Bought by the Billionaire Brothers 6 (6 page)

“So stop fighting
with them,” she advised him as if it were that simple. “Dillon, my Papa used to
tell me that we make our own choices. You can choose to forgive. You can choose
to change the parts of your life that aren’t working any longer. You used anger
to drive you but you don’t need it any longer. You’re successful in your own
right; you don’t need your father’s money any longer and honestly, your
brothers are good men that if you’d give them half a chance, maybe you could
repair what was torn apart so many years ago.”

“You don’t know
what it’s like to be a Buchanan. Forgiveness is not in our vocabulary,” he
said.

“Only because you
haven’t learned.”

“I wouldn’t know
where to begin,” he admitted, shaking his head.

She offered him a
warm smile as she looped her arms around his neck. “I can help you
— you start at the beginning. Start with, ‘I’m sorry’ and work your
way up from there.”

He liked the
feeling of her arms around him. “And what happens if it doesn’t work? Me and my
brothers…we have a lot of hard feelings to work through. And now there’s you.
My brothers still want you.” He tightened his grip around her waist. “And
unlike my twin brothers, I don’t like to share.”

Her grin
brightened and he thought he might drown in that beautiful smile. “Good thing
for you, I’ve decided one Buchanan is plenty.”

“Yeah?” He arched
his brow. “And which one is that?”

“You, you big
idiot. I want you.”

And suddenly, that
awful tightness in his chest dissipated like mist on the wind and he realized,
he’d been holding onto all the wrong stuff. This silly, yet sweet and drop-dead
gorgeous woman had shown him in the most shockingly simple way that life didn’t
have to be about conquests and annihilations and she gave him permission to
forgive himself and his brothers for their individual parts in Isabel’s death. It
was all too much to absorb in one sitting and he spiraled into some kind of
wonderful delirium as the first tender shoots of hope kindled in his heart. Maybe
Penny was right. Forgiveness was the answer to his salvation, not revenge. “I
want kids,” he blurted out and her eyes widened. “Lots of them. And I want to
marry you. Right now. Before you change your mind and realize that you’re
getting the worst end of the deal.”

She stared. “Did
you just ask me to marry you?”

Holy hell…yes. He
nodded, suddenly scared. “Will you marry me? Please say yes.”

Her eyes suddenly
glistened at the vulnerable quality of his voice and she nodded, pulling
herself deeper into his arms, shuddering as tears broke free. He held her tight
and wondered by what stroke of luck he’d managed to land the most amazing woman
in the world but he wasn’t going to question his good fortune — not
this time.

He’d spent half
his life paying for one prideful moment, now he would spend the second half of
his life, earning the privilege of loving a woman as amazing as his lovely, beautifully
curved Penny. He grinned suggestively down at her and said as he cupped her
generous, sweet ass, “Now about that shower…”

Epilogue

“I thought for
your wedding gift, we could have our previous contract with Penny framed,”
Nolan joked with Dillon as they enjoyed an after-dinner sherry together while
the girls were off spending gobs of money on bridal doo-dads, the likes of
which none of the Buchanan men wanted to know a thing about. Dillon shot Nolan
a dark look and he laughed. “No? I don’t know, it’s what brought you two
together. Some might consider that romantic.”

“Only an idiot
would consider that romantic,” Dillon countered with good humor. Three short
months ago, he’d wanted to destroy his brothers and anything they’d held dear.
Now they were laughing and giving each other a hard time as they had as boys
— and it felt good. It felt damn good.

Vince and Nolan
had since found nice, respectable young women to date and both were going to
stand beside Dillon at the wedding ceremony. Dillon had wanted a quick wedding
but Penny had wanted something a bit more…well, just more in general. And
because he’d do anything to see her smile, he’d caved quite naturally. Except,
time wasn’t exactly on their side.

“So, when do you
think Penny will start to show?” Vince asked.

“Just about the
time we come back from our honeymoon. And if I find you staring at her tits,
I’ll knock you the fuck out,” he warned Vince.

“No worries, big
brother. I have plenty to keep me interested at night. Besides, I don’t see
Penny that way any more. She’s your girl and I respect that. I wish I’d done
that with Isabel. Maybe things would’ve ended differently for us all.”

Dillon reflected
on that statement and nodded to his brother, respecting his sentiment but being
with Penny had changed his perspective on many things, including the tragedy of
Isabel. “If things hadn’t happened the way they had, I wouldn’t have Penny. And
honestly, she’s the best thing that ever happened to me so, little brother, I
say we let the past rest. Having you two idiots back in my life, has made me
realize how much I was missing out on and I never want to go back to the way
life was before. Besides, someone’s got to keep you two in line and who better
than your big brother?”

“Amen, brother.”
Nolan smiled and lifted his glass as his brothers followed suit. “To the
Buchanans…”

“May the next
generation be smarter than we ever were!” Vince added with gusto.

“Amen,” Dillon
murmured and smiled. “A-fucking-men.”

***

Author’s Note:

Thank you so much for going on this journey
with Penny and her Billionaire Brothers. It’s been a pleasure writing this
amazing series for my fans and I’m so honored to have found a place in your
hearts with this wonderful story. If you loved this story, please tell a friend
or feel free to “like” or post a nice review! All efforts to spread the love
are much appreciated.
J

Warmly,

Alexx Andria

***

Here’s an excerpt from Alexx Andria’s hot,
emotionally erotic story, ONE NIGHT TO SAY GOODBYE:

“What are you doing here?”

That single question, even as uninviting as
his stark tone implied, sent a riot of goosebumps popping along Elise’s skin.
She remembered that voice, as if it were spoken in her ear only yesterday
instead of the years between them, and her breath caught painfully in her
chest. The desire to fall into his arms, regardless of the consequences,
tightened her muscles and made rational thought difficult. He looked the same
— God, did he never age? — not classically handsome, but unique and
different, but always virile and powerful. The tension between them pulsed like
a live wire, sparking dangerously within the confines of the executive office.
Gage had always been ruthless in business; his penchant for the jugular had
served him well, she noted as her stare flitted among the fine furnishings and
dark-paneled walls. Her stare returned to his, daring him to throw her out as
he should for the both of their sakes.

“I’m getting married,” she said, barely
able to manage the words. When she was with her fiancé Scott, she felt no
hesitation in saying those words. She loved him. But standing before Gage made
the words seem forced from her mouth. “I thought you should know.”

“Why?” His cold and distant stare might’ve
fooled another, but Elise knew beneath that cool exterior burned a passion that
distance and time had not squelched. Perhaps it had been foolish to come here
but she’d known in her heart, she wouldn’t be able to walk down that aisle,
dressed in white, to pledge her heart to Scott when another had already staked
their claim. She needed closure. At least that’s what she’d told herself as
she’d purchased her plane ticket to Colorado and lied to Scott about her trip.

She’d called it business. Well, it was…of
sorts.

Scott, bless his naïve heart, had bought
her lie without reservation. And why wouldn’t he? Elise had been lying to the
poor man from the beginning.

“I need…” Oh God. How could she say the
words? How could she tell Gage that she needed him out of her system so she
could marry another? It seemed wrong…but not as wrong as the secret between
them. She swallowed. “Gage…I just needed to see you.”

His blue eyes — eyes she remembered
roaming her body with a fever that no aspirin could ever cool — flashed
and hope lit up her belly like a Fourth of July sparkler. After what seemed an
eternity, he broke the tense silence with a shake of his head, his expression
softening by the barest of margins. “Elise,” he murmured with a hint of anger.
“You should’ve stayed away.”

She nodded. “I know.” God, how she knew.
“But I couldn’t.”

“Does he know?”

“Of course not. And he will never know.”

A smile that flirted with cruelty lifted
the corner of his mouth. “Why not? Your beloved doesn’t deserve to know that
you were once in love with your brother.”

“
Step
brother,” I whispered, tears filling my eyes at how casually he spoke of the
thing that held us both hostage. And she knew with a fatal certainty that she
was still in love with Gage no matter that she could never truly have him. She
lifted her chin. “Scott is a good man. He treats me well and I’m a lucky
woman.”

“I know,” he said, surprising her. She
raised startled eyes to his. “I may be far, but I can’t help myself it seems
when it comes to you. If he wasn’t worthy of your love…I’d never allow this
wedding to happen.”

“How did you…?”

“Elise,” he said, his tone faintly
patronizing. “I make it my job to know what is happening in your life. My
promise to you was that I would stay away, not that I would stop caring. I’ve
held up my end of the bargain…you, on the other hand, have broken it by coming
here.”

“I’m sorry,” she admitted, knowing she was
taking a risk. “I just need some closure so I can start fresh with Scott.”

“And you thought coming here was going to
accomplish that?” he mocked, shifting in his chair. The movement reminding her
of a jungle cat, all sinewy and muscle beneath the silk of his skin. The subtle
nod of her head was her only answer. She was too busy undressing him in her
mind to form too much of a valid argument. The fact was, she had no business
coming here tonight. It’d been pure lunacy to board a plane to the one man she
needed to keep from her life. They were two people who could
never
be together. The fallout would
devastate so many. Which was why Gage had moved to Colorado and Elise made a
point to be out of town on the rare occasions that he visited. “And what kind
of closure are you needing, sister dear? I moved three states away. I never
call…aside from disappearing from this planet, I’m not sure how I could further
accommodate you.”

“Stop being a cold prick,” she said.

“Stop being a tease,” he countered, his
eyes hard. “There’s only one reason you would show up unannounced with that
look in your eyes…you came to get fucked. As if one last time would ever be
enough between you and me. We both know the answer to that, which is why I
moved away. I tried to make this easier on us both. We need that distance to
protect our family from ourselves. The devastation would be horrific. We both
agreed, it wasn’t worth it.”

Tears tingled behind her eyes. Everything
he said was true. His father, her mother, their blended siblings…the fallout of
their love affair would shatter their family if discovered. But she knew there
was no way in hell she could let Scott completely into her heart when Gage was
so firmly planted there. “I can’t marry him without this,” she said, tears
falling from her eyes. “I can’t. Believe me when I say that I love him but when
I close my eyes at night, you are there. You’re in my dreams, my nightmares, my
waking moments. I can’t seem to escape the memories or the desire that haunts
me.” All mocking fled from his expression and he seemed as stripped bare and
vulnerable as she. In that moment, they were equally miserable, wanting the one
person who was off-limits for so many reasons. “I can’t have you. So I will
build a life with this man and have his children but tonight, I need you. I
need you to help me say goodbye to the past so I can move on with my future.”

“What you’re asking…it won’t help. It will
only make things worse,” he said hoarsely. “It will awaken a beast that’s been
fitfully sleeping since the day I left California. I’ve built a life here…away
from you…and it has taken every shred of self-control to keep from dragging you
back to Colorado with me, damn the consequences! And now you show up, begging
me to fuck you so you can forget me?”

Shameful, hot tears coursed down her
cheeks. The truth was certainly uglier when verbalized than when hidden behind
private justifications but she held his gaze without flinching. “Yes,” she
admitted, not bothering to wipe away her tears. Let him see how much she hurt
inside to ask. Let him know nothing she said or did came without cost. “I’m
only here until tomorrow. My flight leaves at 10 a.m. We have twelve hours to
get each other out of our systems. Then, I’m going to board that plane, sore
and bruised in every way, and I’m going to forget anything ever happened
between us, now or in the past. You will do the same. I will marry Scott and
you will find someone you can love without restrictions. Someday, we might even
be able to face one another as we should…as brother and sister.”

“You’re living in a dreamland,” he said
bitterly. “There is no one for me but you.”