Forever Ours (The Billionaire Next Door Book 8) Read online

  FOREVER OURS

  (The Billionaire Next Door #8)

  By Violette Paradis

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  © 2014 Violette Paradis

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, and characters are a product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events, places, or people is entirely coincidental.

  ~Chapter 1~

  As I lay in bed, Jason slipped his hands around my waist, pulling himself behind me and holding me tight in his arms. I closed my eyes and smiled, snuggling in closer to him.

  This was everything.

  “Mmm, I love sleeping in,” Jason moaned. His chest vibrated against my back as he spoke. It felt nice.

  “Me too.”

  Jason moved in tighter, keeping me locked in his embrace.

  “So,” I said, still keeping my eyes closed. “Do you have any plans for New Years Eve? The big night is tomorrow.”

  “Already?”

  “This week whizzed by.”

  “Hmm.” Jason tightened his grip around me. “Well, if you’re up for it, there’s a big outdoor party happening at the court near my mall. There’ll be bands, DJs, food trucks – all sorts of things. It’s going to be the party of the year.”

  I raised my eyebrow.

  “And I suspect you had something to do with this?”

  “Maybe.”

  I let out a chuckle.

  “Interested?” He asked.

  “Maybe.”

  Jason squeezed me tighter.

  “Do you have to be at this event?” I asked.

  “Not necessarily. The planners from the mall are handling everything.”

  “A big New Years party. That’s very cool, Jason Powers.”

  “Is there anything you want to do tomorrow night?” He nipped at my earlobe.

  I smirked. “Maybe.”

  I could tell by the way he breathed and moved against me that I amused him. “Like?”

  “I don’t know.” I did my best to sound coy. “Maybe it’s a surprise.”

  Jason kissed my neck, tickling me. “You have a surprise for me?”

  I laughed and let out a soft squeal. “That tickles!” I squirmed away from Jason but his strong arm kept me in place. Jason laughed as he attacked me with kisses up and down my neck.

  “Jason!”

  I tried to lock my legs in his and roll him away, but he held me in place with one strong leg. Relief only came when his phone rang, sounding off the tall ceiling of our bedroom.

  Jason stopped and sighed.

  I huffed. “It’s the 30th! Who could be calling?”

  “Malls, restaurants, websites – they’re all open for business. This is the busiest time of the year. It’s a miracle I haven’t been called more often.” Jason let go of me and crawled out of bed. He was wearing a white undershirt and gray boxer briefs. Biting my lip, I watched him walk across the room and pick up his phone. As he spoke, he turned away from me, giving me the perfect view of his perfectly round, rock hard…

  “Sophia?” Jason turned around.

  I blinked.

  “Hmm?”

  “I have to go into the office real quick. I’m going to hop in the shower.”

  “Huh?”

  “I have to go to work for a few hours.”

  “Oh.” I shook myself back to the real world. “Of course.”

  Jason smiled and put his phone down before walking towards me with a captivating smile and penetrating stare. I was hypnotized, unable to look away – well… my eyes flashed down to the bulge below his waist before looking back up into Jason’s brown eyes.

  “I see you staring at me, Sophia Fletcher.” He crawled over me, blocking out the light and making sure I couldn’t look anywhere but up at his handsome face. “Don’t you know that it’s rude to stare?” He smirked.

  “Then I guess we’re both guilty of rudeness.” I gave him a tight-lipped smile, resisting the urge to bite my lip.

  Jason parted his lips and closed his eyes as he leaned down over me. His lips touched my lips just as his body pushed down against mine. A flood of relief poured through my body as his pressure pushed me into the bed.

  Deepening the kiss, Jason pushed against me, allowing me to feel him stiffen against me. His fingers danced down my belly and hips causing me to shiver with anticipation.

  “Oh,” I breathed into his mouth. Pulling up his shirt, I pushed my fingers into his soft skin.

  Jason scratched his short nails down my bare thigh, causing my body to tremble and pulse.

  “Sophia,” Jason whispered.

  RING-RING-RING

  There was the phone, going off again. Jason stopped the endless kissing and slumped down against me, his head between my breasts.

  Jason’s work schedule always seemed to find a way of cutting into ours.

  “Why does this always happen?” He sighed.

  I let out a short chuckle, running my hands through his hair. My body was still pulsing with desire but I knew never to get too excited when being intimate with Jason Powers. Sooner or later we’d be interrupted.

  Jason pushed himself up onto his elbows and smiled at me, giving me one last kiss before getting up and walking to the phone. As he walked away, he adjusted his boxer briefs which were having a hard time holding in his (ahem) excitement. I watched, biting my lip again. How my lip wasn’t bleeding, I wasn’t sure. Pulling the sheets up, I crossed my legs against each other, exacerbating the pulsing sensation between.

  As Jason made his way to the washroom to take a shower, I crawled out of bed and slunk towards the dresser. Opening the dresser drawer where I once saw a jewelry box destined for myself, I saw a different jewelry box. I reached in and took it out.

  My New Year’s gift to Jason, I thought.

  Unable to hide my smile, I tucked the box back into the back of my drawer, hiding it just before Jason, naked and dripping water, stepped out of the bathroom. He stood in the doorway, drying his hair with a towel.

  He smirked at me. “What is it?”

  “What is what?”

  “You’re smiling. I can tell when you’re hiding something from me.”

  I bit my lips. “It’s nothing.” I walked up to him. “I was just thinking about how much I love you.”

  He raised his eyebrow. “It’s nothing, but also you were thinking about how much you love me?”

  I nodded sheepishly. Don’t give yourself away, Sophia!

  “Hmm.” He stared at me with an incredulous expression on his face. Stepping towards me, he took the towel in one hand and threw it to the side and pulled me against his clean, naked body. His soft skin warmed me. I breathed in, taking in the delicious scent of fresh spring soap. “I think you’re keeping something from me.” A thrill traveled through my body.

  I gave him a small smile. “It’s just a small surprise.”

  With his fingers tugging at the material of my skirt, pulling my hips against his, Jason leaned in and kissed me. His lips, soft from the steam of the shower, teased mine.

  I savored the kiss with Jason, but in the back of my mind I wondered whether he knew my secret. Jason pulled me in, deepening our kiss and making sure I could taste him. His kiss and his clean, naked body against mine caused me to forget all about my secret and the jewelry box hidden in the back of the dresser drawer.

  RING-RING-RING

  RING-RING-RING

  Jason pulled back. There was a frustrated and bewildered look o
n his face. “I hate that phone!”

  ~Chapter 2~

  After continually being interrupted, Jason finally pulled away to tend to his work emergencies while I focused on my work. A clinic across town needed my assistance and I headed over to check it out. Afterward, I noticed I was near the Jacksonville mall and decided to go inside. As I walked by Ellie’s dress shop I peeked in.

  “So this is what you do all day,” I said. Ellie was in the front of the store fitting a dress onto a mannequin. Two pins hung out of her mouth. Her face lit up upon seeing me.

  “Sophia!” Ellie managed to yell out without dropping the pins. She pulled the pins from between her lips and stuck them mercilessly into the mannequin before getting up and giving me a friendly hug.

  “Hi Ellie.” I hugged her back. “I figured I’d come by and see how you were doing.” I handed her a brown paper bag. “Pretzel?”

  She smiled. “Oh honey, aren’t you sweet? But with the way the holidays were and the dress I have to squeeze into for New Years, I really shouldn’t.” Without saying another word, she grabbed the pretzel out of my hand and took a big bite.

  I giggled. “How have things been?” I looked past her into her store where there were multiple women getting fitted for dresses. Employees ran around picking dresses from racks and taking measurements.

  “It’s been busy as all heck.”

  I giggled again.

  “Any plans for tomorrow?”

  “New Years?” Her face went white and she stopped chewing for a second before a light bulb turned on behind her eyes and she stuffed another piece of soft pretzel into her mouth. “The courth parthy.” Her words were muffled from a full mouth of pretzel.

  “The court party?”

  “Yeah.” Ellie swallowed. “It’s going to be really fun. There’ll be lots of bands and food. Why? What are you guys thinking?”

  “Well.” I hesitated. My eyes flashed up to Ellie then back down.

  “What are you thinking?”

  I fiddled with the hem of my shirt. “I’ve been thinking of doing something really romantic.”

  “Like what?”

  “Well.” I paused and looked at my friend, who was staring at me like a hawk as she chewed on a piece of the soft pretzel. “I think I might propose.”

  “What?” She nearly choked. “To who?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Do I really have to answer that?”

  “But why?”

  “Because I love him and I want to marry him.”

  “But don’t you think he should do that?” Her face was still pale.

  Her question took me off guard. I assumed Ellie would be all for a woman proposing to a man.

  “Well,” I started. “Of course it’d be nice to be proposed to, but I want to marry Jason. And I don’t think he’s going to propose any time soon, so that’s why I have to do it.”

  “And why would you propose if you don’t think he wants to marry you?”

  “No, it’s not that he doesn’t want to marry me. Remember a while back when I found the box in Jason’s drawer and thought it was a ring?”

  Ellie nodded.

  “Well, we had a discussion back then that we should take things slow, and I think Jason took that as a sign that we shouldn’t get married anytime soon. And it was true, I wasn’t ready to get married then, but I’m ready now.”

  “There’s your problem right there, hon. It wasn’t a ring in the box. See? You don’t even know if he wants to get married! Can’t you just tell him you’re ready and wait for him to do it on his own time?”

  My spirits sunk. Moments ago I seriously thought Ellie would be supportive of me. “Why should I wait? I want to marry him. I want to ask him.”

  “I just don’t think it’s a good idea.”

  Heat began bubbling in my blood. I furrowed my brow. “Why not?”

  “It just doesn’t seem right for you two to get engaged so soon.”

  “How do you know what’s right for us?”

  “I don’t! I’m just saying, as a friend, I think you should—”

  “Should what? Hmm? You can’t just tell me what I should do. This was never your decision,” I said, my voice raised. “I wasn’t asking for your permission to propose to my boyfriend.” I pulled away but Ellie grabbed my arm.

  “Don’t go.”

  I was breathing hard, my eyes were wide and my lips were tight as I stared at her.

  She had wide, pleading eyes. “Wait.”

  I breathed slower and my chest opened up.

  “Sophia, I love you, you know I do.” She paused before continuing. “I don’t want to stop you from doing something you want to do. I just don’t want you to do something you’ll regret — like miss a proposal from Jason.”

  “But I love him. I love him, and I want to be with him.”

  Finally Ellie let go of the tension she was holding and she exhaled. A smile formed on her lips as she tilted her head to the side. A dreamy look came over her.

  “Wow. You two really are in love, aren’t you?”

  I smiled and nodded.

  Ellie smiled at me as if she finally saw the light. “You know what? You do whatever you think is right, honey.” She exhaled long and slow as she stared off, starry-eyed, into nothingness. “You two are just so…beautiful.” She bit off another mouthful of soft pretzel. “Prethal?” She offered me a piece. I smiled and took it, eating the salty snack with pleasure. When she was done chewing she looked at me. “Wow, Sophia. You’re getting engaged!”

  The giddiness rose up from my belly.

  “It seems like everyone’s growing up and moving on with their lives.”

  “It’s about that time.”

  Ellie stared at me longingly. “Oh, Sophia!” She pulled me in and hugged me. “I’m going to miss you.”

  I laughed. “I’m not going anywhere. I’ll still live in Jacksonville and I’ll still own the place next to yours.”

  Ellie wiped away a tear. “If you say so.”

  I smiled and held her hands in mine. “Trust me, okay?”

  Ellie nodded. She took in a deep breath and looked me up and down.

  “I know exactly what you should wear for the big day. I had something else in mind when I thought you were going to marry that old boyfriend of yours from college. What was his name?” She searched my eyes as if searching for the past. “You remember that guy — the one from pre-med.”

  “Luke Trevor?”

  “That’s the one. I had something all planned out. It was traditional and lace, and it was freakin’ gorgeous. But now that you’re marrying Jason Powers we’ll need something more extravagant.”

  “Wait, you thought I was going to marry Luke Trevor?” Simply saying his name brought back a flood of memories that I hadn’t entertained in years. Luke Trevor was in my early med classes when I originally thought I wanted to become a doctor.

  “Well, duh. He was smart, handsome, and on his way to becoming a surgeon. I still don’t know what happened between you guys.”

  I gave Ellie a stern look. “He slept in my dorm every night for three years. We talked about our future constantly, but when it came time to actually commit, he couldn’t.”

  “Oof.” Ellie furrowed her brow. “Didn’t he realize that sleeping in your bed for three years was committing?”

  “Apparently not.” I let out a sharp sigh. “I really liked Luke. I loved him too. But that was a whole lifetime ago.”

  “When did it end?”

  I shook my head. “Once I decided to become a veterinarian Luke decided to run with a different crowd. Vets and doctors don’t mix, apparently.”

  “I guess not.”

  “Luke never wanted to commit, but Jason committed to me right away. He’s the one, Ellie. I know it.” I smiled, but I could still taste Luke’s name on my tongue.

  Ellie squealed and shook her hands, causing the leftover salt from the pretzel to shake off onto the ground. She lunged towards me and gave me a big hug.

  “I’m
going to get started on your dress right away.” She pulled back. “I’m so excited!”

  “Me too,” I said, feeling worms squirming inside my stomach. “Me too.”

  ~Chapter 3~

  As I left the mall, I thought about Jason, and how he committed to me right away. He never had a single doubt about me, even when he asked me to move in with him.

  Jason. I loved Jason.

  Sometimes I thought about how much I loved him and let that warm, delicious feeling trickle down through my body.

  In that moment, I had the insatiable urge to see him.

  I checked my phone. There was a text from Jason.

  Jason (2:03PM): I’m almost done.

  I smiled.

  Perfect.

  ***

  The Jacksonville mall wasn’t far from where Jason worked, as they were both in the downtown core. I got there as soon as I could and made my way up the elevator to the 60th floor, Jason’s floor.

  The elevator doors opened up on a desk with an attractive woman sitting behind it.

  “Hello Dana,” I said.

  “Hi Sophia!” The tall, beautiful blond behind the desk chirped.

  “Have a good Christmas?”

  “It was lovely - the whole family came down from New Orleans.”

  “Well that’s nice. Is Jason still in?”

  “You’re just in time — he just finished his last meeting.”

  “Great.”

  “Do you want me to call him to let him know you’re coming?”

  “Actually, I think I’ll surprise him.”

  “Suit yourself.” She smiled and sat back down behind her desk, clicking away at hey keyboard.

  I turned left and walked down the beautiful office towards the tall, frosted door with Jason Powers’ name on it.

  I knocked.

  “Come in,” a tired voice asked on the other side.

  I pushed the door open. Jason was standing behind his desk, leaning on it with both hands and studying something serious that was laid out on the desk in front of him.

  “What is it now? I plan on being out of here in twenty min-” He looked up and immediately the tiredness on his face melted away. His whole demeanor changed as he stood up straight and slipped his hands in his pockets. “Now look what the wind blew in.”