Billionaire Alpha Book 4
Author Note
Just a quick note to my readers. Firstly, I sure do appreciate you guys! I'm listening, and this book 4 is my response to the overwhelming number of e-mails I've received about writing more of Damon and Bethany's story. I thought it was over when I closed down the last book, Together Forever over a year ago.
I guess not, as a whole new world has opened up for Damon and Bethany.
IF you read Together Forever a while back, I just wanted you to know that I pulled the Epilogue, which had the wedding for Damon and Bethany. It doesn't exist anymore. This book, His Needs picks up the Monday after their trip to Jamaica where they're parents were married. They ARE engaged, but no wedding yet. Just wanted to update you so there was no confusion.
Hope you enjoy the story … and those that will follow thanks to your persistence!
Ali
Chapter 1
Damon
"Wait. You what?" Kendal's eyes widened. "What the hell were you thinking? It's been, what, three weeks?"
Damon shrugged and pulled the black napkin down into his lap, ignoring his closest friend's concerns. Beth was the woman for him and there really wasn't any going back from that decision. He'd measured her attitude, her drive, her hunger in the office and the bedroom and seen the signs of success in all arenas. She was going to be his forever, whether that started now or in five years.
"Just know sometimes." He nodded to the waiter who hovered beside them, the poor idiot looking like he'd just swallowed something poisonous. "Pour."
"Of course, Sir." The guy picked up the open bottle of red wine on the table and tipped it up to fill Damon's glass.
"No, you don't just know. You've never had a solid relationship in your life, Damon." Kendal ran his fingers through his messy brown hair.
"Who has?" He brushed his fingers over the rim of the glass as he glanced up to the bar. The gaggle of well-cared-for women had their eyes focused on either Damon or Kendal. Perhaps both. Funny how none of them even stirred him. Beth had to have sold her soul to the devil for the power she had over him. It was almost unfair, and yet he didn't believe in fate or fairness. A man made himself by his actions and choices, nothing else. The woman he'd fallen for was wickedly sensual, intensely intimate and willing to bow her knee to him alone.
She was all he needed.
"Lots of people." Kendal's voice rose in volume.
Damon gave him a look to warn him. He'd always been the alpha out of the two of them, Damon having led their fraternity as president his full five years at University of Texas in Dallas. Everyone respected him, and he expected it.
"That's bullshit. Just because you're wavering on the fence about dating some girl doesn't allow you the right to judge the timing of my proposal to Beth." Damon shrugged and lifted his glass to his lips.
One of the women from the bar seemed to have gained her courage. She walked over and pressed her well-manicured hands to the empty seat across from Damon and smiled.
"Hi. I couldn't help but notice you. Have we met before?" She smiled with a false sense of shy. It was almost cute. Almost.
"No, I don't think we've met." Damon motioned toward Kendal. "This is my good friend, Dr. Kendal Tarrington. I'm Damon Bryant."
"Your name is familiar." She pressed her fingers to her lips.
Damon couldn't help but chuckle under his breath at the way Kendal tensed up. He was forever lost to being confident around women after all the shit he'd been through. Funny enough, he was the biggest playboy outside of Damon back in school.
"Maybe we fucked in college?" Damon tilted his head and lifted his shoulders.
She laughed and glanced over her shoulder before returning her stare to Damon. "Maybe, but I'm thinking I would have remembered. I'm Terri."
"Nice to meet you, Terri. I'm a taken man, so this conversation is over before it's even begun, but Kendal here is-"
"Taken too. Thanks." Kendal smiled and waved at the woman.
"I wasn't hitting on you." She snorted as if her actions had nothing to do with bedding one of them for the afternoon. "I just thought you were familiar."
"Well now you know our names." Damon shooed her away as her smile dropped. "If you'll run along... Thanks."
Her face fell as she turned and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Asshole."
"Damon. Shit." Kendal picked up his glass and emptied it. "Anyway, back to the conversation on Bethany. She seems like a really nice girl. I think you should take it slow. She's been through a lot with her friend getting stabbed. My understanding is that they're going to subpoena her to come testify against the girl who did it."
"The one that was her roommate?" Damon finished his wine too and pushed his plate away. Meeting Kendal for a short lunch to catch up seemed like a good idea until the guy decided to shit on Damon's good news. Was everyone so fucking careful in life? Where was the risk-taker Damon remembered the good professor to be?
Life kicked him in the nuts too many times.
"You're diverting and doing a horrible job of it." Kendal picked up a fry from his half-empty plate. "Tell me you'll be careful with her."
"What are you, her daddy?" Damon picked up his napkin, wiped his mouth and stood. "I gotta get back to the office. She's in good hands, old man. Stop worrying about me and find yourself a woman that makes you crazy, like Beth makes me."
"Right. See you sometime soon, buddy." Kendal lifted his hand, and Damon shook it before walking to the bathroom.
He didn't get to the door before a leggy brunette with pretty eyes and ruby-red lips stepped in front of him. She was one of the women with the scout that was sent over to the table moments ago.
"Hi. I'm Lisa." She put her hand in the middle of his chest and pressed her teeth to her bottom lip.
Damon moved her hand off his chest with little to no emotion. "Hi, Lisa. Like I told your friend back there, I'm a taken man. I'm not interested in being accosted by the gaggle of you. Find another chump to spread your legs for."
"What?" Her distressed expression was good, but not quite convincing.
"Right. Excuse me." He moved around her and pushed the door to the bathroom open as a growl rumbled deep in his chest. Women like the ones at the bar were a dime a dozen, and always seemed to think that flashing a pretty smile was going to win them something. How many times had he refused someone in the last month? Too many times to count, and yet it was nothing to brag about. It was exhausting.
He stopped in front of the mirror and washed his hands as his eyes moved along his face. Dark circles sat under his eyes, not enough for most to notice, but he could see them without trying. Touching the soft skin, he shook his head.
"Fuck, maybe Kendal was right." Maybe he had moved too fast. She was just the full package, and would understand him if she could work past his unwillingness to share. She came from a broken past like he did. It didn't matter that it was a different set of circumstances. They were still both fucked up, and something about that gave him peace.
He pulled out his phone and flipped through a few of the pictures they'd taken on their vacation as he let out a long breath.
Long brown hair and green eyes that captivated him. A small waist and huge tits that took up most of his palm. He closed his eyes and dropped his phone back into his pocket as his body woke up. He didn't care how fast things had gone. He'd give anything to hang on to the feeling she left him with - pay any price.
They could get to know each other over the next year and figure things out slowly, but no one unwrapped a package they didn't first purchase. That was Bethany. He'd put himself into wanting to try something more than a fuck-buddy relationship with her, and now it was time to be deliberate in learning about her, figuring out what made her tick.
He opened his eyes and pursed his lips as his pulse spiked. He'd popped the question simply because he didn't want to lose her. She was beyond worried about them being siblings, but it was an invalid concern, or at least it seemed to be. He hadn't really thought too much about it.
After wiping off his hands, he walked out of the restroom and through the center of the restaurant. Kendal was gone, but the girls at the bar weren't. He winked at them as he moved past them, teasing the whorish idiots.
Why women weren't more dedicated to their men was a mystery. It almost seemed as if all the stories that populated the water cooler were about the bastard executives cheating on their wives, and yet Damon had seen the flip-side more times than he cared to admit.
He pulled out his phone as he handed the valet his ticket. Bethany answered on the second ring.
"Hey. Where are you?" Her voice was soft and sweet, like the innocent girl she wasn't.
"Leaving lunch. Where are you is the question? You get unpacked this morning?" Their flight back the night before from Jamaica had been exhausting to say the least. He'd given her the day off, but almost lamented doing it. Seeing her back in their normal surroundings would have helped to settle his unease. His father hadn't been too thrilled about him proposing so early either, but it wasn't anyone's fucking decision but his.