Seduced by the Billionaire: The Complete Collection

by Lee, Nadia

  Peggy nodded. “I’m sure we can.”

  “So why don’t we look into that and see exactly how much it’ll cost?”

  “Great! I’ll get on it right away.”

  “And review other current company policies that have a detrimental effect on our compensation and support for our people. See what we can do about those as well.”

  Peggy’s face split into a wide smile. “Best offer I’ve had all day.”

  After Peggy left, Meredith leaned back in her chair. It was incredible how horrible some of the policies at The Lloyds Development were, all because Jacob had wanted to save money. He’d wanted to hide the fact that the company wasn’t doing well from the family. On the other hand, if he’d fired his BFF Embezzling Simon maybe he wouldn’t have had to squeeze his workers so much. Nobody should ever have to face the horrible dilemma of providing for their loved ones or compromising their ethics.

  But even with all those projects at work, she couldn’t stop thinking about Daniel. She couldn’t forget the heat in his eyes at Ethan’s dinner.

  What would it be like to have him make love to her? Not the flowery, soft sort of thing you might see in some sappy romantic movie. She wanted it hard and sweaty, the kind of sex people had when all rational thought had fled their minds because the only thing that mattered was white-hot passion.

  But nobody ever saw her like that. People described her as sweet, generous, devoted and so forth, but not sexy or desirable. More than ever Meredith wished she were half as beautiful as her sister-in-law Catherine Fairchild. Catherine could walk through a mall and every man in the place would be having eye-sex with her. But men rarely did that with Meredith. And even the occasional ones who did generally backed away when they learned she had a son.

  Which on one hand was actually great, because it wasn’t like she wanted to be with a man who couldn’t see what a privilege it would be to be Eric’s male role model. But it did make things a little lonely.

  She picked up the silver-framed photo of Eric and her from the desk. Lonely or not, nothing would make her give up Eric. He was her universe, her miracle baby. She traced her fingers along the beloved lines of his face, his sunny smile. Her doctor had been so sure when he’d announced she was sterile, never to have a child of her own.

  And yet…here she was.

  * * *

  Daniel looked up when his executive assistant Audrey Jones came with a tux and a white mask. “Your costume for tonight, sir.”

  “Thanks.”

  She gave him a smile as empty as a politician’s promise. She was a twenty-something blonde, tall and slim with an intense, blue-eyed stare and brisk mannerisms. There was something about her he didn’t quite like, although he couldn’t put his finger on exactly what that was. He’d inherited her from his father because his own executive assistant had decided to not come back after her maternity leave. Her husband had gotten a fantastic job offer in France, and they’d decided to go for it.

  He considered Audrey as she hung his costume for the party Alex and Natalie were hosting. Despite her relative youth, she performed her tasks with efficiency and professionalism. She’d never done anything that crossed over into flirtation territory, which was exactly how he wanted his executive assistant. Claude had also interviewed her before the hiring decision, and had spoken highly of her. So what was it about her that he didn’t like?

  “Is there anything else I can do for you, sir?” she asked.

  “No. That will be all.”

  She nodded and left.

  Then it finally hit him. He didn’t like her because he wasn’t quite sure if he could trust her.

  Ever since Merry had dropped the bombshell about the sabotage, he hadn’t been able to shake the feeling that he was the target, not Merry or TLD or even Aylster Resorts. Somebody wanted to see him fail.

  His jaw tightened. When his old man had realized that Daniel wasn’t going to simply roll over and give up on life, he had done everything in his power to prove to Daniel he was destined to fail. Dan Aylster II had been too aware of social consequences to be blatant about it. He’d paid for private schools and all the other things that his peers provided for their children. But he’d made it clear with every check he signed that he was just waiting for Daniel to screw up.

  “You’re not like the others in our family. If your grandfather was like Louis XIV, you’re…well… I assume you know your history. Après moi, le déluge.”

  No, daddy dearest, Daniel thought. There won’t be ruin and humiliation for me just because you aren’t in charge anymore. No matter how much his father would’ve liked to see him publicly humiliated and disgraced, he wasn’t going to give the bastard the satisfaction. Even if this sabotage had been arranged before his death to ensure Daniel would fail, fine. Daniel would fight to his last breath and come out victorious.

  There was simply no other option.

  He looked at his stark costume. What would Merry wear to the party? Would he recognize her through the disguise?

  Like you could ever forget how she smells?

  No matter how busy he kept himself, she intruded on his mind at the most inopportune times. It was as though she knew how to get his attention even from far away.

  Not that far away. You live in the same town now.

  He pushed the reminder aside. He had too much work to do before the party to get caught up in thinking about her.

  * * *

  Meredith pulled her trench coat tighter as Nancy maneuvered the Mercedes toward a three-story mansion forty-some miles away from Washington, D.C. Alex and Natalie had rented the place for their party, and Meredith approved of their choice. She’d hosted a big charity function there five years before, and it was a great place with plenty of space and class.

  “Eric wanted me to tell you to have a good time. He was so excited at being over at his grandma’s,” Nancy said.

  “He adores her.”

  “That he does. It doesn’t hurt that he and your mother’s man get along great. I think they’re going trick-or-treating together. He promised to have a great time.”

  “He’s going to try to eat half the bounty before the day’s over. That’s what he means when he talks about having a great time on Halloween.”

  Nancy laughed. “My kids were like that too, and it used to drive me crazy. Now that they’ve stopped, I sort of miss it. Strange, huh?”

  That put a wistful smile on Meredith’s face. “They do grow up fast.”

  “They sure do. Gotta enjoy every moment, ’cause once it’s gone…” Nancy pulled into the curb and opened the door for Meredith. “Here you are. You have a great time too!”

  “Thanks, Nancy. I’ll cab it back after the party, so go home and enjoy the rest of the evening with your family.”

  Nancy nodded and drove off.

  A uniformed security staff member came out to assist Meredith, and she gave him her invitation. He ran a blue light over it, satisfied himself that it was genuine, and led her to the main steps.

  She looked up at the house in awe. Eerie orange and purple lights shone upward from the yard, and the normally white columns and exterior walls glowed with unholy hues. The sound system was playing something dramatic and scary. The lawn had been made to look like a cemetery, with crosses and headstones dotting the grass, and a couple of mechanical vampires were doing a pretty good job of clawing themselves out of their graves. A tall, starved-looking zombie in tattered clothes moaned as Meredith passed by him at the entrance, and she chuckled.

  Meredith slipped her coat off her shoulders and handed it to the coat-check clerk. It was slightly weird being handed a ticket by a guy who was dressed like Dracula’s cousin, complete with fangs and a mouth dripping fake blood.

  Meredith smoothed her hands along the folds of her costume to make sure it settled nicely. She’d found the cutest Wonder Woman costume with a flare-out mini skirt—she wasn’t brave enough to do just the bikini-bottom, no matter how “wonderful” she wanted to pretend to be.
r />   This is why Daniel only sees you as his baby sister’s best friend. Have you seen how his exes dress?

  Meredith frowned. She’d done some research in the gossip magazines. Daniel liked his dates tall and leggy, and most were models with dazzling white smiles and surgery-perfect faces. They wore dresses with plunging necklines and no back. Some even showed the shadow of their butt crack. That wasn’t something Meredith was comfortable with, and even if that had been her style, she couldn’t wear it now. She didn’t want to do anything that might make Eric embarrassed or uncomfortable in school. Boys could be vicious to one another. Besides, she knew she didn’t have to dress so revealingly to look good.

  So what? her subconscious whispered. It probably wouldn’t have mattered anyway. Meredith sighed. She could streak naked in front of Daniel, and he wouldn’t care. He’d rejected the kiss from her. If a man didn’t even want to kiss you, you might as well give up.

  Natalie spotted her and came forward. A pair of pointy russet ears lent her a cute, impish look, and she wore a reddish faux-fur costume with a gorgeous tail tipped with white. “Oh my gosh, you look awesome. Now I feel sort of boring dressed like a fox.”

  “Hey, it fits you, foxy lady.”

  She laughed. “I was going for a were-fox look, but I don’t know if I pulled it off.”

  “Don’t worry about it. You look great.”

  “Thanks. Kerri’s already here. I have no idea where she went, though. She was at the buffet table, staring at some bat-shaped chocolate chip cookies.”

  “I’m sure I’ll run into her. Where’s Alex?”

  “He and Ethan went off together, probably to plot world domination or something. Have fun, and I’m so glad you came.”

  They exchanged a hug. As Natalie went off to greet a new arrival, the fine hair on the back of Meredith’s neck stood up. She tilted her head and saw a tall, tuxedoed man with a cracked white half-mask that ended just under the bridge of his nose. Her mouth dried, and without thinking, she licked her lips.

  She’d recognize Daniel no matter what he wore. No other man could make her heart pick up its tempo the way he did. He made her ache inside, which reminded her how long it’d been since she’d had a man in her bed.

  Daniel moved toward her, the blue eyes behind the mask on her the whole time. She walked forward, holding his gaze, unable to look away. They reached each other, then he deftly maneuvered so they were in a corner with some privacy, thanks to the purple and orange hangings around them.

  “Merry.” His velvety voice caressed her senses, and she shivered. “What a surprise. I was expecting a fairy or an angel.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Why would you think that?”

  “Because they seem to fit.” That earned him a frown. She didn’t know why people always assumed that about her. “But Wonder Woman suits you too, in a different way.”

  “Are you the Phantom from The Phantom of the Opera?”

  “Yes.”

  She took his lapel, leaned in close and whispered, “Are you going to use your powers to seduce me?”

  There was the briefest of pauses; something flashed in his eyes. “I don’t know. Do they work on Wonder Woman?”

  “They do when she wants them to.”

  “Don’t say things you don’t mean.”

  “What makes you think I don’t mean it?” She didn’t know what was prompting her to challenge him. It wasn’t like her to be this bold, but maybe she was just tired of being viewed as the nice Lloyd girl, the kind of girl you didn’t have hot, happy sex with because she was the type you had to marry if you did. And maybe she wanted to know what might have happened on St. Cecilia if he hadn’t pulled back. She wanted to experience the kind of grand romance her brother’s executive assistant Hilary had—Mark Pryce, the most infamous playboy Meredith knew, had fallen in love with her and mounted such a public campaign to declare his love that the entire nation was talking about it. She wanted to inspire the kind of passion that made men move heaven and earth.

  And she wanted that man to be Daniel.

  His eyes on hers, Daniel took a step closer. “Don’t play with things you can’t handle.”

  She put a hand on her hip. “Pretty sure I can handle your things.” A sense of triumph coursed through her when his gaze dropped to her breasts.

  “Capricious,” he murmured, then looked at her face. “You act all sassy and knowing, but you’ll change, just like you did before.”

  Uh oh… “I don’t understand.”

  He studied her face, his gaze skimming her eyes, nose and mouth. She felt it like it was a physical touch. “Why didn’t you come to Judy’s funeral? She was your best friend, wasn’t she? And from all accounts, your injuries weren’t that serious.”

  Her lips parted. Had that been bothering him all this time? “I couldn’t go,” she said finally. “I couldn’t face your parents.”

  “Why not?” He regarded her like a witch on trial, his gaze diamond hard. “Did Dad blame you?”

  “No. It was so much worse in Istanbul.” If it weren’t for her tiara, she would’ve run her hands through her hair. “He was angry with Judy for leaving and getting into trouble in what he called a ‘shitty, third-world country.’ He blamed her for dying. And Ella was just…subdued and quiet the whole time. I knew he didn’t approve of a lot of things Judy did, but I didn’t realize he’d act like that right up to the very last minute. I was just…livid. I couldn’t even talk, and afterward I was really upset that I hadn’t confronted him. I wouldn’t have been able to bear it if he started in again at the funeral, and I didn’t want to make a scene. So I didn’t go,” she said, opting for half the truth. The other half had to stay locked deep inside her. “But you’re right. She was my best friend, I should’ve been there. I’m sorry.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Something inside Daniel crumbled at her simple apology. He’d expected her to come up with some flimsy excuse, maybe even blow him off entirely. He’d seen how protective she was of her son and her workers. If his father had acted like the royal asshole he often was…

  Daniel recalled a time when he’d tried to warn Judy about trusting others, including Merry. “Meredith isn’t like that,” Judy had said. “She’s one of the few people who would never betray me.” His sister had been always able to see the truth of the matter, and now he had to wonder if he’d been wrong to judge Merry, to assume that she’d change for the worse like everyone else in his life.

  Not for the first time, he wanted to believe Merry wasn’t like others…that what he saw was what he’d get.

  “Are you still angry with me?” Merry whispered.

  “I was never angry with you.” “Angry” was too simple a word to describe his feelings.

  “I see. Disappointed, then,” she murmured. “I’m sorry for that. That’s so much worse than anger.”

  He blinked at the precise way she labeled his feelings about her absence at the funeral. But she didn’t know that even as disappointment ate at him, he’d been congratulating himself for getting another bit of evidence that people were never what they seemed. And he was glad she was unaware of such a cynical and ugly side to him. It had to be there—so he wouldn’t make the blunder of leaving himself vulnerable—but he knew it wasn’t pretty to carry that inside him.

  “I never wanted to hurt you,” she said. “If I’d realized how much it would bother you, I might have come after all.”

  “Why would you have cared? I’m nobody special to you.”

  She drew back in obvious consternation. “How can you say that? You’re Judy’s brother, and I care about you. Even if you were a stranger, I’d never deliberately do anything to make you feel bad.”

  She’s too good for you. She’s too good to be true.

  He should listen to his conscience. He should just…back away so she could find somebody as good at herself. If there was a woman as lovely as her, surely there was an equally perfect man somewhere. They should get together and live happily ever after—
a saccharine fairytale without some fucked-up guy like him in the mix.

  Except the thought of her with anybody else ripped at his gut.

  His rational side screamed at him to push her away. There were plenty of uncomplicated women he could have if he wanted sex. But he didn’t throb for them. He throbbed for Merry.

  He took her face between his hands and gently pushed her against the wall. Then he kissed her.

  Her response was instantaneous. She opened her mouth and let him in, her lips soft and yielding underneath his. He explored her, tasted her. Jesus, she was sweeter than he remembered, all honey and peach and jasmine. Her hands clung to his shoulders, her nails digging into him. A low moan came from the back of her throat, and he shook with the need to be inside her.

  When he pulled back, she groaned in protest. “Daniel—”

  “Come with me,” he said. “But only if you want to take this all the way.”

  She looked hard at him, then took his hand. “I know where to go.” She led him up the stairs and opened the door to the first room on the right. It was a study with built-in shelves full of leather-bound books with golden lettering on their spines. Heavy draperies covered the windows and a big wooden desk sat facing an unlit fireplace with a huge mirror over the mantel. There was nothing except a memo pad and a pen on the desktop.

  As soon as Daniel locked the door, Merry wrapped her arms around him and pulled him down for another kiss. He couldn’t believe how hungry and hot she was, like she couldn’t get enough of him. He ran his hands along her delicious body, learning the sensuous curves that had had him aching since their kiss downstairs.

  She sucked his tongue and rocked against him. He cupped her breasts, flicked his thumbs over the hard, pointed nipples. Her breath grew ragged, and her chest rose and fell hard and fast. She was smashing his control with each heartbeat. Just having her in his arms and touching her made him feel like he was about to lose it.

  Sighing and rubbing against him, she put her hand between their bodies and caressed his cock.

  “God, Merry,” he moaned, wanting more from her. His entire body tightened with need, and he felt like his lungs would explode.