Capital Risk

However quickly it would come.

He lay beside me, his hand over my tummy. His cock sunk into me. I closed my eyes, and the thickness only tightened the need inside me. For once, his breathing shuddered more than mine. I loved hearing his quiet grunt, the not-so-hidden profanities that destroyed the composure of a man as powerful as Nicholas Be

He was as gentle as he could be, but his touch was never rough, only demanding. The simple, desperate movement that offered so much but took even more. I mewed, matching his intensity, resting against the heat of his chest. His hands caressed every part of me, tickling over my breasts, my tummy, and finally in the crest he claimed.

I flinched as he rubbed my swollen clit. The sensation overwhelmed me into shocked shivers of pleasure. Neither of us would last, but we weren’t savoring. I needed that burst, the quick blending of passion. A promise of everything warm and wild.

He pinched my clit as I tensed, clenching against his thickness. The first jet of his heat within me caused my own peak, and I clutched his arms, the bed, my own body.

We shuddered together in a shared, perfect pleasure.

A perfect trust.

And I knew what it meant. Trust was my most reckless sacrifice of all, and letting him love me the most dangerous promise I’d ever make. My heart was his to cherish or shatter.

It wasn’t a weakness to love, but it took so much strength to survive.

We rested, panting, loving. For the first time, I let myself imagine that this would be our reality. Our few delicate moments could stretch beyond stolen hours or days and last for a lifetime.

Nicholas sighed, pulling from me despite my soft protest.

“We’re supposed to be at my party,” he said.

“You’re just lucky I didn’t name myself CEO of the Be

“Exceedingly fortunate.”

We dressed quickly. No powder or makeup hid the flush over my cheeks. We arrived only an hour late, well within the earned grace period of a Be

The Be

A full-scale orchestra blared classical music, and every important person with a well-known family on the West Coast joined in the cacophony of money, power, and celebrity.

Reed greeted us with a broad smile and edged us from the well-wishers for a moment of privacy.

“And just where have you two been?”

Nicholas accepted a drink and toasted his brother. “I showed Sarah Bumper’s nursery.”

“I hope I get the encore tour.”

I blushed, wishing I had something stronger than ginger ale to endure the hungry stares of my two step-brothers. Someone was missing. I searched through the tuxedos and evening gowns.

“Where’s Max?” I asked.

Reed shrugged, attempting to look carefree. He failed. “Haven’t seen him. He’s probably coming later.”

Or not at all. Reed didn’t need to make excuses for his brother.

We parted as Senator Mackin arrived to shake Nicholas’s hand. The greying, walking/talking suit beamed an elect-me personality. He wagged a finger.

“Ms. Sarah Atwood. I remember you from when you were just a little tyke.”

“Most people do, sir,” I said.

“Certainly not little now.”

I glanced down. I wasn’t that big, and Bumper would probably be petite. The dress did accentuate the bump. I thought I looked rather cute.

“I should congratulate you, Ms. Atwood,” he said.

Nicholas held my hand. “Thank you, Senator.”

What the hell was he doing?

The realization took a moment to brighten the senator’s face, but the shock remained. At first, I prepared for the scandal, the dreaded word step-brother. Instead, he laughed.

“An Atwood and Be

“Boy.” We both answered quickly, reflexively.

“Well, congratulations! I feel like I ought to start my campaigning now. In thirty years that little boy is going to own us all.”

He shook Nicholas’s hand again before parting to chase either a waitress or the drinks she carried. I tugged Nicholas to my side before he dared to slink away.

“So…” I perked an eyebrow. “We’re just…telling people then?”

“Why not?” he said. “Sarah, I love you. And I love Bumper. And the truth will come out soon enough. Why not celebrate it?”

“Celebrate it?”

“We’re here, aren’t we?” he shrugged. “Surrounded by everyone powerful and influential. It’s a perfect opportunity to reveal it.”

I meant to frown, but the tingle of excitement buzzed through me.

He was right, but Nicholas didn’t see the true opportunity. We were here, celebrating his ascension to the top of the Be

And I had him.

It was the perfect opportunity to a

Now, the bastard had no family. No company. Absolutely no meaning left in his life. Everything Darius once prized in the world was lost to me. Even his heir held my hand as he made his rounds to visits friends and business associates.

“Ms. Atwood!” A balding man, flushed by too many drinks, shook my hand and gri

He knew how to flatter me. “Thank you.”

“I am so grateful for the opportunity to work with you. We will make history, you and me. With your intelligence and understanding of these genomes, the world is going to change.”

The damn hormones. Nicholas thanked him for me as I choked on my own pride. I fa

“Let’s get you something to eat,” he said.

“Hear that?” My sniffle became a giggle. “Change the world. Me. All this time you Be

“Hindsight is 20/20.”

I shook my head as a passing server offered a variety of shellfishes and seafoods. Not good for me at the moment, not a particular favorite otherwise. I aimed for a cracker with cheese though I really wanted a snow cone. I managed to find crushed ice at the bar and some soda just as the crowd cried for a speech.

Nicholas was a lot of things—handsome, confident, devoted. He was also a Be

It wasn’t a speech. It was his coronation.

He rose to the band’s stage and accepted the microphone from the conductor. The lights focused over him, and every eligible and not so eligible woman in the room sighed.

The shadows captured his chiseled chin and jaw line, and the tuxedo tailored the strength of his shoulders and chest. If pride were truly sin, then every moment with Nicholas had bathed me in hellfire.

“I want to thank you all for attending.” His voice needed no microphone. The party would’ve stopped breathing if it meant capturing his every word. “This is a monumental day for the Be