As soon as the dancing starts up again and Jessie’s back in Jacob’s arms, I sneak away, making my way into the house and up the staircase to the guest room Jessie gave me. She begged me to move in for a while, for as long as I want to. I swipe at my tears, hardly noticing the French-style windows that are open, offering a spectacular view of the ocean. Damn him, that sadist. It really did feel real. Sloane wasn’t kidding. It’s what he does. DO NOT GO THERE, GIRLFRIEND. Why oh why didn’t I listen to her? Of course I wish I could believe there was more to this... marriage than there actually is. But I’ve also spent the last five days pr eparing myself for this exact moment. This was always how it was supposed to play out. I knew that. I was expecting it. He’s free to go now and do what he does as a billionaire playboy from hell. I’ll figure out how to get the marriage annulled and I’ll get my period any minute and I’ll set up my business without him. I find my phone and I google it through my tears. Can you get pregnant if you miss two pills? Yes, indeed you can. If you have missed two to seven pills anywhere in the pack, your protection against pregnancy may be affected. You should use back-up protection like condoms. Coulda shoulda woulda. If you’ve missed two pills or even one, make sure your partner pulls out until you’ve taken seven consecutive pills. Bad advice and too late anyway. I was having too much fun to use any pesky back-up protection like condoms. I specifically told him we didn’t need any. Pull out? Yeah right. Instead of behaving like a normal, sensible person, I proceeded to throw all caution to the freaking wind and fuck him like a wild animal day and night for an entire week. In gondolas where any passing skier could have easily seen us. In private jets and luxury condos and in every goddamn penthouse suite across the continental United States. An alert pings. It’s the one I set up in case I got another email from Eleanor Jaeger. I wipe frustrated tears. Hi Lila, Myself and the rest of the design team have met, regarding your job offer. We’ve received several glowing recommendations since then and we’ve also had a thorough look through your website and social media platforms. We think you’ll be a great fit for our team. I’m thrilled to be able to offer you the job of junior design associate here at RL. We’d like you to start as soon as possible. In addition, Mr. Colton Maddox has been in touch and we’re confident that we can also reach an agreement about a collaboration with you; this can be further discussed when you’re back in New York. We’d like to meet with you both at your earliest convenience. Mr. Maddox mentioned Monday. How would 3:15 work? I look forward to hearing from you soon. Congratulations, Lila. We’re excited to have you on board! Best regards, Eleanor Holy shit. There’s another alert too. New orders: 1,695. In addition to the other 1,283. I sit down on the bed, covering my face with my hands and I cry like a baby. With happiness, because this is absolutely my dream job—and a collaboration is beyond any fantasy I’ve never dared to dream up. With nervousness and overwhelm
but also excitement, because my business is suddenly exploding. With anger, because Colton Maddox has thoroughly infiltrated himself into every single corner of my life and now I don’t know how to un-infiltrate him. With jealousy, because I absolutely hated the sight of that girl who he once had a fling with, staring at him with stars in her eyes, just like I do (when I’m not shooting daggers, that is). With fear, because I’m late. And I’m married. And this is all just a big mess that’s way more than I can handle. Without him. I miss him and I love him and I hate him so much. I hear a loud bang outside the window. “Fuck,” says a de ep, familiar voice. None other than the devil himself is climbing through my open window, his jacket long gone, blood on his hand, his shirt ripped and his hair a mess. He’s the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever seen. “What are you doing here?” I seethe, because I have a lot to figure out and I can’t deal with more bombs going off in the middle of my life right now. Which he’ll no doubt set off, like he always does. Colton comes over to me in his disheveled suit porn and he falls to his knees in front of me, pushing my legs apart where I’m sitting on the bed, moving his big, warm body close to mine. He takes my face in his hands. “I love you, Sunshine. Please don’t leave me. I love you so much. I’m sorry. Don’t cry. I’m here now.” “I don’t want you here!” Damn him! “You said you couldn’t fall in love! So did Sloane. So did all the headlines about all those girls crying into their Cosmos. So did Olivia.” “None of that matters. I don’t care about them. That was before. Before you. None of those people mean anything to me and they never did. I didn’t love them or even like them. I can’t remember their names or their faces. I know that might be hard for you to believe, but it’s fucking true. I never called them back or wanted to see them again. I never married any of them or fucking fell in love with them, did I? No, Sunshine, I did not. But you know what? Everything changed the minute I saw you at that bar at Noah’s with your silver eyes and your perfect little face. I fell in love with you. I think I loved you from that very first second, I just didn’t know how to recognize it right away because I’d never felt anything like that before. Not even close. It was like getting struck by a Lila-Bailey-shaped million-watt lightning bolt and I was fucking hooked.” God, his eyes are blue. “How am I supposed to believe anything you say when you’re flirting with every girl you see—and who you’ve already sl ept with? How, Colton?” “I wasn’t flirting. I told her to fuck off.” “You did not.” “I told her to have a nice night then I asked you to dance so I could get the fuck away from her. Same thing.” “In what, asshole-speak? I don’t speak that language!” He’s looking up at me with so much... I don’t know what it is. Passion. Tenderness. Devotion. “Please, Colton,” I whisper. Please leave. But I can’t bring myself to say it. “What do you want me to do, Lila? Grovel? Fine, I’ll fucking grovel all you want. I’m fucking sorry, okay? I’m sorry I was a player before I met you. I’m sorry I had other unsatisfying relationships before I knew you existed. I’m sorry I was allergic to any kind of commitment at all because I never met anyone I remotely wanted to commit to. Until you. I’m sorry I didn’t think I could ever fall in love because I was fucked up by my family tradition of fucking up relationships on an epic level and I felt like something in me was broken. I was trying to be an asshole because I thought it was baked into my DNA. But you proved me wrong about all of that, Sunshine girl. You blew it all out of the water with your lightning- bright eyes and your sweet, sassy mouth and the way you never take any shit from me. I suddenly wanted to be the best version of myself just because the only thing I want to do is be good enough for you. You’re strong and you’re smart and you’re so insanely talented I just want to be close to you and bask in your glow. Do you know why I call you Sunshine, Lila? Do you?”
I shake my head. “It’s because you light up my life and you have from the very first second I saw you. And yes, I know that sounds cheesy as fuck but I don’t fucking care because it’s true. And you know what else?” “What?” I whisper. “I wasn’t that drunk. I wanted to marry you. I’m sorry it was sudden and I shouldn’t have done it like that, but all I could see was a chance to put a ring on your finger so I took it. But I want you to know that I’m going to give you the whole damn fairy tale, baby girl. I could read your mind today when Jessie took her vows. And I want that too. We’ll have another wedding with all your friends and your perfect dress and everything you ever wanted. Then I’m going to take you on the most romantic honeymoon you’ve ever seen, to all the places you want to go. Just tell me what you want and I’ll make it happen. I’m going to give you everything, Lila Bailey, because I can. Now I know why I’ve worked my guts out from day one. It’s so I can make all your dreams come true. Please let me try.” I’m crying again because oh my god. “Please believe me, sweetheart. Please don’t doubt me anymore. I’ll grovel and I’ll beg and I’ll buy you diamonds and sewing machines or whatever it fucking takes to convince you, every day for the rest of time until you believe me. I’m all in, Sunshine. I want you. I fucking need you. I love you, baby girl.” It’s a lot. It’s everything I ever hoped might be true. And so I do it: I make a choice. I decide to believe him. “Lila?” “Yeah?” He hesitates. “You’re not still in love with that douchebag, are you?” There’s a note of vulnerability behind the question and it kind of makes me realize something. There are two hearts in this equation, not just one. “If you are, just tell me so I can kill the fucker.” “No. I’m not in love with him and I never, ever want to see him again. He’s gross and awful and a loser and I wish I never met him.” “I’m glad you met him. Because it meant that all the stars aligned in a way that led you to me. Which isn’t something I ever believed in before now. But when Lila Bailey walks into your life, you tend to start believing in magic.” I let my thumb brush along the stubble of his square jaw, letting his words rain onto my parched soul. And finally, start to se ep in. “That fucker was never good enough for you, sweetheart. I’ve been telling you that all along. He’s a million miles from your league. I’m not in your league either, because your league is basically perfection, but at least I’m a lot closer to it. Because I worship the ground you walk on, baby girl. And I’m going to prove that to you every single day starting now.” “Okay,” I whisper. “I know you’ve been holding back on me, and I don’t blame you. I get it. I understand why. Your father left and it’s hard to trust when something like that has defined your entire life. Then Sloane planted a whole lot of bullshit in your head and most of it was probably true, but the thing that Sloane doesn’t understand is that you are my absolute dream girl. And I didn’t even know such a thing existed until you showed up. But then there you suddenly were and I just couldn’t imagine letting you walk out of my life after you fucking lit it up like you did. That’s why I wanted to drive you to California. I don’t have any fucking meetings, baby. I never did. I just needed to spend all my time getting to know you and getting close to you because I was already addicted. And it just ke eps getting worse. The more I have of my sweet, perfect Sunshine girl, the more I fucking need. And now I can’t see straight I love you so much.” He’s quiet for a second and I let my fingers smooth a strand of his thick hair. I say it quietly. “Don’t break my heart, Maddox.” “Don’t break mine, Bailey. You’re holding it in your hands.” He’s blurry now, but he still looks mind-numbingly beautiful. “Cole?” “Yeah?” “I don’t think I was that drunk either.” A glimmer of hopefulness
makes his eyes shine like blue embers. “We’re still going to have the dream wedding. You’ll move in with me and if you don’t like the apartment I’ll buy you something bigger. I’ll buy you ten houses, wherever you want. Just say the word, Sunshine. I’ll do anything. I just want you with me. Please, baby girl. Please believe me when I tell you that you’re the one.” “Cole?” “Yeah?” “I forgot to take my pill two days in a row in Aspen.” He blinks up at me and I can see it takes him a second to compute what I’m explaining to him. As the information and all that it might imply sinks in and the only emotion I can see is pure, manly joy, it’s then—right then— that I really allow myself to fall cataclysmically in love with Colton Maddox. I remember what Jessie told me, about how Jacob’s reaction when she told him she might be pregnant was happiness, and how it partly clinched her decision to marry him. I understand it now. Even if I’m not pregnant, the fact that Colton not only doesn’t mind and isn’t upset by that, but actually wants me to be... it’s a very powerful thing. It’s comfort and it’s safety. Two things I was always starved for in my life, now being poured into it with the kind of force that feels remarkably like he just healed me. “Do you mean to tell me that my wife might be having my baby?” He’s kissing me now and it feels so good to let go. To allow myself to love him. To fall, fall, fall. Colton lays me back on the bed. He’s peeling off my dress, sucking my nipples almost reverentially. “So it’s settled then, Sunshine. No more arguing. My wife and my baby need the absolute best of everything. Lila Danger Sunshine Bailey Maddox, you need to be ready to be treated like the perfect angel you are. There is nothing you can’t have.” “Cole?” “Yeah?” “I know you contacted Eleanor Jaeger again.” “Yeah, I did. Sorry about that, princess, but everyone needs to know how talented my wife is. We’re going to turn your business into the next Big Thing.” “I got another sixteen hundred orders this morning.” “Yeah? Well, shit. We’re going to have to hit the ground running tomorrow. The jet will be waiting for us at noon and I told Eleanor we’d meet with them on Monday.” “That’s really taking another liberty, Maddox.” “You’re my wife so I can take all the liberties I want if they mean your life is about to explode with all your dreams coming true. I’m about to take another major liberty right now, baby girl, so get ready for me. Obey your husband and lie back.” He’s got my dress fully off now and before I can continue to protest, he licks his way down my body, kissing my pussy, eating me hungrily, lovingly. Feasting on my pleasure like he’s so good at doing. “Cole,” I gasp. “Yes, wifey?” “Come here. I need you.” “I’m yours, baby girl.” Colton lays himself over me, pushing his thick length all the way inside me, filling me completely with his hot, bursting beauty. “And you’re mine.” “Cole?” “Yeah?” I hold his face and he’s quiet for a moment, staring into my eyes as he possesses me fully and completely. I gasp the words and he says them at the same time. I love you. It feels so good to finally say it.
Epilogue Five weeks later Manhattan, New York “Do you, Lila Jade Bailey Maddox, take Colton Benjamin Maddox to be your lawfully wedded husband—again?” “I do.” “Do you, Colton Benjamin Maddox, take Lila Jade Bailey Maddox to be your lawfully wedded wife?” “You bet your ass I do.” “Colton, you may kiss your wife.” Colton takes my face in his warm hands and he kisses me—and I mean kisses me. Right there in front of all our closest friends and family. “I love my wife,” he murmurs, kissing me again. In the end, we decided to have our second wedding right here at his— our—apartment. Colton told me he’d buy me a new house if I didn’t like the one he has, but the minute I saw his apartment I fell in love with it. How could I not? It’s the top two stories of an apartment building on Fifth Avenue. It has insane views of Central Park from its wall of windows. The outdoor patio has a pool, a jacuzzi, spacious living and dining areas and is over half the size of the apartment’s lower floor. The top floor is the master bedroom suite. It has the biggest bed I’ve ever seen. The wall facing the bed has a flat-screen t. v. that lowers to cover the entire wall with the press of a remote control button. There are couches and a coffee table in one corner that take full advantage of the view of the park and the Empire State Building. The whole room has the muted, soft tones of a very upmarket spa or oasis. The master bathroom is three times the size of my old apartment in Southampton and the view from the jetted tub is over Central Park. There’s also a gym, two room-sized walk-in closets, a sauna and a home office. The lower floor of the apartment has a huge open-plan living area and chef’s kitchen, as well as three bedrooms, four bathrooms, a movie theater/den, a formal dining room, a private meeting room, and a bar/game room. Sliding steel and glass doors open fully to the outdoor living area, which doubles the size of the space. Colton set up a meeting for me with an interior designer so I could make any changes I wanted. I told him this wasn’t necessary but he insisted. He said he wants me to feel like it’s mine as much as his. At the moment, the place looks like an extremely luxurious but also minimalistic bachelor pad. It’s very New York but it also has a slightly Western flair. We’re going to add a little more color and some art to the walls, but other than that, I love it just the way it is. When I suggested I might need a table for my sewing machine and that I didn’t mind where I put it, Colton told me he had another present for me. As a wedding gift, he bought the entire floor under our apartment. It’s being renovated into a studio space, with mannequins and tables and eighty sewing machines, just like the one he bought me when we were in Aspen. New desktop computers have been updated with all the latest design software and synced to the new Mac Books. The studio has the same view of Central Park as the upstairs. There’s even going to be a showroom with couches and a private fitting room where we can do fittings with clients. Colton also put a new table with my new sewing machine in the home office on the top floor. I got so used to sewing all night in my old life, it’s still sometimes a habit, and I often wake up with ideas I need to sketch. But the few times I’ve done this, Colton always coaxes me back to bed, making love to me until I’m so sated I fall asle ep again. There will be always be work to do, he says, and it can wait until morning. My husband has cured my insomnia, with hot sex and comfort. And with the biggest gift of all: the absence of fear.
It’s not just the money, although of course it’s a relief to not have to worry about it. But even more than that, it’s his devotion to making sure I’m both physically and emotionally swathed in his affection at all hours of the day and night. He hardly lets me out of his sight. If there’s a reason we need to be apart, I have a security team and drivers. I told him this wasn’t necessary but there was no talking him out of it. You’re my wife, is all he says about that. He buys me the most outrageous gifts, every single day. My new closet is already full, not only with my own designs but with all the things he buys for me. I had to tell him to stop buying me jewelry because there’s only so much a girl can wear. My favorites are the tennis bracelet and, of course, my diamond ring. For our second wedding he bought me a 24 karat pure gold band with Lila Jade Danger Sunshine Bailey Maddox, love of my life etched into the inside of it, which he slid onto my finger to join the diamond as we said our vows. The vows we said in Vegas were written for us, chosen in a blur from the selection they offer at the Vegas strip chapel. This time, we wrote our own. “Congratulations, love birds.” Noah kisses my cheek and gives Colton a man-hug. Noah is the brother I’ve become closest to. He’s like a hot teddy bear, and is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met, in an unapologetically masculine kind of way which is hard to describe. He’s funny and has a wry and quick sense of humor that’s very often poking fun at Colton. This is something we both do, because we love him so much and we agree he deserves it. We’ve bonded over our playful banter. I absolutely adore him. He’s the only one of Colton’s brothers who’s still single and they make fun of him because he’s a romantic and was supposed to be the one to fall in love first. We’re all waiting for him to find his One and Only. There was a lot of discussion between his brothers when Noah disappeared for three days last weekend and no one knew where he was. He’s being cagey about it so the whole family is speculating that he’s finally found someone. We’re all trying to get it out of him but so far he’s admitted nothing. “Where’s your plus one?” Colton elbows him. “None of your business,” Noah smiles in a way that has me excited for him. He looks almost comically happy. “That stupid grin on your face can only mean one thing,” Colton tells him. “You got laid last weekend.” “Again, none of your business.” Noah pops a bottle of champagne. “Congratulations, gorgeous.” Cash kisses my cheek, and Dusty hugs me. Alexander and Ivy are next in line and they both give me a hug. Cash and Alexander are stunning-looking men. They’re both easy to be around and it’s been fun to get to know them. They’re intense people and de eply intelligent. They’re both so in love, it’s entertaining to watch. My arrival in New York as the new wife of their youngest brother was definitely a shock to begin with. They couldn’t get over the change in Colton. I’m grateful that they’ve welcomed me into their family with open arms. But it’s Ivy and Dusty that I’ve become closest with. As an only child of a very busy single mother, it’s been life-changing to suddenly have a family. Ivy and Dusty are both around my age and I absolutely love them. They already feel like my soul sisters and we spend as much time together as we can. Dusty works at Invested Enterprises and—not surprisingly, since Cash thinks she walks on water—has a new executive role working alongside him. I loved hearing the story of how they met at a work conference in Hawaii, had a wild one night stand, then lost touch because they’d given each other fake nicknames. He searched for her for months until one day she showed up as the newest employee of IE. It’s like fate brought them together and Cash is over the moon.
Alexander is equally besotted with Ivy. They met when Noah and Colton set him up with a fake date for a wedding, who happened to be Ivy. The two of them had never met before. He was supposed to be best man at the wedding and his evil ex was the wedding planner, so Alexander couldn’t get out of it even though he tried. Ivy and Alexander ended up falling in love over that weekend and the rest is history. She’s also pregnant. Ivy is a talented musician who has just recently hit the big time. She just released her latest album and it went straight to number two on the Billboard charts. Alexander is the most serious-minded, stoic CEO-type guy I’ve ever met, but the minute his gaze lands on Ivy, he completely melts. It’s the sweetest thing. Jessie and Jacob hug us next. Jessie squeals as she hugs me. She’s really starting to show now and she’s totally glowing with her pregnancy. Of course I had to have Jessie as my maid of honor and she’s crying as much for me as I did for her. “I still can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were married to your plus one,” she laughs. “And don’t say ‘what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas’. Because we both know that’s not always true.” She’s the only one I’ve told about the other thing that happened to us in Vegas. We’re going to tell everyone else tonight. Sloane is here too, with her new boyfriend Levi, who’s possibly the nerdiest of the “nerd brigade”, as she loves to call her work colleagues. She’s a few inches taller than him, especially on the sky-high heels she loves to wear, but he follows her around like a lovesick puppy and I’ve never seen Sloane so happy. The last five weeks have been an absolute whirlwind. Colton and I met with Eleanor Jaeger and her team the Monday after we got back to New York and I started working for them the following Monday. Colton and I both negotiated the terms of my job and also the collaboration RL offered. I’m working one day a week in their design offices, two days a week in my own studio on our collab line—where two of their team members will join me—and one day a week on my own business. My husband insisted I take Fridays off. He doesn’t want me overworking, he said, especially in my condition. We’ve hired a business manager to run my business, as well as sixty- four other new employees, including fifty dressmakers. With the new sewing machines and several other machines we purchased, the new team should be able to handle the production of all the new garments being made. Two experienced design coordinators will oversee the production to make sure it runs smoothly. Twelve administrative staff will handle the orders, the billing, the marketing, the social media and so on. We thought about outsourcing some of the production work overseas, where labor costs can be a lot less expensive, but Colton’s idea was that we could start by ke eping everything in house as long as we can ke ep up with it, and that we’ll see how it goes and revisit that option in six months. I agreed. I work mainly on creating new designs, but at the end of each day I get r eports about every detail of the business, which is growing quickly. It really is a dream. Colton and I met with his—our—lawyers and accountants to make sure the business plans and legal contracts are in place. He put a mind-boggling thirty million dollars into the company and legally owns five percent. Which means I own ninety-five percent. Of course we had a lot of discussion over this and I thought he should have a bigger share, but he said all the creative ideas are mine and, in the end, he got his way. And it doesn’t really matter. We’re co-owners of everything now, including his six properties, which I didn’t even know about until he suggested we go to Italy for our honeymoon, where he owns a hotel. Aside from the apartment in New York, he also owns a ranch in Austin, a villa on St. John—where he ke eps his yacht—the hotel on the Amalfi coast, a house in Miami and a house in the Hamptons.
I couldn’t believe that. I mean, I could, I was just... amazed that every single one of those places sound like dreams coming true. My Instagram blew up and I now have over five million followers. Our new company made a profit of one million dollars in the past month, if you include all the orders we’re in the process of filling. What is this life? Even more incredibly, Vogue did a feature article on me, wearing the wedding dress I designed and which I’m wearing tonight. It’ll go to press next week—with me on its cover. The media seems to have gone into a frenzy over the fact that I somehow managed to get Colton Maddox to marry me. Many girls have tried and failed but according to one insider Maddox is “gaga” over his stunning new bride, said one article Sloane insisted on showing me. Of course my marriage has a lot to do with my newfound success, but the clothes themselves are also getting rave reviews. I’m getting a lot of press as “the” young new designer on the scene who “everyone in the know” wants to wear. Sometimes I have to pinch myself. As it turned out, the two pills I missed in Aspen were all it took. I bought a pregnancy test when we got back to New York and Colton and I watched together as those two blue lines didn’t even hesitate. They glowed there together like they were very sure of themselves. To me it seemed sudden and not at all what I was expecting to be doing at this point in my life, but my husband was so overjoyed about it he immediately took me to bed and insisted on “breeding” me for an entire weekend. I told him I was already “bred” but that didn’t seem to slow him down. In my life, I’ve become so used to feeling alone and afraid and overwhelmed, the thought of having a baby at first seemed like a scary one. But I’m not alone now. I have my gorgeous, perfect, exasperating, fun, sexy, generous, loving rock of a husband. There’s nothing Colton wouldn’t do for me, which he proves to me every single day. I don’t have to be scared anymore. Colton’s manly—and extreme—excitement over becoming a father has slowly allowed my new reality to sink in. We’re having a baby. Will it be a little boy with dark hair and silver eyes like mine? Or a girl, with blue eyes like her daddy’s? For a while, I was viewing the whole scenario from the point of view of my past life, and so it took me some time to get used to the idea and to realize that this baby’s life is going to be charmed and magical. Not lonely or full of the fear of being abandoned or left behind. The little family we’re creating is so beautiful it makes me cry (I’ve been an emotional mess since I got pregnant). Now, the love and protection I feel for this little thing growing inside me is fierce. Already, I love it with a passion I’ve never experienced before. It’s a part of me. And it’s a part of him, the beautiful love of my life. All the best of us combined and thriving with its little beating heart. The emotions are vast and life-changing. Colton takes my hand. “Are you ready?” he asks, his voice de ep and low. I love his voice. His thick hair. I love his face and his wide shoulders and the way he fills out his tux. Most of all, I love how strong and sure his grip is and the steadiness of his love. I love that he believes in me. I love that he’s fixed me. I nod, squeezing his hand. “I love you,” I whisper. He kisses me. “Love you more, Sunshine girl. You’re my life.” Then he taps a spoon against a glass of champagne sitting on a high table. Once he has their attention, he says, “I want to thank you all for coming and helping us celebrate our second wedding. We have some news to share with you all. Turns out I knocked up my wife in Vegas.” All our friends and family exclaim and cheer.
“Is there something in the water around here?” Noah says, which leads to more cheering and attempting to coax information about whether he’ll be adding to the gene pool any time soon. The music starts up and Colton and I have our first dance, something we didn’t get in Vegas. After the first dance, everyone joins in and we have the most beautiful night. I didn’t know a person could be this happy. It’s late now and all our wedding guests have gone home. Colton carries me to the elevator. We get to our bedroom suite and he sets me next to the bed and starts unzipping my dress. He hands me an envelope. “One more wedding present.” “Another one? You need to stop giving me so many presents, Maddox.” I say this at least once a day. “Just open it, baby.” Inside the envelope is... a deed. Venice Beach. I gasp. “You bought my apartment?” My quirky little house in Venice, which is in desperate need of r epairs and barely covers its own expenses. “I bought the whole house. And the one next to it.” “You did?” “It’s all in your name. We’re going to go there next weekend and meet with some renovations teams. You’re going to turn it into exactly what you always wished it could be. Or you can leave it like it is, but I saw photos and I think it needs an upgrade. We need a house in L. A. so we can go back and visit when you feel like it. When you miss it.” “Cole.” The deed is blurry through my tears. I don’t even know why I’m crying again. It’s just... it’s the nicest thing anyone could have done for me. “Hey.” He wipes my tears with his thumbs and kisses my lips. The kiss is erotic in its lightness. “You’re all right now, sweetheart. I’m here. I’m going to put you to bed and hold you close all night long until you don’t feel scared anymore.” Colton knows better than anyone that I still wake up sometimes and can’t go back to sle ep because the loneliness sometimes resurfaces. I never really even knew it was such a big part of my psyche until he filled it. He helps me st ep out of my dress then he carefully hangs it over a chair. Then he takes off my bra and panties, like he’s undressing a child. I could stand still and never do anything and Colton would do it for me. And we like to sle ep naked. Sometimes he’s almost overly careful of me because he wants me and our baby safe. But pregnancy has not only made me crazily emotional, it’s also made me extremely... hot for my husband. I know how to get what I want. I had a good teacher. So I get onto the bed on all fours, crawling toward the pillows, looking behind me to see him watching me. “I need some more detention from Professor Berserker. It’s my wedding night, after all. Come here, husband.” I don’t need to ask twice. Colton’s clothes drop to the floor and he’s behind me, his strong, rough hands on my hips, his mouth already there, burrowing and feasting. I arch my back and let my knees slide wider, laying my head on a pillow, offering myself to him in every possible way. He’s mine. He makes me come with his mouth and then he lays his body over mine, his thick cock thrusting into me from behind as his hands guide my body into the position he demands. He’s strong but tender, relentless but reading every moan and every gasp, giving me exactly what I need, as he drives into me, thick and de ep. Colton murmurs into my ear as the waves of pleasure start to overwhelm me. “I love you, Sunshine girl. I love you so much. You’re the most beautiful thing that’s ever happened to me. I’m going to spend my whole life giving you pleasure and lots of babies and making sure you’re safe and happy and all your dreams are coming true.”
And that’s exactly what he does. Thank you so much for reading Billionaire Devil. If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a quick review or rating on Amazon. Reviews help authors! Want to see what happens with Colton and Lila two years down the road? Get the free bonus epilogue here: https://Book Hip. com/NLSAMRN