The Corrupt Billionaire COMPLETE Box Set

by Hope, Camilla

  “You were amazing,” I whispered. “And this… this was all that I wanted.”

  Kissing him quickly, I ran my hand down his back, my lips at his neck as he sighed into my skin and caressed my hair.

  “Same here,” he purred. “And... and Caroline?”

  I met his eyes and felt his fingers trailing down my neck as he kissed my bruises and finally settled into my stare again.

  “I’m stronger than I look,” he promised. “Give me one night. And I’ll get us back on the right foot. Can… can you…?”

  His face started to fall, and I felt his sorrow seeping into my soul as I clasped his arms and straightened my stare.

  “I want that,” I said. “I just want to be here. With you.”

  Peter’s face softened, and I savored his embrace as his lips dotted my hair, his hold tightening as he kept talking.

  “No more surprises,” he promised. “As soon as I’m up to it, only good times.”

  That sounded perfect to me. Sounded better and best, and I started to bring his body back to the bed as I straddled his thighs and ran my hand down his face.

  “You better follow through,” I threatened with a tease.

  “What are you going to do to me if I don’t pay up?” he asked with a weak smile.

  Peter lifted his eyebrows, and as soon as I felt sure that he was already on the mend, I tickled his sides and delighted in the sound of his laughter.

  “I’m not leaving you,” I started. “But I still want…”

  “Just come here.”

  His strength was back in full force as his body swirled around mine. I felt myself pressed to the sheets, and I struggled for all of a second until he finally grabbed hold of my face, his eyes breaking me down. I made no move to push away. I did nothing but listen and wait as Peter spoke softly, slowly.

  “So you do want to stay with me,” he started.

  “I… of course,” I said. “I didn’t leave you then. And I… I won’t leave you now.”

  “Then come here, Gypsy.”

  My body melted as he pushed me under the sheets. As soon I was under and hidden, I felt him growing hard against my thigh. As his lips seemed to kiss my bruises away and he brought me to a point where there was no pain, I laughed into his hair and cuddled him closer.

  “Maybe you are a superhero or something,” I teased.

  “Do you need more proof?” he asked. “Because I’m more than happy to oblige.”

  Answering his question with a warm kiss, my mouth swirled against his, and I ran my hands up his hospital gown, down his back. Relishing the feel of his taut flesh under my fingers, I felt Peter press his hand between my legs. As he pushed deeper, I fell away with a sigh at the feel of this tender invasion, his touch opening my body as I wrapped my leg around his limbs. At the sound of him wincing, I started to pull back when he seized my hair in his hands and drew me back to his eyes.

  “You won’t break me,” he said softly. “Get back over here.”

  Our lips were on the verge of meeting when the door suddenly pushed open. Staring up with wide eyes, I saw a woman in green scrubs, the stethoscope around her neck and the chart in her hand suggesting that she was here to take his vitals or something.

  And here she found his so-called brother’s wife ready to mount the man in his hospital bed.

  “Um…” she said.

  The nurse seemed to search for some delicate way to navigate through the unexpected waters. In one second she started to take another step as she slapped on what had to be her best poker face. But then she hesitated and fumbled with the chart, unable to meet our eyes as Peter eased me to the edge of the bed and managed to sit up against the pillows.

  “You here to check me out?” Peter asked. “Kind of looks like someone else beat you to the punch.”

  Too flustered to speak, the nurse waved her free hand in the air and started to back away.

  “I’ll… finish the rest of my rounds first. You… you two should…” she looked behind her in the direction of the station where Morgan had to be waiting.

  Peter danced his fingers up my thigh, and the nurse was nearly gone when she twisted her head over her shoulder and narrowed her eyes.

  “You best make it quick,” she cautioned. “Hubby’s coming down the corridor.”

  As soon as she was gone, Peter turned my face to his confused eyes.

  “Hubby?” he asked. “Thought I was only out for like a few minutes. You run off and make a whole other life without me?”

  Seeing the pain in his eyes even as he tried to make the joke, I cradled his chin in my hand lightly kissed his cheek.

  “It’s just a ruse,” I promised him. “I… I had to find a way to get in to see you.”

  I curled close to his chest and shared the whole story. Peter’s face was like slate as he took the total truth in, and while I waited for his reaction, a small part of me was terrified that he might accuse me of sharing more with Morgan than near-death and a little amateur subterfuge. But he suddenly burst into laughter.

  “Guess I better do something about giving that man a bonus!” he said. “Looks like your little scheme worked.”

  Relief washed through my veins, but I couldn’t resist the urge to tickle his sides as I shot him a playful glare.

  “You jerk. Keeping me on edge like that,” I chided him.

  “I’m going to keep you in every way, Gypsy.”

  Sinking into his kiss again, the nurse’s warning echoed in my ears. I had no husband on the verge of seeing the shock of his life and spiraling into every state of betrayal, but Peter needed to be checked out. I had to know that he was alright.

  “I should probably go,” I murmured as my feet hit the floor.

  “Don’t do that.”

  Peter clenched my hand tightly and kept me at the edge of the bed as he stroked my wrist.

  “It’s your health, Peter. I’ll be right outside. Waiting for you.”

  “You’re not going anywhere without me,” he said emphatically.

  Pushing up on his arms, he emitted a low groan as he swung his legs to the floor, and I moved fast to take him under my arm as he struggled to stand.

  “Be careful,” I cautioned. “You’re still hurt.”

  “No,” he said as he shook his head. “I feel just fine when I look at you.”

  Peter leaned against me as he took first one step and then another. At first his stride was halting, and I started to turn him back to the bed.

  “You need to rest, Peter. You…”

  My voice trailed off as his legs seemed to grow stronger under his body, his steps gaining speed as we moved towards the door.

  “See?” he said even as he gritted his teeth and wrapped his arm around my waist.

  He started to open the door when he peered into my eyes again. Lowering his head, his kiss met my brow, and I suddenly felt as if I was the one who would fall over at the feel of his breath on my face.

  “All thanks to you,” he promised. “Now let’s get me checked out so I can get you home.”

  “Home?” I asked. “We’re… you’re not thinking of flying back tonight.”

  “Figure of speech. Thought it sounded a little nicer than getting you into bed,” he said with a sly grin.

  I felt my cheeks flush and followed his lead. Opening the door, I saw Morgan shuffling his feet. The nurses were whispering behind his back, and I felt for the guy. Never my intention to play him for a fool, I started to spin the story towards something far less humiliating than how the scene had to strike every pair of watching eyes when Morgan balled his hands into fists.

  “So it’s like this?” he challenged. “I always knew that…”

  Why was he suddenly so into character, the look in his eyes suggesting that he would strike his faux brother in his still-weakened state at the drop of a hat?

  “Uh… honey, I…”

  “Stop the nonsense,” Morgan said loudly. “You guys aren’t playing me for a fool anymore.”

  I shr
ieked as he charged forward. Peter grimaced as Morgan wrestled me away from his side, and the nurse was quick to catch Peter as Morgan’s whisper hit my ear.

  “Stay with him,” Morgan said. “I’ll get us a car.”

  With that, he was gone, and for a second I was too stunned to move as Morgan raced down the hallway, pounding his fist into the wall for what had to be a show of good measure. I almost ran after him, wanting nothing more than to slap his back and congratulate him on a scene well-played when I remembered my role in all of this.

  “Peter,” I started as I turned back to face him and wiped a non-existent tear from my eyes. “Guess it’s all out in the open now. But at least… at least we can be together.”

  He almost instantly caught my drift, his lips curling into a sharp smile as he turned his gaze towards the nurse.

  “Nothing like a brush with mortality to make a man know what’s most important.”

  My body buzzed at the return of his grin, and I gingerly took his arm as Peter stared the nurse down.

  “Now what do I have to do to get on with the rest of my life?” he asked the nurse.

  Chapter Four

  Peter played the superhero throughout his entire examination, and he even managed to walk without my arm for support. More times than I could count, whenever I saw the frown threatening to cross his face, I wanted nothing more than to grab him, to help him. But his piercing eyes held me back, and even though the ultimate determination was that leaving now was against doctor’s orders, Peter talked a good game, and as soon as we were back in his hospital room, I let him fall to the bed and retrieved his charred clothing from a high shelf.

  “Are you sure?” I asked. “Maybe you should spend the night?”

  “Why the hell would I want to do that?” he challenged. “I’m just badly bruised, that’s all. And maybe a little concussed.”

  “Observation,” I countered. “Like the doctor said, you were in a plane crash.”

  “A landing,” he said. “And if I need any nursing, bet you’ll do in a pinch.”

  Liking the idea of having his body under my hands for whatever he might need me to do, I helped him dress. Tying his shoes, my hands ran up his legs, and as I buried my head in his chest, Peter fondled my hair and tilted my chin up to face him.

  “Let’s get out of here,” he said. “I need you alone.”

  “No one else in the room right now,” I teased.

  “Really alone,” he said. “Come on, it’s time to move.”

  Peter took my arm, and his leaning on me seemed less pronounced as we took the elevator down to the lobby and stepped into the street. When I didn’t see Morgan right off, my mind flashed back to the plane. All of our belongings, any hope of currency was buried somewhere out there, deep in the woods.

  “Peter, maybe… maybe this isn’t…”

  Thinking only of shelter, I was about to try to convince him that there were worse fates than twenty-four hours’ worth of nurses’ care when a gray sedan suddenly poked into view, and an unseen figure honked the horn.

  “This time we’ll stay on the ground,” Morgan promised as he stepped from behind the wheel and held the back door open. Peter’s eyes were on mine as we fell into the car, and as soon as Morgan securely shut the door behind us, Peter pulled me into his arms and kissed my neck.

  “Now we can get on with our getaway,” he said. “Think we should make the most of every second.”

  As I rested in his arms, I saw the small town drifting by through the glass. Definitely quaint but no beach or crashing waves in sight. Just storefronts, all darkened on account of the late hour, and bars still going at full force as one day bled into the next.

  “You sorry you said yes?” Peter asked.

  Meeting his eyes again, I kissed his nose and shook my head.

  “I’ll go anywhere with you,” I promised him. “Maybe I could do with a little less excitement en route, though…”

  He touched my newer bruise and rested his head to my shoulder as he muttered into my ear.

  “Just smooth sailing from here on out, Gypsy.”

  “Here we are,” Morgan’s voice penetrated the silence.

  Morgan brought us to a small bed and breakfast resting alongside a lake. So there was water after all. A gray-haired lady smiled at us from behind the counter, and she looked like she was someone that could be counted on. I wondered if we would stick around long enough for that to come in handy.

  As I moved through the room we had been given and touched the antique furniture, not knowing if it was genuine or just treated to strike the right pose, my eyes fell on the four-poster bed, and I thought of nothing but sinking into the sheets and feeling Peter’s body close to mine when the idea of how and who was paying for this rushed to the front of my brain again.

  “Morgan, are you sure that we can pay…?”

  “Lifted this right before the ambulance came,” he grinned back at me.

  Peter gasped at the sight of his wallet in the pilot’s hands, and he started to accuse him of something diabolical when Morgan tossed Peter the leather bound packet and pressed his palms into the air.

  “Just looking out for you, sir,” he promised. “Sometimes an orderly makes up for the crappy pay with a snatch and grab. Thought I would spare you from that.”

  Peter made no sound as he examined the wallet. I watched him carefully as he poured through the cash and inspected the plastic. He appeared satisfied that everything was in place, but then he looked around the room and focused his eyes on Morgan again.

  “But you had to dip in for this, right?” Peter asked.

  Morgan’s face flushed as he managed to hold his ground, and as soon as he nodded, I wondered where Peter would take this when the pilot spoke.

  “Thought… I kind of thought that you wouldn’t mind,” Morgan said. “I’ll pay you back if it’s a problem or something.”

  My hand was on Peter’s back, and I was about to beg him to go easy when he reached into his wallet again and handed over a wad of cash.

  “You done more than good,” he said. “I… we’re both grateful.”

  Pressing me close to his side, I rested my head against his chest and watched Peter take another step. He handed Morgan one of the many cards with a smooth smile.

  “Get yourself a rack,” he said. “Here if you can.”

  “This didn’t come cheap, sir,” Morgan said. “But… but I…”

  The pilot’s soft gaze settled on me, and I felt warm in the space of his smile as he bowed his head.

  “Just thought you’d want the best for her, sir.”

  Reveling in his sweetness, I started to thank him when Peter tossed his head back.

  “But she didn’t have that when she was married to you, did she?” Peter said, his face serious.

  It took Morgan a few seconds to catch up to the joke, but as soon as he was there, he joined in Peter’s laughter, and I dared to touch Morgan’s arm.

  “Take it,” I said. “You deserve it.”

  Morgan finally obeyed, and when he was nearly out the door he turned back, his face beaming.

  “I’ll bring the car around in the morning,” he started. “Maybe you guys want to take a ride or something?”

  “Sounds nice,” I said. “Thank you for everything, Morgan.”

  “Hey, it was nothing. Saw my life saved and got a taste of what it would be like to have a good wife. All things aside, not the worst day of my life,” he laughed.

  Again he turned to leave when I suddenly called after him.

  “Morgan, where… where are we exactly?”

  “Hole in the wall like an hour from Richmond,” he said. “Don’t they say that Virginia is for lovers?”

  Morgan left us in silence as he closed the door behind him, and Peter took my hand.

  “Has to be something to that,” he whispered. “You okay?”

  As the adrenaline started to drip from my veins, I recalled every aspect of the crash in precise detail. When it was happenin
g, as the plane fell from the sky, my mind was fixed on surviving and just touching him again, knowing what it was to feel his lips on mine. And we had come through to the other side. But now, now that we were hidden and safe and he was standing on his own feet with little support, I started to break as I realized all the ways that everything could have gone another way.

  The worst way.

  “Peter… I…”

  My lip trembled as my eyes started to fill with tears, and I was unable to speak as he gathered me in his arms and held me close.

  “I know,” he said. “And I’m sorry.”

  Weeping into his shoulder, I tried to focus on him, on the here and now.

  “What happened?” I asked. “Why did we go down?”

  “I don’t know, Gypsy,” Peter said shaking his head.

  Lifting my eyes to his, I searched his face for any hint of a lie. If I saw it, if I thought that he was being less than straight with me, I would pounce without a second thought and find my own cover from the night in this strange town.

  “But believe me, I never would have brought you on the plane if I thought there was danger,” he added.

  His eyes started to brim with tears, and as his mouth fixed in a straight line, I found myself believing his words and nearly nodding my head.

  “I… I think I know that,” I said.

  “Be sure of it, Caroline. How can I show you…?”

  Peter scooped me up into his arms, and I rested my head to his chest. We were almost at the bed when his eyes started to spin in his head, and I dropped from his hold to ease him towards the sheets.

  “Not too much too fast,” I said. “You don’t want to end up back in a hospital bed.”

  “No,” he admitted as he wrapped his arm around my body and twisted my hair between his fingers. “Not when I can have you in this bed.”

  I kissed his lips, and even as I felt his body starting to press close to mine, I held him back and brushed my hair across his chest.

  “Let’s just rest,” I purred. “Just for a few minutes. You need to get your strength back.”

  He offered no objection as I lay at his side and stroked his broad chest. I felt the beating of his heart under my fingers, and as he kissed my eyes, I felt his smile. Lifting my lids, I saw his grin in full force, and when I needed more than his touch, I held his gaze.