Yours Completely (Billionaires and Brides 1)

“I have Dr. Verner on retainer,” he explained. “I've already paid for his services.”

“But...” I still felt like we were taking advantage.

“And as you are so fond of pointing out, I am a billionaire after all,” he reminded me. He moved so that he could look me in the face, his gray eyes bright and the moonlight frosting the tips of his hair. The corners of my mouth twitched upwards. “There, I knew there was a smile in there.”

I smiled a little bigger. He was serious. And so wonderful that I wanted to cry again.

“Now, tell me about the painting you were looking at yesterday,” he commanded, pulling me back to his chest. “Tell me about your Paris plans.”

I knew he was just trying to take my mind of my worries and I loved him for it. I felt warm and gooey inside because he had remembered our conversion. Like it had mattered to him. Chad had never asked me about it, and my Dad had heard it all so many times that he had long ago stopped asking. I relaxed into him, pressing my cheek against his chest and feeling the rise and fall of his lungs, and then I began to tell him my dreams.

Sunrise Kisses: Chapter 15

Water splashed at my feet, waking me from the most amazing dream. I had dreamt that I had fallen asleep in Bastian's arms, telling him all my dreams. It had been wonderful.

And then I realized it wasn't a dream. I was out on the beach, wrapped up in Bastian's arms with our back against a big rock and the ocean rolling towards us. I shifted slightly, feeling the grit of the sand beneath my calves. The water was cool and made me shiver a little, but Bastian was warm beside me.

“Morning, sleepy-head,” he said softly. His voice was gravelly, as if he too had talked too much before falling asleep. I loved the idea of sleeping with him, the both of us wandering the world of dreams together.

Pre-dawn light filled the sky with gray promise. Soon the pinks and golds of sunrise would peek up over the horizon and banish the remaining stars from the sky. I couldn't remember when I had fallen asleep, but I knew I hadn't slept for very long. The two of us had talked for hours, and my sore, overused throat attested to not enough rest.

“You're going to miss your paddle-board session,” I murmured, looking up at the sky. Pink was now the dominant color.

r /> “This makes it worth missing,” he whispered, nuzzling my hair and breathing in the scent of my shampoo.

I took in a deep contented breath. Bastian was warm and strong behind me and the waves were soothing. This was a perfect moment.

I turned to smile at Bastian, wanting to share in the morning's perfection. He was so beautiful that I couldn't help but stare. His eyes matched the sky behind him, a gray with just enough blue to make it soft. Even the scar along his cheek was softened in the morning light.

“Do you always go out at the dawn?” I asked, memorizing his face.

“I like seeing the world come up new.” He nodded, his eyes going to the horizon and waiting there for something to happen. “The light washes everything and gives a fresh start. It's the end of the dark.” He dropped his eyes back from the horizon to look at me. “It's the one time of day that I feel like anything is possible.”

I smiled, reaching up to touch his cheek. He had a light stubble, but I didn't mind. I wondered how he didn't see how much he made possible every day. He had accomplished so much. He had come from a bad situation and made the impossible happen. It made my heart ache that he still felt he needed the sunrise to banish the dark.

My fingers touched the scar running down his face, grazing the raised skin. He froze and I tried to pull away, but instead he captured my hand in his and pressed my palm to his cheek.

“You haven't asked about them,” he said quietly, his gray eyes serious and full of shadow.

I looked down, trying to avoid his eyes and instead seeing the lines of past pain hiding under his shirt collar. “I didn't want to be rude,” I mumbled. I figured they were something in his past that he didn't want to talk about, especially not to some random girl.

“Ask,” he commanded. I looked up, unsure if he meant it. The sky was turning a pale violet behind him, but his eyes were clear and he still had my palm pressed to his cheek.

I swallowed hard. “How did you get them? What happened?”

“The car accident that killed my parents—I was in the backseat.” His eyes never wavered from mine, though they did take on a distance. “None of us were wearing our seat belts and we all flew through the windshield.”

His words were even but his voice wasn't, as if he had rehearsed its telling a million times but this was the first time he had ever actually said it aloud. He released my hand, shifting his body so that he could pull his shirt off. Jagged lines marred his smooth skin, highlighting just where the broken glass of the windshield had ripped his small body to pieces.

I stared for a moment, trying to take in the pain. The scars were old now, but they held an ache that would never go away. They were a constant reminder of what had happened. Of his loss. I tentatively touched one, right above his heart. He didn't shy away and I looked up.

His jaw was tight, in fact every muscle in his body was tight. Vulnerability shone in his eyes as he gazed back at me. He was trusting me not to hurt him.

The first glimmer of sunlight burst over the horizon, casting him in a warm golden glow. His skin, scars and perfection, lit up in the most beautiful shades of the sunrise.

My fingers traced the darkened skin of a scar up his chest, up to his cheek. Our eyes met and I knew my world was about to spin out of control in the most amazing way. My chest tightened with anticipation and breathing no longer seemed important.

His hand was on the back of my neck with his fingers tangling in my hair. He pulled me toward him, pausing just a breath away. Our lips hovered apart for an infinity, sharing a breath in the moment, knowing that we could never go back to the way we were after this.