Release day is quickly approaching for The Billionaire Bachelor's Surprise Baby so I thought I'd share the first two chapters of the book.
What happens when a carefree playboy meets an intriguing woman with whom he has nothing in common?
I like women and they love me. A night with me between the sheets is something else, if I do say so myself. I’ve never had a problem getting anyone into my bed until I met Devon. She won’t give into my charms. But why?
I find the challenge ... arousing.
I like women and they love me. A night with me between the sheets is something else, if I do say so myself. I’ve never had a problem getting anyone into my bed until I met Devon. She won’t give into my charms. But why?
I find the challenge ... arousing.
Chapter One - Caden
“That was something else.” I smiled as I helped the bouncy blonde off my desk and placed a quick kiss on her lips. “We’ll have to do that again and soon.”
“You’re going to talk to your brother about me in the next workout DVD, right?” She adjusted her sports bra so it slipped back into her tanktop. “I know I’d be an asset.”
“I’m sure you would be but you know it’s Kyler’s decision.”
Everyone wanted to be in a Team Ky DVD and now that the company was streaming on-line the demand was even higher. My brother, Kyler, had built a successful empire out of his fitness clubs. Gyms that were now international, DVD’s, a clothing line and a nutrition program. In Los Angeles the clubs were so popular we were having a problem keeping up with memberships. The new gym a few miles from our current location was almost complete. Kyler had been spending most of his time overseeing the construction of the new state-of-the-art facility while I was managing this one. Expansion was on the horizon for Team Ky and I was thrilled to be in it for the ride. My brother was a genius. He’d built the business out of personal training friends in a garage when he was in college. Now he was responsible for one of the largest fitness chains in the industry.
“Caden.” My sassy blonde, Kendra, placed her hands on her hips. “You said you could get me in.”
“I said I would try.” Kyler was going to kill me for this. “I hope you didn’t just have sex with me because you thought that would help your chances.” Of course that was why she let me bone her on my desk, but still I had to make this look good.
“Isn’t that why everyone around here has sex with you?” She tugged the rubber band from her hair and redid her ponytail.
“No,” I defended. “Some actually want to have sex with me because I’m really good at it.”
“You smug idiot.” She laughed as she smacked my shoulder. “I don’t want to inflate that ego of yours anymore than it already is, but you are good at it.”
“So are you saying you would have done it with me even if you weren’t trying to get a spot in the next workout program?”
She chewed on her lip, debating my question.
“Wow.” I grinned. “You’re cold.”
“I want to be in that DVD.” She narrowed her brown eyes. “Make it happen.”
“I’ll talk to Kyler.” I tied the strings on my gym shorts. “That’s the best I can do.”
“Fine,” she huffed as she headed for the door. “Text me later.”
“Sure.”
I glanced down at my computer screen, noting the three e-mails I had to reply to before I left for the night. It was after normal business hours, and one of the busiest times in the gym below me. I’d been here since six am and was ready to call it a day, but I needed to make sure the night manager, Ron, was clocked in and doing what he was supposed to be doing before I could go home and collapse.
I was getting tired of the mundane. My professional life was thriving. My list to personal train clients was far more than I could handle. And my sex life, well, it was at an all time high. But something was missing. I’d been trying to push that odd reality out of my mind for quite some time. I wasn’t unhappy. I lived an awesome life filled with money, booze, women and anything I could ever want. I’d just purchased a glorious house in the hills, bought a brand new Jaguar, and signed on three famous clients to train. I was on top of it all and yet I couldn’t escape this void that needed filling.
Get over it! People would trade anything to have my life. I gazed in the mirror, forcing myself to get a grip. The only thing I had to worry about was explaining to Kyler why he’d have to get Kendra in the next workout video. If that was my only problem, I wasn’t doing so bad. When I opened my office door I never expected to find the sexy, little number standing on the other side. Yup, I had a damn good life.
“Oh!” She stepped back, staring at me with wide hazel eyes. Judging from the expression on her face, she clearly hadn’t expected me either.
“Can I help you with something?” I asked as I took in her appearance. She wasn’t here to work out that was for sure. Her long dark hair tumbled over her shoulders and framed her perky breasts but I could still see the tops of them spilling out of her shirt. Her thin legs were covered in a tight-fitting pair of black yoga pants that were worn at the knees, and for a brief moment I wondered how long it would take me to get her to wrap those limbs around my waist. My quickie with... what was her name? Oh, right, Kendra was long forgotten. I’m despicable.
“I-I didn’t realize you were in here,” she said so soft I almost missed it. “I can come back later.”
“To do what?”
“Clean your office.” She held up a bucket filled with cleaners. “I’ll just start in Kyler’s and come back for yours after.”
“You work here?”
She nodded.
Huh? How did I miss her?
“No, you can do mine now. I don’t mind.” I widened the door and motioned for her to come inside. There was no way I was letting her go anywhere.
When she hesitated the flush in her face quickly spread down her neck and to her chest. I took a seat behind my desk, pretending to focus on the computer screen, but I couldn’t take my attention away from her. She quietly walked in and set the cleaning supplies down by the door.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“Devon Wilson.” She emptied the trash can by my desk into a large bag she’d pulled out of the bucket.
“I’m Caden Barton.”
“I know.” She placed the trash by the door, turning her back toward me as she rummaged through the bucket. “Everyone here knows who you are.”
When she began polishing the oak chair rail that surrounded the room, I couldn’t help but focus on her slender back as her delicate hands moved along the wall.
“Do they?” I leaned back in my chair.
“You and your brother are hard to miss.” She kept up her rapid cleaning pace.
“I suppose we are.” I got up and walked around my desk, sitting on the edge.
“I didn’t mean that in a bad way.” She turned and glanced at me before staring at the floor. “I just meant you’re the owners so people know who you are.” She stopped what she was doing and picked up her cleaning supplies. “I’ll come back. I’ll do Kyler’s office first.”
“Why?”
“I work better alone.”
“What if I told you I wanted you to stay here and do mine first?” I didn’t want her to go. I needed more time with her. I wasn’t sure why. She was beautiful but it was more than that. She wasn’t falling all over me the way the other women around here did. She couldn’t even look me in the eyes.
“I...” The flush in her cheeks dominated her face.
I made her nervous. But why?
“I have to vacuum and I don’t want to disturb you.”
“It’s me who is interrupting you.” Crossing my legs at the ankles, I continued to study her. There was something about her. An understated look. Not at all like the privileged women who pranced around this gym. Models, actresses, celebrity kids were the norm. Even the employees came from some type of money. Her uniqueness caught me off guard.
She quickly gathered her things and made a dash toward the exit. She shot me a shy smile as she left the room, closing the door behind her.
What’s your deal, Cinderella? Luckily for me she wouldn’t get very far. I knew where she worked. I grinned when I thought about the possibilities.
New girl... new game...
Chapter Two - Devon
I leaned against the door, trying to control my racing heart. I’d been checking out Caden from a distance all week. I’d heard some of the patrons at the gym talk about him. I’d seen girls shamelessly flirt with him. I’d even watched him train a few clients. He was good at his job. We’d crossed paths once or twice, but I’d put my head down and quickly walked by him. I was too shy to say anything. Too embarrassed to even say hello or introduce myself. I’d never seen a man like him before. Well, except for his older brother Kyler who was kind enough to hire me to clean the offices after hours. I really needed this job and I didn’t want to do anything to screw it up. Ogling over Caden while I was supposed to be working didn’t seem like a very good idea.
I must have come off like a complete idiot in front of him. I couldn’t even form a sentence, much less a conversation. I had been thinking about him all week, and when we finally came face to face there I was in these ratty clothes, holding a container of cleaning supplies. Not at all like the put together women who hung out at the gym. Their work-out clothes probably cost more than my whole wardrobe. Not probably. Most definitely.
Whatever. I wasn’t here for Caden to notice me. I had more important things to worry about. Like where I’d be sleeping and how I’d be eating. The room I’d been renting was no longer available. Mr. Alberts, the man who offered me the room, told me his son and girlfriend were coming back to Los Angeles in a few days and they were moving in with him. They were expecting their first child next month and he couldn’t turn them away. I didn’t expect him to. He’d allowed me to live there for the past three months almost rent free. He was a volunteer at the shelter I’d been staying at when I first came to California six months ago. I enjoyed his company. He reminded me of the grandfather I never had. The shelter filled fast most nights and he said he had a spare room that I could use for a while. I stayed longer than I had anticipated. I didn’t realize just how expensive the cost of living was here and finding a job was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I’d found some temporary work at a few bars and shops but no one needed full-time employees.
Now that I was working at Team Ky things were going to turn around. I could feel it. I just had to stay positive and never look back. I could do this. It couldn’t be this hard forever. Could it?
“Whoa!” The wooden door I had been leaning against suddenly opened, but before I could hit the ground two very solid, muscular arms held me in their firm grasp.
Shit!
“Sorry.” Caden looked down at me. “I didn’t expect you to be standing there. Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” I caught my breath as I tried to wiggle from his grasp. “I was just taking a break and I...” How embarrassing. “I’m fine.”
“You’re sure?” He released me from his hold. “Do you want to come in and have a seat?”
“No.” God, no! “I have to get back to work.”
“When did you start working here?” He bent down and swooped up my cleaning supplies, placing the ones that had fallen out back into the bucket.
“Last week.”
“Hmm.” He handed me the bucket. “How did I miss you?”
“I’m easy to miss.” Have you seen the women around here?
“I’m going to have to disagree.” He set his hand on the doorframe, moving closer to me.
The stubble covered his jaw and stretched down his neck, tempting me to run my palm along it. In your dreams. The dryness in my throat rivaled the dampness in my palms. I didn’t know if I was hot or cold, but being this close to him made me loopy, giddy even. In those few moments I had forgotten I was homeless and hungry.
“Have a drink with me.”
“What?”
“Go out with me tonight.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because.” I didn’t really have a reason, but I couldn’t go out with him.
“That’s not a reason.” He tilted his head to the side. “I’ll take you to one of the hottest clubs in town. We’ll dance, drink, get to know one another.”
I’d love to get to know him.
“You look tense.” When he smiled I noticed how white his perfect teeth were. “Let me relieve some of that stress for you. You’re too young to look so serious.”
“Maybe I have reasons to look serious.” Reasons you would have absolutely no idea about.
“You can tell me all about them on our date tonight.”
“Date?” He was calling it a date? He wanted to take me out?
“Yes, the club, remember?”
“I have to work.”
“We can go after and if I wanted to go sooner I could let you leave. I kind of know the owner.”
A night out in a fancy club with one of the hottest guys in LA? Never in my wildest dreams could I ever have imagined that could happen to me. This wasn’t a dream though. I wouldn’t even have anything to wear if I told him yes. Who was I kidding? I didn’t belong with him. No matter how cute he looked smiling at me right now. I was so far out of his league.
“No.”
“No?” As he continued to gaze at me, I found myself becoming more taken with his crystal blue eyes. “Did you just shoot me down?”
“Umm... yes, I did.” I nodded, trying to hold firm. “It’s nothing personal but I’m really busy tonight.”
“Working?”
“And other things.”
“What kind of things?”
“You look as if no one has ever said no to you before.”
Who in their right mind would turn down a date with him? Me, of course. Why? Because I couldn’t get out of my own stupid way. My world was tumbling down around me. It had been for years. I thought moving to a new place, starting a fresh life would be a good thing. It should have been a good thing, but that luck I’d hoped to find hadn’t found me yet.
“I’ve heard the word no before.” He leaned into my face. “You know what it does to me?”
“What?” A shudder coursed through me when I thought about him kissing me. This was absurd. He was just a guy. A rich, handsome, super fit, hot guy who was paying attention to me.
“It only makes me more determined to get what I want.” He playfully tugged on my hair, and instead of feeling invaded I liked his silly attitude. “Do you know what I mean?”
“What do you want?”
“Are you teasing me?”
“No, I just...” Did he want me? “I really have to get back to work.”
“You do that.” He dropped his gaze to my mouth. “I’ll see you around.”
“I’m sure.” I tucked my hair behind my ear, trying to make a smooth exit. When I stumbled down the hall, I realized I hadn’t. I slowly looked behind me to find Caden still standing at his door, watching me. The look in his eyes made me wonder just how determined he could be.
***
Do you want to know how determined Caden can get?
Pre-order your copy for just $0.99.
Releases on November 17, 2016. Get your copy before the price goes up!
***
Don't forget to check out Caden's older brother Kyler in The Billionaire Bachelor's Surprise Baby available now.
Both books stand alone.
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