Marrying the Millionaire (41 page)

Gazing into her eyes, he
reached into his back pocket, pulled out a silver band with
diamonds, and held it up in her face. The gorgeous piece of jewelry
sparkled. Thinking Zeke was about to propose to her, Taylor
gasped.
Yes, Zeke. I’ll marry
you
.

Zeke’s Adam’s apple bobbled up and
down in his throat. “Taylor, this ring belonged to my birth mother.
As you already know, my birth mother’s name was Bridget. My father
gave this ring to my mother on Valentine’s Day of the same year she
died. After she passed, my father gave this ring to me. He told me
to give it to the woman I fell in love with. Well, that girl is
you, Taylor. You’re the girl I’m madly in love with.”

Joy bubbled in Taylor’s heart from
Zeke’s heartfelt love admission. Staring at the sparkling diamond
band, she covered her heart with her hand, then linked her gaze
with his.

Love glittered in his dark coffee
eyes. “Oh, Zeke. It’s so beautiful.” Thrilled at how much Zeke
truly loved her, Taylor’s words came out soft as a caress. The love
of her life took her hand in his and slid the ring up her wedding
finger. Swallowing, she blinked sporadically. “So does this mean
we’re getting married?”

Zeke chuckled. “Not right away. But we
will get married someday. Until we do, I want you to wear the ring
as a promise ring. As a symbol of my undying love for you.” Zeke
clenched her chin between his index finger and thumb, tilting her
head back. “Taylor Spelling…I promise to always be good to you, my
love. I promise to love you now. Forever…and ever.” Smooching his
lips together, Zeke dropped his lips close to her mouth.

Tell him now, Taylor! Tell
Zeke Balfour that you’re pregnant with his child!
Ignoring the thoughts screaming inside her head,
Taylor clutched Zeke’s broad shoulders, pressed her lips into his,
and let his mouth take hers on an exciting journey.

Tongues twining, Zeke’s
mouth felt so good on Taylor’s. From his charming ways to his great
personality and loving heart, everything about Zeke Balfour seemed
perfect. Too good to be true. Seemed so right.
One day I’m going to marry Zeke Balfour—my Mr.
Right.

As Taylor’s lips meshed with Zeke’s,
his hands explored her entire body. His talented hand sneaked
beneath her shirt, slid under her bra, and then over her tender
breast. Groaning inside her mouth, he tweaked her sensitive nipple
with his fingers. A light moan squeezed from her pursed lips into
his mouth, and Zeke drank it in.

Plucking her tingling
nipple with one hand, Zeke’s other hand fondled the crotch area of
her cheap jeans. Moisture formed inside her center. Curling her
tongue with his, she winced.
Hot in the
panties, this is why you’re pregnant now.

Once her mother had learned of her
pregnancy, she’d warned her not to have sex with Zeke anymore. But
Taylor just couldn’t help herself. She loved Zeke, and he loved
her. Just because they were young, didn’t mean their love was fake.
No. It was the real thing.

Whenever Zeke and she got together,
chemistry ignited. Magic filled the air. Desire and fire
exploded.

Zeke released Taylor’s mouth. Left it
burning with fire. Breathing raggedly, he huskily suggested, “Let’s
go skinny dipping!” Before Taylor could reply, Zeke jumped to his
feet, hastened over to the door. Glancing down at the ground, he
jumped from the treehouse.

Ecstatic, Taylor quickly crawled over
to the door. On her hands and knees, she poked her head from the
opening of the tree house and peered down at a smiling Zeke. Her
lips smiled. “Zeke Balfour, you must be crazy if you think I’m
getting in that cold lake!”

Zeke quickly removed his shirt, then
hurried out of his jeans and underwear. Zeke’s white, hard erection
pointed straight out. Gliding her tongue over her lips, Taylor’s
heart thudded harshly beneath her rib cage. Gosh, his shaft was so
big. No wonder she loved him. No wonder she’d been stupid and let
him get her pregnant.

Naked as the day he was born, Zeke
threw his arms up in the air. “I’m not crazy, Taylor Spelling. I’m
madly in love! Miss all the fun if you want!”

Zeke’s bare feet scampered along the
slender grass as he ran towards the lake. Picking up his speed, his
rod swung like Tarzan. When he reached the edge of the land, he
hopped high in the air. Feet kicking, arms flailing, Zeke dove his
naked behind straight into the lake. The sound of splashing water
resounded through the early evening air.

Unable to contain her excitement,
Taylor climbed down from the tree house and ran toward the lake.
Standing at the edge of the land, she watched Zeke do backstrokes
in the lake. “Take off your clothes. I want to see your pretty
brown tits.”

Keeping her eyes attached to his, she
quickly rolled her shirt over her head. Anxious to join him, her
fingers loosened the button on her jeans. Kicking the jeans from
her feet, she removed her bra, flung it to the ground. She yanked
her panties down her legs, tossed them to the side as
well.

Cool soil pressed into her bare feet.
The summer night air clung to her clammy skin. Her hard nipples
tingled. A dull ache formed in her center. Wishing she could refute
Zeke’s sexual advances, she yearned to join him for a romantic
swim.

Floating on his back, her man smiled
at her. “You have the prettiest tits I’ve ever seen.”

A tinge of jealously crept up inside
Taylor at Zeke’s remark. She fisted her hips and pouted.
“Considering you’re only eighteen, how many tits have you seen? I
hope not that many.”

Feet treading in the dark water, Zeke
chuckled. “I’ve only seen two. Your right one, and your left one.”
He got to his feet, held out his hands.

“
You better had said
that!”

Giggling, Taylor hopped in the air,
and then plunged into the depths of the lake. Gravity sucked her to
the bottom. Kicking her feet and flinging her arms, she swam back
to the top. Immersed in darkness, she popped her head up from the
cold water and looked around for Zeke. Staying afloat, she turned
to find him behind her.

“
This water is
cold!”

“
I’ll warm you
up.”

Zeke swam over to Taylor. Putting his
wet, muscular chest to her breasts, he wrapped his strong arms
about her shoulders. Teeth clattering, she shivered. Her nipples
felt like frozen peas.

“
I’m c…c…cold,
Zeke.”

Keeping one hand to her shoulder, Zeke
reached down between them. “Let’s see if this will warm you up,” he
said, gliding his steely tool across her pregnant belly.

Turned on, her heart
clenched. “Zeke, there’s something I have to tell you.”
Tell him you’re pregnant, Taylor,
she thought, chastising
herself
. Stop being so freaking
scared.

CHAPTER TWO

ZEKE’S EYES CARESSED TAYLOR’S AS he
draped his arms around her waist. “Not now, Taylor. Tell me later.
Tell me after I make love to you, okay?” Rubbing the pad of his wet
thumb across her lips, his sensual eyes kissed her face.

Wanting him just as much as
he wanted her, Taylor nodded in assent.
Why ruin the moment?
she thought,
the pit of her stomach twirling with butterflies.
“Okay.”

Zeke slipped his shaft inside Taylor.
Feeling him stretch her walls, she twined her arms around his neck.
Wrapped her legs around his waist and rode him. Driving into her,
Zeke slanted his mouth over hers and tongued her down.

As usual, Zeke set her insides aflame.
Bucking on him, Taylor lolled her head back and glanced up at the
dark sky. Bouncing up and down on Zeke’s tool, water rippled along
her spine.

“
Look at me, Taylor,” Zeke
requested. Hair soaked and matted to her skull, Taylor rolled her
neck forward to meet his deep, sensual gaze. “I love you, Taylor.”
He softly bit her bottom lip, then released it.

She sucked his bottom lip into her
mouth, then spit it out. “I love you, too, Zeke.”

“
Are you about to cum?”
Zeke asked her. Taylor nodded. “Good. Me, too. Let’s come
together.” He twirled her creamy walls, and Taylor’s sex exploded.
And so did Zeke’s. Like he’d wanted, they’d cum
together.

After Zeke and Taylor made love in the
lake, they swam to the edge of the water. Zeke climbed out first.
Knees pressed into the grass, he hooked his arms beneath Taylor’s
armpits and pulled. Taylor somehow ended up on top of
him.

Laying on his back with her on top of
him, Zeke smiled. His member grew hard on her stomach. Gazing into
his handsome eyes, she threaded her fingers through his wet, wiry
hair. He clenched her hips with one hand, raised her from his lap.
He slipped inside her again, and they ended up making sweet, tender
love in the grass.

Long moments later, Zeke and Taylor
lay side by side in the grass, gazing up at the sky. He pushed up
on his elbows. He scooped her wet hair up in his hands, brought it
up to his mouth, and kissed it. “I’ll never forget this night for
as long as I live.”

“
Me either.” Taylor stood
and walked over to the makeshift tire swing. Holding on to the
sides of the tire, she slid inside the circular part of the rubber,
and then gripped the twined rope. Batting her lashes at Zeke, she
smiled. “Push me, Zeke. Push me as high as you can,” she said,
wildly kicking her feet.

“
Hold on!” Zeke lifted the
sides of the tire up to his chest, then gave her a hard push.
Giggling hysterically, Taylor went flying in the air. Her wet hair
whipped at the sides of her smiling face.

Suddenly, a voice rang out through a
bullhorn. “Zeke!”

Taylor shrieked. “Someone’s coming,
Zeke. Stop the swing. Stop the swing.”

Zeke gripped the tire, bringing it to
an abrupt halt. “That’s my stepmother, Katherine. How in the hell
did she find me?”

Touching the tips of her toes to the
ground, Taylor writhed her way out of the circular hole of the
tire. Covering her breasts, she ran and snatched up her clothing.
“Oh God, I’m really in trouble now,” she said, quickly pulling her
shirt over her head, then shoving her arms through the
sleeves.

“
What do you mean you’re in
trouble?” Zeke questioned, observing fear in Taylor’s wide
eyes.

“
I’m so sorry,
Zeke—”

“
Zeke! Where are you?!”
Katherine’s loud voice echoed through the dense wooded
area.

“
Your stepmother sounds
mad, Zeke.” Taylor prayed like crazy that Katherine hadn’t somehow
found out she was pregnant before she had the chance to tell Zeke
herself.
Oh God, I should’ve told Zeke
sooner.

Zeke’s brows drew close together.
“You’re right. She does sound angry.”

Taylor yanked her jeans up over her
hips, grabbed her brown sandals. “I’m going home. Call me
later.”

Zeke clutched Taylor’s arms. “You
don’t have to hide from my stepmother, Taylor. You’re my girl, and
I think it’s high time that Katherine finds out about us. I love
you, my love.”

Moisture wet Taylor’s pupils. “Oh,
Zeke. She probably already knows about us. I’m so sorry. So, so
sorry.” With her worn sandals clenched to her chest, Taylor took
off running through the forest. Breathing erratically, she ran as
fast as she could past all those trees.

“
THERE YOU ARE!”
Gripping the handle of a bullhorn in one hand and
pointing a bright flashlight in the other, Zeke’s stepmother,
Katherine, marched toward him with a noticeable frown on her white,
round freckled face. Wearing a long ivory dress and her red hair
pulled into a low bun, Katherine pinched her lips together. “I’ve
been looking everywhere for you!” Her eyes lowered to his bare
shaft, then back up to his face. “Where are your clothes? Have you
been out here fucking that girl?”

“
What girl, Mom?” Although
Katherine wasn’t his birth mother, his father insisted he call her
that. At times, he hated he had to refer to the snobbish Katherine
as his mother. But considering his birth mother, Bridget, had had
an affair with his father while he was married to Katherine, she
probably hated it, too.

Right after his birth mother Bridget
had died, his father Colton had brought Zeke to live with him and
Katherine, and their other two children—Antonio and Bane. From the
very first day that Zeke had stepped inside their mansion,
Katherine had despised his mere existence. Despised him for being
born. Despised him because he was the result of an
affair.

Katherine narrowed her eyes at Zeke.
Pointing her finger in his face, she barked through clenched teeth,
“Taylor. Taylor Spelling. Have you been out here fucking that girl
again?!”

How does she know about
Taylor?
His mother’s–well, not his real
mother, but Katherine’s–harsh tone irked him. Made him angry. His
face scrunched as he snatched his jeans from the ground and put
them on.

Hooking his gaze on Katherine’s
furious green eyes, Zeke sucked his teeth. “As a matter of fact, I
have. What’s it to you?” he asked snidely, buttoning his
jeans.

Katherine threw her hands up in the
air. “Dear Lord! It’s true! It’s true!”