Boxed Set: The Billionaire’s Desire Complete Collection (Books 1-3 and Bonus Books 1 and 2) (Submitting to the Billionaire) (22 page)

            I finally spoke because I couldn’t take the deafening silence anymore.  “Just tell me the truth Joshua.  Are you having an affair?”

            The look on his face changed from anger to sadness right before my eyes.  He turned his sad eyes to me and I could have sworn I saw tears brimming in the corners. 
Oh my god, he’s going to confess. 
I was terrified and my stomach sank into my toes.

            “I cannot believe you are seriously asking me this.  You really don’t know me at all Sarah.”  He got up off of the bed and looked down at me with disgust.  “I’m going to sleep in the guest room tonight.”  And with that, he walked out of the bedroom and the door closed behind him with a soft thud.

           
What the hell just happened here?
  I was so upset I just let all the tears flow down my cheeks.  I had never felt so sad in my entire life.

***

To be continued…

Sarah's world is falling apart around her and she is afraid that she is going to lose everything.  She is seeing a side of Joshua she has never seen before and she wonders if things can ever get back to the way they were.  Has she been silly to think that this would last?  She doesn't recognize the cold eyes that now stare back at her, and she is afraid that too much damage has been done to be repaired.  Is Sarah destined to look for love with someone else or is this gorgeous billionaire the one for her?

The Billionaire’s Desire

Bonus Book 4:  Part 2 of 2

Always and Forever

(Submitting to the Billionaire Series)

by

Ashley Blake

***

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Published by Lovely Day. Copyright, 2013 by Ashley Blake.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, or have been used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental. No portion of this work may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the author.

I sat on my bed, crying uncontrollably because it felt like my whole world was falling apart.  Had I been so stupid as to believe that a man like Joshua, a man with a ton of money, good looks and power would be satisfied with someone like me?  Had my head been buried in the sand all this time?  I was starting to wonder if I knew my husband at all and I hated that I was doubting what we had.  I lay back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling, trying to figure out if I really saw what I thought I saw when I walked into Joshua’s office.  My tears dried up as I fell asleep from sheer exhaustion.

I woke up the next morning still wearing my clothes from the day before, feeling very disoriented. 
Why am I still wearing my clothes from yesterday?
  Then it hit me, I saw Joshua and Natalia in his office.  A feeling of sorrow flooded over me as I tried to push the image of the two of them together out of my head.  It was 7:00 and I was running late for work so I jumped in the shower.  Thank goodness we had Mara to help get the girls ready for school.  I had no idea if Joshua was still at home or if he had already left for the office and I was nervous to see him. 

Once I was dressed, I gingerly opened the door and listened for Joshua’s deep voice.  When I didn’t hear him, I went down to the kitchen and joined the girls who were just finishing up their breakfast.

“Mommy, daddy told us to tell you that he was going into the office early today so he would just see you there.”  Claire’s big brown eyes smiled and I could tell that she was proud of herself that she was able to remember what her father had told her to tell me.

“Thank you honey, good job remembering the message that you were supposed to give me.”

“I remembered too mommy.”  Abby didn’t want to be left out of the conversation.

“Good job, baby. You girls are just getting smarter every day.”  I smiled at my gorgeous girls.

They both had huge smiles on their faces and I could tell they were happy with themselves. They were so cute and they were growing up so fast. I started to feel sad again about the situation with Joshua and I stopped myself because I didn't want the girls to see me upset.

I decided to drive them to school that day because I needed to be with my babies, I needed to feel some level of comfort.  After I dropped them off, I felt a pit in my stomach as I made my way to our office.  I was really nervous about seeing Joshua and didn’t even want to deal with running into Natalia.

I went straight to my office and closed the door, thankful that I did not see Joshua or Natalia on my way in.  Carol knocked on my door within one minute of my arrival, and I asked her to come in and close the door behind her.

“Sarah, is everything okay? Pardon my language but you look like hell.  Are you feeling alright?  Can I get you anything?”

“I had a rough night but I’ll be okay.  Tell me, is anything going on around here?”  I didn’t feel like sharing any of my marital woes and I didn’t want to ask directly about Natalia, I was hoping that Carol would have some information for me.

"I don't know what happened, but apparently Ms. Wittendale has been relieved of her duties and she was not allowed to enter the building today.  All of her belongings have been packed for her and she will be returning to London this afternoon.  It seems that certain people are dropping like flies around here, I don’t know what’s going on.”

"I guess people aren't performing their job duties to the best of their abilities and you know that Joshua has a very low tolerance for that type of behavior.  So what’s on the agenda for today?”  I felt so relieved that she was gone because that was one less issue I would have to deal with.   

“Well, Mr. Hunter had a memo sent around informing us that he will be out of the office in meetings for most of the day and if anyone needs to reach him they should contact his secretary. But that doesn’t apply to you of course.”

Little do you know how much that actually
does
apply to me right now. 
I had to admit that I felt a bit relieved that Joshua was not going to be in the office for most of the day and that meant that I probably would not see him. I didn’t know what I would say if I did and I really didn’t want to see him, at least not yet.

"You have a meeting with Brad at 9:30 and a meeting with Michael at 11:00. After that your schedule is completely clear so hopefully that will give you time to catch up on other work this afternoon.”

“Okay, thanks Carol. I’ll let you know if I need anything else.”

After she left my office, I put my head in my hands, closed my eyes and took a deep breath to try and help me focus on the work I needed to do.  But it was so hard to focus.  Now that I was alone, all I could think about was my husband cheating on me.   I was happy that the tears had stopped and I realized that I was more confused than sad at that moment.  I didn’t understand how this could have happened.  Did he really cheat on me?  I thought about our first real date and the way that Joshua pursued me while we were dating.  I reminisced for a long while about our relationship and then I thought about the day we got married.

I was a nervous wreck that day but I was excited beyond words.  Lauren was my maid of honor and three of my girlfriends from college were my bridesmaids.  She and Jake had gotten married the year before, and in that time she had really become like a sister to me.  We had so much fun together and we had gotten into the habit of going out to dinner once a week, just the two of us.  Joshua and I would often go out to dinner with Lauren and Jake and we always had a great time together.  I was getting ready in the hotel room, and Lauren was helping me with my gown when she caught my eye in the mirror.

“You look beautiful. Are you ready for this?”

I smiled as I answered her. “You know what? I am nervous, but I have never been more ready for something in my entire life.”

“Sarah, you make a beautiful bride and Joshua is so lucky to have you. I wish you guys nothing but a lifetime of happiness together.”

I gave her a big hug and thanked her for all of her help.  “Thank you so much for being here for me, it means so much to me.  We better get going, it’s time for me to go get married!”

My brothers Mark and Jason flew in for my wedding and they both walked me down the aisle.  They could see how nervous I was and they did their best to try and help me relax by making me laugh.

“Are you sure you want to do this? You can change your mind and we’ll make an excuse for you and get you out of here as fast as possible, if that’s what you want.”  Mark whispered this to me as we were standing at the back of the chapel waiting for the doors to open so we could walk down the aisle.

“Yeah, I’ll cause a distraction and then you and Mark can make a run for it!”  Jason made a silly face which made me giggle and got my mind off of things for a minute.

“You guys are so silly, but I’m sure about this.  I’ve never been more sure about something in my life.”

I peeked through the window of the chapel door and saw Joshua standing there waiting for me.  He looked so gorgeous in his tuxedo.  I pinched myself to make sure this was real and that I was actually getting ready to marry this incredible man.  My belly flipped as I thought he saw me looking at him through the window. I backed away quickly because I did not want him to see me, at least not yet. Just then I heard the music and I knew that it was time. 

My breathing came fast and my heart was thumping in my chest as I wrapped my arms through Mark and Jason’s arms and the doors to the chapel opened.  We had invited 300 people, most were Joshua’s friends, family and connections, around 50 were mine, and everyone stood as I stood in the doorway.  We began to walk down the aisle and I was so grateful to have my brothers on either side of me because they literally helped me to keep standing. My knees felt so weak that I thought they would buckle beneath me.

“I’m so nervous.”  I whispered so that only they could hear me.

“Our offer still stands.”

I turned slightly to look at Mark and he winked at me, and that made me smile. 

“No, I’m okay, this is where I want to be.  But thanks for the offer!”  I whispered this to both of them and gave them both a quick wink and a smile.  My eyes then landed upon Joshua and he literally took my breath away.  He looked positively dashing as he stood waiting for me.  Not a hair of that beautiful, thick, wavy hair was out of place.  His dark eyes held my gaze as I walked toward him and a beautiful smile spread across his face.  Butterflies fluttered in my belly and I couldn’t help but smile back at him.  He held my gaze until my brothers handed me over to him.

When we got to our vows, I was not nervous at all to tell him how I felt about him.

“Joshua, I never thought I would meet someone as perfect for me as you.  You are my best friend and I can’t wait to build a home and a family with you.  You are my perfect match and I still pinch myself every now and then to make sure that this is real, that what we have is real.  You make me happier than I ever thought possible and I do not want to go through life without you.  I vow to love you in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer and I promise to honor you, obey you, be faithful to you and love you with all my heart.”

“Beautiful Sarah, you are the love of my life and I thank God that I found you.  You have changed my life and I never want to know what it would be like without you.  I promise to be faithful to you, honor you and love you forever.  I look forward to building a home and a family with you.  I vow to love you in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, to care for you and protect you, comfort and encourage you for the rest of our lives.  You are my everything and my best friend.  I love you.”

When he kissed me after the pastor told us he could kiss the bride, I swear I saw fireworks.  Something in that moment changed things between us and it was something I could not explain at the time, but now that I was thinking about it, that kiss connected us for life. 

After dinner, we had so much fun at the reception.  Joshua busted out some dance moves that I never knew he had in him.  It was so cool to see him so relaxed
and happy.  He didn’t care who was watching him, he just had a great time dancing with me and spending time with his friends and family.

Bunny pulled me aside at the wedding and we had a really nice moment where she told me how happy she was that Joshua had found someone like me.  “I have to admit dear, that I was worried for a while that he would never marry because his heart has been closed for so long. I am so happy that he found such a wonderful person like you and I have never seen him happier in my life.”  She reached out and gave me a big hug. “I wish you two nothing but a lifetime of happiness together.”

The reception wrapped up around 1:00 AM and then Joshua and I were off to our wonderful honeymoon suite.  As soon as the door closed behind us, I saw the familiar smoldering look in his eyes and he did not take his gaze off of me.  He leaned with his back against the door and he just looked at me, his eyes slowly perusing my body from head to toe.  I was ready to get out of my wedding gown and take off my shoes.  I reached for my buttons and Joshua stopped me.

“Not yet Sarah, let me look at you for a minute longer.”  His eyes were filled with love as he held my gaze.  “You look so incredibly beautiful. I am so happy that you are now my wife.  Come here honey.”    

I knew that look and I knew what he wanted.  I was so ready to be with him as his wife and I was ready to do anything he asked of me.  I walked over to him and he reached out for my hand and pulled me close to him.  He wrapped both arms around me and pressed my body against his as he stared into my eyes.  “Mrs. Hunter, I love you do you know that?”

I smiled at him.  “Yes, I know.  I love you too.”

“I will never intentionally hurt you, ever.  I promise.  You are the most important person in my life and I am so thankful for you.”

“Ditto, Mr. Hunter.”

He gently caressed my cheek with his finger and leaned down to kiss me.  His lips felt so soft as they gently touched mine and I felt myself melting into his arms.  He cupped my face in his hands as his tongue slid over mine; probing and tasting.  His hands then slid around to the back of my wedding dress and deftly unbuttoned the tiny buttons that ran along my back and unzipped me.  I stepped out of my gown that had fallen to the floor and took a step back, standing there so that he could see me in my pretty, sexy, white thong and strapless bra.  Joshua’s eyes glazed over with lust as he drank me in.  He reached out and ran his hand along my hip and licked his lips as he looked at me.  “Mmmm, come here.”

His strong hands ran through my hair, gently pulling my head back so that I had to look up at him.  His eyes went to my mouth and his lips came crashing down on mine as he pulled me close to him, my body pressed against his.  I could feel his hardness through his pants and as he kissed me and ran his hand down along my backside, my core was aching to be filled.  I could feel the throbbing and wetness between my legs and I wanted him to take me right there. 

Joshua seemed to want to take his time and explore every inch of me.  He spun me around and pressed me up against the wall and I felt his hands glide over my backside, kneading the rounded flesh.  “You have such a perfect ass.”  His gravelly whisper touched my ear as he focused on rubbing that back area.  He trailed tiny kisses along the back of my neck and then I felt his kisses trailing down my back.  Every now and then his tongue would lick my skin as he kissed his way down to my backside and I felt goosebumps all over as the throbbing between my legs increased.  I felt Joshua kneel behind me and felt his tongue lick my globes as his hands slowly caressed up my legs and brushed over my panties between my legs and I let out a soft moan.  He then slowly took a step away from me and stood up and quickly turned me around to face him, pinning my hands above my head with one of his hands. 

His dark eyes smoldered as his gaze held mine, and his free hand lightly wrapped around my throat and pushed my head to the side exposing my neck’s tender flesh.  He leaned in and his tongue roamed up my neck to lightly flick my earlobe.  I wanted to wrap my arms around him but he held my hands tight.  His hand left my throat and skimmed down over my breasts before sliding around to my back and unhooking my bra.  He glanced down at my exposed breasts and let out a soft groan as his hand cupped my breast and he dipped his head down to take one in his mouth.  I felt his warm lips close over my breast, his tongue lightly flicking my nipple as he kneaded the soft flesh.  I threw my head back in ecstasy as the sensual sensations coursed through my body.  His hand left my breast and traveled down my stomach between my legs and his fingers lightly grazed over the outside of my panties before slipping inside, while his mouth nipped at my neck.  I squirmed against his hand which still had a tight grip on my wrists above my head, and I started to pant when I felt his fingers lightly stroke me inside my panties.

“Do you like that?”  His voice was deep and sexy as he ground out the words.

“Yes.”  I could barely get the word out.

His fingers delved in between my wet, sensitive folds.

“Do you like
that
?”  Again his voice was soft and sexy in my ear.