Stingray Billionaire: The Complete Series (An Alpha Billionaire Romance) (52 page)

CHAPTER
SIXTY-SEVEN

Dax

As
I came up out of the drug-induced sleep I’d been under, I looked around, trying
to figure out where I was. I was groggy and my mouth was as dry as the desert.
I tried to lift my head and ask for some water, but I couldn’t move.

I
turned my head to see exactly where I was. When I looked to my left, I smiled
as I saw Brooke curled up fast asleep in a large lounge chair that she’d
dragged over from the other side of the room. Her hair spilled down around her
shoulders and her mouth was slightly open as she slept. She looked beautiful.

“Mmmm,”
I said as I tried to get her attention.

“Huh?
What?” She shook her head as she tried to orient herself as she woke. She
quickly looked over at me and when she saw that I was awake, too, a smiled
spread across her lips, reaching her beautiful blue eyes.

“Hey,
you,” she said softly as she stood up and moved over so she could sit on the
edge of my bed. “I was waiting for your lazy butt to wake up.”

“Mmm
mmm,” I grunted through dry lips that refused to open enough to make sounds
that normal people would understand.

“Water,
you need water,” she said as she got up and went out to the nurse’s station to
ask if I could have it. She returned with a big pitcher and a glass with a
straw sticking out of it. “They said you could have little sips of water, and
they trusted me to make sure they are little sips, Mr. Malone. So don’t get me
into trouble!”

I
smiled as best I could and waited for her to bring me a drink. She sat on the
edge of the bed and held the cup parallel to my chin as she bent the straw and
slid it in my mouth. I took a quick sip and let the cool liquid spread out
across my parched mouth. She held it there until I took another sip, and by the
third one, I could open my mouth and speak.

“Are
you okay?” I asked.

“Who,
me? I’m fine,” she laughed. “You were the one who took one for the team,
mister!”

“I’m
fine. What about Riza?” I asked.

“I’m
not going to lie, she’s got a long road ahead of her,” she said. “She killed
Lydia, and she tried to kidnap Roger and me. And while we’re willing to not
press charges, she’s going to have a tough time with the murder charge.”

“Can
you help her?” I asked before I bent my head forward to take another sip of
water.

“Roger
is going to help her get expert witnesses from the military to talk about PTSD
and its effects, but she might very well have to do some time for Lydia’s
murder,” she said. “I know it’s hard, but she needs help.”

“I
know. I just wish I would have understood that before it got to this point,” I
said as I looked away and tried not to think about my best friend in prison.

“Dax,
it’s not your fault,” Brooke told me as she set the cup down and then very
carefully lay down next to me so that her body was stretched out next to me. I
could feel her warmth through the thin hospital blanket. She lightly rested her
hand on my chest, and I lifted my other arm so I could lay mine over the top of
hers. We lay there like that until the night nurse came in and told Brooke that
visiting hours were over.

“Brooke?”
I said as she gathered her things to prepare to go home for the night.

“Yes?”
she turned and focused her bright blue eyes on me. I felt my heart expanding so
fast that it felt painful in my chest. I winced a bit, and she rushed over.
“Are you okay? Do you need the nurse?”

“No,”
I whispered as I reached up and ran my fingers through her hair as I studied
her face. “Brooke…I love you.”

She
tipped her head and smiled warmly as she reached out and stroked my cheek.
Then, she leaned down and lightly kissed my lips before she whispered, “I love
you, too, Mr. Malone.”

CHAPTER
SIXTY-EIGHT

Brooke

I
stopped by my parents after I left the hospital and checked in to see what Pop
had heard in the newsroom.

“Well,
if it isn’t my big fancy lawyer daughter,” he laughed as he crossed the kitchen
to meet me at the front door.

“TONY
RAINES!” my mother yelled at the top of her lungs. “How many times do I have to
threaten to kill you before you stop walking on my freshly cleaned kitchen
floor?”

“Apparently
more than you already have,” my father said as he wrapped his arms around me
and hugged me tightly. “I needed to hug my daughter!”

“Well,
fine then,” my mother grudgingly agreed as she, too, crossed the kitchen and
pulled me into her arms. “I’m so glad you’re okay. If anything had happened to
you…”

“Yeah,
well, it didn’t, now did it?” I said as I pulled away and looked toward the
kitchen. “What’s for dinner?”

“Tony
and Gina are bringing dinner over, didn’t I tell you?” my mother said as she
returned to her mop and gave the floor one more swipe to clean up the prints my
father had made.

“Nope,
you sure didn’t!” I said as I sunk down in the comfy chair near the door and
looked over at my father who had take up his position in the recliner. He
looked up at me over the edge of his glasses and said, “You sure you’re okay,
kiddo?”

“Yeah
Pop. I’m fine, I promise,” I said raising my hand in a swearing in position.

“What’s
happening at the firm?” he asked.

“Well,
Roger is helping with Riza’s case. We think we can get her sentence reduced on
the grounds that she was suffering from severe PTSD,” I said. “Jordie and I are
handling all the other cases that are streaming in as the result of this
exposure. I think we’re going to have to hire more help in the front of the
office. Alma can’t keep up with all the calls and everything else!”

“That’s
a good thing! Get her to organize the place and keep you all on track,” he
laughed. My father had had several run-ins with Alma and come away from them
re-thinking his entire office organizational policy. I thought he was nuts, but
my mother said it had been a lifelong affliction.

“Where’s
Beck?” my mother called from the kitchen. “He knows he’s welcome here anytime,
right?”

“Mom,
Beck doesn’t even know us,” I said. I had tried to remind my mother that she
couldn’t just adopt everyone who came into my life. “Besides, I took him back
to the rehab facility so he could finish his treatment. He wanted to be sober
when Dax got out of the hospital.”

“When
do they think that will be?” my father asked.

“Probably
next week,” I replied. “They want to make sure the wound is healing properly
and that there’s no infection.”

“He’s
doing okay otherwise?” he asked as he looked at me pointedly.

“He’s
fine, Pop. Why are you so nosy?” I laughed.

“I’m
a reporter, it’s my job,” he said with a flourish of his hand. “Besides, it
seems like you might like this guy or something.”

“Pop…”
I warned.

“I
know, I know, I’m not supposed to say anything about it,” he said waving me
off. “Got it.”

“I
should never have trusted you with that information. I thought as a reporter,
you’d be safe!” I sighed. “I should have known better.”

My
father pulled he paper down just enough so that I could see the twinkle in his
eye as he smiled at me. He was happy that I’d met someone who loved me in all
the ways that his difficult daughter needed.

“Hey,
hey, hey! Whose hungry?” Teddy called as he pushed open the front door and
walked through with a huge pot full of something that smelled like heaven. He
looked at my father and me and quietly asked, “Mom mopping the floor again?”

We
nodded as my mother yelled, “I heard that! Just don’t get my clean floor
dirty!”

We
all burst out laughing as Gina entered, carrying several full bags. I jumped up
off the chair to help her as my father followed Teddy into the kitchen and
lifted the lid on the pot.

I
set the bags down and looked around at my family, marveling at how warm and
welcoming they were and feeling excited about introducing Dax to them all.

CHAPTER
SIXTY-NINE

Epilogue
– Brooke

“Pop,
what are you doing?” I cried as I looked at my father over my shoulder.

“Nothing,
just checking something,” he said as he bent down and pulled something out of
his shoe. He handed me a penny that had obviously been smashed by something
enormous and said, “Here you go, kiddo. I’ve been saving this for this day.”

“Pop,
what is this?” I asked as I turned it over and felt the smooth copper in my
hand.

“It’s
my lucky penny. I’ve had it since I was eight,” he smiled. I put it in all my
shoes for good luck. I wanted you to have it today.

“Pop,
where am I going to put this?” I asked as I looked down at my outfit and tried
to think of where I could tuck the good luck charm.

“Oh,
I didn’t really think about that,” he said as he looked me over and then kissed
my cheek. “You really look beautiful, Brookie.”

“Oh,
Pop, stop it,” I said as I tried not to let the tears well up and ruin my
makeup.

“You
ready to do this, kiddo?” my father asked as he held out his arm and smiled
warmly.

“Ready
as I’ll ever be,” I smiled and took his arm just as the music started.

We
walked through the kitchen to the backdoor where we stopped and looked at each
other and laughed because we knew we were both waiting for my mother to yell at
us.

“Stop
dawdling and start walking,” she called from her seat out in the yard. The
whole crowd burst out laughing because they, too, knew about my mother and her
floors.

The
music started as my father took a step forward, and I followed down the stairs
and across the lawn. The backyard had been landscaped especially for this
occasion, and it looked like a botanical garden with all the trees and
flowering bushes. I smiled as we started up the center aisle, lined with flower
petals that led all the way to the handsome man waiting for me at the end of
it.

I
held his gaze the whole walk to him. And when I reached his side, my father
took both of our hands and joined them before he said, “Be kind to one another.
Always.” He turned to go join my mother, but before he reached her, he looked
back at us and added, “And, stay off your mother’s floors.”

The
crowd erupted into a fit of laughter and the officiate began, “We are gathered
here today to join this man and this woman in the bonds of holy matrimony…”

When
we got to the vows, I looked up at the handsome man in front of me and in a
confident voice I said, “Mr. Malone, I promise you a lifetime of love, joy,
laughter, and warmth. I promise that I will cherish and respect you. I promise
that I will listen to you and talk with you. But most of all, I promise that
our home will always be a place where you will want to return to after you’ve
been out in the world. I promise to be your partner, your friend, your lover,
and your biggest supporter. As long as I’m with you, I will always be at home.”

Dax
smiled warmly as he looked into my eyes and said his vows, “Brooke, you had my
heart from the moment I met you. And every day I’ve spent with you has simply
served to confirm that I’ve found a home for my heart. I promise that I will
protect, respect, and love you. I will support you and listen to you, and I
will strive to make a home for your big, beautiful heart as we spend our lives
living and loving together.”

There
was not a dry eye in the house as he slipped the ring on my finger and the
officiate pronounced us man and wife. Dax lifted one hand to brush the stray
hairs from my cheek before he bent down and wrapped his arms around me. He
looked deep into my eyes as he mouthed, “I love you,” before he bent and kissed
me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and returned the kiss as he lifted me off
of my feet and raised one arm in victory.

“Hey,
don’t drop me, Malone!” I cried as I felt myself slipping out of his grasp.
“This dress cost a fortune, buddy!”

“Don’t
get sassy with me, Mrs. Malone,” he said as he kissed me again and gently
lowered me to the floor. We joined hands and as the crowd of friends and family
clapped and cheered, Dax and I walked down the aisle into the next chapter of
our lives.

Epilogue
– Dax

In
the low light of our bridal suite, I looked at my wife and shook my head. How
had I gotten so lucky? This had been a day more perfect than I ever could have
imagined. The only thing that could have made it better would have been to have
my parents alive to see it.

Brooke
looked beautiful, in a dress that was unlike anything I’d ever seen. It started
out deep blue at the base and got lighter and lighter until at the top it was
the lightest shade of robin’s egg blue. I knew this because I’d been the one to
help her pick it out. We’d decided to reject all the traditional wedding
dictates and create a celebration that reflected everything we valued and
loved.

We’d
had a rough time after the shooting while I’d recovered. And we’d had to go to
court to support Riza as she was put on trial for Lydia’s murder. When the
judge asked her why she’d done it, Riza simply said she didn’t know. There was
no good reason for it, and she couldn’t remember doing it. I still had my
doubts about whether she’d actually done it or whether she’d been the fall guy
for someone else’s crime, but she had seemed to make peace with it. Roger
proved to be a solid lawyer and a good friend to her.

After
the trial was over, I’d kept my promise to Brooke and done everything in my
power to extract myself from the drug trade. I’d made a deal with one of the
north side guys to let him be silent owner of Apex if he’d let Kesha run it the
way she saw fit. I wanted to sell it to her, but she just didn’t have the cash
to buy it. So I did the next best thing and retained ownership of the club
until Kesha could raise the cash to buy it. I let the north siders do their
thing in the back room and didn’t ask questions. I knew that Kesha had made her
own deal with them, but I didn’t interfere. Once she’d made enough bank to buy
the place, I’d be out of that world for good.

Then,
I took the profits I’d been banking and bought a couple of properties on Skid
Row and set out to develop them so that folks living there could have a grocery
store and other small neighborhood stores. I trained the workers and only hired
people from the neighborhood. I would never want for money, so I figured I
could use my good fortune to help change the neighborhood for the better and
maybe benefit kids who were in the same situation as Beck and I had been.

Beck
got clean, and I bankrolled his college degree. He was now a sophomore at UCLA,
working on a degree in nursing and hoping to enter the rehab sector once he
graduated and earned his license. All in all, we were doing pretty well.

I
looked at my wife and smiled as she wrestled with the zipper on her dress.
She’d never looked lovelier than she had looked standing in front of me
reciting her vows, and I’d never loved her more than I did today.

“C’mere,
and let me help you with that, silly woman,” I chuckled as she walked over and
turned around. I couldn’t help myself as I reached up and swept her hair off of
her neck before I leaned down and kissed her softly. She sighed as she leaned
into my kiss and I slowly unzipped her dress, letting it sink in a brilliant
blue pool on the ground at her feet.

“Mrs.
Malone, you were the most beautiful woman at the party today,” I whispered as I
slipped my hands around her body and ran them up until I gently cupped her full
beautiful breasts, one in each hand.

“And
you were the most dashing man at the party, Mr. Malone,” she sighed. “I’m so
lucky to have married such a handsome man.”

“And
talented,” I said. “Don’t forget how talented I am.”

“Oh,
I don’t think you’ll ever let me forget that, Mr. Malone,” she whispered as I
bent down and ran my tongue up her neck.

“Not
if I have my way, you won’t,” I said, smiling as I teased her nipples with my
fingers and drew a soft moan from between her lips.

“You
do that so well,” she sighed as I slid my hands under her lingerie and began
teasing in earnest. I quickly undid the rest of her trappings and before I knew
it, my wife stood before me naked and shining in the low light.

“My
God, you are beautiful,” I murmured as I scooped her up and carried her to our
wedding bed. “I’m never going to be able to get enough of you.”

“Mmmm,”
she replied as she stretched up and wrapped her arms around my neck so she
could pull me down into a deep kiss. “Get those clothes off and come test that
theory out!”

I
quickly shed my wedding suit and climbed into bed next to her. I loved running
my hands over her bare skin, not only because she was so soft and warm, but
because it elicited a response I loved no matter how many times I did it.

“Do
you think we’ll ever get tired of this?” she asked as she ran her hand up my
arm and watched me admiring the curve of her hip as she lay pressed against me.

“I
doubt it, but I’ll let you know if it ever happens on my end,” I said with a
wink. “We may need to bring in a pinch hitter if that happens.”

“You’re
such a jerk!” she laughed as she reached down between my legs and firmly
grasped me with her hand. “You’d better be careful because I now own half of
this.”

“You
wish!” I said as I slid my hand between her thighs and slipped my fingers
between her silky lips. She cried out softly as I began stroking. “Then, this
is half mine.”

“Mmmmm,”
she moaned as she continued squeezing and stroking in time to my rhythm. I
leaned over and kissed her deeply as we lost ourselves in the attempt to please
each other. I could feel her becoming more aroused, and I knew I was growing
harder in her hand. When I slipped a finger just inside her tight wet entrance
and felt her grip me, I knew I had to have her.

I
pulled her on top of me as I rolled onto my back and slid my shaft between her
dripping wet lips. She moved back and forth, coating me in her wetness as we
both moaned and ached for more. The intensity of the teasing drove us both to
the edge of our raging desire. In one swift movement, she gripped the base of
my shaft and slipped the tip just inside her tight opening. She rocked back and
forth a little, teasing me by pushing in and pulling out as I felt her juices
running down the length of my shaft and coating everything below it.

I
moaned loudly, wanting to thrust up inside of her and feel myself buried in her
warm wet womb, but I knew better. I knew that if I waited for her to make the
first move, it would be that much more intense and amazing. And when she did,
it was.

She
teased until I begged her to stop, and then she looked down at me with those
beautiful blue eyes as she took me inside of her in one quick motion.

I
cried out as I felt her enveloping me and then rocking back and forth before
she began the familiar rhythm I’d come to know and love. I gripped her hips as
I thrust up to meet her downward motion and felt her riding me harder and
faster as she rocked. I reached down and began stroking her sensitive little
nub, knowing full well that she was on the edge of a huge orgasm and that all I
had to do was stroke her enough to send her flying off the edge. And so I did.

I
felt it building as she tightened around me and I thrust up into her harder and
deeper as I felt her begin to climax. She cried out and fell forward as she
braced herself against my shoulders and rode me harder. I held her thighs and
thrust up again and again, feeling my own release just moments away.

“That’s
it,” she moaned. “Oh God, yes! Dax, please! Yes!” The sound of her pleasure sent
me flying off the edge of the cliff. I felt my whole body go numb for a moment
as the heat moved from my feet to my head and then engulfed me in a wave of
pleasure so intense that I cried out as my hips pumped upward of their own
volition. I couldn’t stop as I rode the wave with her, both of us moving and
sliding against each other.

When
we were finally still again, I lifted her damp hair off of her face and said,
“I don’t think I’ll need a pinch hitter.”

Brooke
burst out laughing and lay in my arms until we both fell into a deep, deep
sleep.

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BILLIONAIRE’S
FIANCE

By
Alexa Davis

This
book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are
products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not
to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual
events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

Copyright
© 2016 Alexa Davis

From
the Author

I hope you enjoy Billionaire’s Fiance.
If you want to get
an email as soon as my next book is published then click here
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I’ll also include you in all the giveaways I do automatically.

CHAPTER
ONE

Max

"
Listen
,
zhopa
,"
Kristov said. "Papa is giving you a chance to prove that you're capable of
handling this part of the business, so handle it!"

"Asshole? I'm
an asshole now?" I said without looking up. I pulled several small jewelry
boxes out of the larger box that had been delivered a few hours earlier and
began examining the contents of each one. "Why am I an asshole for wanting
to do something different?"

"Because Papa
is giving you the opportunity of a lifetime to prove yourself," he replied
as he slipped a cigarette between his lips and flicked his lighter.
"You'll earn your stars,
bratik
.
Don't you want to earn your stars?"

"Not
particularly," I said as I avoided his gaze. He knew how much it irritated
me when he called me little brother, and yet he did it anyway. "I don't
care about any of that bullshit. I don't want stars or crosses or churches or
any other ink on my body. Can't you understand that?"

"I can,"
he nodded as he inhaled deeply and then blew the smoke at me in precisely
formed rings. "But Papa can't, so it falls on me to entice you back to the
fold."

"Kristov, I
don't know how to say it any more clearly than I already have," I coughed
as I shot him an annoyed look. He smiled like a Cheshire cat and waited.
"I don't want to have anything to do with the family business. I don't
want to be part of the gang or be
vory v
zakone.
I want to start my own jewelry business and operate it
legitimately. I don't want help or muscle or anything at all. I just want
peace. Can't you understand that?"

Kristov silently
watched me unpack the boxes and smoked as he considered my rejection of his
offer. We'd been like this since we were children. He was the older brother who
was always charged with bringing me into line when I decided to go my own way,
and when I had been younger and weaker, it had worked. But now we were adults
and, while I would always be younger than he was, I would never be weaker
again.

"
Bratik
, you can do whatever you want, but
you owe Papa," he said as his smile shifted from brotherly to something
more sinister.

"Owe Papa
what?" I asked.

"He gave you
the money that you used to buy that beautiful place you live in and start this
business," he said before taking a deep drag of his cigarette and exhaling
in my face. "And now, you owe him some respect and reciprocity; got
it?"

"Kristov, I'm
going to say this one time and one time only, so listen well, my brother,"
I began as I stopped unpacking boxes and looked at him. "I don't want to
be a thief-in-law, I don't want to run with the
bratán
, and I don't owe Papa anything. Not a cent. Mama gave me
what was rightfully mine and told me to do with it what I wished."

We stood in the
small space staring each other down as we waited for the other to look away
first. Kristov finally looked away and shrugged as he chuckled. He threw the
still burning butt of his cigarette on the floor and ground it into the carpet
as he stared at me, smiling. I willed my face to remain impassive and waited for
him to speak. He said nothing; he only smiled, shook his head, and moved toward
me so he could roughly pat my shoulder. He walked to the door, turned and
looked at me one more time, then shook his head as he smiled and walked out the
door.

"You'll regret
this,
bratik
," he tossed over
his shoulder as he exited, leaving the door wide open.

I quickly crossed
the room and shut the door behind him before I turned and leaned against it as
I sunk to the floor and put my head in my hands. In my heart, I wanted to
believe that my father would never do anything to hurt me, no matter how pissed
off he was, but my logical brain, the one that had grown up with a father who
led the South Side Chicago Russian Mafia, knew that my father would do whatever
he had to in order to protect the brotherhood – even if that meant neutralizing
his own son.