Bared to the Billionaire: The Complete Series

by Sylvia Pierce

  “We just want to ensure that the work Mr. Hastings and his family have put into building their company is not stolen by corporate pirates or foreign competitors.”

  Corporate pirates? She can’t be serious.

  “We’ve got all the necessary precautions in place,” Jared said.

  “Does anyone else live at the home upstate?” she asked.

  “I’m the sole permanent resident,” Jared said.

  “What about staff members?”

  “I use a service,” Jared said, fighting to keep hold of his dwindling patience. “They do thorough employee background checks. I assure you, my staff members are accustomed to working with high net worth households, and come very highly recommended, screened, and trained. They are not a threat.”

  The man and woman exchanged a glance. Scribbling more notes in his pad, the man said, “Still, we’d feel more comfortable if we could look into the staffing firm’s practices a bit more thoroughly, maybe even interview some of your key household employees.”

  “I hardly think that’s necessary,” Jared said.

  “Mr. Hastings thinks otherwise.”

  Evan cleared his throat, shooting Jared a rather unsubtle glare. To their guests, Evan said, “Why don’t you jot down your availability, and Jared and I will get you the necessary clearances to speak with the staff, as well as anyone else that might make Mr. Hastings a bit more comfortable with our procedures.”

  The woman smiled. “Thank you, Mr. Blake. Your cooperation is much appreciated.” Turning her smile on Jared, she said, “I’m sorry for the intrusion, Mr. Blackwell. I realize that Mr. Hastings may be a bit—”

  “Demanding?” Jared said.

  “I was going to say particular, but your answer isn’t wrong either. We’ll try to make this as quick and painless as possible for you and the rest of your staff.” She rose from the table, the man following her lead.

  Jared practically wept with relief.

  In a buzz of pleasantries, he escorted them to reception, where his assistant would see them out. Before he turned away, he said, “Do let me know if there’s anything else I can do for you. It would be my pleasure.”

  The rest of his sentence, muttered beneath his breath, went unheard.

  Back in Jared’s office, Evan was seated at Jared’s desk, ready for a fight. Jared probably deserved it, but he certainly wasn’t in the mood.

  “Now’s not a good time, Evan.”

  Ignoring him, Evan said, “Care to tell me what all that was about?”

  Jared closed his office door. “No.”

  “That’s too bad, because I’m not letting you leave this room until you do.”

  “That’s fine,” Jared said. “I’d prefer it if you left this room instead. Can that be arranged?”

  Evan only glared. He was serious.

  “Say it,” Jared said.

  “What are you doing? You don’t even know her, and after—what? Two weeks?—of fooling around, this woman has already got you tied up in knots.”

  Jared dropped into the chair across from his desk and sighed. No sense hiding it from Evan; that man could spot a liar at a hundred meters. “It’s not just fooling around. She’s incredible, Evan. Really. I can’t get her out of my mind.”

  “Don’t be daft. Outside the bedroom, you hardly know a thing about her.”

  “I know she’s a hell of a Brawler player.”

  “You can’t be serious.”

  Jared smiled. “She kicked my arse, mate.”

  “Tell me she signed the NDA.”

  “Well, I could tell you that, but what good would it do?”

  “Christ.” Evan removed his feet from Jared’s desk and rose from the chair, crossing to the other side of the office. He opened one of the file cabinets and rifled through it.

  “What are you looking for, Evan?”

  “You can’t just leave well enough alone, can you?” Evan slammed one drawer and opened another. “You get too attached. You know that, right? And then you give them too many chances, making excuses, ignoring red flags—”

  “Evan. What in God’s name are you looking for?”

  “The cookies, you daft bastard.”

  “First of all, it’s not as if I’ve got this horrible condition where I just fall at the feet of every woman I meet and then attach myself. You make me sound like a parasite. And we’re out of cookies, because you ate them all in one sitting, and you left powdered sugar fingerprints all over my desk, and I’m not going to replace them.”

  “Bloody hell.” Evan slammed the last drawer, then resumed his position behind Jared’s desk. “You don’t know her. The timing is all wrong. I suggest you let this one go.”

  “Not an option.”

  Evan eyed him warily.

  “What?” Jared asked.

  “You know how you get.”

  “Too attached?” Jared ran his hands through his hair. “Fine. I am attached. But it’s only because she’s… she’s just… what? Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “I’m certainly not your nanny, Jared.” Evan closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose as if this whole conversation had given him a headache. “But you couldn’t have chosen a less convenient time to fall in love.”

  Jared scowled. “I never said that. And how the hell did we get on this topic? We’re supposed to be debriefing about that bloody awful security meeting.”

  Evan shook his head. “We’re so close. Just ride it out.”

  “Evan, those questions were ridiculous, and you know it.”

  “Yes, but Hastings is just a nervous control freak. It’s not as if they asked you for a blood sample.”

  “Not yet.”

  “Don’t play games, mate. I know that’s not what’s bothering you.”

  Fucking Evan. Jared loved him like a brother. And sometimes, he wanted to beat the piss out of that brother.

  “She isn’t returning my calls,” Jared finally admitted. “Or texts. Not really. How have I already managed to fuck this up?”

  “You’re asking the wrong bloke,” Evan said.

  “Didn’t work out with Ella from marketing, then?”

  Evan shrugged. “She said she’s not the relationship type. But what she meant was, she’s not the relationship-with-me type.”

  “Evan. Since when are you the relationship type?”

  Evan rolled his eyes. “Your talent for missing the point is legendary.”

  “What is the point?”

  “The point, Jared, is that you could spend your whole life trying to figure this woman out, and the moment you do, she’ll change it up on you.”

  “That’s precisely what I love about her. She’s…” Jared dropped it. He hadn’t meant to use the L-word. Especially not in front of Evan. Now he’d never hear the end of it.

  “So you’re bloody well in love with her, then?” Evan said, right on cue.

  Fuck.

  “Bloody hell,” Evan said. “If you won’t listen to me as your very concerned friend, listen as your business partner. We are in the home stretch here, and you’re as distracted as a horny schoolboy. If you don’t get yourself sorted out, we’re going to lose this deal.”

  “I’m handling it.”

  “You’re not. You were sitting at that meeting, daydreaming about your wedding when you should’ve been giving straight answers about our firm.”

  “Christ, I’m not going to propose to the woman, Evan. I just want to get to know her.”

  “You were picking out china patterns.”

  “Stop it.”

  “Just so we’re clear, as your best man, I’m not wearing one of those colored cummerbunds. Classic black, or I’m staying home.”

  “Jesus Christ, man.”

  Evan pointed at him across the desk. “You’re obsessing, and it’s clouding your judgment.”

  “I don’t need judgment.” Jared rose from his chair and headed for the door, sheer determination lending a sense of urgency to his mission. “I have a plan.�
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  “Brilliant!” Evan leaned back in the chair, propping his feet on the desk again. “I’ll just be over here, popping the popcorn, watching your life implode from a safe distance.”

  Jared smiled. “Wish me luck.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” Evan resumed pinching the bridge of his nose, sighing into his hand as if Jared were an impertinent child he just didn’t know what to do with. “How about I wish you celibate instead? It’ll be better for our bottom line.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  She has to be here. This has to work.

  Jared sat on the steps of the New York Public Library and gripped at his phone, pulling up the contact listing for the woman who’d held his thoughts captive all week.

  Arianne wasn’t exactly ignoring him, but she hadn’t made it easy to get in touch, either. He hadn’t seen her since their rushed goodbye outside the limo, just after they’d returned to the city from their weekend in Annandale-on-Hudson.

  Now, Jared hoped that by catching her off guard, he could entice her to see him—at least long enough for a drink at his place after the Bryant Park movie he was hoping was a regular outing for her.

  If it wasn’t, he didn’t know how else to find her.

  Steeling himself for another one of her now infamous excuses, Jared tapped the message icon and thumbed a text.

  JARED: What’s more romantic than Shakespeare in Love?

  ARIANNE: This is obviously a trick question, you blasphemer!

  He smiled at her response, more relieved than he should’ve been.

  JARED: I assume you’re at the park tonight, then?

  ARIANNE: Wouldn’t miss this movie for the world. Are you here too?

  JARED: Not. So. Fast. You still haven’t answered my question. What’s more romantic?

  ARIANNE: You tell me, Mr. Blackwell.

  JARED: Patience and Fortitude.

  She didn’t respond, so he tried again.

  JARED: The library lions?

  Nothing.

  JARED: More specifically, the devastatingly handsome man sitting between them, waiting for this movie to end so that he might whisk you off into the sunset. By which he means his penthouse.

  JARED: Where he’ll make all of your fantasies come true.

  JARED: Or at least offer you a drink.

  He was getting desperate.

  JARED: And possibly kick your ass at Brawler.

  Another full minute passed, still no response from Arianne. Jared gripped his phone, certain he’d crush it in his fingers with his impatience. Another minute. Two. No message came.

  Five minutes later, a wave of people exited the park en masse, signaling the end of the movie. Jared rose from the stairs and walked toward the street, hoping to catch a glimpse of Arianne’s auburn hair. He didn’t even know whether she was the kind of person who liked to sit through the credits in a movie or not, and that knowledge gap bugged him suddenly. He should know that about her. He should know a lot of things about her, but she hadn’t given him the chance.

  Phone still black and silent, Jared turned in a slow circle, again scanning the crowd in case he missed her.

  Damn it.

  Jared prided himself on reading people—it’s one of the things that had made him such a great businessman, despite his legendary impatience and occasional bouts of reclusiveness. He could’ve sworn they’d shared a spark—something more than just their incredible physical chemistry.

  But as the next throng of people enveloped him, Jared knew that Arianne was truly avoiding him. He’d given her the invitation, told her he was standing just a few feet away, yet she hadn’t taken him up on the offer. She simply didn’t want to see him, and he had to accept that, disappointing as it was.

  But then his skin tingled with a sensation so odd, yet entirely familiar, it made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.

  He was being watched.

  He turned again, and like a mirage, Arianne stood before him, glowing amidst dozens of other people: couples holding hands, girlfriends walking arm-in-arm, nannies pushing prams down Fifth Avenue and pausing to point out the stately marble lions.

  Jared cocked his head, offering a sly grin.

  Her lips parted as she smiled at him across the colorful sea of bodies. When she took a step toward him, her stride both light and determined, everything else disappeared.

  “You’re here,” he said, not bothering to hide his happiness. “You came.”

  Arianne lifted a flirtatious eyebrow. “Not yet, but I’m thinking you might be able to change that.”

  Jared laughed, reaching forward to pull her close. He could practically hear Evan’s voice in his ear, warning him to stop being such a sap.

  But when Arianne slid into his arms, pressing her warm body against his and tucking her head perfectly under his chin like they’d done it a million times already, Jared had but one thought.

  She’s absolutely worth it.

  “Glad to see my persistence has finally worn you down,” he said, pulling away to get a good look at her. She was even more beautiful than the version in his late-night fantasies, her hazel eyes glittering in the Manhattan twilight. He’d missed her more than he’d realized.

  “You had me at Patience and Fortitude.” Arianne nodded toward the lions behind them. “You’d be surprised how many native New Yorkers don’t even know the history of these guys.”

  “Well fuck me.” Jared ran a hand through his hair. “If I’d known that a week ago, I could’ve been impressing you with my encyclopedic New York knowledge all along.” He put his arm around her shoulder, leaning in close. “For instance, were you aware that in the nineteenth century, Bryant Park—and many others in your fair city—was a cemetery?”

  “Okay, now you’re just trying to get into my pants.”

  “I’d rather get you out of them.”

  “Same thing,” she said.

  “Is it working?”

  “I’ll tell you later.”

  “Ari, there you are!” The voice belonged to a young woman standing before them, eyeing up Arianne with an exasperated glance. “I thought you said you’d be right back?”

  Without turning to face the girl, Arianne said, “And I thought I told you to wait for me on forty-second?”

  Ignoring Arianne, the girl stepped forward, holding out a hand for Jared to shake. “I’m Natasha, and that’s my sister you’re fondling. Which means you must be Mr. Already Forgotten.”

  “I certainly hope not.” Jared smiled warmly as he shook her hand. “I’m Jared Blackwell. And if the woman I’m fondling is your sister, that means you must be Natasha, in which case, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

  Arianne rolled her eyes playfully, finally acknowledging her sister. “Now that we’re all best friends, I suppose my sister and I should head home, huh?”

  Jared was about to protest, but Natasha saved him the trouble. “Home? No way. I’m starving.”

  “As am I,” Jared said. He hadn’t planned on sharing his time with Arianne, now that she’d finally graced him with her presence again, but he was glad to meet her sister. For one thing, it meant that Arianne had told him the truth about something important in her life, and Jared was looking forward to getting to know the only surviving, present member of Arianne’s family. “We can all grab dinner downtown. I know the perfect place.”

  Natasha laughed, holding up her hands in protest. “That’s cute. Really. But as much as I love being the third wheel, I think I’ll leave you guys to it.”

  Jared tried to insist, but he could tell right away that Natasha was as stubborn and fierce as her older sister. After waiting for her to confirm her own dinner plans with a friend who lived nearby, Jared and Arianne said their goodbyes and headed down Fifth in search of a taxi.

  “Stalking me while I’m out on girls’ night with my sister?” Arianne said. “Bold move.”

  “I’m a risk-taker. You should know that about me by now.” Jared smiled, but there was one risk he wasn’t interes
ted in taking tonight—letting Arianne out of his sight. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders possessively.

  “There’s plenty I don’t know about you,” Arianne said, and though she trailed off, Jared heard the unspoken word dangling in the air between them. Yet.

  He tightened his arm around her.

  Without hesitating, Arianne leaned into his touch, their steps evenly matched as they threaded their way through pedestrian traffic.

  After they’d walked a few blocks, Arianne turned her face toward his and smiled, a view Jared could easily get used to.

  “So where’s this perfect downtown restaurant you mentioned?” she asked.

  “Restaurant? No, darling. That was only if we needed to behave ourselves in mixed company. Since we’re alone again, there’s only one option for you.”

  “Oh yeah? What’s that?”

  Jared led her to the curb and raised his arm, hailing a taxi. With a devilish grin, he turned back to Arianne and said, “You’re coming home with me, love. We’re ordering in tonight.”

  She pretended to consider this, but Jared could tell by the glint in her eye, the soft smile tugging at her lips, that she was already in agreement.

  “Oh, all right,” she said as he opened the door of the taxi for her. “But I’ve got a condition.”

  Jared watched her climb in ahead of him, admiring the firm tone of her legs in those tight jeans, the grace with which she moved. Jared’s mouth watered. He couldn’t wait to get her home. To strip her bare. To kiss every inch of that smooth, creamy flesh until he heard his name hot on her lips, again and again and again.

  He gave the driver his address, then settled in next to her, nuzzling her ear. “State your demands, love. There’s nothing I won’t agree to.”

  She moaned at his touch, closing her eyes and losing herself in the pleasure of their overdue contact. “You,” she breathed, “owe me a Brawler rematch.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Jared and Arianne didn’t even make it out of Jared’s penthouse elevator before they started tearing at each other’s clothes, their mouths locked in a kiss, every stroke of Arianne’s soft, wet tongue engorging Jared’s cock.

  He couldn’t wait to get between her thighs again, to taste her hot, silky flesh…