Rook and Ronin Box Set: The Complete Alpha Billionaire Series (Books 1-5)

by Huss, JA

  Talk about eye-opening. "Ford's reading Gatsby, Deeply Odd, and Making Babies for the Billionaire." I get snorts from everyone, even my team.

  "Funny, Rook," Ford says dryly from across the room.

  "You know what's funnier? The fact that all you dumbasses got the joke. I know what you're reading at night."

  "Someone please, turn on the fucking tunes."

  "Spencer, that was not nice. How about I read from the billionaire book? You guys should like that."

  Spencer stops painting and looks up at me. "Does he really have that on there?"

  We all bust out laughing. "Oh, Spencer."

  "All right, I'm done. Let's get this over with, give you something else to bitch about for a while."

  I race out and head straight to the bathroom, then make my way upstairs, totally oblivious to the fact that I'm one hundred percent naked. It was less than a month ago that I stood in the Chaput dressing room wondering how all the girls could just walk around naked, but here I am, traipsing around the entire building like that.

  My team is waiting for me upstairs and Spencer is shirtless again, but he's changed into some faded jeans with holes and grease all over them, like he's been working in a garage all day. He's sitting casually on the new bike, messing with the grips as he chats to Billy. This bike is like psychedelic. It's got swirls of light blue and purple on the frame and the tank. The Shrike logo is a thick bold black outline, the total opposite of the girly one from the last shoot. The set is still beachy, but the backdrop spills over onto the floor and it makes it look like we're on the side of a road. When I sit down for Josie, she takes off my blonde wig and exchanges it for a black one. The cut is shorter now, the bangs severe, and it frames my face. She removes the old makeup and paints on new. This time I get the glossy treatment. Red lips, dark eyes, and plum blush.

  I also get some spiky pumps that probably require a personal injury insurance policy to walk in, and after about thirty minutes I'm stumbling my way over to the guys.

  Antoine is in his office, and when I'm ready Billy goes to get him.

  "What's all this?" I fan my arms out to the set, curious as to what message we're sending.

  "You're a hitchhiker, I'm your knight in shining armor."

  "I'm hitchhiking in a bikini and fuck-me pumps?"

  "Biker fantasy, Rook. Trust me."

  "O-kaaaay."

  Antoine and Billy appear, and as usual, Billy does all the talking. I wonder how I'm going to fill in a whole evening of conversation when Antoine and I go to dinner. I wonder if he'll take me to Cookie's. I'm so fucking hungry.

  "You're thumbing, Rook, step behind the bike and act the part."

  I do as I'm told, then pretend to have a conversation with Spencer as he ogles my tits. I'm not sure if that's pretend or not, but it makes me frown and Antoine barks out something harsh and Billy tells me to look happy. I do, then climb in front of Spencer, facing him, and wince as I realize I'm in yet another position that will have Ronin breaking up with me as soon as he gets back. Spencer sneaks a peek down.

  "Really, Spence? I mean, you've been looking at my goods all day, you haven't seen enough?"

  "That's totally different, I'm not supposed to get turned on when I'm painting, but this is different."

  "Spencer."

  Spencer glares at Antoine this time. "Look, she asked me a question, again. So why does she get to talk to me, but I'm not allowed to talk to her?"

  "Who said you're not allowed to talk to me?"

  "Antoine. I'm supposed to keep it professional, but that's a fucking first. The whole reason we hired you, Antoine, was because you're famous for getting the girls to be as unprofessional as possible."

  "OK, let's just move on. What should I do? You're the one in charge, Spencer. I need direction here because I'm not all that good at this shit."

  Spencer shoots Antoine a look. "See, she wants me to tell her what to do." He looks at me, his hands wrap around my middle, then slip down to the top of my ass. "Take the pictures, Antoine," Spencer growls.

  I hold down a laugh because these babies have no idea what to do with me right now.

  Antoine starts shooting and Spencer's one hand stays down, while the other one slides up, picks up my arm and drapes it over his shoulder, then cups my breast. "Kiss me again, Rook."

  I look at him, the shock plastered across my face, I'm sure. I swallow, not sure what to do with myself right now, either.

  "Rook," Spencer repeats, a little harsher now. "I want kissing, I want mad fucking passionate kissing. The kind of kissing I've seen in all those other photos of you, the kissing that is so filled with emotion and longing and lust, I'm instantly hard. Kiss me like that, Blackbird."

  I gulp some air and stare at him, right into his eyes. We hold that moment as Billy translates encouraging things from Antoine. I lean in a little, slowly, never breaking eye contact, then touch his lips with a soft kiss, and pull back.

  He smiles.

  I do it again and this time he's ready, his hand leaves my breast and wraps around my head, pulling me towards him. His mouth opens and I respond by doing the same. Our tongues flick against each other, then I pull back as his grip releases, trying to catch my breath.

  "That's more like it," he whispers. "Now turn around, Rook."

  I stand up and turn around, my ass against his thighs.

  He's very excited.

  His hands go to my shoulders, then his fingertips drag down my arms. One hand grabs my breast, while the other slides across my stomach, then drops very low.

  "Arch your back and tip your head, Rook."

  I do, and his hand drops even lower with the change in my body position. I have to admit, for being a bike designer, he's pretty good at this sexy modeling stuff. His mouth is suddenly heavy against my neck, his breath slow, but louder than before.

  I moan.

  Oops.

  He laughs behind me and I relax a little.

  We're still acting, I tell myself.

  Chapter Fourteen - Rook

  Billy follows me downstairs to the shower room again and this makes me wonder. "What's the deal with this whole bodyguard thing, Billy? How come you have to follow me around?"

  "Rook, this building is unlocked during business hours, you do realize that, right?"

  "Um…"

  "I wasn't gonna say anything because you've got enough going on here today, but Antoine was pissed that you didn't wait for me to walk you to the bathroom. You can't just traipse around naked outside the studio. At the very least, have your camera crew around. You need to wait for someone to go with you, even if it's just walking upstairs."

  "Oh, well, yeah, that makes sense." I can't argue with that. It was a little weird walking around naked all alone, anyway. "Thanks, Billy. I'm really glad you're here. It makes a difference."

  He smiles and turns around. "Hurry up, I'm starving and we can't eat until we're done. Hopefully the next painting will go fast."

  "Oh," I say, squeezing out the sponge and rubbing down my chest. "Are you coming with us to dinner? Ronin just said I was eating with Antoine tonight."

  Billy laughs. "Antoine doesn't go anywhere with the models alone. Ever. Not even you, Rook. He keeps a healthy distance from all of them, that's why he's got Ronin. To run interference."

  "Makes sense, I guess." I scrub the bikini bottoms off my front and then get as much of my ass as I can before holding the sponge out to Billy. "Get the rest of it, hurry."

  He does as I ask and I just have to privately shake my head at what my life has become. It's weird. All these guys looking at me naked. Getting my picture taken. Being a sort of girlfriend to Ronin, yet my job is allowing his former best friend to touch and kiss me. And Billy here, washing paint off my backside.

  "OK," he says, turning me around so the water washes off the soap. "You're good. Let's go." He hands me my towel, I wrap myself up again, and we go back to the art room.

  Ford is back in his director's chair in the corner of Spencer'
s space, Spencer is messing with the music, and Team Rook is looking tired and bored. I'd hate to be the camera person for a reality show. It's like you do nothing but hang out until something exciting happens. Even Ford looks bored out of his mind. He's holding the tablet in his lap, reading.

  I walk over to him. "Gatsby, Odd, or Billionaire?"

  He grins and I notice that there's a dimple in his chin when the smile reaches his eyes. "Guess."

  "Gatsby," I say.

  "Correct."

  I shrug, "It was the first one on the carousel."

  "Do you like Gatsby, Rook?"

  "Never read it. I pretty much dropped out of school at sixteen, so I never got past Lord of the Flies." He's scowling at me. "What?"

  "You didn't finish high school?"

  "I took the GED. Why? Is there an educational requirement to pose naked with bikes?"

  "It surprises me, that's all. You come off as smart, like I said earlier."

  Yeah, Ronin likes the dumb ones. I shake my head at him. "You know, Ford, every time I start to like you, you act like a pretentious asshole."

  He points his finger at me. "See, that right there is what trips me up. Most drop-outs don't use the word pretentious."

  "Never mind him, Blackbird, disrobe, let's go. This is a one-piece, let's get a move on."

  Ford huffs out a laugh under his breath.

  "What?" I ask, looking back at him again.

  "You'll see," is all he says.

  Ford chats with me as Spencer paints, calling out book titles to see if I'd like to read them. He starts with classics, none of which appeal to me. He turns his nose up at every rejection, like he's taking it personally. Which I can totally see. He looks like a classics lover.

  "Just skip to the romance, Ford. Why torture yourself?"

  "Billionaires?"

  I laugh at that, along with Spencer's new fascination with my armpits. He's painting bikini strings in very interesting places. "No, I'm not into fantasy billionaires. I've got Ronin, remember?"

  My team chuckles at this dig. I think I like my team, they seem to be on my side.

  "Right, yes, I do recall that."

  "Just try the regular romances, or the ones they write for kids my age."

  He cringes at the word kid, but fuck it. Why pretend? I'm still a kid. I like being a kid, I missed a lot of kid time in my earlier life, and I'm in no hurry to grow up now, even if I am standing here naked in front of a whole room full of men.

  Ford's brow twists a little as he searches. "Coming-of-age or college life?"

  "Um, the last one I guess. Just read the description for the number one book, let's start there."

  "Ashley, the only virgin in her freshman dorm…" He stops and looks up at me. "Seriously?"

  "Keep going, it sounds good." My team is having a hard time hiding their amusement now.

  "… is desperate to be deflowered by long-time crush, Eaton Fuller. Eaton? What kind of name is that?"

  "Says the guy named Ford."

  "But that's before hot and dangerous Rowdy Breaker saves her from a spelunking adventure gone wrong. This is stupid. Spelunking gone wrong? It's so cliché."

  "One-click that sucker, Ford. Any guy called Rowdy has gotta be hot. You don't get to be number one for no reason. I'll read about Rowdy and his cave-dwelling tendencies. Hand it over."

  "We're done here, no time for books, Rook."

  "Done? You just started!"

  Ford laughs.

  I look down and if this suit was real, it'd be nothing but a bunch of rope winding around my body in strategic places. None of which happens to cross my private parts. "This isn't a bathing suit, it's rope. I look like I'm being tied up for… Oh."

  They are all laughing at me now.

  "Come on," Spencer says. "I'll walk you up."

  "Are you modeling with me this time, too?"

  Snickers from Team Everybody.

  "What?"

  "Nope, not me this time, Rook. Billy's got this privilege."

  Billy is the sexiest cowboy I've ever seen. I've never pretended the guy wasn't gorgeous to look at, because he is very easy on the eyes. But sporting all that western gear, the tight jeans, the hat, the chaps, and the boots, in combination with a new rough expression I've never seen him wear before, plus his bare chest, makes him look like he's about to bind my wrists and take me from behind.

  Whew. I have to stop and take a breath after that thought.

  This bike is a work of art. It's got a custom seat shaped like a western saddle and an entire scene depicting a bad-boy cowboy meets helpless half-naked female airbrushed on the top of the fat tank. The whole frame is a smoky black with barbed-wire running down the fenders like racing stripes.

  "Wow."

  "I love this bike, Rook," Spencer says as he stands next to me. "I've been waiting to get decent images of this one and put it online. It's not a showroom model, but a one-of-a-kind custom. I'll be sorry to sell it actually." He laughs a little under his breath. "Until I get the check, that is. Because this one's a sweet ninety-five grand."

  Holy shit.

  "Over here, Rook," Josie calls.

  I walk over to the salon and she removes the makeup from the last shoot and reapplies. I get another wig, only this time it's Farrah Fawcett à la Charlie's Angels hair, all frosted blonde highlights in big bouncy curls that fall halfway down my back. I get the natural look as far as makeup goes, and then I slip my feet into the cowgirl boots and plop the hat on my head.

  When I walk back over to the guys Spencer buckles a gun holster around my waist and then slides two revolvers inside.

  So I'm wearing boots, guns, and a hat. And my body has been painted to look like I've been tied up.

  When I look up to see what's next, every mouth is hanging open.

  Except Antoine's, because he's just coming out of his office, trying to pretend I'm fully clothed.

  "What're you assholes looking at? I've been walking around here naked all day, quit it!"

  They mumble out some incomprehensible words as I walk over to Billy.

  He's smiling. "That is fucking hot for some reason. I'm not sure why, it just is, Rook."

  I shrug. "You're pretty hot too, Billy. Maybe it's the hats?"

  He chuckles. "Yeah, the hats. OK, for this one you're my bitch. So bend the fuck over the seat, ass to the camera, and let me whack you a few good ones so your cheeks turn pink."

  "What?"

  "I'm kidding, Rook." He sits down on the western saddle seat and pulls me toward him. "Just sit in my lap to start, wrists together, because if you do that, you'll see it looks like I've bound you up."

  I put my wrists together, then Billy reaches down and adjusts them. He puts his arm around me as Antoine starts the shoot. Billy is not Spencer, he knows exactly what to do and when to do it, so I relax and just do as I'm told. I lean against him as his hands rub the side of my body in long strokes. He leans down and begins nibbling on my neck and then whispers in my ear. "Antoine liked that moaning you did last time, but he's not gonna ask for it, Rook. So give the man his photos and you'll be done sooner. That's the secret to this job. Give him what he wants and right now he wants you to look the same way with me as you do with Ronin."

  "Can I move my hands? Or do I have to pretend to be tied up?"

  "Do you want to move them?"

  "Yes."

  He repositions my body so I'm straddling the tank, leaning back on his chest like I was with Spencer. Billy has either had a lot of bike sex before, or he's got a very creative on-the-fly imagination because I'm pretty hot and bothered in a matter of seconds. He opens my legs right up, places one on the handlebars, and then reaches around to cup my breast. "Touch me, Rook."

  I reach back and grab his head, thrusting my upper body up and out. Billy's right hand caresses the leg propped up on the handlebar, then slides down and slips right up under my ass. His other hand is squeezing my breast until I squirm from the pressure. "Turn towards me, Rook." His voice is a low rumble.
>
  I turn and his mouth is right there, his kisses are just as passionate as any Ronin gave me, and his hands just as daring. His fingers are between my legs, not past any point of no return, but hovering right there, right on the edge. He rubs my lower abdomen a little, slips down, then brings his fingertips back up just when I think he's gonna slip them in farther.

  It's driving me fucking crazy. I am so horny right now it's not even funny.

  I lose track of time, of the camera, of everyone in the room. I feel his kisses, I kiss him back, but I'm not even inside my body right now, that's how worked up he has me. I'm not sure what it means, but none of this can be good for a brand-new relationship with a man who is not the one fondling me right now.

  "OK, great shots, Billy and Rook. We're done for today."

  And that's it. Antoine takes his camera and walks away.

  "You OK, Rook?" Billy asks, his voice totally normal, like he always is after a shoot.

  "Um…" Wow.

  He lifts me up off him and sets me on the ground. "Come on," he says, taking my hand as he gets off the bike. "I'll walk you to the showers."

  I have no words as we go back downstairs. Like none.

  We go in and he starts the shower for me. "You wanna talk about it?"

  I blow some air out of my cheeks. "I don't think I can do this, Billy."

  "What are ya talking about? You did great."

  "I mean, I don't think I can keep all these feelings separate."

  He laughs. "Oh, you're hot for me now?"

  "No, it's just, that felt so…"

  He grins as my words trail off. "It's OK to admit it, Rook."

  "Good, it felt good."

  "It's supposed to feel good. That's what people want to see in the pictures."

  "So you don't want to really jump my bones?"

  "Well, fuck yeah I do, but you're seeing Ronin, right? So you're off limits. I'm not an asshole, I'd never do that."

  I've got nothing for that response. I'm not sure if it helps or makes things worse.

  "Rook, when I'm working, you're just a naked body, OK? And I guarantee you, Spencer is the same way. He's got a naked girl in his lap and he'd like to finish her off and get himself some too. That's just how it is. But when the shoot stops, you're Rook again. And that's not the same thing as a naked body in our laps. It's work, Rook. Not love."