Read Accidentally Married to the Billionaire (Whirlwind Romance Series) Online
Authors: Shadonna Richards
Praise
for Shadonna Richards’s
AN
UNEXPECTED BRIDE
(BOOK ONE IN THE BRIDE SERIES)
"Her debut novel, An Unexpected Bride, has
burst onto the scene, zooming up the bestseller lists and racking up fans
faster than other writers racking
up words....a smash hit!"
-
KINDLE FIRE DEPARTMENT
"Author Shadonna Richards has an
"unexpected" bestseller on her hands with this unheralded romantic
comedy....An Unexpected Bride has sold 10,000 copies in its first three
months..."
-
KINDLE
NATION DAILY
"Shadonna
Richards is a wonderful author!...It's a sweet and romantic story that will
sweep you off your feet."
-
REVIEWS BY MOLLY
***
THE BRIDE SERIES
An Unexpected Bride
The Jilted Bride
The Matchmaker Bride
His Island Bride
An Unexpected Baby (the sequel to An Unexpected Bride)
The Bride Series (5 Bestselling novels in 1 Volume)
WHIRLWIND ROMANCE SERIES
Accidentally Flirting with the CEO
Accidentally Married to the Billionaire
Accidentally Falling for the Tycoon
Copyright
© 2011 Shadonna Richards
All
rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted
by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the
prior permission of the publisher.
This
book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are
products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously. Any
resemblance to persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thank you, God for all my blessings. To
my cherished son and husband for your unconditional love. With gratitude to my
family and friends for your endless support. To Solomon, Jermaine, Merdella,
Nesitta, Godwin, Monica, and Percell. To my editor M.M. for always being
brilliant.
To Sean, Charms, Judy, Yvonne, and Fenn.
ACCIDENTALLY MARRIED TO THE
BILLIONAIRE
When Kira Watson, a normally shy
reporter, wakes up in a Las Vegas hotel room with a gorgeous man in her bathroom,
her jaw drops open. He tells her that he is Alessandro, her new husband, but
just for the weekend. Alessandro was the man she was sent to write a story
about—but how did she end up his weekend wife?
Sexy, arrogant tycoon Alessandro
Romano goes to Las Vegas to clench the most important deal for his business.
What he did not bargain for was sweet undercover reporter Kira Watson. After a
few drinks they end up tying the knot on the spur of the moment in a drive-through
wedding on the Vegas Strip. She is perfect to play his temporary wife for the
weekend so that he can persuade his business partners and the press that he is
a family man—but the rules soon change when passion begins to sizzle between
them.
1.
I will never drink again!
Kira Watson’s head pounded like a
bass drum when she woke up from her first real hangover in years. She froze
when she heard the buzzing sound of an electrical device coming from the
bathroom of her hotel suite.
Oh, God! Please tell me I didn’t
do anything stupid last night.
The last thing she remembered was
coming to Las Vegas, Nevada on an assignment with a new job to cover the
bidding for a large facility near Disneyland in Orlando, Florida. Billionaires
from around the world were meeting at a prestigious hotel just outside of Vegas
with their proposals of what they would do with the facility. All eyes were on
one man who wanted to change it into the world’s largest children’s hospital
and thought it would be the best location. Kira’s twin had died of a rare
childhood disorder and she hoped whoever won the bid would be turn the sought
after building into a world-renowned facility to help sick children from around
the world—regardless of their family income.
That was pretty much what she
remembered.
She also remembered not having
anything to eat then drinking champagne at some reception at the hotel—a few
glasses too many, probably, and feeling tipsy. She’d spoken to a nice gentleman
but that was it. Wasn’t it?
“Who’s in there?” she moaned
while pressing her hand to her head to stop the hammering inside her skull.
Talking to strangers or picking
up guys was never her thing and never would be. She pulled the sheets over her
body and propped herself up in the bed.
Just then, the door swung open
and so did Kira’s mouth when a gorgeous naked man walked out with nothing but a
towel over his midsection holding what appeared to be an electric toothbrush.
“Oh, my God!”
“Good morning, beautiful,” the sexy
stranger said with a dimpled grin on his face. His voice was deep and smooth
like warm honey. He tilted his head to the right as if surveying her with his
smooth eyes.
Kira could not speak for a
moment. His silky voice caused a reaction within her, sending waves of
excitement and bewilderment down her spine.
She’d seen good looking guys
before but he was…stunning. Drop-dead gorgeous!
Her eyes captured his tall, lean
frame and ripped muscles on his firm body. She gaped at his beautiful tanned
complexion, his six-pack, biceps, and the taut nipples on his muscular chest. The
body of someone who obviously worked out at the gym a lot. No, the body of a
Greek god!
His dark sexy eyes resembled a
delicious shade of milk chocolate. Ooh, he was hot! Yummy!
“Um…I’m sorry but this might
sound a bit…rude but…” Kira sucked in a deep breath, “…who the hell are you?
And what are you doing in my room?”
A grin touched the corner of the sinfully
handsome stranger’s full lips. His expression, a bit perplexed. “The name’s Romano.
Alessandro Romano. Now, honey, is that anyway to greet your…Wait a minute! You
don’t remember anything about last night?”
Kira instinctively pulled the
sheets up to cover her bosom under her lingerie. Thankfully, she was not naked.
“No.”
“Don’t worry, darling. I don’t do
comatose women.”
Kira looked aghast.
Alessandro’s expression softened
when he saw her reaction. “Relax. I’m just kidding. About you being comatose.
We did not have sexual intercourse if that’s what you are worrying about. You
can breathe now.” He placed his toothbrush between his lips and turned the
motor on. She caught his eyes sliding down her body as if he knew what was
underneath the sheet and her nightie.
Kira didn’t realize she was
holding her breath but exhaled sharply. She also didn’t realize how much she wanted
a part of her in between his lips instead of the toothbrush.
Stop it, Kira! Get your mind out
of there. He’s…Did he say, Alessandro Romano? That name. That name sounds so
familiar.
Where
did she hear it from?
Oh, God!
Alessandro Romano!
One of the billionaires bidding
for the facility in Orlando!
She’d spent so much time
researching Alessandro’s background that she felt she knew a lot about him. At
age thirty-five, he was one of the youngest self-made billionaires. He was also
one of the most generous philanthropists, giving away more of his income than
any other wealthy tycoon. But he also had a mysterious side. And…he looked so
much different from the few photos she found of him on the web. For instance,
he always wore his trademark shades in public.
She just got the new assignment
from her employer,
Babs Insider Magazine
, to cover the story that was
supposed to be titled “The Bidding War Begins! Let the Best Man Win.” Their
other reporter got sick and couldn’t make the trip.
She held her head again at that
thought. God, she would never have another drink so long as she lived and that
would suit her just fine.
“Seemed like you had a bit too
much to drink, my dear. After we…”
“After we what?” Kira’s heart
pounded hard and fast in her chest now. She thought she was going to have a
panic attack. This could not be happening. No way could this be happening. She
was usually careful. She didn’t do exciting things…like this. This was all so
out of character for her. Her sister was the fun one. Kandy’s motto had always
been “life is short, so live it up!”
Just then her head started to
throb again. So did her inner thighs. How could she hold a proper conversation
when he was…dripping with sexual eroticism?
“Relax, Kira! We just got
married,” he said as he returned to brushing his teeth as if he said nothing
out of the ordinary.
“We just got
what
?”
Kira felt her heart stop.
2.
“We got married last night. You
don’t remember, my dear?” He turned to go into the bathroom to finish brushing
his teeth then she heard him rinsing out his mouth. He returned wiping his face
with a white face cloth.
Kira jumped out of the bed with
the sheets still wrapped around her. She paced as if she were locked up in an
insane asylum. She might have well been for what she’d just done.
“We got m-m-married?”
She just got married to
Alessandro Valentino Romano, the mysterious billionaire who’d been linked to
more women than a pool party at the Playboy Mansion?
Kira’s heart raced. She could not
believe what her ears had just heard.
“You really don’t remember the
conversation we had last night?”
“No!” Kira panicked. “No! I
don’t! W-what happened?”
“Well, we both got to talking. I
found out you were stalking me for your story and you didn’t know who I was at
the time but you took a liking to me.”
“What?” Kira got up and stumbled
to the plush sofa by the fireplace in the suite—she didn’t feel like having
this conversation while she sat up in bed. The room was certainly a grand suite
if she’d ever seen one. It was like a presidential suite.
Alessandro sighed. He then took
off his towel and began to dress.
Kira’s jaw dropped.
He was naked!
He was naked in front of her like
it didn’t mean anything. And he was…truly blessed with generous proportions by
Mother Nature. That much she knew.
Ooh, he was sex-y!
Kira’s mind drew a blank for just
a moment. She squeezed her eyes shut then opened them again. She felt heat rise
to her cheeks. She was sure she was blushing fifty shades of rouge or
something. It was hard to tear her gaze away from his body but she finally looked
down at her pedicured on her toes.
“Um…you were saying?” she said,
trying not to look at him.
Alessandro slipped into his silk
boxer shorts and began to dress himself in front of her.
“We both found out that we have a
lot in common.”
“We do?” Kira sounded dubious as
she watched him slide his vest on.
“Why does that surprise you, my
dear?”
“Because…”
“Because what?”
“Well, for starters, you are
a…um….wealthy businessman and I…well…”
“You don’t know how you’ll come
up with the rent next month, is that it?”
“How did you…?”
“Know? Well, let’s just say we
got very friendly yesterday evening. You were nervous because this was your
first out-of-town assignment with that magazine you work for. We both discussed
the paternity suit that is going on with me right now and how it could harm my
chances of opening up a children’s hospital if they thought I had a child I
didn’t want to care for. Which is not true. I was set up. I’d never even met
that woman before. And you wanted to help me to win the bid to help children
with rare disorders. Is that correct so far?”