pissing off the media so they’re gunning for your blood.”

  “Dad, it will blow over.”

  “I had hoped to one day announce my retirement. Not one day, on my sixty-fifth birthday. I’ve made this a gold mine and I know in the right hands, it will be taken care of. You were supposed to be that man.”

  “Wait? Were?”

  “Caleb, you’re spoiled. You have this sense of entitlement that has earned you the title of cocky billionaire. No one likes cocky people.”

  “The media makes shit up all the time.”

  “You’re foul-mouthed and expect people to bow down to you. It’s not going to happen anymore. I set this company up to be a place for families, Caleb. Men and women who would be able to go home to their families every single night with the knowledge this company had their back. Having a hard time at home, needing extra days, no problem. We’re here to help. I wanted to be the kind of company people crave to work for and love being here. Where loyalties are never tested because to lose a place in my company would mean losing themselves. I don’t give out ultimatums, I don’t like them, but this is one step too far. I cannot step down and leave my company to a party animal who has no idea what family really is.”

  “One bad article—”

  “This is the tenth bad article this month, Caleb. I’ve been following your exploits, and I don’t like them. I never have, which is why I’ve come to my decision. Until you understand the true meaning of family. Until you find yourself a woman or a man to
settle down with, marry, have children, and show me that you’re capable of earning your place right here at this desk, I won’t retire, and your place will no longer be guaranteed at the board.”

  “Are you fucking serious right now?”

  “I am.”

  “Does Mom know about this?” Caleb asked, and he couldn’t believe he was using his other parent card.

  “Who do you think advised I do this?”

  Gritting his teeth, he should have known. His parents, every decision about parenting, they made together. When his little sister Cassie decided she wanted to be a doctor and not follow into the family company, their parents had talked it over and made it work.

  “I suggest you go to work. You’ve got a lot to do.”

  With that, he was dismissed.

  He grabbed his coffee and headed out.

  “Are you okay?” Martha asked.

  “Yeah, fine. Just perfect.” He stepped into the elevator, pissed-off and feeling two inches tall.

  At least his father hadn’t embarrassed him in front of everyone; that he would’ve struggled to live with.

  Running a hand down his face, he didn’t know what the fuck he was going to do. The place at the board was where he was supposed to be, as was taking over from his father. He’d been training for it his whole life.

  Now, it was being taken from him and he couldn’t let that happen.

  ****

  Don’t steal shit?

  Lauren Wyatt fumed all day as she cleaned Mr. Turner’s apartment. How dare he! She should be used to his kind of abuse, though. Yep, he liked to believe everyone else was beneath him. Well, fuck him.

  She didn’t like to cuss out loud but this man was just one hundred percent asshole. She really should quit and tell him to clean his own damn space. He was an amazing tipper, though.

  She’d been cleaning for him for the last two years, and on each holiday throughout the year, there was always an envelope with the words cleaning lady attached. Inside, some money and a thank you card.