Wives and Champions

Wives And
Champions

The Champion
Brothers

Book 4

By Tina Martin

Copyright © 2016
by Tina Martin

WIVES AND
CHAMPIONS

Smashwords
Edition

All rights
reserved.
No part of this book may be
reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means,
including information storage and retrieval systems, photocopying
and recording, without prior written consent of the
author.

This is a work of fiction.
Names, characters, places, businesses and products are used
fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any similarity to
actual events, locales, business establishments, organizations or
persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Inquiries? Contact me
directly at:

[email protected]

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Dear Reader,

When I wrote the first
book in The Champion Brothers series, titled,
His Paradise Wife
, I knew book
two,
When A Champion Wants
You
, and book three,
The Best Thing He Never Knew He Needed
would follow. However, I had no idea I would end up writing a
family novel, but after many emails and requests from my readers (I
love you guys!), I’m happy to be able to share book four of The
Champion Brothers series titled,
Wives And
Champions
. Book four takes a deeper look
inside the lives of Dante & Emily, Dimitrius & Melanie and
Desmond & Sherita. Too often in writing, readers don’t get to
see what happens AFTER the happily ever afters. Well, in
Wives And Champions
, you
have that rare opportunity!

While you may read
Wives And Champions
as a
standalone book, for a better reading experience, please get to
know the brothers in detail by reading their individual stories,
listed in order below.

Book #1 -
HIS PARADISE WIFE

Widower, Dante Champion, has his eyes
and heart set on Emily Mitchell, but she’s not interested. She’s
falling for a man she met online. When she discovers her mystery,
online man is none other than Dante Champion, will a weekend at
Pleasure Island change her mind about him?

Book #2 -
WHEN A CHAMPION WANTS YOU

Melanie Summers is not ready for a
relationship, but a possible new job at The Champion Corporation
puts her center stage in front of Dimitrius Champion. They’ve
exchanged glances before, but hardly anything more. But will a
straightforward proposition from Dimitrius interfere with her
chances of landing a dream job and real love?

Book #3 -
THE BEST THING HE NEVER KNEW HE NEEDED

Bad boy, motorcycle-riding, alpha
male, Desmond Champion, is the youngest of the Champion brothers.
He’s had his mind on Sherita Wilkins more times than he’d ever
admit. A business deal brings them together, but it may be
Desmond’s selfish ways that drives them apart.

Happy reading!

Tina Martin

~~~

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I’m very appreciative of the readers
who give my work a chance, and who email me with kind words of
support. It means a lot! Thankful to those who take the time to
leave book reviews, not only for me, but all indie authors.
Thankful to the people who understand that writing is an art form.
That it is hard, excruciating work at times. (The struggle is
real!) Thankful to those who know the difference between fiction
and nonfiction. Thankful for those who read books to be entertained
and not to take words, ideas and imaginations of authors out of
context. Thank you for being a reader! Love you guys!

~~~

WIVES AND
CHAMPIONS

Chapter One

“
Have mercy on my soul,”
Dante uttered slowly to himself as he lowered the business magazine
that had claimed his attention for the last ten minutes to watch
Emily walk towards him with her signature strut in a black
formfitting dress. He’d reserved a private table at Connelley’s – a
swanky, upscale Asheville restaurant – for himself and Emily, only
they couldn’t ride there together because she was tied up at work.
So he arrived first, killed time by skimming over business articles
until she arrived, and boy did she arrive. His eyes found exquisite
joy in watching Emily sashay towards the table, hips swaying, head
held high. She wore confidence well and looked so good, she turned
heads with every step. Looked so breathtakingly beautiful, she even
made
him
squint,
and he was married to her. Lived with her. Had made a baby with
her. Still, she had the power to make his insides sizzle with
unbridled heat. Made small, electrical jolts involuntarily move his
hands while other parts of him ached.

He leaned back in his chair, fully
checking her out, eyes raking over her – rolling down to her
smooth-shaven legs, stiletto, peep-toe heels and back up the
contours of her body before landing on a beautiful face. He
instinctively licked his lips. The black dress hugged every one of
her delectable curves. Hair was different than it was when they
went their separate ways this morning for work. Then, it was curly.
Now, it was straight, long, brown and silky, resting on delicate,
feminine shoulders. Her glossy-pink lips were as full as the
harvest moon. Eyes brighter than a summer morning. Smile gorgeous.
Toffee skin glowing just right, kissed by the dimly lit light
fixtures in the restaurant.

He grimaced. She looked so good it
hurt. And she was his. And yes, he considered himself
lucky.

When she was closer to the table,
Dante stood up, greeting her with open arms. “Good evening,
sweetheart.”

“
Good evening, Dante.” She
stepped into his embrace, closed her arms around him and breathed
like she was taking part in an aromatherapy exercise. “Ah. It’s so
nice to be in your arms after a hard day’s work.” She squeezed,
held on and breathed in his familiar, calming scent. He smelled
good. Even after what was probably a stressful day for him holding
things down at The Champion Corporation, he looked good. Cool.
Calm. In control. When was he not in control?

Dante pressed his lips against her
temple. “I’m glad I can be of comfort to you.” He pulled out a
chair for her. “For you, my lady.”

“
Thank you.”

“
You’re
welcome.”

He sat down, leaned back in his chair
while staring at her again. He watched her lips grow into a smile.
Saw her cheeks redden.

“
Yes?” she asked, glancing
up at him with wide eyes and dark, defined lashes.

“
I didn’t say
anything.”

“
No, but you’re staring at
me like you want to say something.”

“
That’s simply because I
have the most beautiful wife a man could ever ask for.”

“
Really?”

“
Yes. Really.”

“
Does she know I’m here
with you tonight?” Emily asked, mildly amused.

Dante smirked. He didn’t respond, just
looked at her, remembering how they’d met and how much work he put
into ensuring that, one day, Emily Mitchell would be Emily
Champion. He was relentless in his efforts, yet patient.
Determined. He’d created a fake online persona, Armand Hill,
connected with her in cyberspace, dated online for a few months and
it was only when they met in person that she found out Armand Hill
was really Dante Champion. While she rejected him at first, she
came around in the end. And it had all been worth it.

“
You look beautiful, Emily.
Absolutely stunning.”

“
Thank you, Dante,” she
told him as she fiddled with the gold-plated bar necklace on her
neck, inscribed with their son’s name – Ezra. It had been a gift
from Dante. “I know you like my hair like this. Figured I’d switch
it up for you for a change.”

“
Baby, I like your hair any
way you want to wear it. Trust me on that.”

She smiled, eyes roaming his face,
catching sight of his trimmed mustache. Slender lips. A five
o’clock shadow peeping through that she was tempted to reach across
the table and touch.

“
Shall we order some wine?”
he asked.

“
Wine? What’s the occasion,
Mr. Champion?”

“
Do we need
one?”

“
No. I guess we
don’t.”

Right on cue, a waiter came by their
table. Dante ordered a bottle of sweet, red wine then focused his
attention on Emily again. “So, how was your day?”

She dispelled a breath. “It was
hectic. Had to order more inventory.”

“
Ordering inventory is a
good thing, right? That means you’re selling stock and have to
replenish it.”

“
Yes, you’re right. It is a
good thing.”

“
Then why do I sense some
frustration.”

She smiled uncomfortably. “It’s just
that…it’s nothing.”

“
Tell me.”

“
We were just crazy busy
again today.”

“
But Carly’s helping you,
right?”

Emily sighed. Carly, her new
assistant, helped her out, but Carly didn’t handle anxiety well.
She easily became flustered when one customer was pulling her this
way, another that way and then, to add to the chaos, Carly had to
take phone calls.

So even with help, Emily still had to
step in more times than she deemed necessary, especially during the
boutique’s busiest hours – primarily from 11:00 a.m. until 2:00
p.m.

“
Yes. She’s helping me, but
I can sense she’s overwhelmed. I think she may quit on
me.”

Eyebrows raised, he asked,
“Are
you
overwhelmed?”

“
I’m not worried about
me.”

“
I am.”

“
Dante—”

“
Are you
overwhelmed?”

“
I can manage.”

His jaw hardened as he fully shifted
into protective, husband mode. “That doesn’t answer my question,
Emily,” he said evenly, sitting up tall, broad shoulders alert,
waiting for her response.

“
I’m not going to answer
your question because I already know what you’re going to say,
Dante, and I don’t need you to be preachy and fatherly right
now.”

“
What?” he asked with a
deep ridge on his forehead.

“
I need to be able to vent
to you without you trying to
save the
day
. I just want to be able to talk. You
don’t have to solve all of my problems.”

His frown deepened. “Where is this
coming from?”

Arriving with the wine, the waiter
interrupted their conversation, and maybe that was a good thing. It
would help reduce the sudden tension floating around their table.
While the waiter was there, he took their food orders.

Dante ordered a ribeye and
lobster.

Emily opted for the salmon.

When they were alone again, Dante
poured wine in their glasses, handed a glass to Emily and said,
“You know what…let’s not talk about work. I don’t want to ruin
dinner with business talk.”

Emily nodded, pushing out a heavy
sigh, one contrary to her head nod. Placing her glass on the table,
she glanced up at Dante and forced herself to smile. Work was hard
on her, especially with having a child at home and juggling so many
responsibilities, trying to keep track of it all in her
head.