Stranded With The Billionaire by Brynn Paulin

Chapter Thirteen

~ Silas ~

Home had never looked so good. I held Lily close to my side as our helicopter flew over the rocking ocean below us. Neither of us had wanted to take a small boat to the plantation, so I’d arranged for my chopper to come and get us—something I should have done in the first place when I’d picked her up from that small airport. Back then I’d thought the mode of travel would afford us the chance to talk. Boy, had it. More than I’d ever envisioned.

In a way, I guess that had worked out for me. We’d gotten plenty of alone time to get to know each other. I glanced at my watch, knowing Lily would have a surprise once we got to the island. Having copies of both our IDs—mine were at my office and we had a copy of Lily’s from processing her employment paperwork—David had filed for our marriage license on my behalf not long after I’d disappeared. He knew me and my mindset and had anticipated I’d want to be bound to Lily as soon as possible after rescue.

I’m sure some legalities had been bent in the process, but being a billionaire had its perks, and one of them was cutting through red tape like it was butter. One thing we couldn’t cut through was the date. It was only good for sixty days after issue, so it was about a minute from expiring.

When David had told me what he’d done, I’d almost kissed him—not really, but I’d been damn thrilled. All that worrying on the ship was for nothing because my best friend had already gone and made legally marrying her a done deal. All we needed was the ceremony. With that, David had moved right to the top of my Christmas card list—well, right below Lily and the twins, that is.

Twins…

Lily and I were going to be parents. I swallowed hard, shifting the arm behind her so my hand curled around and splayed over her belly. She bit her lip, looking up at me, and I leaned over and kissed her. I nudged her headphones aside and put my lips right to her ear.

“I’m so happy,” I told her. “I love you.”

“I love you,” she replied. I couldn’t hear her, but it was clear what she’d mouthed.

I nodded and slid the headphones back into place. She snuggled closer to me—as close as afforded by the straps holding us in. I couldn’t wait to be alone in our bed together. First, I had to tell Lily about the minister awaiting us, we needed to change our clothes and get married again. Maybe, I show her around a little. No, maybe, that could wait until tomorrow. It had already been a long-ass day, and my woman needed some rest. My woman and our babies.

That just blew my mind. I had a family now. I vowed I’d be a damn good dad. Though my parents had died while my brother and I were young, we’d had a pretty decent childhood. Our mom’s parents had raised us and had been as nurturing as any parent, possibly more so. It had been a truly loving home, only lacking in income. My grandparents had never anticipated raising two young grandsons. We’d always had what we needed, but it had been rough. It had driven me to become who I was, firmly planted in the middle of Forbes’ wealthiest list.

My kids would always have what they needed.

Probably what they didn’t need, too. Deep down, I already knew I’d have a propensity to spoil them. Lily would have to keep me in line.

I glanced over at her in time to see her look around me and gasp. Turning, I saw the lush trees coming closer. We’d seen my island from the distance earlier, but as we grew close enough to land, Lily apparently realized this was our destination.

The plantation house was now visible through the trees, the charcoal-colored, hipped roof over cream-colored walls rising through the green. As the helicopter drew closer to the clearing that surrounded our home, the vast expanse of the house sprawled before us, all warm wood and glass with several open lanais—two facing the east, one facing west and one that stretched the south side of the house that got exposure from three directions. The last was attached to my private quarters and pool. Though I owned the whole mansion, no staff or business associates infringed on my personal domain without permission. Knowing how Lily enjoyed her private time, I suspected she’d appreciate that.

Minutes later, we were on the ground and running toward the house. I carried her bag, and David, who’d been up front with my pilot, sprinted behind us.

“You have a pool?” Lily asked, apparently having seen the sparkling blue behind the house.

“We do,” I answered. “I told you we did.”

“Your house is nothing like I imagined. It’s gorgeous. So…airy and welcoming.”

“Our house,” I corrected.

She slid me a glance I couldn’t quite read. Annoyed? Disbelieving? It seemed to say: Are you for real? Step it down.

No way. Not happening.

“Your house,” she said. “Until we’re married.”

“Our house because you and our kids will live here. It’s your home. Permanently. Unless we end up moving somewhere else—together. And about the wedding…”

Her eyes widened, a look of fear in them that I didn’t like. She thought I was backing out. I pulled her close to me.

“No fucking way,” I growled. “Stop thinking whatever it is that has that look on your face. I don’t like it.”

“If you don’t want to—”

“Lily,” I warned. “You’re mine. No take-backs.”

She laughed. “What are you? Eight?”

“No, I’m a selfish son-of-a-bitch, and you’re mine. Period. I’m not letting you go.”

She leaned her head against my chest. “Good.”

“So, about the wedding… David managed to get the license for us already.”

“How?”

“He had copies of our IDs and the paperwork, and frankly, I’m pretty sure some cash passed between hands.”

She made squinty face at the gray legality of it.

“We don’t usually operate that way,” I assured her. “We keep things legal in our dealings.”

“Unless you want something.”

“Sometimes, you need to grease the wheels to get something accomplished faster. That’s not necessarily illegal.”

“Not necessarily legal, either.”

“Point made. Fine. We’ve never done anything that would get us more than a fine or a slap on the hand. How about that? Name one person who hasn’t done the same given the chance. It’s not criminal. It’s business.”

“My father would say that.”

“Your father is a criminal.” How the hell had we gotten on this subject? I wanted to tell her about the minister inside. “From what I know about him, he’s been running a Ponzi scheme and the feds are breathing down his neck.”

“That’s why he needs me to marry Kyle…” she whispered.

“Not. Happening.”

She looked up at me, her eyes shiny with emotions.

“Not happening,” I repeated. “I’m never letting you go. Now, about the wedding,” I started again. “We have the license and the minister’s waiting inside.”

“Oh my God, really?”

“Really. Ready to be my wife on paper, as well as in heart?” I leaned in and nipped her lobe before whispering, “Because you already are in all other ways as far as I’m concerned. In all the ways that matter.” I lifted her palm to rest over my chest where my heart thumped hard in need of her, in need of her to say yes. “You’re inside me, love. You’re part of me. So are you going to come with me and make this legal or are you going to make me do something illegal?”

She giggled, the sound lighting up my pleasure centers. My God, she was amazing. And mine. So mine.

“Like what?” she asked.

“I’m pretty sure I can manage to make you my wife without the ceremony and get it all legally filed away with the United States.”

She lightly smacked my chest. “Cut it out.”

“It’s true.”

“But you won’t.”

“No, because you’re going to stand your sexy little ass beside me and say ‘I do’ like a good girl.”

“Oh, really?”

“Or I’ll turn you over my knee and spank you in front of a man of God and everyone else until you do.”

She bit her lip and swallowed, looking away from me, but not before I saw the flare of interest in her eyes. Something to try in the bedroom sometime…?

“Baby?”

“I want to clean up first, then maybe afterward we can…um…”

“Get a little kinky?”

“Is that bad?”

“Oh it’s very bad. And very, very, very good.” I lifted her chin with a finger to bring her heated gaze back to mine. “Between us everything’s good and okay. Understand?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

“Let’s show you our part of the house. Hopefully, that’s where David put your things.” I added in a mutter, “If he’s smart.”

The man had disappeared into the house, so he could neither confirm nor deny.

“The whole place isn’t yours?” She didn’t sound disappointed, merely interested.

“It is, but sometimes, it’s like fucking Grand Central Station. Our quarters are private. No one will disturb us there. The house staff lives in part of the mansion, and David has a room with en suite for when he stays here.”

“He doesn’t live on the island?” she asked as we stepped into the cool interior of our home and got a reprieve from the tropical warmth that seemed extra hot today. I didn’t mind heat—hence why I lived here—but today, with the humidity, everything just seemed sticky and sweltering. Now that we had a choice, I wanted to protect Lily from it, especially since it might make her feel unwell as her pregnancy progressed.

It hit me again that I’d be a father soon. To two!

“No,” I finally answered, trying to stay on track with our conversation. “We own several islands. He and his wife have a home about an hour from here. When it’s late or the weather’s bad, he stays over. Since our main office is here and this is the largest of our islands, we’ve discussed him building over here. God knows we have room for it, with plenty of privacy to spare. But for now, he has his own quarters here.”

I actually couldn’t believe we hadn’t talked about this with all our alone time while stranded, but then…we’d talked a lot about our pasts, our hopes and dreams, our future together. We’d talked about the people in our lives, just not this particular thing or that David was my business partner, not my employee. Yeah, now, I remembered. I’d steered clear of that subject since it would reveal how I’d manipulated her. Thankfully, she didn’t seem pissed off with that truth.

Maybe, she would be later when there wasn’t so much to overwhelm her. Lily’s head twisted back and forth as she took in the airy expanse of our entryway and living room where we could easily host huge parties. A couple times a year, I hosted business associates and their wives or girlfriends for the weekend. There were plenty of bedrooms—on the north side of the house and away from me—to accommodate them. They all enjoyed a vacation in the tropics when the snow and ice flew back home.

Large-scale, plush couches and chairs were arranged in conversation groups around the room, with several enormous paintings on three of the walls. They were by some famous artists, but I really didn’t know who. They looked good with my decor, the certificates of authenticity and provenances were in my safe and I didn’t care who had done them besides that.

I showed her the dining room that rivaled the living room and the huge kitchen—Lara my cook’s domain. The woman gushed over us, telling us how glad she was that we’d been found and were back safe, then she told Lily about the mainly vegetarian menu she’d put together for her. While Lily had eaten fish and crab while we’d been stranded, I knew she’d done that because we’d had little choice or variety. Even before she’d left her home on the mainland, I’d let my cook know of my future wife’s dietary preferences. Lily seemed overwhelmed by it.

“What’s wrong?” I asked her, as we headed toward the expansive rec room at the back of the house that opened to the large west-facing lanai.

“Back home, no one cared what I preferred to eat. I don’t think my parents ever acknowledged I don’t eat red meat, chicken or pork—not even one time. Yet, before I even came here…” She swiped at her cheek. “Gah, ignore me. Apparently, I’m going to be over emotional.”

I pulled her close into my arms and kissed the top of her head. “I just want you to be happy, and I’ll do whatever it takes for that—even something as simple as having the staff make you vegetarian food. Why wouldn’t I?”

“I swear you’re too good to be true.”

“Hmm…I doubt that. I definitely have my faults, some of which you’ve seen up close and personal.”

She gave a watery chuckle. “You can be a little…”

“Overbearing?”

“Mmm, yeah.”

“Possessive?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“But you don’t want to run away from it?”

“Not a chance. You’re also wonderful and caring and gentle—”

“Ugh! Don’t tell anyone that!”

“And you love me. And I definitely love you.”

“I do love you,” I murmured and tilted her face so I could take her lips. It had been way too long since I’d kissed her, really kissed her. Her mouth opened beneath mine, and we both groaned as our tongues slid together. Lily’s back hit the wall, and I lifted her. Her legs went around my waist as I pinned her in place with my body. My hands went into her hair, pulling strands from her loose braid as I thrust my fingers into it.

A throat cleared behind us. I sighed.

“And this is what I was talking about when I mentioned my private quarters,” I grumbled.

Lily laughed and dropped her face into my neck.

“What?” I growled to the person who’d interrupted us. I knew it was David. No one else around here would dare.

“I just wanted to stop you before you gave me, the grandparents, and the minister any more of a show.” Oh… It wasn’t David. I helped my future wife to her feet then turned with a wide smile to face my brother. In two long steps, I met him, and we crashed together in a hug full of relief. Mine to see my family and his that I was safe and alive. We’d lost too much in this life. We needed each other.

Then my grandparents were there, and more hugging ensued, though my gran was a little out of control with kissing my face.

“Lily,” I said, realizing she stood off to the side to witness the family reunion like an outsider. That wouldn’t do. They were her family now, too. I held out my hand to her. “Come meet the family.”

Her fingers linked with mine, and I pulled her to my side. That didn’t work for my grandma. She had Lily away from me and in her arms, cooing over her, in about two-point-three seconds flat.

“Oh, dear girl, I’m so happy to meet you and see you’re alive and well. We were so worried about you both.”

“I…uh…thank you,” she replied, and I could tell she was overwhelmed.

“Sweetheart, this is my gran and gramps, Dora and Felix Rutherford.”

“Pleased to meet you, ma’am and sir,” she said.

Grandma waved that away. “Oh, please. Call us Gran and Gramps just like the boys do.”

Lily smiled and gave her a nod. “Okay.”

“And you know my brother, Ezra.”

“Good to see you, Professor Rutherford.”

He rolled his eyes, something I’m sure she’d never seen in the classroom or on campus. “Please,” he said, though his tone was more beleaguered than Gran’s. “I’m going to be your brother since you’re marrying this goon here. Call me Ezra.”

“Or Mutt,” I added.

Ezra groaned. “Whatever, Jeff.”

Lily shook her head at us. “Ezra,” she said with a nod.

“We hear you’re tying the knot,” he said to us both. “You work fast, little brother.”

“Faster than you. How are things with you and Stella?”

Ezra narrowed his eyes at me. His glance shot to Lily then back to me, the warning in them clear. Oh, right. Lily had no idea that Ezra had a thing for her best friend—more than a thing if what Ezra had drunkenly told me one night was true.

“Besides,” I added quickly, “we’ve had a ton of togetherness and get-to-know you time. We’re probably more in tune with each other than most who’ve been dating for a year.”

“Mm-hmm, forced proximity will do that for you,” Ezra murmured.

I raised an eyebrow. “It could be arranged.”

“No, thanks,” he replied quickly. “So David’s over there chatting it up with the minister. You ready to do this thing?”

Lily shifted beside me, and I looked down at her. “I’d really like to clean up first. Maybe, wear something more…wedding appropriate.”

“I like that little white sun dress from before.”

She squinted at me, and I knew she was keeping it for the memories, but not to wear again. Too bad.

After telling everyone to grab something to eat and we’d be back in a bit, I led Lily away so we could freshen up and she could see the rest of the place. She leaned into me, yawning as we walked.

“Tired, baby?”

“It’s been a long day. So much has happened…”

“Do you want to put off getting married?”

Don’t say yes! Don’t say yes!

Her shocked gaze shot up to meet my stare. “No! Do you?”

“No,” I assured her. “I guess tomorrow you’ll rest. I’ll probably be in my office from dawn to dusk…maybe, longer.”

“I’ll probably socialize with your family then,” she laughed. “Can’t be rude to the company.”

“You can do whatever the hell you want. You’re the queen here.”

“What I want is to not make a bad impression on your family—”

“They’re your family, too.”

“Right, and I want them to like me.”

“Trust me. They already like you.”

“They won’t if I ignore them all day tomorrow,” she replied.

“They’d understand. You’ve just come through a trauma.” I stopped, pulling her into my embrace and sliding my hand over her still-flat belly. The reality of the babies was still so new, and I couldn’t stop touching her. “I don’t want you to overdo it because you think you need to be a perfect little hostess. You’ve just been rescued after a pretty difficult two months, and you’re pregnant; no one expects you to wait on them.”

She sighed. “It wasn’t that difficult. You took care of me the whole time. And no one knows I’m pregnant.”

“Yet.”

“You’re going to tell them?”

“I want to yell it to the world—but I’ll restrain myself to just my family. C’mon, I want to show you our rooms.”

My domain was actually more of a sprawling apartment within the mansion. It contained another, more intimately sized living room, a kitchen with a sunlit eating area, a small library, the master suite and three other bedrooms. I owned the whole house, but this part was my home.

Lily immediately gravitated toward the retractable-glass wall overlooking the lanai and the infinity pool beyond it. Trees surrounded the pool and the landscaped area surrounding the water. A fence, hidden within the trees, afforded us complete privacy here. Nobody would accidentally stumble through to interrupt our peace.

“It’s like a slice of paradise,” Lily said when I explained that to her.

“Our own little piece of heaven,” I concurred.

“I guess I didn’t understand what you meant when you said private quarters. I love this. It’s…less intimidating than the…” her hand swept toward the front door, indicating the rest of the mansion, “whole house.”

“Like I said, the rest of the place can get pretty busy. I conduct business on the island and besides the house staff, there are workers and various other visitors in and out all day long.”

“I think you’ll find me here most of the time.”

“As long as you’re in my home—and in my bed at night—I’m happy.”

“Funny. That makes me super happy, too.”