Bred By the CEO

“This must be heaven,” she said, staring off toward the ocean.

His travel agent had picked the perfect spot. It was everything he’d hoped for, especially on such short notice. Once they started fighting, her morale dropping, he knew it was time to get the hell away from the city. He wanted to nurture their relationship, give their love a chance to grow without the backdrop of real life ruining things.

But he couldn’t protect her forever.

She said she could handle it and didn’t want to be coddled, but he cared about her too much. He needed a way to silence his father, to put him in his place once and for all so they could go on living their lives. They’d be a married couple soon, and that meant a lot to him.

“Heaven isn’t a place,” he said. “It’s wherever I am as long as I’m with you.”

She smiled, her eyes softening.

“We have been spending a lot of time together, haven’t we?”

“Nothing wrong with that. I like you by my side.”

“Even at work?” she asked.

“Yes, even at work. Or don’t you remember all the filthy things you let me do to you in my office?”

“Oh, I remember.” She smirked, but it faded quickly. “I’m talking about work though, like my position as PA.”

“Do you want to stay my PA?”

“You know I do,” she said.

“Then it’s yours. For as long as you want it.”

He swam over to the infinity edge to get the best view, motioning for her to follow.

“That’s not what you want though,” she said. “You’d prefer Ross. I mean, I understand because he has years of experience in the position.”

“Don’t you like him?” Darius asked.

“Of course. He’s my second-favorite person at the office. But I feel like you’re only letting me stay as your PA out of pity or duty since we’re getting married.”

He put a finger to her lips. “I told you why. I don’t want you to stress or have to deal with ignorant assholes day in, day out. That’s all. I can find a million other positions for Ross at the company if you want to keep the job.”

“Okay.”

“Now, no more business talk? The whole reason we’re here is to mend our relationship, forget all the spotlight for just a little bit. Besides, I’m getting hungry. There are dozens of incredible restaurants nearby.”

“I never want us to fight,” she said. “It scares me, makes me think things could fall apart with just one bump in the road.”

“That’s never going to happen. If I have to, I’ll take you on vacation every time we have an issue. Once I committed to you, I didn’t do it lightly. I promise you that, Rose. I play for keeps. As my PA, you should know that once I have my sights on something, I’m relentless.”

He kissed her forehead, then tucked her in close.

Darius knew full well that Rose had lived an insecure life. He wanted to provide so much more for her than memories of changing homes every few weeks or months with nothing to ground her. He’d be her rock, and nothing would get in the way of their marriage. Nothing.

“I love you,” she said. “You make me feel safe. I still don’t know what you saw in me.”

He huffed. “You’re a lot younger than me, gorgeous, and intelligent. I think I’m the lucky one in this deal.”

Darius didn’t measure people’s importance by money or status and certainly not the color of their skin. He was nothing like his family.

“I hope these four days feel like a lifetime,” she said.

“This may be a vacation, but that doesn’t mean any of this has to stop when we go home. Spending time together, going out to eat, taking time out for ourselves, that’ll be a normal part of our marriage.”

“I like the sound of that.”

He only hoped things hadn’t gone downhill since they’d left the country. Rose may claim to be ready to handle anything, but he knew how brutal his father and his team could be. Darius had already gone through this with his younger sister when he’d disowned her and smeared her name. No way did he want that for Rose.

Chapter Twelve

Four nights was never enough, not for Rose, and she hoped not for her soon-to-be husband. The moment they arrived back at his condo, though, packages had been waiting for them. It would seem Darius had been busy even when they were supposed to be enjoying a break away from the office.

Wedding dress samples, catalogs, flowers, a variety of menus, and so many other things were waiting for her. There were many people interested in the marriage of Darius Blackwood, and it was going to be one of the main events of the year. People wanted the accolade and attention for dealing with it. They were fighting to offer their services for free.