Her Indecent Proposal (The BAD BOY BILLIONAIRES Collection) (14 page)

He reached out and tapped her on the forehead.  “That, my dear,
comes from the workings of a genius mind.  I couldn’t have come up with a
better idea myself.”

“Yeah,” she said, nodding as she gazed off into space again.  “Now
if only I could find a company with that sort of technology readily available. 
I’d offer them fifty percent of profits.  It would be a real partnership.  We
share the investment costs but we also share the rewards.”  She was smiling now
even as she shook her head.  “I’m going to have to find me a computer animation
partner, a really good one like Pixar.”  She raised her eyebrows.  “If it
exists.”

Sloane smiled at her but he said nothing, letting her marinate for a
while in her excitement. 

It must have finally hit her that he was acting really weird, just
sitting there grinning like a buffoon.  Her eyes narrowed.  “Hey, you look like
you know something I don’t.”  Then she gasped. “You know a company that can do
this.  That’s it, right?”

“That’s right.”  He said then he folded his arms across his chest
and stared at her, smiling, but saying nothing more.

“Well, don’t just sit there,” she demanded.  “Spill it.”

When he still didn’t make a move to comply she reached over and punched
him on the upper arm.

“Hey, domestic abuse.”  He gave her a scowl as he resorted to drama
by nursing his arm even though her punch was, for him, little more than a pat. 
It was hard to feign suffering when you were grinning ear to ear.

“And there’s more where that came from if you don’t start talking.” 
She placed both hands on his shoulders, looking like she was ready to shake
him.  “Which company do you know that can help me with this?  Who do I call?”

“I’ll tell you if you give me a kiss.”

“Sloane,” she wailed, “will you stop kidding around?  Just tell me. 
Who can I call to get some talks going?”

“Me.”

Melanie sat back on her haunches, clearly frustrated, and her pout
returned.  “Sloane, I wish you would get serious.  This means a lot to me.”

“I am serious.  I own the company that can do this for you.”

She stared at him in obvious disbelief.  “Serious?”

“Very serious.  I acquired Unix Computer Graphics last year and this
is exactly the kind of project my engineers are looking to work on.  In fact,
we’ve been talking about the same sort of collaboration you just suggested. 
Been talking with Disney for months, but no go.”

“So…my idea wasn’t unique, was it?”  Her lips curled into a wry
smile.

“Well, maybe not unique, but brilliant.”

“Yeah, right.”  She chuckled.

“Yes, it
is
right,” he said with an emphatic nod.  “Why do
you think I offered to buy the company from you?  Even though we haven’t
reviewed it yet, I was thinking of the possibilities.”

That got him a frown from Melanie.  “Then why didn’t you say so?”

He shrugged.  “I knew you would figure it out soon enough.  You’re a
smart girl.”  When she scowled he corrected himself.  “Sorry, a competent
business leader.”

“Thank you,” she said with a curt nod.  “So when can we talk?  I
want us to get started like yesterday.”

“Definitely not now,” he said with a groan, sliding lower in the
bed.  “It can wait till we get back to work tomorrow.  Right now it’s time to
crash.”

“No,” she said, giving him a sly smile.  “Right now it’s time for
your reward.”

“My reward?  For what?”

“For being such a great and understanding husband,” she said,
sliding her hand over his belly and up his chest.  “For letting me work things
out myself.”  She leaned over him and bent low to plant a kiss on the space
between his pecs.  “For having the solution to my problem.”  She slid her lips
across the flat muscle and tickled his nipple with her tongue.

Sloane sucked in his breath as a jolt shot through his body. 
Melanie never ceased to turn him on.

As if emboldened by his reaction, she nibbled and suckled and then
she slid across to the other side where she teased him until he got so hard he
tented in his shorts.

And then, like a wicked witch, she tortured him even more, feathering
kisses down his abs till her lips settled just above the waistband of his
boxers.  And there she paused, her breath tickling the hair on his lower belly,
the close proximity of her lips driving him crazy.

And then to his relief, she hooked her thumbs into the garment and
slowly, tantalizingly, she slid it down his hips.  His manhood jutted up from
his groin, aching for her touch.

Melanie, sweet Melanie, she placed her lips at its tip and covered
it in soft kisses that drew tortured groans from his throat.  And then she took
him into her mouth and made sweet love to him with her lips, her tongue, even
her tiny teeth as she gently grazed the head, sending sensuous shivers up his
spine.

As if that weren’t enough, she moved lower still and gave his sac
her full attention, using her tongue to caress him till he moaned and reached
for her, dragging her up and over his body, and then he pulled her down so he
could capture her mouth in a kiss that displayed the depth of his desire.

When Sloane finally released her lips she gasped for air but he gave
her little time to recover.  Her nightgown went the way of his shorts, to fall
in a silky white puddle on the floor.  And then he was covering her body with
kisses, just as she’d done to him, and when he took her, his shaft sinking in
to the hilt, she was wet and warm and welcoming.

Sloane made love to Melanie with a heated urgency that was almost
desperation, plunging into her till she cried out, calling his name, begging
him for more.

“Don’t stop,” she moaned.  “Oh, Sloane, please, please.”

Her words were like fuel to his fire.  He held her as she clung to
him, driving faster, harder until she screamed his name and dug her fingernails
into his shoulder.

And then he came, his body erupting as he shot his seed deep inside
his dear, sweet Melanie; warm and willing Melanie; Melanie who made him explode
like no other woman had before.

That night Sloane made love to his wife, not one time but three,
filled with the energy of a teenager.  It was like he couldn’t get enough. 

But Melanie was with him every step of the way.  And when she finally
drifted off to sleep he lay there, just holding her, thanking his lucky stars
that of all the women he could have chosen as his wife, she was the one who was
in his life. 

*** 

It didn’t take a day before the police advised Melanie that they had
Zena in custody.  She was asked to return to the station to provide additional
details.  Of course, Sloane went with her.

And that was when all hell broke loose.

“I didn’t do anything,” Zena spat as soon as Melanie and Sloane
walked in the door.  She was sitting at Officer Sutherland’s desk but when she
saw them she leaped to her feet.  “He made this all up to get back at me.  He’s
the one who should be arrested.”  And she launched herself at Sloane, nails bared,
a crazed look in her eyes.

He was just in time to push Melanie out of harm's way and grab
Zena’s outstretched hands, pushing them none too gently down to her sides.  She
jerked wildly, trying to break free, but he twisted her around and marched her back
to the officer’s desk and slammed her down into the chair.

The policeman chuckled.  “Well done, Mr. Quest.  We could do with a
man like you on the force.”

Zena gave the officer a withering look.  “My lawyer will have me out
of here in no time,” she sneered.  “They have no evidence.”

Sutherland seemed unimpressed by her declaration.  He simply waved
Sloane and Melanie over to another officer’s desk, picked up his pen and gave
Zena an exaggerated look of patience.  “Can we continue with your statement, please?”

This time the visit to the police station only lasted an hour and
Melanie was glad when she and Sloane were finally given the green light to
leave.

“Was she the craziest girl you ever dated?” Melanie smiled as she
walked back to the car with Sloane.

He raised his eyebrows.  “I should hope so.  We don’t need any more
of my exes coming out of the woodwork.”  At the car he paused and turned her to
face him.  “I’m sorry I put you through all this.”

She shook her head.  “You didn’t put me through anything.  Zena’s
the one who went haywire and that’s not your fault.”

“She’s my ex and because of that you suffered.  I feel bad-”

“Don’t.”  She raised her hand and put her finger on his lips. 
“That’s part of our past now.  We have to move on.”

He nodded.  “You’re right.”  He took her hand, looking relieved. 
“Let’s go home.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Good grief.  Not again
.  Melanie felt
her spirit plummet like a rock flung over into the Grand Canyon.  Her period
was here.  Again.

She’d been married to Sloane seven months now and each month she’d
waited in high anticipation of her very first missed period.  But, like a
curse, the damn thing kept coming, month after month, right on time like
clockwork.  When was she going to get pregnant?

At this point there was no hope of her giving birth while still in
her thirty-fourth year.  She was only five months from her thirty-fifth
birthday so she’d have to settle for giving birth at thirty-five years of
age…if it ever happened.

At the thought, Melanie shuddered.  No, she didn’t even want to
contemplate it.  Not being able to conceive, never fulfilling her dream of
being a mother?  That would be more than devastating.  It would be like her
worst nightmare coming true.

Call it irrational.  Call it unrealistic and vain, but she didn’t
want to spend her whole life building business after business and then not find
fulfillment in developing the other aspect her being.  Maybe she was being
greedy but she wanted a family, too…a family with kids running around and
getting underfoot.  The whole works. 

She scheduled another appointment with her doctor.

“Mrs. Quest,” he said as she walked in, “you’re back.  Didn’t I see
you a couple of months ago?”  He glanced down at her file.  “Yes, a physical
and a prescription for vitamins.”  He looked up again as he waved her over to
the chair.  “So how can I help you today?”

“I’m still not pregnant,” she blurted out even before her bottom
touched the seat.  “Doctor, it’s been seven months.”

Doctor Walton gave her a kindly smile.  “Now, now, Mrs. Quest. 
Let’s not be hasty.  A couple isn't considered infertile until at  least a year
without conception.  Give it some time.”

“Some time?” Melanie’s eyes widened in horror.  “I’ve given it seven
months, doctor.  And it’s been seven very active months.  And nothing.”

The doctor tsk-tsked and shook his head.  “I still think you’re
being impatient-”

“Look, doctor, I’ll be thirty-five soon and you and I know that
fertility declines steadily after that.  We have to do something before there's
no hope for me.”

“No hope for you.”  The doctor chuckled and clasped his fingers over
his white-coated belly as he regarded her with amusement.  “You have a flair
for the dramatic, Mrs. Quest.  Things are not as desperate as you make it
seem.”

“For me they are,” she insisted.  “Is there a fertility clinic you
could recommend, a place where they specialize in cases such as mine?”

“I really don’t think we’ve reached that point-”

“I have.  I need help, doctor.  Please.  I’ll do anything.”

It took that urgent plea for the doctor to finally look like he was
beginning to understand her desperation.  The patronizing smile slid from his
lips and his face grew thoughtful.  “I can refer you to a clinic downtown,” he
said slowly, “but you know how things are here in Canada.  It may take months
before you actually get an appointment.”

“What about the States?” she asked.  “Surely they’d take me right
away.”

“Okay, if you want to travel all that way.”

“I want to,” she said quickly.  “That’s an insignificant price to
pay to get the help I need.”

Doctor Walton shrugged.  “Fine.  I’ll have my assistant set it up at
a clinic not too far from here.  Boston, maybe.”

“Thank you, doctor.”

“But, Mrs. Sloane, you do know that your physical body may only be a
part of your failure to conceive so far.  Have you been under any undue stress
lately?”

“No, everything’s fine,” she began and then she paused.  How could
she have forgotten?  The past few months had been the most stressful of her
life.  There was the disastrous purchase of Rapid Films, the incident with
Zena, the desperate efforts to save her film division, the long nights at the
office and the endless meetings.  All of that must have taken a toll.

“You’re right, doctor, I have been under a lot of stress lately. 
But things are improving with the business.”  She nodded, giving greater
emphasis to her words.  “I’ve put things in place to get my business back in
order.  It’s moving slowly but it’s coming.”  Thanks to the partnership between
Parker Broadcasting and Quest Media, the Rapid Films acquisition was working
out to be a viable business with great profit potential.  At least that was one
burden soon to be off her shoulders.