The Billionaire's Twisted Love Book 1: Captivated by You

by Rosie Praks

  “Yes. I’m very happy. Thank you for everything.”

  I dragged him to the dining table where I poured his favorite Pinot Noir. I handed one to him, my hand lingering just a second longer on his fingers. I smiled at him with mischief in my eyes.

  “For you,” I said, handing over the glass.

  Julian took it and together we made a toast.

  “To Julian, who’s now the heir and president of Devereux Enterprise. May all your plans and goals succeed in the future,” I said.

  Julian gripped my waist and deposited me on his lap.

  “You really want all my plans to reach fruition?” He fixed his gaze sharply at me.

  “Yes. All your plans and your goals,” I said, smiling. And now…” I smirked at him, putting his glasses down on the table. “It’s time to celebrate.”

  I began unzipping his fly…

  Chapter 22

  I woke up to find Julian absent from bed. It was two in the morning. Why was he not in bed? I stepped out and grabbed my gown. Down the hallway, I could hear Julian’s voice.

  So he’s talking to someone. On the phone perhaps.

  I smiled, my hand closing over the doorknob, and was about to turn when something Julian said made me freeze.

  “So Josh has been taken care of?”

  Josh? That was Julian’s voice, but it didn’t sound anything like him. I listened some more.

  “Yes, sir.”

  Melissa? What is she doing here?

  “And the matter regarding the shares of Devereux Enterprise?”

  “You own everything, sir. Your father wrote all his rights to you.”

  “Good. It pays to check everything.”

  This… this doesn’t sound anything at all like the Julian I know. His voice sounded more confident, like he was more in control of his life, unlike the meek, innocent Julian that I knew. I pressed my ear to the door, listening intently.

  “I can’t believe your plan worked out that great, sir. To know everything had fallen into place so easily.”

  “It’s called careful grafting, Melissa. Planning, execution, and finding the right pawn.”

  Careful grafting? Execution? Pawn? What is Julian talking about? My heart pounded as I continued to listen to their conversation.

  “What shall we do with our pawn, sir?”

  “Kimberly.” My name came up. A prickle of fear travelled down my spine. “Mmmm. Leave her to me.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  My world collided. I’m a pawn? What game is this? What’s the meaning of this?

  I didn’t wait a moment longer to find out. I tore the door open, just in time for Melissa to step out.

  “Melissa.” I accused. “What are you doing here at two in the morning?”

  Melissa just smiled slyly at Julian. He in turn smiled back at her before nodding.

  “Well, sir, I’m off now.”

  “You do that, Melissa. And take care.”

  “Take care?” I pushed Julian back after Melissa had left. “What the hell was that? Explain right now!”

  “What is there to explain?” Julian said standoffishly. “You heard everything, right?”

  “Are you telling me whatever you said in there was the truth?”

  Julian went to his alcohol cabinet and poured himself a glass of Pinot Noir. He went to sit on his couch, then took off his glasses. He gazed at it, glass twirling around in his hand. Then he shifted his gaze to me. A look of pure malice, unlike the timid and meek Julian I loved, shone through in his stormy grey eyes.

  Who is this man? Who is this stranger?

  “Remember what you said, Kimberly,” he said as he looked at me over the rim of his wine glass. “Remember when you said even if I’m the bad character in this whole story, you’ll still stand by me because you love me?” He flicked his gaze to me again. What he said next struck me to the core. “I am the bad one in this whole story. I was the one who manipulated you. I was the one who knew your weak nature. Do you know how hard it was for me to pretend to be that stupid, meek character? I was so good at it, but sometimes, Kimberly, sometimes you broke me. Whenever you wanted me and whispered those dirty thoughts in my head I almost lost it. It was so hard, but finally I came through. I win. I got everything back. The Devereux legacy is now mine.”

  “You framed Josh?” I staggered back and fell on the couch, my eyes opened wide at the startling realization, my face drained of color at the simple truth behind this menacing man.

  “No. I didn’t frame him,” he said calmly, looking at his red drink again. Then he took a sip, gently, before turning back to me and saying casually, “He did take the money. I was just being a good half-brother, putting my own money back into the company’s account, waiting for you to see through Josh’s true nature while I waited to gallantly take over the company.”

  “So that was your true purpose. You bastard.” I flew at him and slapped him hard across his cheek before he could even react, splashing his wine all over the carpet. Blood smeared on his lip, but he only smirked at me, eyes twinkling with amusement.

  “I love it when you act like this, Kimberly.” He put his glass down and advanced towards me like a predator cornering its prey. “You know how much I want to dominate you. And now I don’t have to hide it anymore.”

  I braced myself. But it wasn’t fast enough. Julian was too quick. He caught me and gripped my wrists with his steel strength. He locked eyes with mine, daring me to defy him.

  I stared back. Unrelenting. If he knew one thing about me, it was that I was never one to back down from any challenge.

  But just as quick as a storm, he blinked and backed off, a shrewd smile playing on his lips. He went to fetch another drink, to compensate for the one I’d destroyed.

  “All this for the Devereux legacy, right?” I tried to draw back his attention. I needed to know why he used me. Why he did this to me when I wasn’t involved with any part of their plan.

  “Yep,” he responded.

  “When did it all start?”

  Please don’t tell me he planned this from three years ago. Please, please. I begged inside my head. Please let this be all a nightmare. Please let me wake up so the Julian I know will come back.

  “Oh, about three years ago.”

  “Three years,” I repeated like a fool.

  “Oh, sweet, sweet Kimberly. You really are naïve, aren’t you?” Julian must have seen the stunned and shocked look on my face. He caressed my cheek. But all I could feel was revulsion striking through me. “Let me tell you the story from the very beginning.”

  Julian led me to a chair and sat me on his lap. I didn’t react. I didn’t refuse his action. I was like a doll, obeying my master.

  His fingers lingered on my skin, but I didn’t feel that. All I heard was his voice explaining to me the story, his story, his plan he’d concocted three years ago.

  “I saw your photograph in Dad’s album. I have to admit you were beautiful. Chestnut hair, green eyes—those were very striking. Dad talked about you a lot. I knew then that you were my final piece to my jigsaw puzzle. I researched you. I had you watched. You’re a very playful person, aren’t you? Tempting all those men and then leaving them dry before they had a chance to taste you. To think I was the one who reaped all the rewards.”

  I shuddered, feeling disgusted with myself. But still I didn’t move.

  “So when you helped me in Simon’s attack, you planned that too,” I squeaked out at last.

  “No, although I have to admit it was a good addition to my plan. To have you twist your ankle like that and have me carry you like a knight. What girl wouldn’t swoon over that?”

  How stupid could I get? How gullible could I be? To be manipulated by this man.

  “How about that man, the one who wanted to buy me a drink?”

  Julian smirked. “That guy? Yes. I did pay him.”

  I laughed drily, thinking about my stupid situation. I was going insane. I was the puppet master, the queen who constructed all t
he strings in this game. I planned for Julian to become the sole heir because he deserved it, but to have the table turned… I laughed again. And pushed out of his lap.

  “Tell me, Julian. In that three years, did you have me followed too?”

  His answer was too quiet, but I caught on. “Yes.”

  I laughed again. “And then what? What happened?” By this stage, I was beyond caring. My life had turned into a game for this man to manipulate. I could cry later. I could bash my head against a brick wall until I bled later, for being a fool, for allowing this person into my heart and manipulating me. But for now, I had to act strong.

  “I followed you at the airport.”

  “You followed me?”

  “Yes.”

  “And then?”

  “I followed you to your hotel at the Silverton.”

  “Oh, so you were the one who sat behind me at the restaurant. You did that on purpose?”

  “Yes. I deliberately planned that too.”

  “And that conversation you had with whoever it was on the phone. That must be Josh, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Oh my God.” I could die laughing. I could no longer talk sense. “You planned everything, didn’t you? You’re so meticulous, so detailed. Of course you would succeed in your plan. Tell me. You asked Josh to present those presentations on your behalf. You gave Josh those presentation materials. You manipulated him as well as me. So that projector that broke down before the presentation? That was—”

  “That was me.” He cut me off. “I had Melissa cut the wire so it wouldn’t work.”

  “Bravo. And I supposed you made Josh drunk so he could rape me too?”

  “Not the second time. Just the first.”

  I bit my lip. Why didn’t it click? Why was I so thickheaded? Julian was there minutes after Josh left me. I felt disgusted with myself. I let this monster take me, again and again.

  “Wow. All that for the sake of being the heir of Devereux Enterprise.”

  “Yes.”

  “So I was your pawn, the star of your show, the centerpiece to your whole scheme. You just made yourself look humble and meek so I would help you.”

  Julian didn’t say anything. He just stared at me with an expression I couldn’t decipher.

  “I suppose you had Melissa work for you too, deliberately crashing into me so those files could be seen. And then, when Josh did the presentation, I would assume right away he stole your work. And you also left those documents regarding those funds transfers in your apartment where I could easily see them. I bet you even constructed that letter from this Barry Turnbull guy yourself, so I could see it as hard evidence. Oh, you are so good, Julian. You go around playing the mastermind behind everything. You did a really good job. I should give you an A for creating such a brilliant plan. Tell me. Is Melissa a good girlfriend?”

  “Melissa works for me. She’s not my girlfriend. I don’t have a girlfriend.” Irritation threaded his voice.

  I gasped. What he said pained me.

  “Just tell me one thing, Julian. When you said you loved me, did you really mean it?”

  “Love isn’t in my vocabulary.” His eyes frosted over, but his fingers continued to trace my lips.

  “Just like the word fuck and shit weren’t in your vocabulary before, right?” I tore his hands away from me.

  Julian finally chuckled. “It was a fun game, wasn’t it? All that pretending.”

  “You’re worse than Josh. You’re a monster.”

  “I am a monster. I never said I was a saint, nor your knight in shining armor.”

  I felt sick. I couldn’t breathe. I had to get out of there. My hand touched my throat and there I felt the necklace Julian gave me. His promise of love for me. His fake promise.

  I tore the necklace off like germs on my skin.

  Julian finally snapped. He clamped my hand like a vise, trapping me within his hold against the wall so I couldn’t move.

  “What do you think you’re doing taking that necklace off?” That deep baritone that in the past made me melt now only caused fear within my heart.

  “Throwing it in the bin,” I shouted at him. “It’s just trash. It’s not important to me. Just like this place. Just like you. I’m leaving here.”

  I kicked him in the shin, but he reacted in time, cornering me instead and dragging me, dumping me on the bed. I got up and quickly crawled to escape, but he caught my ankle. He tossed me over until I lay flat against the bed. I was about to kick him again, but he trapped me with his body. He towered over me, preventing me from thrashing around like a fish on land. But I was also like a cat, scratching at him with my claws. He was bleeding, his chest and arms. I defended myself with all my strength, but Julian was relentless and very powerful. He pinned me down until I could no longer move. We were both panting. Me from exhaustion. Him from taming me.

  Finally, he spoke. “You said I’ve captivated you, Kimberly. And now I’m going to trap you. In my embrace. You’re my woman, Kimberly. I own you. I possess you. And if any man dares touch you, I will personally kill him myself. You’re mine, Kimberly. Remember that. You’re mine.”

  I looked at him, staring at his stormy grey eyes. My mind took me back to that moment from three years ago when I was in the nightclub. I saw those eyes too. They captivated me from the first moment I saw him. And now, to think that three years later I was trapped, because of those eyes.

  I didn’t move. I didn’t flinch. I just watched as those kissable lips that I craved before now descended upon mine, sealing my mouth and capturing my soul with just one small kiss. His body too. That part of him I craved to have inside me before now binding us, thrusting into me, again and again. Hoping I would react, wishing I would respond. But I didn’t. I didn’t give him any reaction. Because I knew, even when fireworks shot before my eyes, that I could never escape from him. I could never escape from the prison of his arms… because I was truly trapped.

  Epilogue

  “Julian, where are you, little buddy? It’s time to take your medicine. Come get your shot.”

  “Stop talking sweet and find him.”

  “He’s not under the bed. Where did he hide this time?”

  “How the fuck would I know? Just fucking find him. I don’t have all night. I’ve got a party to attend to.”

  “Yeah, like any girl would want to dance with you once they find out you work in a loony hospital.”

  I can hear their voices. The good one and the bad one. They’re coming for me again. Every night they come for me. They inject me with stuff, telling me it’ll make me feel better. And once I feel better, I can go home. To Papa.

  But it never makes me feel better. It makes me have dreams about monsters and death. Sometimes I don’t need to sleep to see them. They’re everywhere, haunting me. Little green blobs in the corners of the room. A dark shadow at the end of my bed. I scream every night, telling them I’m scared, telling them I’m not crazy, that I don’t need that stuff, but all they do is give me more.

  I stay quiet, huddled in the closet, holding Mama’s rose pendant necklace close to my heart. I can see them through the thin slits of the door, their feet stomping around the room, searching for me.

  Don’t let them find me, Mama. Don’t let them find me. I don’t want them to come near me again. Help me, Mama. Don’t let them hurt—

  The closet door slams open. The bad one, he sees me.

  “There you are, you little shit,” he snarls in my face. His breath stinks of cigarettes and alcohol.

  I shift farther into the closet, shaking my head, hugging myself into a tight ball. “No. Don’t hurt me. Don’t hurt me.”

  “Hey, little Julian, why’re you hiding in the closet?” the other man, the kind one asks me.

  I look at the kind one. “Don’t let him hurt me. Please.”

  “We’re not going to hurt you, little Julian. We’re just going to give you something to make you sleep better tonight.”

  I look at the long, thin n
eedle in his hand. It’s that same one. He’s going to make me see monsters again. The kind one is going to make me see monsters.

  “No. Don’t. I’m not crazy. I’m not crazy. I don’t want it. Don’t give it to me,” I scream, launching out of the closet and kicking him in the shin.

  He hits the floor. I race past him but am pulled back, losing my step and crashing to the floor. I get up again, needing to escape, but someone slaps me in the face. Blood coats my mouth.

  It’s the bad one. He hit me. He turns me over, pinning me to the floor, his red eyes glaring at me.

  “Let me go,” I scream, my hands thrashing about. I hit him in the face. He growls, bashing my head into the linoleum, smearing more of my blood on the floor.

  “You dare fucking hit me, you little shit. Here, take it. Take it.” He punches me, again and again, in the stomach, making me lose my breath.

  “Hey, Tony, take it easy. He’s just a kid.”

  “Shut up, Rory. Get me some toilet paper.”

  “What you need it for?”

  “Just fucking get me some.”

  I whimper on the floor, still pinned underneath him. His weight crushes me. I’m in so much pain. I’m so scared. But all I can do is cry for Mama to save me.

  “Don’t hurt me. Mama, help me. Don’t let them hurt me.”

  “What are you shouting for your mama for?” he spits in my face. “She ain’t going to help you. She’s dead. You got that? She’s dead. No one’s coming to save you now.”

  “Mammmaaaa. Help me. Help me.” I keep on crying, my wailing loud.

  “For fuck's sake. Shut up, you little shit.”

  He gags me, stuffing toilet paper in my mouth. I still sob, tears welling out of my eyes, still trying to fight them with my little strength, but they are big people. They hold me down and now I can’t move.

  The bad one is holding the needle in his hand, the hand that has a skull tattoo on the wrist. I watch that hand bring the needle closer to my arm.

  I shake my head, eyes opening wide in fear, screaming through the gag for someone to save me, but no sound comes out. My voice is lost. I’m trapped.