Gone!She was gone.Chase knew it the second he woke, not needing to open his eyes to know Amaya had left.She was always a part of him. He hadn’t been kidding when he told her about this room and his hopes she’d come back.She was the only woman for him, and now she was his wife, and they loved each other. Well, nothing would stop them.Then why was he lying here alone, and she was winging her way to the other side of the world again?He’d let her get away once. Shit! Could he let her go again? “Fuck!”Never again.But he couldn’t control Amaya, couldn’t hold her back any more than let her go. He understood her drive, her ambition, and the same need for success pounding through his veins.So why the crazy feeling she’d left for good?They hadn’t resolved anything last night. He’d planned to and had wanted to talk, but his good intentions had crashed and burned around the time he’d been unable to keep his hands off her. From there, all bets had been off as they’d pleasured each other
Chase’s first instinct was to rush to Amaya, sweep her into his arms, and forget the agony of the past month.That was before he saw the stubborn set of her mouth and the angry ocean blue glint as she fixed him with a haughty stare.He smirked, “Hi, wife!”He’d flown around the world to be with the woman he loved, and she was angry?Thrusting his hands in his pockets, he leaned against the window sill.“What? No welcome kiss for your husband?”Amaya picked up her bags and placed them on a nearby table, too cool and controlled for his liking. He wanted her off guard, nervous, so he could bully the truth out of her as to why she bolted and why she’d given back his ring. Instead, she smoothed a too-tight hound’s-tooth skirt, tugged on the hem of a matching jacket, and perched on the table’s edge.“What are you doing here, Chase?”“Business.”“Of course.”Her slight nod annoyed him as much as her clipped response.“Unfinished business.”Unable to control himself, he crossed the room in fo
“He hit me. Hurt me!” she said, biting her lips. It wasn't a pleasant memory, and remembering those moments made her shiver from the pain and from fear.“Fuck! That bastard! I’ll kill him!’Amaya didn’t know what she’d expected when she finally told someone the grimy truth after all these years, but seeing Chase furious, bristling with rage, and ready to defend her, she suddenly knew she’d made a mistake by bottling all this up.If he hadn’t told her the truth when she’d left, she'd have done him the same discourtesy, and if they were to have a future, she needed to tell him everything.“When I left home, it wasn’t out of some misguided selfish dream notion. I had to leave. His escalating violence left me no option.”He swore viciously and voraciously, clenching his hands as if he’d like to thump something, preferably her father. How could her father do such a thing? Well, of course he could relate to her fear; after all, he had the same past with his own father.“He changed the moment
Allena Jasmin took a deep breath, clutching the resignation letter between her fingers. Quitting was never easy. And she knew her boss wouldn’t take it well. There would be questions. Demands. And annoyance and irritation, too. Actually, it probably wouldn’t even register since irritation was classified as an emotion and Justin De Nero was a robot. A self-made billionaire who retired from his former work at the CJ Johnson Software company and made a name for himself.Of course, he wasn’t really a robot. He was a flesh-and-blood man. She’d worked as his nanny for over four years. And, in truth, Allena loved the work. She especially loved his kids. Jayden and Cassie were wonderful children, and being their nanny was a joy.But…I can’t do it forever.Because Allena wanted her own life, not one that revolved around Justin and his adorable children. She was thirty-three years old and hadn’t had a boyfriend since forever. And that wasn’t going to change if she spent every waking hour think
Justin Caster De Nero was rarely at a loss for words. But Allena’s stunt shocked the hell out of him. Maybe he should have seen it coming. Maybe the way she’d been quieter than usual lately, almost distracted, should have gotten him thinking that something was brewing. But…it was Allena. Reliable. Steadfast. A rock. The best thing that had happened to him in the last four years. Well, not to him, he corrected himself immediately. But to his family. And specifically, to his kids. They adored her, and rightly so. She was an angel sent to help when life was at its worst. He’d lost his wife and his mother…the whole family was grieving and dealing with the profound loss and his children hadn’t taken to any of the other nannies he’d employed. But Allena Jasmin was different. Younger, certainly, and with less experience than the prison warden who’d come before her, and who had lasted only a week before he’d told her to leave. Allena was like a breath of fresh air compared to that. Funny and
Justin stalled in the doorway, watching the trio. His children and the woman they adored. Allena had been a pivotal part of their lives for so long it would be difficult to imagine life on the ranch without her. Almost impossible. She created balance and harmony. She was the steadiness they all needed after so much loss and was an essential part of their everyday lives. She was…family.He watched as Cassie clutched her hand as they bent over, looking into a small box in the corner of the stables. Jayden said something and Allena laughed, the sound echoing and somehow hitting him directly in the center of the chest. It occurred to him that he hadn’t heard her laugh much lately. Oh, sure, sometimes when she was in the garden with Mittie or in the kitchen with the kids, or reading the paper with his dad when his father dropped in. But around him…not so much.Had it always been like that? Had he simply been blinded by the fact she was essential to his kids and therefore didn’t think about
She met his gaze and hesitated for a moment before releasing Cassie. Justin watched as she moved away from the birthing box and then followed until they were out of earshot from the kids.“What?” she asked tersely. He turned, crossing his arms, making sure the children couldn’t hear him. “Two things,” he said quietly. “Firstly, I’ll need more time to find someone to replace you, so I want a month’s notice. Secondly,” he said, dropping his voice a fraction. “I’m not going to play bad cop for you, Allena. If you want to leave, you’re going to have to tell the kids yourself.”She glared at him, and Justin knew he’d backed her into a corner. She adored his kids; he knew that. She’d never do anything to hurt them. Except leave them, apparently.Well, one thing was certain. He wasn’t going to let her go without a damned good fight! Allena took a breath, staring at him, noticing how his green eyes glittered behind his glasses. He really did have the Clark Kent thing down to a fine art. He wa
Allena sighed. Could she leave them? Yes. She had to. Otherwise, she’d stay forever. Or until the day Justin remarried and she was replaced in the children’s lives. For a while, Allena had imagined his old girlfriend was a prime candidate. And truthfully, she hadn’t liked Rachel. What Justin saw in her, besides the obvious great legs and pretty face, Allena had no idea. She remembered Jayne De Nero, on the few occasions they’d met, as warm and friendly, with a deep love for her family and friends. Rachel seemed like the polar opposite. Totally career-driven and never at all interested in being involved in Justin’s family.Not that Allena believed there was anything wrong with someone pursuing the career they loved—but she’d never been one to think that a job and career were everything. She’d spent three years at college, then got a job in the city working as an admin for a member of the city council, but the hours had been long and relentless. At twenty-six, after five years in the sa