The Billionaire Bundle

by Michele De Winton

  “Helen! Marshymallow! It’s me!”

  She turned to see a man in cut off jeans with shoulder-length blond hair and tattooed arms. “Bjorn!”

  “It is you! I’d recognize that arse anywhere. Nice dress!”

  Ricardo’s arms tightened around her waist. She smiled back cheerfully at the other man. “Thank you.”

  “Would you care to introduce me to your… friend?”

  “Oh, yes, sorry. Ricardo, this is Bjorn. We worked together once and he runs the archaeology course I went to before, before you and I met.” She held her breath as Bjorn held out his hand. Ricardo didn’t return the gesture for a few seconds. To her relief he eventually did. “And Bjorn, Ricardo is my very new husband.”

  Bjorn’s sandy-colored eyebrows snapped together over his blue eyes. “Husband! But it was only two weeks ago we—”

  “It’s been a bit of a whirlwind romance. I’ve not had a chance to tell everyone yet.”

  “Well.” Bjorn raked nail-bitten fingers through his mane and appeared to force a smile. “I guess it’s congratulations to you guys. Want to come back to mine for a bite to eat? We could crack open a few beers, watch the sun rise with one of my signature curries.”

  “Oh that’s very kind of you, but—”

  “But we need to be somewhere,” Ricardo said abruptly.

  Bjorn sighed. “Finishing your sentences for each other already?” His smile faded. “How cute.”

  Ricardo glared back. “And we’re running late.”

  “I get the message, big guy,” Bjorn said cockily, and reached out to run a fingertip over Helen’s shoulder. “You know where I am if, well, y’know…”

  Helen felt Ricardo’s tension make her own body stiffen. “Everything’s fine,” she said firmly. “See you around.”

  “You won’t,” Ricardo muttered as they watched him stride off down an alleyway. “Not if I have anything to do with it anyway.”

  “You don’t own me, Almanza.”

  “You’re my wife and we have a business deal. Associating with people like that is beneath someone of your standing now.”

  “What?”

  Ricardo ignored the disbelief that must have been obvious on her face. “If you want beer and curry I will buy it for you, you don’t need that hippy.”

  “Are you a tiny bit drunk?”

  Ricardo sniffed and looked around them for a moment. “A little. We were having a good time before he turned up.”

  “Then stop sulking.” She giggled at his jealous outburst. “Buy me a kebab from somewhere, will you. I’m starving!”

  …

  Ricardo watched as Helen wrapped both her hands around a meat-stuffed pita bread and sank her teeth hungrily into it. He’d never seen a woman do anything like that before. Food had always been a neat and tidy, finger-picking, delicate-morsel-nibbling affair. She was fascinating. She was so completely different from any female he had ever known. He looked down at his own extra large gyro and took the plunge.

  “You’ve got sauce on your chin,” she mumbled after swallowing a mouthful. She reached across to wipe it off with the tip of her finger. “And you could do with a shave.”

  “Thanks. And this is an experience,” he said as he peered into the bread-wrapped tangle of salad and chilies.

  Her bare feet dangled like a child’s over the harbor’s edge where they’d settled to eat. “It’s like a different world down here in the dark. I can hardly hear the clubs and crowds now.”

  “Hmm.” Ricardo tugged at a long thread of onion and grimaced. “Security won’t let the rabble into the marina, people like dodgy Bjorn. Berth holders only.”

  “You took an instant dislike to him, didn’t you?” She offered him a pickled chili, but he wrinkled his nose with disgust. “Anyone would think you were jealous. As well as being an abysmal snob.”

  “I bet he takes drugs,” Ricardo said, unfazed as he stared out to sea.

  “Oh honestly…”

  “Did you sleep with him?”

  “What?”

  “You heard.”

  “None of your business.”

  “I’m your husband, so it’s definitely my business.”

  “You’re my sham husband, don’t forget.” She twisted the paper kebab wrapper. “But for what it’s worth we’re just friends. No sex, just good times and digging for broken pottery.”

  “He wants to sleep with you.”

  Her laughter tinkled in the night air. “That’s not going to happen.”

  “Good.”

  “That’s not going to happen with anyone right now.”

  “Half an hour ago things were different. As I recall, Mrs. Almanza, you were on the verge of dragging me off to your student flat to make love amongst the cockroaches.”

  “I was not!” She laughed again and her cheeks flushed pink in the blue-white light of the moon.

  “Liar,” he said and handed her the crumpled remains of his kebab. “Want to finish this?”

  “Is that supposed to be a love offering? Caveman style. Me feed you, me take you back to me, um, cave?”

  She really was intriguing. Unpredictable. “If you want it to be.” His voice was soft as he took her by the hand and kissed her salty fingertips. “Garlic and mint. You are a divine creature.” She giggled and he felt a wave of pleasure wash over him.

  “I’m tempted,” she said quietly and his stomach flipped as she stared up at him with serious green eyes. “Tempted to say yes, but—”

  “But what?”

  “It would complicate things between us.”

  “It needn’t. Just wild, consensual sex between sham husband and sham wife. No strings.” He shrugged as if it was unimportant to him. “We’re attracted to each other and both grown ups, not star-crossed teenagers who’ll fall madly in love or anything.”

  Her eyes sparkled like the tiny dark waves lapping at the sea wall. “Or bunny boilers.”

  He laughed softly and poked the top of her arm playfully. “It’s a serious proposition. Three months fulfilling your wildest fantasies. With me.”

  “You’re mad.”

  “You’re considering it, I can tell.”

  “I’m not!”

  “Ah! Perfect timing.” He pointed towards the harbor mouth as a pyramid of lights came into view. His yacht was floating in like a ghostly galleon. “I’ll tell the captain to turn straight round and take us to Menorca.”

  “Poor crew! Can’t they even stop off for a beer or something?”

  “They won’t mind. I pay them a ridiculous amount to stay sober.”

  “But even so…”

  “There are two shifts of men on board, don’t worry. I’m not that bad!”

  .

  Helen was shattered, but try as she might sleep would not come. It wasn’t the low hum of the yacht’s engines keeping her awake. Its soothing purr was barely audible. And the crew were as quiet as mice. In fact, it was so peaceful that she could hear the splash and hiss of waves hitting the bows outside. She should be fast asleep after the hectic day she’d had, but the gentle rise and fall of the yacht, as it made its way across the Mediterranean ocean towards the island of Menorca, was provoking feelings she shouldn’t be having.

  Ricardo had kissed her goodnight before disappearing into his own cabin. It had been a deep kiss as opposed to a polite one, and she was sorry when it ended. A small part of her had hoped he’d sweep her off her feet and drag her into his bed to finish what they’d started on the dark back streets of Ibiza. The swell of the waves made her imagine what it would be like to be underneath him as he moved rhythmically over and into her under the cover of night, and it was driving her insane.She rolled over and buried her face in a pillow to stifle the groan of frustration that she could no longer suppress. She wanted him. He wanted her. All the cards were face up on the table. His three-month proposition. Lying there with her breasts crushed into the mattress she knew it was her turn to make a move. He wasn’t going to come and fetch her, he’d said as much as he
’d left her to go to bed alone. It was her choice and his adjoining cabin door would be unlocked…

  Damn it.

  Helen turned the doorknob as quietly as she could, acknowledging inwardly that it was a pointless thing to do. She wasn’t intending for Ricardo to ignore her. Her intention was so shocking she smothered the thought and all reason with it as she pushed the door to his suite open.

  Her skin tingled beneath the whisper of her silk robe, and she could feel her nipples tighten the second she stepped into his bedroom. It was dark and silent, but as her eyes adjusted to the light it became clear that his enormous bed was empty—it hadn’t even been slept in judging by the smooth order of the bed linen. Her breath stalled as she saw him silhouetted against the night sky, framed by the open glass doors that led onto the terrace, his private part of the deck that wasn’t overlooked by anyone.

  He was leaning to one side with his back to her, his broad shoulder against one side of the doorframe, his upper body a perfectly honed triangle of muscle and bone. She took one step forward, but as her bare foot sank into the luxurious carpet his voice made her stop dead. “You came.”

  Her tone was deceptively calm. “Yes.” She could now see that he was naked, and her hand shook as she untied the belt of her robe. The fine material slithered to the floor as she walked towards him. “Would you like me to leave?”

  He turned to face her in the shadows, moonlight glimmering on the smooth angles of his shoulders. “What do you want, Helen?”

  Could he see where she was looking? He was perfect. He was huge. Her reply was hoarse as she laid the palm of her hand on his chest. “I want my husband.” She trailed her fingertips down over his stomach and felt his hands grip her bare shoulders as she dropped to her knees in front of him.

  “You don’t have to—”

  “I said I wanted my husband,” she whispered and cautiously stroked the length of him with her fingertips in the darkness. “Let me.”

  He groaned as she took him into the soft heat of her mouth and savored the way he felt. Ridged hot velvet over steel, but too much to take him all the way in. Her lips slowly slid back and forth, dragging his foreskin with a teasing motion that made his thigh muscles twitch. It thrilled her to feel him beginning to lose control under her touch. It gave her power over him.

  His large hands cupped both her breasts before slowly running his thumb pads over her tight nipples. His breathing was becoming heavier. “You witch.”

  “Whore,” she whispered and pushed his length between her breasts. Saying the word excited her. It liberated her. She was living a lie and could be anyone now. She was enjoying this game, and the way his penis strained between them told her he was ready to play too. “You paid for me, remember?” She rolled the tip of her tongue over the head of his erection, dipping into the tender slit at the end, and gripped him gently between the legs to provoke him beyond endurance.

  Ignoring her small cry of surprise, he swung her up from the floor and dropped her heavily down onto the bed. His knee was between her legs and easing her thighs apart before she could catch her breath. “You want your husband to make love to you? Is that what you’re trying to make me do?” His mouth crushed her response, but she lifted her legs and rubbed her damp sex against him so there could be no mistake as to what she wanted.

  He pulled his mouth away from hers and trailed his tongue down her throat, between her breasts, and then around the areole of her nipple. “I want you to have me any way you like,” she muttered and pushed his mouth down and around the stiff peak of her breast. “But hard. And soon.”

  She gasped as his forefinger found her entrance, slicked her clitoris with her own juices and then slid inside. A second finger followed, slid, flicked and pushed her apart until she felt a third join them. His voice was unsteady as his thumb applied pressure to the sensitive rise of her mound and began to move in slow circles. “You like?”

  “I like.” She moaned and reached down between them to grasp his erection. It was huge and hot, his foreskin fully drawn back in anticipation, its wide head swollen and ready. She arched her hips towards it and moaned. “I want…”

  “Then we’ll do this the old-fashioned way.” He leaned across her to open the drawer of the bedside cabinet. The weight of his chest crushing her breasts was intoxicating. “You underneath me like a good little wife.”

  “Yes,” she hissed and bit lightly into his shoulder. “Quickly.”

  “Just a second,” he murmured, snatching out a condom. “I need to take care of you.”

  “No need. I’m still protected by the pill I took this morning before the doctor told me to stop, so it’s okay.” She took the condom from his fingers and threw it on the carpet before spreading her legs wide and sliding the tip of her tongue between his lips. “And I don’t feel sick any more. Come on, just this once, our wedding night…”

  She felt her heart pounding wildly as he hesitated and pulled away until he was kneeling between her thighs. His eyes flickered over her naked body as she began to touch herself. His chest rose and fell as he watched. “You’re sure?”

  “It’s safe,” Helen persisted, licking her lips and rubbing the side of her foot up his thigh. “Now come on… ”

  “Okay, you win.” Ricardo pushed her legs even wider with his hands. “Let me taste you first.”

  His mouth was hot and hard as she felt the stubble on his jaw rasp against the soft skin of her inner thighs. She closed her eyes and heard herself pant as his tongue parted her delicate folds, tasted, plunged, twisted and then withdrew to tease the inflamed nerve endings of her clitoris. She fisted her fingers into the black silk of his hair. “Stop, or I’ll come,” she said and pulled his head up. His shoulders followed and he put his hands on either side of her head as he kissed her, his tongue and lips still spiced with the flavor of her.

  “Come on me instead,” he muttered and she felt the wide tip of him nudge against her entrance. He eased himself in an inch and she felt his body tremble. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “You won’t.” Her voice dropped an octave and she grasped his buttocks, her nails digging into the firm muscles. “Feel how wet you’ve made me, how much I want you.”

  He swore softly in Spanish and slid into her with one long thrust that made them both cry out with shock and pleasure. They were still for a moment, hearts pounding against each other. “Dios, are you sure about this?”

  Her tone was desperate as she wrapped her legs around his hips and pushed her pubic bone into him hard. She clenched the muscles of her vagina around his penis until she felt him flex deep inside her. There was no way she could let him stop now. “Yes, damn you.”

  Ricardo entwined the fingers of both hands with hers and pushed them into the soft silk of the pillows as he began to slowly move inside her. His eyes bored down on her as her hips rose and fell to meet his. “You are a witch…”

  “I’m anything you want me to be.” She threw back her head and gasped as he thrust deeply into her, his length and girth taking her to a threshold of pain and pleasure she had never experienced before. “You make me want to—”

  He untangled their fingers and slid his hands underneath her bottom to penetrate even deeper. His movements became faster as he gently pulled the cheeks apart and she wriggled with pleasure. “I make you want to what?”

  “You make me want to…” Her body tensed like an iron spring as the force of his lovemaking pushed her deep into the mattress, his penis stretched and pulled her inside and out, igniting a million electrical nerve endings until there were no rules any more. “…scream.” She felt herself splinter beneath him, gasping out his name, clawing at his skin as a lightning fast sensation hurled her into a rapid dark spiral of orgasm. Wave upon wave of convulsions shook her as he began to tumble after her, held tight in the darkness of her body, sliding, pulling and gripping her with intense force until she felt the violent heat of his release spread deep within her.

  She clung to him in the afterglow, mind
and body buzzing with adrenaline, hormones and emotions she couldn’t even begin to fathom. The weight of his body made it difficult to breathe, but she didn’t want the erotic imprisonment to end. “Dear God,” she murmured against the soft skin of his chest.

  “It will be slower next time,” he said with a laugh and went to roll off her. “You forced me to come that quickly.”

  “No stay a moment.” She squeezed him with her inner muscles. “I still want to feel you inside me.”

  He propped himself up on his shoulders to look at her. “You enjoyed it in the end then?”

  Helen grinned. “It was worth the wait. I think I’m addicted.”

  “What made you change your mind? You didn’t want complications a few hours ago.”

  She felt him stiffening once more inside her. “My wedding gift to you, Ricardo,” she whispered and closed her eyes to the sensation of him pushing against her womb again. “Christ, you’re good…”

  “I can be better, slower.” He nipped at her throat as she gasped with each firm stroke between her legs. “We’re going to do this a lot, Mrs. Almanza. I’m going to make you come all over again.” She cried out as he lifted her hips up from the mattress with his wide hands, impaling her deeply. “Lots of times.” His pace quickened until all she could do was pant with wide-eyed pleasure. “Until you beg me to stop.”

  .

  The sound of raised voices and rapid chatter outside on deck eventually woke Helen from a deep sleep.

  Ricardo’s voice was low and gruff as he pulled her closer against his chest under his arm. “That’s the crew bringing us into dock. Don’t worry. They won’t disturb us until we’re ready.”

  She yawned. “They must think we’re spoiled, lazy wastrels just lying here while they flog. We should get up.”

  He slapped her bottom under the sheets. “It’s our honeymoon for pity’s sake. What do you think they’ll be expecting us to do? Play Scrabble?”

  She slapped him back. “I hadn’t thought about that, smart ass.”

  And hadn’t realized that we were behaving like a real pair of besotted newlyweds.

  There was a loud clatter outside the door.