Reckless (Fractured Farrells: A Damaged Billionaire Series Book 2)

by Mallory Crowe

  “Also controlling.”

  “But a lot more fun.”

  Malia looked back out onto the ocean. Even though she was on land, she couldn’t help but feel as though she was getting in over her head. But she didn’t think she was going to get out of this. That was a lie. She didn’t want to get out of this. Maybe she’d made up her mind while sitting on the beach with Robert. Maybe she’d made up her mind the second she kissed him back in his room. But she had undoubtedly made her decision.

  “Robert,” she said softly.

  “Hmmm?”

  “I think we should go back up to your room.”

  Robert somehow managed to appear professional as he and Malia crossed the lobby into the elevator. He even managed to keep a straight face and hands to himself as the floors ticked by. But the second his keycard was in the door and the lock clicked free, all bets were off.

  Malia fell into his arms and he took control from there.

  Bracing the back of her neck, he went in for a kiss, the kiss he’d been thinking about all day while having to listen to presentations about returns on investments and occupancy rates. He didn’t care about any of that.

  All he cared about right now was this woman: the feel of her skin on his, her lips against his lips, her hands running down his back, his hands crushing her breasts and running along the curve of her waist.

  Fuck it. He should’ve taken the day off and stayed with her all day.

  He backed her against the wall as he took time to re-familiarize himself with the body he’d been separated from forever. Okay, just a few hours but it had felt like forever.

  Her oversized denim shirt was off in seconds, and she pulled at her tank top and bra in one quick motion, leaving her in just her tennis shoes and shorts.

  She leaned in to kiss him again, but he didn’t want to wait another second to see her naked. He undid her shorts in one efficient move and they fell down her legs, leaving her only in a simple, lacy pair of purple panties.

  As pretty as she looked, he needed everything gone. Robert dropped to his knees and hooked a thumb in the edge of the lace on each hip and pulled the delicate material down. Malia’s legs were fit and strong. He brushed his fingers down her smooth thighs and the soft curve of her calves as the lace hit the floor.

  He ran his hand up the back of her calf up to her knee and he pulled it up and over his shoulder. She set her opposite hand on his shoulder for balance as he pressed a kiss to her inner thigh and followed it with a quick bite.

  Malia sucked in a breath. The motion moved her closer to him. He couldn’t hold off anymore as he separated her wet folds and pressed a kiss right to her clit.

  She jerked against him and he growled as he held her against the wall. One arm reached above his head to brace her front while his other hand reached up to slide two fingers into her wet heat.

  God, she felt amazing around him. Tight and hot. His cock jerked at the very idea of being inside her. But he was going to make this good for her. He put all his concentration into making her go crazy. He licked and nibbled and worked at her clit even as he moved his fingers against her.

  He read her body, the jerks and moans, knowing when to push forward and when to back off. Her breaths came faster and her fingers bit into his shoulders as she let out one loud final scream as she came around his fingers.

  As she came down from the high, Robert kissed her thigh one last time as he unhooked her leg from around his shoulder and stood. She kept her hand on his shoulder, and he had a feeling she was having a hard time staying on her feet. That was fine with him. He picked her up and carried her through the sitting area and past the conference table to the king-sized bed.

  When he set her on top of the white comforter, he followed her down. The second her back hit the sheets, she was working on his shirt, undoing the buttons as fast as she could. He reached down to undo his pants. As soon as his belt was undone, he pulled back to tear at his pants and shoes while Malia kicked off her tennis shoes, leaving herself completely naked on the bed.

  Damn, he never wanted to let her go. He knelt to slide the condom out of his wallet before he joined Malia on the bed. She wrapped herself around him as his body fit itself to hers. Her breasts pressed against his chest, and one of her legs wrapped around his lower back; the foot stroked his thigh, urging him to press against her core.

  God, he wanted nothing more than to press into her in one quick stroke. He could feel her entrance practically begging for him. He gave her shoulder a quick bite as he sat back on his ankles to tear open the condom wrapper with his teeth and roll the latex down his hard shaft.

  Malia looked appreciatively at him as she reached up to run a hand down his stomach. As soon as the condom was on, he grabbed her wrist in one hand and pushed her arm up and over her head. With his other hand, he positioned himself as he looked down at the beautiful woman beneath him.

  Her eyes were squeezed shut and she was biting her bottom lip in anticipation. “Malia, look at me,” he ordered. He didn’t want her eyes closed for this. He wanted her to know it was him she was giving herself to and he was going to make damn sure she enjoyed every second of it.

  Her eyes snapped open and Robert slid home. She was tight, but so wet that she hugged his cock in just the right way.

  He caught her other wrist so he could pin both over her head and then he moved. Her hips urged him on, but he didn’t need any urging. He was so ready, but he held himself back. He focused on her sensitive neck as he thrust, making sure every thrust hit her in just the right way. She was still so sensitive from her climax that it didn’t take long for her to fall over the edge again.

  And then he lost all control. He let his primal side take over as he fucked her hard and fast. His body drove him to the powerful thrusts. Every moan from Malia and every time she moved her hips to meet his just drove him further.

  When he finally came, he released her wrists and held her tightly against him, tucking his head into the crook of her shoulder as the aftershocks ripped through him.

  For a few moments, he stayed like that as they each caught their breaths. He would’ve stayed like that all night except he suddenly realized how tightly he was holding Malia. He rolled off her, giving her space to breathe as he looked up at the ceiling.

  “That was...” Malia didn’t finish the sentence. But she wasn’t running out of the room in anger, so he had to hope she was about to lay some epic compliment on him. She’d damn well better have liked it, because as soon as he recuperated, he planned to do it again.

  Before either of them could try to speak, his cell phone vibrated from the floor in front of the bed. The buzzing sound cut through the silence.

  “Are you going to get that?” asked Malia.

  “Let it ring.” He didn’t want anything intruding in the night he planned to have. Except, after a few seconds, it rang again. Which meant it was probably important. “Damn it,” he snapped as he rolled off the bed and snatched up the phone. It was his sister. “What?” he snapped.

  “Robert, we need you to come to our room.”

  “I’m kind of busy.”

  “It’s important. Someone broke in and I think Colin is about to go on a rampage. You need to be here now.”

  Malia couldn’t think of a person she’d like to see less than Jean. She had liked Robert’s sister, but considering the things she’d just let Robert do to her, she’d rather not see any family members at the moment. But the second they walked into Jean and Colin’s suite, all embarrassment was wiped away as her mouth dropped in shock.

  Robert said the room had been broken into, but this was more than that. This was outright vandalism. It looked as though someone had brought in a bucket of red paint and splattered the entire room with angry red splotches. Everything: the bedspread, the walls, the artwork, the television, the chairs. It wasn’t covered, but there were droplets and splotches everywhere.

  Jean stood in the middle of the room, wearing a pair of jeans and a bright blue t-shirt.
More casual than Malia expected from an heiress, but she supposed there was no normal for a situation like this. Jean’s arms were wrapped around herself and her lips were tight in concentration.

  “Holy shit,” said Robert. “When did this happen?”

  Jean looked up as though she hadn’t even realized anyone had walked into the room. “Thank God you’re here, Rob—” She broke off as she made eye contact with Malia. “Thank God you’re here,” she said quickly. But she didn’t ask what the hell the tour guide was doing in her room. “Colin and I drove up to the North Shore this afternoon and when we came back, the door was cracked open and this was here.”

  Robert walked around the room slowly, taking in every little detail. “Where’s Colin?”

  “He’s on the balcony. He’s not...handling this well. I don’t want him punching out one of the employees.”

  Robert looked up. “I think one of them might need to be punched. Whoever did this had to get the key somehow. The door isn’t broken.”

  “There are plenty of ways to get around these things, Robert. I’m sure the police will be able to narrow it down. There are cameras in the hallways, right?”

  “There are,” said Robert, but he didn’t sound hopeful.

  “Maybe I should go back to your room?” asked Malia. This seemed personal and she didn’t want to be involved.

  Jean raised an eyebrow at Robert, silently asking him why Malia was there.

  Robert clenched his jaw and crossed to Malia, setting a hand at the small of her back and leading her out of the room. “I want you by my side right now.”

  “This seems like a personal thing...”

  “Between what happened to your house today and the pictures and now this... I can’t discount the possibility that it’s all related.”

  “Wait. You think that the person who did this is the same one watching us?” On one hand, it made sense that all these horrible things were connected, but the very idea of some crazy person targeting her felt so wrong.

  “I know we were joking about me being too controlling on the beach, but right now I need you to stick close to me.”

  “What about Jean? Are you going to keep her with you at all times?”

  “Colin isn’t going to leave her side for the rest of this trip and I’d like to see someone try to get past him. I need to know that you’re going to be safe.”

  Malia was quiet as she thought about it. She hated the idea of allowing anyone to “guard” her. She’d been on her own for so long, the very idea of needing someone to watch out for her felt foreign. But the memory of watching her house burn was still fresh in her mind, and it wasn’t as though she could deny the mounting evidence that something wasn’t right.

  “Well, I’ll be around for at least the rest of the night,” she finally conceded.

  “You’ll be around longer than that, but we’ll talk about it later. I’m going to go back in and talk to Jean, and I want you close.”

  “Fine. I admit you have a point. You agree that this is a tad embarrassing though, right?”

  He seemed surprised by that. “You’re embarrassed for people to know you slept with me?”

  “I’m embarrassed for your sister to know I slept with you a whole fifteen minutes after it happened.”

  He smirked down at her. “You’re cute when you’re modest.”

  “You’re an ass when you’re being a caveman.” She smiled.

  “That could be a problem. I’m always a caveman.”

  Before she could think of a retort to that, he took her hand and led her back into Jean’s suite. Now Colin stood next to Jean, running a hand along her back to calm her.

  Except when Colin looked to Robert, he didn’t seem calm. Malia dropped Robert’s hand and stopped in her tracks. The guy looked pissed, and she didn’t want to be in the way of any of that.

  “How the hell did this happen, Farrell?”

  Robert didn’t back down at all. “We’re going to find out who did this. I already contacted the police department and we’re going to look over the footage and talk to every single staff member who could’ve possibly been in this wing of the resort. We’ll catch them.”

  “We need to do more than catch them. Whoever did this was trying to make us afraid. I don’t do afraid. I do payback.”

  “Hey, I know you and Jean are halfway down the fucking aisle, but she’s my sister. Do you think I’m not worried about this?”

  “No. I don’t think you care even half as much about this woman as I do.”

  The men inched closer to each other. Malia debated whether she should pull them apart or just make a run for it.

  Jean didn’t share her fears as she stepped right between the two men. “Hey. I feel very loved by the both of you, but we need to calm down.” She set a hand on Colin’s chest, right over his heart, and that seemed to take some of the tension out of him.

  Jean met Colin’s gaze. “We’ll figure this out. Okay, hun?”

  Colin clenched his jaw as he was quiet for a moment. “This isn’t just about you anymore.”

  Malia’s eyes widened and she took a step back. Turning tail and running seemed like a great idea right about now.

  “Colin! You weren’t supposed to say anything,” said Jean.

  Malia saw the exact moment Robert caught on to what the two were talking about. “You’re pregnant?” he bit out.

  His tone was more accusatory than congratulatory and Jean paled.

  “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” asked Colin. “Do you have a problem with the sister your family abandoned living her life?”

  Robert stepped forward and held up a hand, pointed finger out. Malia knew no good came from pointing a finger during an argument. She built up her courage and ran forward, taking Robert’s pointed finger in her hand and angling it down. “This spiraled fast. I think what your sister meant to say is that she’s happily expecting an addition to your family and you meant to say that you can’t wait to meet your nephew.”

  The veins in Robert’s neck stood out as his eyes shot daggers at Colin. “They just met.”

  “Yes, but until they say otherwise, you act like it was a planned thing. That’s how normal people in society act.”

  “I’m sorry, Robert. I meant to tell you when we first got here, but there just wasn’t a good time...”

  He started to say something, but Malia squeezed his hand, silently telling him to think first. “I’m going to get you another room and make sure security is ready for when the police get here. We’ll continue this conversation later.”

  Malia was the first one out of the room. She’d gone from having no family around to being surrounded by too much family drama.

  Robert cursed under his breath the entire way to the elevator.

  “They seem happy,” offered Malia weakly.

  “They’ve only been together a few months. This had to have happened... God, I don’t want to think about it.”

  Malia tried to think of ways she could make this better. “Colin seems like he’s excited about it at least.”

  “Why wouldn’t he be happy? He knocked up one of the richest women in the world and now he’s probably going to get married to her and we’re going to be brothers. Mother fucker.”

  “I thought you liked Colin? When he was on the boat, you got along okay.”

  “I always figured Jean would move on at some point. She’s so new to this family and having any money. I thought Colin was her strange sort of adjustment period. An adjustment period she’d get over.”

  Malia thought back to all the sweet whispers and gentle touches between Colin and Jean. They seemed like an ideal couple to her. “Are you sure you’re not just being overprotective? A bit of the caveman coming out?”

  He let out a bitter laugh and shook his head. “You don’t know Colin like I do. He worked for my father for years. If Jean knew half the shit he did for that man, she’d never let him touch her.”

  The blood drained from her face. “Colin... Col
in worked for Walter?”

  “He was his go-to guy for any job he didn’t want to get his hands dirty on. The man is the embodiment of everything people hate about my family.”

  And Malia had thought he was so nice. She really didn’t know anything. “Did your father do a lot of—” She broke off as she tried to think of the right phrasing. “A lot of things you didn’t like?”

  Robert hit the button for the elevator. “I don’t like talking about Walter, Malia.”

  “I want to know you better. How was your relationship with your father?” She held her breath as she waited to hear his response. He had no idea how important it was that he disavow any and all relationship with the man who had ruined her life.

  “Babe, I don’t want to freak you out, but Walter was murdered and there’s only one thing I regret about the way things ended.”

  “What’s that?”

  “That I wasn’t the one who pulled the trigger myself.”

  Malia took a deep swig of water as she pushed away from the computer. She wasn’t built for desk work, and her eyes were tired from staring at the bright screen all day. Robert had wanted her to get started on coordinating the Hawaii fundraiser so she could stay in the offices right down the hall from where he was working all day and he could keep an eye on her.

  Party planning wasn’t exactly her calling, but she had a bunch of great ideas for different tours and events that could wow the guests. And considering she’d worked for half of these companies, she might even be able to talk them into working out a deal if it was for charity. They’d love to get connections with the Farrell Hawaiian Luxury Resort, so it should be mutually beneficial.

  Probably the most daunting task that Robert had given her was choosing a charity to support. He gave her a printout of all the various organizations and non-profits Farrell Enterprises had worked with in the past, as well as how much had been donated each year, going back a decade.

  Some of the amounts made her eyes bulge. It seemed like so much money to her, but she supposed that a multi-billion-dollar corporation wouldn’t bat an eyelash at million-dollar donations. Maybe if they made a bigger deal out of these, there wouldn’t be so much bad talk about them everywhere.