Christmas With The Billionaire (12 page)
Read Christmas With The Billionaire Online
Authors: Susan Stephens
“Do you want it to last?”
“Of course I do. Why else would I be here?”
“But you live in London and I have a college course to complete up here.”
“And I will support you every way I can. If only because you’re going to be very useful to me in the future,” he teased.
“Doing what?”
“You can add the human touch to my business that I never have time for. That’s your gift, your strength—”
“You want me to work in your business?”
“Yes. How do you feel about that?”
She thought about this for a moment. “So, you’re going to make use of my talents?”
“Vigorously and often,” Jason assured her, not even the slightest bit fazed.
“And as for living in London, I live all over the world, but my main home is an estate in Scotland, well out of the public eye. That’s where my dog lives too, in case you’re wondering where Woolly is. I haven’t come all this way just to go to bed with you, Kate, though I’d be the first to admit, it would have been worth it. I want more than that, though. I want to be the one to cheer you on when you graduate. I want you to host my parties and be the woman at my side. I want you to wear my ring and share your life with me. Is that clear enough for you?”
“But, why?”
“Why is complicated,” he admitted. “I’ve never met anyone like you before—I’ve never loved anyone as I love you before. That’s the first and second reason. The third? If we knew the answer to why we fall in love, I suspect we’d all be too busy analyzing our feelings to make sure we’ve ticked every box, to actually do anything about it—”
“Sorry?” She frowned. “Reel back, please. Did you just say you love me?”
“Yes, of course I love you. Didn’t I just make that clear?”
“You love me?”
“Now you’re beginning to sound like a parrot, Ms. Black, and you know I prefer sheep.”
She laughed, remembering his exploits on the moors in the blizzard, but then her brow crinkled again. “Is this a proposal of marriage?”
“I apologize if I haven’t made that clear. I have to admit this is totally unrehearsed. I have never felt the urge to propose to anyone before, and I never will again.”
A smile curved her mouth. “So this is your one and only chance to get it right?”
“This is my one and only chance,” Jason confirmed. “Refuse me and you condemn me to a life of lonely bachelorhood locked away in my ivory tower.”
“Pretty much where I found you, then,” Kate remarked.
“You might think that,” Jason teased her as he brought her into his arms, “but I couldn’t possibly comment. Will you marry me, Kate?”
Standing on tiptoes, she stared into his eyes. “I love you, Mr. Kent. More than life itself. Does that answer your question?”
Epilogue
It scarcely seemed possible that after two Christmas’s Kate’s whole world had changed. And yet, in some ways nothing had changed, she reflected. She was the same person and so was Jason. There was just more trust and understanding between them—enough trust for her to be working with Jason in his business now that she was qualified, where she set up tenant’s associations and handled anything connected with hospitality for him. And enough trust for her to be expecting their first child.
She warmed inside at the thought of the little person who would soon join their world, and glanced across the crowded salon of their penthouse to share her happy mood with her husband. Sensing her looking at him, Jason stared back. He only had to smile for her to want him, and Jason was the same. His eyes had darkened, and just for a moment he forgot what he was saying to the person next to him.
Life had changed for the better for both of them. It was more fun, and there were a lot more Christmas decorations. The penthouse was bristling with them. If she panned a camera over 1, Royal Buildings now, most of the apartments would be empty, because everyone was here, sharing Christmas with them. This was just the latest in what Kate intended to be a lifetime of Christmas parties. The dogs were careening around, threatening to knock things over, while the steel band was back, along with a lot of new friends.
“Merry Christmas, dear... No elf outfit today?”
Kate laughed as she turned to hug Lily, who had been exchanging recipes for punch with her mother. “I’m not sure I’d fit into one,” she admitted ruefully, glancing down at her belly.
“What a stunning group of men.”
She turned to follow Lily’s appreciative stare, to see Jason talking to her brothers. Lily was right! What a group of men. Bastien, Nathan and Elijah were all tall, dark and formidable, just like Jason, and he hadn’t met their Spanish cousins yet, or the Italian branch of the family. They were quite a surprisingly widespread clan, considering Kate’s parents had chosen not to travel far and wide, but to farm the land their ancestors had farmed for generations.
Whatever made people happy in life was right for them, she reflected as she turned to see her father deep in conversation with Neville.
“Well, Elijah Black,” she murmured as her most mysterious and ridiculously good-looking brother came to give her a hug. “How’s the security business these days?”
“Secure.”
Elijah only had to slant his bad-boy smile at her for the gaze of every woman in the room to focus on him.
“Why are you laughing?” he demanded. “Did I say something funny?”
“You? If you had it would only be accidental,” she teased him. Elijah was the brooding presence that made everyone look twice. He hummed, and gave her one of his narrow-eyed stares that had been known to make women swoon, but which merely made her punch him on the arm. “For goodness sake, go and intimidate someone else. Your skills are wasted on me. I love you too much to be frightened of you,” she added when Elijah raised a brow.
Testosterone central, she thought as Jason came towards her, leaving Nathan and Bastien to survey the room. She was proud of her brothers and what they had achieved, each of them a success in their own right, but it was her husband who held her attention now.
“Are you alright?” Jason demanded, bringing her into his arms. “This isn’t too much for you?”
She smiled up at him. It felt so good in his arms. “Since when has a party been too much for me?”
“Never.” he conceded, eyes hot for her as he stared into her face. “But you’ve never been this close to being a mother before, and I’m not sure I want our first child delivered in the punch bowl.”
“You could distract me...”
“Exactly my thought.” He glanced around. “Shall we make our excuses?”
“Do you have to ask?”
“No.” He tightened his hold on her and led her through the crowd.
The noise in the apartment had dulled to a low drone of congenial conversation by the time they were sated. Making love with Jason was always perfect, but now that she was pregnant she was mad for it.
“You are insatiable,” Jason commented as he came back from the shower wearing jeans, still undone, and a towel slung around his neck.
“Because I want you back in bed?”
“Baby,” he said, leaning over her. “You want me everywhere.”
“And aren’t you glad?”
“Yes, I am. Very glad.” Planting his fists on either side of her face, he leaned a little lower still and kissed her.
“I can’t believe my whole family flew in from all around the world to help us celebrate our wedding.”
“They came for your sake, Kate.”
“But Nathan flew in from New York, Bastien from Madrid, and Elijah won’t even tell me where he’s come from.” Shaking her head, Kate smiled ruefully. “I’m glad for my parents’ sake that my brothers got all the naughty genes, and my sisters and me were so good.”
“Strange,” Jason interrupted. “I don’t ever remember you being a good girl.”
“That’s because I was determined to be seduced by you.”
“And did you get everything you wanted?”
“I got you. Nothing else matters. I love you, Mr. Kent.”
“And I love you,” Jason murmured, staring deep into her eyes. “You have no idea—”
“Then come and show me. Come back to bed. Merry Christmas,” she whispered as Jason joined her.
“Merry rest of our lives, Mrs. Kent,” Jason argued, curving his wicked smile.
Susan Stephens
is a USA TODAY best selling author, translated into 23 languages, published in 114 international markets around the world, with sales of more than 7 million books.
Susan was a professional singer before meeting her husband on the tiny Mediterranean island of Malta. True to the style of romance Susan loves to write, they met on Monday, became engaged on Friday, and were married three months later.
Susan's menagerie consists of dogs, cats, horses, a donkey, several guinea pigs, a husband, and three terrific children.
Susan enjoys entertaining, travel, and going to the theatre. To relax she reads, cooks, and plays the piano, and when she's had enough of relaxing she throws herself off mountains on skis, or gallops through the countryside singing loudly.
If you enjoy reading traditional sexy Harlequin romance, Susan has written almost fifty books for Harlequin Modern/Presents, as well as several eBooks for Harlequin.
Available now...
THE ACOSTAS!
Rampaging barbarians in the Acosta polo series from Harlequin digital releases, corralled in one boxed set of six ebooks.
THE SHAMELESS LIFE OF RUIZ ACOSTA
THE ARGENTINIAN'S SOLACE
THE MAN FROM HER WAYWARD PAST
A TASTE OF THE UNTAMED
TAMING THE LAST ACOSTA
CHRISTMAS NIGHTS WITH THE POLO PLAYER (novella)
Available 2015...
HOT BRAZILIAN NIGHTS
More rampaging barbarians! This time set in Brazil, where wild, gaucho polo accepts no boundaries.
The first two titles in this series for Harlequin, In The Brazilian’s Debt, and At The Brazilian’s Command, will be published in paperback, hardback and eBook in March and April 2015, with two further books in this series coming later in the year.
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Xandra King
For super-hot fiction with a twist, Xandra King, a pen name of Susan Stephens, has a new series called Cosmic Hot Shorts.
The first book, Christmas Nights At The Ladies Club, is available now.
There are six stories in this series, following the exploits of Jane, Jewel, Tracey, Arabella, Miranda, and Veronica, as the six friends pursue their erotic fantasies in The Ladies Club.
If hot historical is for you... set in the sixteenth century Ottoman Empire, Celestina And the Sultan, and Celestina, Warrior Queen, is available now in a two-eBook boxed set for Harlequin.
For further information information on Xandra’s books, as well as monthly horoscopes:
www.xandraking.com
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www.aftermidnightfantasies.com
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Acknowledgements
Writing does not happen in a vacuum and my friends and family, together with the best of readers, give me all the reason I need to continue sharing my dreams.
My support team is second to none. I can’t believe how patient and encouraging you are. You are such a pleasure to work with, and make even my wildest dreams come true.
My thanks to Megan Stevens for painstakingly editing this book, and to Julie Cupp of
Formatting Fairies
, for formatting and patience above and beyond the call of duty, Josephine Piraneo at
glassslipperwebdesign.com
for superlative cover design, and to Gretchen Skull for so professionally and enthusiastically getting me out there.
And last, but by no means least, I thank you, my readers across the world for your constant enthusiasm and support. Thank you.
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