The Corrupt Billionaire COMPLETE Box Set

by Hope, Camilla

  As I peered through the glass, Brett doffed his cap again in my father’s direction, and I kept waving until he was behind the wheel and pushing us away from the curb.

  “Go, go, go!” I cried when we turned the corner away from Gramercy. A quick glance out the back window showed no signs of my father or my home, and I slid down the seats in my white dress with a great sigh of relief.

  “Nice job, Brett,” I said. “You fooled him.”

  A part of me hated the thought of having to do it, but there was no other way….

  “With some help from you,” Brett said grinning at me with a sideways glance. “You played that like a pro.”

  The car turned a corner, and I stretched my body over the driver’s seat as I flung my arms around his neck.

  “Well you did just beautifully,” I said as I kissed his cheek. “And now onto Peter, right?”

  “Boss can’t stop talking about you.”

  That was just what I wanted to hear as I fell back into the leather again. My father would have to know the truth at some point, but right now I pushed that thought aside. Peter had plans, and I longed to be a part of them.

  “So Per Se,” I said, smiling at Brett. “How did he manage to swing that?”

  Like I even had to ask. The man had dropped five figures on my image, and in that moment I felt like there was nothing that he couldn’t do.

  “Um… no, Miss,” Brett said. “That was a bit of… you know… of improvisation. Or whatever.”

  I sprung to attention and grabbed his shoulder.

  “Hey!” Brett cried. “Easy now!”

  Brett struggled to keep the wheel straight in his grasp, and when I remembered all that could happen if a driver lost control, I held back and watched Brett bring us back to the left lane, and he rolled his head over his neck.

  “It’ll be bad for both of us if I don’t get you there in one piece. Please, leave me to drive us there.”

  I was disappointed that there would be no dinner at Per Se. So where was he taking me?

  “Brett?” I asked. “What’s the real deal?”

  He accelerated and I gripped the door handle as we sped past a waiting bus and darted in and out of every clogged lane until Brett had no choice but to stop at a red light and cast me a glance over his shoulder.

  “Boss just said that I need to bring you to him,” Brett said. “And that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

  As soon as the light flashed green again, he hit the gas and moved forward. I fumed as I sat there and began to wonder exactly what this was. Per Se would have meant that he wanted to wine me, dine me, make me feel special. But as soon as the car parked before a brownstone buried in what had to be the heart of Williamsburg, I suddenly felt a fool in my white dress, and the feeling only intensified when Brett opened my door and offered his arm.

  “Here we are,” Brett said. “As promised.”

  Peter’s promise - for what it was worth. I gripped Brett’s arm, but only to get back on my feet. As soon as my heels touched solid ground, I pushed him back with a cold glare.

  “Do you deliver all his booty calls in such style?” I spat.

  “I… what do you…?” he stuttered.

  “So is that the plan?” I asked. “I’m supposed to just head up these steps, let him do what he will, and then you take me back home?”

  “Miss Winters, I don’t know…”

  “Don’t worry,” I said. “I won’t get you in trouble with my father. I’ll just say that the cuisine wasn’t to my liking.”

  Not caring if my father would buy that or not, I stormed up the steps and pounded on the door. All that work on the white dress. And for what? He obviously didn’t want me for my money because the man had more bills than he could keep track of. But he didn’t think enough of me to show me off. So here I was, on the precipice of his closed doors, and I was fuming when he finally appeared.

  “Right on time,” he purred. “I’ve been…”

  I slapped his face hard, and when he barely winced and tried to speak again, I hit him again and stamped my heel against his stoop.

  “This is all this is?” I challenged. “No Per Se? No nothing, but your Brooklyn hideaway?”

  My blood boiled as he pushed past me and glared at Brett.

  “Care to explain?” Peter asked him.

  “I… well…” Brett spluttered.

  I didn’t have time for this.

  “I threw myself at him in front of my father,” I said as I moved back to Brett’s shaking side. “Because I thought you were going to show me something special. But I get it now. You just want a quick lay. Probably want to keep him idling at the curb so that he can take me away when you’re done.”

  I felt raw as I screeched at the top of my lungs. Maybe if my father hadn’t come back and ripped open the wound that was my mother to the point of full focus, I would have been calmer. But all she wanted was happily ever after. And I felt as if I was failing both of us just standing on his stoop.

  “Did you reciprocate her intentions?” Peter asked as soon as he was in Brett’s face.

  “I… well…” Brett said.

  “Answer the god damned question!” Peter bellowed as he grabbed Brett’s collar.

  I suddenly felt the need to keep him safe. At least he hadn’t lied to me, and I nearly had Peter’s arm in mine when Brett took a step back and waved me off. He stood at attention as he spoke.

  “Only to … to put her old man off the scent,” he started. “Yes, I did what had to be done. And now I’m going to Per Se.”

  So he had a side piece, which was all that I felt like, and I cringed when Peter laughed.

  “Well done, Brett,” Peter said, laughing.

  He pressed a crisp hundred into Brett’s hand and slapped his back.

  “Say hi to Penny,” Peter said. “I’ll call when I need you.”

  Brett pocketed the bill and started to hurry back to the driver’s seat. He was nearly hidden behind the wheel when his eyes locked on mine, and he gave me a soft smile.

  “I got you here” he said. “And you’ll be okay.”

  Brett disappeared from my view, and my breath rattled in my chest as he pulled the car away. I wanted to scream; I wanted to let loose a yell that would shake the stars from the skies. But then there was only the feel of Peter’s hands on my arms as he turned me back to face him.

  “Just let me…”

  I kicked his shin and felt him wince, but Peter gathered me back in his arms, and my fingers splayed across his broad chest.

  “I get you,” I started. “You want a one-off so that you can beat off to Danny’s art. To me!”

  The thought that he might be able to do that filled me with dread, and I pushed past him and burst through the open door, my intention to call a cab and wait inside until it came.

  “I thought that you were nice. But now…”

  My voice fell silent as soon as I entered the foyer and turned towards the main room.

  “Oh,” I murmured. “You... you did all this for me?”

  I blinked as I saw the room covered in flickering candles. The furniture had obviously been rearranged to make space for a table for two, and the sound of soft strings blared through a speaker.

  I shifted my gaze towards the space over the flaming mantle, more fire and warmth than I had expected, and when I saw my multi-colored image hanging on the wall, I turned my head to face him, and Peter smiled.

  “Thought we’d have a private celebration,” he started. “Wanted you to see the place of honor in which you belong.”

  He took my hands and ran his fingers up my sheer sleeves.

  “I just wanted to have some time alone with you, honey” Peter said. “Now I’ll get Brett back here if you really don’t want to stay… hey! What’s wrong?”

  Tears pushed through my eyes and coursed down my cheeks as Peter took me into his arms. I fell into his chest and let him hold me.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “I just got confused or something
. I’m still a bit raw after what I went through with Adam.”

  Peter ran his hands down my back and pressed me closer to him. I started to sink into his shoulders when he gently pushed me back and curled his hands under my chin, forcing my eyes to his. I trembled under the heat of his hold, but he kept me close and smiled into my eyes.

  “Don’t be sorry,” Peter said. “This is a celebration of the art come to life.”

  I started to tell him that I was far from the rainbow girl in the painting. Maybe I was more; more likely I was less. But my words were slow to come when his lips met mine, and my entire body tingled under his kiss. I started to hold him closer, but when his lips abandoned mine and he started to kiss my cheeks, my neck, my hair…

  “I… stop, Peter.”

  He obeyed my plea, but he kept me in his arms as he stared at me.

  “I’m sorry I wasn’t there to get you,” he said. “I had to deal with something that needed my personal attention.”

  I was about to tell him that I’d never have been here at all if my father knew the whole story, but he silenced me with a quick kiss and resumed stroking my hair.

  “But come here,” he purred. “Just look.”

  I felt limp as he curled me closer and eased me back to the mantle. I peered up at my Technicolor image hung in a place of honor.

  “I’ll say this for the artiste,” Peter said. “His brush strokes are only rivalled by his swift delivery skills.”

  I thought that he probably just wanted to be sure that he could cash the check, but I stayed silent as I stared at the painting, and I moaned as he turned me back to face him.

  “And his choice of model, of course” Peter said. “But… do I have the real deal?”

  I started to weakly nod, when he kissed me quickly, but then I pushed away from him even as I kept his hands in mine.

  “Can we… can we just take it slow for tonight?” I asked.

  Too many thoughts, past, present, and possibly future were moving through my brain, but Peter pressed me back to his chest and whispered into my ear.

  “Slow is fine,” he said. “We have all the time in the world.”

  I relaxed in his arms, and Peter kissed my ringlets as he ran his hands down my neck.

  “Come on,” he said. “Sit.”

  Peter eased me into my chair, and he kissed the top of my head as he assumed his seat and kept his hand in mine.

  “I have so much planned for you,” he said. “But tell me… tell me that you want to stay.”

  I wanted that. But I wanted him more. For the moment, though, I just nodded and kept his hand in mine.

  “I’ll take it,” he said. “Now no more tears.”

  He leaned across the table and pushed a napkin into my hands, and I dried my eyes.

  “Here,” he said. “You missed a spot.”

  Peter pushed the fabric down my face, and when my cheeks were dry, I smiled up at him and took his hand.

  “Is this because I wasn’t there to collect you?” Peter asked.

  “Partly,” I whispered. “But there’s… there’s so much else going on.”

  I started to cry again when Peter left his chair and knelt at my side.

  “Did that prick bother you again?”

  His eyes blazed as he asked the question, and I shook my head.

  “It’s not about Adam,” I promised. “I… I think you put him in his place.”

  “Where he belongs,” Peter said. “So why are you crying?”

  I sighed into his hair, and Peter wrapped his arm around my waist.

  “Caroline?”

  He pulled me closer, and I gripped his shoulder.

  “I don’t know,” I said. “Just all these memories all of a sudden in my mind. And then I thought that you were only after one thing and…”

  “I’m after everything, Caroline,” he said. “All of you.”

  Before I could speak again, he pressed his lips to mine, and I trembled under the heat of his kiss. His mouth melted into mine like he knew every sigh that I would and did utter, and he met the open spaces with an ever intensifying kiss. His tongue stroked my chattering teeth, and even as I sat, I felt as if I would fall if I didn’t… I had to…

  Flinging my arms around his neck, my hands moved down the broad lines of his back, and I moaned when he literally kissed me back to my feet. As I kept clinging to him tightly, his mouth abandoned mine, but his lips found new spaces to love. I moaned in his arms as his lips grazed my cheeks, and he gathered my bound hair in the palm of his hand as his kisses sailed down my neck. I felt the flick of his tongue settle between my breasts, and I tried to push him deeper when he suddenly shot to attention. My chest heaved and my mouth watered as he cupped my face in his hands.

  “I’m used to getting what I want,” he started. “And right now, I want you.”

  My resolve nearly left me, and I fell into his chest, my legs threatening to give out again when he held me fast and cradled me close. Our eyes locked, and I mirrored the smile passing across his lips as his thumb sensuously circled the small of my back.

  “Can I take it the feeling’s mutual?” he asked, already having to know what my answer would be. I nodded softly, and he kissed me again.

  “That’s what I want to hear,” he said. “So, fast or slow, whichever you want. This is all for you. And I don’t want to see another tear.”

  My eyes were brimming again. He was giving me too much. More than I had ever hoped for. And after Adam, maybe more than I thought I truly deserved. But I stifled my sobs and forced a smile as he lowered me back to the chair and petted my face.

  “That’s my girl,” he crooned. “Now, I think we could both use a drink.”

  I gave no objection, and Peter reach into a sweating bucket and revealed a bottle of Dom Perignon. I held my breath as he popped the cork, and I watched with thirsty eyes as he filled two crystal flutes with the golden, bubbly liquid.

  “This is bound to cure whatever ails you,” he promised as he pressed the slim stem into my hand. As I seized the glass, I savored the scent and could already taste the bubbles on my tongue. I started to take a sip when he snapped his fingers and brought me back to his total attention.

  “Toast first,” he said. “Alright with you?”

  I felt as if I was already drunk on the realization that he was asking my permission. So different from Adam, and when I nodded my approval of the suggestion, Peter winked and lifted his glass into the air.

  “To living art,” he said with a grin. “And from where I sit, it’s a masterpiece.”

  Our glasses clinked, and I drank deeply. The taste exhilarated my senses, and as the champagne swirled down my throat, I felt a rush of far more delicious warmth working its way to my brain. My entire body buzzed, and when I looked at him over the rim of my glass, I saw Peter down his drink in a single gulp. He set his glass aside and reached for my hand.

  “I want so much, Caroline,” he said. “I want to know you, all of you.”

  “I… I want that, too,” I murmured as I took another sip. The champagne tasted even better the second time around, and as the buzz settled inside me, I gripped his hand tighter and peered into his eyes.

  “But… but why?” I managed to ask.

  “You asking me or yourself?” he asked with a light laugh.

  I knew why I wanted him. His gallant heroics; his words full of praise and the flickering candlelight enveloping me in a warm cocoon from which I never wanted to break free. Even at the chance to become a butterfly, I’d rather stay a caterpillar if it meant the chance to feel his arms around me. To feel…

  “I… you. Why do you…?”

  “If you have to ask, you haven’t looked in a mirror in ages,” he said. “Look at me, Caroline.”

  I set my glass aside and as he reached across the table, I felt his fingers moving up my arms as his stare fixed me where I sat. Peter tilted his head one way and then the other, and when he was still again, he leaned forward and kissed the hand in his and st
udied my palm even as it trembled in his hold.

  “Don’t do that, don’t tremble because of me,” he whispered as he wrapped his free hand over our mingling fingers. I steadied some under the force of his new touch, and when he looked up at me, I felt a bubbling that outdid the champagne swimming around my soul.

  “I don’t want you to be scared,” he said. “Last thing I want you to feel is fear. I want you smiling always. Pretty as your picture. Bet you could even manage it on your own. But…”

  Peter’s voice trailed off as he left his chair and worked his way to my side. On his knees again, he placed his hands on my shoulders and nuzzled my neck.

  “… But it would be my honor if I could be with you for the ride.”

  As my eyes shifted to Danny’s painting, I felt all the colors from his canvas washing over my flesh. The fear as I wondered if this was truly real brushed against my cheek in a swift yellow stroke. My hope for more than just the sound of Peter’s sweet voice was a green meadow springing to fresh life as his lips dotted my cleavage and moved back to my face.

  And the passion that I could no longer suppress blazed in scarlet shades between my legs.

  “Peter…”

  He abandoned my breasts, and his mouth tensed as he waited for my answer.

  “I want you along,” I said. “I don’t want to be alone anymore.”

  His lips expanded into a smile that burned brighter than the flickering flames, and he made the move that could only mean another kiss when he stopped and hummed into my face.

  “Me neither,” he said. “So glad we’re in sync.”

  Our lips mingled, and I expected him to lift me up or push me down. Either way, I felt sure that his arms would sustain me. And I was stunned when he pulled back and resumed his seat.

  “So,” he started as he draped his napkin across his lap. “We’re taking it slow right?”

  “I…”

  “Drinks served,” he said as he freshened our glasses. “I have truffles and seared salmon waiting. Tell me if I’ve missed anything. One phone call, and it’s yours.”