BILLIONAIRE ROMANCE: The Unforgettable Billionaires: The Complete Collection Boxed Set 1-12 (Young Adult Rich Alpha Male Billionaire Romance) (Alpha Bad Boy Billionaire Romance)

by Violet Walker

  “It’s the wound,” he murmured. “It’s sapping away your energy. You’ve got to let me look at it.”

  She froze when he lifted away the towel. The entire wound had grown black, and she gasped. “How did it get infected so quickly?”

  He studied her for a moment, and after a second, he sighed. When he reached down and pulled out a knife, she shrieked and backed up against the wall. He slashed the palm of his hand and pressed it against her wound.

  “What the hell are you doing?” she screamed. “Do you have AIDs or something?”

  “Shh,” he hissed. He reached up and covered her mouth. “Goddamn, woman. I’m trying to save your life.”

  She opened her mouth to bite him when she realized the stinging was going away. When he took his hand away, she glanced down. The wound was changing colors, and soon it was just angry and red. “What the hell are you?” she whispered. She looked up, terrified.

  “I need you to trust me, Lana. The paramedics aren’t coming. The rest of the police aren’t coming. It’s just me, and you need to trust me.”

  “Trust you? I don’t know anything about you.” She tried to slide down the wall and get away from him, but his arms shot out, and he trapped her.

  “It knows your scent. It’s not going to leave a witness behind. You know that it’s not human or animal. I can see it in your eyes. I can help you.”

  “How can you help me?”

  “Because it’s a demon. And I’m half demon.”

  Chapter Three

  Lana felt her world tilt under her. A demon attacked her. A half demon was trying to help her. These weren’t the things that happened to her. She was getting her Master’s degree. She was going to be an English teacher. This kind of crap happened in movies and books and television shows. It didn’t happen in real life.

  But she’d seen her wound. She’d seen the black colored flesh heal itself with the touch of blood. His blood.

  He opened his tempting mouth to speak, but she put her hand up. She was processing. “There is a demon after me. And it’s going to keep coming after me. It looked demonic enough, so I’m okay with that. I mean, I’m not okay with that, but I can believe that. I guess. You are going to keep me safe. You’re half demon. I watched your blood heal my wound, so I guess I can buy that as well. I can’t really wrap my head around it, but if there are demons then I suppose there could also be half demons.”

  “You’re doing okay so far,” he said encouragingly.

  “What I can’t do right now is trust you. I don’t know you, Detective Shuster. How are you going to protect me night and day?”

  “I’m moving in.”

  “Moving in?” she squeaked. “I have work and school. Oh my God.” Her eyes widened. She immediately pulled her phone out. “I’ve got class in like four hours. I don’t have time for this.”

  He blinked, and she could almost see what he was thinking. She was obsessed about school right after a demon attack? But she couldn’t miss the lecture. She looked wildly around. He wasn’t going to go away just because she told him to. “Okay, I have to get to class tomorrow, so you do whatever it is that you need to do so I can make it on time.”

  “Stripper and student,” he murmured with a cocked head.

  “Entertainer and student,” she snapped.

  He put up his hands. “Sorry. You can leave your car here. I’ll take you home.”

  She stopped for a moment and stared at him suspiciously. “How do I know you’re really a police officer?”

  He flipped open his badge. “You can confirm it with a simple phone call, but I’d like you to leave out the part where you were attacked by a demon. It’s going to take a little bit of magic on my end to make the police forget about that.”

  “Magic?” she said with wide eyes. Did he have demonic powers?

  “Finagling the truth,” he said with a small smile. “That’s all.”

  “I believe you,” she said as she handed his badge back. And she did. The truth was that she believed him from the very beginning. She just didn’t want to admit it.

  Lana let him into her small one bedroom apartment with some apprehension. She’d never had a man sleep over, and certainly never a half-demon. Detective Cole Shuster may have only been half a man, but he was enough to make her nerves sing. She worked in a sexually charged environment, but she’d never been so turned on as she was right now.

  “The couch is a pull out,” she murmured awkwardly as she picked up a few odds and ends that were littered around her room.

  “There’s no need to pull it out,” he said as he kept his eye on her. “The cushions will be just fine.”

  “Okay.” She spread out her hands. “There’s not much to it. Kitchen. Cups are in the cabinet if you need some water. There’s bourbon above the fridge if you need something stronger. If I didn’t have class tomorrow, I’d definitely be drinking something stronger.” She smiled weakly. “Bathroom is in there, and my room is at the end of the hall.”

  “Aren’t you curious?”

  “Curious and terrified,” she said as she met his intense gaze. “Part of me thinks that the less I know, the safer that I’ll be. But if you’re under my roof, maybe I need to know as much as possible to protect myself.”

  “But you have class tomorrow,” he said with a wry smile.

  She laughed hoarsely. “Yes. I have class tomorrow. And I at least need to get a few hours of sleep.” She frowned at her wound. “I should probably get stitches, but I don’t have time.”

  “Do you have some bandages?”

  “In the bathroom.”

  “I can wrap it for you if you like.”

  She didn’t want him to get that close. It made her nervous to think of him touching her. “I can do it. I was a cocktail waitress at a fairly rowdy bar for a while. Open wounds was an occupational hazard.”

  “Good thing you got out of that job.”

  She heard the sarcasm in his voice. “Let’s just stop right there. I dance at the club. I take off a few clothes, but I’m still in a bikini at the end of my show. The men are not allowed to touch me, I don’t honor any lap dance requests, and I wear a disguise on stage. A few nights a week pays my bills and covers quite a bit of my tuition, so quit judging me,” she hissed.

  He spread his arms open. “I’m not judging. Trust me. I’d never judge in my line of work.”

  She nodded her head. “Okay. Well. I’m going to bed. Do you need anything?”

  He shook his head and lifted his duffel. “Over night bag.”

  She raised his eyebrows. “Do you do this kind of thing often? Save a damsel in distress?”

  “You may be a damsel, but I wouldn’t go as far as say that you’re in distress,” he muttered.

  She nodded her head. That’s right. She may need protection, but she wasn’t going to let this odd development change things in her life.

  She might be terrified, but she had more important things to focus on.

  Cole shadowed her every move. They swapped out his cop car for her Ford because she didn’t want anyone at school to look suspiciously at her. When classmates asked about the new man walking around campus with her, she told him he was her out of town boyfriend.

  He’d smirked at that one. And he took advantage.

  In the lunch line on campus, he kept one hand draped low over her waist. Her heart skipped a beat, but she didn’t immediately run away. She had a role to play.

  At least, that’s what she told herself. What she really wanted to do was move that hand a little bit lower.

  He followed her to the library and watched her study. Occasionally, he called someone on his phone, but his voice was always too low for her to hear. She tried to focus on Spencer’s epic poem, but her eyes kept watching him. He was gorgeous beyond words.

  Finally, he drove her home. He stayed close behind her when she locked the door, and the sexual tension between them thickened. “That lock won’t keep a demon out.”

  “What about a half demon,�
�� she said in a thick voice. God, he was so close. If she turned around right now, she could kiss him.

  “No,” he said. His voice wrapped around her, and she nearly moaned. She could feel his breath on the back of her neck. “Why did you tell your friends that I was your boyfriend?”

  “I couldn’t think of anything else to say,” she said as she swallowed hard. What was wrong with her? Her stomach was fluttering, and she was already getting wet.

  “Did you have some fantasy in mind when you said it?”

  Fantasies? Yes. She had plenty of fantasies. She’d thought about straddling him in the middle of class. She’d thought about taking her in his mouth under the café table. She wanted him to lick her nipples in the middle of the library. It was insane how many fantasies she’d had about him in such a short period of time. “No,” she managed to lie.

  He wrapped a hand around her waist. “I could make some of those fantasies come true,” he whispered in her ear. “I could make all of those fantasies come true.”

  She took a deep breath. “The only fantasy I have, Detective Shuster, is for this to be over soon so that I can go back to my normal life, and you can go back to chasing demons. Does that sound okay?”

  Immediately, the hands disappeared, and she felt cold air move into the space behind her.

  When she turned around, he was closing the bathroom door. Soon after, the shower started.

  She leaned weakly against the wall. He hadn’t even been under her roof for twenty-four hours. How was she going to survive the rest of his time here?

  Cole Shuster was not having a great time. He was babysitting the sexiest female he had ever laid eyes on, and although she denied the attraction, he could see her pupils dilate whenever she laid eyes on him.

  He could smell her sex when she was wet.

  By the time he’d made it to the Slavante Brotherhood meeting, he was beyond frustrated. No amount of cold showers was easing the deep ache within him.

  It was ridiculous of course. He’d seen beautiful women. And as old as he was, he’d sampled more than just a few of them. But the feeling deep within his gut was unlike anything he’d ever experienced before. Lana Delgado was exotic, sexy, smart, witty, and cool under pressure. And whenever he looked at her, his entire body paid attention. Even after running on just a few hours of sleep, he was ready to bend her over the nearest piece of furniture and plow her until she screamed.

  And he wanted to hear her come. God, that shook him more than anything else. He wanted to pleasure her like no one else ever had.

  “Cole? Are you paying attention?”

  Cole shook his head and met Damien’s icy glare. “I’m listening,” he muttered.

  “We need to trap this demon and send him back to hell. Any ideas?”

  Cole frowned. “Don’t we need to trap it long enough to perform a ritual?”

  “Nobody has performed the ritual in over a hundred years. I’m not even sure we know how to do it anymore.”

  Damien looked as though he’d seen better days. Cole had no doubt that he was stressing about Cresher. His older brother had wreaked havoc on the city, and Damien could have ended him decades ago. Cole couldn’t judge. He didn’t know if he could kill his own brother if push came to shove. But Damien was going to have to do just that.

  “We will have to find the rituals book. Where is it?” Cole asked.

  Damien sighed and rubbed his eyes. “I’ll have to look through the archives. Everything is digital these days. How is the girl?”

  “Lana? She’s doing far better than I expected. She’s going on with her normal life. I have police outside her apartment, but it will do little good if the demon attacks tonight,” Cole said tightly. He was worried about her. His scent marked her apartment, and he hoped that was enough.

  “Is she going to the tabloids?” one of the members asked.

  Cole shook his head. “She would rather just have this whole mess be done. She has too much on her plate.”

  “How is her wound?”

  “Healing.” Cole swallowed hard. “I helped heal her. The poison was fairly fast acting. I feared she wouldn’t make it through the night if I didn’t act.”

  The brothers started murmuring. It was a big deal for a hybrid to show the effects of his blood, and many of the brothers would let a stranger die before they saved them with their blood.

  Damien nodded. “You did what you thought was right. We need to trap the demon first and then deal with Cresher second.”

  “Why don’t we deal with Cresher first,” one brother said accusingly. Cole tensed. Damien was touchy about the subject.

  “We won’t be able to touch Cresher if the demon is still attached to him. And if we kill Cresher before we deal with the demon, we’ll have an unattached demon roaming the world,” Damien hissed. The table fell silent. “Does anybody else have a problem with how I’m handling this?”

  No one said anything. “Dismissed. Cole. Will you meet me in the archives please?”

  The other men bowed their head and exited the room respectfully. Damien raised his red eyes at Cole and stared. “What am I doing, Cole?”

  “Your job. Keep holding it together, Damien. This is just a setback.”

  “A set back? People are dying because I couldn’t kill my brother. Preston should replace me as soon as he returns.”

  Cole shook his head. “No one can fault you for wanting your kin to live. You’re still half human, Damien. None of us can judge you because none of us have been in your shoes. You’re not unfit for this post. You are doing better than we could do. It’s in your blood, Cole.”

  He pushed his chair back. “I haven’t been in the archives for awhile. Let’s see what we can find.”

  They entered the room together, and Cole immediately sneezed. There hadn’t been a reason for them to use any of these books in awhile. The dust had gathered on the ancient leather bound books, but the glow of technology lit their way. Cole widened his eyes as he saw several computers on and ready to go. “You weren’t kidding about going digital,” he murmured.

  “I’ve kept the most important books in the back and out of the hands of the help,” Damien muttered as he led them through the back.

  The room grew darkened as they moved further down the stacks, and Damien reached up and turned on the single light bulb in the ceiling.

  Cole whistled. He glanced over the titles he’d only heard about in legends. “You have these?” he said in a low voice.

  “They were originally in Italy, but when the hybrids descended a few decades ago, they sent these our way. They were supposed to take it back and send it to Germany, but no one has been by to collect them. To be honest, it makes me nervous to have these, so I try not to broadcast it.”

  Cole pulled out the first book and leafed through it carefully. “Do you know what we’re looking for?” he asked.

  “No. I don’t know which book it’s in. Just flip through them until you start to find the demon rituals.”

  He and Damien carefully searched the old books silently until Cole found what they were looking for. The drawings were explicit, and he felt his blood chill. “I think I have it Damien. But I don’t think you’re going to like what I’ve found.”

  Damien leaned over his shoulder, and they both stared.

  A human heart. It took the same to send a demon back as it did to resurrect a demon.

  “I don’t suppose you have one of those on hand,” he said softly.

  “No,” Damien said with a sigh. “I’m fresh out of human hearts.”

  “Well. I guess we could always pick one up at the hospital.”

  “Rock, paper, scissors?”

  Chapter Four

  “Not happening,” Cole growled.

  Lana rolled her eyes. “I have to go to work. You’re welcome to join me, but I’ve got to go. I’ve got bills to pay.”

  “You want to go back to the place where you know this demon is feeding and in front of a crowd where anyone could be watching you.
I can’t protect you unless I’m standing on stage with you,” he muttered. “Please just don’t go. I’ll pay whatever you make there.” He wasn’t lying. He was loaded. He only worked with the police department to help out the brotherhood.

  “I don’t need your money,” she hissed. “I can make my own.”

  “Well, what do you want me to do?”

  She frowned and looked at him. “You can be part of the act.”

  His eyes widened. “I am not stripping in front of a crowd.”

  “And neither am I,” she said huffily. “Wear a pair of jeans and no shirt. You’ll just sit on stage, and I’ll include you. Trust me, the spotlight won’t be on your face.”

  He sighed. “Fine. But I’m not happy about it.”

  “And I’m not happy that I have to change my routine, but we all are making sacrifices.” She frowned as she removed the bandaged her arm. “The wrapping is not very sexy. How does it look?”

  He hissed his breath when he saw the angry red slash that ran down her arm. He put his finger out and stroked her arm, and she shivered. “Does it hurt?” he said

  “Not anymore,” she said softly as she pulled away. She longed for his touch, but when he did touch her, it became too much. She couldn’t handle it.

  “Okay. You won’t be allowed in the dressing room with other girls, but you can hang backstage,” she muttered.

  He nodded his head, and she finished packing her bag. She didn’t love the situation, but her safety was important.

  The girls oohed and aahed over him, and she explained to the manager that she was adding him to her routine. They didn’t love it, but when he flashed his badge, they stepped in line. The girls hit the stage, and he checked out the dressing room before allowed her to go in. “No judgments,” she warned him.

  He captured her chin, and she shivered at the intimacy. “Never,” he whispered.

  She slid her sparkly bikini on hidden under the veils of material that she’d planned on later dispensing. After applying the heavy make-up and her wig, she grabbed a bottle of body oil and stepped out of the room.