Billionaire Bash: The Complete Steele Series

by Natalia Banks

“If I let you go, they’ll only come after me too. I can’t have that, Kerri.”

  “I was just…I was just going to bed.”

  “Going to bed,” Harden repeated, low and gravely, close to her ear. “I’m sorry, Kerri, but I just can’t let you do that; not now…not anymore.”

  “I swear, I don’t know anything!”

  “Shshshshsh, sh sh sh sh shshshshsh… Stop, Kerri, stop. Don’t even bother, it’s beneath you.” Harden’s arms drifted lightly over Kerri’s arms, goosebumps rising under the nearness of his hands, his encroaching touch. “I don’t want this to be…painful for you.”

  “Please…”

  “Don’t worry, Kerri, I won’t let you suffer; that’s not what this is about. But I can’t promise you that it’ll be quick.”

  Kerri gasped but tried to disguise it, putting up as brave a front as she could. “I…won’t tell anybody, I promise.”

  Harden smiled in the corner of Kerri’s eyes. “I know you won’t.”

  Kerri lurched forward with a frightened gasp, but she knew it was already too late to escape. Harden clamped his big hand over her mouth, creating a seal and a muffled cry. He grabbed her left arm with his right hand, his muscular arm wrapped around her, pinning her arms. Kerri loved the feeling of his manly grip, and she cried out again as Harden lifted her up off the floor, her naked legs kicking, her little robe falling out of the way.

  “You’re not going anywhere,” Harden rasped as he rushed her across the room and threw her onto the bed. He climbed on top of Kerri in a flash, his huge cock already hard, his balls resting on her belly. She balled up her fists and smacked them hard against his muscular chest, only hoping to inspire greater aggression, to reassure him that she wanted what they were about to do, that she craved it, that she couldn’t live without it.

  Or without him.

  Harden balled up his fists and dug them into the mattress on either side of Kerri’s arms, pinning them just above the elbows. Kerri pushed, arms bending up, immobile and helpless.

  Harden positioned his head at the opening of her flower. The head pushed in and their bodies locked together. His first few strokes, long and slow, were quick to bring her natural juices to the fore, creating an easy glide of that hard shaft against her own soft, moist clit. Temperatures rose around them, the hot musk of their lovemaking a familiar perfume that she knew only turned them both on even more.

  Their hips ground in complimentary rhythms, conflict increasing the pressure and the pleasure.

  Deeper strokes pushed Harden’s huge hammer even deeper into her, a slight shake of his hips sending bolts of pleasure shooting through Kerri’s crotch, down her legs, and up into her chest. “Yeah, yeah,” Harden rasped, hips grinding with greater chaotic abandon, Kerri’s legs spreading to accommodate Harden, his arms still pinning hers to her sides.

  Harden leaned back a bit and raised her left leg, pushing it up and back, her knee approaching her bobbling breast as Harden continued to rake her below. Kerri gritted her teeth, eyes clamped shut.

  “Open your eyes and look at me,” Harden commanded, and Kerri did so immediately, lips trembling, blue eyes wide and looking up at Harden in a vague combination of pouty sadness and lusty indulgence.

  Harden held her leg up with one hand, reaching down with the other to flick her nipples, fingers tracing the curves and the sides, perspiration collecting to help those strong fingers glide over her skin.

  “C’mon, baby,” Kerri said, “do it again, do it again!”

  “Do what, Kerri?”

  “You know,” she rasped. “Please, baby, please do it.”

  “I know what you love; I know everything you love! But you gotta say it, baby, you gotta beg me for it!” With that, Harden shifted Kerri farther to the side and then flipped her over entirely, never losing his hold on her. Her body was now in front of Harden’s, both facing the same way on the bed.

  “Now say it, Kerri!”

  “Cover…cover me, please!”

  Harden kept up a regular rhythm, steady in and out with incredible stamina.

  “How? Cover you how? Cover your eyes?”

  Kerri shook her head. She was already close to coming, that battering ram ratcheting up the pressure with every strike. But something about talking, about being forced to say these things she felt a criminal even fantasizing about, that pushed her over the edge every time.

  And Harden knew it.

  Harden was massive behind her, strong, with Kerri looking back at him. “My mouth,” she whimpered, begging, almost sobbing. “Cover my mouth, put your hand over my mouth!” She came when she said it, and kept coming as his big hand returned to her face, aggressively closing her mouth.

  Kerri felt completely helpless, pinned by her big alpha male, completely in his grip, that cock pushing deep as they rolled toward the center of the bed. She screamed into his palm, hot breath bouncing back off the side of his finger and thumb, the skin of her cheeks rising up around his palm.

  “You love that, huh?” She moaned and he held her tight, lips pressed against her ear. “You love it when I’m in control, eh? You love to be in my control, for me to take you like this, take you so hard and fuck you so hard!”

  She squealed again, his grinding suddenly ceasing; Kerri’s body stiffened as her orgasm raged, gurgling and bubbling like the whimpering sounds struggling to escape from her own throat.

  “You want control, Kerri? You wanna know what real control feels like, to be truly and utterly under my will?” She shook her head, eyes looking back at him with fluttering confusion and intrigue. “Okay, baby, let’s learn a little more about control.”

  Harden eyes were locked on Kerri’s as his nose and index finger met, pressing down on her nostrils and sealing them shut. Kerri flinched, but she was tightly pinned beneath him. “I love your pretty eyes, Kerri, so big and wide, your brow all furrowed, the way it gets. What a sweet, pretty thing you are in my grip.”

  Harden released his fingers from her nose, keeping his hand pressed firmly over her mouth. She panted the fresh breath through her nostrils, but he closed down on her again, cutting the air off. Harden rolled over so that they were both on their sides, Harden’s cock still buried deep inside her. But the pressure from below was matched by the pressure in front, blood tingling in her veins.

  “And I love taking you, holding you so tight, watching you wriggle and moan beneath me. You’re perfect, baby, you’re the perfect little victim. I love to control you and you love it when I do, and that’s what I love most of all! God, I love how you love it!”

  Kerri’s heart was pounding in her chest, lungs straining as her breath was completely stopped up. Too long, she silently panicked, it’s too long; I can’t take it!

  He released his grip on her nostrils again, just long enough to give her another breath, then he closed down again. Kerri writhed in his grip, shaking her head to try to free it from his grip, but Harden held tight.

  Is this really just a game, or is there something else happening, something terrible?

  “Can’t breathe? You wanna breathe, Kerri?” She shook her head as much as she was able to move it. Kerri’s body shook with the power of her orgasm and the powerlessness of her position. She kicked, but Harden wrapped his long, muscular legs around them, pinning her thighs together, creating even more pelvic pressure. The pounding in her chest became too much, a million invisible needles sticking into every part of her body.

  He released her to gasp and quiver and sob, straining to catch her breath.

  Conflicting emotions overwhelmed Kerri: love and death, control and helplessness; pain and pleasure swirled around her, pumping out of Harden and into her. Kerri was already exhausted, but Harden was still hard inside of her, and she knew it would take another marathon session to satisfy it. But Kerri was convinced then that Harden wasn’t going to hurt her. He held her life in his hands, literally; he could snuff her out at any time.

  But he didn’t. Instead he led her through another several positions be
fore he mercifully released his massive load. Kerri was in a fetal position on the bed, unable to move, weeping like an angel.

  Chapter 8

  The tuna tartar at the Ivy was tender and sumptuous, the Bloody Mary’s spicy and peppery—a perfect brunch cocktail. Harden and Kerri sat in silence, no words needed to pass between the two. They had a bond that transcended idle conversation, and the fact that both felt so comfortable with the other that they didn’t have to speak was really the best conversation piece of all.

  “Kerri, Harden!” Kerri and Harden turned to see Bertram Quinn and his gorgeous redheaded companion, Melody Madison.

  Harden stood, but Kerri didn’t. “Bertram, Melody.”

  Kerri said, “This is a nice surprise. Would you like to stay? We’ll get a bigger table.”

  “Oh, y’know, we’d love to,” Bertram said, “but we gotta get going. We really just wanted to stop by on the way out, say how sorry we are to hear about all the troubles on your movie, Kerri.”

  “It really is a shame,” Melody said with a fake pout that barely disguised her wicked smile. “I hear the studio’s very anxious about it.”

  “We hadn’t heard anything about that,” Harden said.

  “Well, with your money on the line,” Bertram said, “they’re probably holding out as long as they can. It’s a great little script, really.”

  “Thank you, Bertram,” Kerri said. She knew as well as anyone the old Hollywood use of the word ‘little’ to modify a noun: nice little script, cozy little home, your little career.

  “Maybe you should think about getting in front of the camera again,” Melody said to Kerri. “There are still lots of good parts for a woman of your stature.”

  Kerri knew what that meant too: age.

  Bertram said, “Some people think the Oscar’s a death knell for a woman’s career. I sure hope I didn’t ruin you!”

  They all shared a chuckle, and Kerri put a hand on Harden’s arm. “That’s his job. And how about you, Mel?”

  Melody’s eye flashed angrily. “We’re doing just fine. Why, what have you heard?” Bertram looked around awkwardly, shaking his head.

  Kerri said, “No, I mean, your career. Are you considering any roles, anything good out there?”

  “Oh, um, well, some. Mostly I’m waiting for Bert here to finish his new script.”

  “There’s a great role for her: a hot ninja assassin.”

  Kerri and Harden glanced at one another. “Sounds like more Oscar bait,” Kerri said.

  They all laughed, but Melody’s laughter died away first. She couldn’t seem to help snarling at Kerri as if she wanted to scratch her eyes out right there and then.

  Bertram said, “Okay, well, we gotta run. Good luck, you two.”

  “You guys too,” Kerri said as the others stepped away from the table. She turned to Harden with a bemused expression.

  “You’re right,” Harden said. “That woman hates you.”

  The next morning they had a location shoot in front of the Griffith Park Observatory—world famous and recently renovated. The parking lot was cordoned off, sound trucks and light equipment set up behind the cameras.

  Kerri walked along the parking lot parameter with blond Britany Stevens. “Just a few quick pickups today, Brit. You and Carl drive up and rush into the observatory. Get that from five or six angles, we’ll be good.”

  Britany nodded, checking her watch. “I wonder where Carl is.”

  “He was probably just hung over, missed the alarm, hit the snooze button, something like that. Believe me, of all the things I’ve come across on film sets, this one in particular—tardiness from the lead actor—is going to be the least of my worries.”

  “I guess, but, I dunno, I’m a little worried about him.”

  “Carl? Why?”

  Britany bit her lower lip as she thought it over, gazing into the distance. “He just seems like out of it lately, since the fire, really. He’s kind of nervous, distracted, drinking a lot when he really shouldn’t be drinking at all—all those pills he’s on.”

  Kerri gave it some thought. Why would the fire affect him that way, unless he knows something the rest of us don’t know, such as who might have started that fire to begin with? Could he possibly have had anything to do with it? He wasn’t far from the fire when it started.

  “Kerri?”

  “Oh, I’m sorry, Brit, I’m just…I’m sure Carl’s fine.” Kerri’s smartphone rang, the name of her personal assistant on the screen. Kerri said, “Roger, you got him?”

  The young man’s voice was nervous, quivering on the other end of the phone. “Um, it’s Mr. Harrington, Miss Abernathy, he…he wasn’t answering the door, and his car was here, so we had to finally break the door down.”

  “Oh Christ, I’ll bet he’s furious.”

  “No, Miss Abernathy, no, he’s…he’s dead.”

  The information about Carl’s death came from every direction: police investigators, news reporters, bloggers, and fake news stories. It was almost impossible for Kerri to keep track of it all, but it wasn’t long before the media found her to ask for her comments.

  “At the moment,” Kerri said, “we’re all just stunned to hear about Carl’s death. He was the heartbeat of our film, a great artist, and a wonderful humanitarian. He’ll be sorely missed.”

  A froth of questions rose up, one clearly saying, “How does this affect production of your film?”

  Kerri sighed. “A film is a big project and includes the hard work of a lot of good people. That being said, a man has died, and it’s really not the time to be discussing economic side effects of his family’s tragedy. Of course, as a matter of respect, we’re going to shut down production until after the funeral. I’m not sure what’s going to happen after that, but again, now is not the time to discuss it.”

  “What are your thoughts on the cause of death?”

  Kerri wasn’t sure how to answer it, but she knew where the question was leading. There were already unconfirmed reports of pharmaceutical drugs found near the bed where he died in his sleep. But no cause of death had been officially established, and though Kerri had her suspicions, more than one set, she felt best not to say anything.

  “That’s for the Los Angeles County coroner to say,” she finally said. “No more questions. Thank you.”

  Kerri paced the living room at double time, anxiously talking it out and becoming more and more nervous all the time. “Coincidence? C’mon, Harden, what are the chances?”

  “Maybe it’s a curse.”

  “Oh stop it.”

  Harden released an amused huff. “Then I guess it’s back to conspiracy.”

  “Harden, it’s not like I enjoy feeling like a nutcase, okay? And I admit, one or two of these things could be explained away—”

  “And so can this. The guy was apparently popping those pills like M&Ms. Your P.A. said he saw liquor bottles all over the place. Plus the place was locked from the inside, wasn’t it?”

  “All things that make it a near-perfect crime.” Harden sighed and shook his head, but Kerri went on, “All I’m saying is that your arguments are inconclusive.”

  “Okay, look, Kerri, I love you very much, and you’re as talented and as intelligent as anyone I’ve ever met. If you think there’s something to this, maybe there is.”

  “Well, um, thank you, Harden.”

  “So let’s talk it through. Let’s say somebody sneaked into that house and jammed him full of pills. That could happen. But the only reason to kill him would be to shut the movie down, right? And the only reason to do that would be to shut you down—”

  “Or to protect the cabal, the German bankers—”

  Harden sighed, finally nodding as he considered. “Okay, yes. But again, why not just to get to you directly?”

  “Because killing me wouldn’t necessarily end the movie, and that’s what they need to happen before they’re all exposed.”

  “Well, okay. But there’s nothing we can do to avenge Carl, or Mark for
that matter.”

  “Nothing? C’mon, Harden, you hold life in your bare hands, you’ve held my life in your hands, and you still do.”

  “What can I do? Wait for White Gold Holdings to text and then accuse them of murder?”

  “We go to the FBI or Interpol or—”

  “Interpol? You watch too many movies, Kerri. And without any real evidence, they’ll probably just lock us up instead. And in truth, we don’t even know that your theory is the right one, or that there’s any need for these theories at all.”

  “So one, Big Pharma, two, the billionaire auction cabal, three—”

  “There’s a third?”

  “Melody Madison. That bitch would cut out my guts and wear ’em for garters if she could.”

  “So much that she’d do all this?”

  “She could have charmed her way into Carl’s bed; that would be easy enough. She could have gotten somebody into that soundstage too. She could have made those mysterious phone calls, hired those thugs to kidnap me.”

  “We don’t know that it was a suspected kidnapping.”

  Kerri thought about it, unwilling or unable to disagree. “How could we prove it?”

  Harden scratched the back of his head. “We could set up a sting of some sort, I suppose.”

  “So three, Melody Madison, four, that ex-girlfriend of yours.”

  “That…who?”

  “Sandra Burns or something.”

  “Blake, Sandra Blake.”

  “She was in front of the house when I pulled up that time. When I started getting those phone calls, I figured it was her. And I think I’ve seen her car around a lot. It’s a silver Audi, right?”

  “Yes, that’s right. But that car in the garage, it wasn’t the Audi?”

  “No, a Dodge, Charger I think.”

  Harden took a few pacing steps himself. “I can always reach out to her, suss her out, see if she reveals herself.”

  “I wonder if Sandra and Melody couldn’t somehow be working together?” Harden thought it through out loud. “Sandra knew me and she knows you’re with me—you’re a public figure. You’re even more public now than when we first started to go out.”