Breaker's Point Bad Boy Billionaires Boxset

by Morgan, M. G.

  His hand cupped the side of her cheek, his fingers gentle against the curve of her face and Holly’s mind went completely blank.

  She knew she was supposed to push him away, tell him to keep his hands to himself. Instead, the only thing she was completely sure of was that she didn’t want him to release her, she wanted more.

  Riley’s face inched closer, his warm breath fanning across her face as he sank in against her and Holly wrapped her arms around his neck.

  Her lips parted as her breath caught in the back of her throat and the moment his mouth brushed against hers, Holly melted into his body. Riley didn’t hesitate and Holly felt him take the invitation her body offered him, his arms tightening around her as his hands roamed down over the curve of her back to the swell of her hips.

  The kiss deepened, his mouth still gentle and teasing, and it was enough to drive Holly to the edge.

  She wanted him.

  Had always wanted him and what he was offering her now was a kind of sweet torture.

  Riley’s tongue slid along the curve of her lips and she opened to him, like a flower opening to the first light of morning. His touch rekindled Holly’s passion, something she thought had died the moment he’d taken her heart and smashed it into pieces that fateful night he’d ended it all.

  The pain of that night crashed over her and it was enough to cause her to still in Riley’s arms but it didn’t come soon enough.

  “What the hell is going on?”

  The sound of Marcus’ voice filled Holly with such a cold dread that without thinking about what she was actually doing, she found herself shrinking in against Riley’s chest.

  It was the wrong move and the moment she did it, she regretted it.

  “So this is what goes on while I’m out?” Marcus’ voice had dropped to a menacing whisper, one that crawled across her skin and made her shudder.

  “Holly, I’m here, just say the word and I can help.” Riley’s face was filled with such sincerity and the way he kept his arms around her, cradling her against him made her want to tell him everything.

  But one look at Marcus was enough to kill all thoughts of Riley ever finding out the truth.

  “I want to be with you, Holly, I…”

  She shook her head and pushed out of his arms. The moment she broke free of him the world seemed darker, colder. Of course the look of surprise on Riley’s face didn’t make it any easier.

  “I can’t. I told you I want you to leave me alone.”

  It hurt to say the words but what choice did she have? Marcus held all the cards and how could she act selfishly if it meant endangering all those she cared about?

  “I don’t understand…”

  “Riley, please…”

  Marcus moved faster than Holly could have possibly anticipated, his hand closing around her arm as he jerked her towards the door.

  Pain jolted up through her arm as his hand twisted roughly, drawing a small whimper from her.

  “Marcus, please, I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking.” She pleaded with him, the words sticking in the back of her throat as she gritted them out from between her teeth.

  The last thing she ever wanted to give him was the satisfaction of having her beg for mercy. But the situation warranted some form of action or Riley was going to believe he should interfere to help her.

  “You know the deal, Holly, and I’m nobody’s fool.”

  He towed her towards the door, his grip bruising as he shoved her out into the hall.

  “Get your hands off her.” Riley’s voice was strained as though he was struggling to control his emotions. Holly stared hard at him, determined to make him understand with her eyes that he needed to just leave but Riley was far too honourable for something like that.

  Holly tried to place herself between the two hulking men that towered over her in an attempt to force them apart but it was too late.

  The moment Riley’s hand closed over Marcus’ arm the air crackled with tension. The small smile that curled Marcus’ lips told Holly he’d been waiting for Riley to make the first move, an excuse. Not that Marcus had ever needed an excuse for violence in the past, but something had obviously changed to make him more cautious.

  Marcus shoved Holly hard, the sudden movement sending her sprawling across the marble tile of the hall.

  The dull thud of Marcus’ meaty fist slamming into Riley filled her ears as she scrambled to her feet. Scanning the area for something, anything to help her end the fight, her eyes fell on a glass vase that sat on the only small table left in the hall.

  She could still remember the day her mother had brought it home and how pleased she seemed to be with her purchase.

  The only reason it still sat in the hall now and hadn’t been sold in the last auction where the rest of the furniture had ended up at was because it was virtually worthless. Sentimental value didn’t have a price tag that could pay debts and so she’d kept it.

  A constant reminder of a time when things had been different.

  Holly didn’t hesitate. Grabbing the vase, she raised her arm above her head and brought it down hard on the back of Marcus’ neck. The glass shattered, the pieces scattering into the air.

  Riley was on the floor, his face bloodied and his eyes closed. Holly’s heart clenched in her chest as she stared down at him, praying for him to breathe, to move, to give her some sign that he was alive and that Marcus’ enjoyment of violence hadn’t driven him to murder.

  Of course the vase wasn’t enough to do any real damage to Marcus and he turned on her, rage flashing in his eyes.

  “You stupid bitch, what the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  “I won’t let you kill him. You told me when we made the deal that the people I cared about wouldn’t get hurt.”

  “That was before I walked in on you two humping in my living room.”

  “It’s not your living room, not until we’re married. And it was just a kiss.”

  Holly stood her ground as Marcus closed in on her, one small shard of the glass vase still clutched in her hand. His hand snaked out. It was large enough to engulf her face if he wanted. Instead he gripped her chin in his fingers, the grip hard and punishing, enough to bring tears to her eyes.

  She swallowed them back. He was a monster but she’d promised herself that she would never give him her tears. He wasn’t worthy of them.

  “This is my house. You live here because I allow it and your loved ones live because I say they can. The next time you screw up I won’t be so gentle and one of them will die.”

  “If you hurt them, you’ll get nothing. Without me and the weight my name carries, your plan is worthless.”

  Marcus smiled and Holly felt the first real tendrils of terror creep around her spine.

  “There are other ways to gain the respect your name carries, Holly.”

  She tried to move away from him as he wrapped his other hand around her waist but his grip was vice-like and there was no escape. He spun her in his arms, dragging her body back against his, the bitter scent of sweat and alcohol burning at the back of her nose as he pressed his hand over her stomach.

  “I could always breed you like the bitch you are. Our child would give me and my business all the respect and authority I could ever dream of.”

  Holly didn’t wait for him to continue. The thought of him ever touching her intimately filled her with revulsion. Tightening her grip on the shard of glass still clutched in her fist, she jammed it down into the hand he had pressed over her stomach.

  Marcus roared, the sound vibrating through Holly’s back that was pressed tight to his chest. He jerked away from her, blood dripping down over the back of his hand.

  “If you ever touch me like that I’ll kill you.” Her voice trembled with the adrenaline that coursed through her veins.

  Marcus studied her, the seconds ticking slowly by as Holly waited for him to make his next move. She knew that whatever he planned to do would hurt but facing his anger was far better than whatever devious p
lans he could dream up.

  His laughter caught her by surprise, the sound of it crawling over her skin like dozens of tiny spiders on the march.

  “Gotta admire a woman who fights her corner.” He took a step in her direction and Holly held the glass shard in front of her like a weapon.

  Marcus raised his hands in surrender but Holly could tell he was simply mocking her. They both knew that she didn’t honestly stand a chance against him, not if he truly made his mind up to do her serious harm.

  “You don’t need to worry though, the thought of seeing your pasty rolls of fat jiggling around as I showed you what it’s like to have a real man makes me want to hurl.”

  His laughter disappeared as his expression hardened once more. “But make no mistake, Holly, I’ll do whatever it takes to get what I want. The terms of our deal aren’t set in stone.”

  Marcus stalked past her. “Dump his ass out of here,” Marcus said to Victor as he gestured in Riley’s direction.

  With Marcus gone, Holly let out the breath she’d been holding. His threat wasn’t an idle one and she knew it. Hurrying over to Riley, Holly dropped to her knees next to him, her hands hesitating over his bruised and battered body.

  “Riley, please wake up.” She finally found the courage to brush her fingers against his cheek but it wasn’t enough to wake him.

  His chest rose and fell with each breath he took and for that Holly was grateful. Marcus had done a nasty number on him but he was still alive. Bruises and cuts would heal.

  Victor grabbed her arm and as he tried to drag her onto her feet, Holly pressed a kiss to her fingertips and brushed her hand against Riley’s face.

  “I’m so sorry, Riley, I only hope you can forgive me.”

  Victor pushed her aside before moving to grab Riley with one of the other guards that had appeared. Her tears finally started to fall as they carried Riley through the front door and out of sight.

  Chapter 5

  “You know you should have gone to the hospital, right?” Anderson said, his baritone voice rumbling through Riley’s skull until he was certain the bones were coming apart at the seams.

  “Go to the hospital and start up some sort of scandal? That’s the last thing I need to do. I need Marcus to think he’s gotten away with this.”

  “Hasn’t he?” Anderson pushed himself up in the chair he had slumped into from the moment he’d arrived and straightened his cuff-links.

  It never ceased to amaze Riley the way Anderson always appeared immaculately turned out no matter the time of day. Even now as the early morning sun started to shine in through the windows and glint off Anderson’s perfectly styled blond hair, he was dressed as though he expected to suddenly saunter down some designer’s runway. It was something Riley had always admired but had never managed to achieve himself.

  As Riley’s oldest and most loyal friend, calling him up to come over had seemed like the best idea at the time. But his constant insistence that Riley should have gone to the hospital was beginning to grate. Stuart would have understood his need to keep the beating he’d taken from Marcus a secret. But then Stuart would have also insisted on confronting Marcus himself and that wasn’t something Riley could allow.

  He hadn’t taken Marcus’ beating, stayed silent and still on the floor as Marcus threatened Holly just to let all he’d learned go to waste because his brother’s temper got the better of him.

  Riley would pay Marcus back for everything he’d done but he would do it his way.

  “No he hasn’t. Whose side are you on, anyway?” Riley said, pressing the ice pack a little too hard against his face.

  His entire body burned with pain. Marcus had made sure he would be nothing more than a walking bruise and from the black and purple marks that decorated his chest, he was almost certain his ribs were cracked. But all of that would heal.

  What really stung was knowing that Holly wouldn’t come to him with any of this. She was in trouble, real honest to goodness danger, and still she behaved as though it was nothing she couldn’t handle.

  Hearing Marcus threaten her had almost been Riley’s undoing and he knew if she hadn’t reacted the way she did he’d have blown his own cover. The thought of that monster ever laying one finger on her was enough to make Riley want to march over there and end him. The only problem with that plan was knowing that Marcus’ guards wouldn’t ever let him get close enough to put a bullet between that bastard’s eyes.

  “Are you sure you don’t have a concussion? You keep on drifting off into your own thoughts.”

  “I’ve taken worse beatings than this, Anderson, and you know it.”

  “I don’t know so much. He seems to be pretty skilled. I know you can defend yourself and yet you’re a mess.”

  “That’s because I didn’t defend myself. I let him take me down…”

  Anderson’s shocked expression made Riley smile.

  “Are you mad? You let him beat you into paste and you didn’t even try and stop him? You’ve really lost your mind now and I refuse to help a mad man.”

  Riley laughed, the movement sending a jolt of pain down through his ribs and out his side.

  “I know you don’t want to hear it but are you sure you’re doing the right thing? By the sounds of it, Holly doesn’t want your help. I mean, she did just let you get beaten to a pulp by her fiancé.”

  “And what was she supposed to do? She tried to draw him off me and, well, I’m stubborn. What happened is my fault and if I’d known it was as serious as it is I wouldn’t have gone over there the way I did.”

  “So what are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to spoil his plans. Holly came to me initially because she was worried about Grey Mattheson’s interest in the charity she set up here in Breaker’s Point. He was growing increasingly insistent that she let him in on the board of directors and he’d gone so far as to threaten her and the charity.”

  “That makes no sense. Why would Grey have any interest in threatening a charity? And what exactly does that have to do with Marcus?”

  “Why he was so interested in the charity eludes me. Every avenue I investigate on that front seems to be a dead end but Marcus’ sudden appearance can’t be a coincidence. It’s all connected somehow, I just don’t know how.”

  “Are you sure you know what you’re doing, Riley? I know you and Holly had a past but that’s long over and…”

  Riley shook his head and stood, pacing over and back across the carpet. It was the only thing that seemed to help settle his swirling thoughts.

  “I don’t know if it’s the right thing anymore. I always thought I had time to correct my stupid mistake and then all of this happened. If I’d gone to her sooner, then this wouldn’t be happening.”

  “I think you’re missing my point. What if you’re not the person she wants anymore?”

  “I hurt her but those feelings she had for me haven’t gone away. When I kissed her…”

  “Wait, you kissed her? Was this before or after Marcus gave you the hiding of your life?”

  “Before, he sort of caught us in the act.”

  Anderson’s face blanched, the colour draining away and Riley could see the sudden realisation of the serious nature of the situation settling over him.

  “If he did that to you, then what the hell is he going to do to Holly?”

  Riley shook his head, the memory of Holly smashing the glass vase over Marcus’ head popping into his mind unbidden.

  “He needs her too much to do any harm to her. I think that’s why he was so eager to get his hands on me.”

  “Riley, what does her father think of all of this? Surely he has an opinion. I can’t imagine Niall McCombe sitting idly by as his daughter puts her life in danger?”

  “From all the reports I’ve heard, he disappeared into a bottle the minute his wife left.”

  “I still don’t understand what you plan on doing about all of this? Shouldn’t you get your brother in on all of this? Stuart’ll hit the roof when he sees th
e mess Marcus made of you.”

  “He won’t do anything of the sort. The amount of times he forced me to stand by and watch him fix a problem his way has earned me the same courtesy from him.

  “Holly’s charity is hosting an auction event tomorrow night to raise funds and I know she’ll be there. Of course wherever she is, Marcus is bound to be in tow. It’ll give me a chance to speak to her without raising suspicion.”

  “And how the hell are you going to explain all of this?” Anderson gestured to Riley’s bruised face with a grimace. “People are going to want to know what happened to you.”

  “I’ll worry about a cover story but I want to know you’ll definitely come to the party.”

  “Me?” Anderson started to shake his head, his expression suddenly suspicious.

  “Come on, you owe me after I got Stuart to get your sister out of Mexico unharmed. How is Lydia anyway?”

  Anderson’s face instantly darkened at the mention of his sister’s name and Riley struggled to keep his own expression straight. Lydia was a wild child and her impulsive actions tended to drop her in dangerous situations but her trip to Mexico with her new friends had been the most dangerous. Especially when her friends turned out to be in debt up to their eyeballs with one of the largest drug dealers in Mexico and he’d decided Lydia was the perfect way to collect on the debt.

  “I asked you because you’re my friend. I didn’t realise helping my sister would come with a price tag attached.”

  Riley grinned. “It doesn’t, not really anyway. I mean come on, Anderson, I’ve only asked you to turn up at a party and you’re behaving as though I asked you for your first-born child.”

  “You know how I feel about those snore-fests. What are you expecting to accomplish with me turning up?”

  “I have a hunch about Marcus and I don’t think he’ll be fit to resist the lure of Anderson Clarke.”

  “I refuse to act as bait, Riley, you know I don’t do well as bait.”

  “I know but all you’ll have to do is listen to whatever it is that he has to say and then report back to me. That’s it.”