Mogul

MOGUL

By

Ginger Voight

SMASHWORDS EDITION

*****

PUBLISHED BY:

Ginger Voight on Smashwords

Copyright ©2013

This ebook is licensed for your personal
enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to
other people. If you would like to share this book with another
person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If
you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not
purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com
and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work
of this author.

*****

Acknowledgements:

Whenever I sat down to write the first book,
“Groupie,” I had no idea what kind of roller coaster I had just
strapped myself into. I had an idea of what I wanted to do with the
story, but these characters definitely had a mind of their own.
They told their own story; I was often just the transcriber.

I really, truly didn’t expect for it to find
the kind of audience it did. I knew I had broken a lot of rules to
make this story happen. It was a big risk, and I knew I was playing
with fire. I expected criticism and a lot of it.

But something remarkable happened along the
way. People found the book without my really having to market it. I
honestly didn’t know how to market it. Every risk I took felt like
a flaw that would drive the audience away in droves. In many ways,
I was just like Andy. I didn’t expect people to fall in love with
these characters and their crazy story like I did.

Imagine my surprise when people not only read
it, but loved it. It became the most reviewed book I published,
with an audience that was clamoring for more. Their passion was
like a stone thrown into a pond. The ripples carried the story
outward into the world. Bloggers reviewed it, the audience grew and
before I knew it Andy, Vanni and Graham had pulled me out into the
spotlight with them.

It made one of my biggest dreams come true,
and gave me a happily ever after I never expected.

So I owe my sincerest thanks to you, the
reader. You’re here because you care about this story and my nutty,
mixed-up characters. You’re here because you trusted me all along
this journey, to get you where you wanted to go.

It was a responsibility I took very seriously
as I wrote “Mogul.” And I truly hope you enjoy it as our ride
finally pulls back into the station.

My deepest gratitude,

GV

Special thanks to:

Maryse’s Book
Blog
(and all the readers who
turned Maryse onto the story)

The Groupie/Rock Star Group on Facebook

The Book Broads on Facebook

Brandee’s
Book Endings

My tireless, enthusiastic and insightful beta
readers: Jeff, Kim, Tess and Katrin

Shirley Ozment and Sarah Ashcroft Bohlander
(y’all know why)

Hal Sparks, (The) Brian Crow
and Lance Tamanaha of
Zero
1
– who all make me cool by
association.

Disclaimer:

This is a work of
fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are
products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any
resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead,
is entirely coincidental.

Prologue

June 17, 2011

I watched the first explosion light up the
southern California skyline in disbelief. This couldn’t be
happening again. A year to the date of the last disaster, it was
all happening again. It was as if there could be no other
conclusion; as if fate always had another idea. After all these
years, after all our struggles, I guess I should have known there
could be no happily ever after. We had always been star-crossed
lovers, doomed to die out just like a candle that had reached the
end of its wick. My soul eked from my pores as I watched fire
consume the place where we had lived, the home where we had loved –
the life that we had made. Smoke rose from the sparkling, crackling
embers of my broken dreams. Everything around me was in ruins, and
I knew once again it was my fault. I learned a long time ago that
love did not come without a cost. Everyone I had ever counted on
had left – one way or another. I tried to keep everyone at arm’s
length, sure if I never made any promises I could never truly let
anyone down any more than they could let me down. I didn’t care who
I hurt as long as I got my way – which was all the benefits of love
without any accountability.

It was all supposed to be uncomplicated…so
simple. But if I had learned anything over the past four years it
was that love was never simple.

The only thing I could count on was being
alone. And the bitch of it was I knew I deserved it. This was my
penance for being selfish, entitled. Indulged.

Scared.

But as scared as I had always been, nothing
matched the terror watching that house explode knowing the person
who had trusted me most, even when she never had any reason to, was
inside. Even as I raced toward the burning building, I knew that my
heroics were futile. The bomb had obliterated the house in an
instant, taking with it everything I had ever treasured. I saw it
with my eyes, why didn’t I believe it in my heart? Why couldn’t I
let go?

Why had I never been able to let go?

I had been so selfish.

And now the woman I loved more than anyone
before her had paid the ultimate price, simply because I hadn’t
loved her more than I loved myself.

But if it was the last thing I would ever
do, I’d risk it all to save her. I’d finally give her the love she
never should have been denied.

When the burning beams tumbled around me as
I ran deeper into the smoking inferno of my home, I honestly didn’t
care if they consumed me.

If we couldn’t live together, we’d die
together.

I would never let go.

Andy… I’ll never let go…

CHAPTER ONE

Redondo Beach, California

January 10, 2011

Giovanni Carnevale was smiling as he brought
the tray up the stairs to their open loft bedroom that overlooked
the Pacific. He was no chef by far, but he could whip up a pretty
decent breakfast, even if he did say so himself. There was whole
wheat toast, slightly buttered, with a teaspoon of blackberry jam.
The eggs were fluffy and light, the turkey bacon was crisp and not
too greasy.

She hadn’t been able to tolerate greasy ever
since she’d gotten pregnant.

There was a small glass of juice and a larger
glass of water, to help her swallow her prenatal vitamin. And there
was a rose in a small bud vase, just to brighten her morning.

He made sure there were always fresh flowers
around to brighten her mornings.

He paused as he reached their enormous,
rumpled bed. Her dark hair fanned across the pillow like an angel’s
wings. She looked about ten years younger when she slept, and
sometimes he’d just hold her in his arms as he memorized every
feature, every curve.

He was in awe of her. He loved her quiet
strength, her enduring optimism, her ceaseless passion. She filled
all the holes that life had drilled into him over the years, many
he’d self-inflicted. And yet she loved him anyway.

She loved him best.

He smiled as he placed the tray on a table by
the bed. He let the robe slip from his strong shoulders and fall in
a heap by the bed. He slid under the covers and she stirred
slightly, but did not waken.

She wore a baby blue nightgown that had risen
up toward her hips as she slept. Her flesh was milky white, and his
large, strong hand moved along her silky skin. He hungered for her
in ways he had never imaged. The taste of her lips, the smell of
her skin – it was more intoxicating than the finest wine. His body
stirred just from lying next to her. The fingers from his other
hand brushed away the hair from her beautiful face, and he bent to
kiss her softly on her parted lips.

His hand slipped up her leg and over her hip
as he pressed against her. His fingers continued their journey
until they landed on her full breast, which he cupped gently. She
moaned in her sleep as she turned toward him.

He placed tiny kisses along her jawline
toward her ear and nuzzled her neck softly. She groaned a bit as
she started to waken, her body coming alive with his mouth against
her skin. It was like a dream to be in his arms. She couldn’t
believe it every time her eyes opened and he was there with her,
for real… forever.

It made all the struggles they had been
through worthwhile. He was worth any price she had to pay over the
years. “Vanni,” she whispered. He groaned as he pulled her to
him.

His body was bare and hard and she fit every
rigid contour like a sexy glove. She was warm, full, inviting. His
hand slid between their bodies and disappeared between her legs as
he drove his tongue between her full, parted lips.

She moaned in his mouth as she trembled
against his fingers. He knew just where to touch, how firm, how
light, how fast and how deep. He mastered her body in ways she had
never believed possible, and it responded to his touch quickly and
powerfully.

She pulled him on top of her and welcomed him
between her quivering thighs. He buried himself inside of her as he
whispered her name against her mouth. “I love you,” he’d repeat.
“My Andy.”

Her fingers dug into his muscular back as her
legs crossed his hips. She urged him on, consumed with her need for
him. There were no barriers anymore, no reason to hold back. She
bucked against him with abandon that fueled his mounting
desire.

It was never more complete, never more
perfect, than it was when they were together.

She had already come twice by the time he
collapsed on top of her, spent and happy. He brushed the hair from
her face as he gazed down into her eyes, overwhelmed that life had
given him the gift of her. “Morning,” he said with that smirk she
loved so much.

She wrapped herself around him. “No,” she
said softly. “I’m still dreaming. I have to be.”

He held her tight. He was ready to promise
her an entire lifetime of mornings just like this. This was their
fairy tale, and he was ready to give her a happily ever after. “You
are my dream,” he said. He kissed her deep and slow. “And we never
have to wake up again.”

She liked the sound of that. “Good. Then that
means I don’t have to share you anymore.”

He grinned. “Only with our little bean,” he
said, referring to his nickname for the baby. “How’s she doing this
morning?”

Andy had to laugh. He was
convinced they were going to have a girl. “
He’s
doing fine,” she retorted
playfully. She really didn’t care if they had a boy or a girl; she
just loved teasing him about it. Her stomach rumbled a bit in
response, which made them both laugh. “And apparently
hungry!”

He rolled away to retrieve the tray beside
the table. “Good thing I came prepared,” he said. She scooted up
into a sitting position and he placed the tray across her lap.

“You spoil me, Vanni.”

He planted a kiss on top of her head. “Get
used to it.”

She didn’t eat much, her stomach was still
getting used to her pregnancy. Some days she couldn’t eat anything
more than a piece of plain toast, but so far the morning sickness
had been mild. It really only bothered her toward the end of the
day, but Vanni had been waiting on her hand and foot to make sure
she had the proper diet.

While she showered he changed the sheets and
made the bed, then washed their breakfast dishes. She looked rosy
and happy when she descended the stairs in a sunny, breezy sundress
and bare feet. She found him enjoying a cup of coffee on the deck.
His hair blew from his bare shoulders, so she cuddled him from
behind as they drank in the sea breezes.

They heard a slight rustling from the brush
below, and dutifully Andy escaped back into the house. Ever since
they had returned from New York, PING and its dedicated paparazzi
had been trying to snare a pic of the happy couple.

Andy was frustrated as she flopped on the
sofa. She loved their cocoon but she missed being able to come and
go as she pleased. “Isn’t there any other news in this town to
cover?” she pouted.

Vanni sighed as he joined her, taking her
into his arms. “They’ll get bored and leave us alone,” he promised.
“Don’t feed the beast and it’ll go away.”

She nodded as she cuddled in his arms. She
wasn’t quite sure she believed it, but once again she knew there
was a price to be paid for being in love with a rock star. As much
as she wanted him all to herself, she knew she still shared him
with the world. She glanced back up into his dark eyes and knew it
was worth it. She was hopelessly in love with him… she had been for
years. She would rather be here in his arms than anywhere else in
the world.