The Billionaire’s Surrogate Baby - Lauren Wood

Prologue

My senses went into overload as my eyes slowly opened. I rapidly took in the throbbing pain in my head, followed by the realization that I was not in my own apartment. The silky gray sheets wrapped around me were much nicer than anything I owned, and the giant window overlooking my hometown of Cherry Falls next to the bed was completely foreign from anything that existed in my tiny efficiency apartment.

I rolled over, trying to remember the events that transpired the night before. That’s when I felt the slab of warm bare flesh beside me—one that awakened a renewed surge of arousal. I looked over slowly, taking in the sight of the delicious body that rivaled the stunning view of our city.

Joey Williams. It had finally happened. I had finally landed in bed with Joey Williams, the obsession of all my fantasies from the moment I first met him at my best friend’s boutique.

He had olive-toned skin that matched the slight Bronx accent. He had that whole Italian, bad boy, New Yorker vibe that was enough to slay any woman. His gym-rat muscular body certainly helped, with its chiseled curves and a six-pack unlike anything I had ever seen outside of a magazine or billboard, much less next to me in bed.

I couldn’t help but smile and let out a quiet squeal under my breath. He was still sleeping soundly, giving me the chance to feel around the nightstand for my phone. But it wasn’t there. I looked around the room, spotting my handbag thrown off into the corner.

Flashes started coming back to me. I remembered how we burst into the room with my legs wrapped around his waist, him effortlessly holding my entire body weight. I didn’t realize my purse was still draped over my arm until he went to take off my shirt. It was kind of a miracle that I had managed to hold onto it for so long since we had been making out with a passionate fury from the moment we found ourselves alone in the back of his limo.

I had tossed it into oblivion, not caring at that moment where it landed. Its contents were scattered across the plush carpet of his bedroom, and I couldn’t resist taking the risk of slipping out of bed to creep over and snag my phone. I winced, trying to be as quiet as humanly possible as I climbed back into the sheets next to him. Thank goodness that expensive mattresses rarely creaked or made a peep.

I opened my phone’s camera and snapped a picture of him sleeping like a baby, making sure to catch the way the light shone across his bulging muscles in all their glory. Those arms… Those pecs… I followed each curve right down to the V-shape beneath his stomach. Everything below that was covered in the sheet that clung to his hips, which made me feel a lot less guilty about the picture. Him being shirtless and sleeping was one thing. I was not about to go so far as to snap a pic of some guy’s dick without his permission.

I needed a souvenir to remember all of my pent up fantasies finally becoming a reality, but I also needed proof. I flipped to my ongoing group text with my two besties, Del and Lizzy, and sent them the photo of Joey followed by a plethora of emojis communicating a wide range of emotions, covering everything from heart eyes and a drooling face, to a wide-eyed freakout and a scream.

I wouldn’t have expected them to be awake, considering we all had a late night out drinking for the opening of Damon’s new club. That is, all except for Lizzy, who was pregnant and due any day now. Of course, she had still come to support her fiance’s newest venture. I was surprised when the phone immediately started dinging back in rapid-fire responses, each one indicating a freakout on par with my own.

Me: How are you guys even awake right now!?

Lizzy: Uh, girl…it’s noon.

Oh shit, I thought, glancing at the time in the upper right-hand corner of the screen to confirm it was true.

Del: I’ve been up with the baby since six. Glad we made the call to close the show today.

Me: Ditto. Way too hungover for work.

Lizzy: Right, but… Can we talk some more about the fact that ur in bed next to JOEY WILLIAMS right now!

Ding. Ding. Whoosh. Bloop. Ding. My phone continued lighting up with the incessant messages, each one threatening