Turbulence (1.5) Page 2

  “Yes.” He looked directly into the camera. “Jake, if you’re watching right now, I’m sorry. I’m very sorry for everything I’ve done to you. For ruining our family in more than one way—with your wife, your mother, and your brother...”

  Gillian moved closer to me—entwining her hand with mine, as he stalled on the question.

  “I want you to know that I meant every word I wrote in that article, as I’m sure you haven’t opened any of the letters I’ve sent you.” He looked as if he was on the verge of tears. “Part of me feels like I don’t have much time before you change the channel on me so...I will do whatever it takes to make things right between us. All of us. I know it doesn’t seem like my offer was genuine, but the ‘FCE’ still stands, and I would love nothing more than for you to helm Elite and—”

  I turned off the TV.

  “Well, he definitely still knows a part of you well.” Gillian took the remote from me and turned the TV back on. “If by chance I’m reading you wrong right now, just turn it back off and we’ll do something else.” She extended the remote to me, but I didn’t grab it.

  Instead, I pulled her into my lap and watched the entire interview. And I knew, five minutes before it ended, that my father had easily charmed his way back into the arms of the gullible public.

  When the reporter thanked him for coming and smiled, I turned off the TV before the show’s after analysis segment could begin.

  Gillian slowly turned around to face me, her eyes meeting mine. “I think you should consider his offer, Jake.”

  “And why is that?”

  “Several reasons.”

  “I can only think of three.”

  “Well, one, I think that deep down you want to start over and be close to your family again,” she waited for me to respond, but I remained silent. “Two, you know you would be very good at it.”

  “And three?”

  “Three is...” She paused. “Three is because you’d give a certain someone unlimited first class flights whenever she wanted them.”

  “I’m pretty sure you already get that from me now.” I wrapped my arms around her back and stood up, holding her against me as I walked toward the bedroom. “That wouldn’t change whether I considered his offer or not.”

  She looked as if she was about to say something else, like she was about to launch into one of those long monologues that still drove me up a wall from time to time.

  “I’ll think about it.” I covered her mouth with mine, biting her bottom lip before she could get a single word out. “Let me think about it. Anything else you’d like to discuss?”

  “Actually, yes.” She looked slightly nervous all of a sudden. “It’s about Turbulence.”

  “Then in that case—” I tossed her onto the center of the bed and hit the lights. “We can discuss it tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow? Why can’t we talk about it right now?”

  “Because right now,” I said, “you’re going to sit on my face and I’m going to eat your pussy until you can’t take it anymore.”

  “Jake—” She started to say, but I pressed my finger against her lips and pulled her on top of me.

  “Until you’re too tired to say another goddamn word...”

  GATE E2

  GILLIAN

  (In flight)

  The next day...

  I collapsed on top of Jake, my hair matted and my skin slick with sweat, as we flew over the Carolinas. My body was still recovering from the night before and I’d been far too tired to ask him why we needed to take a private flight so early in the morning.

  All I could remember was him waking me up and telling me he couldn’t wait to do “this” any longer. At first, my heart jumped with the idea of a proposal, but that thought was quickly shot down when he said we were heading to the outskirts of Florida to meet with his father.

  “This is only a consideration meeting,” he said softly, looking into my eyes. “I need to get this over with for myself.”

  “Good.” I nodded, and he changed the subject.

  “Did you ever finish that crossword booklet I gave you last week?”

  “The one about popular phrases?” I shook my head. “I did all except one. I told you they were way too easy.”

  “So, I take it you’ll be finishing the ones you supposedly bought for me yesterday?”

  “I was already halfway through one of them.” I smiled. “It’s not my fault you don’t finish them as fast as I do.” I sighed as he ran his palm up and down my back. “Jake, I really need to tell you something. Now. Not later.”

  “Is it about the epilogue?” he said softly. “You told me about that in your sleep already.”

  “Yes and no.”

  “It can’t be both.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “Is it really an epilogue or is it a part two?”

  “It’s just an epilogue—a random, secret release for the readers.”

  “And how many random, secret words does it take to say, And they fucked happily ever after?”

  “Four thousand. My agent said the original novel ended too abruptly so...”

  “So, quite naturally you couldn’t tell her no.”

  “Exactly.”

  Silence.

  “Okay, Gillian.” He rolled his eyes. “That’s it, then?”

  I swallowed, half nodding, half shaking my head.

  As if he could tell I was struggling to determine my answer, he took the lead. “Whatever it is, is it bad?”

  “No...”

  “Can it wait?”

  I didn’t answer.

  “Gillian, can it wait until we get back home?”

  “I’m not sure.” I wasn’t sure why this was so difficult. I’d rehearsed this a million times over the past few days. “How long are we staying in Florida?”

  “Two days.” He continued rubbing his hand against my back. “Regardless of what I decide, we’ll go back in six months and meet him in person again for the final answer. I’ll need you to be there.”

  “I probably won’t be able to make that trip,” I whispered.

  “Did your publisher schedule you for another book tour?” He looked into my eyes. “I thought you were done for the year as of last week.”

  “No, it’s—” I could barely hear my own voice. “It’s just because pregnant women aren’t really supposed to fly during their last trimester.”

  “What?” His hand suddenly stilled against my skin.

  “You heard me, Jake.”

  “I think I heard you. What did you just say?”

  “I’m pregnant.” I stared into his blue eyes, trying to gauge his reaction. “I’ve been trying to tell you all week.”

  He blinked.

  “I didn’t want to do it before your dad’s interview because I knew you needed to think about that, and I didn’t want to bring it up when we visited your mother the other day either. Even when she said she wished ‘her Jake’ would hurry up and have kids, I just...” I wasn’t able to read him at all right now and I wasn’t sure why. “I’m honestly really excited about starting a family with you, so if you’re not, that’s okay. I’ll still be happy, but don’t think for one second that this means you won’t give our child your all because you will, Jake. You will.”

  He didn’t say a single word. He just stared at me.

  “And one last thing,” I said. “Since you’re going to sit there and be silent...I meant what I said in that blog post even though you still try to deny it for some reason. There’s no other man for me, and there’s no other woman for you, and I know you know that Jake. You know that down to your marrow. And if you don’t want to marry me so soon I get that, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want—”

  “Stop talking, Gillian.” He cut me off with a kiss. “Just stop fucking talking.” He wiped the stray tears away from my face and kissed me again until they stopped. Then he pulled a crossword puzzle out of his bag and handed it to me.

  “After everything I just said—” My voice cracked. “You shut me
up, and you want me to start a crossword booklet?”

  “No, I want you to flip to the only page you didn’t finish.”

  I took it from him and flipped to the last page in the book. Raising my eyebrow, I couldn’t believe I didn’t notice this before. All of the clues were exactly the same, and the shape of the puzzle was as beginner-basic as they came.

  Fourteen letters. Four-words. Popular phrase from a man to a woman proposing love and long term commitment.

  Will you marry me?

  “Will you marry me?” I looked up at him, fresh tears welling in my eyes. “Will you marry me?”

  “Yes,” he said, slipping a massive diamond ring onto my finger. “But technically, I did ask you first.”

  I was utterly speechless, and I’m pretty sure he liked that.

  He pulled me close and kissed me, whispering that he was more than happy about the baby, and then, before I knew it, he was pulling me into his lap and we were lost in ‘us’ again.

  GATE E3

  JAKE WESTON, ‘SECRET’ BIOLOGICAL SON OF EX-CEO, NATHANIEL PEARSON, TO HELM ELITE AIRWAYS

  —The New York Times

  NEW CEO TO HOLD FIRST PRESS CONFERENCE IN NEW YORK CITY

  —The Wall Street Journal

  ELITE AIRWAYS #1 AIRLINE AGAIN, PROFITS SET TO DOUBLE UNDER NEW CEO

  —Flying Magazine

  ELITE AIRWAYS CEO, JAKE WESTON, MARRIES AUTHOR OF ‘TURBULENCE,’ TAYLOR G., IN PRIVATE CEREMONY

  —People

  TURBULENCE RETURNS TO BESTSELLER CHARTS AMIDST CEO’S MARRIAGE: FANS SAY NOVEL’S TIMELINE ADDS UP

  —Entertainment Weekly

  ELITE PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPARTMENT DENIES ALL CLAIMS IN TURBULENCE, ENCOURAGES MEDIA TO ‘MOVE ON’

  —USA Today

  AUTHOR TAYLOR G. REVEALS FIRST IMAGES OF NEWBORN SON, JAKE C. WESTON II, IN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

  —People

  PENGUIN ACQUIRES $2M RIGHTS TO PILOT’S ACCOUNT OF PREVIOUS AFFAIR WITH FORMER STEWARDESS, NOW WIFE. WON’T CONFIRM OR DENY ‘TURBULENCE: PART 2’.

  —The New York Times

  **The End**

  (Again...for now :-) )

  Be sure to click here to sign up for my mailing list to receive updates about my next book(s)!

  **Also, if you haven’t read my first erotic romance, Reasonable Doubt, all three volumes are currently available in one set! (You can find all purchase links here, or find a sneak peek at the end of this epilogue! :-) )

  Mr. Popular by Nicole London

  Synopsis:

  He was Mr. Popular.

  I was his best friend's younger sister...

  I hated him. He hated me.

  We were never more than two people who were forced to tolerate each other.

  Every summer, we saw each other at the same summer camp, and avoided each other like the plague.

  Until one summer changed everything...

  We agreed to move on.

  But neither of us wanted to.

  Now I'm finally in high school (it's his senior year), and I'm trying my hardest to forget what happened, and trying hard like hell to remember why we can never be together.

  He's still Mr. Popular.

  And I'm still his best friend's younger sister...

  Sign up for Nicole’s mailing list to receive an instant update on release day!

  Link to sign up:

  http://eepurl.com/bkhKNX

  Link to add Mr. Popular to your “to-be-read” list on Goodreads:

  http://bit.ly/250fpAX

  Reasonable Doubt by Whitney G.

  Prologue

  Andrew

  New York City is nothing more than a shit-filled wasteland, a dump where failures are forced to drop all their broken dreams and leave them far behind. The flashing lights that shined brightly years ago have lost their luster, and that fresh feeling that once permeated the air—that hopefulness, is long gone.

  Every person I once considered a friend is now an enemy, and the word “trust” has been ripped from my vocabulary. My name and reputation are tarnished thanks to the press, and after reading the headline that The New York Times ran this morning, I’ve decided that tonight will be the last night I ever spend here.

  I can’t deal with the cold sweats and nightmares that jerk me out of my sleep anymore, and as hard as I try to pretend like my heart hasn’t been obliterated, I doubt that the agonizing ache in my chest will ever go away.

  To properly say goodbye, I’ve ordered the best entrées from all my favorite restaurants, watched Death of a Salesman on Broadway, and smoked a Cuban cigar on the Brooklyn Bridge. I’ve also booked the penthouse suite at the Waldorf Astoria, where I’m now leaning back on the bed and threading my fingers through a woman’s hair—groaning as she slides her mouth over my cock.

  Teasingly darting her tongue around my tip, she whispers, “Do you like this?” as she looks up at me.

  I don’t answer. I push her head down and exhale as she presses her lips against my balls, as she covers my cock with her hands and moves them up and down.

  Over the past two hours, I’ve fucked her against the wall, forced her to bend over a chair, and pinned her legs to the mattress while I devoured her pussy.

  It’s been quite fulfilling—fun, but I know this feeling will only last for so long; it never stays. In less than a week, I’ll have to find someone else.

  As she takes me deeper and deeper into her mouth, I tightly tug her hair—tensing as she bobs her head up and down. Pleasure begins to course its way through me, and the muscles in my legs stiffen—forcing me to let go and warn her to pull away.

  She ignores me.

  She grips my knees and sucks faster, letting my cock touch the back of her throat. I give her one last chance to move away, but since her lips remain wrapped around me, she leaves me no choice but to cum in her mouth.

  And then she swallows.

  Every. Last. Drop.

  Impressive...

  Finally pulling away, she licks her lips and leans back against the floor.

  “That was my first time swallowing,” she says. “I did that just for you.”

  “You shouldn’t have.” I stand and zip my pants. “You should’ve saved it for someone else.”

  “Right. Well, um...Do you want to order some dinner? Maybe we could eat it over HBO and go at it again afterwards?”

  I raise my eyebrow, confused.

  This is always the most annoying part, the part when the woman who previously agreed to “One dinner. One night. No repeats.” wants to establish some type of imaginary connection. For whatever reason, she feels like there needs to be some type of closure conversation, some bland reassurance that’ll confirm that what just happened was ‘more than sex,’ and we’ll become friends.

  But it was just sex, and I’m not in need of any friends. Not now, not ever.

  “No, thank you.” I walk over to the mirror on the other side of the room. “I have someplace to be.”

  “At three in the morning? I mean, if you just want to skip the HBO and go for another round instead, I can...”

  I tune out her irritating voice and begin to button my shirt. I’ve never spent the night with a woman I met online, and she isn’t going to be the first.

  As I adjust my tie, I look down and spot a tattered pink wallet on the dresser. Picking it up, I flip it open and run my fingers across the name that’s printed onto her license: Sarah Tate.

  Even though I’ve only known this woman for a week, she’s always answered to “Samantha.” She’s also told me—repeatedly, that she works as a nurse at Grace Hospital. Judging by the Wal-Mart employee card that’s hiding behind her license, I’m assuming that part isn’t true either.

  I look over my shoulder, where she’s now sprawled across the bed’s silk sheets. Her creamy colored skin is unmarred and smooth; her bow shaped lips are slightly swollen and puffy.

  Her green eyes meet mine and she slowly sits up, spreading her legs further apart, whispering, “You know you want
to stay. Stay...”

  My cock starts to harden—it’s definitely up for another round, but seeing her real name has ruined any chance of that for me. I can’t stand to be around anyone who’s lied to me, even if she does have double D tits and a mouth from heaven.

  I toss the wallet into her lap. “You told me your name was Samantha.”

  “Okay. And?”

  “Your name is Sarah.”

  “So what?” She shrugs, beckoning me with her hand. “I never give my real name to men I meet on the internet.”

  “You just fuck them in five star hotel suites?”

  “Why do you suddenly care about my real name?”

  “I don’t.” I glance at my watch. “Are you spending the night in this room or do I need to give you cab money to get home?”

  “What?”

  “Was my question unclear?”

  “Wow...Just, wow...” She shakes her head. “How much longer do you think you’ll be able to keep doing this?”

  “Keep doing what?”

  “Chatting someone up for a week, fucking her, and moving on to the next. How much longer?”

  “Until my dick stops working.” I put on my jacket. “Do you need cab fare or are you staying? Check out is at noon.”

  “Do you know that men like you—relationship avoiders, are the type that typically fall the hardest?”

  “Did they teach you that at Wal-Mart?”

  “Just because someone from your past hurt you doesn’t mean that every woman after her will.” She purses her lips. “That’s probably why you are the way you are. Maybe if you tried to actually date someone you’d be a lot happier. You should take her out for dinner and actually listen, see her to her door without expecting an invitation inside, and maybe bypass the whole ‘let’s go fuck’ in the hotel suite thing at the end.”

  Where are my keys? I need to go. Now.

  “I can see it now...” She can’t seem to shut up. “You’re going to want more than sex one day, and the person you want it from is going to be someone you least expect. Someone who will force you to give in.”