Bride By Design 3: Manchala Nights (Taken By The Billionaire)

by Roberts, Alicia

  I breathed in deeply but Colin didn't give me a chance to answer. He pressed me against him and I felt his lips crushing mine. The kiss started gently, but soon we were crashing into each other, trying to melt our bodies into one. I found myself lying on the sand pretty soon, my purse had been dropped somewhere and my dress was riding up.

  This is fine, I told myself, before allowing my brain to officially switch off. I grabbed at the buttons on Colin's shirt, desperate to bite into his chest, and he pushed me down roughly, nuzzling his face below my shoulders, trying to slide my dress off.

  Just like my fantasy, I thought hazily, as Colin pressed down on one breast and bit on my nipple through the dress. I moaned out loud, raking my fingers along his back, arching up for more. I was wet and hungry, I felt his erection pressing against me and I wanted him more than anything else.

  Suddenly my cell phone rang out.

  We both froze, swiftly becoming aware of where we were. I pushed Colin off me in a daze, and fished my phone out of my bag.

  It was an unknown number.

  "Hello, this is Lisa."

  I glanced at Colin. He'd pushed himself up and was sitting on the sand, his shirt half-unbuttoned. I realized my own dress had been pushed down and I pulled it up, adjusting the straps.

  "Lisa," a clipped voice rang in my ear, "This is Margaret from Brian Brito Designs. You interviewed with us for an Assistant Designer position last week?"

  "Yes?" I held my breath, wondering where this was going.

  "Are you still interested in working for us?"

  "Yes, absolutely." I wondered why I said that, but right now nothing was making sense and my brain was too confused to think.

  "That's great. Can you come into the office tomorrow to do the paperwork?"

  "Umm, I'm kind of out-of-state on a job right now. But I can come in on Monday, will that work?"

  "Hmm. Well, I suppose it will. You'll have to start from Tuesday, then."

  "Great, thank you so much! I really look forward to working with you."

  Margaret hung up with a click, and I looked at my phone, bemused. I wondered what I'd tell them on Monday - why had I accepted a new job when I already had one? And why was I getting this job offer now, when all my life I'd wanted this kind of job but couldn't get one? I shrugged mentally - when it rains, it pours. It seemed like an alien concept to turn down a job offer.

  Colin had joined me and was looking at me quizzically. I told him briefly what she'd said, and he smiled. "You'll just have to call them on Monday and say you've got a better job. Why be an errand-girl for a small company when you can be a real designer for Anderson Developments?"

  "You're right." I nodded, wondering if Roger's tale about Colin was scaring me into accepting an inferior job. "You treat your employees well, right?"

  "You'll have a great contract, and I'd leave you alone to do your own thing."

  I nodded, spying Diane out of the corner of my eye.

  I smiled and waved to her and Colin turned around. We walked back and joined the others, as if nothing had happened between us.

  Chapter Four

  After we drove back to the Great House and had lunch, we found ourselves in a competitive game of Taboo. I'm a sucker for board games and I tried my best to win, without looking like a geek, until it was time for the sun to set.

  Watching the sun go down was an amazing experience - the sky and ocean changed colors slowly, and then finally it was dark and time for dinner under the stars.

  After dinner, just before Colin and I retired to our bedroom, a slightly tipsy Roger grabbed my arm and whispered, "Remember what I told you. This guy's used to screwing people over, make sure he doesn't get you to agree to something stupid."

  I nodded and walked away, wondering if he had a point.

  Colin and I got dressed for bed, and this time I had the brilliant idea of wearing a dressing gown over the flimsy negligee.

  Colin looked at me disapprovingly, but didn't say anything. He was sitting on the bed checking emails on his tablet and I put my cell phone on the nightstand.

  "I saw Roger talking to you again."

  We looked at each other. It was slightly chillier tonight and Colin was wearing a t-shirt and pajamas. His hair fell across his forehead, and his green eyes were smooth and relaxed. He didn't look like a killer to me.

  "You can tell me what Roger said - I'd really like to know what that scumbag is saying behind my back."

  I went and sat beside him. I didn't know where to start, or even if I should say anything.

  "He said something about your parents," I said softly, "He said he hired a private detective to find out about you."

  "I thought he might've. What did he say he found out?"

  "I… he said your birth mother was a prostitute and that you killed your foster parents."

  Colin's green eyes became icy. "And you believed him?"

  "I don't see why I should. But I… he said you sold their land and started your business with that money."

  I felt the chill emanating from Colin.

  "I don't think Roger's right," I continued nervously, "But I know you're very private and I didn't want to pry."

  Colin sighed and reached out to hold my hands in his. I watched as his eyes turned from icy to sorrowful.

  "Colin, you don't have to tell me what happened. You've been kind to me and I've got no reason not to trust you."

  "Lisa, there are very few people who know this, but I want to tell you what happened. I think you should know, we're spending a lot of time together and I trust you."

  I tried to say something, but Colin waved away my protests.

  "Roger's right, my mother was a drug-addict and a hooker, and I lived with her till I was six. And I'm sorry to say this, but I'm glad she died. I spent a year in foster care, where I learned that the world rewards the tough. There were two types of kids there, the bullies and the bullied. I knew which type I had to be, and I became controlling and mean. Until a kind couple adopted me."

  "The army lieutenant and his wife."

  Colin nodded. "Yes, Roger got that bit straight. The lieutenant retired and we all moved to a farm, where we lived happily till my Dad was killed in a freak machinery accident. I was fifteen at the time. My Mom went a bit crazy about it all. I guess I wasn't enough for her, and I came home from school one day to find out she'd OD'ed on sleeping pills."

  He went silent and I squeezed his arm. "It wasn't your fault."

  Colin sighed. "I know that now. I've been to enough therapists to know that. But I didn't know it at the time. Living in a happy family made me go soft, and when my uncle moved in, I didn't protest. The land had been willed to me, but he made me sign a document. Later I realized that it said I'd sold him the farm."

  My heart broke as I understood how Colin had been taken advantage of. It would be all too easy for an outsider to misunderstand what had happened, and I now knew why Colin kept his past a secret. Something told me that all the therapy hadn't really made him understand it wasn't his fault - his voice was hollow when he said that, and he didn't seem to believe it.

  I moved closer to him and wrapped my arms around him. "You can't undo the past. You know your parents loved you - death affects people in different ways."

  Colin nodded and hugged me back. "I don't know why I'm telling you all this. But I guess I really needed to tell someone. And I haven't met somebody I trust in such a long time."

  He nestled his face against my neck and I stroked his hair, wishing I could brush away his sadness. We stayed silent for a few minutes. I wanted to cheer him up, but I didn't know what to say. When my mother died, I'd had a hard time moving on, but it was nothing compared to what had happened to Colin.

  After a few minutes, Colin went on. "I was sixteen when my mom died, and I got papers saying I was an emancipated adult. I changed my name, moved to New York and got a job waiting tables. A lot of real estate types used to hang out at our cafe, and one of them became an investor. I started out working
for him on the side as a bird-dog, finding him properties to buy."

  I smiled and said, "So you're a business hero, a rags to riches guy?"

  Colin winced. "No, I'm not. I've done some things I'm not proud of to get ahead, but hurting my parents isn't one of them. I lost their farm and my old life because I was careless. But I learned a lot from my sleazebag uncle - I learned that nobody else cares about you, and that you always need to be the one in control."

  I felt sad and stroked my fingers along Colin's arm. "That's not true, you know. You can't live like that. You can't mistrust everyone. There are actually people out there who care about you."

  "Like who?"

  Colin held my face in his hands and gazed into my eyes. I felt time stop. The answer to his question was written all over my face, and I let him lean down and brush his lips against mine.

  "I don't know why I care about you, Colin, but I do."

  I let him untie the robe and push me down against the bed. I pulled off his t-shirt and he climbed in beside me.

  His eyes were wary and he brought his lips down on mine again. His tongue was insistent, and I gasped when he moved away.

  Colin stroked a finger down my cheek, and down the side of my neck. "I care about you too, Lisa. You remind me of who I could've been, and you're so different from everyone else around me, all these folks who want to hang me out to dry. They're all after either a scandal or my money."

  "You know I'm after neither. I'm happy to walk away after this week is over."

  "I don't think I can let you do that. I think I'd like to take care of you, I just want you to be near me."

  I felt myself melting at his words. I wasn't sure if I could believe him, if he was saying all that just to sleep with me, but I didn't care. Maybe he was just making it up. But I meant what I'd said, and I wanted to believe what he said.

  Colin pulled the negligee off me, freeing my breasts. He brought his mouth down and licked circles around my nipple, nibbling and teasing before finally taking it into his mouth and sucking and tugging with his mouth. I felt myself burning up inside, and groaned and ran my hands down his back, sliding his pajamas down and freeing his erection. I felt it with my hands, stroking it up and admiring its girth and size, and Colin moved away to slide off my panties.

  We stared at each other for a split second, and Colin bit my earlobe before trailing his tongue down my neck.

  "You're so beautiful," he murmured, "I've been wanting this for so long."

  He moved to kiss me again and I moaned into his mouth, wanting him and desperate for more attention. Colin began to kiss my neck, moving downwards slowly, kissing and stroking my breasts and then making a beeline for my bellybutton. He kissed it gently and moved lower and lower, until he reached my mound.

  I spread my legs, giving him access to my most private parts, and he rewarded me by spearing my clit with his tongue. I stifled my scream, arching my back and aching for more, as Colin moved between my lower lips and began to lap up my juices.

  I finally couldn't take it any more, and began to beg him to fuck me, moaning and writhing uncontrollably.

  It was a relief when I felt him position his tip against my entrance, and I gave a muffled groan as he pushed in, spreading me wide apart. I couldn't wait anymore, and I wrapped my legs around his waist, feeling his hard cock inside me and trying to suck him in with my muscles.

  Colin pulled out and began to thrust into me slowly, going deeper each time and leaving me groaning and panting for more. I began to beg incoherently, begging him to take me faster and I ground my hips and clenched my muscles against him. Colin responded by moving his hand down to stroke my clit gently, and I moaned out loud.

  His fingers continued to tease me, and he began slamming into me faster and faster and I felt the pressure build up. I arched my back and made strange, animalistic noises, unable to recognize my own voice. I felt myself stiffen as my whole body tensed, right before the first wave of my climax hit me. I let go and let the orgasm take over me, the world around me turning red. I screamed and screamed again, the strength of the orgasm blurring my senses, and I vaguely realized that Colin's movements were getting jerkier.

  I felt myself coming down off the high. The world was still wobbling around before my eyes but it slowly became steadier until I lay limp and spent. I realized that at some point Colin had come inside me, and he moved out of me slowly.

  We lay beside each other, exhausted and spent. Now that my mind was a bit clearer, I thought back to what Colin had said about wanting to take care of me and being with me - did he really mean that? Or was it just something to convince me to… Well, either way, I was happy with the outcome!

  I wrapped the robe around myself, and turned and smiled at Colin. "You were right, I need to let myself have fun from time to time."

  He looked at me seriously. "I was hoping this was more than just 'fun'. I really do care about you, you know."

  "Well, I like you a lot, but it's hard to trust a playboy billionaire when he says he cares about you. That's probably just what you tell all the girls…"

  I laughed softly as I teased him and stroked a finger along his shoulders. "We'll see how you feel after a week here."

  Colin grabbed my finger and looked into my eyes. He was about to say something when my phone rang.

  I groaned. "That's the ringtone for Katie, she must want to check up on me."

  "Let it go to voicemail."

  I shook my head. "No, it might be something urgent."

  Colin rolled his eyes, barely concealing his irritation. "You know, sometimes you have to stop letting people walk all over you. I get that you like to be helpful, but you can't let them take advantage of you."

  "Katie doesn't take advantage of me." My voice was cold and I answered the call.

  A few minutes later I hung up and looked at Colin. He'd slipped into his pajamas and was sitting up in bed.

  My hands were trembling slightly and I said, "I need to get back to New York tomorrow."

  Colin looked at me silently, his eyes steady and unflinching. I went on - "Katie found her boyfriend in bed with someone else. They broke up and now she's devastated. She's a mess, I need to get back to her and help her feel better."

  I watched as Colin went pale, and then he finally shook his head no. When he spoke, his voice was cold. "That's not going to happen. I need you here with me, pretending to be my good wife."

  "But everyone's already seen that you're married and you're a family guy. You don't have a shot against Roger in any case!"

  Colin refused to budge. "I need you here," he repeated, "And I'm going to do my best to get this project."

  I felt the anger flooding over me. "Katie needs me more than you do. I promised to be there for her if this happened."

  "You'll be there for her in a few days. She'll live."

  "This is an emergency."

  "If it were a real emergency, I'd let you go back. But this is bullshit."

  I glared at him, angry and hurt. "You just said you cared about me."

  He looked at me coldly. "And you said you cared about me. But I guess you lied. If you really cared, you'd want to help me. I'm someone who really likes you and isn't just taking advantage of you like everyone else around."

  My eyes narrowed and I could barely think straight. "Katie isn't taking advantage of me. She needs me by her side to help her out."

  "She needs no such thing, she can survive a few days with her family and her other friends. I'm the one who needs you, I don't have any other choice and you need to be here with me."

  I stared at him silently for a few minutes. "Well, at least now I know you were just saying all those things to get into my pants."

  Colin looked at me quietly, not denying what I'd said. After a few moments, he said softly, "Do I need to remind you I've just paid a lot of money for your brother's debts, and that this is a job you agreed to do?"

  I breathed in, I breathed out. Stay calm, I told myself. He was right, he'd paid for me
to be on Manchala and if he wouldn't agree to let me leave, I would need to honor my end of the bargain and stay with him.

  "Fine," I said softly, sliding under the covers and moving to the edge of the bed. "I'll stay because you're paying me to. But I'm glad you showed me your true colors before I really fell for you."

  Colin was silent and we slowly drifted off to sleep. Roger might have been wrong about Colin killing his foster parents, but I knew he was right about Colin being a ruthless, cold-hearted businessman.

  I'd make it through the week, I told myself, and then I'd accept the job at Brian Brito Designs and never see Colin again.