When Rhiannon cried out again and then, drawn by his warmth, cuddled against him, Paxton hardly dared to breathe for fear he’d startle her. Then, her hand slid across his thigh and a flame went through him. In an instant, he was as hard as a rock. With her soft body lying against him, it was much too easy to forget why he should dislike her, much too easy to remember the heat of her response.“Pax…” she whispered. “Pax...”“I’m here,” he said, worried that he’d awakened her somehow.“I’m... pregnant... I wanted to tell you... but I didn’t know how. You were mad…”“It’s okay.” He looked down at her. Her lashes were shut. Paxton relaxed when he realized she was only talking in her sleep.“I know about the baby, darlin’,” he whispered near her ear. “It’s alright. Everything is going to be alright. I’ll take care of you.”“Oh, Pax… I wanted so much to tell you… I wanted you to be happy about it. As I am…”“I am happy about it.” Paxton was happy his
Hey, Y'all!!!!! First of all, I wanted to thank you all for the incredible support and motivation you've offered me since I started this story. You've been nothing but ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. You gave me back the will to ride again the creative rollercoaster of writing. I'm extremely grateful to each and every one of you for it. I tried to publish something yesterday, but I'm experiencing some internet problems and I had to press 'pause'. Still, this little break was a blessing in disguise, offering me the possibility to give the drafts another look and do a much better editing. (you, guys, deserve nothing but the best). I'm preparing for this weekend 3 or 4 chapters (I haven't decided yet) for you to go through. So, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, be patient with me until tomorrow and I promise you won't be disappointed with the result. Thank you so much again! Baci & Abbracci, Emma.
The moment she found herself in front of the “King’s Wish” main entrance, Rhiannon knew asking Paxton to take her there had been a huge mistake. She felt an intense wave filled with rage, frustration, pain, and sadness hitting her, submerging her soul, mind, and body. Was she trapped in a strange time loop, doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over again? “Oh, God…” she whispered, feeling a little dizzy. “Are you alright?” he asked slowly and placed a hand on her arm, trying to give her his support. “Is it the baby? Do you need something? A chair? A glass of water?” Her breath had locked in her throat as Paxton watched her closely. A bit annoyed by his sudden care and concern, after the bad things he kept telling her since the night of the accident, Rhiannon nodded and took a little step away from him. “Don’t do that, please. I’m fine. I can take care of myself, dammit. I don’t need a babysitter.” “Rhiannon,” he warned in a low growl, “stop acting lik
After ten long minutes of talking on the phone, Paxton joined her. He had a frustrated expression on his face. Maybe it had to do with Kieran’s funeral. Or maybe, because of her, he had to postpone some of his personal activities.“Is everything alright?” she asked.“Yes…” Paxton replied, taking a sit at the table. “It was the funeral home. Some last-minute changes. Nothing for you to worry about.” Rhiannon nodded slightly.“Paxton… Uhm… What about Santi? Do you know anything about him? I mean, the funeral…”“It’s been already taken care of. The funeral, the trip to Mexico, everything. His parents want to bury him there.”“Oh… I see.” In life, Kieran and Santiago were two peas in a pot. They were so in sync, so caught up in each other. They were more than best friends, they were more than lovers. They were two halves of the same whole: Kieran couldn’t live without Santiago and vice versa. So, hearing about two separate funerals was so painful, so abnormal
“Are you nuts?” As Paxton’s gaze followed the steep staircase up several stories into the gloom, he heard Rhiannon struggling to get her key out of the heavy interior door that had closed behind them. When she caught up with him, he whirled on her.“There is no elevator in this damn building.”“This is one of the reasons I chose to live in this Victorian brownstone… Besides, there are only three flights…”“‘Only three flights,’ she says… Do you hate elevators?” Paxton asked, remembering their last ‘trip’ straight to his penthouse.“I’m not very much into small spaces or boxy rooms…”“How come?”“When I was a kid, an older cousin had locked me in a closet and left me there while he went outside to play with other kids. He also turned off the light, so… this is why I hate dark, small rooms.” She could still remember John’s gloating smile right before he’d shut down the door. Paxton’s mouth tightened.“I’m sorry, Rhiannon…” he said calmly. “I understand your reluctanc
“Can we do something about it?”“You can take anything to court, but if she puts up a fight, which she probably will, it will cost you more than it’s worth,” Teddy said. “I don’t have to tell you that family lawsuits are very unpleasant emotionally as well as financially. When I expressed my concerns about these documents, Kieran made it very clear that this was what he wanted. In fact, he insisted that I promise to tell you that very thing if anything should happen to him. He seemed very anxious to take care of his child.”“He mentioned me, did he?”“Yes, he did. As for the new will, Kieran left the bulk of his estate to his best friend Santiago. But in the event of Santiago predeceasing him, which is what has happened, you still get everything as in his old will.” Now, that was odd. Paxton would have thought a man anxious enough to sign his will on his wedding day would have left his brand-new wife everything.“Except Rhiannon gets her five million dollars,” Paxton said.“
He was once again back in that damn place. At the entrance, he found a tall, thin guy, probably the maître d’ judging by how he was dressed and his behavior.“I’m looking for Rhiannon. Where the hell is she?” he asked in a growling tone.“And who wants to know exactly?” the man arrogantly asked Paxton.“None of your fucking business!” he exclaimed. “Where is she?” he demanded again, entering the dining room. The maître d’ placed a hand on his arm, trying to stop him. Paxton almost pinned the man to the wall. He looked at the man’s hand, then at his face.“Gabe, right? Look, man, you have two options: you can show me exactly where I can find Rhiannon or you can lose your hand,” he said in a menacing voice. “The ball is in your court. What’s it gonna be?” He gave Paxton a frightened look.“Maybe she is either in her office or in the kitchen…”“Thank you,” he replied coldly. Paxton entered the noisy, crowded dining room of “King’s Wish”,
His cruel words hit their intended mark, but she swallowed tightly and held her head high.“Well, this is killing me too…” she said. “But, since you brought up this matter, let’s see how things are going right now. This evening, around 6:30, while I was in my office, eating and resting obediently, like you ‘kindly’ demanded in your text, who should I see but you? On TV… With one of the world’s most beautiful women. Tori… whatever… And she was all over you…”“I had a late business meeting that I forgot all about. And Tori was my date.”“Oh, I see… I see… Well, since you kind of accused me of not ‘suffering’ enough, let me tell you that you didn’t look the least bit haunted to me. And since you weren’t going to be at your penthouse… why should I sta