Three years together. Married to Gideon Maddox…. She could still barely grasp the fact that he’d chosenher—out of all the beautiful, successful women he’d ever known, he’d chosen orphaned, disgustingly average-across-the-board Kendra Little to be his wife.
At that gala, she hadn’t the slightest inkling that her life would change forever, but it had, the moment Gideon Maddox turned his head and met her gaze.
In that moment, her world shifted, toppling end over end…and she never wanted to be right side up again.
Their wedding was rushed and without fanfare—he was adamant about her being his wife as soon as possible, and she knew it was because he was as eager as she was to be tied together forever. Having the wedding at his country house in Martha’s Vineyard with only his family as guests was his idea, too. He was careful about undesirables trying to get in and make a media spectacle. Though rushed and small, the wedding was everything she could ever dream, with Gideon footing the bill because she had no family to take on that traditional responsibility.
He’d taken her to Paris on their honeymoon, where they’d spent, what felt like, the whole ten days in bed. She hadn’t been a virgin, but she might as well have been because she’d never felt so unprepared for what being in Gideon’s arms would feel like.
Bliss. Utter bliss.
They hadn’t merely had sex, they’d reenacted the creation of the universe; atoms collided, forming new phases of matter, while stars burst into a trillion little lights, then exploded into their own, brilliant suns. Once dark and empty spaces filled tooverflowing with heavenly bodies so unspeakably beautiful, they could have only been handmade by God.
And within it all, at the very heart of it, was her and Gideon, wrapped in each other’s arms, sweaty, barely breathing as their souls—exhausted from hours of divine design—returned to their bodies.
Gideon had mastered every inch of her flesh, wringing out pleasures she’d never even fathomed before. Without a single hesitation, she’d handed him her heart, her body, and her soul, and he’d conquered them all.
When they’d returned home, Gideon had returned to work, she’d gotten back into her studio to finish her latest illustrated storybook, and their life fell into a charmed routine, one where she got to live the fairytale.
Until six weeks passed, and the first pregnancy test was negative.
A text pinged on her phone, jerking her from her thoughts. It was a reminder to send the preliminary sketches for her current project to her publisher.
Ugh. She’d completely forgotten about that.
Flustered, and in a hurry to tell her husband the incredible news, she hurried to get dressed, schedule the prenatal appointment, and get home to her office.
Or….
Maybe she’d head to the Maddox Tower building and tell Gideon in person—wait, no…he didn’t like interruptions and distractions during the workday. She’d learned that the hard way five months into their marriage when she’d attempted to surprise him with lunch. She, foolishly believing that because she was his wife, she’d have access to him wherever he was, walked through the Maddox Tower entrance, headed to the front desk to ask the location of her husband’s office, and was promptly shut down by a bottle blonde with pert breasts,tight blouse, skin-tight pencil skirt, and all the customer service charm of a snake with a toothache.
She’d told the woman she was Gideon Maddox’s wife, and she wanted to bring him lunch. After the woman gave her a sneering once over, Kendra presented her ID, demanded to speak with her husband, and threatened to have her fired. The woman laughed in her face…until Adrian, Gideon’s brother, walked in, waving at her as he passed. Not surprisingly, Adrian Maddox, the King of Wall Street, even acknowledging her made the receptionist nervous.
Finally, the bottle blonde called up to Gideon’s assistant…who promptly informed her that Gideon didn’t care who was there to see him, he was too busy and didn’t want the distraction.
Stunned, humiliated, and scraped raw, Kendra had left, the receptionist laughing at her back.
Kendra hadn’t been to Maddox Tower on her own since.
Sure, she went as Gideon’s date to business dinners at the French fusion restaurant on the 20th floor, or to galas in the ballroom, or to meetings with her agent—who’d been hired by Maddox Publishing last year—on the 82nd floor. But not once had she ever entered the building with the purpose of seeing her own husband—not again.
No. She couldn’t go tell her husband the good news of her pregnancy, not while he was at work. But waiting until he got home felt anticlimactic. Then again…she’d always loved surprises, and she wanted to share their good news in a way they would always remember.
Through the windows of the doctor’s office, she could see the garland strung along the lamp posts on 42nd street, and an idea struck her.
Christmas was coming, and what better gift could she give her husband than the gift of a baby?
Her heart full to bursting with joy, Kendra headed home as plans swirled in her head.
This was going to be the best Christmas ever.
Chapter Two
Gideon Maddox groaned, the sound animalistic, deep from this chest, and ragged.
Throwing his head back, he growled through clenched teeth, “Fuuuck—yes!”
His body, sweat-drenched, each muscle taut with pleasure, jerked as he emptied himself into his wife for the second time that night, his cock buried deep, so…fucking…deep.
