by Raquel Belle
Contents
A Ruthless Lust
Acknowledgements
Chapter One
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 Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
An excerpt from “Business or Pleasure?”
Business or Pleasure?
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A Ruthless Lust
Imagine if you had to pretend to be in love with someone you hated? Your mortal enemy. Your families are locked in a blood feud.
Could you do it?
Abby Aldridge is a petite little redhead, innocent to her core. Damian Coldwell is tall, dark and gorgeous…marred by a life of tragedy. When they meet at a charity event on one cold night, they’re instantly drawn to each other.
But nothing is as it seems.
Damian Coldwell wants revenge…and nothing and no one will stand in his way. He’s spent years orchestrating the downfall of the man who ruined his father’s life. He’ll be ruthless and he’ll take down anyone who stands in his way…but that’s until he meets the daughter of the man he has vowed to destroy.
When he meets Abby, the intriguing redhead turns his passion for vengeance into an all-consuming need for her. He thinks that maybe he can appease his appetite for the lovely Abby Aldridge while using her as a pawn in his twisted game.
But, what he doesn’t know is that…while he thinks he’s playing her, she’s the one who’s playing him…
Damian is the man who’s brought her entire family to their knees, he’s already taken their family business and now he’s getting ready to take the rest. Her plan is to get into his bed and manipulate him into handing over everything he’s stolen.
Except, when she does…and she experiences another side of Damian…it’s hard to remember just why she hates him.
He makes her feel things that no man ever has…and she might be falling for him. It becomes more and more difficult to keep up the charade with each night in Damian’s arms and their passion for each other becomes insatiable.
There are secrets and lies at every turn and they both end up playing a game that neither of them want to win… in the end, their ruthless lust might just be all about love instead.
Find out what happens in this epic new steamer from Raquel Belle.
A Ruthless Lust
Raquel Belle
Copyright © 2019 by Raquel Belle. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations or excerpts for review purposes.
This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locations is purely coincidental.
Belle, Raquel. A Ruthless Lust.
Acknowledgements
I love you all! Thank you Naughty Bird, thank you to my family, thank you to my friends! This one is for you, Kate.
Chapter One
Damian
Damian’s head snapped back and the sound of a palm striking him across the face echoed. “Son of a bitch,” he muttered, rubbing his burning jaw. He fixed the irate, naked woman in front of him with an annoyed stare. Since when did asking someone to vacate the premises warrant a slap in the face?
Brunette, as he’d decided to refer to her—because try as he might, he could not remember her name—inhaled sharply. “You’re kicking me out?”
“No, I asked you to leave, nicely,” Damian bit out through clenched teeth.
Brunette threw her hands up and her exposed breasts swayed with her movements. Usually, Damian would have been enticed by the view. Not this time. Maybe the problem was the throbbing in his head, a harbinger of a killer hangover. But since when did something like a hangover stop him from continuing a party the morning after?
“Just like that?” She scoffed. “I thought we would have breakfast, spend a little more time together. Perhaps arrange another date.”
Damian’s eyes rounded. Another date? First of all, he didn’t date and he couldn’t understand why Brunette considered being picked up at a bar a first date. Hopeful eyes stared back at him and long lashes batted prettily.
He stifled a groan, realizing what he’d gotten himself into. It was one of those one-night stands. The one where the woman somehow interpreted one night as a marriage proposal. Massaging the bridge of his nose, he huffed. “Look ...” Lucy, Lexy, Lena … He vaguely recalled that her name began with an L. He shook his head, and gave up on the frivolous thought. “You knew what this was when you agreed to come back to my room. One night. Nothing more.”
Her eyes narrowed to slits. “You bastard. You don’t even remember my name, do you?”
Damian’s shoulders lifted and he shook his head.
“It’s Lacy,” she spat.
He nodded. Ah, there it was. He didn’t feel bad, not in the least. He knew Lacy’s type all too well. She trolled fancy hotel bars and other hot spots for the wealthy, hoping to sink her money-hungry fangs into a rich man. Damian had been her prey. She had taken one look at him, calculated, and summed up that he had money. Then she’d descended like a vulture, confident that she could use her sexual prowess to convince him into something more than one night. He’d let her hunt him, let her believe she had a chance…because he’d wanted a body to warm his bed for the night. Lacy’s sexual prowess had been on point—good enough to ensnare many weaker men. But, not him. Never him.
In the end, he was never anyone’s prey.
He was always the predator.
Damian’s lips twisted with amusement. Of course, he was now the monster for breaking her frostbitten, gold-digging heart. “You’re not wrong, Lacy. I am a heartless bastard. So everyone says anyway. It’s hard to feel sorry for you though. You knew what you were getting into. You just overestimated your skills. You thought you were enough to hold on to me. You were wrong.”
Lacy snarled and stomped away in the direction of her clothes, which were heaped on a chair. He watched as she shrugged on her panties and dress. It puzzled him as to why the woman was so furious. What part of one night wasn’t clear? He might have been a little tipsy when they had stumbled to his room, and he might have forgotten her name, but one thing he was sure of was that he’d let her know what was what before they began their wild night. He was always clear. It wasn’t his fault when they chose to expect more.
“You’re such a pig,” Lacy hissed.
Stark naked, with his dick still half-erect and sheathed in a condom, Damian rolled his eyes and reached for his jacket. Bastard, pig…he’d heard it all. He was accustomed to the indignant whining and name-calling, but Lacy’s voice was grating on his extra-sensitive nerves. He found his wallet and pulled out a wad of cash, not bothering to look at the bills. He extended the cash in offering, hoping it would make Lacy stop talking and just leave. “Here, is this what you want? Money? Take it and go.”
Lacy’s head snapped up. She zeroed in on the cash then shifted her focus to him. Damian was surprised to see outrage and disbelief glistening in her honey brown eyes. “I’m not a prostitute, prick,” she spat.
His brow lifted, and then he shrugged. “I’m not judging.”
She marched up to him, snatched the stack of bills and th
rew them at him. Fifty and hundred dollar bills hit him in the face and then floated to the red carpet before settling around his feet. She rolled her eyes. “You’re despicable. I can’t believe I thought you were anywhere near decent.”
Damian took no offense at her insult. He’d accepted that he wasn’t decent a long time ago. He was expecting another slap in the face though…definitely not his own money thrown back at him. So, all in all, this morning after wasn’t going too badly.
Without emotion or expression, he waited for her to charge out of the room. Letting out a breath when the door slammed, he spared the scattered bills around his feet a second glance and walked off toward the bathroom. Whomever cleaned the room when he checked out would find the generous tip. With distaste, he removed the condom and dumped it in the bin. What a waste. He hadn’t enjoyed his time with the enraged-yet-lovely Lacy. He usually managed to squeeze an ounce of enjoyment out of his trysts, but not this time.
He was supposed to be in a state of elation. He had finally gotten what he’d craved for years—revenge. He’d manage to take down his enemy. Aldridge was done, in every sense of the word. Damian had spent the night celebrating. He’d practically emptied the bar he was at and picked up what was supposed to be a stellar one-night stand.
On his way to the shower, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. His grim expression and flat eyes reminded him that he wasn’t enjoying his triumph as much as he’d expected.
“Sweet revenge, alcohol and a gorgeous woman. What more could you want?”
He stared at his reflection, confused, as if he expected the miserable image of himself to supply an answer. Could his mother have been right? Could taking down Caleb Aldridge not be the answer to him at last finding some semblance of peace?
With a deepening scowl, Damian stepped away from his reflection. Like hell. He wasn’t happy because he hadn’t done enough. The punishment had to fit the crime. All he had to do was find a way to drive a few more nails into Aldridge’s coffin, and then he’d be satisfied, he was sure of it.
Chapter Two
Abby
Men like Henry Sullivan were despicable. Abby gazed down at the older man with cool disdain, but he was much too caught up in fondling her to notice. For a second, she felt nauseated. There she was, mere hours before her father’s funeral, straddling this overweight lawyer. Her subconscious screamed at her. What are you doing? This isn’t you.
She shoved the thought aside. This was her now. This was who she’d had to become to avenge her father and her family.
Henry Sullivan was only the first step in the plan. She needed information. Abby knew she could get the man to sing like a canary the day he’d arrived at the Aldridge mansion. He’d come to present her father’s last will and testament. Henry, being a big fan of younger women, had blatantly ogled her the entire time he read the will. His meaty hands groped her bra-clad breasts as he gazed at them hungrily.
“What really happened to my father, Henry?”
He glanced up, his beady, hooded eyes were clouded with lust and confusion. “He ... hung himself,” Henry said slowly.
Abby gritted her teeth. No shit, Captain Obvious. “I’m well aware, Henry,” she said, “but what I mean is, why would he do that? Surely, you know. You were close friends. He must have said something to you about what was going on with him.” She’d heard rumors about why Caleb Aldridge had taken his own life, but before she could move forward with her plan, she had to be certain.
“I don’t think now is the time to talk about …”
She gripped his jaw with one hand and squeezed. “Now is the perfect time,” she said with steel behind each word. His eyes lit up with excitement, and his breathing escalated. Her sister was right—the man loved to be dominated. Abby didn’t want to know how Elaina knew that.
“Tell me, Henry.”
Rubbing his palms over her bare ass, he said, “He lost everything.”
“How?”
“Aldridge Enterprises went bankrupt. A few bad investments, you see. Someone swooped in and stole the company right from under Caleb.”
“Who was responsible for this hostile takeover?”
Henry shook his head. “I'm not at liberty to say, Abigail. I’m temporarily under this individual’s employ until everything has been transferred over to ... I can’t say any more.”
Abby’s eyes narrowed. Henry Sullivan was a worm. How could he work with someone who’d allegedly caused his friend’s death? He’d been her father’s lawyer for as long as she could remember. He’d been to their home many times for dinners and holidays. The pervert even used to encourage her to call him Uncle when she was younger. Now she understood why—Henry was a sick bastard.
His deviant nature aside, the fact that the disloyal piece of crap could so easily be swayed by money made Abby want to claw his chubby face. She had to play nice though. Her tone dropped to a more seductive octave, and she leaned forward, making sure her breasts rubbed against his chest.
“Please, talk to me, Henry. After being separated from my family for so long, I feel so left out. I just want to know what’s happening. You know?” She hoped her eyes were pleading enough, and her pout was up to standard. Trailing a finger over his lips, she purred. “I’ll make it worth your while, Henry.”
His pupils dilated. His lips parted, and his breathing became labored. She eyed him carefully, hoping his reaction was because he was turned on and not because the old fart was about to go into cardiac arrest. She’d glimpsed the box of Viagra in his top drawer. If he keeled over and died before she got the information she wanted, she’d be pissed.
“His name is Damian Coldwell,” Henry said as he eyed her breasts. “He’s just a businessman. He seemed to come out of the woodwork. It was like he’d been flying under the radar for years before he popped up and snatched Caleb’s company from under him. Rumor has it that he’s responsible for sabotaging Caleb a number of times, he made sure that his businesses failed. All I know about Coldwell is that he buys companies, gets them to look good on the books, pumps up the value and sells them to the highest bidder. Sometimes he keeps a few to run for himself. I’ve only recently had an opportunity to glimpse how he does things. The man’s a fucking genius, if you ask me.”
Hope blossomed in Abby. Maybe she could use Henry to do her dirty work. “So, you’re what …? A part of his inner circle now? His legal counsel?”
Henry laughed. “I wish. He pretty much told me to gather everything about your father’s company and his assets, hand them over to his lawyer, and then to fuck off. At least, he’s paying me handsomely.”
The hope in Abby withered. It seemed she’d have to get her hands dirty after all. She wondered if she could become the femme fatale she’d need to be to get things done…to seduce her way into this stranger's bed, to get dirt on him—of the most compromising nature—and then systematically destroy him. It sounded like something out of a movie—a really bad one where no one wins. Hysterical laughter nearly consumed her, but she confined the thoughts to her mind and not her mouth.
Innocent, slightly nerdy Abby, who got more excited about Van Gogh and Picasso paintings than she did about men and dating was no wicked seductress. But, her innocence had fled the building—in her opinion—the second she’d allowed Henry to put his filthy hands on her for information. There was no coming back from that.
She met Henry’s leer and struggled to hold back a grimace. The need to wrap her hands around his fat neck was nearly overwhelming. He was working with Damian Coldwell—The Traitor. “He already gotten the company though, Henry. Why Daddy’s assets?”
Henry shrugged. “Despite the meeting I had with your clan, there’s nothing to be done. Nothing Caleb left behind will stay with any of you for long. He left behind a lot of debt, you see. Your family is going to lose everything. I don’t know what to tell you except that if you need someone to take care of you, I’ll be more than happy to oblige ... for a price.” His eyes dipped to her breasts once again and his
sweaty palms moved lower to caress her soft thighs.
She let out a purr of laughter. “Oh, Henry, how generous, but I’m more than capable of taking care of myself.” She pulled away and stood up. “Oh, shoot. I’m afraid I don’t have time to give you that gift I promised … I don’t want to be late.” Abby reached for her dress and slid it on with haste.
Henry’s face took a dour turn. “But ... but ...”
She interrupted his sputtering. “But what, Henry? You want me to miss my father’s funeral to blow your whistle? Have you no respect?” His mouth clamped shut and she wheeled around to march out of his office.
Abby stepped outside and inhaled deeply, pulling her coat tighter to ward off the cold. “I cannot believe, I just used my body like that,” she said to herself, making her way to a yellow Porsche. Sliding into the passenger’s seat, she turned to her sister. “You could have driven something a little less conspicuous.”
Elaina raised a perfectly-arched blonde brow. “Don’t lecture me about my choice of car after you just screwed that greasy bastard to get proof of something I already told you.”
Abby gritted her teeth and faced forward. The Porsche hummed to life and took off. “Excuse me for not simply taking your word, Elaina. You’re not exactly a paragon of honesty. Neither is Mom. There’s no way was I going to go along with your ludicrous plot without confirmation.” She paused and then let out a breath. “There was no screwing, by the way.” Thank God she’d learned all she needed to before things went that far. Abby squirmed. Would she have really have had sex with a character like Henry Sullivan? The thought of going to those lengths made her shudder. “I haven’t stooped to your level,” she said with a smug expression—just to piss off her sister.
