The Billionaire’s Christmas Bride by L. Steele

59

Weston

"I won't take no for an answer," I tell her.

She scowls, tugs at her hand. I hold on. Fuck, get a grip, asshole. Stop thinking about yourself. Get rid of the fear that she'll refuse you and leave... Nope, not this time. I’m not going to fuck this up, nope. I've conducted quadruple bypass surgeries... This...this should be a cakewalk... Not.

I shake my head, bring my other hand up, and enclose her slim palm between my much larger ones.

I clear my throat. She glances at me, and suddenly, my scalp feels too tight. My heart hammers and my muscles tense. I rotate my shoulders, bend my knee and press it into the side of the pool.

"Amelie," I peer up into her face, "will you be the chocolate to my whiskey, the caramel to my bourbon—?"

She blinks.

"—the spice to my tea, the fruit filling to my pie—"

Her lower lip trembles... Huh? Is that a good sign?

"—the butterscotch to my toffee,” I raise one eyebrow, “the cookie to my coffee?"

She giggles, then slaps a hand over her mouth.

I allow a smirk to curl my lips, lower my head and brush my mouth over her knuckles, "Well?" I tilt my head up at her, “Amelie, will you marry me?"

"Not good enough," she replies.

"What?" I blink.

"You can do better than that."

"What the fuck?" I growl.

She shakes her hair from her face, "Go on, Mr, Alphahole. Why should I marry you?"

"Because I'll make you happy?"

"So can others."

"Because you can cook in that bloody kitchen with the oven I had installed specifically for you?"

"You...you did?" Her gaze widens. Damn, if I don't see heart-shaped little icons in place of her irises.

"It was nothing," I mumble. Why the hell had that popped out? Hadn't meant to blurt that out.

She looks away, then back at me. "What else?" she asks, her voice an octave lower than earlier. That's good. I am on the right track... Go on, motherfucker, lay it out. It's now or never, you loser.

"Because every time I see you, I can't see a way around fucking you, giving it to you until you're a whimpering gooey mess in my arms?"

"Oh!" She trembles. "Keep going," she says, her voice breathy.

I turn her palm face up in mine, bend and lick the skin between her fingers.

She shudders.

I drag my tongue down to her fingertip and kiss it.

"Because we're going to fuck right now in this pool, then on the decking, in the living room, in my bed, on the bloody kitchen island...on every surface in my home, and when the sun comes up tomorrow, we'll know every nook," kiss, "cranny," kiss, "crevasse of each other's bodies."

She makes a humming sound deep in her throat.

"You like that hmm?" I smirk.

"Much better," She agrees. "You're getting the hang of it, Mr. Alpha Claus, but it's not enough."

"You're right," I agree.

"I am?" She frowns.

"I haven't told you yet, how I'm going to walk you places, my Buttercup, up the aisle, into each day of our future lives...ease you into bed every night, wake you up with my tongue inside your melting pussy every morn—"

She chokes out a laugh, "And you were doing so well."

"Right?" I grimace, "I can't help myself, my sweet Cookie. When I see you, I lose sight of myself. When I scent you, I ache to be inside of you. And when I see you in pain," I swallow, "I want to turn the world upside down until I soothe it all away."

"Oh," she stutters, "that...that was romantic."

"I'm not done yet."

"No?"

"Not even remotely." I allow my lips to curve, mirror the happiness that filters through her gaze, "I'll take care of you, I’ll love you, shield you from the elements, ease obstructions from your path—"

She frowns.

"Because that would be my prerogative." I declare.

"If that's not what I want?"

"We could discuss it," I say slowly.

"We could?"

"Perhaps."

Her forehead creases and she tugs on her hand again. My heart rate gallops. "I won't do anything you don't want me to," I add.

"Hmm."

"I promise." I hold up my right palm, "We can fight over it, then kiss and have hot make-up sex."

"As long as you don't steamroll me into agreeing." She frowns

"As long as we agree to disagree," I say at the same time.

She huffs.

I twine my fingers through hers, "Come on, babe. Allow me to help; it's what I do best."

"I want to build my business on my own merit, you know?"

"And I understand and completely get that...but if I can pave the way so you spend your time on the actual creation and less on fighting through roadblocks?"

She shuffles her feet, then glances at me. "For every pound you spend on paying off my debts, you'll also put one toward a scholarship for someone less privileged who wants to study baking at a school of their choice."

"Done," I blow out a breath. "You can manage this each year through FOK media, a division of 7A investments that was set up for exactly such causes."

She blinks. "You agree?"

I straighten my shoulders, "If that makes you happy..."

"This makes me happy." She sinks down onto the decking, sticks her legs into the hot tub and, parts her legs. Finally, fuck! I move into the 'V' between her thighs.

"You make me fucking happy," I hold her gaze, peer into those baby blues which mean more to me than life itself. "It was a time bomb," I say. "They wrapped a timebomb around me and left me in a locked room for days."

Her chin wobbles, her face pales. "The kidnappers?" she whispers. "They did that?"

I nod. "If I so much as moved or breathed wrong it could go off, so they said."

"What...what happened next?"

"My kidnapper... I couldn't see his face because I was blindfolded... Which didn't help, because I could imagine the moving hands of the clock in my mind." I swallow; my fingers tremble.

She grips my hand, and warmth chases away the ice that had crept into my veins. I focus on her beautiful face, those flushed features. "He kept coming in and torturing me, sometimes beating on my legs, sometimes hooking me up to electricity. Each session was timed, it lasted precisely an hour, all of which was counted down precisely by the clock." I chuckle, the sound harsh. "The torture went on for days I thought, but it was really only for forty eight hours, so I found out later.

She gasps, "Oh, Wes." She places her palm over my chest, "Baby, I'm so sorry."

I focus on her gaze, the silverly sparks in her eyes. "That last time..."I force out the words, "he said he'd be back in twelve hours. I counted down the time, past the twelve hour mark. He was late. I knew then, he was going to kill me. He came in and started raging at me, told me he was going to kill me. He hooked me up to the electrodes. I sensed him move away to start the electricity. I knew there was no way I was going to survive that session. I prayed that my heart would give out before the pain got too bad. He switched on the electricity, and left."

"Wes, no." She throws her arms about me, "Oh my God, that's terrible." She presses her cheek into my chest and moisture dampens my skin. She's weeping, for me? Something inside of me dissolves. I fit my knuckle under her chin, tip up her head.

"The cops arrived within minutes of that... They broke through, switched off the electricity, had their best bomb disposal expert dismantle the one around my chest. Turns out, it was a hoax all along."

"What?" She gasps, "I mean it's a good thing, but still... That bastard."

"Yeah." I cup her cheek, "I escaped with no outward scars... I was lucky, unlike some of the Seven."

"It's why you guys are so close."

"Close? Ha!" I smirk, "The only person I want to be close to is you, baby."

I lower my head, brush my lips over hers. "You're welcome, by the way," I whisper.

"For what?"

"For the three words you were going to tell me earlier, but didn't, and which you are going to reward me with now."

"Reward you?" She pouts.

"Yep." I reach down, lower the zipper on her jeans. She grips my shoulders, rises up, and I yank down the pants and panties, ease them over her hips, then step back and pull them off of those gorgeous legs. I stare at the pink flesh between those beautiful thighs. "For the orgasms I am going to bring you to in the next hour."

"So sure of yourself. If you think you can trick me into—"

I step between her legs, hook her knees over my arms, pull them up and over my shoulders, then notch my dick against her pussy, "Into?"

"Saying that I want you—"

I lunge forward, impale her in one motion. She stutters, then her pussy clamps around my dick.

"Say it," I growl.

"I... I need you," she gasps.

I pull out of her, stay poised at the entrance to her channel. "Look at me," I pant.

She raises her head, sears me with those beautiful blue eyes.

"Princess," I lower my head to hers, share my breath with hers, brush my lips over hers "I want to hear you scream out those three words." I kick my hips forward, sink into her.

She curves her spine, throws her head back, "I love you," she yells. "Love you, love you... Only you."

My vision tunnels; blood beats at my temples. I haul her to me, kiss her hard. Then, I begin to fuck her in earnest—thrust into her, bury myself in her sweet pussy again and again. Bring my arms around her, pull her to me as, with a last ferocious drive of my hips, I sink inside of her. "Come," I growl.