Skylar lay still, acutely aware of his gaze upon her. She could feel every nerve in her body pick up the sexual undercurrent that pulsated out of him. It was impossible to sleep under the circumstances. After ten minutes, she gave up and got up to go but her glance fell on Christian’s face. His eyes were closed, and it seemed he was indeed sleeping! She noticed the dark circles under his eyes, as if he had been overworking himself for the last couple of days. His lips were parted and his thick, curled lashes cast shadows on his cheekbones, leaving her under a spell. It was a sin to be so good-looking! Was she committing a grave mistake by agreeing to have a contract marriage with him? Although she didn’t wish to acknowledge it, there was an undeniable attraction building up between them with every passing minute. She didn’t want to succumb to the temptation. The man was a mystery! Why was he hell-bent on marrying her when there was no dearth of women willing to die to be his wife? D
Shocked at the roots of her hair, Skylar turned to gape at Christian. Did he bring her here for their engagement? “Skye, come, I have something important to show you,” said Lillian, pulling her away with her. Skylar glared at Christian all the way, her accusatory gaze holding him captive. He stood still, holding her gaze, feeling a swirl of emotions deep inside him. Although he wanted to admit his feelings to her, to explain why he kept it from her, nothing came out of his lips. He simply watched the hatred reflected in her beautiful eyes. “Chris, I’m so happy for you,” said Sebastian, coming forward to embrace his younger sibling. He was the only one who knew the depth of Christian’s feelings for Skylar right from the beginning. Lillian found out much later by chance when she overheard them. “Thanks, bro. It’s all because of you.” They say down with Caleb, Grandpa Ben, and Skylar’s grandparents while Christian wondered where Lilian took Skylar to. “Lilly bought a few dresses for
His words left her dumbfounded, just as he had expected. He grabbed her hand, taking advantage of her momentary confusion. They looked like a couple in love as they strolled towards the beach, hand in hand. “Everyone is staring at us, Christian. Can you leave my hand?” She tried to extricate her hand from his hold but he gripped it further, refusing to let go. “No. Let them stare. They might be jealous of you!” Skylar turned to see the amused glint in his eyes. “Why would they be jealous of me?” “Maybe because you’re the only one who’s getting to marry me!” Skylar scoffed at his enormous ego! As if she was marrying him willingly! Wasn’t he the one who was forcing her to marry him? “You’re the one who’s lucky that I agreed to marry you. If it wasn’t for our parents’ last wish, I would never have gone ahead with this.”“Then we should be indebted to our parents, right?” he chuckled as she wrenched her hand free of his hold and walked on. “On the contrary, I’m shocked by their deci
Christian trudged towards his room late in the night. He felt annoyed with Sebastian for choosing tonight for their meeting. It was already 12:40 in the night and he was sure Skylar would be fast asleep. Still, the prospect of sleeping next to her excited him and he quietly stepped inside their room. He glanced at the bed, but to his surprise, Skylar was nowhere to be seen. Was she in the washroom? Had she been waiting for him? He checked the washroom but strangely; it was empty too. Where did Skylar go? Did she move out of his room? He checked the closet and found her belongings missing. So she had moved out! Well! She might have forgotten that the hotel belonged to him. Quickly freshening up, he called the reception desk, and within minutes, he received the keys to her room. Using them, he unlocked her room right next door with a victorious smile on his face. “Where will you escape, Skylar? I’ll seek you out every time!” he whispered, his eyes twinkling with relief at the sight o
Christian tipped her head back to allow his tongue to dominate the wild and punishing kiss. He swirled his tongue against hers, devouring every recess hungrily. It wasn’t just any passionate kiss. It was branding. He wanted to punish her for fighting him since the time they met. He wanted her to know who she belonged to. The savage kiss took her by surprise, leaving her dizzy and disturbed. All the fight left her body, and she swayed as if intoxicated by the deep, thrusting pulls of his tongue. Circling his bare shoulders to keep herself from falling, she couldn’t help but dig her fingers into their enormous strength. A gasp escaped her when he punishingly bit her lower lip, soothing the sting with his warm tongue. Instead of feeling annoyed by the punishing kiss, a shock of pleasure coursed through her traitorous body, leaving her craving for more. It was her first kiss, and it robbed her of her senses. Should she be happy with her reaction to his advances?Christian’s breath caugh
Skylar dashed into the washroom to avoid Christian. Hopefully, he would leave by the time she freshened up. She was wrong! Even after ten minutes, she could hear him in the room. What did he want? Why couldn’t he just leave her alone? There was a knock on the washroom door, startling her. Gingerly, she opened the door to find him just outside. “What is it, Christian? Stop bothering me. I refuse to give you what you want from me.” Despite her clarifications, he stood with a smile on his lips. “And what do you think I want from you?” he prodded her. It made her color profusely. Would she have to spell it out for him? “You want another kiss? You want to have me here right now, but you know what? I will never give you what you want. There won’t be any physical intimacy in our contract marriage,” she rambled on while Christian watched her with amusement. “We’ll see about that later. Right now, I just want to pee. Can I please use the washroom if you’re done hiding from me?” Skylar gap
“In your dreams! You might have gotten away with a surprise engagement but not a surprise wedding!” She carried her food back to the table but this time she didn’t sit with Christian. The empty seat beside Lillian attracted her and she occupied it immediately. Christian sat down diagonally opposite her but his eyes were more on her than on his food. “Hello, dear! Has Christian told you about me? I’m his favorite aunt Theresa from Connecticut. I’m so happy to see him settle down. When he was young, he hated the idea of marriage. I couldn’t imagine he would settle down with a girl of his parents' choice.”“People change as they grow, Aunt Theresa. I’m sure Christian has too. He was never averse to the concept of marriage. He just wanted to marry the person he liked!” said Lillian. Skylar gaped at her as the interesting piece of news seeped into her brain. So did Christian like someone?“Had he chosen someone at such a young age?” chuckled Aunt Theresa with disbelief. “Age is just a nu
Skylar gasped with shock, not having expected it so soon. Christian plunged his tongue deep inside her mouth just as he had warned her about. The sexual tension hovering around them seemed to intensify within the four walls of the room. He could feel his arousal tighten with suppressed need straining to satisfy itself. His movements were aggressive as he molded her against the hard length of him. An overwhelming possessiveness took over him and he kissed her with abandon, demanding a response from her. Finally, her arms circled around his shoulders and another gasp escaped her. It was a gasp of pleasure this time! Yet she didn’t kiss him back! Christian tipped her head back to relish her sweet mouth to the fullest. “Kiss me or I won’t stop!” he hissed, breaking the kiss momentarily. Couldn’t she realize how much he was burning for her? Instead of tempting her to give in to him, he was falling prey to the temptation. “No, let me go, Christian!” she gritted out, feeling totally disor
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