Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
EPILOGUE
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16: Epilogue
Chapter One: Gerard
Chapter Two: Elena
Chapter Three: Gerard
Chapter Four: Elena
Chapter Five: Gerard
Chapter Six: Elena
Chapter Seven: Gerard
Chapter Eight: Elena
Chapter Nine: Gerard
Chapter Ten:Elena
Chapter Eleven:Gerard
Chapter Twelve: Elena
Chapter Thirteen: Gerard
Chapter Fourteen: Elena
Chapter Fifteen: Gerard
Chapter Sixteen: Elena
Chapter Seventeen: Gerard
Chapter Eighteen: Elena
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve- Epilogue
Table of Contents
Unwrapped by the Billionaire
Ace's Gamble
Tyler’s Plaything a Billionaire Romance
His Prey
The Big Billionaire’s Mistress
Dominated by Daddy’s Best Friend
Yes, Daddy!
Dominated by the Shifter
Dominated by Him
Keeping His Secret
1. Unwrapped by the Billionaire
By: Joanna Nicholson
Unwrapped by the Billionaire
© July 2017 – All rights reserved
By Joanna Nicholson
Published by Passionate Publishing Inc.
This is a work of fiction. All names and characters in this novel are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or events is entirely coincidental.
This book is for your personal enjoyment only. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission from the publisher.
Warning
This book is intended for adult readers, 18+ years old. Please close this e-book if you are not comfortable reading adult content.
Chapter 1
Nora stared out of her cab window as it drew closer to the house, her eyes darting past the sights of the sleepy Californian suburban town she had grown up in. For eighteen years, this place was home and now so much had changed that she barely even recognized her life here. She hadn’t been back home in seven years, but the town had barely changed although everything now looked much smaller.
The cab stopped outside her dad’s bungalow and the moment she stepped on to the driveway, memories of her childhood came flooding back. Not much had changed, it was the same red brick two-storied house with a sufficient porch and a well looked after front yard. Her father had been spending time on the hedges and keeping the lawn mowed. She even noticed two flower pots placed tastefully at the top of the short flight of steps, which she couldn’t remember being there earlier.
Nora’s heels clicked against concrete as she walked towards the house, and the screen door banged open.
“Dad!” she squealed, rushing towards him with open arms. Her father met her halfway, in the middle of the stairs, and she leapt into his arms and they were hugging.
“You made it!” he said, tightening his grip around her.
“Of course I did. I wouldn’t miss this,” she said when he finally released her and he bent down to pick up the two bags she had brought with her.
With their arms around each other, they walked into the house and Nora couldn’t stop smiling. She had stayed away from her hometown for all these years for several reasons, but her father wasn’t one of them.
“I didn’t think you’d be able to get away,” he said when they entered the house. Nora sighed as she looked around. The living room was the same, with the same paintings on the walls and the same photographs on the mantelpiece. The only difference was that there was now an enormous blown up frame of Nora in her graduation gown with her degree in hand. There was another smaller frame on the table next to the c
ouch, which was a more recent one of her and her father together when he visited her in New York.
“Don’t be silly. I wouldn’t miss your fiftieth birthday for anything,” she said, walking into the kitchen to see if everything was still in its place. Her stepdad followed her in, watching her admiringly observed her surroundings. Nora whipped around to face him with a smile on her face.
“It’s like I’m fifteen again, dad,” she said and he was smiling too.
“I wanted to make sure that you came back to what you remembered as home, honey,” he said and Nora began pouring them two glasses of orange juice from the fridge.
When she heard him clear his throat, she knew exactly what he was going to say.
“Although, I was expecting you to bring that new boyfriend of yours…what’s his name?” he said, and she kept her back turned to him as she took a sip of her juice.
“Jack,” she said without interest. She wanted him to drop the topic but he wasn’t about to give up on it so easily.
“So, where is he?” he asked.
She turned to him with a forced smile on her face. She handed him his glass and then took a seat at the old wooden dining table, and another wave of nostalgia swept over her.
“He’s in New York,” she said.
“He couldn’t get away?”
“No,” she replied flatly but smiled nonetheless. This wasn’t the time and nor was she in the mood to explain to her him what was going on with Jack.
“Okay, do you have pictures of him at least?” he asked, joining her at the table now.
“Dad, we’re just dating…casually, you know, it’s not serious or anything,” she said, avoiding his eyes. She could sense that he was looking at her keenly.
“Just dating? Didn’t you start dating six months ago? Surely it should be serious by now…” he said.
Nora let out a huge sigh. She had promised herself that she wouldn’t allow all the questions about her personal life get to her. She knew that he was only curious in a good way, and that it was his job as her stepdad to be nosey. However, she had gotten accustomed to her independence and had forgotten what it used to be like living with an anxious single parent.
“No Dad, it’s not serious,” she said, trying to keep her voice even. He seemed to be thinking as he looked at her, cradling the glass of juice in his hand.
“Okay honey, I just want what’s best for you and from what you’ve told me about him, he sounds like a nice man,” he continued.
“All I’ve told you about him is what he does and where he lives and what his educational background is. That’s not enough to judge whether he’s a good man or not,” she said, in an enraged tone.
When she saw her father’s face scrunch up and turn a little red, she realized that she was only taking out her anger with Jack on him. Jack was the one who she should have really been mad at.
“I’m sorry Dad, I’ve had a long flight and I’m really tired,” she said, and reached for his hand.
“Yeah, maybe you should take a nap or something. The party starts in a few hours and everyone’s been dying to see you again!” he said, with a smile on his face.
“Everyone?” Nora asked, arching her eyebrows at him.
“Of course. I’m turning fifty and my baby daughter is visiting! It’s the perfect opportunity.”
Chapter 2
Nora stood in front of the full length mirror in her old bedroom. It used to look much bigger when she used to live there, and even her bedroom used to seem more spacious. Her dad hadn’t changed or moved anything; the walls were still pink, her old posters covered the ceiling and her collection of dolls and CD’s were neatly arranged on tables and racks around her single bed.
As she stared at herself in the mirror, she wondered if her younger self could ever have predicted how her life would turn out. As a teenager, she was rebellious and in love with someone she knew she couldn’t have. Back then she was convinced that she could never be happy. And now, at just twenty-five, she was already a sub-editor of a major women’s magazine in New York. Making enough to afford the down payment for a two-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn. She wished she could meet her younger self and reassure her that everything would be all right.
She tried not to think about what her father had meant by “everyone” earlier, but at the back of her mind, she knew exactly what that would mean. How could it not? What could have changed in seven years?
She had changed into a sleek navy bodycon cocktail dress, which she knew accentuated her waist and her breasts. She styled her blond shoulder length straight hair into a loose bun, held together with a few hairpins. Black stilettos and a smoky makeup completed the look and she smacked her lips together to make sure that her deep plum colored lipstick was in place. When she heard the doorbell ring, she dabbed a few drops of perfume on her pulse points and smoothening the front of her dress, she stepped out of her room.
As she gently shut the door behind her, she heard his voice downstairs. He was the first to arrive, and she would have recognized that voice anywhere. She descended the stairs, with her heart thudding against her chest, her throat drying as she got closer and closer to his voice.
Nora tried to remind herself that she was an adult now, that things were different; that she hadn’t seen him in seven years and there was no reason to be nervous anymore. But as she drew closer to the living room, she was back to being a giddy teenager with a massive crush.
She stopped at the door, watching her father huddled with his best friend at the bar in the corner of the living room. The two men had their backs turned to her, so they hadn’t noticed her come in. She took in a deep breath to compose herself, noticing that Theo looked the same, at least from the back. He was just as tall, with a wide muscular straight back and a narrow-toned waist. They were catching up over the bottle of Scotch he had brought as a gift for her dad, and in mid conversation, her dad caught sight of her.
“Nora’s here! Come in, honey,” her father greeted her excitedly. Theo turned and she could have sworn that the floor had turned to jelly. She thought she was prepared, that she was ready to see him again, but the truth was that nothing could have prepared her for this moment. All those feelings of being a lovesick silly teenager came flooding back when he turned to look at her. The same chocolate brown shining hair, green dangerously sparkling eyes and the one-day old stubble.
“Nora,” he said, with that deep grin forming on his face. He had a habit of smiling with just the corners of his lips stretching, forming deep dimples around his mouth. His jaw was square and sharp, and his face had always given her the impression that he was carved out of marble. His voice was deep and smooth like velvet, and he thrust his hands casually into the pockets of his tailor-made pants.
“Hello Theo, it’s good to see you again,” she said, forgetting that her father was even in the room. She was surprised that she had even found the voice to speak to him and hadn’t stuttered yet.
“There goes the doorbell again!” her father exclaimed, and rushed out of the room to get the door. Nora hadn’t even heard the bell ringing - instead she felt like she was being sucked in by Theo’s burning gaze. She wondered if he looked at everyone like that, with searching eyes and that casual grin on his face at all time, or was it just her imagination?
“You look well,” she said, gulping rapidly to moisten her throat a little. Theo remained standing where he was, and she took a few steps towards him to close the distance between them, although she didn’t want to get too close to him.
“You mean, I look old!” he joked. A small laugh escaped his lips that sent shudders down Nora’s spine. Old? He hadn’t aged a day, she thought to herself. She knew he had just turned forty-five. Subconsciously she kept track of his birthdays even though she hadn’t kept in touch enough to wish him a happy birthday.
“No, I mean you look well,” she said in a low voice. Theo smiled some more.
“You look beautiful, Nora, although I wouldn’t have recognized you if I passed y
ou on the street,” he said. She felt like her legs were wobbling. How many times, as a teenager, had she fantasized that he would actually say those words to her?
“And here’s Nora,” her father had come back into the living room, herding a bunch of friends of his who had just arrived. Nora pasted a nervous smile on her face and she turned to greet them, exchanging hugs and pleasantries with people she had grown up around. A barrage of questions and compliments overwhelmed her, and she was instantly surrounded by even more who kept arriving to the house.
The next hour was spent by her making sure that she hadn’t left anyone out. It was when her father handed her a second glass of wine that she took a sip and looked around the packed living room to find that she had done her bit; she had personally spoken to everyone. Standing by the unused fireplace, she searched the room to see if she could catch a glimpse of Theo again. Chances were that he was where her dad was. Those two were pretty much joined at the hip.
“Is it strange being back after so long?” she heard him say and nearly gasped but caught herself just in time. Gripping the wine glass tightly in her hand, she turned to find him standing beside her, swirling his glass of whisky. He took a large sip and pursed his lips, gazing at her from under his heavy eyelids.
“Has it really been long?” she said, and Theo stepped closer to her.
“Seven years,” he said.
“You’ve been keeping track.”
“Your father can’t stop talking about you,” he said and Nora got a whiff of the musky masculine cologne he was wearing. Goosebumps covered her arms instantly because she recognized that cologne; it was the same one he always wore. A few years ago, during her first year in New York, one of her new colleagues was wearing that same cologne. It was a scent she could never forget. She’d brought him back to her shared apartment that night and the next morning, she hoped that she wouldn’t have to work with him very long. Luckily, he quit his job in three months. She couldn’t stand being around a man who wore the same cologne that Theo did. And here it was again.
“I’ve been busy,” she said as she took a sip of her wine.
“I hear that you’ve been doing very well. Andy subscribes to the magazine of course. It’s very impressive,” Theo continued and she watched him as he spoke. His eyes looked like they were on fire as he held her gaze and she wondered if he ever knew how deep her crush on him was, how it had crippled her all of her teenage years. Nora licked her lips and smiled.
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