EMMA..“Ryan R. Smith! Get back here!” I called out to the small baby boy who waddled around the room butt-naked while I pursued him with his little shorts. He had the nerve to giggle as he led me around the apartment in an attempt to run away from wearing his shorts. “Mama, no! Mama!” he called with a giggle.I couldn’t believe my two-and-a-half-year-old was trying to outrun me. I caught him, and he let out a laugh, half-scared. I blew mouth bubbles on his tummy. “I caught you, baby!”“Ah, that tickles, Mama!” he called to me happily as I laid him on the carpet and put on his pants with a bright smile on my face. He was my joy and everything to me. Luckily, today was Sunday, even though I had missed one of the most important days of my best friend's life. I was sorry I couldn’t come for the engagement.My phone buzzed at that moment, and I reached for it to see if it was a video call from Amy. I picked it up immediately, as I was met with a blinding smile from my friend.“If it isn’
•ROWAN•The engagement party was more like an eye-opener for me that my relationship with my sister Raya had taken a turn for the worst after what happened three years ago.She had begun to trust me less and talk to me less. The thoughts swarmed my mind the minute I was alone in my office, and the only thing that kept me company in my quiet space was the ticking of the clock on my table.My fingers thrummed on my desk as I turned on my swivel chair, thinking about Raya. It had not been long since she had begun working in the office fully as a director.A part of me felt like she only took the job because her fiancé's bar was close to the company, and Amy had become successful in just a short time as her bar had become the talk of the town.But what irked me was that, between the solid months that Raya had been working here, not once had I ever seen her come into my office on her own accord. It made me pause and think deeply, as I was getting this sort of treatment from my baby sister.
Silence.Utter silence as Rowan stared at Emma with shock written on his face. The small shock paled on Emma’s face as she looked at him.The silence was so deep that everything felt muted as they stared at each other. Emma felt like he couldn’t breathe as the pen she had been holding and notepad fell from her hand, and the notebook made a loud thud that made Emma flinch, as that brought her back to her senses. Emma willed her body to move as she backed away from him, but Rowan was fast as his hand came to her wrist to hold it. He wasn’t letting her go anytime soon, and she could see the determination, confusion, and wonder in his eyes as he studied her frame.For years, he hadn’t seen or heard from her, so for sure, it was a huge shock for both of them. But Emma looked more than shocked; she looked like she was being extra careful about something.But, in fact, she was avoiding him and has been avoiding him. For years, she left, and not only did she do that, but she left him a mess t
Pissed was an understatement for how Rowan was feeling; he was seething with rage and felt betrayed by his sister. All this time, he didn't even know what to feel right now; it was still a shock and like a daydream that he had met Emma.It still didn't feel real. Rowan had sat outside the café for a straight hour, hoping that Emma would at least show her face to him once more. She didn't. He could only hold on to the promise as he slid into his car and rode home. And that gave him time to think about how he got her address.His sister Raya knew where she was all along and played it off, making it seem like he was the bad guy and the biggest jerk in the world. He was furious at what he had found out.He raced through the vast city of LA. It wasn't as crazy and noisy as New York City life, and for a moment, he was thankful for the less busy streets as he raced home. Rowan slammed his car door hard. He felt confused and overwhelmed by all the sudden emotions he was feeling. He arrived at
EMMA.I was still in pure shock. I couldn't believe the person I had just run into, or rather, who had found me. My whole body stiffened and stood still the moment I heard his voice and our eyes met. I knew instantly that it was over. The three years of hide-and-seek were over. And now Rowan has found me. I could see the anger in Rowan’s gaze as he stared at me, with many questions heavy at the tip of his tongue. It all felt so fast as I tried to defuse the hostility between Rowan and Eric.A fight might have started, but now as I walked away from the café, I could still feel Rowan’s stare on my head like a laser as Eric led me upstairs.“Emma….. Emma!” I heard my name called clearly as Eric’s voice shattered my train of thought and brought my attention to him.“Yeah?” I called to him as he pointed to Ryan in my hands. Ryan had already fallen asleep in my arms, and I didn’t realize I had been cradling him for so long. “Oh,” I muttered as I walked to my room and laid him on the bed.I
ROWAN..Tick tock.The sound of the grandfather clock grew louder with each second. It felt like an itch in my brain as it ticked loudly.I was surrounded by our branch managers from the Los Angeles branch. Since Emma wanted to meet up after a few days, I kept myself busy, immersed myself back into my work, found and solved problems quickly, and went to all the meetings I had set up, all just to get her out of my head.Fuck.And now, as my fingers tapped against the glass table in the conference room of the Los Angeles branch, I couldn’t wait for it to be over.It was already Tuesday, and I couldn’t help my eyes moving to my watch once in a while to check. My fingers tapped on the table as I got impatient with one of the interns’ incessant speech and repeated the same things I had gotten reports on.“Stop,” I called to the intern, who looked like she was about to pee herself. I couldn’t blame her; I wanted an impromptu meeting with no early announcement. I stood up, and the directors
After Rowan's confrontation with Emma, he rushed back to his car in anger, settling into the driver's seat to gather his thoughts. "This is fucking awful," he muttered as he leaned his head on the steering wheel, closing his eyes tightly with his hands on the wheel.He let out a harsh breath to calm himself, as his mind was still filled with the scene he had just witnessed. "Don’t let this affect you, you are stronger than this.." he told himself as he turned on the ignition of his car and drove away from the café.And God, he was livid. The thought of Emma trying to cut off their relationship forever bugged Rowan so much that he drove his car to an empty parking lot before turning off the engine. He was so pissed that he got out of the car for some fresh air."Shit! Shit! Shit!" Rowan muttered as he paced about the empty parking space until he calmed down and sat back in his car. He watched the orange red sky as it was setting, needing something to calm him down and set his focus on.
A few days had passed since Rowan spoke with his sister about Emma; he had apologized many times on the phone afterward because he hated fighting with Raya and always ended up giving in to his little sister.Now that she was getting married, they might not have completely forgiven him yet, but it was a start, and he knew they were still on good terms when he saw his invitation and airplane tickets for his trip to the Bahamas for Raya’s wedding.He knew that even though his sister Raya had a soft shell and heart, her fiancé Amy was clearly the opposite, especially since her best friend was Emma, who despised him and would rather pull her hair than be left in the same room with him.While she had never said that out loud, Rowan could read it clearly in her gaze and the way she behaved around him. He tried not to let it get to him and hoped that through this wedding, he might have a better relationship with her.He never once hated the idea of Ray being with Amy; love was love, and in a
EPILOGUERowan never knew happiness could be so beautiful; he made sure to shout to the world that Emma and Ryan were his.The moment his mom Layla found out about their rekindled relationship, she was happy for them, and she was all the more glad they settled their differences and finally chose happiness.But even more, she was happy for them to find each other. As the days passed, Rowan was relentless with his joy.Everyone in the park found out about them, and Rowan was more than proud to show that Emma was his.Even though Emma was shy from attention in the beginning, she got used to it because she knew Rowan wouldn’t stop; she had unleashed a beast who never wanted to stop showing love for her.But he also made sure her relationship didn’t affect how hard she worked; she wanted them to see that her being with the president of the King's Corps would not stop her from working.In no time, she was promoted to assistant manager of the planning division after a little over six months o
It still felt surreal to Rowan.He didn’t want to let go of Emma as they kissed; he didn’t expect her to come back, and he wouldn’t have blamed her.Not that he was an asshole to her, but the moment she left with Eric was an eye-opening experience for him as he walked back to his house. His body was weak, his mind was exhausted, and all he wanted to do was drink.He opened a new bottle of wine, taking it straight from the bottle and sowing it into his system.But he couldn’t feel an ounce of it; he was still wide awake, and it felt like hell and torture for him. He was only left with his regrets and dark thoughts. He imagined Eric getting on one knee and proposing; he imagined his son calling Eric dad and them becoming a new family."I'm so sorry, Emma. I regret everything. I regret it all. I'm sorry,” he mutters as he stays in the dark cover of the room, leaning on a wall with his clothes closed. Who would have thought the billionaire extraordinaire had been torn to pieces? He had
"You freaking live here?"Eric calls, his confusion slowly turning to anger as he looks at Emma, who knew she couldn’t lie, and there was no way out of this, he found out."Yeah, I do; that isn’t your problem either, so get lost.""She told you to let go of her, didn’t she? Now you use your money, wealth, and power to stalk her and make her feel uncomfortable?” He snarled, and Eric then rushed over to push Rowan away from Emma, pinning him against the wall. "Haven't you had enough? Haven’t you harassed her enough, you bastard? You’re making life hard enough for her, and now you move close to her to torment her?""Eric, leave him alone; it isn’t like that!”“From what I’m seeing, it’s very much like that, Emma,” he says before he turns back to Rowan. “Leave her alone." He warned."She hasn’t told me to do that, so why should I listen to you?" Rowan rages as he raises his hand, pulling it into a fist and ready to attack Eric, before Emma comes in between them both."I told you to stop!”
"Eric," Rowan says as he looks to Keith, who was as surprised as him, especially since the client wanted everything to be discreet."Mr. Rowan,” Eric called, moving forward to offer a handshake, knowing Rowan couldn’t refuse, especially since the whole room was full of his employees and Eric’s associates.They had to be professional.And even as Rowan tried to concentrate on the meeting, his eyes were still on Eric, who looked smug. Most times he had seen Eric in casual wear, and when he said they had a chain of stores, he paid no mind to it.But even right now, Rowan King couldn’t help but feel intimidated; this man was also rich and ready to take Emma as his, and he even loved her kid too. He tapped on the table.He didn’t hear Keith call him until he was asked, “What do you think about this president?” Keith says with a raised brow and his eyes narrow at his friend, telling him to focus on this project right now.Rowan wanted so much to be leery and say no to this deal, but he knew
Eric?”Emma calls, and Eric smiles at her before he walks forward. “Hey, Emma,” he whispers, putting her on a high, and Emma relishes in the relief that comes with it.He lets go momentarily as she bends down to where Ryan is shopping excitedly. "Hi, Uncle Eric!” He squeals, and Eric picks him up."Look at how you’ve grown in just a little over a month. Dang!” He says this, and Ryan laughs, hugging him."We missed you!"“I did; I missed you guys,” he says, looking deeply into Emma’s eyes. I could see his emotions and see he hadn’t forgotten about his promise or the kiss."Well, come on in!” She opens the door for Eric to take Ryan in as she looks back at Rowan’s house, especially at the fact that Eric had no clue about it. Hell, how was she going to bring it up?"Um, when did you arrive?" She was shut up with a peck on the cheek, or maybe she shouldn’t tell him. She thought.She watches him drop. Ryan, who quickly goes to drop his toys that Layla had given him, says, "Like an hour ago
Emma's pleasure was immense; this time she wasn’t drunk and relived all the pleasure, and their skin merged as one.She let Rowan take her from the entrance of the house to the couch; their naked skins slapped against each other, and her sex ached for more from him.They changed positions until they ended up inside his room, giving each other the last climax of the night before Emma fell on him, her body limp and weak from rising. Rowan kissed her, watching her as her breath calmed and watching her until she slept."God, Emma, only you can be this crazy for you, and I want you so much. I love you, and I hope you can fully trust and forgive me soon,” he mutters, watching her chest rise and fall as she sleeps and until his eyes become drowsy and he falls asleep.They slept for many hours, and this time when Emma woke up, she didn't. She stretched up, quickly shooting up from the bed, but there was no one beside her.She wondered if she hallucinated last night, but this was her bed or he
“What do you think, Emma?” Layla asked as she gazed at Ryan, who was pleading with puppy eyes, if he wanted to stay with Layla.“Can I go with grandma, please, mama?” He asked Emma, and she could see nothing wrong with the request, especially since it was just one day."I'll make sure to bring him in on Sunday,” Layla said, and Emma could see that she wanted bonding time with her grandson.“Don’t worry about it, Layla; I’ll come by on Sunday to visit and take him,” she said to Layla, and she could see the relief that she was safe and the happiness on Ryan’s face.“Alright, then since the event is pretty much done, we will be going. Ryan, we are going to have so much fun at our sleepover today.""I can’t wait for grandma; bye Mama, bye Papa!” Ryan waved as he and Layla went into the car. That made Emma aware of what she had done; she was not alone with the subject of her very much erotic dream."Well, that was surprising. Shall we go too?” He said this to Emma, who tried not to fiinch,f
Before Emma knew it, she was taken to her room and pampered and powdered up by Raya, who was more than excited to help, even though she was nursing a hangover.Layla had chosen a casual yet soft look: a pastel purple gown reaching her mid-thigh, her hair left to curl around her shoulder, and white sandal heels that matched her bag. She couldn’t thank Raya and Amy enough.Especially when she saw how handsome her son was in a dark blue top and black pants. He looked at her and exclaimed, "Mama, you look so pretty." Ryan squealed excitedly."So do you, baby; you’re so handsome," she called to him. Her phone then buzzed, and it was Rowan telling her he would be there in a few minutes. Her belly churned with excitement but also with nerves.She was going out with the man who she had a sex dream about; yes, they had slept together before, but Emma couldn’t help but feel like she had committed a crime about it. “..Emma!” Amy called, breaking her thoughts and getting her attention back as she
“Deeper,” Emma moaned as she felt Rowan’s tongue against her skin, lapping at her core, and it delved in, making her moan out loud.“Fuck, ugh!” She moaned in pleasure , as Rowan held her legs apart, she clutched on to his head and felt his hot breath against her aching sex.His hands then traveled up her waist, causing Emma to shudder as he pulled her closer, their lips meshing back together passionately, leaving her breathless.“Rowan,” Emma moaned as she felt his hand grab her ass, his lips tracing from her mouth to her cheeks, kissing the nape of her neck before biting down hard."You're so sexy for me and ready for me," Rowan moaned in her ear, and Emma’s body responded to him. “I want you to turn around for me and present your ass to me, love,” he whispered in her ear as Emma turned around.But as she lay there, waiting for his touch and his cock to penetrate her, she roused herself, feeling the anticipation build and her breath catch.She felt the warmth on her back and his hot