The Corrupt Billionaire COMPLETE Box Set

by Hope, Camilla

  “Feeling better?” Peter asked with a knowing grin.

  “You… you were there,” I started. “Didn’t think you’d have to ask.”

  “Touché,” he said.

  Kissing me again, he pulled me into his arms, and I lingered in his embrace as he caressed my hair.

  “Kind of makes you wonder why I even wasted time on a meal when you were already on the menu,” he purred.

  “Because you were so sure that this would happen,” I teased.

  “I was,” he said. “I’m sure of you.”

  Peter kissed my brow and twirled my hair around his fingers.

  “I want this always,” he said. “Every night. Maybe even in the morning.”

  I started to laugh at his certainty that I would be staying. I wanted nothing more, but then I shot up with a start.

  “Caroline?” he asked. “Something I said?”

  “I… I can’t stay, Peter.”

  I started to push away from the bed when his hand surrounded my wrist, and he held me firmly in place.

  “Why not?” he asked, looking a little unsure. “Wasn’t it everything you wanted?”

  Unable to resist the lure of his lips, I grabbed his face and kissed him fast. His mouth smiled under mine. Peter started to lower me back to the bed when I took his face in my hands and sadly shook my head.

  “Of course it was,” I said. “But my father’s back in town. He… he gets nervous when I stay out late.”

  “Why?” Peter asked. “Because of the prick.”

  I measured my words carefully before I spoke.

  “Partly,” I started. “But… you see the thing is…”

  My voice trailed off, and I felt tears threatening to spill down my cheeks.

  “Caroline? Hey. Don’t do that. Just tell me what’s wrong.”

  He took me into his arms, and I wept softly into his broad chest as he stroked my hair. The last thing I wanted was to leave him, ever. But I couldn’t let my father worry. He’d already been through so much.

  And sometimes he scared me.

  “My… my mom died,” I said. “And my dad likes to keep busy. I… I mean I miss him when he’s gone. But I get a little more freedom then. And if I don’t go home tonight, it’ll drive him crazy.”

  Peter appeared to consider me carefully, and I waited for a disappointed sigh to leave his lips. Would he accuse me of being a tease if I knew that I could never stay, that I was never going to fall asleep in his arms and wake to the feel of sunshine and his arms, both warm against my body?

  “I get that,” he said. “If you were mine, I’d go crazy without you, too.”

  His words filled me with hope, but then my mind honed in on a single word.

  “If?” I asked. “But aren’t I yours now?”

  Peter smiled at me and rested his lips to my burning cheek.

  “I hope so,” he said. “And for more than just tonight.”

  As I relaxed in his embrace, I wondered if I should just throw caution to the wind. I could deal with my father in the morning. Right now, at this moment, Peter’s arms were the only home that I wanted.

  “For more than just tonight,” I promised. “I swear.”

  Even as I worried for my father, the thought of being without Peter was more than I could handle, and I came to a decision.

  “I’m staying,” I said. “I’ll deal with Daddy in the morning. But I’ll just call him and let him know that I’m okay.”

  “Caroline, you don’t have to stay if it will cause you trouble.”

  “But I want to.”

  Kissing his lips lightly, I pulled the sheet from the bed around me and moved back to the table set for two. As soon as I found my purse, I fished out my phone and dialed home.

  After three rings, I heard my dad’s voice from the other end of the line.

  “Hello?”

  I gripped the sheet tighter as I started to speak.

  “Hey, Daddy,” I started.

  “Caroline? Where are you? What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “Nothing, Daddy, I swear. It’s just that I’m…”

  Peter’s naked body came into view, and I was barely able to suppress a sigh when I saw him close enough to kiss. And to do lots of other things to.

  “I… I won’t be home tonight. I just wanted to let you know.” I said as I held my breath.

  Stony silence. And then…

  “I thought that I was clear when I said…”

  “Daddy, I…”

  “Some guy you just met, and you’re spending the night? You’re behaving like a whore!”

  “It’s not like that.”

  “Then what’s it like, Caroline?” he demanded. “…Because your recent track record leaves much to be desired.”

  It hurt more when he said that than any veiled insult from Sabrina. But he was my father. Maybe he had a right to…

  “You know, your mother would be disgusted if she knew you were hopping into a strange man’s car and staying out all night.”

  “That’s not fair…” I began.

  “I should never have let you go,” he said.

  I suddenly took note of the slur in his voice, and I could almost smell the scotch wafting through the line. But I couldn’t blame him for that.

  “Daddy…”

  “So where are you now?” he demanded. “Spreading your legs in his back seat like a common whore?”

  Even Sabrina would never have gone that far, and my blood boiled as I gripped the phone tighter.

  “I’m not with the driver, Daddy,” I hissed furiously. “You don’t know who I’m with. But know this. I’m not coming back tonight. And I may never be coming back.”

  My father started to speak again when I ended the call and dropped the phone to the table. Hiding my face in my hands, my shoulders heaved, and I felt dirty, worthless.

  And then Peter’s arms were on my shoulders.

  “That sounded rough,” he said.

  Wiping my eyes with the backs of my hands, I tried to shrug it off as I stood, and I pushed away from him as I sauntered to the window and stared down at the city street, a million lights flashing under my feet.

  “Caroline?”

  Peter was at my side again, and I didn’t resist as he rested his chin on my head and took me into his arms. This time I didn’t pull away.

  “Sorry if I’ve made things rough for you,” he said.

  There would be a battle with my father in the very near future. I couldn’t hide forever. And maybe my mother would be horrified if she knew that I’d given myself to a near stranger so fast. As my gaze shifted up to the stars, I felt as if she could see me. Tiny points of lights flickered against the smooth black sky. But I didn’t feel judged, and I sighed as Peter turned me back to face him.

  “Caroline?”

  “You didn’t,” I said as I quickly shook my head. “Far from it.”

  I crushed my lips to his, and Peter enveloped me in his embrace as I clung to his neck.

  “I… I want to stay with you tonight. Just take me back to bed.”

  “You sure?” Peter asked as he stroked my face.

  “Absolutely.”

  Chapter Nine

  I woke to sunlight and a supreme sense of satisfaction. Peter took me two more times in the space of a single evening, and each time was sweeter than the last. Every time he touched me, I felt reborn, like nothing bad would ever touch me again. Certainly not Adam; Peter would threaten him within an inch of his life if he so much as looked at me again. Between kisses, I heard my phone buzz. My father would be another hurdle come the morning, but I pushed those thoughts aside and settled into his arms.

  Stay with me. Always.

  Peter’s words echoed in my ears as my eyes fluttered open. Turning over, I reached for his side of the bed and expected to feel his firm chest under my hand.

  But there was nothing but the sheets.

  Shooting up to attention, I scanned the room and found no sight or sound of him.

 
“Peter?”

  He failed to answer my call, and I listened hard for the sound of water running. Maybe a shower. Maybe he wanted to wash the exertions of our evening away and hoped to be back in time to kiss me good morning. I had simply beaten him to the punch, and I relished the notion of warm water running down our bodies as we lathered up and made love again. I was up for it against the shower walls. I wanted him at every chance, and I slipped out of the bed with no thought to cover myself as I moved to a cracked door.

  “Peter? Are you in there?”

  Every surface of the marble bathroom was as dry as a bone, and there was still no sign of him. Where could he be? Why would he have just left me alone?

  My stomach suddenly rumbled, and I remembered that while he had satisfied every other appetite, we never did enjoy the dinner he had planned. The man hardly seemed the domestic type, and yet I imagined him cracking eggs and frying bacon in the kitchen. He probably wanted to surprise me with a tray in the space of the rumpled sheets, and I nearly crawled back into bed when I decided that I wanted to give him my own surprise.

  I spied a robe draped over a chair, and I started to pull my arms into the garment when I thought better of it. I liked being naked around him. I liked the way he looked at me as if there was nothing and no one else in the world.

  “Not this morning,” I said as I dropped the robe and exited the bedroom.

  The places were still set for our dinner that never was, but that didn’t mean anything. He probably had maids that would handle all of that with a snap of his fingers. Or maybe the scared server would return later this morning and wait for his next order.

  My new surroundings were still foreign to me, but I heard pans and cutlery banging away in a nearby room.

  So he was whipping something up for me. I had called it.

  As I tied my hair over my shoulders, I imagined a feast. Peter had proven himself in every other way, so why shouldn’t he be a sensational chef to boot? I would take his breakfast with a smile.

  And then I’d want something a little more substantial.

  Finding the source of the sound, I pushed the swinging door open. Coffee was already brewing in the pot, and I happily inhaled the scent as I looked for him.

  “Are you hiding from me?” I said with a laugh.

  As I waited for his answer, I stepped to the counter and poured out a cup. Drinking the black coffee, I heard footsteps drawing closer behind me.

  “There you are,” I said smiling to myself.

  I felt his hands on my arms, and I sighed as I pressed my head to his chest. I found myself disappointed by the silk shirt covering his chest; his bare muscles were far more to my liking. But at least he was near again.

  “I missed you,” I sighed.

  But as soon as the arm curved around my waist I felt something strange in the touch. Peter’s hold was tight, but there always warmth. And this felt cold, like it might be cruel.

  I spun around quickly, and found myself face to face with a tall man in a three piece suit. The jagged scar running down his cheek contradicted his supposedly tailored appearance, and I dropped the cup to the floor as I trembled and tried to cover my body with my shaking hands.

  “What’s the problem, baby?” the man said with a leer. “Sounded like you were into it.”

  I froze as he stepped closer to my side and brought his palm to my cheek.

  “Felt like it, too,” he said lecherously.

  I was too stunned to move. Closing my eyes, I wished for this to just be a bad dream. I wanted to be back in Peter’s bed, in his arms. But as soon as my eyes opened again, the scar and the leer were still there.

  “How about you grab me a cup?” the man asked as he pointed towards the pot. “And try not to drop it this time.”

  He licked his lips and flashed his teeth, and my survival instinct finally kicked in.

  “No!” I cried.

  Kicking his shin, I hurried from the kitchen and ran wildly. I had to find Peter. I had to get out of here. I needed to cover myself.

  “Hold up, babe!” scar face said.

  I screamed at the top of my lungs as the stranger pulled me back to his chest. Where was Peter?

  ***

  Caroline has run away from Peter and is hiding out with her friends, Danny and Bree. Her father is looking for her and she is desperate to hide from his anger. Although Peter knows where she is, he has made little effort to contact her and she has to face the fact that he just doesn’t care enough about her.

  But Danny hatches a plan to get them back together and as much as she knows she should resist him, she agrees to see Peter again. But his life is full of secrets and it seems that they are secrets he doesn’t want to share with her. Just what is he mixed up in?

  Can she put her fears and doubts to one side and be with Peter? Or will her father manage to find her and make her return home with him?

  The Corrupt Billionaire Romance

  Part Two: Secrets

  Camilla Hope

  Chapter One

  The man’s hold was tight around my waist, and I had no choice but to lower my arm and reveal my naked body as the stranger kept me close. My arms whipped behind my head, and I tried to scratch his face, my feet desperate to meet his shins. But as hard as I struggled, I could only move inches, never meeting his skin as my voice poured from the top of my lungs to my quivering jaw.

  “Let me go!” I cried. “Get the hell off of me!”

  My unknown assailant just laughed, and the sound made me cringe as he tightened his grasp and started turning me around in his meaty arms. I writhed against him and endured his quick twist until I had no choice but to look into his eyes. Seeing the scar dancing down his cheek, I started to scream when he slapped his hard hand over my mouth and muffled any hope of a cry for help.

  “Feisty little thing, aren’t you?” he said. “The man likes his girls fiery. Got to give him that!”

  Whether or not he was talking about Peter or some other stranger, viler than the man that held me now, was not the point. My world narrowed to nothing but my current captor and his leer, and I screamed into his palm as he grabbed my hair in his hand and pulled me to the tips of my toes.

  “Wallace warned me about your type,” he said. “Always making trouble, aren’t you?”

  I shook my head against his hand, the man’s words making no sense. His hands were hard as they surrounded my wrists, and my kicks met nothing but the air. He laughed again as he had me like a mouse in a trap who could try to reach for freedom but always find it just out of reach. Taunting me, his smile expanded to reveal a spread of yellow teeth and his rank breath poured into my eyes until I had no choice but to blink. The man pressed his hand closer to my mouth and I couldn’t breathe as I struggled to break free. I suddenly realized that the feel of his hand across my face was my only way out. I ceased struggling and found that I was able to part my lips. Capturing the air that slipped through his calloused fingers, I felt fortified and kept my eyes wide as I took a breath which was far from deep, but it was still something.

  Feeling stronger as the air slipped into my lungs, I reminded myself that this might be my only chance. I’d be a fool not to take it. Suicide mission? Maybe. But there was no way that I was just going to let this creature manhandle me for his own purposes. Just the thought of what might be flashing through his brain caused me to shudder, but I buried those sensations in the dark recesses of my mind and made my move.

  “Ow!” the man screeched as he pulled his hand away and waved it under his eyes. “You little bitch!”

  My teeth had left marks, and I saw his palm throbbing and swelling as he cradled it closer to his chest. No blood was drawn, but he was definitely injured. Good! I only wished that I had been able to do more. Turning on my heel, forgetting my nakedness, I raced for the door. So what if I fell into the street looking like a crazy person? There was a whole city under my feet, and I needed help. Would I see Peter on my way down? I was no longer sure if I even wanted to. All I k
new was that I had to get away, and I stepped closer to the door, the knob nearly in my grasp when hard hands hit my shoulders.

  “No!” I screamed. “Let me go!”

  “Lady, just chill out!” the man snarled.

  The stranger dragged me back to the apartment and tossed me to the sofa. As soon as my body hit the cushions, I took no time to savor the softness against my back and tried to stand again. I was nearly on my feet when the man pushed me down. Hiding my bare body behind one of the throw pillows, I quaked at the sight of him reaching into his pocket. He curled his hand around an unseen threat, and I flinched when I saw a silver blade hit the air.

  “No,” I whimpered. “Please don’t hurt me.”

  The stranger flashed the knife over my face, and I cowered deeper into the sofa. I felt as if the blade could slice into my cheek at any moment, but the scarred man suddenly pulled back and reached for a chair from the table set for two. There had been no time for dinner but I had expected breakfast, not this. Not a madman threatening me within what felt like an inch of my life.

  “Now that all kind of depends on you,” he said, the legs of the chair scraping against the floor until he brought the furniture to a stop and turned the chair around. Sitting slowly a foot away from my face, his arms falling across the wooden back, he kept aiming the knife under my eyes as his lips curled into a tight smirk.

  “So what’s your game?” he asked. “Here to crumb the play? Or maybe you just want to distract him until the big man doesn’t know what hit him.”

  The man could have been speaking Greek; his words made no sense, and I glanced over his shoulder in the hope that Peter would suddenly appear. If I should see him again, part of me would want to strike him. How could he leave me alone like this to fall into the hands of a monster?

  But another part of me, the part that was ruled by my heart, would let him bring me to my feet, and I would wrap my arms around his neck. I wanted Peter to hold me, to hide me behind his back as this devil held court. As I gazed and prayed, there was no sign that he was anywhere close to coming back, and I suddenly wondered if he was being held somewhere in the house against his will. Maybe this monster had already dealt with Peter. I had no choice but to look at the man and his scar as he laughed at me and my pillow, my body shuddering under the stuffed fabric.