Billionaire's Match

by Walker, Kylie

  Shane would give almost anything to have those days back.

  Holly told him about when Madison was born – that Tommy had been more strung out that she was. She laughed as she recounted that he had been the one screaming as if he were in labor, and when he first held Maddy in his arms, it was he who had cried.

  That was just like fucking Tommy. While he might have feigned a tough exterior, Shane’s brother had really been soft on the inside. Softer than Shane could ever be.

  Tommy deserved a woman like Holly…while he himself just sat on the sidelines and mooned like a fucking idiot.

  The more alcohol they consumed, the more they reminisced about high school. The parties they had, the classes they skipped – and with a little prodding, Shane even got Holly to tell him about a time she and Tommy snuck away to make out. It was after one of the best football games of the season, and in the revelry, she and Tommy had slipped away.

  As she told the story, however, Shane’s eyes widened.

  He arched a brow, remembering that particular day – when he and Tommy had still been on the fence about who would date Kelly and who got Holly. Of course, both of them held a candle for the dark-haired girl, and they made a deal that whoever scored the most touchdowns would get to sneak off with her after the game.

  Shane had won the bet, hands down.

  When Tommy argued that he already told Holly that he’d meet her, Shane demanded that his brother switch Jerseys with him – that he’d pretend to be Tommy while his brother took his place.

  And, apparently, he’d never told Holly.

  “It was…nice.” She blushed as she recounted the experience. “Private…teenage groping. Jesus, you’re probably more interested in remembering the game that night than my stupid love stories.”

  At the statement, Shane choked on his fourth whiskey of the night. Both he and Holly had consumed a few, and his head was buzzing pleasantly. Pleasantly enough for him to open his big mouth and spoil a secret he’d kept for years.

  “You know… we switched places that night.”

  Immediately, laughter bubbled from Holly’s throat. She was gorgeous when she was drunk – her cheeks flushed and her honey eyes slightly glazed. “What are you talking about?”

  Shane’s tone sobered slightly as he struggled to keep his gaze adequately north of the tantalizing swell of Holly’s cleavage. “The night you’re talking about. It’s stupid, Holly, and I hope you don’t take offense…but that was me. Wearing Tommy’s jersey.”

  For a moment, she just stared at him, her eyes wide, and Shane knew she was remembering that night. He’d been fumbling and impatient, groping her breasts with little to no finesse as he kissed her hotly under the bleachers. At the time, he couldn’t remember anything feeling as good as the slide of Holly Johnson’s bare thigh against his belly as he kissed her.

  Come to think of it, he still couldn’t think of anything better.

  And that was all it took.

  Shane was rock hard in an instant, inwardly cursing at his lack of restraint. “That was you.” Holly’s tone was breathless when she finally answered him, her flush spreading all the way down to the neckline of her dress.

  Slowly, Shane nodded, feeling like a complete ass. He’d obviously said too much.

  “Holly.”

  Before either of them could say another word, however, Kelly popped over to the booth, appearing at Holly’s elbow. “Sorry to interrupt, but we’ve got a table up front asking for a discount on their wine. They say it wasn’t allowed to breathe.”

  Almost immediately, Holly leapt from her seat as if it had been heated to two hundred degrees. “Right, I’m coming.”

  She fled – and Shane watched her, shaking his head the whole time. “Ass.” He muttered under his breath, his hands fisting on the table as he zeroed in on her limp for the second time that night. “You fucking ass.”

  Though Holly didn’t return to the table, Shane remained in the restaurant until it closed. He found he enjoyed watching all the people bustle in and out – enjoyed realizing how many people his brother had drawn from near and far with his mouthwatering menu.

  Around ten, people stopped coming in, and the kitchen closed at eleven. The bar remained open until two am for drinks, and by that time, the band was packing up in preparation to leave. As they put away their various instruments, Shane watched Holly approach them. Rather than flirting with them, as Kelly did, or being cowed by them like a server, she spoke to them on their level. Smiled and laughed with them, and, when the time came, discreetly passed them their payment.

  They were some of the last people out the door, and once they’d disappeared, Shane rose from the table to make his way to the front of the restaurant, where Kelly was stacking her menus. There was, Shane noticed, a table that had been empty all night – right in the front of the restaurant. The gleaming silver Reserved sign in its center hadn’t been moved since Shane came in, and he wondered why.

  “Change your mind about the biting?” Kelly jibed when he came near, making him chuckle lowly.

  “Nah.” He moved over to stand above the reserved table, placing his hand atop the pristine white table cloth. “Did the people who booked this table never come in? I noticed it was empty all night.”

  Kelly’s smile faded at his question and she sighed, straightening the stack of food menus before her before moving onto the slimmer drink menus. She opened her mouth to speak, but hesitated, obviously searching for the right words. “That’s where Tommy died. We keep the table vacant for him.”

  The words hit him with the force of a front loader, and for almost a full minute, Shane struggled to breathe.

  How could he ever have forgotten, even for an instant, that his brother had been murdered in his own restaurant? His hand tightening at the edge of the table, Shane knelt close to the floor, gazing over it. Of course, the marble had been polished to within an inch of its life. There were no signs of food, let alone a bloody struggle.

  He didn’t know what he expected to see…Perhaps he was a little too used to watching men die. The aftermath…that was harder to deal with.

  “Shane.” He started slightly at Kelly’s hand on his shoulder. He glanced up at her to find her expression sympathetic. “You ok?”

  He straightened to his full height to tower over her, his mouth drawn into a tight line. “No. I’m not.”

  His brother had been murdered – and not only that, the same motherfuckers had tried to kill Holly. Made her watch as they stole the life from him.

  If Holly was in any way, shape or form in danger, she was going to tell him about it, and she was going to tell him tonight.

  Turning on his heel, he marched towards the office into which he’d seen her disappear less than an hour ago. He knocked briskly on the closed door. “Holly? It’s me.”

  There was a short bout of rustling before the door swung open and he found Holly in the midst of several tall pile of paperwork. Her eyes were red and it was obvious that she was trying to hide that she’d been crying.

  Shane’s expression turned thunderous. “What is it? What’s wrong? Who hurt you?”

  Holly immediately shook her head frantically, when she spoke, her voice was only the barest whisper. “No one. I’m fine.”

  “Bull shit.” Shane knew his voice was harsh, but he hardly cared. If someone was hurting her, he was going to get it out of her, one way or another. “Tell me, Holly. I’m not going to let anyone lay a hand on you, I swear it.”

  At his words, a visible shudder passed through her. When she fixed him with her wide, hazel eyes, there was enough pain there to make every muscle in his body tighten. “Tell me who it is, Holly. Tell me right goddamn now.”

  Holly’s face crumpled. “Tommy.” The single word escaped her brokenly as she stepped backwards into the office, tears spilling down her cheeks.

  Shane froze in the doorway in disbelief. Tommy was hitting her? Hurting her? But Tommy was dead. He’d been six feet under for over a year.

&nb
sp; He didn’t understand.

  He stepped into the office, reaching back to close the door behind him. “Don’t close it!” Holly’s voice rang out so sharply she startled him, and Shane released the door hurriedly, leaving it cracked. The look of panic on her face cut him to the core and he immediately went to her, taking her into his arms.

  Shane knew she was messed up. He wanted to make everything for her – to fix it so she never hurt again. But at the same time, he was consumed with the way she smelled, the softness of her hair and the perfect way she fit in his arms. How could something that felt so right be so goddamn wrong? “Holly, talk to me.” After about five minute of letting her cry, Shane attempted to coax answers from the woman pressed against him. “I don’t understand.”

  “He lied to me, Shane.” Holly whispered brokenly. “For the last six months before he died…Tommy changed. Everything changed. He was angry all the time…he drank until the sun came up, and he was always tired. So fucking tired. He never seemed to want to touch me…like he was afraid that I’d run away from him. I tried asking him what was wrong…Jesus, I tried…but he never said a word to me.” She hiccupped, trying to clear her throat as several heavy, salty droplets fell from her lashes. “And then…the night he died…he was finally going to tell me. He was going to tell me everything….”

  She shook her head frantically, pressing her face into his shoulder as sobs wracked her slender frame. “After…I found out we were fucking buried in debt. The collectors were at our doors and he never even told me. We were so far under that I had to use every penny of his life insurance money to save the restaurant – to save his dream.” She paused. “I’m just…I’m so fucking tired, Shane. I loved him so goddamn much…how could he do this to me? How could he leave me like this?”

  Fuck.

  Fuck.

  Wordlessly, Shane stroked through Holly’s silky waves, his thoughts thrown into turmoil. Tommy did this? Perfect, superior Tommy, who had his whole life planned out down to the last detail? Tommy who could do no fucking wrong?

  When Shane acquiesced to his brother…when he admitted that Tommy could provide better for Holly than he ever could, Tommy had promised to take care of her. Before they fell out, before the screaming match that had all but ended their relationship, his brother swore to him that he would take care of his wife.

  For both their sakes.

  And now, he was dead and buried, but for the briefest instant, Shane almost wished he could kill him again.

  Chapter 7

  Holly cracked.

  There was so much pressure on her, day in and day out – she found that several times in the same hour she see-sawed back and forth between missing Tommy so much her entire body ached with it and cursing the legacy he left her.

  She couldn’t tell Shane what was really going on – couldn’t bring him into the danger she already faced.

  But she had done something worse. She smeared Tommy’s name in a moment of weakness…and now, she didn’t even have the decency to feel guilty about it. Instead, she felt as if a weight had been lifted from her chest. Holly would never, ever deny that she had loved her husband. She had loved him more than life himself.

  But Tommy had hurt her. His secrets were still hurting her – and to deny that she was angry…she couldn’t do it anymore.

  “It’s ok, Holly.” Shane’s deep, reassuring tone thrummed through her as he rubbed up and down her back gently. “Everything’s going to be OK. I’ll make this right, Ok? I’ll do whatever I need to. Help out in the restaurant, babysit Maddy….whatever you need, you just tell me.”

  Holly couldn’t help laughing through her tears. She had a hard time imagining Shane polishing wine glasses or keeping Maddy occupied for an entire afternoon. No matter how much they spoke her daughter, Madison was convinced that Shane was her father; that he had come back from the dead. How were they ever going to deal with that?

  Her entire world was royally fucked up – they were all moving parts in a grand, torturous plan they couldn’t escape.

  “That’s better.” Cupping her face, Shane tilted it upward to wipe her tears away with his thumbs until her cheeks were dry. “Smile for me.”

  His fingers moved downward, wiping moisture from her cheeks – and then, kept moving inexorably southward. Within the space of thirty seconds, Shane’s thumb swiped over her plump lower lip, and she could taste the salt of her own tears.

  As intense green gaze burned into hers, and warmth ignited low in her belly. The same warmth that prompted her flight when Shane had admitted he was the one to kiss her with such passion all those years ago. They’d been young and stupid, but that was the night that Holly convinced herself that Tommy loved her.

  Except the boy kissing her hadn’t been Tommy.

  “My brother was a goddamned fool.” Holly exhaled a shuddering breath, trying to calm her racing pulse. As she watched Shane lower his mouth towards hers, she knew she should stop him. She told herself she was brazen – that it was only because Shane looked like Tommy that she was even attracted to him at all.

  Even as the excuse rose in her mind, she knew it was a lie.

  When Shane’s mouth covered hers, a long, trembling moan escaped her. His lips were firmer than she remembered, moving deftly, slowly over her own. Reaching up, Holly wound her arms around his neck, pressing herself flush against him as awareness sang through every nerve ending in her body.

  She wanted to kiss Shane from the moment she saw him on her doorstep, and now that her dream was fulfilled, she might have died and gone to heaven. His tongue swept over her lip, teasing it until she shuddered before dipping into her mouth to taste her. Holly immediately rose onto her toes, arching her back to press the aching tips of her breasts against him through the material of her dress, and the resulting sensation drew a whimper from her throat.

  Pulling her lower lip between his teeth, Shane suckled it until she squirmed in his arms. Holly threaded her fingers through his hair, tugging at the dark roots as the heat between her legs rose by several degrees. Shane was being sweetly, amazingly gentle with her, but that wasn’t what she needed right now. Holly had been made love to all her life.

  Just now, she needed to be fucked.

  Curling her hand into the back of Shane’s neck, she dug her fingernails in, molding her mouth to his hungrily. Her tongue darted out to slide against his boldly, and he inhaled sharply, his grip tightening about her waist. Almost immediately, he drew back, his eyes dilating until green gave way to opaque black. “I’m trying to be careful with you, Holly. You’re not making it easy.” Gazing down at her heaving breasts, the man licked his lips. “I’m not Tommy.”

  Sliding her hands up underneath the shirt he wore, Holly shivered in anticipation at the rock hard muscle she found there. “I know you’re not.”

  As if a switch had been thrown, Shane growled, molten lust filling his gaze. With a sweep of one broad arm, he shoved everything from the desk onto the floor and lifted her onto it. Almost instinctively, Holly winced. When Kirk visited her, he liked to hurt her. To see how much pain he could inflict to make her beg for mercy.

  While Shane’s grip on her was firm, it wasn’t painful. She would treasure the marks his hands left on her hips and thighs.

  Reaching for the straps on her dress, Shane yanked them down, tugging at the bodice on her dress until her breasts sprang free. At the sight of them, he groaned, low in his throat, raising his hands to cup their warm weight. Immediately, Holly’s nipples drew into almost painful peaks as her fingers curled around the edge of the desk.

  Shane’s mouth ravaged her own hungrily before he moved to her ear, drawing the lobe between his teeth. “Beautiful.” He murmured huskily, his mouth dropping to her neck to bite and suck a line of bright red marks into the tender skin. “So fucking beautiful.” His tongue dipped into the hollow at her throat and she moaned softly, arching her body from the desk against the hard lines of his chest.

  With a firm press of his hand against her sternum,
Shane pinned her back against the flat surface, drawing one of her nipples into his mouth to tease with his teeth and tongue. A short, sharp cry of pleasure escaped Holly and Shane immediately raised his head, glancing back towards the door.

  “It’s fine.” Holly reassured him quickly. “Everyone left. We’re the only ones here.”

  She needed him inside her, here and now, to drive out the ugly psychological scars Kirk Luckston left her with.

  In reply to her statement, Shane grinned wickedly. “That means I can make you scream.”

  The words alone were enough to substantially slick Holly’s already damp panties. “God yes,” She moaned almost deliriously. “Make me scream.”

  Shane wasted no time returning to his task. His mouth returned to her breast and this time he didn’t stop until she was writhing beneath him, hot jolts of pleasure streaking down to stoke the fire between her legs. Shane’s tongue and teeth teased her aureole until the need low in her belly bordered on physical pain, and when he had finished there, he only chuckled at her mewling plea for more. “I got you, honey. Don’t worry. I’ll give you everything you need.”

  He worked her dress down and over her hips until it slinked into a pile on the floor, leaving her in only her lacy scrap of a thong. At the sight of it, drenched with her desire for him, Shane groaned, sinking to his knees. His palms pressed upward against her lower back, raising the tender skin of her stomach to his mouth to sample.

  Holly gasped when his tongue lingered in the indent of her belly button, before his teeth grazed the protruding bones of either of her hips. When he adjusted her to drape her thighs over his shoulders, Holly flushed darkly. Through the barrier of her panties, Shane’s tongue darted over her mound in a long, firm lap and she cried out, her thighs trembling. What was he doing to her?

  “Goddamn, Holly.” Shane breathed against her pubic bone, the heat of the epithet drawing a whimper from the woman at his mercy. “You smell like heaven. Is this for me?” He drew a finger over the seam of her and she groaned, her eyes fluttering shut.