“No one beats me.”
“Because if you think you might lose, you don’t play at all.”
“You don’t know me.” Still trying to loom over her with his height and injured male ego, he didn’t dare back down. But she’d managed to rattle him a little. He kept trying to make eye contact with her, but breaking away, unable to hold her gaze. Or he might have been afraid she’d snag his gaze again, and this time, she wouldn’t let him go until she was good and ready. “You don’t know how I feel.”
She leaned closer, so her lips were inches from his. “If you were mine, I’d tell you to strip off all your clothes, not just your shirt, and you’d do it in a heartbeat. You’d go down on your knees in front of me and stare up at me with only one word on your lips.”
His eyes gleamed like dark pools in the moonlight. “I’m not yours.”
“That’s three words,” she whispered, letting her breath tickle his lips. “I’d stroke every inch of you. I’d kiss every scar on your body. I’d make you tremble and shake with need. But I wouldn’t let you come. Not yet. Not until you’ve tasted me enough to send me flying with a flick of your tongue. Even then, I’m still waiting for that one word.”
He quivered, the pulse thumping in his neck so hard she could see the vein beneath his skin.
“But you’re a very stubborn submissive.” She chuckled lightly, tipping her head so her lips almost touched his. Almost. “You need some convincing first. I like that. I like it a lot.”
He swallowed hard. “What does convincing involve?”
She let her eyes grow heavy with her will. Her demand that he yield to her, and her alone. “Doesn’t matter, because you’re not a submissive, right?” She moved around him to the top of the stoop and headed for the door. “You’re certainly not mine.”
Chapter Fourteen
Whether she’d intended it or not, she’d given Harvey a new fantasy to play in his mind. The image of being naked on his knees before her wormed deeper into his brain, refusing to be banished. Combined with the stress of waiting for his attorney to call with the final deal, he’d been up all fucking night in his freshly cleaned room. He only had four days left to buy enough shares to stage the takeover, if he wanted to make the announcement at Aunt Lauren’s Christmas Eve party. All the board would be there, so that’s definitely where he wanted to break the news to her.
On cue, his phone rang. “Tell me the good news.”
“We have a deal on the table for the final shares,” Stephanie Gyles said calmly. “But you might not be willing to accept the terms.”
His heart thudded painfully fast. He sat in his desk chair and took a deep breath, willing his body to calm down. “Go.”
“The only board member who was willing to budge on their number of personal shares was Roger Mallory, and only after I admitted you were the buyer as a last resort.”
“I always knew he was a bastard,” Harvey muttered. At least the other board members were loyal to Caine Enterprises, even if indirectly, that meant to his aunt rather than him, the true heir to the company.
“He’s willing to sell off one percent of his shares, giving you the final cut at fifty-one percent for one ninety a share.”
Harvey jotted the numbers down on a piece of paper. “That doesn’t make sense. That’s the going market rate anyway. Why wouldn’t I like this deal? Hell, I’d be willing to pay double to get those damned shares.”
“He’ll sell at the market rate if…” The first crack in her calm facade splintered through her voice. “If you sign the Knightmare over to him.”
Harvey fell back in his chair. His chest banded with pain and for a moment he couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. Of course the bastard would make it hurt. He’d known exactly how to dig the knife into him. The value of the yacht more than made up for the cheap market rate of the shares, but more, it’d rip out his heart at the same time.
“You still have the yacht, don’t you?”
He opened his mouth, but had to clear his throat roughly to make any words come out. “I believe so.”
“Are you willing and able to part with the boat? He seemed to think that you wouldn’t. He even laughed about it, like he’d asked the impossible.”
“Fucking son of a bitch.” Harvey gripped the arms of the chair, trying not to rip it apart with his bare hands. He needed to destroy something. Beat something up. Or better, numb himself into oblivion. He’d spent most of his adult life numbing himself, dulling down the sharp edges of his personality so that he could fit in a little better with his peers. “He knows my parents gave that boat to me as my graduation present from Yale. I won the Europe Star in it.”
“That’s his offer,” Stephanie said. “I couldn’t get any of the other board members to bite. He was interested in talking before I admitted you were the buyer. Then he was downright gleeful.”
“Of course he was,” Harvey replied dully. “Tell him I accept his offer.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’ll bring the deed to my aunt’s Christmas party and give it to him then. Will that suffice?”
“I’ll have all the other paperwork processed, with the deed transfer the final requirement.” Stephanie paused a moment, as if gathering her courage. “Sir, I—”
“Tell him it’s a go,” he broke in. “I need those shares at any cost.” Then before she could press for more personal details that he wasn’t prepared to share, he disconnected the call. Numb inside, he lifted his head. His gaze immediately locked onto the display case opposite his desk, where all his trophies were stored. Everything he’d ever won had been crammed into that case, from a first-place ribbon at a ten-years-old-and-under rowing event, to the Europe Star cup. That win had been his crowning achievement. He’d sailed singlehandedly across the Atlantic and taken the monohull division in Knightmare.
But as so typical in his life, that wasn’t enough for him. He’d wanted something bigger and better, and had signed up to participate in the Vendée Globe as well. That race had nearly killed him. Shaken, he’d come home to try to make the most of his life, but he’d screwed that up too. Then the accident had ended his hopes and dreams for good.
He pushed up out of the chair and strode over to the cabinet. Threw open the glass doors. Picked up the heavy gold cup. And then slammed the cup down onto the shelves. Wood splintered and the cheaper trophies broke. He swiped everything onto the floor and shattered both glass doors. Then he threw the cup against the wall, which put a dent in both.
Breathing hard, he stared at the destruction but couldn’t bring himself to care. Hands fisted, he fought not to lay into the few remaining pieces to tear them apart with his bare hands. Rage burned so hot that he couldn’t think. All he wanted to do was destroy. Or hurt something.
“Harvey?”
Maxwell spoke at the closed door. Thank God he’d locked it. “Go away.”
“Are you all right?”
“Yes,” he replied, trying to keep from screaming and banging his own head against the wall. “I’m fine.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I need something.”
“Of course, what is it?”
Harvey closed his eyes and breathed deeply, smoothing out his voice. “I need the deed to the Knightmare. Whatever paperwork you have on it.”
Silence on the other side of the door made him tighten his fists even more. He needed a fight. He needed to hurt and shred and pummel, and now that Maxwell was here, his rage wanted to maim the only person left who cared about him at all. All he wanted to do was strike out and hurt Maxwell. As badly as he’d been hurt. “I know about you and Mom and Dad. Kelsey told me. I don’t want to see you. Or talk to you.”
“Harvey.” Maxwell’s voice shook, thick with emotion. “Let me explain—”
“I don’t want to hear your explanations about how you lied to me all these years. I want the dee
d to the yacht and that’s it.”
Maxwell gasped as if in pain. “I’d never lie to you.”
“You lied by not telling me! All these years, I never knew!” He breathed hard, trying to leash his rage, but it bucked and fought inside him like a wild thing mindless in its pain. Tears rolled down his cheeks, but he didn’t care, not as long as Maxwell couldn’t see the evidence of his regret. “Get the fucking deed and send Kelsey in here with it. I don’t want to see you ever again!”
* * * * *
Now that so many helpers were whipping the house into shape, Kelsey really had very little to do. Plus it was Christmas, and she missed the tree and decorations. With the heavy snow and cold, and no brightness inside, she’d actually started to feel a little blue. Even at their poorest, Mama had managed to at least hang some lights and put up a few cheap Santa cards on the walls, even if they didn’t have a tree. So she’d run out to her apartment early this morning and grabbed a couple of strings of lights to hang around her bed. It made her feel more hopeful, and with Harvey spewing his gloom and anger, she needed all the hope she could get.
When she’d gotten back, she’d found a note and a check for fifty thousand dollars on the dresser.
Kelsey, you’ve been a Godsend. Thank you for your help. GM
She couldn’t keep it. Not now. The thought of taking money for helping Harvey made her physically ill. He meant too much to her. She folded the check and tucked its corner up under the lamp so she wouldn’t accidentally lose it before she could give it back to Gordon.
To keep up the ruse that she was actually being paid to help out around the house, she decided to check the kitchen to see if there was anything she could do with limited cooking skills. Gordon had left a few dishes in the sink ready to be washed, so she scrubbed and dried them, but left them out on the counter for him to put away. She didn’t want to stick his favorite pot in a back corner where it took him forever to find it again.
Spreading out the cloth on the granite to dry, she jumped when someone said her name behind her. She turned around and gasped. Gordon’s eyes were red and swollen, his face pale, and his hands shook. “What happened? Are you all right?”
“He knows.”
She winced and rushed over to hug him. “I’m so sorry. It just slipped out last night.”
“No, no, I told you on purpose, hoping you would tell him. It’s all right. I hoped…”
She lifted her head but kept her arms around him. He seemed so frail, as if the years had suddenly turned into boulders on his stooped shoulders. “You promised them, didn’t you?”
He nodded. “Years ago, before it mattered to me that he know. I honored that promise after they passed, because I didn’t know how to tell him. I didn’t know if he’d even believe me without their confirmation. So I remained silent, even though it killed me. I told you on purpose, hoping you would tell him when the time was right.”
Relieved he wasn’t angry with her, she hugged him again. “He didn’t take it well?”
“He said he never wants to see me again.”
“Oh.” She squeezed him harder, even while mentally cursing Harvey for hurting the man who loved him so much. “You know how he is. His bark is worse than his bite.”
“Not this time, I’m afraid. Usually when he’s angry, he comes to me and yells, curses, paces, whatever he needs to do to release the anger. I think deep down he knows I’ll help him process whatever’s bothering him. But this time, he locked his door and wouldn’t let me in. He wouldn’t let me help him release his anger. Something crashed in his room, but he wouldn’t…” Gordon drew a deep, shaking breath. “He wouldn’t let me in.”
“Give him time. I think he’ll come around. He didn’t seem all that upset last night when I told him. Surprised, and thrown for a loop, but deep down, I think he sensed something a long time ago.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“I’m sure he’s just overreacting. Maybe if I talked to him, he’ll come around.”
“He asked for you.”
Her eyes widened. “Me? Why?”
“I don’t know. He asked that you bring these papers to him.” He held out a manila envelope, so she released him and took it without opening it. “Something must have happened. He asked for the deed to his yacht.”
“He mentioned it to me, how much he’d loved sailing. Isn’t that a good thing? Maybe he’s decided to take the boat out again.”
Gordon shook his head. “He doesn’t need the deed for that, and he never asked me where the boat was stored, only the ownership papers. I’m afraid his attorney has called with the final deal needed for him to gain the majority vote, and he’s having to firesale everything he cares about to raise the money. I warned him this crazy revenge scheme of his would destroy everything he cared about.”
She glanced around at the fine old house with its modern kitchen and ultra-top-of-the-line appliances. “He’s short on money?”
“Not really, no. But he’s tight on cash. I’m afraid he might have to sell the yacht, and it’ll kill him. Even if he doesn’t think so now. His parents gave him that boat. I can’t imagine that he’d sell it, but why else ask for the deed?”
She tucked the folder under her arm. “I’ll find out. Don’t worry about him.”
“He’s very angry. More than usual. I’m sure he tore up something with all that noise. Be careful. I’d never forgive myself if he hurt you accidentally.”
She patted him on the shoulder and headed for the door. “Don’t worry about me. If he wants to throw a temper tantrum with me, I’ll punish him like a recalcitrant toddler.”
Gordon’s brow furrowed but he didn’t say anything. Maybe he thought she wouldn’t be able to pull it off. Or that Harvey wouldn’t accept that kind of treatment by a woman, let alone that he’d actually need it.
But she had a pretty good feeling that maybe a little punishment was exactly what her grouchy billionaire recluse needed.
Chapter Fifteen
Pausing outside Harvey’s bedroom door, Kelsey closed her eyes and took deep, even breaths. She cleared her mind by imagining a single candle deep inside her. One by one, she dropped her fears and doubts into that small flame and watched them disintegrate. She had no room for self-doubt. Not when facing any scene, but especially one with such a damaged and untried submissive. Everything hinged on the upcoming interaction with him. If she lost her temper, wavered in her confidence, or gave him a single crack of doubt, he’d be all over it in a heartbeat. He didn’t want to know one way or the other. He’d rather live in ignorance.
Even if that meant he had no life at all. In fact, that’s what he’d already decided. He didn’t believe he deserved a full, rich life. She had to crack through that wall he’d thrown up and prove to him once and for all that he deserved more than this shut-in life of darkness and grief and self-torture.
She opened her eyes and gave a firm rap on the door. “I have some papers for you.”
Movement on the other side of the door told her he’d been waiting for her. He might have even been listening at the door, wondering why she’d stopped outside. The lock snicked and he opened the door, stepping aside to let her in.
Without looking at him, she strode into his bedroom. She’d intended not to look around and gawk at whatever he kept in his private space, but the shattered wood and glass on the floor gave her pause. Slowly, she turned and faced him but didn’t comment on the mess other than to arch a brow at him with a disapproving frown.
“Lost my temper,” he muttered, averting his face. “I’ll clean it up. I won’t make Maxwell do it.”
“Damned straight. It’s about fucking time you started cleaning up your own messes.”
He whipped his head back around, eyes narrowed. “Nobody talks to me like that.”
“Then maybe someone should. Someone has to tell you when you’ve fucked up if you can�
��t figure it out for yourself.”
Stiffly, he stepped closer to her, his face darkening. “You don’t even know the half of it.”
“Try me.”
After last night’s mini-confrontation on the steps, she didn’t think he’d push back too hard, but he strode right up into her personal space again. “You have no idea how badly I’ve fucked up my entire life.”
She kept her shoulders loose and her voice light. “Yes, I do, actually. You’re behaving like a snot-nosed kid who’s mad because he can’t have the shiny new toy he wanted.”
“I’ll be the first to admit I’m a selfish son of a bitch, but this time, it has nothing to do with me.”
She waved the file folder at him. “No? You didn’t yell at Gordon to bring you the deed for this shiny toy?”
“It’s not for me!” Harvey roared. “I’m giving it away.”
Keeping her voice soothingly soft, she asked, “Why?”
If she’d shouted back at him, he could have escalated, feeding the fury rising in him. But her gentle tone made his anger dissipate. His shoulders slumped, his voice so soft she had to lean in to hear him. “To win my company back. I have to have fifty-one percent of the shares, and the last one percent will be ensured with that boat.”
“So you’re selling it? What, is the billionaire short on cash?”
His lips twitched in a mockery of a smile. “Hardly. It’s basically the knife in the back. The low blow. The one thing Mallory probably thought I’d never give up. But I will and am. I’ll do anything to win my company back.”
“Even hurt Gordon.”
He sucked in a breath and nodded. “Yes. The more I hurt him now…”
“The quicker he’ll leave, is that it?” She shook her head. “Then you don’t know him very well.”
“I’ve known him my entire life.”
“Not very well evidently. As you will do anything to secure your company, he’ll give anything to ensure your happiness. He’d certainly never leave you.” She couldn’t help the hint of bitterness that laced her voice. He had no idea what it was like to be abandoned as a child.
The Billionaire's Christmas Bargain: Billionaires in Bondage, Book 3 Page 12