Grumpy Romance (Billionaire Dads #1)

by Nia Arthurs

smack him. He laughs and kisses my cheek.

“I can’t tell you how glad I am to see Alista...

At one point, I thought he’d become a monk.” “He’s no monk.” “Because I’m too sexy?” “Because monks are all about peace and harmony. And you g...

“You see what I mean? Even when I’m nice, she stil...

“I already told you that mouth would get you in trou...

A thrill travels down my spine. How much trouble...

“Good for you, Kenya. He needs someone to cut h...

“Belle is already on her side, Mrs. Hansley. You can’...

“She’s even more adorable now than she was then.”

couldn’t figure out what she was crying for. We read every online article and countless books to figure it out.” “What was the answer?” “Some babies are just fussier than others. Belle had the loudest pair of pipes and she wanted to use them.”

“Do you still miss her?” I ask casually, walking down the line of pictures. Alistair remains quiet.

Without warning, my crazy boss marches forward, sweeps me right off my feet and hauls me to the couch. Before I can protest, we’re sitting on the expensive white sofa. He curls me into his lap. “If we’re going to do this, I need to touch you.”

He’s staring at me like he wants to suck the soul out of my body. “What kind of touching?” “This much.” His voice darkens. “For now.” I swallow hard.

Then uh…” He rubs the back of his neck. “What?” “One night, you showed up.” “Me?”

“In my dreams.” I blink in shock. I don’t know how to respond to that.

“I thought it was a one-time thing, but it wasn’t. You kept barging ...

“In your own, Kenya-way, you remind me that I’m not stuck in that hotel room.” I hold my breath. ...

“And it angered me. I wanted you out. I wanted to stay in the darkness because it’s what murderers deserve.” “Alistair.” He shakes his head. “But you didn’t care about what I wanted. You kept showing up with your sass and your smiles and your crazy ideas that somehow work out. That night, when I said I couldn’t get you out of my head, that wasn’t some line to ge...

“I don’t show weakness. And I don’t let anyone near my daughter.”...

“But if I’m going to open myself up and show this mess to anyone, it’s goin...

“Holland.” His eyelashes flutter. Surprise creeps over his chiseled face. My heart beats so hard it’s about to fly out of my chest. I hold onto him and say his name again. “Holland.”

“Even if it hurts, I want you to know that I’m glad you survived.”

She says my name and I know I’m going to blow her mind all night long. I know I’m going to drag her straight to heaven and back. I know I’m going to hold on to her for the rest of my life.

“You’re harder on yourself than you are on everyone else. And that’s saying something.”

“Because you are a menace to everyone else.” “I get results,” I say. “You can’t deny that.” “Can you not be arrogant right now? We’re...

But this grip Kenya Jones has on me won’t go away any time soon. I’m a prisoner to her and she has no freaking idea. Is it sudden? Hell no. People think change is dramatic, but it’s really not. It’s coming to a new revelation. It’s stumbling on a different way of thinking. Everything clicks into place when the time is right. And the time is now.

“I wanted to give you compliments, but it seems your ego doesn’t need any help from me.” “I have other things that need help from you,” I murmur. She narrows her eyes. “Alistair.” “Say my name, Kenya.”

She’s my biggest temptation squeezed into tight blue jeans. Jeans I’m absolutely rolling down to her ankles the minute she stops giving me those angry eyes. “Where do you get that confidence from? It’s boundless. I’m astonished.” “I came clean. There’s nothing left to lose now. You know everything. You can destroy me if you want.” Her eyes soften. “I’m not interested in destroying you, Alistair.” “It’s too much work?” I tease. “I’m not afraid of work.”

“I wanted to take things slow. Tease it out.” My eyes drop to her lips. My voice gets ragged. “But today changed things for me. You already met Belle. She already adores you.”

“It’s not that I don’t… feel something.” Feel something? Is she that afraid to label it?

“You know what I’ve been through.” Her gaze darts away from mine. “My ex—”

“Was a b...

and I’m nothing like him. I wouldn’t have brought you home and introduced you to my daug...

“The office. What if people find out?...

“And who knows? Ducking into storage closets to kiss you might be hot.” She rolls her eyes. “I want to avoid the rumors for as long as I can.” “Fine. I’ll only ravish you in my office with the door locked.” “Alistair.” “Anything else? That first demand sounds easy enough.”

“You can’t be staring at me in meetings. Or sending me coffee.” “Impossible. You’re all I can see when you walk into the room. And you love Ezekiel’s coffee.” “Alistair.”

“Say my name, Kenya,” I growl. Her eyes sharpen in response. “You keep staring at me like you want to eat me alive...

I hold her stare. She doesn’t blink. I give in. “Fine. Any other requests?” “You’ll agree to ...

“Then let’s give this...

I kiss her fingers savagely. Her sigh falls out of her like buried treasures I want to unearth one by one. If I had to pick someone to parade through my nightmares and drag me out of my darkness, I don’t think my heart could have stumbled on a better choice. I tug Kenya close. She trembles in my grasp and I love that she can’t hide how much I affect her. “I need to tell you one more thing.” “Okay,” she whispers.

She looks into my eyes and nods. Satisfied, I scoop her knees and shift her around so I have better access to her mouth. Framing her cheeks with my hands, I ease my head down and settle my lips on top of hers.

She sighs again, longer and lower this time. Her body inclines toward mine, pressing against me in all the right places and teasing the heat already flickering in my veins until it burns hotter than ever. The desire in my body drives me up a wall.

Groaning, I attack her mouth until she opens and I deepen the kiss, holding her close enough that her body fuses into mine. N...

Her hands skate over the back of my neck and into my hair where she tugs, like she did the night of our first kiss. And again, my body responds with a blazing shot of adrenaline that turns me into an animal. Closer. I need her closer still. And she obliges. Her fingers scrape my scalp and remind me that love ca...

She understands the way I’m guiding her and rises to her knees, straddling me. Through our clothes, the heat of the kiss blazes and teases me with the promise of more.

Kenya arches her back and digs her fingernails into my shoulder when I drive her down on top of my lap. A tornado falling from the sky isn’t going to keep my hands off her tonight. I pull away from her even though it kills me and grumble, “Bedroom. Now.”

She nods rather than argue, and I know her brain is still scrambl...

up, I wrap her legs around me and almost explode when she thrusts her hips. I know I should be moving, ...

My lips fuse to her chocolate mouth again and I enjoy a taste that’s more decadent than any coffee I’ve ever had. Her fingers dig into the back of my neck, matching my passion, begging to ...

With a rough groan, I pop away from her lips, trailing my hot breath and little nips of kisses over her neck. I taste every bit of her skin, exploring my way up to her ear. “Kenya,” I growl. “Y-y...