The Billionaire Op

by Lori Ryan

  She came fast and hard and Chad knew she needed a lot more. His hands roamed her body, stopping to play with the soft rounds of her breasts. He kissed the soft plane of her stomach, luxuriating in the feel of her as he waited for her to come down from her orgasm. Then, just as quickly, he let his fingers and his mouth settle on her as he sent her spiraling up again.

  Her muscles clamped down on his fingers as she crested the wave of her second orgasm and Chad’s body screamed to be inside her. To know what it felt like to have her come around him as her moans and whimpers filled his ears.

  Chad slowly withdrew his fingers and kissed his way back up Jennie’s body, finding her mouth once more. He didn’t let her rest. He didn't want her thinking or remembering.

  He tore open the condom and rolled it on as she reached with greedy hands for his hard length. The touch of her hands was almost enough to do him in. He pinned her wrists above her head with one hand and lowered himself over her.

  He entered her, intending to move slowly, to draw out the pleasure, both for her and for himself. But his tiny vixen wrapped her legs around him and pulled.

  He laughed and let her pull him deep inside, letting out a groan when he’d buried himself deep and hard.

  Jennie buried her head in his neck and he plunged into her hot, wet depths, greedily taking everything she had to give. He gritted his teeth, resisting the almost overwhelming urge to let himself go.

  He leaned down and worshipped her neck, licking and biting at the soft spot behind her ear until he heard her moan. He worked his way down her neck and across her shoulder as he plunged ever deeper into her in steady strokes that took them both closer to orgasm with each one.

  The feel of her around him was more than he could ever have imagined, though he had tried time and time again. He’d fantasized about this moment almost every day.

  He’d give everything to have more than this one night with her. To make love to her slowly one night, then bracingly hard and fast the next. To make love while they laughed and played and experimented.

  To have her over him, looking down with her sweet, sensuous eyes as she rode him to ecstasy. To take her from behind or up against a wall. He wanted Jennie again and again in every way imaginable.

  When his mouth reached her breast, he bit down gently, tugging with his teeth as Jennie cried out. He felt her clenching muscles grip him and knew there was no fighting it. Chad gave in and buried himself with a deep guttural growl as he came inside her for what he knew would be the first and last time.

  Pleasure poured through him as he emptied himself. He gave himself a minute to lay still inside of her, satiated and spent. He told himself time and time again not to wish for more. Not to hope that she might come out of this changed somehow, and able to love him.

  Able to move on from her love for a man who was no longer with her, but still somehow between them as though he were a tangible presence.

  He shook off foolish dreams and slipped out of the bed and cleaned up in the bathroom. When he returned, Jennie was facing away from him and he guessed she couldn’t handle looking at him or talking to him right now. That was okay. They could talk in the morning.

  He slid into the bed with her and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her tight. He wouldn’t let her sleep alone tonight. For this one night, he’d hold her tight and wrap her up in his arms. And, maybe, just maybe she'd forget for a little while longer.

  She turned toward him, snuggling into his shoulder for a long time. She opened her doe eyes and looked up at him, tearing his heart in two with the trust she held in those eyes for him, and the objection she could see coming to the surface.

  “One night,” he whispered, and dropped a kiss to her lips.

  He felt her nod. Then he heard her take a deep breath and she sank into his arms to sleep.

  Chapter 17

  When Jennie woke, the other side of her bed was empty. She knew he’d probably gone for a run on the beach and she was glad to have the time to herself.

  She didn’t regret last night, but she did hope it didn’t destroy the friendship they had. She wanted Chad in her life.

  Her mind flashed back to the sight of Chad standing above her, heat burning in his eyes, need evident in every sculpted muscle of his body. She remembered the feel of his mouth and hands on her body.

  Chad brought her body to places she had never dreamed of going. And, she couldn’t fight him. She couldn’t fight the pull he seemed to have on her.

  She’d been in ecstasy last night when he took her from one orgasm to the next with ease. The feel of his hard, strong body over her, inside her, taking her over completely. It was primal and raw, and even the memory was enough to make her ache with need again.

  But her body now warred with her heart and her mind and the memories of her husband. Jennie was still in love with a man who could never hold her again, never make love to again.

  There wasn’t room in her heart for Chad when Kyle still held such a big place there. She’d had her one night with Chad. She needed to put him out of her mind now.

  In a near daze, she pulled on her clothes and went out the sliding glass doors to the small patio off the bedroom. She sat in one of the chairs and pulled her knees to her chest, resting her head on her knees.

  As she sat, she let memories of another trip to the beach wash over her. She and Kyle had been young when they married, so a trip to a tropical getaway like this hadn’t been possible. But their families rented them a little house in Hilton Head for the week. The road trip down had been one of the happiest times Jennie could remember.

  At the time, she’d thought they had so much ahead of them. A whole lifetime. A lifetime that turned out to be not very long at all.

  They were so carefree then. Before the doctors and the hospitals and the fear. Before the knowledge that Kyle wasn’t going to make it. That there’d be no miracle for him—for them.

  She never told any of her friends how hard she and Kyle had tried to get pregnant after the diagnosis. She worried that people would think she was sick and twisted for wanting to have her dying husband’s baby. But, she didn’t care.

  She’d wanted to have his baby so badly. But they hadn’t been lucky enough. His sperm had been frozen before his treatment, but when he didn’t survive, she’d been hurting too much to think of having a child without him by her side.

  Jennie looked out onto the beach and remembered the sand castle she and Kyle had built on their honeymoon. They’d built bedrooms in their castle.

  One for them and three others, one for each of the children they’d hoped to have someday. They were so young and hopeful then. So completely naive and clueless about what lay in store for them.

  It had been so easy to believe they had a long life together ahead of them. So easy to believe nothing could touch them.

  Chad stopped when he spotted Jennie on the patio. She hadn’t seen him yet so he watched her quietly. He knew instantly that he’d made a big mistake. A selfish, heartless mistake that Jennie was now paying for.

  She might have said she wanted that to happen last night, but he could see the anguish and sadness that surrounded her right now. It was palpable, a creature in its own right.

  Chad cursed and knew he had to make sure she understood he would never push for them to be together as lovers again. He wouldn’t put her through that even once more. He slowly walked toward her chair. As he approached the villa, the phone rang and he saw Jennie slip inside to answer it. He picked up his pace and jogged the last yards.

  Jennie looked up when she saw him come in.

  “Hey, Jack,” she said into the phone. “Chad just came in. Let me put you on speaker.”

  “Morning Jack,” Chad said as he grabbed a bottle of water and sat on the couch opposite Jennie.

  “Hey, guys. Kelly says hi and she’s not showing any signs of going into labor yet, so enjoy your last few days,” Jack said.

  Jennie looked up and smiled at Chad, but there was a tentativeness to it, as
though she wasn’t sure she should be happy about having a few more days.

  His heart skipped a beat. He needed to find a way to forget the most amazing night of his life, but he hoped her smile meant that they would still be able to be friends after last night. That things wouldn’t be weird between them.

  Hell, who was he kidding? Things would be weird. He just hoped they hadn’t completely killed their friendship.

  “So, what have you got? Anything interesting there?” Jack asked.

  Her eyes snapped to Chad’s and he knew she was thinking the same thing he was.

  She was thinking about how interesting things had gotten between them last night.

  Chad shook his head, clearing his thoughts and focusing on the call with Jack. Last night with Jennie had been one night. Just like she’d asked for. He had to move on now.

  Chad set down his water bottle. “Not really. The resort is busy and the service and rooms are first class. The restaurants have been good. It seems like business is strong. I can definitely say the nephews don't seem to do much to earn their keep. It appears the managers are running the show. We’ve seen the nephews partying and schmoozing, but that’s all they seem to do. They’re kind of what you’d expect on a Girls Gone Wild video, but a little more subdued, given the high-class nature of the resort.”

  “I had a feeling. I wonder what their uncle plans to do with them after he sells the resort. It’ll give Peter an immediate savings in expenses, though. He’ll be happy to hear that. What about the marina? That whole thing still seems odd to me. Were you able to spot any reason for setting things up the way they have?” Jack asked.

  “No,” Chad said. “They definitely only have that setup for the marina, though. The other tours are all set up traditionally, with the reps working the lobby and running their own billing. More along the lines of what I’ve seen at other places.”

  “We’ve looked into ownership of the company running the marina and it’s owned by a company called Florifish, Inc. It’s a privately held company but, here’s the thing. It’s owned primarily by the Masters brothers and a guy named Rick Bandon. Bandon is a building inspector in Florida,” Jack explained. “There are a few other small shareholders as well, but those three are the main players.”

  “I wonder if Jonathan Masters knows his nephews are owners in a company that seems to be taking advantage of his resort. The contract Florifish has with the resort hardly seems equitable. The resort is doing all the work for very little return,” Chad said.

  “There are also tax implications for all that money the resort is running through there. It doesn’t make any sense from a business standpoint to take on the workload and tax burden for such a small cut. It’s a lot of work. They’re booking five fishing boats a day, seven scuba tours on the smaller boats. That’s a lot of work when they could turn the work over to the marina company and charge a flat rate for the lease or even a sliding scale lease based on sales and use,” Jack said.

  Chad knew he was mostly talking to himself now, mulling over the scenarios in his head.

  “Three fishing boats,” Jennie said.

  “What?” Chad and Jack asked as one.

  Jennie leaned toward the phone. “Three fishing boats, five of the smaller boats they use for the scuba and sightseeing tours, twenty-seven kayaks.”

  Jack was quiet for a minute but they could hear papers shuffling.

  “No. They have bills showing five fishing boats, seven rigid inflatables going out on dive tours three times a day, and forty-five kayaks,” Jack said.

  Jennie was shaking her head even though Jack couldn’t see her through the phone. “That’s not what they have. Unless maybe they have boats at another spot? Maybe some of the tours leave from somewhere else?”

  “We never thought to ask that,” Chad said.

  Jennie stood. “I’ll go ask one of my friends at the desk.”

  “I want to get Andrew in on this. Chad, stay by the phone. I’ll call you back. Jennie, see what you can find out. If they’re billing for stuff that doesn't exist, I want to know about it.” Jack cut the connection as Jennie looked under the couch and around the floor for her sandals.

  Chad crossed to the front door and picked them up. He handed them to her with a wry smile. They were always right where he put them, but Jennie still hadn’t figured out to look for them there.

  “Oh! Thanks.” She grinned then slid her feet into the shoes and opened the door. “Be right back,” she called over her shoulder.

  Chad sank onto the couch and waited for Jack to call them back as he thought about the night before. Other than a few uneasy looks here and there, she was acting as if everything was normal. God, he hoped she was okay with last night.

  In a way, he wanted to regret it. He wanted to feel like he’d done something wrong, and on the one hand he did, but a part of him couldn’t be sorry for what happened.

  Having the chance to hold Jennie in his arms for one night had been incredible. He didn’t know if she could ever give him more than that, but he’d take what he could. He’d take the memory of one night with her if that’s all he could have.

  The phone rang, pulling him out of his thoughts. Chad picked it up, knowing it would be either Jack or Andrew.

  “Yeah, guys,” he said.

  “Chad, I want you guys out of there. The jet’s on standby. Get to the airstrip and get out of there now,” Jack said, the urgency in his tone sending cold disquiet through Chad.

  “They’re laundering money,” Andrew explained. “That’s the only reason to run that money through there like that and the only explanation for billing for boats that don’t exist. And, whoever the hell those idiot nephews have gotten into bed with won’t be nice people. Nice people don’t need to clean their money. My guess is the building inspector, Bandon, they’ve partnered up with is taking bribes.”

  Chad was already up, grabbing his backpack and Jennie’s purse then heading for the door. If they had time to get back and pack their stuff, they would.

  But, he wanted to be ready in case Jennie’s questions raised red flags. If the shit hit the fan, then at least they had what they needed. They’d replace the clothes and other things later.

  “I’m going. I’ll call you when we’re on the plane.” He didn’t wait for them to answer. He needed to get to Jennie.

  Since she’d never suspect anything like this, she might ask one too many questions. Their undercover work was never dangerous. It had always been almost a joke to call it undercover.

  He suddenly realized the position he’d put her in, the danger she could be in right now. It was always possible someone would resent the way she brought information to light on a job. She could be on the receiving end of retribution or a vendetta at any time.

  Never mind the way he’d just walked her right straight into a situation with people who were very likely quite dangerous. He felt as if someone had sliced him open and gutted him. If anything happened to Jennie, he would never forgive himself.

  Chad jogged along the secluded path and up to the main building of the resort with only one thing on his mind. Jennie. Getting to her and getting her to safety.

  Chapter 18

  Jennie crossed the lobby to the front desk, glad to see her friend Tracy was working there. She’d spent many days chatting with Tracy and pulling bits and pieces of information from her. She genuinely liked the woman. She seemed to work hard and actually care about the experience the guests at the resort had.

  Jennie slipped into airhead mode.

  “Hi, Tracy!”

  “Hi, Jennie. How are you today?” Tracy asked, her smile wide.

  Jennie pouted in an overly dramatic way that would have had her cringing if she’d seen it on another woman. The staff here was trained to cater to those pouts instead of cringe. “We only have three days left here and Chad mentioned wanting to go out on a fishing boat. It always seems like all the boats are out. Are they all booked?”

  Her friend’s face fell. “I’m sorry.
I’m afraid they are. The fishing trips book several weeks in advance. In fact, most people book them when they book their reservations for the resort. Apparently, sitting and waiting for a fish to bite a hook is quite popular,” Tracy said, wry humor in her voice.

  “Oh no. I really wanted to take Chad fishing. You guys don’t have other boats you could bring in or another location we could take a trip from?”

  If Tracy thought the questions were odd, she didn’t show it. She just shook her head. “I’m afraid not. We only have the three boats and they fill up fast. Our dock isn’t big enough for more than that.”

  Jennie feigned disappointment and said good-bye. As she walked away from the front desk, she headed toward the staircase that would bring her out to the hallways leading to some of the rooms.

  She’d seen a doorway marked private right before the stairs and wondered if there were offices back there. Maybe even the nephews’ offices.

  With a quick peek over her shoulder to ensure that Tracy was distracted by one of the other guests, Jennie slipped through the door and walked down the hall of the private area.

  There were offices on each side of the hallway, but they were all quiet and empty. Except for the office at the end. Jennie heard voices coming from that one and she recognized the speakers immediately. The Masters brothers.

  She walked quietly down the carpeted hall ’till she stood close enough to hear the conversation. She didn’t know the voices well enough to tell right off which one was Matt Masters and which one was Alan Masters, so she listened as the conversation developed.

  “Shit! There has to be ten thousand in here this time,” one voice said.

  “So wh-wh-what?” came the reply. That must be Alan.

  He had a stutter that was so mild most of the time, it was barely noticeable, but something was making it more pronounced now. Nerves, maybe?

  “We can’t keep running these large amounts through here. Someone will notice if we don’t stick to smaller numbers,” said the other voice, which Jennie now surmised must be Matt.