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  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  The Billionaire’s Christmas Cruise

  Copyright

  Thank You!

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Epilogue

  About the Authors

  The Billionaire’s Christmas Cruise

  By Dakota Rebel and Brynn Paulin

  Supernova Indie Publishing Services, LLC

  www.supernovaindie.com

  Powered by Your Imagination

  The Billionaire’s Christmas Cruise

  by

  Dakota Rebel and Brynn Paulin

  Chase

  I see. I want. I take. That’s my mantra, but it’s always been applied to business deals. Never in my life have I thought about using it in regard to a woman. At least, not until I met her. Emerson Blake. The woman of my dreams, who I spied across a crowded bar. I spent ten minutes with her, yet I immediately knew I’d spend the rest of my life loving. She lives on the other side of the country, way too far from my bed and my life in Las Vegas, but I’ve overcome worse obstacles.

  She doesn’t know it yet, but she’s about to get the Christmas surprise of a lifetime.

  Emerson

  Three months ago, we had ten perfect minutes together. That’s all it took for him to impact my life. Everything shifted, and I didn’t even realize it. But my thoughts returned to him over and over. I obsessed over a guy who I barely met and will never see again, longed for him. So the cruise I unexpectedly won seems like a good way to get my head on straight again.

  Then in walks Mr. Obsession, and my plans for fun and sun and forgetting him go out the porthole. All I can imagine is spending hours in his arms.

  This time, we don’t have ten minutes. We have seven days. Will it be enough to last a lifetime?

  Yeah. I doubt it, too.

  Copyright

  © 2019, Dakota Rebel and Brynn Paulin

  The Billionaire’s Christmas Cruise

  Cover Art and formatting by Supernova Indie Publishing Services, LLC

  Electronic Format ISBN: 978-1-62344-312-2

  Published by: Supernova Indie Publishing Services, LLC

  Warning: All rights reserved. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and occurrences are a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, places or occurrences, is purely coincidental.

  Thank You!

  Thank you for your purchase of The Billionaire’s Christmas Cruise by Dakota Rebel and Brynn Paulin. We hope you’ve enjoyed the story and will consider leaving a review and telling a friend.

  Brynn and Dakota love hearing from readers! Please visit their websites at www.brynnpaulin.com and www.dakotarebel.net.

  Dedication

  To our readers! Thank you!

  Chapter One

  ~ Emerson ~

  Right this second, I suddenly felt like Rose staring up at the Titanic. The cruise ship before me was huge! Sure, I knew the stats on it, because that’s who I was. I’d immediately looked into the ship when I’d won a ticket for this all-expenses-paid trip.

  And holy mackerel… No one in the office had even known our security firm had put us all in a pool to win this extra special Christmas bonus. And weren’t they all super jealous that Emerson Blake—that would be me—from the coding team had won.

  There I was, minding my own business when this group of people, the awards committee, had converged on me, interrupting me at a critical moment in updating a massive line of code and wiping out a couple hours of work that I’d had to re-do. The moment had been a perfect fucking storm—the center of attention, my project taking a sharp left turn into hell, winning a prize I didn’t want…

  All I could do was stare at them with a super-fake expression while they presented this really expensive prize.

  Everyone was envious, some a little snotty, and I was stuck. How did the new girl say thanks but no thanks?

  She didn’t. She couldn’t. Even if she was deathly afraid of the ocean and more than a little afraid of large bodies of water deeper than her ankles, like lakes and pools and hot tubs. It was crazy since I lived in Chicago, right on Lake Michigan! But I just didn’t go over to Navy Pier or the Lakefront Trail or Lake Shore Drive if I could avoid it.

  Water. Me. Ugh.

  And so here I was. Way too close to the ocean. Looking up at a mammoth boat and remembering the cruise ship on its side that had been all over the news recently.

  Okay…deep breaths, Em. You’ve got this. Ships are safer than airplanes. You know that, and you managed to fly with no problems.

  Because I wasn’t afraid of planes. I loved to fly. Just recently, I’d taken a fun, long-weekend trip to Vegas for my college friend’s engagement party. And that had been great. Of course, the Vegas strip didn’t feature huge expanses of water. I could stay way back from the Bellagio fountain and enjoy its beauty.

  I sighed, turning to the huge crowd waiting to board the ship. I’d always envisioned just walking up the gangplank and boarding. Nope. They’d checked my luggage, much like if I were flying, and now I was standing on this maze-like corral that wove upward toward the ship with all the other cattle—um, passengers—waiting to board.

  Pulling out my phone, I took a few pictures. People back at the office were sure to ask about them. Then I flipped over to look at them. Almost unconsciously, my thumb scrolled me back to the Vegas pics from three months ago. I didn’t have many since I’d offloaded most of them to the cloud. But there was one, I looked at all the time.

  Him.

  Chase Malloy.

  It was silly, really, that I was so hung up on the guy who’d been in and out of my life in what amounted to a split-second in the whole scheme of things. We’d met at a new club that my friends wanted to check out, though in truth, they were all new to me since I wasn’t from Vegas. We’d stopped in before the Thunder Down Under show we were attending. Then I’d met him.

  Talk about thunder down under… I’d never had such an instant reaction to a guy. He was like…I don’t know. A modern Clark Gable? Yes, my affinity for old movies was showing. But God, he was so put together and smoldering. I’d itched to drag him into a dark corner, push my hands into his hair and kiss him like he was my last meal. The way he devoured me with his piercing dark eyes told me he’d like the same.

  We’d settled for a drink in the VIP lounge and learning a little about each other. I told him why I was in Vegas and discovered he was a businessman of some kind, there with his brothers to celebrate closing a deal. The whole time I couldn’t take my eyes off him. I’d wanted to kiss him so bad. Again with that outlandish need.

  I didn’t cave, not wanting to be one of those drunk girls who regrets losing control and hopes to God the actions really do stay in Vegas. But I’d left with regrets.

  My finger traced his image on my phone, inadvertently blowing up the picture and magnifying his model-like features. He had dark hair and eyes like me, but we were hardly a mat
ched set.

  I was kind of curvy, kind of bookish, kind of plain. Men didn’t give me a second glance, so it had stunned me when Chase had—Chase who should be on the silver screen or gracing the covers of books. Women probably swooned in his path. But he’d zeroed in on me and not let go until he’d escorted me safely to my limo—along with the other girls with me, of course.

  His fingers had feathered over my cheek, such longing in his eyes, as we’d said goodbye. I thought I heard him say for now but that was probably my imagination. No. There was no probably about it. It was my imagination. I mean…three months had passed. Besides, we were strangers passing in a bar. We didn’t even live in the same part of the country.

  Now, I was taking a cruise with almost a thousand more strangers over the Christmas holiday. Maybe, I’d meet someone who wouldn’t make fun of me for fearing water, yet spending a full week on a ship. Nice idea, but all I wanted was a guy I’d probably never see again. They had a library and two theaters and a ton of shows, so I’d just keep myself busy. Maybe, I’d spend some time in the Caribbean sun getting a tan everyone back in snowy Chicago would be envious of.

  The first order of business was to look over the excursions available and pick them. I’d been told I didn’t have to choose them ahead of time. As a prize winner, they were holding open a spot for me in any of them I wanted to do, but I would need to decide today, so they could open up whatever I didn’t want. That was a nice perk.

  The line finally started moving and I could see people boarding the ship. Loud, festive music reached me and a buzz of excitement thrilled through the crowd. Ahead of me, a group of girls bopped to a dance version of Santa Baby. I grinned, kind of wishing my college friends were with me on this trip. We’d had so much fun in Vegas. Who knows what we’d get up to if let loose on a city-sized ship?

  My own excitement vibrated, anticipating the trip of a lifetime and my steps were rapid as I hurried along the final gangplank into the ship where gregarious crew members took pictures, handed out ship IDs that were keyed to individual staterooms, and welcomed everyone aboard. They directed passengers toward the party on the upper deck for food and fun. Apparently, we weren’t allowed to go to our rooms until after departure. I didn’t plan to spend much time in the cabin anyway, so it was all cool.

  I grabbed some fries from the deck grill and avoided the dance party at the pool’s edge. They were fun to watch, one of the cute cruise directors was leading the dance, his short springy dreadlocks bouncing with each move.

  When it was finally time to go down to the cabin, it had already been a long day. Who knew it was such a production to get aboard then set sail? If I ever cruised again—Ha! Unlikely—I’d be prepared. But now, I just wanted to sprawl out on the bed for a few minutes.

  At my passageway, the porter in charge of that section greeted me and told me his name was Marco. After, taking my name, he nodded then led me down to the doorway with my bags outside. He opened the door and gestured me inside. “I’ll bring these through for you. Take a look around. If you need anything, at any time of day, call the number for the porter on your desk. It will come right to me or whoever is covering for me overnight, and we’ll take care of whatever you need.”

  “Okay,” I murmured, overwhelmed as I looked around. I was expecting a tiny interior cabin with no window. Before me was an enormous set of rooms. The main sitting room had yawning double doorways off to the right and left, with a small eating area and the other, a spacious bedroom with a king-sized bed. Straight ahead was a sliding door that led to a wide deck with another table and a pair of chairs. Despite my aversion to water, it was beautiful. Right now, there was nothing but ocean, waves glittering in the sun, for as far as the eye could see. Near that door stood a silver-and-gold bedecked Christmas tree, its white lights glimmering in the evergreen branches.

  “Wow…” I whispered.

  I turned in a circle in awe that this was for me. That’s when I realized two things. First, Marco was gone. Second, there were extra bags beside mine. Well, crap. Were my luggage and I in the wrong room?

  I started for the door, intent on finding Marco and getting things straightened out. On the way, a beautiful vase of roses in white and red caught my eye. Instead of baby’s breath, spiky holly leaves completed the arrangement, giving it a holiday feel. The envelope beside it drew my attention. My name was emblazoned across the cream-colored surface, igniting my curiosity but reassuring me that I was in the right place.

  I’d catch Marco in a minute. First, the message. Carefully, I opened the flap and pulled out the card.

  Emerson,

  Welcome aboard. Here’s to the trip of a lifetime, the first of many.

  No signature. Were these from the cruise line? My company?

  My brow furrowed, hating a puzzle I couldn’t solve. Just then I heard the whir of the card reader opening the door’s lock and I swung toward it, hoping it wasn’t Marco telling me I was in the wrong room.

  Chapter Two

  ~ Chase ~

  “So, everything’s set for tonight?” I asked my brother, Luke, for the third time in an hour.

  “Jesus, Chase!” Luke ran his hand through his hair and sighed. “Yes. Everything’s set. Your trap has been sprung on this poor, unsuspecting girl, okay?”

  “It’s not a trap,” I argued. “It’s romantic.”

  “It’s creepy.”

  “Shut your face.” I rolled my eyes at him. “An all-expenses-paid, luxury cruise is not creepy.” I mean, I had to give the security company she works for a huge recommendation in order to bring them in on my plan, but they were highly regarded and on the list of candidates for the new casino project anyway, so it was good. I’d get the girl and enhance my family company’s networking. But not creepy.

  “It is when it’s a front to get a girl to fall in love with you.” Luke leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I still don’t get what’s up with you and this chick.”

  “I don’t know how else to explain it to you,” I said. “The minute I saw her, I knew we were meant to be together. My entire future played out in front of me, and she was there every step of the way. Love at first sight and all that. It was fate that took us to that club that night.”

  “It was two-dollar Heinekens that took us to that club that night,” he reminded me. “And she was at an engagement party for a girl who didn’t seem all that enthused to be getting married.”

  “Huh,” I said. “I didn’t notice anything but her.”

  “I remember.”

  Luke was right; it had been the beer special that got us to decide on Diamond that night. We’d just closed a massive deal to win the construction of a new casino, and my brothers and I were out to celebrate. Our contracting firm was the best in the state, but a lot of developers had been pulling in talent from outside Nevada, so we’d been a little nervous about this one.

  But it had all been for nothing. The owner had loved that we’re a family-run business, and our portfolio was impeccable. So we’d closed with signatures and handshakes, then all five of us Malloy men had taken to the Strip to enjoy the fruits of our labor.

  We hadn’t been inside Diamond more than five minutes when I’d seen her. My gaze was drawn to her like a magnet, and I was gone. Her dark, sable locks moved in time with the sway of her hips to the music. She was laughing at something someone had said to her, and the curve of her lips instantly made my pants uncomfortably tight across my crotch.

  I stood and walked directly to her. I had no clue what I’d say, but I’d known without a doubt I had to talk to her. I had to know the name I’d someday yell out in ecstasy.

  She’d seen me approaching, and I’d taken it as a good sign when she’d stood her ground, waiting for me, interest akin to mine lighting her eyes. Had she walked off the dance floor, I wasn’t sure if I would have followed her. I didn’t want to come across predatory.

  But I knew she was mine, so maybe, I would have.

  “Hi,” she said, turning that r
adiant smile up at me.

  “Hi,” I responded, holding out my hand. “Chase Malloy.”

  “Emerson Blake,” she responded as she slid her palm against mine.

  “Can I get you a drink?” I asked.

  “Have one.” She held up her glass.

  “Right.” I carded my fingers through my hair and looked around. I spotted a hallway that obviously contained VIP rooms and an idea hatched. “My brothers and I have a lounge.” I pointed toward the hall. “Would you like to join us for some champagne?”

  “Champagne?” she laughed. “Are you celebrating, or are you really that smooth?”

  “Oh, we’re celebrating.” I pulled out my phone and shot an urgent text to my brother, Bennett, telling him to get us one of those rooms immediately. “Our firm closed a big deal today.”

  “That’s nice,” she said. “Well, I’m here with my friends, so I really should get back to them. But thank you for the offer.”

  My heart pounded. I couldn’t let her escape.

  “Well, obviously, they’re invited,” I said quickly. “I wouldn’t dream of asking you to accompany me alone to a room full of strange men.”

  “So you agree you’re strange?” she asked. Her voice held a note of teasing.

  “Not me,” I explained. “My brothers, though? Yeah. They’re all weird. Best to bring your friends along.”

  “One drink,” she warned. “We have tickets to a show in an hour, and we fly out in the morning.”

  “Of course,” I agreed.

  She corralled her four friends, and the ten of us made our way to the room Bennett had procured. Looking back, it had been crazy to drop five thousand dollars to get a few more minutes with Emerson, but she was worth that and more.

  I’d been disappointed when she’d stuck to the one drink agreement. All I’d been able to learn about her was that she lived in Chicago and had a quick and wicked sense of humor.

  The rest of her friends had been nice, and they all seemed to get on with my brothers, but that was about all I’d noticed in regard to them. My attention had been glued to Emerson. And when she’d left, she’d taken a piece of my heart with her.