The Billion Dollar Baby_A Billionaire Romance

by Stella Andrews

  Her words dance around my mind and give me the world. I smile wickedly and growl, “Whatever you want, baby. You know I’m not going anywhere.”

  Then I thrust in hard, holding her down as I plunder her soul. Her body slams back and forth against the couch and her moans encourage me on. I am like a man possessed, and she’s holding the key to my prison. She owns every part of me and I would kill for her.

  Her legs wrap around my waist and she pulls me in deeper. Her clit drags across my shaft causing her to scream with pleasure. This isn’t love making - it’s fucking with a passion. A passion to chain our hearts together forever should the other want to leave. We are coming together with fury and our feelings are tied up together and binding. We are as joined together as tightly as anyone could ever be and this is more binding than those wedding vows. We are giving each other our souls and I just hope it’s enough.

  Sydney

  I think I see the white light of heaven as Tyler slams into me. I don’t recognize myself. I’m like an animal out of control and insatiable for him. This is frantic, dirty and sexy as hell. I want this moment to last forever because the future I see coming is an uncertain one. What we have right at this moment is worth more than the Emmerson billions. I want Tyler so much it hurts and whatever he’s holding from me is like a storm cloud looming on the horizon.

  So, I am taking everything I can before the storm hits. I want this to count and remind me of the man I married. At this moment it’s just the two of us—nothing else to drive a wedge between us. I know it’s coming; I see it in his eyes. He’s scared of something and that something concerns me. I can’t deal with that. Whatever it is I am pushing it away and concentrating on prolonging this honeymoon for all I’m worth. I want Tyler to be inside me for as long as possible because I sense we don’t have long.

  So, I pull him in deep and relish every thrust, every sensation and every feeling he creates inside me. I feel the pressure building inside but I don’t give in. If I do it will be over and I’m not ready for that yet. I want us to fuck all night long and drive away the shadows that are threatening to destroy our happiness.

  As I feel him hard and relentless inside me my heart sings. This is where he’s meant to be and I can’t get enough of him. My body is on high alert and the alarms are ringing all around but I can’t let go. He kisses me hard and relentlessly and I give back as good as I get. I trap him inside me and feel the sweat dripping from every part of my body as I start panting like a dog. Despite my wishes though, my body has other ideas. It responds to his and unfolds like a flower on a summer’s day around him. He pushes my body to the point of oblivion and as I requested the white stars of ecstasy explode all around me as I reach an earth-shattering orgasm as we come apart together. My screams claim his roar and just for a second, we are suspended in that special place only lovers reach. The world shatters around us and leaves us bathing in its glow. Everything stands still as we allow nature to shower us with her riches.

  Tyler groans and holds me so close I almost can’t breathe. He nuzzles my neck and rains feather light kisses on my neck, sending delicious shivers through my body.

  He whispers softly, “Whatever happens I want you to know you’re everything to me. Everything changed when I met you and nothing will ever change my feelings toward you.”

  I feel my heart thumping as I recognize the words of a man who is clinging onto hope. He knows I’m about to learn a hard lesson and yet still can’t bring himself to tell me what that lesson is. My insides twist into a knot as my mind races.

  I sigh heavily and lift his face to mine. Staring deeply into his eyes, I try to reassure him as much as myself. “Whatever it is, we’ve come too far to let it matter. None of us can completely control what happens in our lives. It’s just up to us to make sure they don’t bring us down. If we are strong nothing can break us and I mean, nothing. Maybe you should just tell me what’s coming and we can deal with it before it gains speed. You know, head it off at the pass and weaken it before it hits.”

  A flash of pain enters his eyes, and he pulls away sharply. He sits on the edge of the couch and runs his fingers through his hair looking like a broken man. My heart races as I pull myself up and lay my head on his shoulder. He almost looks detached as he starts speaking in a low voice devoid of emotion.

  “You don’t know me, Sydney. I’m a cold bastard who thinks only of himself and my sister. I’m incapable of feeling because over the years it’s been knocked out of me by a tyrant—my father.”

  I think I hold my breath as he opens up a little of his soul to me.

  He says bitterly, “Ever since I can remember he’s shown us no love at all. If I showed any weakness or cried over a split knee or a kid from school, he beat it out of me. He taught me to hide any feelings I had and use them to get even. There was no love in our lives and the only one who knows what that felt like is my sister. We had it hard and everything was always about money and power. There was no mom to wipe our tears and make our lives bearable. So, we both withdrew and built a shell around our hearts, only confiding in each other when the going got tough.”

  He turns and I see the torture burning in his eyes. His expression is twisted in pain and my heart thumps with empathy. He looks down. “I just wanted you to understand what made me who I am. I’m not proud of the man I’ve become.”

  I reach out and grasp his hand and say softly, “You’re an amazing man, Tyler. The best actually. I don’t need a tour of your past to recognize what’s sitting beside me.”

  He laughs softly. “You may change that opinion when you hear what I did to earn my freedom.”

  I think I hold my breath as he says softly. “It started in High School. I hit on a business idea that turned out to be very popular. I used the Internet to set up a dating website and matched people for a small fee.”

  I laugh with relief. “That’s normal these days, how is that so wrong?”

  He laughs bitterly. “Because I didn’t stop there. I found my calling as they say and soon my customers had more money and much more to lose. My prices escalated along with my reputation. Soon I was in so deep I was buried in filth. Men with more money than sense paid me to secure companions for their parties. Girls with no morals and no inhibitions. They paid me well to set up the fun and once word got out how much fun those girls had they came to me in their droves. Parties frequented by Arab princes and minor royalty from all over the world. Senators, politicians, actors, and businessmen all wanted what I had to offer. The girls were paid a life-changing sum of money to pander to their every need. I took my cut, and that provided more than most people earn in a lifetime.”

  I fall silent as I struggle to understand what he’s saying. The words swirl around my brain and as the nature of his profession reveals itself, I almost choke on the words. “So what you’re saying is, you deal with prostitution. You’re some kind of high-class pimp.”

  He nods and smiles thinly. “Got it in one. Hardly the stuff of dreams, is it?”

  I sit back and deal with the information in the only way I can. I let it sink in and reason with it. I make excuses for him and brush it aside like an irrelevance.

  He turns to me and says darkly, “You can try to understand and excuse what I am but nothing can excuse what I did. It spiraled out of control as the men got braver and the women more desperate. The money involved canceled out any conscience any of us had. We accepted everything until it became as normal as organizing a child’s birthday party. Whatever these men wanted they got. Soon the demands became much more sinister and with it the money involved.”

  I want him to stop so badly but need to know everything. I whisper, “What do you mean?”

  He stands and starts pacing the room, almost as if he can’t bear to look at me. He growls. “The men became bored with the normal routines. They craved danger, excitement and became reckless. They wanted women who were desperate. Women who were innocent and women who had no choice. They loved the feeling of power they had over th
ese women The more innocent the better. They would pay a high price for a woman who had never been touched. They wanted to rip out that innocence and parade it to their friends. They wanted to subject their companions to depravity and not just one on one either. The women they wanted came to me out of desperation. They needed money and were prepared to sacrifice themselves to get it. I held auctions where the men bid thousands of dollars for women quivering in terror before them. They were like animals as they used them and then cast them back to me to dispose of.”

  I want him to stop. This is too much. I can’t hear anymore. I put my hands over my ears as the tears fall down my face. I squeeze my eyes tightly shut and pray this is just a nightmare. He crosses the room and rips my hands from my eyes as he crouches before me.

  “Look at me, Sydney. Look at the monster you married. Look at what they made me. You don’t know the half of what I’m capable of. You’re looking at a man who sold his own sister on that auction block to set her free from an impossible future. Then I sold her again when she had the innocence ripped from her by no less than five powerful men who should have known better. I picked up the broken pieces of my own sister and then sold her again. I sold her to the devil himself because of revenge. I sold her to keep her safe, but that’s just wishful thinking. I destroyed my own sister and now I’ll do anything to set her free. That’s why I came for you, Sydney. I had no choice and need to end this once and for all.”

  He drops my hands and sits back on his heels and rubs his face with distraction. Then he says with so much emotion I feel my heart breaking in two. “The cruelest thing of all was that I fell in love along the way. You stole my heart and now you’ll take it when you leave me. Nothing else can compare to how I feel knowing that you will hate every bone in my body when this ends. Everything I’ve worked for will mean zero when I am left without you in my life.”

  Despite what I’ve heard I can’t help myself. I fall to the ground before him and pull him close. I stroke his hair and comfort him because it’s the natural thing to do. Whatever he’s said, I’ll have to learn to live with because, despite everything I’ve heard, I can’t live without him.

  23

  Tyler

  Sydney stood by me. She sat with me into the early hours and asked nothing more of me. We sat in silence but it wasn’t an awkward one. The whole time she held my hand and comforted me and whispered that it didn’t matter what had happened before.

  We spent the night lying together in my bed just holding each other. She asked no more questions as if she was afraid to hear more. I don’t think I slept a wink all night. My mind was racing with what just happened. She had to know because it may help her understand why I did what I had to. When she learns the whole truth, I’m hoping she will understand why. It’s a gamble that may backfire but I’m running out of options. I’ll do anything to keep her with me but my revenge has to come first. It’s not my revenge anymore it’s my sister’s. I owe it to Ashton to see this through even if it means costing me more than I am willing to pay—my heart.

  The new day dawns and with it a new resolve. Sydney faces me with the hard look of someone who has learned a life lesson and will never be the same again. My heart breaks at the realization I am responsible. The trouble is, she needs to be hardened to face what’s about to unfold in an office block across town. Today is life-changing and life-devastating. It’s time.

  The morning is spent making the phone calls needed to set everything up. Sydney heads out with my credit card to a neighboring store. I instructed her to buy something smart and business-like. She needs to look the part and so do I. The men we are about to face need to see we mean business.

  While she’s out, I set in place the machine that has laid dormant for so long. The engine that will drive revenge and take no prisoners.

  Then I dress in the clothes I am accustomed to wearing. A smart business suit and tie that screams success. I unfurl the cold, hard, mask of indifference and lock my heart away for one last time. In a few hours’ time, this will be over. A lifetime of abuse, manipulation, and depravity will now stand up and be counted.

  It’s time to face my father.

  Sydney

  It’s good to get some fresh air and time alone. I need to clear my head and think about this situation. In just a few short days, I have left everything behind and taken off to Vegas and married the most attractive man I have ever laid eyes on. I fell in love so deeply I won’t make it back unscathed. I’ve traveled across America to a place where I came from to find the man whose blood I share. Then my husband crushed me with one conversation and I have to work out if that matters.

  The store I went to was smarter than any I’ve ever seen before. I almost cut and run but was taken under the wing of an eagle-eyed sales person who kitted me out in clothes I have only ever dreamed of.

  Now I’m sitting in a nearby coffee shop trying to stoke up on caffeine to give me the courage to see this through.

  If ever I needed a friend it’s now, so with shaking fingers I call my only one - Lucy.

  The phone rings for ages and then she answers tentatively. “Sydney, is that you?”

  The relief at hearing her familiar voice washes over me and calms my soul. The tears burn behind my eyes as I say in a whisper, “Yes, it’s me, Lucy. How are you, how are the kids?”

  There’s a short silence and then she says softly, “Everything’s fine, nothing to worry about here. What about you though? Don’t tell me that guy turned out to be some kind of bastard.”

  I almost laugh hysterically. If only she knew just what he turned out to be. Instead, I try to say as normally as possible, “Oh, everything’s fine, Tyler’s fine and we have just reached Texas.”

  Lucy sounds interested. “So, what’s happened, tell me everything?”

  I falter, not sure what I should say. I mean, if I start I probably won’t be able to stop myself from telling her everything. So, I just laugh lightly and say as breezily as I can manage, “Nothing much. We just got married in Vegas and now I’m about to meet my new family.”

  Her shout almost deafens me as she cries, “Shut the fuck up. Oh. My. God. You got married! In Vegas! I don’t believe it. Tell me everything, have you slept with him yet? Is it real? Have you fallen in love with him? Oh my god! I can’t believe what I’m hearing.”

  Despite everything, I laugh like an excited newlywed and say softly, “I think I do love him, Lucy. He’s everything I ever thought my Prince Charming would be - except one thing.”

  The silence on the line is palpable as I immediately regret my words. She says softly, “What is it? Oh my god, if that man has hurt you or is into some sort of serious shit, I’m coming for you.”

  I shake my head almost as if she can see me and just say sadly, “He has issues, Luce. There’s some serious shit in his past and it’s not the sort of stuff you want to talk about to anyone. The trouble is, despite everything, I still want him. He could tell me he’s Hannibal Lecter and I would probably say - never mind dear, we can’t have everything.”

  Lucy laughs and then sounds concerned. “He’s not, is he?”

  Laughing, I feel the tension dissolve at her words. “Of course, not but he’s a broken man because of his past. I suppose we both are so maybe that’s why it all feels so right. I’ll explain it all one day but tell me what’s happening back home? I need to focus on something normal for a bit.”

  I don’t like the silence that follows my words. It’s as if she’s thinking very carefully about what she’s about to say and that’s not like Lucy. Then she sighs and says sadly, “Things have been interesting, to put it mildly. I can’t believe what happened when you left. It’s as though when you did you lit a fuse that burned out of control.”

  The fear grips me as I stutter, “Please tell me it doesn’t involve Michael Santobello? He hasn’t hurt you, has he?”

  She laughs softly. “Well, he tried, let’s just leave it there. I’ll tell you everything when I see you because to be honest, I’m not
sure what the fuck is going on right now. All you need to know is your business is fine, I’m fine and we still have a roof over our head. Just do what you have to and get back here intact and happy. That’s all I want.”

  I want to ask her so much more and know she’s fobbing me off but before I can speak she says quickly, “I’m sorry, babe, I’ve got to go. Talk soon.”

  Then she hangs up, leaving me even more anxious than when I called. I know my friend and there’s a lot she’s keeping from me. I just hope she’s safe.

  24

  Sydney

  I head into the apartment wondering what I’ll find. As soon as I let myself in I see him waiting. My heart flutters as he looks across the room and stares at me long and hard. My heart pants with desire as I look at the man he is. Sharp, devastatingly handsome with an air of power that surrounds him like a force-field. His face is devoid of any expression and I can see he has slipped a cold, hard, mask of indifference over his face. But those eyes betray him. They burn with a hunger and a passion and they are directed at me.

  He watches me and studies my every move. I hold his eyes and walk toward him with a bravery I don’t feel inside. He needs me to be strong and I won’t let him down. He pulls me close when I reach him and whispers in my ear, “You look stunning, are you sure you’re ready to face this?”

  Nodding, I look into his eyes and say as strongly as I can, “Let’s end this, Tyler. Let’s just get this over with so we can both move on with our lives.”

  I see a flash of pain enter his eyes and smile softly. “I should have said, let’s move on with our lives together.”

  He smiles but I know he doesn’t believe me. Whatever secret he’s hiding is causing him to accept his fate and thinks it will drive us apart. I know better. As they say, ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.’ I can think of nothing that would make me walk away from him, so I smile reassuringly and take his hand.