The Billionaire Bad Boy Plan

by Michelle Love

  Seb raised his hand at his friend as Cal rode his skateboard towards him. ‘Hey, dude.’

  The two men chatted all the way to the apartment they were going to check; ignoring the rain that pummeled down onto the Seattle sidewalks.

  At the apartment block, Seb whistled through his teeth, looking around with side eyes. High ceilings, large open spaces, the place smacked of Levy luxury – which was way out of his price range. Cal was watching him, grinning.

  ‘I know what you’re thinking but here’s my offer. I buy this place; you rent a room from me – at a knock-down price of course.’

  Seb’s eyebrows shot up. ‘Wow, dude, that’s a hell of an offer but – ‘

  Cal smiled. ‘I know what you’re going to say but listen – you’re family.

  Seb considered then shrugged. ‘Guess I’m in no position to argue.’

  After that, they went to a coffeehouse where Seb knew the barista. Two huge lattes later Cal sat back in his chair, studying the young man in front of him. Seb Marshall was, by any reckoning, an impressive man, body finely tuned by intense workouts, a wicked sense of humor and a bright-eyed intelligence that belied his age. Cal enjoyed his company and told him so.

  ‘You too, dude. Been nice to expand the family, a bit, y’know? My sister is happy too – well, apart from the obvious. Anyways… so it’s just you and Sam now, I take it?’

  Cal nodded. ‘My mom died a few years ago, our dad a few weeks after her.’

  ‘Your mom?’

  Cal smiled. ‘Sam and I are half-brothers. I thought you knew.’

  Seb grinned. ‘Isa probably told me when I wasn’t listening. She tends to ramble.’

  Cal chuckled. ‘I hadn’t noticed.’

  Seb took a sip of his coffee. ‘I’m just kidding. Actually, it’s kind of great seeing how much more confident she’s getting. I mean, she’s always been kinda shy.’

  ‘She’s lovely. Sam’s absolutely obsessed. Can’t say I blame him.’

  Seb grinned at Cal who shrugged ruefully. ‘Sorry, it’s the truth.’

  ‘Isa know about your little crush?’ Seb’s eyes were amused, and Cal was relieved.

  ‘I’ll get over it. How about you – how things going with Louisa?’

  Isa stretched out her aching limbs and then curled her naked body into a ball, burrowing down into the soft pillows, watching Sam dress. He glanced at her in the mirror, grinning at her obvious admiration. ‘It doesn’t help me get ready when you look at me like that.’

  She giggled and stretched out a leg to hook her foot around his thigh.

  ‘Then come back to bed.’

  He smiled, grabbing her foot, running his hand up her calf to the soft flesh of her inner thigh. ‘I would, my love, but I need to go meet with the detective on the case.’

  She sat up then. ‘I should come.’ But he gently pushed her back onto the pillows.

  ‘I’d rather know you were safe here than out in the open. Even with me. Please,’ he added as she started to protest. ‘Please, Isa. I know you’re frustrated with this. But I can’t risk your life.’

  He pressed his lips against hers, firm, warm; then he was gone.

  Isa lay back and sighed. The room echoed with loneliness without him. She got up and pulled on her robe, wandered out into the vast living area with its huge windows. In one corner, where the light flooded in, Sam had set up a big table with all of the art supplies from the island. It seemed incongruous in the minimalist décor of the apartment – but then Isa felt she was incongruous too. To come from a tiny apartment to this was strange enough but when she thought back to when she’d stepped from the bus from D.C. with nothing and no-one to this opulence. She couldn’t reconcile it in her head.

  She leaned her head against the glass, looked down to the rain-slicked streets below. From this high, the cars looked tiny, the wash of water on the asphalt made it look like glass. The dark skies outside reflected her image back at her. The colorful kimono Sam had given her as a gift flattered her honey-skinned body. A gilded bird in a cage, she thought. Pushing the idea away, she went to take a shower, almost purring at the hot water on her limbs. She was dog-tired, she realized, not from anything physical – definitely not that, she grinned to herself – but from the strain of how much her life had changed in such a short time.

  She heard her cell phone buzzing as she dried her hair and padding into the bedroom, she looked around for her purse. She was sure she’d left it on the easy chair, but the chair was empty. She followed the ringing into the living room and stopped, her heart thumping. Her phone was on the coffee table and next to it, lay a single red rose. She walked over slowly, checked the caller-id. Unknown. Isa started to tremble even as she picked the phone up.

  ‘Hello, beautiful.’ Him.

  Adrenaline kicked in, and she darted to the kitchen, swiped a knife from the block. Anger, as well as fear, tore through her and she practically snarled down the phone at her would-be-killer. He merely laughed.

  ‘Not very friendly. Wondering where I am, Isabel? Maybe I’m in the closet. Or standing behind you. Don’t think that knife would end up in me, would it?’

  She gasped and spun around looking for him. No-one, nowhere. She ran to the front door and pulled it open. The body of Antwan, her security protection, lay crumpled in a pool of blood.

  The breath froze in her lungs; her legs gave way, and she sank to the floor. ‘Oh, Antwan…’ She snapped back to the phone in her hand. ‘You fucker, you monstrous piece of shit…’

  ‘Careful, little girl…’

  ‘Fuck you, scumbag, come at me. We’ll see who ends up dead, you pathetic son of a bitch!’ She was furious now.

  ‘I will cut you open, Isabel!’ he suddenly roared down the phone, and the spite, the malice, the violence in his voice was enough to silence her.

  She heard him breathing hard, and when he spoke again, he was calmer.

  ‘But I’m not going to kill you today, my lovely Isabel. I just wanted you to know that I’m everywhere. I’m there when he’s fucking you when you’re screaming his name. I’m there when you feel safe in his arms when you sleep. I’m there when your entire, pathetically small family is around you. I’m always with you. Always. There’s nowhere you’re safe from me, Isa.’

  Her entire body was numb, and now her mind began to shut down too. She listened to the voice on the other end of the line, trying to pick out anything she might recognize; an inflection, an odd word. But there was nothing.

  ‘Who are you?’

  His laugh was intimate, strangely warm. ‘The last person who’ll see you alive, Isa. The very last.’

  Det. John Halsey sighed. He’d been in a meeting with Sam Levy for an hour, and they were getting nowhere. Levy simply did not believe they had no leads. None. He didn’t blame the younger man for his concern – Isabel Flynn was in serious danger if the killer’s crimes so far were anything to go by.

  ‘It’s just…we’ve exhausted every possible lead. We’ve contacted Ms. Flynn’s birth parents. They’re living in Myanmar, and they’ve not been out of the country for some years. I got the impression when I spoke to the father that they had washed their hands of their daughter – yeah, real assholes,’ he risked the judgment seeing Sam’s face and saw him relax, his head nod in agreement. ‘So, no dice with Isa’s family. As for yours - just you and Caleb, yes?’

  Sam nodded. ‘Our father died a while ago. We have cousins, but I can’t see how they’d be involved. Most of them live out of state.’

  Halsey nodded. ‘We’ll check in with them.’ He hesitates, studying the other man’s face. ‘How’s your relationship with Caleb?’

  ‘Good, great, why?’ Sam studied Halsey’s face then his eyebrows shot up when he realized what the detective was asking him. ‘No. No way. Cal and I, we’re best friends as well as brothers, we always have been. The fact he has a different mother – I’ve always considered him my blood. Always. I know he will tell you the same.’

  Halsey pondered. ‘I got the
impression that he has a little crush on Isabel.’

  Sam grinned, and Halsey noticed how any mention of his girlfriend softened his angular features. Sam shrugged. ‘Can you blame him? It’s nothing. They’re good friends; you should see them together. To even suggest that Cal…’

  ‘I have to ask.’

  Sam nodded. ‘Fine.’

  ‘What about Sebastian Marshall? I know Isa considers him her brother but the truth is they’re not actually related at all. Maybe when she got together with you, it set off…’

  Someone knocked loudly at his closed office door, didn’t wait for Halsey to answer before he opened the door. The detective glanced at Sam and his boss, his expression harried and urgent.

  ‘Boss just had a call from Mr. Levy’s apartment building. The penthouse. There’s been a murder.’

  Isa answered the police officer’s questions calmly and patiently, her voice steady. She sat on the sofa in the living room, facing away from the melee of cops and techs dealing with Antwan’s body. Her body felt numb but her brain was working overtime, going through everything he had said to her. It was weird; the second he’d said his face was the last she’d see, something in her brain had flipped.

  ‘What makes you think I won’t kill you first, asshole?’ She’d hissed down the phone. ‘Do you think I’m a helpless little woman at your mercy? I won’t be that easy to kill. You put your hands on me, it’s on, bitch.’

  His intake of breath was almost inaudible… almost. It had sent a fresh wave of hot anger through her – and satisfaction.

  ‘You really said that?’ The policewoman interviewing her looked impressed, and Isa smiled.

  ‘One for the sisterhood,’ she said softly, and the policewoman grinned.

  ‘Right on.’ She looked over to the door as Sam and Det. Halsey arrived. Sam couldn’t take his eyes off Isa, and when he was finally let in, he darted to her side, pulling her into his arms. Isa nodded at the policewoman, who smiled and moved away to talk to Halsey, who was watching them, his expression unreadable. She could feel Sam’s big body trembling.

  ‘I’m so sorry I wasn’t here, I’m so sorry…’

  She stopped his apology with her lips, brushing them gently with hers. ‘Ssh, it’s okay, I’m okay. It’s Antwan’s family I feel bad for.’

  Sam buried his face in her hair, letting out a long breath. Isa’s hold on him tightened, but she met Halsey’s gaze over Sam’s shoulders.

  ‘You want to talk to me, Detective.’ A statement.

  He nodded, glancing at Sam. ‘Alone, please.’

  Isa gently extricated herself from Sam’s arms. He pressed his lips to her forehead before letting her lead Detective Halsey into another room.

  The detective shut the door behind him, and Isa took a deep breath in as he turned to face her.

  ‘Ms. Flynn, I’m not good with subtlety so here it is – do you think Mr. Levy is capable of murder?’

  She let out her breath. She’d been expecting the question for a while now, but it was still a shock to hear it put so bluntly. ‘If you mean, do you think he’s the one threatening me, then no. It’s not a possibility.’

  ‘He seems very…’ the detective struggled for the word. ‘Passionate.’

  Isa smothered a grin at the man’s discomfort. ‘I assure you, Detective, the feeling is mutual. Sam’s the love of my life. To answer your original question, no, he’s not capable of murder unless someone he loves is in danger. In self-defense, is what I mean. But then that goes for all of us, no? Isn’t that our basic right?’

  Halsey sighed. ‘I take your point. I have to ask, especially considering his history, his mother’s murder. Sometimes the trauma of witnessing something so horrific, especially at that age, can trigger…. ahh…’ He broke off, grinning wryly, ‘I can see I’m not getting through.’

  Isa reached over to pat his arm. She felt strangely calm. Or numb. She brushed the thought away. ‘I take your point, Detective, I do. But I’m telling you… Sam’s past only makes him more protective of me, not the other way around. It’s not him.’

  Later, they packed their clothes and moved to one of the hotels down town. Isa went into the luxurious bathroom and ran a bath for both of them. Sam let her strip him slowly; his entire body tired and drained. In the tub, she made him lie back against her as she ran a sponge over his chest, her lips at his temple. He took her free hand between his, winding his fingers through hers. She’d lit some candles, turned off the overhead light and the silence of the room, the scent of the bath oils and her soft, caressing touch made him relax finally. This couldn’t go on, the constant terror. But he was clueless about what to do.

  ‘Stop thinking about it all,’ Isa murmured, as she gently kissed his ear, nibbled at his earlobe. ‘Life is made up of moments. Moments of love, of pain, of laughter, of terror. This is a moment of love, just enjoy.’

  She had been weirdly calm all afternoon. When he’d heard what she’d said to the killer, what an admiring policewoman had relayed to him as Isa was questioned by Halsey, his heart had swelled with pride, with utter love. She was fighting and that made him hopeful.

  Now, he closed his eyes, reveled in her touch, her scent, and her soft lips against his skin. He felt her pillowy breasts against his back, the rise of her belly as she breathed. Her legs were curved around him, linked over his and he ran his hands up and down them. Isa dropped the sponge and curled her arms around his neck. He turned his head to press his lips against hers. Her eyelashes were stuck together with the water, her skin scrubbed clean, her eyes full of the sweetest love.

  ‘Hey,’ she said softly, smiling as their eyes met. He shifted his head so it rested on her shoulder and he could look up into her lovely face.

  ‘I love you.’

  She smiled and kissed him. ‘And I love you too. You are my life.’

  God, what she did to him…he moved around in the bath, so he was on top of her. She giggled as he splashed water everywhere.

  ‘You’ll drown…’ She laughed out as he buried his face between her breasts – and inches deep in the bathwater. She grabbed the back of his head and yanked him up, grinning as he spluttered a mouthful of water out.

  ‘Totally worth it,’ he said, grinning then caught her mouth with his. He felt her moan happily as he kissed her and the sound made him harden, his cock nudging at her sex. He turned and hooked his foot around the chain of the plug, yanking it out to drain away the bath water. She was watching him, a lazy, languid smile on her face. The candlelight made her skin glow gold, the ruby red of her nipples seem deeper, the chestnut flashes in her brown hair gleam, piled so casually on top of her head. He brushed his lips against hers. So beautiful.

  She wrapped her legs around his waist, arching her back to grind her sex against him.

  ‘Greedy tonight,’ he joked softly, and she nodded. She clung tightly to him as he pushed into her, her muscles clenching tightly around his swollen cock as he moved slowly in and out. He savored every sensation of her enveloping him, taking him in. He kissed her throat, his lips trailing up her neck, along her jaw to finally close on hers, his tongue sweeping along her lower lip, his teeth nipping gently. Her eyes were closed, but she opened them, locked his gaze, the warmth of her dark brown irises seemed flecked with gold; the reflection from the candles.

  In was in these moments that he could imagine nothing else could touch them. Her petite body safe in his arms, the rocking of their bodies as they made love so real, so tangible. Isa clung to him as he drove harder into her, his pace quickening with the need to consume every part of her. He came before her, shuddering and groaning, telling her how much he loved her.

  He scooped her out of the tub onto the floor and thrust harder, faster into her, leaving her gasping and sighing her pleasure. Her body twisted upwards as she came, pressing into his. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly as she caught her breath.

  ‘You okay?’ He swept his palm over her forehead to push back the hair that was stuck to it. She smi
led up at him.

  ‘Always, with you.’

  They made to the bed eventually, and Sam ordered room service for them. Isa unclipped her hair from where she’d piled it on the top of her head and slipped into a t-shirt and shorts. Sam pulled on his sweatpants, grinning when he saw Isa eyeing his body appreciatively. She waved her hand mock-imperiously at him.

  ‘You know all that belongs to me now.’

  He laughed, glad she still had her Isa-sense of humor. They lounged on the bed, half-watching television, half lost in their own thoughts.

  The young girl who brought their room service trolley looked at Sam and his bare chest with wide, lustful eyes - so much so that Sam began to flush. He shot a glance at Isa who was trying to hide her amusement. When the girl had been sent off, disappointed but with a huge tip, Sam flicked a napkin at Isa. She giggled.

  ‘Why are you surprised?’ She asked, crawling over the bed to get to the food, pausing to kiss him. ‘You’re a hot piece of ass.’ She grinned wickedly then moaned with delight when she took the lid of the steak he’d ordered. He knew what she liked.

  Later a thunderstorm ripped across the Seattle night, and they turned off the lights and watched it, wrapped up in each other’s arms. Sam stroked her hair as she rested her cheek on his bare chest.

  After a while, she sighed.

  ‘Sam…I don’t want to go back to the apartment.’

  He kissed the top of her head. ‘I understand. We’ll stay here until we find somewhere else, somewhere safe. The apartment at the hospital won’t be ready for months, but we can rent somewhere…as long as it’s safe.’