Ana Page 8

  Dinner is amazing. Jake is easy-going, friendly and pleasant so I’m feeling relaxed.

  “I have some news. I’m moving here next month. I’m going to head the European office.”

  “Seriously, man?” Luke sounds excited. “That’s great!” He turns to me. “Jake works for CXG.”

  “The finance company?”

  “Yeah.”

  I smile at Jake. “That’s good news. It’ll be wonderful to have family living close,” I say sincerely. “Luke says you have a house a few streets away from his.”

  “I do. I gave my housekeeper the week off that’s why I’m staying here tonight.”

  “I told you that you’re welcome to stay with us,” Luke says.

  Us? What does he mean us? Does his brother think we’re living together?

  “It’s fine, Luke. It’s just one night.”

  We’re on our way home an hour later. Sitting at the back of the taxi, I finally ask my boyfriend what he meant by “us”.

  He takes my hand in his and says, “You should move in. We spend all our time together.”

  “Are you sure?” I ask softly, tamping down my excitement.

  “I am, sweetheart. If you check the closet, you’ll see that I’ve already made room for you. Half the closet is yours.” At the surprised look on my face, he adds, “I’m surprised you didn’t notice.”

  “When did you do it?”

  “The week we were apart.”

  I place my hand on his cheek and kiss him deeply, wanting to show him exactly how much he means to me.

  “I would love to move in with you, Luke,” I tell him when I’m able to speak again. I love this man so damned much.

  FOURTEEN

  Luke

  I watch my girlfriend’s face as she laughs heartily while lying under me on the floor where we ended up after Ana made us fall off the couch. I had to shield her body with mine to make sure she didn’t get hurt. I can’t take my eyes off her. She’s so beautiful and just fucking perfect. How the hell did I get so lucky? She stops laughing long enough to realize that I’m not laughing anymore but watching her raptly.

  “What?” she asks, smiling sweetly up at me. She places her hand on my cheek.

  “I love you, Ana.” I’ve never been surer of anything in my life. “I’m so in love with you.” I watch her expression shift from one of carefree happiness to one filled with emotion.

  “I love you too, baby,” she says, her eyes shining with love. I know she does. And I also know that I’ll never want another woman as much as I want her. I’ll never need anyone but her.

  I kiss her, wanting somehow to convey my deep feelings for her. We stay like that on the living room floor for a few minutes. I never want to let her go. I don’t want to wait. I want to make her mine in every way.

  “Marry me.” My voice is steady and calm, and I don’t feel nervous at all. I have no doubt in my mind that Ana is the woman I’m meant to spend the rest of my life with. I had planned to ask her next week after an intimate dinner but I don’t want to wait a second longer.

  I see everything from love, surprise, excitement and joy on her face.

  “Luke . . .” she breathes. She has tears in her eyes and I’m hoping that’s a good sign.

  “I love you. You mean everything to me. I promise to do everything in my power to make you happy. I know you probably think it’s too soon but I’m –”

  “Yes. Oh god. Yes, Luke. Yes.” She pulls my head down to hers and kisses me all over my face. She’s now crying openly.

  “Baby, please don’t cry.”

  “Happy tears,” she mumbles. I kiss away her tears, telling her over and over again how much I love her and how much she means to me. She tells me that she’s the happiest woman in the world and she’s never going to let me go, which is fine by me because I’m never letting her go too. We belong to each other. Ten minutes later, I carry her to our bedroom and gently lower her on our bed. She sits and watches me while I take out the engagement ring from the safe where it’s been for the past week. Kneeling in front of her, I take her left hand in mine and promise to love her forever as I slide the diamond and platinum engagement ring on her finger.

  I’ve never told a woman before Ana that I love her and now it seems like I can’t stop saying it to her.

  “It’s so beautiful, Luke,” she says, staring at the ring, fresh tears streaming down her face. “I can’t believe this. It’s so perfect. When did you get it? It’s my size.”

  I gently brush away her tears. “A week ago.”

  She looks up at me. “It’s been sitting in your safe for a week?” she asks, stunned.

  “Yeah,” I say softly, still kneeling in front of her. “I flew down to Manchester to ask your dad for his blessing the day after I bought it.”

  We spent the weekend in Manchester with her dad weeks ago. I’d never felt so nervous. I wanted to make a good impression because I know how important he is to Ana and I knew I was going to ask him for his blessing to marry his daughter.

  “You did?”

  “He said no.”

  Her eyes widen. “He did?”

  “No. Just kidding. He was happy, and he gave me his blessing.” There was no way I was leaving Manchester without it.

  “Luke,” she cries, poking my shoulder with her finger. “This isn’t the time for jokes.”

  I laugh, so fucking happy that we’re going to spend the rest of our lives together. She looks so adorable. God, I love this woman so much.

  “Oh god. I can’t believe this is real. This better not be a dream, Luke. If it is, don’t ever wake me up.”

  “I don’t want to wake up too,” I tell her. “You’re trembling.”

  “Of course I am. The man I’m madly in love with, my soul mate, just asked me to marry him and gave me the most beautiful ring. So yes, I’m trembling and my heart is beating so hard, I’m scared it’s going to burst from happiness.”

  I grin at her. I’m her soul mate. I like that. It goes without saying that she’s mine too. Now, I want to make love to my fiancée.

  EPILOGUE

  Luke – Five years later

  “Baby, you have to be quiet,” I tell my wife. We’re lying on the bed with my head between her legs and my mouth next to her clit. Her eyes are closed and her head is thrown back in ecstasy. The walls of the villa we’re renting for the week in the Bahamas are not soundproof. In fact, they are quite thin. “Ana?”

  “Yes,” she moans.

  I move my mouth back to her clit, licking and sucking her. She tastes so sweet. I feel her hands pulling at the bedsheets as she trembles with pleasure. A moan escapes from her lips but I don’t bother stopping this time. She rocks her hips frantically against my mouth.

  “Luke,” she moans. I feel her getting wetter and she writhes wildly with pleasure. I know she’s about to come. “Oh . . . Luke . . .” she cries loudly as she orgasms. Fuck! I can’t wait to be inside her. I start moving up her body. Let’s hope she hasn’t woken up –

  Suddenly, there’s a knock on the bedroom door.

  “Mommy?”

  Shit! No! I look at my wife, who widens her eyes at me.

  “Maybe if we stay quiet, Jax will go back to bed,” I say hopefully.

  “I don’t think –”

  Our four-year old son knocks on the door again, interrupting her.

  “Mommy?” He turns the door handle trying to open the door but I made sure to lock it much earlier. I didn’t want our sons walking in on us having sex.

  I roll to the side, lying beside Ana, my dick still hard. I know I’m not going to come anytime soon. Jax will definitely want to sleep on our bed tonight and I expect that once our younger son, Alex, wakes up and sees his brother’s bed empty, he’ll come here too.

  Fuck! My own son is cock-blocking me. Again.

  Ana is already up, hastily pulling on her pajama shorts and top.

  “Yes, sweetheart. Mommy’s coming,” she says loudly, and then turns to me and whispers, “Luk
e, you’re naked.”

  Of course I’m naked. I’ve thought of nothing else all day other than being inside my wife, but that’s clearly not going to happen tonight. Instead, I’m going to be suffering from blue balls. I almost groan out loud.

  “Baby, please get dressed.” I look up at my beautiful wife with her round belly. She’s five months pregnant with our daughter. Just before Alex was born, I told Ana that I imagined us having a daughter the first time we had sex in my office – of course, we’ve had sex in my office many more times since that afternoon. And since the day I told her, she’s wanted a girl. As for me, I’m just happy that we’re together and we have two wonderful and healthy children.

  “You owe me,” I tell her, reaching for my sweat pants and a T-shirt. “Stay. I'll get Jax.”

  “I promise I’ll make it up to you as soon as we have time, and I’ll be quiet,” she says, sitting down on the bed. Honestly, Ana being quiet during sex is not possible. The truth is I love hearing all the sexy sounds she makes especially her loud moans so I don’t really want her to be quiet.

  I open the door to let our son in. “Hey, buddy. Couldn’t sleep?” I ask, lifting him into my arms. He shakes his head, his long light brown hair brushing against his face and shoulders. Jax doesn’t like cutting his hair. It usually takes us weeks to convince him to at least let us trim it. “Want to sleep here with Mommy and me?”

  “Yes,” he says, smiling at me. Leaving the door wide open, I carry him to our bed.

  As expected, our soon-to-be three-year old, Alex, joins us fifteen minutes later. Within minutes, they are asleep. Even my wife is sleeping, with Alex’s small hand lying on her stomach. My son is excited about having a baby sister. We all are. As I watch my family sleep, I wonder not for the first time how I got so lucky. I can’t imagine my life without them. I don’t know how I survived before I met Ana. Absolutely nothing in this world means more to me than my family, and I will spend the rest of my life making them happy.

  THE END

  Thank you for reading Ana. I hope you enjoyed it. As an independent author, I rely mainly on word-of-mouth for gaining exposure so I would really appreciate it if you would consider leaving a review on Amazon or Goodreads.

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  Read on for the blurb for the next novella in the Captured Hearts series, Mia, and excerpts from the first novella in the series, Rae, and from a full-length stand-alone novel, Stay With Me.

  Blurb: Mia

  Coming January 2018

  Mia Hart

  We spent one glorious night together in Vegas two years ago, and I haven’t been able to forget it . . . or him. I’ve given up hope of ever seeing him again, and I finally convince myself that it’s time to move forward and take a chance on dating. But Jake unexpectedly shows up in London and turns my world inside out.

  Jake Charlton

  I’ve dreamt of her. I’ve yearned for her. Mia Hart, the woman I haven’t been able to forget. She’s at my brother’s engagement party looking devastatingly beautiful, and suddenly I feel like I can breathe again. Fate has given me a second chance with her and this time, there’s no way I’m letting her go. It’s high time she understands that she’s mine.

  Mia is a stand-alone romance novella with a guaranteed HEA.

  Click her to pre-order a copy from Amazon.

  Excerpt: Rae

  Available now

  Rae Stanton

  After getting burnt by my ex, I’ve decided it’s safer not to get involved with a man. As a rule, I don’t date. Spending one night with the gorgeous Cole Mardsen is as far as I’m willing to go, that is, until he has me wanting to break all my rules for him.

  Cole Mardsen

  I saw her as soon as she walked into the bar, looking beautiful and elegant, and I was immediately drawn to her. But Rae resists me at every turn. She’s about to find out how determined I can be when I want something – and I definitely want her. And not just for one night.

  Rae is a stand-alone romance novella with a guaranteed HEA.

  Rae

  “You’re American,” a deep, smooth and sexy voice says from behind me. I just know he's talking to me. From what I could see before I sat down, I’m the only person sitting at the bar who’s here alone. There’s a couple on my left, and a small group of two women and a man on my right. And how many Americans can there possibly be at a bar in Fitzrovia? Okay . . . maybe a few. Who the hell knows?

  I’m not in the mood for male company. I don’t care how sexy the stranger’s voice is, I’m going to ignore him. I pretend not to hear him, and take a sip of my drink, staring harder at the boring email I was reading. Hopefully, the guy will take the hint and leave.

  He doesn’t.

  He moves from where he was standing behind my left shoulder to my side, and leans on the bar. From my peripheral vision, I see he’s wearing a dark blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up. I also see nice, strong-looking forearms.

  I hear him say to the bartender, “Simon, a beer please, and another raspberry margarita for the lady.”

  Thanks to Mr. Sexy Voice, I’m drinking faster than normal and I’ve almost finished my margarita. For some strange reason, I’m deeply aware of the stranger. So what should be a relaxing evening is turning out to be the opposite.

  Accepting a drink from him would give him the wrong impression, and I have no desire to engage in small talk tonight. I’m certainly in no mood to entertain a guy who may be looking to get laid.

  Fully intending to tell him to take a hike, I look up from my drink to do just that and my gaze collides with his. I am looking at an absolutely gorgeous man with light brown hair and stirring gray eyes. For a moment, I stop breathing. Wow! My gaze moves around his face. This man is incredibly handsome. High cheekbones, a strong jaw and slightly full lips. Shit. I can’t help it, I have to look at the rest of him. He’s tall, maybe about six feet one or two – that’s at least seven inches taller than me. His body is lean and muscular. He’s wearing black trousers with his dark blue shirt, and a Rolex on his wrist. I look back up. He has a panty-melting smile on his face. He looks like he could give me a good time.

  Fuck!

  Simon places the drinks in front of us, and I realize I’m staring at the handsome stranger.

  “Thank you for the drink,” I tell him. What? I’m accepting the drink? And why the hell does my voice sound so husky?

  “The pleasure is mine,” he says. Call me shallow but his voice sounds even better than I previously thought now that I am looking at him. I should have ordered something stronger. He slides a twenty pound note to Simon.

  “Let me guess, you’re a New Yorker,” he says confidently. He’s not asking or looking for confirmation.

  “Yes.” My voice still isn’t back to normal, but I had to respond. This beautiful man is smiling at me. “You’re also American.” With looks like that, I don’t care if he’s from Pluto.

  “Yeah. I’m from Seattle. My family lives there.”

  Family? I glance at his left hand. No ring. I have to ask and I don’t care what he makes of it. I really can’t stand cheats. When you’ve gone through what I have, you’ll never want to experience it again or be the cause of another person’s nightmare.

  “Family? You mean your wife and kids?” I ask, making sure I keep my tone light. He’d be less willing to lie if he doesn’t detect disapproval in my voice.

  He laughs lightly. “No. I’m not married. No girlfriend too,” he says. His eyes are what make me believe him. They look so clear and honest.

  I’m relieved he’s single.

  “You?”

/>   “No husband and no boyfriend.”

  “That’s good to know,” he says with a devastatingly sexy smile.

  I look away from him. I need to take a sip of my drink to moisten my suddenly dry throat. After taking a large sip, I notice a slender brunette and a tall, dark-haired man standing together further down the bar. They’re looking at us. The man has a mildly curious expression but the brunette looks annoyed.

  “Friends of yours?” I ask, nodding towards them.

  “Yeah.” He doesn’t bother turning to look at his friends.

  “They’re looking at you like they expect you to get shut down.” I give him an innocent look. “Poor you. Does that happen often?”

  He lets out a deep chuckle at my question. “Not as often as you’d like, I’m sure.”

  I shrug. “It has nothing to do with me. I’m just feeling bad for you.”

  He gives me a heart-stopping smile. God. This man is handsome. “Good. That means you’ll take pity on me and say yes to giving me your number and to the date I’m about to ask you out on.”

  No way. I’m staying far away from him. Any man that looks like him is guaranteed to be a heart-breaker. “As much as I’d like to help your ego out, I don’t date.”

  With his smile still in place, he studies my face, and I keep my expression impassive. “That’s surprising for someone as beautiful as you.”

  I raise an eyebrow at him, suppressing the surge of pleasure I feel that he finds me beautiful. “Could you be any more unoriginal?”

  “Just being honest,” he says casually. He offers me his hand unexpectedly. “Cole Mardsen.”

  I look down at his big, strong hand. Even his hand is attractive.

  I put my hand in his. His touch sends tingles up my arm and through my body. This man is dangerous, and I’m drawn to him like a moth to a flame. “Rae Stanton.”