Her Alpha CEO

Epilogue

He could hear music blaring out of the office, a wild rendition of “Jingle Bells.” That was so like Nina. The bookstore was closed, but people were going in and out carrying boxes of food and presents to cars. As always, she headed up the drive to take dinners and gifts to the less fortunate, and she’d managed to rally quite a crew to help her.

He couldn’t wait to see her, to watch the way her eyes lit up when she first saw him, to see her smile blossom and hear her laughter. He ached to hold her, to feel her skin against his and he could already taste her kiss. Sometimes, when he was away from her, he woke up with the taste of her in his mouth.

He’d been gone two months this time. It was the longest they’d ever been apart, and he’d felt every second of the separation. He’d never stay away that long again. He needed his family far more than he needed the outlet of his work. He would still continue it, but he would not take a job where he would be separated from them for so long. He’d learned, in his long absence, that they were his balance and sanity.

A part of him was afraid of his welcome. Afraid that smile, the light in Nina’s eyes wouldn’t be there for him this time. His hands gripped the steering wheel, thinking about losing her, losing what he had because he could never quite rid himself of the drive that drove him to work, endlessly.

He heard laughter and turned his head to see the two little girls running up the street, clutching at Tristan’s hands, dragging him toward the clinic. Their blond hair, so like his, was shiny and bobbed as they ran. His three-year-old twin daughters had Nina’s deep brown eyes and her smile. He loved the sound of their laughter. He still couldn’t believe he had daughters. Beautiful twins who climbed all over him and kissed him every chance they got. Nina had given him that gift.

Observing Tristan with his daughters brought a lump to his throat. His relationship with his brother had grown into everything he’d hoped. He was tall and strong, and he carried himself with confidence. The shadows that had always been present in his eyes were replaced with contentment. He had friends and he was extraordinarily happy with Sabrina.

Nina had managed that as well. She’d drawn out the truth about Tristan and Sabrina’s relationship, the realization that the espionage came, not from them, but from staff within the company, who had fed them both information from the mole inside Guidice Games.

The truth had allowed the brothers to set aside their lifelong enmity and work together to foil the plan which had, in fact, been set up by a third rival company – one that Michael Jones happened to have worked for.

The operation had awakened a raw talent in Brian that he’d been determined to follow. He’d struck out on a new business venture, one which dealt with undercover espionage – tracing and arresting those responsible.

Brian slid from the truck, knowing he was going to have to go in and face his fate. Unlike Tristan, he knew he would never be rid of the past. His relationship with his brother was built on a foundation of competition and his financial empire was all that he’d known for so long, that he would grow restless after too long at home. He’d wake in the night, Nina in his arms, her voice soothing, her body soft and inviting, always ready to take away the fear that he would lose everything he’d worked so hard for. He loved her so much he ached with it, yet he couldn’t always stay. No matter how hard he tried to hide it, Nina always saw the restlessness growing in him.

It was always Nina who put her arms around him and told him to go. “It’s okay,” she would whisper, kissing her way up his back to the nape of his neck. “Do what you have to do and come back to us.” She never cried, and she never chastised him or made him feel guilty. She was Nina, offering him freedom with love in her eyes. And he always returned because he couldn’t live without her.

But as he opened the door to the bookstore, his heart pounded with fear. If she rejected him, his life was over. He knew that, knew he needed her more than most men needed their wife and lover. She gave him acceptance and understanding when he didn’t have it himself. She taught her daughters that same acceptance and understanding of his shortcomings, and she’d taught it to Tristan, and Sabrina.

The music greeted him as the door swung open. Someone bumped into him, laughed, and called out a merry Christmas. He just kept walking through the outer office, down the decorated hall to the back room, where the operation of handing out boxes was taking place.

Dread was growing, a dark ugly feeling he couldn’t stop. All around him were the signs of Christmas, of happiness overflowing. He walked with confidence, but deep inside, where no one saw, he was worried that this time, he’d been too engrossed with work, with corporate takeovers, to be welcomed back easily.

“Daddy!” Tiffany screamed his name and rushed him, a small dynamo, throwing her arms around one leg, effectively stopping him. Jess cried out and followed her twin, twining her arms around the other leg. Brian reached down for them, his heart nearly bursting as he picked the girls up and settled them on his hips, kissing them over and over, but all the time his attention was on her. On Nina. He heard Tristan’s greeting. Felt his brother clap him on the back, and he returned the awkward hug. But it was Nina he watched. Nina he waited for.

She turned slowly, as if she were afraid to believe it was true. Her gaze settled on his face. He held his breath. There it was. That slow smile of joy that lit up her eyes, brightened her face. Tears shimmered. The tears that were never there when he left but always there when he returned.

“You’re home.”

He handed the twins to Tristan. “I’m home.” He gathered her into his arms and found her mouth with his. She fit close to him, her arms winding tightly around his neck, her mouth every bit as demanding as his. He tasted her sweetness. He tasted acceptance. Desire. Most of all he tasted love. He felt weak with joy, with relief. Nina was his rock, his foundation. His very life.