ROMANCE: Unexpected Love Series (Military Bad Boy Billionaire Pregnancy Romance) (Young Adult Alpha Taboo BBW Contemporary) (9 page)

    As the sun rose high above head and the heated pounded at her body, she rose once again and headed back to his apartment. Behind her the seagulls cawed above head, swooping down onto the deserted beach for a mid-afternoon snack. She wondered if Alex had awakened yet and if so, would his mood have improved after that passionate moment in bed and a nap. She didn’t blame him for being short tempered, but he had to snap out of his rut if he was to press on and succeed. She knew that feeling all too well from her many bad semesters at school. As she approached the stairs, something shimmering caught her eye near his bike. She turned to investigate and headed towards it, gasping as she approached. Someone had vandalized his prized possession. There on the ground lay a broken piece of the mirror, shattered on the cement. Her eyes fell to the deep gouges on the sides and the fender as if made by a key. She glanced around wildly, noticing a familiar red car as it whirled around the corner out of sight. That was Melissa’s friend’s car. She knew it for sure recalling the night she showed up at his old apartment in a drunken rage. Quickly pulling her cell phone from her hand bag she dialed the detective who answered with a tired grunt. She hashed the entire story to him and he sighed.

“You’re sure it was her vehicle you saw headed away from the scene?” She could hear the exhaustion in his voice.

“Yes I’m positive,” She frowned and glanced back at the bike, then up at Alex’s bedroom window, “Alex didn’t sleep last night so he’s upstairs out to the world.”

“Ok I will send over an officer right away and we will try to track down the ex-girlfriend again.” He spoke in a robotic tone and hung up the phone.

    She paced on the sidewalk, her flip flops clacking on the cement below her. She hadn’t told Alex of her thought nor had she mentioned that she had told the detective about Melissa. She didn’t want to get his hopes up that would find the guilty party so soon after his shop was destroyed. Now she knew she would have to go up and wake him, just to tell him that his prized possession had been ransacked by the spiteful woman. She was obviously upset that her plan to snag him in the pregnancy had failed and this was her idea of revenge. Her eyes remained fixed on the entrance to the subdivision, waiting anxiously for the police to arrive on the scene. But concentrating as hard as she was on the street ahead, she didn’t notice the red firebird come creeping around the side. It had circled and doubled back towards the apartment, perhaps in hopes of finding more damage to inflict on her love. Seeing Monica standing alone in the parking lot, it sped up, the engines echoing loudly across the vacant lot. It squealed the tires and roared towards her. Monica’s eyes widened at the site of the car speeding towards her and her heart skipped a beat. She lunged backwards, tripping on a parking block and falling to the ground as the car barely missed her leg.

     She watched in horror as the two woman jumped from car and raced towards her. Instinct kicked in and she clamored to her feet, losing a flip flop as she raced past the staircase and towards the beach. Her feet kicked up sand as she ran as fast as her legs would carry her, the two girls shouting and yelling from behind. At the water’s edge she turned and headed towards a cove nearby, hoping to duck out of sight before they could find her. The turned sharply and ducked down behind a set of large jutting rocks, panting and trying to catch her breath. The cut on her leg stung as the red dripped down her calf to her ankle. She winced but did her best to keep quiet.

“We know you’re out here you little homewrecker.” She heard Melissa calling out from nearby.

“You ratted on us to the police,” Her friend added with a shout, “That was a bad idea.”

    She heard the steps of the woman as they closed in on her hiding place. With a deep breath she ducked out from the rocks and made a dash back towards the apartments, the girls instantly giving chase behind her. On the grass she found she had better leverage to run and soon made some better distance between them, but their voices behind sounded even more irritated. She feared for her life, unsure what the evil woman would do if she caught up to her. She had already set fire to her love’s building and nearly destroyed his bike. There was no telling what she was capable above. The staircase came into sight as she continued to run as fast as she could muster, fueled by pure adrenaline. She just wanted to get away from the woman, find a place to hide. As she rounded the corner of the brick building she gave a shout, running right into the back of Alex and falling onto the cement for the second time. He whirled around, startled by the shock and looked down, his eyes filled with panic.

“There you are,” He pulled her to him quickly, “I was worried sick.”

   Shaking she curled into his strong arms, the sounds of the woman silenced behind him. She glanced from Alex’s shoulder at the two police cars on scene. Once was taking photos of the car, left with its doors wide open beside the bike and the damage done to his cycle while the other searched the area. The woman continued to chase, finally catching up to the corner where Alex and Monica stood. As they turned they gasped, seeing Alex first and then the police just behind him in the distance. The woman turned to make a break for it, but where quickly subdued by the officers. Monica watched as the police placed both of the girls into handcuffs, as Melissa continued to shout and curse in Monica’s direction.

“This isn’t over homewrecker,” She cried out as the officer escorted her to the back of his squad car, “He belongs to me and he always will.”

    Alex gave a long sigh, watching the two woman escorted away from the apartment. The detective appeared on the scene with his pen and notebook and gave a frown as he approached. He took Monica’s statement as she rehashed the entire frightening scene out before Alex, whose face was distorted into a look of rage over the thought of harm coming to her. After the officer headed over for more work, he eyed his bike and Monica with a frown.

“Aren’t you upset about your bike?” She glanced once again at the damage Melissa had done.

“I am,” He pulled her into his arms and caressed her cheek, “But when I came out and found your shoe and the car, the thought of something happening to you was more important than some bike. I don’t what I would have done had you been hurt.”

“I love you Alex.” She smiled up and kissed his cheek warmly.

“I love you too.” He forced a smile.

    Upstairs he sat her down on the couch and tended to her cuts and scrapes from the falls to the cement. His strong hands were gentle as he wiped away the mess and bandaged her leg. She winced slightly at the pain but gave him a reassuring smile. He frowned and looked up at her with his baby blue eyes.

“Maybe you were right about me,” He looked as if he would cry, “Maybe my lifestyle is just too wild for someone like you to ever fully love me. I mean look at this mess I have drug you into.”

“This wasn’t your fault Alex,” she caressed his cheek, “You didn’t ask for your crazy ex to cause all this trouble.”

“I know,” he rose and sat besides her, taking her hand into his, “But it comes with the territory of my world I guess. There will always be issues and you deserve a calm and happy life with someone who has their act together.”

“Your right,” She sighed, “There will always be issues and challenges Alex, but that’s normal in a relationship. Just because you were a leather jacket and ride a motorcycle doesn’t make that any different. I know this now. I’m sorry I gave you such a hard time when we first met, I shouldn’t have been so quick to jump to conclusions.”

     He smiled brightly for the first time in two days and held her close to his body. She could hear a sniffle as if he was crying from the joy of hearing her words. She finally accepted him for who he was and now he felt free to love her as he had wanted to from the moment they first touched. They sat quietly in one another’s arms, savoring the quiet moment together as she once again inhaled his familiar scent into her. Alex kissed her lips softly, his blue eyes filled with a love that was meant only for her. After a moment, Monica burst out in a roar of laughter.

“We have one more challenge I almost forgot.” She grinned though her eyes held a look of worry.

“Oh yeah and what’s that?” He looked down at her puzzled.

“Dad and Carrie caught onto us when I wrapped you in my arms at the fire.” She bite her lip nervously.

“Oh great,” Alex ran his hands through his tussled hair, “And what did they say.”

“Well,” She stood up, the cut on her leg sending a jolt of pain through her, “Dad wasn’t happy about it but I promised to come back and talk to them more later, once this was all cleared up.”

“Now is as good of a time as any I guess,” Alex frowned, “But we’ll have to take a taxi since my psychotic ex-girlfriend just trashed my bike.”

     They headed in the hotel double doors together, hand in and hand, and headed up the elevator to face their parents. After everything the two had endured together Monica felt confident that she could handle something as small as her father’s disapproval. They knocked on the door, her father immediately eyeing the bandage on her leg and giving a frown. Inside the two found themselves sitting side by side on the small loveseat once again, staring up at her father and Carrie who sat quietly on the bed. Carrie spilled the story to them, of how Alex had rescued her that first night on the beach and taken her back and of the way they had fallen for one another. Alex added a few points as well, about the fact that it was Monica’s encouragement that had led him to start up his own successful company.

“I had a feeling a woman had something to do with that Alex,” His mother chimed in pleasantly, “I just didn’t know it was our sweet Monica that had such an effect on you.”

    She watched her father carefully, as he sat quietly listening to the entire tale. When she concluded, he stood up from the edge of bed and walked slowly towards her, her heart racing in her chest. He knelt down and gazed deeply into her eyes.

“Is this really what you want,” He sighed, his eyes intent and serious, “Is this what would make you happy?”

She looked over at Alex, sitting nervously beside her and smiled, “More than anything in the world.”

“Ok then,” He smiled, “You have my blessing. But Alex? You take care of my baby girl now or you’ll have me to answer to understand?”

He gave a laughed and nodded, pulled her close to his side, “I intend to Mr. Yale.”

    The two spent the remainder of her winter break together, working on building their love and a life together now that it was no longer a secret. She checked out of the motel and moved into his place for the rest of Christmas break, the family even spending the holiday in Alex’s living room. On Christmas morning they sat together in his living room, looking out at the beach below and discussing plans for the now nearing move. Alex cleared his throat and rose from the couch beside her. He reached into the tree and pulled out a tiny box that had been hidden away behind the twinkling lights and blubs. He walked over slowly to Monica and knelt down on one knee. Carrie gasped and cupped her hands to her mouth.

“Monica,” He smiled upward towards her, “I saved this one for last.”

     She opened wrapping paper to find silver jewelry box inside. With tears in her eyes she opened it to find a sparkling diamond ring, and looked up into Alex’s eyes in surprise. His eyes were clearly filled with fear as he took the ring from its place and held it near her finger.

“Monica Yale,” He spoke softly, “I have loved you since the moment I saw you there on the beach that fate filled night. I know we got off to a rocky start, but I want to face the rest of life’s challenges with you from this point on. Will you be my wife?”

     She nodded wildly, the tears streaming down her cheeks in excitement and overwhelming joy. She had found the love of her life, this leather wearing biker man who had stolen her heart. And thought she had resisted his life at first, she had come to love it, not wanting to change a thing about it for anything in the world.

“Yes I will marry you,” She cried out as he slipped the ring onto her delicate finger.

    He held her in his arms and planted a gentle kiss onto her lips. This was by far the most exciting and happy vacation she had ever taken in her life and soon the white beaches of this area would be her home for the rest of her days. The holiday concluded with a new year’s celebration at the bar, and a toast to the future. The following morning Monica sadly boarded a plane, headed back for her final semester at school. But she knew in her heart that the white beaches and soft waves would be waiting for her upon her return, as well as her leather clad lover.

***

     The final months passed by in a blur as everything appeared to come to a close. Her father and Carrie managed the move down to Panama City and began unpacking their things, letting her know by phone that she knew room awaited her arrival. She smiled and thanked him, but secretly she didn’t expect to be staying with her father as long as she had first expected. Alex’s friend kept her word and after an over-the-phone interview she found herself with an immediate position as soon as she was settled in after the year ended for good. She would be taking over as assistant caretaker, looking forward to head up many of the rescue missions and tending to some of her favorite animals. The position paid a decent wage and would allow her the time to continue her education down in Florida, as well as build her life with her love Alex.

     The detective contacted her a month later, just to let her know that Melissa would be detained for several years, the courts deciding that she was in need of much therapy and some anger management as well. Monica rolled her eyes. Anger management is an understatement. She laughed to herself. Her friend had also received a sentence so there would be no more worry of harassment when she returned. She hung up with a polite smile and gazed up at the portrait Alex had drawn for her of the cove where they first made love. At least that was one challenge they had finally overcome. The insurance company paid for the repairs and Alex called her each night, giving her updates on the new store and its grand reopening scheduled for the first week of her return.

     They chatted every night on the phone, Monica describing the snowfall outside and how her classes were giving her a headache. Alex encouraged her onward, reminding her that this was the final semester and all she had standing between her and the sunny shores of her new Florida home. She laughed.

“Remember,” He would laugh, “I will be here waiting for you so had better study hard.”

     Finally her faithfull day in April came and she glanced out from the stage into the audience with a smile. She noticed her father and step-mother Carrie at first, smiling and waving as the speaker chatted on about success after graduation. Then her eyes fell onto a surprise guest, sitting just behind her father. He was dressed in a leather jacket, his long black hair pulled back into a pony tail and his blue eyes gazing up at her proudly. Monica’s heart skipped a beat at Alex’s surprise visit to her at the school, coming to support her in her hour of triumph. After the ceremony she ran to his side, her eyes beaming with excitement.

“What are you doing here?” She hugged him tightly

“Well you came to support me when I opened the stores,” Alex laughed and squeezed her tightly, “So I thought I only fair I came to support you.”

“Did you fly in with dad and Carrie?” She laughed happily.

“Oh no my dear,” He grinned a suspicious smile down at her, “I rode up. And I thought, you have two weeks till you start the job at the Mariana.”

“And?” She blinked in confusion.

“And that is just enough time for you and to head out on the open road for an adventure of our own.” He kissed her lips happily.

“I love you Alex.” She laughed, rolling her eyes playfully.

“And I,” He cupped her chin in his strong hands, “Love you even more Monica.”

   She spend the remainder of the afternoon parading him around campus, laughing at the strange looks the other college students were giving him as he stood out like a sore thumb in the crowd. She packed her bags, sending the remainder back with her father on the plane and gave him a long sigh. Once year ago the idea of heading out across the country on the back of some burly motorcycle man’s bike would have been something she wouldn’t even have considered. But it’s funny how life can change so drastically in such a short period of time. Her entire world, and perspective on the people in it, had changed all because of a spring break vacation to Florida. If such a simple trip could have such an impact on her life, who knew what this drive was going to bring. But whatever it was, she knew she would be ready for it with her one true love Alex by her side. She hopped onto the back of his bike once again and he started it with a rumble that echoed along the college campus walls. As they headed out of the front gates she turned back to say good bye to her youth memories once last time, the tall brick buildings growing smaller in the distance. She gazed out at the sunset beside them as they hit the open freeway, the bike kicking to a roar on Route 66. Soon she found they were surrounded on all sides by other bikers who clearly had the same idea about freedom and life. She knew she loved him so dearly and was thankful her head had won. Life with Alex would be an adventure, but it was one she now looked forward to more than ever. Monica wrapped her arms tighter around his waist, feeling the cool spring air as it blew across her face and danced through her hair. Florida and adventure bound they were sure to face whatever came their way together.

~~~ THE END of BOOK 3 ~~~