Bound by the Billionaire

by Aurora, Lexi

  Adrian made me feel sexy and desired, and even if it could only be for this trip, it was nice to remember that I could feel that way. So I let him close the door behind us as I stepped close to him, putting one hand on his shoulder and the other on the back of his neck, ready to pull him to me.

  His hands moved to my waist again, but now they were firmly set, and stroked up and down to my hips and back. It seemed like he was waiting for me, so I closed the distance between us and kissed him. His lips were soft, but the kiss was full of heat and escalated after a moment when he nipped my bottom lip and held me flush against his body. Through our clothes, I could feel the muscles of his abdomen –the ones I’d seen the night before– and even the erection that was forming.

  “If you change your mind,” Adrian murmured against my mouth, “you say the word, and we’ll stop, and you can go back to your room, and we won’t ever mention this again.”

  I could have melted. “You’re a good man, Adrian,” I whispered. “And I won’t be changing my mind.”

  Adrian put his hands on the backs of my thighs, just under my ass, and I took the cue as he picked me up to wrap my legs around his waist. Still kissing, he moved us over to his king-sized bed, letting me fall onto it as he took off his shirt.

  Laying on my back and watching him, I thought that bed must be the most luxurious thing I’d ever felt in my life. He’d only taken off his shirt when he came back down to me, kissing me again while he undid my blouse. My hands were tangled in his hair, pulling slightly, and he groaned and dropped his head to my neck when my shirt was off. While he set to work unfastening my bra, he kissed and sucked along the sensitive areas of my neck, licking the spots he set his teeth on and focusing on the places that made me whimper.

  When my bra was off, his strong, warm hands slid up my torso and cupped my breasts, and he ran his thumbs over my nipples. My back arched up as I keened under him, and he kissed from my cleavage down to my skirt-clad waist, quickly remedying that by pulling the skirt’s zipper down and tossing it to the floor. I kicked my heels off before crawling up on the bed so I could put my head back on the pillows, and Adrian followed me up.

  He settled himself between my legs, kissing my thighs but not coming close enough to where I really wanted him to be. I was so drunk on sensation that I barely felt him take my underwear off, but suddenly his mouth was on my pussy and I yelped.

  “Too much?” he asked, his voice hazy with lust and longing.

  “No no no no no,” I said rapidly. “Perfect.”

  He chuckled and kept going. He alternated using the firm tip of his tongue and the more gentle, flattened licks, eventually staying in one space and using his fingers to open me up while his tongue focused on my clit.

  When my legs started shaking, he gripped one of my thighs with his free hand so hard that I thought he might leave bruises. No… I hoped there’d be bruises.

  “A-Adrian,” I choked out, starting to feel tension in my lower stomach that I hadn’t felt so strongly in a long time.

  “I know,” was all he said before continuing his ministrations. It was only a few more moments before I was shaking uncontrollably, holding onto the bedsheets with a tight-fisted grip, and moaning without a care in the world for who might hear me.

  When I came, my thighs squeezed around Adrian’s head, but he kept going until I was completely done, gasping and spent. I didn’t have time to be at all embarrassed for nearly suffocating him with my legs – he wiped his mouth and was back to kissing me again. My hands, almost of their own accord, moved down to Adrian’s pants, and he smiled against my lips and helped me by unfastening them and pulling them off, along with his boxers.

  I pushed on his chest and he understood my meaning, rolling over so I was on top of his naked body and had a full view of the ridiculously fit man in the bed with me. I licked my palm and began to pump his fully-erect cock with my hand while he closed his eyes, let out a sharp breath, and tossed his head back against the pillows.

  I was prepared to lower my head and put my mouth around him, but he stopped me with a grunt. I looked up questioningly, and he unfolded a hand to show me a condom wrapped in gold packaging. I took the condom from him and tore it open with my teeth, putting it on him quickly. If he couldn’t wait to get to the main event, I sure as hell couldn’t, especially since I’d already climaxed once and was more than ready to do it again.

  I lowered myself onto him, both of us moaning quietly. It took me a few tries to take him fully; he was bigger than I’d expected, but he stayed still, holding onto my hips and letting me take my time. Once he’d bottomed out inside of me, I was so euphoric I couldn’t help giggling. Adrian watched me, smirking in a way that was even sexier when I saw his dark blue eyes were so blown with arousal.

  When he started moving his hips, though, I stopped giggling and bit my lip, feeling every little sensation coursing through me. I met his thrusts with my own, riding him while he held onto my waist and guided me in a way that was equally pleasurable for the both of us. I never once stopped to think about how long we were going, just how good it felt.

  When he reached up to rub my clit with his thumb, moving in small circles, I gasped and threw my head back. My inner walls were tightening again, so I knew he could tell I was close. I was trying to hold back a little, knowing a second orgasm would probably overwhelm me and I’d have to stop, but Adrian kept going and, if anything, went faster.

  “Come for me, Scar,” he said, his voice strained. “I’m right behind you, baby.”

  That was all the affirmation I needed to let go and climax a second time. I was panting as my heart pounded inside my chest, but when I saw Adrian’s eyes shut tightly and his jaw clench, I was filled with adoring emotion, dropping my head to his chest as he came inside me.

  We rested like that for a second, Adrian relinquishing his grip on me and sighing. He stroked my back gently until I no longer felt quite so wobbly, and then pushed up and off him, collapsing at his side. I felt him pull the condom off and toss it out as I made myself comfortable. I was far too hot to crawl under the covers, but not so hot that I wouldn’t take Adrian’s outstretched arm as an invitation to curl up against him.

  “Thanks,” I said, still catching my breath.

  “Right back at you.” Adrian already sounded more put-together than I did, but I figured he had more experience in this area. He knew how to make a quick recovery.

  “No, really,” I said. “I wasn’t even sure I could still enjoy sex like that.”

  “A good lay will change your life,” Adrian said, a smug smile on his face. “A really good lay reminds you that you are alive.”

  “Do you always get philosophical after sex?” I asked, looking up at him.

  “Only when it’s great sex,” he replied, kissing the top of my head.

  I didn’t end up using my own room key the whole rest of the trip.

  Afterword

  ADRIAN

  I couldn’t have asked for a better punishment than going to Spain with Scarlett.

  What could I say? We kept our money thanks to her thorough investigation, during which she proved that at least one document was falsified by William Sarajevo’s ancestor, and that multiple claims were mixed in with similar traders, so there was not enough concrete evidence to prove we owed the guy anything. I didn’t understand the fine details, but I left that up to Scarlett’s genius.

  Sarajevo later apologized to us personally – me, my mother, my sister, and Scarlett. He said he was sorry he’d wasted our time and ensured us he was only trying to do what he thought was right, explaining his only real motivation behind making the claim was to send his four daughters to college, but if he’d known any of it was false he wouldn’t have pursued it. Obviously, we weren’t going to hold a grudge.

  Scarlett had looked sad after he left. When I asked her what was wrong, she told me that if it hadn’t been for her genius as a child, she likely wouldn’t have gone to college at all. She understood the position Sarajevo’
s family was in.

  Quietly, Alison and I transferred a quarter of a million dollars to Sarajevo, on the condition it be used for his daughters’ education.

  It only came out a few months later that we’d done anything. I hadn’t heard much from Scarlett in that time, only a quick thank-you call out of courtesy when I’d paid her the twenty-five thousand dollars we owed her for her work. After I sent the money to Sarajevo, she called again.

  “I just wanted to say congratulations,” she told me. “I haven’t seen your face –or other parts of your body– as much as I used to. You know, in the tabloids and such.”

  “You miss seeing my body?” I asked, only half-teasing.

  “Ha. Who wouldn’t?” Then her voice got more serious. “It’s really, really good of you to do what you did for that man’s family. And then to not make a big deal of it – I barely even knew.”

  “Well, it was for a good cause. And how’s your payment working out?”

  “I’m leading a team to completely revamp the history department at our sister school. Some of their textbooks still mention that we can’t know how the Cold War will end,” Scarlett said. I smiled. Of course that’s what she was doing with the money.

  “So, what, no Bahamian vacations?”

  “I’m actually quite partial to Western Europe.”

  I felt my heart beat a little faster.

  “What a coincidence. So am I. An even bigger coincidence… I’m going there next weekend.”

  “Well, I’m sure that will be lovely.”

  “What, you expect me to go alone?” I grinned. “I bought two tickets.” I hadn’t bought any tickets, actually, but that was a minor detail.

  “Have fun with Alison, I suppose.”

  “Come on, Scarlett,” I groaned.

  “I want to hear you say it.”

  “Scarlett Quinnes, will you please do me the honor of accompanying me to Spain next weekend?”

  I heard her laugh. It was a sound I hadn’t realized I missed so terribly until I heard it again.

  “Sure, but that’s Doctor Scarlett Quinnes.”

  THE END

  Bonus 4: The Lusty Lord

  A Historical Regency Romance

  Chapter 1: Julian

  “I think he was murdered,” my brother said to me as we stood next to our father’s casket, looking down at the body inside. My father had a grim expression on his face, one that made him look stern even in death. It was a look that I had seen often in my youth, back when I was particularly fond of doing things that would earn his scorn.

  I snapped a look over at Jason, my eyes going wide. The funeral was to start in two hours and the two of us were looking over everything before the guests arrived. It promised to be a massive event—Lord Jacob Castellano was well-beloved among his subjects. As earl, he had done a great many things to improve the quality of life in town and in the surrounding areas after his father had all but destroyed their economy. In just an hour, this room would be full of nobility and the very wealthy, people who knew Father better than I had gotten to know him in my thirty years of being alive.

  “What are you talking about?” I asked my brother.

  “I think he was poisoned,” said Jason, looking at me with anxious eyes. He looked terrible, like he hadn’t slept since Father had passed away in his sleep five days ago. I knew that he had a lot to do; he had inherited Father’s title and was a high-ranking member of society now, someone who had a whole world on his shoulders. My brother had also been much closer to him than I had been; Jason was the heir, and Father had been training him to take over since the moment he could start to learn. My father had mostly ignored me when he wasn’t chiding me for something, and his death caused me more numbness and concern for Jason than grief.

  “He died in his sleep, Jason,” I said in a low voice. Father’s death had been unexpected, but I hadn’t suspected anything foul about it. “Peters said—“

  “I don’t care what Peters said,” Jason hissed back. He didn’t like the doctor who’d taken care of Father’s body. Nobody did. “He’s a drunk.”

  “Why would you think that he was murdered?” I asked my brother.

  “I…“ Jason began, but was cut off when somebody entered the room. I looked at him for a long moment before turning my attention to the person who had entered, father’s personal valet, a man named Roger who had been with Father since before Jason or I had been born.

  “Hello, Roger,” I said to him. I saw that he looked tired, too, and there was emotion written all over his face. If anybody was the most upset about the death of my father, it was Roger, who had been working for him for the past fifty years.

  “Morning, my lord,” said the old man. “I just wanted a moment with your father before everybody arrives, if you don’t mind.”

  I nodded at him, giving him the courtesy of looking away from the feelings that were threatening to overwhelm him. I looked over at Jason and he nodded, too. Both of us left the room so that Roger could be alone with the body before the funeral started.

  I put my hand on my brother’s arm and pulled him into the back hallway of the cathedral where the funeral was taking place.

  “Tell me what you’re talking about, Jason,” I told him, looking him in the eye. His gaze was unlike him, almost cold. My brother was typically the opposite of me in every way; where he was golden-haired and blue-eyed, broad of the shoulder, I was tall and slim with dark eyes and brown locks. He was also the one who was typically the warmest. I could tell just by looking at his face that he was completely serious about what he was saying.

  “Markwell,” he said. “I think Markwell had something to do with it.”

  “You think Markwell poisoned Father?” I asked, incredulous. The Baron of Highchester, Lord Markwell, was one of Father’s closest friends and confidants, as far as I knew. “Why would he do that?”

  “I don’t know,” said Jason, running his hand through his already messy hair. He shook his head. “I’ve got to find out.”

  “Markwell will be here this evening,” I said to him. “Are you going to say something to him?”

  “Of course not,” Jason said, sighing. “But I’m going to keep an eye on him.”

  I nodded. I didn’t believe my brother at all. I thought that he was being paranoid, that not sleeping was getting to him. I looked at him with concern, noting how pale he appeared, how drained. He was on edge, too, his whole body tensed up, jaw clenched tight. His eyes were wide and almost feverish.

  “Are you going to be okay, Jason?” I asked him, putting my hand out to squeeze his shoulder. My brother and I had always been close, despite the fact that he’d often been too busy with Father to play with me as a child. He was only two years older than I and we’d gone through our classical education together.

  “I have to be okay,” he said, rubbing his hand over his mouth. He sighed. “Do you believe me?”

  I looked at him for a long moment, unsure of what to say.

  “I think that we need to talk about it more,” I told him. “But now is not the time. Guests will be arriving shortly and we have to greet them.”

  Jason nodded, looking defeated. He’d noticed that I hadn’t answered his question, and probably knew that it meant I didn’t believe him. There was no reason to suspect that Father had been poisoned. As far as I knew, he had no enemies. He was well-loved among his peers, though he had the tendency to be sharp with those in service to him.

  “I am sorry, brother,” I told him. “I know that this is hard for you.”

  “As it should be for you,” he said, looking at my face with a sternness not unlike Father’s. Jason didn’t understand the relationship I’d had with our father, what the dynamic had been like.

  I only stared back at him, unable to respond to his statement. Instead, I turned around and went back into the area where father’s body lay. I saw that Roger was sitting in the front pew, his hands clasped as if in prayer. His eyes were closed and I did not disturb him, instead sweeping p
ast him down the aisle and outside. It was a dark, dismal day, one that made it seem as if the sun was a long-forgotten memory, something warm and fuzzy that used to be but no longer was. The clouds were dark and heavy, the day as dreary as the mood. Still, I stood outside, enjoying the cool air compared to the stuffiness of the cathedral. I was disturbed by my brother’s allegations and couldn’t help but let my mind wander to Markwell. I didn’t know much about the man, only that he was close to Father and that he had always made me slightly uncomfortable. He had eyes that were paler than Jason’s—almost a blue as pale as ice. It was hard to look at them directly, and I knew that was something that Markwell used to his advantage.

  I waited outside under an umbrella as the attendees began to pull up in their carriages. Some of them had brought boys with them to tend to the horses during the ceremony but others hadn’t. I gestured for two of the servants to assist those who hadn’t brought attendants and greeted the people as they arrived. Though I hadn’t been a big part of the business dealings, I had always been required to attend the lavish parties and gatherings with other members of nobility. I learned their faces over my childhood and remembered most of them by name. Many of them greeted me solemnly, a few with small smiles or condolences. I watched as they made their way into the cathedral a few at a time.

  When Markwell showed up, I noted that he cast me a flickering smile when he saw me. His eyes, again, were cold and pale, disconcerting even on the brightest of days. I couldn’t stop thinking about what my brother had told me as I eyed the baron, whose arm was wrapped around his wife’s waist, guiding her into the building. Though many of Father’s closest friends looked reasonably upset, Markwell looked mostly unaffected. I knew, though, that the only reason I made any note of it was that my brother had brought Markwell to my attention. There was nothing unusual about the way he was acting. It made me even more worried for my brother, and I wondered how he would react to Markwell, and whether or not this was going to be an even bigger problem than I realized.