The Devoted Winter: BWWM Billionaire Romance Novel (Her Winter Love Series Book 1) (17 page)

Bijou knew she had to wait…

As she waited for the right time to get in touch with Sam, after his stressful week was over, Sam had been thinking about her too. In fact, he hadn’t really been that busy but he’d been contemplating his romantic encounter with Bijou. It had been perfect, almost too perfect. Sam was wondering if Bijou had discovered his secret. Perhaps she’d known all along and
she
was the one stringing him along, playing him like a fiddle by acting like the girl of his dreams. Suspicion was a major part of Sam’s life unfortunately, but he had to be guarded to protect himself.

Sam wasn’t an ordinary rich guy who picked up girls from clubs in his luxury car that he could barely afford; many “rich” guys weren’t very rich when it came down to the books. Sam was a billionaire, and a relatively famous one at that. Only someone with their nose to the grindstone and out of the media wouldn’t know his face. Of course, that was exactly the kind of life that Bijou led. She had no nefarious or gold digging intent but Sam couldn’t be sure. It all seemed too good to be true. A beautiful dark skinned woman who happened to connect with him in all these different ways especially in bed just seemed unrealistic to him. After all, he’d never met a woman he’d connected with like that before. Most women could smell the money on him and they were desperate to take it off.

If only Sam knew that for Bijou, it wasn’t about the money. There was something there, something real between them. Would a baby change all that?

*********

The End.

MAKING ME CRAZY

by Jamila Jasper

Copyright © 2015 Jamila Jasper

Reader discretion is advised.

Highly sexually explicit content in the pages ahead.

If the idea of a sexy black talk show host getting knocked up by a hot, white, former NHL player, billionaire bothers you then read no further.

The office was pristine and silent, except for a tiny whirring noisemaker outside the therapist’s door. There were a couple fake plants in the corner of the room but overall it was silent and morose. I mean, people going to see a therapist didn’t typically want to strike up conversations with anyone except the doctor that they were going to see. It made sense.

The office was relatively empty that Friday afternoon. It wasn’t a popular time for appointments. Most people healed on the weekends without a therapist, preferring drugs or alcohol which were far less costly and relied far less on confronting childhood traumas. Vanessa was sitting in the waiting room anxiously. She was forty five minutes early for her appointment, as usual. She just hated this waiting room, how everything appeared so clinical and clean.

She didn’t like to think of herself as one of the crazies. But she supposed she had to be if she was here again just like she had been every Friday for the past four months. Vanessa just hoped this treatment would help. Nothing had worked and her problem was getting worse and worse every day. This was her last shot, her last attempt at fixing herself before she ran another relationship, friendship or opportunity into the ground.

By all appearances, Vanessa looked like a normal woman in her late twenties. She was African American with deep caramel colored skin, average height with a curvy build. Vanessa was relatively voluptuous with large curvy breasts, a slimmer waist and attractive hips. She wasn’t particularly shy but she wasn’t outgoing either. It wasn’t like she shied away from social situations but more and more she was starting to and that scared her. Was she losing that joie de vivre that would make her attractive to a romantic partner? It was something that Vanessa often felt desperate about. She knew that her time was ticking and she hadn’t found love yet. Vanessa had a beautiful round face with highlighted rosy cheeks. Her hair was in long black braids and her eyes were an attractive dove gray color and unusually large. Vanessa had thick eyelashes that added an element of seduction to everything she did. If she had more self confidence, she would have been a danger to every man who encountered her.

The other man in the therapist’s office was the most handsome man Vanessa had ever seen. He seemed to exude the confidence that she lacked. Even sitting down he was quite tall; he must have been around six foot five or six foot six. He was broad and clearly muscular. His biceps were ripping out of his tight v-neck black shirt. His jeans were a classy dark wash that were cuffed to show his well worn desert boots. His clothing was simple and tasteful but expensive. Vanessa’s eye for detail caught this immediately. The man had thick dark brown hair that was slicked back and aquamarine eyes. Vanessa couldn’t help but glance up from the magazine she was reading and look over at him every once in a while. He was
gorgeous.

Vanessa was thinking of introducing herself to him but all of a sudden the man leaned over and asked, “Hey are you Vanessa Blood from Thursday Evening?” Vanessa couldn’t believe that he’d actually recognized her. She was the host of a local news talk show that discussed some of the trivial little happenings in town like local politics or local business. Honestly, Vanessa didn’t think that many people watched and if they did watch, they were probably creepy old guys who watched for perverted reasons. “Yeah, it’s me,” she said shyly reaching for his hand. “Sorry, I didn’t quite catch your name?” Vanessa probed. The tall man smiled and ran his hands through his hair before replying.

“How rude of me… Sorry. I’m Darryl Jordan,” he replied. He paused as if expecting her to recognize his name but Vanessa had no idea who he was. “Well, it’s nice to meet you,” she said smiling. Darryl wasn’t done. “I’m sorry to be forward but you’re absolutely beautiful and I’d love to take you out some time. Here’s my number. Please call me,” he said. Vanessa smiled as he handed her a small piece of paper with his phone number scribbled hastily onto it. She was really flattered that this handsome stranger had not only recognized her, but he had nearly immediately given her his number.

“Are you sure a therapist’s office is where you want to pick a girl up? I could be bat shit crazy for all you know,” Vanessa teased batting her eyelashes at him. “Well you can’t be any crazier than I am,” Darryl joked back. Before they could get to know each other better the therapist’s door opened and Darryl had to leave the waiting room. “Give me a call Vanessa,” he said and winked before entering the grim faced therapist’s office. Vanessa only had to wait a few more minutes before her own therapist’s office door opened but for the first time in months she was absolutely beaming when she went into her appointment.

Darryl’s therapist closed the door behind her and looked at him sternly. “Darryl, I certainly hope you weren’t asking that young woman out,” she said. “Actually I was Dr. Laurel,” Darryl said in a blase manner, fully aware that what he had done had breached the agreement he’d made with his therapist. “Darryl, do you remember why you are coming to this session instead of one that’s better suited for a man of your financial… caliber?” Dr. Laurel said to him. Darryl sighed. This therapy bullshit involved way more introspection than he’d ever really wanted. Darryl knew that Dr. Laurel was right too, but he was a red blooded, attractive American male. How was turning down every piece of pussy that passed his way going to help him heal? “Yes, I know why I’m here,” he replied in a huff.

“Well maybe I should remind you,” Dr. Laurel said, matching his tone. She walked over to her desk and pulled out a small brown chest that was locked shut. Darryl brought the key out of his denim and handed it to his therapist. She unlocked it and he stared at what was inside wistfully. A tear rolled down his cheek. “She’s dead because of me,” he whispered. “And that’s what we’re here to work on. So please Darryl. Stick to the agreement so we can both be rid of each other,” she said as she slammed the chest shut and turned the key again.

Both Darryl and Vanessa had incredible sessions and left without seeing the other. Vanessa had desperately hoped she would run into him but she didn’t. Darryl wasn’t thinking about Vanessa when his session ended. Yes, she’d been beautiful but Dr. Laurel was right. He probably wasn’t ready. Vanessa Blood was beautiful; he watched her show all the time. But he would cause her nothing but pain.

Darryl was still mildly fascinated with Vanessa and as he was about to fall asleep that evening he couldn’t help but wonder why she didn’t recognize him. Darryl was a retired NHL player. He had
thought
he was one of the stars of the league and thus easily recognizable. After he’d retired, Darryl had invested his money in a number of hyper successful tech start ups and he was one of the most sought after Angel investors. He was a multi-billionaire who was renowned in many circles, but apparently not Vanessas. It was rare for him to meet a woman who had no idea who he was. Most of the women he’d tried to date were after his money and his therapist had deemed dating a hindrance to his recovery.

That evening Vanessa toyed with the piece of paper wondering if she should call the handsome guy she’d met in her therapist’s office. Unlike Darryl, her therapist was encouraging her to date but only casually. Vanessa had issues of her own to work through and while casual dates (with no sex) were deemed positive to her recovery, casual sex and serious dating were not. Vanessa really needed to get better. So she figured she would call Darryl and ask him out on a date. What’s the worst that could happen?
He could say no
. The voice in her head whispered to her. For the first time in a while, Vanessa was able to quiet the negative voices that crowded out her rational brain. She picked up the phone and dialed Darryl’s number.

“Let me guess, it’s Vanessa,” he said as he picked up. How on earth had he known that? Either way she was grinning from ear to ear. “Good guess,” she said. “Well now that you’ve called me I assume you want to go out some time?” Darryl said. Again he’d guessed correctly. He suggested meeting up at a local restaurant for drinks and if they got hungry, some dinner afterwards. Vanessa agreed eagerly. You couldn’t get more casual than drinks and dinner. This was good. She could work on the tactics her therapist taught her. This was great opportunity for change.

To prepare for her date the next day, Vanessa worked on her confidence boosting exercises. “I am strong. I am beautiful. I am worthy of love,” she repeated over and over to herself as she applied her makeup and got dressed. To an outsider, she looked like a crazy person but Vanessa knew if she had any hope of not messing this date up she would have to sound like a crazy person for just a little while. Vanessa added her deep breathing exercises to relax herself as she got closer and closer to the time Darryl had agreed to pick her up.

She was dressed simply and tastefully with a beautiful emerald green dress that seemed to highlight the color of her eyes, bringing out the dormant green undertones. The colors of the dress appeared richer thanks to her brown skin. Vanessa pinned back the front of her hair and went downstairs to pour herself a glass of wine while she waited for Darryl to arrive. She could really use the wine. She hated to admit it to herself but she was nervous and she could hear the voices of insecurity starting to creep in.Vanessa downed her glass quickly before she heard a horn honking outside of her house. When she looked outside she saw the
nicest
car that she’d ever seen. Honestly, she was shocked. Darryl was well dressed when she met him, but he hadn’t given off the aura of wealth that someone with that kind of car would have.

Darryl got out of the car, like a gentleman, and met her at the door to her house. Vanessa opened the door before he could knock on her door, she opened it. Darryl was there smiling. “Let me walk you to the car,” he said, clearly unable to take his eyes off of her. Vanessa could tell he was bewitched by her presence but she was still too shy to make the first move. Darryl opened the door to the car and helped her in. Vanessa was impressed by how much of a gentleman he was.

As they drove to their promised destination, Darryl and Vanessa began talking. Vanessa had never met a guy who could actually let her get a word in edgewise. Overall, Darryl appeared to be a good listener. He was certainly a better listener than most of her boyfriends, but throughout the drive, Darryl felt like his mind was very far away. He was thinking back to his therapy session and thinking about the fact that he was blatantly breaking his agreement with his therapist. A part of him justified it by thinking, “It’s one date, how bad can it be?” But another part of him was wondering what could possibly be so compelling about Vanessa Blood that was causing him to compromise everything.

They arrived at the restaurant and Vanessa said, “Honestly Darryl, I have to say, even if the date hasn’t started yet, you’re an amazing listener. Better than any guy I’ve ever met.” Vanessa was trying out bluntness and more honesty in her casual dating. “Thanks,” Darryl said quietly, realizing that he wasn’t as much of a good listener as he was slipping into brooding. That wouldn’t do. He actually felt compelled to get to know Vanessa Blood a lot better. There was just something about her. From the moment he’d seen her adorable talk show on the evening news, Darryl had thought she was gorgeous and sensual. He hadn’t felt this way about a woman in a while. In fact, Darryl had almost given up on romance for himself.
It all goes to shit anyways.

As they sat down, a peppy blond waitress with raccoon eyeliner took their order. A cosmopolitan for Vanessa and a whiskey sour for Darryl. Vanessa loved the smell of whiskey but she just couldn’t stomach the intense burning as it seemed to ooze down her throat. The two began speaking; this time Darryl found himself more involved. As he looked into Vanessa’s eyes and listened to her sultry hypnotic voice, he found himself actually imagining what it would be like to be with her. He wondered what she was like during the day and of course, what she was like in bed. She was so gorgeous, he couldn’t help imagining taking her home and showing her a good time.

Vanessa didn’t quite realize the magnetic effect she had on Darryl. They seemed to complement each other well. Vanessa could fill all their silences with bubbly conversation that seemed to lure Darryl in. Darryl was the best listener she could find, attentive and stoic. Vanessa found him a little more difficult to read than most people but she enjoyed the mystery, the uncertainty of whether or not he found her appealing. Normally that uncertainty drove her crazy but with Darryl she’d managed to find a new excitement in it, possibly due to her subconscious awareness of how much Darryl truly had felt drawn to her. He’d broken his vow for a woman he barely knew.

As the night drew on and they actually ordered dessert after their drinks Vanessa began to consider actually sleeping with Darryl. She knew it would breach the agreement she had made in therapy but something about Darryl just felt right. Maybe this period of abstinence would be helpful to her if she’d gone her usual route of finding emotionally unavailable guys. Something about Darryl just felt different to her and Vanessa’s guard was weakened. Even if it all went south, could she really get hurt that badly by a guy she’d just met.