Skylar gaped at the hot, yet disgusting, man with surprise. He really didn’t mean that, right? “I would rather die than sleep with you!” She tried hard to push him away, but he didn’t budge even an inch. Strangely, his nearness caused butterflies to dance in her stomach. She trained her eyes to focus on his face, but it was a mammoth task. With his sinful muscles on display, pressing against her delicate frame, she felt fiery hot indeed. “Don’t say things you can’t do! We will marry soon and we will definitely sleep together!” His eyes shone with determination, making her seethe with fury. “I don’t have to listen to your crap. Just get off me.” “No, I don’t want you running out of my room now. Grandpa is in his study. Stay until he retires to his room.” Skylar gaped at the man. What would he do with her until then? She wouldn’t survive so long with his unwavering dark gaze checking her out all the time. “Nice try, but you won’t get what you’re aiming for. Get off me right now!” s
Skylar paced the floor in her room unable to get Christian’s words out of her head. She couldn’t understand half the words he spoke. Although she accepted his challenge on the spur of the moment, she didn’t know what it meant. What would he do? His words always made her furious. Why did she lose her composure around him? Why couldn’t she stay immune to the man, like he didn’t exist? Her temper, and her tantrums worked with everyone except Christian St. James. What did he mean by his parting shot? She wouldn’t get engaged to him now! The wish to revolt was so strong that Skylar contemplated ways to escape the persistent man. However, each time, thoughts of Granny’s condition made her change her mind. A knock on her door brought her back to reality. She opened the door to her grandpa. “The ambulance is here, Skye. Let’s go.” Skylar followed her grandpa out to her granny’s room. Christian was already there with the paramedic, helping him out. Skylar and her grandpa picked up their s
Skylar couldn’t choose a dress to wear to her first date. It wasn’t the type of date she would have preferred with a man she liked. It was the complete opposite! She didn’t know what to expect out of it. Should she wear a formal dress or go for a casual look? Finally, she settled for a semi-formal look, choosing a black sheath dress instead. In another fifteen minutes, she was ready and waiting impatiently for Christian. Had he forgotten about it? There were still five minutes left, and she went to see her granny. Her grandpa had gone out to his fitness club after days and hadn’t returned yet. “Ah, Skye! You look lovely, my dear! Dresses suit you better than those ugly jeans you always wear,” said Granny. Skylar rolled her eyes since she wasn’t the one who preferred dresses. She hardly had any. Her wardrobe was full of jeans in all shades and lengths. The only dresses she had were those that her friends or family have gifted.“Thank you, granny. I prefer jeans, though.” “I know you
“How do I not know about this? How could you discuss me with Caleb?” Skylar asked, feeling upset with her brother. She couldn't believe Caleb had kept secrets from her.“No one knows except me and Sebastian. Lillian told us.” Christian knew she was getting worked up, but he had promised to open up if she agreed to go on a date with him. He had intended to tell her more, but maybe she wasn’t ready for his confession yet. It might complicate things between them. The server arrived for their order and the discussion ended for a while. After he left, Skylar looked up at Christian, her eyes full of curiosity.“So what else did you discuss about me?” Christian smiled at her enthusiasm. Could he tell her exactly what they discussed? Maybe he could, if not all of it. He could tell her some of it. “We discussed our wedding.” He watched her jaw-dropped look with amusement. “Who’s wedding?” “Yours and mine!” Skylar couldn’t believe the bombshells he had been throwing at her since they arrived
“How do you know them? How do you know so much about me?” Christian smiled at her question but preferred not to confess any more secrets. He needed more time with her. Maybe this would force her to agree to another date with him.“You will need to get engaged to me to know that.”“Oh!” Skylar stared at the enormous expanse of water in front of her while contemplating his reply. No, she couldn’t see herself getting engaged to him this early. She needed more time to get adjusted to the thought. “Then I’m afraid it has to wait. I’m not ready to get engaged now.” Christian let out a sigh and pulled his feet out of the water. He hadn’t expected her to still keep harping on the same thing after knowing his motive. Grandpa Ben couldn’t pull the business any longer. Therefore, he needed to get engaged urgently to get access to the business. Couldn’t she understand how important it was? “What happened? Are we leaving?” she asked with confusion, pulling her feet out as well. Christian frowne
After Four Years“Are we there yet?” asked granny Miriam excitedly while the car sped from the airport to Caleb’s house in Cleveland, OH. “We'll reach in five minutes, granny,” said Caleb, as he drove through the traffic. Skylar watched out of the window, excited to get away from New York after two long years. Her granny was better and her grandpa wanted to relocate to Cleveland. Having freshly graduated, Skylar had no career goals at the moment. She just wanted to relax and enjoy life for a few days before deciding what she would do. “Nothing has changed since my last visit,” she said, liking the place better than New York. “Yes! Except I live in a quiet residential area now. It’s more peaceful there than in the previous neighborhood.” “Oh, don’t you get bored in a quiet residential place?” she gaped at him, feeling a little disappointed. “No, there’s no time to get bored with the twins around. It’s like a mad race at home and we are forever haggard. You’ll see,” said Caleb wit
Christian wrapped up the emergency work at his hotel, SJ Metropolitan Suites Cleveland, their flagship hotel in Cleveland. It had been almost four years since he took over their renowned chain of hotels. Headquartered in New York, their multinational business group, Saint James Intercontinental Suites flourished under the guidance of the two brothers. After Sebastian's return, their grandpa completely retired from work and spent most of his time gardening or at his club. Therefore, it surprised him when he asked Christian to rush immediately to Cleveland to handle an emergency. Unable to ignore his grandpa’s order, he arrived in Cleveland. He didn’t get a moment to spend with Lillian and the twins, having to rush to work.He strode out of the conference room towards his office to pack up and leave. He was relieved that he could handle the problem efficiently. A faulty architectural defect on the staircase caused an accident. The guest sued the hotel and Christian had to intervene. He
An idea hit Skylar, and she pushed him away with all her might. “Why would I? I will marry him just like Sebastian will marry Erica.” Seeing his momentary distraction, she sprang up from the bed and grabbed her suitcase. She just needed to escape from the room before everyone else woke up. Christian was faster and dashed to block the door. “You’re mine! I won’t allow you to marry another!” he barked, mad with fury. “I will, and you won’t be able to do a thing.” She met his gaze while trying to get to the door, but he stood like a pillar, not budging an inch. It seemed nothing had changed between them even after four years. He was still the most stubborn creature on earth, hell-bent on his wish to marry her. Why? He was handling his business for the last four years. Why did he still wish to marry her even after she admitted to being in a relationship? “I will kill the man and marry you forcefully if that’s what it takes!” Skylar’s jaws dropped with shock! Was he a wolf in sheep’s d
Five Years Later “Wow! You’re looking so gorgeous, Skye! You look fresh as a daisy, like a virgin bride, marrying for the first time,” said Sienna while the others agreed. The last five years had been a roller-coaster ride for all of them. Motherhood and career had taken a toll on them. None of them could make it on Skylar’s first wedding anniversary. Therefore, she had dropped the idea of a reunion and party. Now, after five years, they planned to renew their vows in the presence of all their loved ones. The wedding would take place in the neighborhood church while the reception at Escapades. Maddox supervised everything to perfection, and they didn’t have to check even. “I know, right? Look at me! My hair is shedding from handling Axel and Alexander! I don’t understand how you guys handle your twins and husband,” complained Eva while fixing Skylar’s veil. “Maybe because Lucas isn’t like your Alexander!” said Sienna with a chuckle. They all giggled knowingly while Eva groaned.“I
“I’m glad you cleared your misunderstandings, Skylar. Now you can connect with them to your heart’s content like before,” said Christian. He led her towards their room to freshen up for the reception party to start in an hour. “I was very upset by their behavior at first, but later everything fell into place. They don’t want a treat now with their pregnancies. Why don’t we renew our vows on our first anniversary? We can plan it like a dream wedding and invite everyone!” “Great idea! We’ll do that. Now give me a kiss before we go down.”Skylar complied, capturing his lips in a gentle and lingering kiss. It portrayed her blissfully happy state. She was indeed now at peace with everything around her. “I want to see you this happy always!” he whispered against her lips. “I’m happy. Your presence in my life makes me happy!” He kissed her passionately, and Skylar gaped at her smudged makeup when he released her. “Oh no! You ruined my makeup.” She grabbed a tissue and started wiping it
The response of their family overwhelmed Christian and Skylar. Even Erica was over the moon with happiness to know that Skylar was also pregnant. “I wish you too have twins like me.” “I wish the same too,” said Skylar unable to tell her she wanted both: a boy and a girl. “So I’ll have to plan two baby showers later,” said Lillian excitedly.“You can club it together. It’ll be easier,” suggested Erica. “Yes, we can plan it in your seventh month. It’ll be Skye's sixth.” They all agreed to the idea. They could plan the date and venue later at everyone’s convenience. Vivienne and Blade were the most excited at the prospect of having baby cousins. After spending three days with their family, they left for Miami Beach, where Hayley and Ashton had planned a beach wedding. Ashton had inherited a beach-facing mansion there from his former mentor and employer, Simon Baylor. In fact, Simon Baylor left the entire Baylor Group to Ashton after his death. They were happy for him since he deser
The next few weeks sailed by amidst fun, work, and lots of special heated moments between them. Christian planned a date every weekend and each of them was unique in their own way. Skylar was now quite comfortable around his group of reckless friends who frequented their home. Skylar didn’t mind, since her friends were the same. Christian’s therapy was going well. He had improved a lot in the past few weeks. The limp was almost gone and he could run unlike earlier. With the strength back in his legs, Christian was unstoppable. He trained with renewed energy now. At work, Skylar made excellent progress, making her mentor Mr. Fairbanks proud of her achievements. He was confident she could take over from him completely in three months. They kept in touch with their family back in Cleveland and New York. Erica was doing fine and had joined work. Expecting twin boys, they were excitedly on the lookout for names. Skylar’s grandparents were still staying with them in New York. Caleb and L
“When did you get all this done?” asked Skylar, noticing the mouth-watering fare served before them. With the romantic lighting and the soothing decor, the place looked more magical than ever before. “This time I sought Joanna’s help. I would have liked to do everything myself, but didn’t get time.” His eyes twinkled, catching the rays of the lights hanging around them. They lured her into their magical depths, promising her a night of passion soon to follow. “Still it blew my mind away! I must say Joanna did a wonderful job!” “Yes, she’s quite a pro at it!” There was an understated excitement in the air as they enjoyed a quiet moment with one another. “Yes, we can make use of her talent more!” Christian chuckled, feeding her a piece of the roasted chicken Katherine had made for them. “Even Katherine has done a wonderful job. So are we going to Escapades tomorrow?” Skylar didn’t want to go to the club. She was apprehensive about meeting the rest of his reckless friends. She prefe
Skylar gaped at him for a moment, absorbing the bombshell he had just dropped. Then a slow smile spread across her face as realization dawned on her. With almost all her friends pregnant, she felt left out whenever they discussed, unable to contribute to their pregnancy woes. Now she could! She just hoped she got pregnant! “Really? I want to get pregnant with your baby!” she gasped, making Christian’s jaws drop with surprise. He hadn’t expected her to be so eager to embrace motherhood since he wasn’t eager to embrace fatherhood so early. He wanted to enjoy his married life for at least two years before planning to have children. “I wanted children too, but not so early.” He sighed, since it was actually God’s will. They had no say in the matter. “If it has to happen early, it will. It’s destiny, Christian.” “Yes, you’re right. It’s no use pondering over it. Come closer baby!” He grinned at her, pulling her closer, right into his lap. The water calmed them, invigorated their minds,
With a savage sense of possession, Christian captured her lips, shoving his tongue into her mouth. The intensity of the kiss took her by surprise and she moaned with pleasure. He captured her feminine moans of bliss, swirling his tongue and devouring her hungrily. It was more of a kiss to vent out the pent-up hunger he had kept buried for so long. After getting a taste of her, he had been addicted to her sweetness, but Erica’s health prevented them from enjoying the trip. She kissed him back, making him groan as a shock of pleasure spiraled through his body. He wanted more now! His fingertips skimmed along her throat, trailing down to the buttons of her top. In a split second, he undid them and eased the top off her body. Next went the rest of her clothes. Skylar lifted her eyes to meet his glittering, lust-filled gaze. He gently cupped her breasts, feeling the voluptuous mounds that overflowed in his hands. Pressing his thumb over a taut peak, he sucked the other into his mouth. H
Christian was sitting in the reception room waiting for her when she walked into the house. “So, how did the wedding go? Did Alexander whisk Eva away with him?”“Yes, he did. There was war, but no bloodshed thankfully! I’ll get myself a drink. It was too much for a day!” She got a bottle of water and emptied its contents. Then she explained everything that happened to Christian. However, her relief was short-lived. Erica was again critical, and they re-admitted her in the middle of the night. “You can go back and rest, Skylar. I’m here,” said Christian, as they sat outside the Emergency Unit. “No, I can’t leave you alone here.” She knew his condition. It wasn’t very good either. He needed more rest than she did.For the next two days, they took turns at the hospital. Skylar didn’t get time to catch up with her friends anymore. They eagerly waited for Sebastian’s return. After five days, they brought Erica home. She was pregnant with twins and her condition was critical with both f
They reached Bellevue Hospital after an hour. Skylar immediately inquired after Eva, but it was strange she had taken a long leave for almost a fortnight. Was it because of her wedding to Alexander? “She is pregnant and her wedding is coming up!” the nurse informed her. Skylar was shocked to hear the news. She knew about her wedding, but not about her pregnancy. The last time she connected with Alyssa, she only found out about her upcoming wedding. Even Hayley cribbed about her own love life. So who was Eva marrying? How was it she didn’t know? Did Eva find her happiness at last with Alexander Van Every? “Let’s go to see Erica,” said Christian, leading her away from the neonatal department. They went to the emergency department and met Sebastian in the lobby. “I was waiting for you,” said a haggard-looking Sebastian. “How is she now?” asked Skylar. “She’s still on drips.” “How did her health deteriorate so much?” asked Christian worriedly. “She was exceptionally nauseous. It t