The Billionaire's Game: The Billionaire's Obsession ~ Kade

by J. S. Scott

First, reverting to old habits, she closed her eyes in silent resignation, waiting for the fatal cut.

  But almost immediately, she decided her life and the people she had come to love were worth it to at least go down fighting. In a flash, she saw Kade, Max, Maddie, and all the other people who had helped her find value in herself.

  She fought for them.

  And she battled for her life.

  Because she finally felt worthy.

  She didn’t deserve to die.

  Unfortunately, she wasn’t sure her resolve was going to be enough.

  “What the fuck do you mean? He’s gone? Where?” Kade barked at Travis as he drove, raising his voice in frustration as he talked to his brother on his phone connection from his car.

  “We don’t know,” Travis answered gravely. “The police went to pick him up on a warrant and he’d disappeared. Nobody had seen him in days. Obviously he got wind of the fact that he was going to be arrested and fled. We removed the two women he’d raped and assaulted who were in his employ to get them some help. It probably tipped him off.”

  “Shit!” Kade slammed his hand on the steering wheel. “We need to find the bastard. He needs to be in jail.”

  “He could have flown back to India. We’re looking for him. But he could be long gone,” Travis answered unhappily.

  “Asha and those women deserve to have justice done,” Kade replied angrily. “The world would be a better place without him in it.”

  “You need to keep a cool head until we find him,” Travis warned sternly. “Are you going to tell Asha?”

  Kade gripped the steering wheel hard, his hatred for the man who had hurt Asha out of control. “What? That her ex-husband raped and assaulted two of his employees? Or that he’s running around free after doing it?” He took a deep breath, trying to calm his desire for violence. “Yeah. I won’t lie to her. I’ll tell her the truth. I know her and I know the fact that he hurt other women will haunt her, but she deserves to know.”

  “It won’t change anything,” Travis pointed out rationally.

  “It won’t,” Kade agreed. “But I won’t have secrets between us. And she’ll probably have to become involved with the case, probably testify.”

  “The guy is warped. If he knows the police are after him, he probably knows the original investigation came from us,” Travis said distractedly.

  Kade’s whole body went tense, his mind suddenly fixed on a nightmare scenario. “You think he’d go after Asha?” He could barely voice the possibility.

  “Doubtful,” Travis replied immediately. “He’s on the run. But I think you should keep an eye on her until he’s found.”

  “I’m almost there. I’m taking her home with me. She belongs with me,” Kade said, putting his foot down on the accelerator of his Lamborghini to get him to Asha’s apartment as fast as he could get there. Something about this whole situation didn’t feel right, and some primitive instinct was gnawing at his gut to get to Asha.

  “Kade, I know you care about this woman, but—”

  “I don’t just care about her, I fucking love her,” Kade interrupted his brother furiously. “I love her so much that I can’t think straight. I want to kill anyone who hurts her, and I can’t stand the thought of her having one moment of unhappiness after all she’s been through. I think about her all day long, and I dream about her at night. There’s no hope on this one, Trav. She’s it for me. She’s my life now. I’m right there with Simon, Sam, and Max.” It was a place he’d never dreamed he’d one day be, but he didn’t regret it.

  Travis sighed. “Shit,” he mumbled irritably. “So I’m going to be the only survivor. The only sane guy in our group?”

  “I’m not so sure sane is all that great,” Kade replied. “It’s lonely and dark. I’d rather be certifiable and have Asha in my life.”

  “Don’t expect me to visit you in the psych ward after she dumps you. I haven’t found a woman yet who’s worth losing my common sense over,” Travis drawled, his tone dark and broody.

  Kade knew Travis was putting on a front, a mask for all the emotions that lay behind the cynicism. He gave Travis his usual answer. “You’re an asshole.”

  “I know,” Travis answered agreeably.

  Kade turned a sharp corner, his mind focused on Asha. “I’m almost there. I’ll call you later,” Kade told Travis impatiently.

  “Something’s up. I can feel it. Be careful,” Travis said soberly.

  Kade didn’t question Travis’s intuition. They were twins, and sometimes they could sense each other’s emotions. And, although Travis would never admit it, he had a rather eerie ability to read and feel future events. Only Travis knew if it was just incredible intuition, or if there was more to his ability. He refused to talk much about it.

  “Later,” Kade replied simply, clicking the button to end their communication as he pulled into the parking lot of Asha’s apartment building, and jumped out of the car the moment he killed the engine.

  The sound of sirens wailing, sounding like they were headed in his direction, made Kade’s entire body tense as he jogged awkwardly toward the building, knowing he wasn’t going to relax until he saw for himself that Asha was safe.

  “Fuck! She’s coming home with me tonight and she’s staying forever,” Kade whispered harshly to himself as he reached the elevator, pushing the up button impatiently.

  Kade’s patience was gone, and all he could think about was keeping Asha beside him where she belonged before he lost his mind.

  His jaw set, his mind made up, the elevator door closed on Kade’s stony, determined expression as he jammed the button for her floor, more than ready to throw Asha over his shoulder and take her home—whether she was ready or not.

  Asha put all of the rage from her oppressed years into her life-and-death battle with Ravi, but it wasn’t enough. He had her on the floor, his pungent body odor nearly gagging her. Her ex-husband’s temper had always been on a short leash, blaming the world for his problems and taking them all out on her. But something was different, the wild look in his eyes telling her his mind had completely snapped. It was obvious he hadn’t showered in days, and his number-one priority was seeing her dead. At one time, she’d been afraid he would kill her by injury during a beating. Now, her death seemed to be his only purpose, his sole intent.

  Her arms pinned to her side by Ravi’s weight, Asha tried to buck him off her body, but she could barely budge him, his substantially heavier weight and level of strength hampering her efforts. He grasped her braid, using it as a weapon to keep her head still as he brought the knife to her vulnerable neck. Ranting in Telugu, he increased the pressure, the edge of the knife beginning to cut into her skin, but he didn’t make the final slice.

  Asha knew exactly what he wanted, and part of her wanted to beg for her life, but it wouldn’t matter. Hadn’t she begged his forgiveness in the past for perceived slights or wrongs that she hadn’t committed? It hadn’t saved her from a horrific beating, and begging wouldn’t save her now. Staying mute, she met his dark, crazy eyes with a defiant stare, something she never would have done in the past. He was going to kill her, but she’d never apologize for who and what she was ever again.

  She was Asha Paritala, daughter of a progressive Indian man who had helped Indian women become successful in America.

  And the man above her was nothing but her murderer.

  Prepared for a fatal blow, Asha was stunned as Ravi was lifted from her body faster than her eyes could follow, his body flung backward and onto the floor at her feet. Sitting up, she scrambled backward, watching in fascinated horror as Tate Colter easily stripped Ravi of the sharp knife, and left him lying on her floor bleeding, with a single and incredibly powerful strike to the face. Flipping the older Indian man over, Tate put a knee in his back, keeping him immobile as he dialed the police on a cell phone he’d pulled from his pocket.

&nb
sp; “H-how d-did you know?” Asha asked Tate as he replaced the phone in his pocket and looked at her, his eyes running over her body clinically, as though he were looking for injuries.

  “Travis texted me,” he answered vaguely.

  “Travis?” Asha tried to wrap her mind around the fact that Tate and Travis knew each other, but her whole body was trembling in reaction to her close call with death. “Are you a cop?”

  “Friend. And ex-military Special Forces,” Tate answered shortly. “You okay?” His voice became gentler and more concerned. “Your neck is bleeding.”

  “Yeah. I think so,” she replied, knowing she was lucky to still be breathing. Considering the alternative, she was all right. She placed her hand to her neck, and it came away smeared with blood. “Just a scratch.”

  Tate nodded toward the bathroom. “You better clean it up before—”

  “What the fuck happened?” Kade’s roar reverberated through the room.

  “—Kade gets here,” Tate finished solemnly.

  Asha turned and looked up at Kade, her heart still hammering from the stress of her near-death experience and her body trembling with reaction. Wrapping her arms around herself, she opened her mouth to answer, but Kade pulled her to her feet and started examining her cut before she could get any words out.

  “The bastard cut you.” Enraged, Kade tipped her head back gently, looking at the cut and then back at the man who Tate had restrained. “I don’t suppose he’s dead?” Kade asked Tate dangerously.

  “Naw. I just coldcocked him. Police are on the way.” Tate shot Kade a dubious glance. “She needs that cut cleaned.”

  “Bathroom’s that way. I think you should take her. You know first aid better than I do,” Kade said, his voice alarmingly low and guttural.

  “I’m not leaving you alone with him. I promised Travis I wouldn’t. I understand your anger, Kade, but he’ll pay for what he’s done,” Tate answered, applying more weight to Ravi’s back as he woke, babbling in angry Telugu.

  Hearing the voice of her ex-husband again had Asha shaking with reaction. “Take me out of here, Kade. Please.” Her whole world was tilting, confusion and fear getting the better of her at the moment.

  “Take her. She needs you. Don’t let your anger override everything else. It will ruin you. Taking a life, good or bad, changes a man,” Tate told Kade harshly, his smoky gray eyes slightly haunted. “Make Asha your priority right now.”

  Kade scooped Asha up from the couch and wrapped her in his embrace. “She’s always going to be my priority,” Kade said hoarsely.

  Tate nodded once in understanding, watching Kade as he picked up Asha to take her shivering form to the bathroom. Kade moved around the sofa, looking down at the man on the floor under Tate’s knee with undisguised hatred. He stepped over his body with one foot, the other landing on the man’s outstretched hand, Kade’s heavily booted foot putting all of his weight down and grinding hard as Ravi screamed with pain. It was more than enough force and weight to crush several bones and break a few fingers.

  “That’s for Asha and the other women you raped, you sick bastard,” Kade growled, moving forward with Asha still in his arms.

  Tate smirked.

  The police stormed the apartment with Ravi still screaming in pain.

  His attention all on Asha, Kade never looked back.

  Later that night, Asha sat in the middle of Kade’s bed, devouring a sandwich and watching him pace the bedroom floor. He’d been ranting for hours, and he didn’t look like he was the least bit wound down. After he’d brought her back to his house, taken care of her, made sure she had a tray of food and was safe and sound, he’d started rattling off a list of things he was going to do to keep her safe.

  “I know you want to heal and be independent, but you can do those things right here with me. I want you under my protection,” Kade continued his reasoning gruffly.

  Asha watched him with a lustful eye as she nibbled at her sandwich. Wearing only a pair of pajama bottoms, he looked incredibly hot and one hundred percent stubborn, ornery male. “I’d rather be under you personally,” Asha whispered longingly under her breath. She was wearing the top of his pajamas, and she could smell his tantalizing scent all over the garment.

  “Did you say something?” Kade asked impatiently, turning around and pinning her with a sharp glance.

  Asha waved her hand. “No, no. Go on.” She covered her mouth with her hand, hiding a smile. She had gotten over her post near-death shock hours ago, and there was no place she felt safer than here in Kade’s bedroom with him stalking around her like a pissed-off big cat.

  She realized his tirade wasn’t directed at her. It was directed at himself on her behalf. She needed to stop him soon, calm him down and make him realize that none of this was his fault. But watching his possessive, obsessive behavior toward her was just a little intoxicating.

  When he stopped speaking to take a breath, she asked curiously, “So Tate Colter is another rich guy? A friend of yours?” They’d been to the police station to give a statement, and Tate had been there, but Asha hadn’t really been able to talk to him for long. She was still reeling from the truth of what her husband had done to his two female employees and just how vile he truly was.

  “Travis’s buddy. I know him through Travis, but he’s been friends with Travis since college.”

  “And he was your spy?” Asha asked innocently.

  “It wasn’t like that,” Kade answered irritably. “Colter wanted to get out of Colorado until his leg healed. The winters are brutal and he was in a cast, on crutches. Travis found him a place.”

  “And that just happened to be across the hall from me? In the same apartment building? Why couldn’t he stay with Travis? Or at least get a nicer place if he’s that rich?” Asha hesitated for a moment before adding, “And how did he meet some woman in such a short length of time?”

  Kade grimaced. “The woman was his sister. She’s happily engaged, but she wanted to see Tate and make sure he was feeling all right after the accident. Yeah. Okay. We sort of thought it would be nice to have Tate there to watch out for you. You took off without contacting anyone. You obviously didn’t want me or anyone else you knew around. Tate volunteered and we set up the apartment for him. Yeah…he’s filthy rich, but he’s lived everywhere. What he told you about being Special Forces was true. ”

  “I thought he was my friend,” Asha said wistfully, disappointed that Tate had only hung around with her because of Travis and Kade.

  “He is your friend. Believe me…if Colter didn’t like you, he’d watch out for you, but he wouldn’t give you the time of day. Tate’s pretty raw. Just like Travis.” Stopping in the middle of the room, Kade eyed her speculatively. “You like him?”

  Asha shrugged. “Yeah. I do like him, even though he was only sent on a spying mission by you and Travis.”

  “He wasn’t a damn spy. He was just there to help if you needed him. You were alone,” Kade grumbled. “But I still want to kick his ass for approving that car.” After a slight hesitation, Kade asked, “How much do you like him?”

  Asha looked up at him, startled. Kade’s voice was radiating jealousy, and his jaw muscles were twitching. In spite of those facts, he looked vulnerable.

  “I like him as a friend. He was nice to me. He joked around with me. I haven’t ever really had that before with a friend.” She sighed. “But he’s not you and he never will be.” Asha slid off the bed and went to stand in front of Kade, never breaking eye contact. “When I thought I was going to die, the only thing I really regretted is that I never told you how I felt about you. Maybe I shouldn’t tell you now, but I don’t ever want to feel that way again. I want you to know exactly how I feel with no regrets.”

  “Tell me,” Kade said huskily.

  “I love you,” Asha said in a low whisper, barely able to get the words out over the lump in her throa
t. “I know you didn’t ask for it and you probably don’t want it, but it’s there, and I’m tired of trying to bury it. You’re the one I was longing for in that picture I drew of myself, the hunger that I thought would never be satisfied. I think I’ve longed for you my whole life. I just didn’t know it.”

  “Tell me you really mean it,” Kade demanded. “But I’m warning you, I’m never fucking letting you go if you do. Oh hell, I’m never letting you go, anyway. But I want you to tell me.”

  “I mean it. But I don’t want you to feel obligated because—”

  Her words were effectively stopped by his mouth seizing hers, his hands on both sides of her head to keep her still as he devoured her. His kiss was alternately carnal and adoring, demanding and giving, his tongue and lips owning her, yet also giving himself to her. He grasped her ass, picking her up, his lips never breaking contact.

  Asha found herself on the bed, Kade having hastily removed her tray of food, making his way to his closet, and returning with several of his ties. He dropped the ties on the bed and began unbuttoning his pajama shirt, baring her breasts as he came to the last button. “You look sexy as hell in my shirt, but I need you naked,” he rasped, his expression serious and eerily calm.

  She watched him, confused, as he looped a tie around her wrist and secured it over her head, repeating it with the other wrist. Too shocked to react when he was binding her, she finally asked in a perplexed voice, “What are you doing?”

  “Tying you to the bed,” Kade remarked absently, testing the ties to make sure they were secure.

  Asha knew she should be mortified, but the feeling of being naked and at Kade’s mercy made her pussy flood with heat. His solid, muscular body leaned over her and slipped her panties down her legs sensually, letting them glide along her legs until he pulled them completely off.

  Kade had barely said a word since she’d blurted out her feelings for him, and his silence was becoming uncomfortable to her psyche, but his actions were heating her body to dangerous temperatures. “I can see that. Are you going to tell me why?” she questioned nervously. She’d literally put her life in Kade’s hands, but she’d never seen him quite like this.