The Billionaire's Secret: Billionaire Obsession (Tycoon Billionaires Book 5)

by Farrell, Julie

  “So why not move? Astrid did.”

  “She went to college. I can’t leave here. Where would I go?”

  “Wherever you want. Art college? There are some great art colleges.”

  “Would you take me away?”

  “Me? No, Emma. It’s not like that.”

  “What is it you like about my sister? You know she’s not mentally sound, right?”

  “And what would you know about that?”

  “I’ve read her diaries…”

  “She’s all right. She just has panic attacks. What she needs is support from her family. Not a sister with a grudge.”

  She grinned excitedly into his eyes. “Come away with me, Jake. Think of all the fun we could have.”

  He stepped away. “I’ve had enough of your sort of fun. Thanks for the dance.”

  He walked off, abandoning Emma on the dancefloor, where he could sense her fuming. He didn’t want to purposely humiliate anyone, but he also didn’t like people playing games with him. He spied Astrid dancing with an older man – probably making his day. But Jake needed to talk to her, so he interjected. “Hey, I’m going out for a cigarette. You wanna join me?”

  She gazed blankly at him. “What girl could possibly refuse such a romantic proposition?”

  “Ha ha. Are you coming, or not?”

  “Sure.”

  They strolled out into the chilly night and sat on a rickety old bench in the front yard. Jake lit up a cigarette. Astrid shivered in the cold, so he took off his suit jacket, then draped it around her shoulders – holding the cigarette between his lips.

  “You look like James Dean,” she said, drawing his jacket around herself.

  He laughed. “Before or after the accident.”

  “Stop it. You know you’re a handsome guy.”

  “And you’re a beautiful woman.”

  “Hmm… You seemed to be getting friendly with my sister.”

  “I wanted to find out more about her motives for stealing your diaries.”

  “Oh sure.”

  “Listen, Astrid, I’m really not good at this sort of thing, but I’m sincerely sorry for what happened with my brothers. I really regret what I did.”

  “You were spying on me…”

  “I know. I never meant to hurt you. I wanted to tell you the truth. But I just… I couldn’t.”

  “I know – it wasn’t personal. I just feel stupid and used.”

  He held her hand and realized she was trembling. “I didn’t mean for you to feel like that.”

  “I get that you’re sorry. I do believe you. I just don’t know if I can trust you after such a betrayal. How can I believe you?”

  “I understand. You think I’m full of bullshit.”

  She gazed into his eyes – touching his soul. “I don’t think you’re full of bullshit, Jake. I think you’re full of secrets. And you seem to be guarding so many. I wonder whether you ever let anyone in. I feel like the stalking thing was just the tip of the iceberg.”

  Jake’s defenses hardened against her. How did she know all this? It was as if she was able to look deep in his core and see all the bad stuff he was hiding. He wanted to run like hell – to not let her in. If she found out his inner-demons, it would be over anyway. But he didn’t want it to be over. He needed to fuck her again. To love her.

  She squeezed his fingers tenderly. “There’s something else you’re holding back, isn’t there?”

  Jake frowned – feigning ignorance. “No. What do you mean?”

  “Well, my powers of perception may not be up there with yours, detective, but I know you’re protecting something. And whatever it is, it’s driving the show.”

  “Driving what show?”

  “The Jake Quinlan show.”

  He shifted uncomfortably, unused to being scrutinized. “Yeah, whatever.”

  “Well, maybe I’m wrong?”

  He took a drag of his cigarette. “You’re wrong.”

  She shrugged. “All right.”

  The silence pressed down on them. Jake sighed. “Okay, there is something… but I don’t want talk about it. I don’t want to tell you, and I’m not going to.”

  “You don’t have to.”

  “Good, because I’m not going to.”

  Jake gazed up at the stars. It’d been so long since he’d seen them – those sparkling diamonds so full of hope, covering the dark velvet sky. New York City was heavily light-polluted, making it impossible to see even the brightest stars. But here – it was a reminder to Jake that he was a tiny speck in a huge universe. It was humbling, and it gave him perspective.

  Astrid pulled him out of his reverie. “By the way, I’ve already figured out that your brother must be Joseph Quinlan – I know he’s related to Adam and Dylan, so if you’re their brother...”

  Jake smiled. “He’s a great kid.”

  “He’s… gorgeous. So talented. And what a body. I’m embarrassed to say I go as gooey as a teenager whenever I see him perform on TV.”

  Jake laughed, pushing away his possessive envy. “Yeah… he has that effect, doesn’t he?”

  “It must be weird knowing that the little boy you grew up with is now so adored.”

  “The truth is, I was estranged from my family for a long time. We’ve only just been reunited.”

  “Really? What happened?”

  “I was adopted by another family as a baby. It’s a long and complicated story.”

  She raised a suggestive eyebrow. “We’ve got all night.”

  He chuckled. “There are other things I was hoping to do with you tonight.”

  She tried to suppress her grin. “That’s a bit presumptuous after what you did to me.”

  “Hmm… What did I do to you? I made you cry out in ecstasy, that’s what I did. And I got the impression it’d been a while since anyone had done that.”

  “Maybe. But it doesn’t mean I want it to happen again, does it?”

  He leaned in and kissed her hard on the lips, making her flinch. He prepared himself for another slap, but actually, when she pulled away, she was grinning.

  “First you tell me your secret,” she said. “Then we can talk about me possibly forgiving you for being a double-crossing asshole.”

  “Astrid, you really don’t want to –”

  “What are you afraid of, Jake?”

  “Huh? I’m not afraid of anything.”

  She smiled kindly. “Well… You’re not afraid to throw yourself at an armed assailant. You’re brave and strong. You could have any woman you want, but right now, you’re here with me. And for some reason, you can’t tell me what makes you tick. But if you want this woman – even only for one more night – then you’re going to have to open up to me, before I open up for you. Otherwise, let’s just forget it.”

  He chuckled at her candid way of speaking. . “Right. Okay, if you really wanna know...” He braced himself, then blurted it out. “When I was fifteen, my best friend died, and I still blame myself.”

  Astrid’s expression was full of compassion. “What happened?”

  He gazed into her eyes, suddenly wanting to tell her everything. “We were playing down by the river and I bet him he couldn’t climb out onto the jetty. It was raining hard and the wood was slippery. He took up my challenge, and fell in the water and drowned. I jumped in after him, of course, but he was already cold and dead – lifeless – when I pulled him out.”

  “And you blame yourself for that?”

  “Well, if I hadn’t suggested he try it. He’d still be alive.”

  “It wasn’t your fault, Jake. You can’t force someone to do that.”

  “Easy for you to say.”

  “So now you think you don’t deserve to be loved?”

  “I never said that. That’s a huge leap to make.”

  “But it’s true?”

  He gazed at her, feeling closer to her than he’d ever felt to anyone. “You ever thought about becoming a detective? Or a psychologist?”

  She chuckled. �
��Nah, I’m just a woman with panic attacks.”

  “You seem confident most the time.”

  “I feel confident most the time. When I’m not in a trigger situation I feel fine – strong even. It’s just when I feel trapped, the fear arises and I get debilitated. It’s like I’m two people sometimes.”

  “I feel like that too. Like two people. Like there’s a good me, and a bad me. It’s like there was this innocent kid called Jake, then the world got to him and fucked him up. But he still exists someplace. I sure wish I could find him again.”

  “I guess we all feel like that at times. Like we were innocent – and then life happened, and people told us we were wrong, and the innocent files got corrupted. But you are worthy of being loved Jake. And what happened wasn’t your fault.”

  He opened his mouth to thank her, but his cigarette burned his fingers. “Shit!” He dropped it on the grass and they both laughed, relieving the tension.

  “I’m glad I told you,” he said.

  “Me too.”

  He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, kissing her passionately. “There is one time when I feel pure and whole,” he whispered.

  She chuckled. “Oh yeah… when would that be?”

  “Let me show you.”

  Chapter Twelve

  They slipped away from Astrid’s parents’ house and strolled in the chilly fall evening toward the motel, wrapped in each other’s arms to keep warm. Astrid had never been inside this old gothic building before, and she saw – as they walked into the foyer – how dowdy and old-fashioned it was compared to even the most basic hotel in NYC. But she guessed Jake was probably new to all that Quinlan wealth and opulence, since their recent family reunion, so perhaps he didn’t mind staying somewhere like this.

  The room was tired, but clean – and Astrid wasn’t really too interested in the décor at the moment anyway. Her lust swept through her as Jake closed the hotel room door and kissed her neck tenderly from behind.

  “Alone at last,” he said.

  She turned and gazed up into his eyes, trying to control her arousal. “I want you to know I still haven’t completely forgiven you for what you did.”

  He grinned. “Fine, okay, I’ll try my best to work on that.”

  She pretended to remain stern as he kissed her face and neck. “This liaison will be the last time between us, Jake. This means nothing to me. Nothing more than just sex. Mind-blowing, overwhelmingly amazing sex.”

  “Sure. I get that.”

  He kissed her hard on the lips, easing his tongue into her mouth. “I’ve been desperate to fuck you all evening. You’re a great little mover on the dance floor.”

  Astrid laughed. “Thanks. Despite being upset with you, I’ve somehow felt more alive since we met. You do something to me… make me feel – I don’t know – you make me feel cheeky!”

  “Glad to hear it. Hey, you wanna try something fun tonight?”

  “In what way?”

  He gestured to the bed. “Not just boring old vanilla... you know?”

  “I don’t think it would be possible to ever describe you as either boring or vanilla.”

  “I’ll take that as a yes.” He led her to the bed and sat down. “You’re a bad girl for driving me crazy tonight. And now I’ve got you alone, I’ll need to spank you…”

  Lust washed through her as she stood next to him at the foot of the bed. She felt like a little girl and an adult all at once. She opened her mouth to reply, but he yanked her wrist, pulling her over his thighs.

  He pushed up her dress. “How do you like being across my knee, naughty girl?”

  Astrid laughed with delight. She wasn’t sure whether she was supposed to pretend to struggle against the spanking, but she was too shocked and aroused to move, so she just gazed up at him, beaming.

  He lifted her dress over her ass and then paused. She was wearing elastic-topped stockings and no panties. “Where are your panties?” he asked, sounding delighted.

  “I forgot to put them on,” she said, starting to get into the act. “Sorry for being so bad.”

  “You’ve been going around like this all night?”

  “Yep.”

  “Naughty little thing. I’m going to punish you by giving you the most almighty mind-blowing fuck. But first…”

  He drew back his strong hand and slapped her ass, making it sting in the most wonderful flash of pain and pleasure. He helped her stand up.

  “Sit on my knee,” he said, holding her hand.

  She stepped forward to sit sideways on his knee, but he stopped her. “Not like that. Straddle my thigh.”

  Feeling sexy in her dress and heels, she put one leg over his strong thigh and mounted his leg like a motorcycle.

  “Let’s see what we have in here…” he said.

  He reached out and undid the buttons of her dress. “No bra either,” he said, pulling back her dress to expose her bare breasts. “You really are a bad little thing, aren’t you?”

  Lust pulsed through her thighs. She’d never ever done anything like this before – but she loved it. She leaned back to give him access as he lowered his head and sucked one of her nipples, causing electric desire to flood through her body. He continued to tongue-tease her nipple as he placed his strong hands on her hips and started to grind her into his thigh. It felt amazing.

  “I wonder if I can make you come like this,” he muttered, as he flicked his skilful tongue over her nipple.

  She let her head drop back, allowing the pleasure to rise. He reached down with one hand and eased two fingers underneath her pelvis, then he delved them inside her, hooking them around to stimulate her G-spot – as she ground herself against his thigh and he sucked her nipple.

  She felt herself begin to come, and he realized too, so he stopped. “I’m not finished with you by a long way, sweetheart. Stand up.”

  She suppressed her grin and did as she was instructed, standing between his thighs. He pushed down the top half of her dress, so she was wearing a ‘skirt’, heels, stockings, and no panties. He reached around and grabbed her ass, pulling her forward so that her breasts were in his face, then he licked and fondled them hungrily – for his own pleasure as well as hers. She groaned with delight.

  “Oh god, Jake…”

  He reached down and ran a finger along her butt, feeling his way to her wet and yearning pussy. But his finger didn’t penetrate her – he simply circled it around the outside – teasing her and piling on the erotic tension. Then he reached out and pulled one of her legs forward, to rest her knee on his thigh.

  “I love the feel of your silky soft stockings,” he whispered, running his fingers over her thigh. “There’s so much I need to do to you, sweetheart. I want to take you to the edge of sanity. Have you begging for more – screaming my name. I want you to be possessed by me and only me, with thoughts of nothing else. Give yourself to me entirely.”

  She breathed hard and nodded her consent. He stood and undid his tie, and she reached out to unbutton his shirt, desperate to see that amazing sculpted chest again – to touch it and lick it.

  He took off his shirt and dropped it to the floor, but he was still holding his tie. “I’m going to tie you up and do whatever I want to you. Anything to send you to heaven.”

  Astrid grinned. He kissed her hard and she melted into his perfect muscular bare chest. She was desperate to feel him all around her and inside her.

  He pushed her dress to the floor so that she was only wearing her stockings and heels. She felt so sexy dressed like this, while he was still wearing his pants. She felt dominated, yet totally safe. She’d never realized it could be like this. Fun… slutty…

  He undid his belt and ripped it from the loops with a flourish, then he held it by the buckle.

  “Bend over.”

  She hesitated. “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to show you how it feels to be whipped like a bad little pony. And then I’m going to ride you…”

  On tremb
ling legs, Astrid bent over and placed her palms on the edge of the bed. She braced herself for the impact, knowing he wouldn’t actually harm her. And then it came – the stinging thwack on her bare buttocks, making her gasp with pleasure and delight. He chuckled and stood behind her, rubbing his hard-on into her ass through the material of his pants.

  “Fuck, you’re hot, sweetheart,” he said, grinding strongly into her. “Lie down on the bed. I’ve got some serious treats for you.”

  “Yes, Jake,” she said.

  She laid her head down on the fluffy pillow, and he bound one of her wrists with his tie, fastening it to the slatted headboard.

  He gazed down at her. “Any last requests?”

  She chuckled. “Just keep your promises.”

  “I always do, babe.”

  He bound her other wrist with the belt and fastened it to the opposite side of the headboard, so she was lying with her arms spread.

  “Now you’re all mine,” he said. He reached down and jiggled his junk in his pants.

  She laughed at his levity. “Yes I am.”

  He grabbed an ice-cube from the ice-bucket and popped it in his mouth, then he crawled over the bed toward her. He threw her a cocky glance and lowered his face to her breast – running the freezing ice over her nipple, making it plump up with the chill.

  She tensed and gasped at the cold sensation on such a sensitive area, but it quickly flashed with heat as he eased the ice out of his mouth and tongued her nipple – sucking it warm. As he continued to suck her nipple, he lowered his ice-holding hand down between her legs – running the melting cube over her thigh and up toward her pussy. The hot and cold sensation was electrifying and erotic, making her squirm with a desire to be fucked hard. She ground her hips hungrily, feeling the cool trail of melted ice tingle on her flesh.

  He gazed deep into her eyes. “Ready for me, sweetheart?”

  “Oh yes…”

  He stood and stripped off his pants and underwear, then he positioned himself at the end of the bed and grabbed his hard cock, which was straining for some action. He started to jerk off in front of her.

  “You want this inside you, sweetheart?” he said. “You want me to pound you into the bed so hard and fast you’ll forget your own name?”