The Billion Dollar Bachelor Read online

  Her breath caught, the anger burning out as quickly as it had come, the ache of desire beginning again. Just as well he wanted her to stay because she really didn’t have anywhere else to go right now. “Um … I guess not … .”

  “You’re damn right.” He spread his hands, lifted her without any apparent effort at all. “But this time we’re using the bed.”

  In the darkness of another room, he laid her down on a huge white bed, the sheets cool against her burning skin. She watched as he stood beside the bed and undressed, hungry for the sight of him. The room was dark but even so, she could see the hard lines of a muscular chest and defined abs. Lean hips and powerful legs. He pushed his pants down, taking his boxers with them, and she didn’t look away. She’d seen naked men on the Internet before but not one in real life. And even though he’d been inside her already, seeing him so hard and ready and … large, was still a shock.

  Without any hurry, he pulled open the drawer of the nightstand beside the bed and took out something—another silver packet.

  He handed her the packet. “I guess you’ve never put a condom on a man before, either?”

  Pandora stared at the condom in her hand. “Uh, no.”

  “Never practiced on bananas in sex ed at school?”

  “Nope.” The private and very exclusive girls school she’d gone to had no sex ed.

  “Do you want me to do it then?”

  Her jaw firmed and she sat up. “Are you kidding me?”

  He laughed, a soft, low sound that made her shiver. “That’s the spirit. I like determination in a woman. Do it right and you’re in for one hell of a reward tonight.”

  Ripping open the foil packet, she took out the condom and began to gingerly roll the latex down over him. “Considering it’s my birthday tomorrow, I think I deserve a reward anyway.” She looked up at him. “Don’t you?”

  The darkness of the room shadowed his face, the intense color of his eyes muted. He smiled, reaching out and cupping her face in his hand. “I think you deserve a lot of things, Snow.” His thumb brushed over her lower lip. “Things you maybe don’t get, hmmm?”

  A painful, tight feeling collected in her chest. Yeah, there were things she didn’t get. Plenty of things. Things all the money in the world couldn’t buy. Like freedom. Like closeness. Like touch. Like, shit, even friendship.

  Things she would never have while she was Nick Garret’s daughter. Or Sergei’s wife.

  Pandora turned her cheek against his hand and looked away. “Yeah. Maybe.”

  There was a moment where he paused and she wondered if he was going to ask her more questions. But he didn’t. All he said was, “Back on the bed, sweetheart.”

  Relieved in ways she couldn’t have articulated, she did as she was told, lying on her back, letting him spread her legs apart. He touched her, his fingers sliding over the slick flesh between her thighs, testing her gently. “Are you sore?”

  “N-no.” Aching, yes. Sore, definitely not.

  He bent his head, still stroking her, the muscles of her thighs tightening—hell, everything tightening—as she got a hint of what he was about to do.

  Her fingers curled on the sheets. “Hunt … ”

  “Hush. It’ll be okay.” His palms settled on her thighs, holding her legs apart, then he bent further and she felt his tongue against her clit, striking sparks through her body like a flint against stone. She gasped, quivering under his hands as he began to lick her, slow and easy, those sparks striking hotter, brighter with each lick.

  It seemed impossible that anything could equal what had happened out in the lounge but apparently it was very possible. To have that sharp, intense pleasure leap into life inside her once more.

  She dug her fingers into the sheets, her back arching, a long, low moan breaking from her. It was too much and yet it wasn’t enough. She wanted … more. Whatever he could give her.

  “Please …” she whispered brokenly. “Hunt … ”

  But he kept it slow, leisurely, as if he had all the time in the world. And only when she was shaking and on the brink of release, did he push inside her, making her tremble. There was no pain, no pain at all, or even discomfort. Just the sensation of fullness, of being stretched and opened. And it felt so good, that horrible, tightness in her chest vanishing until there was nothing but him. Nothing but the heat of his bare skin against hers, the delicious friction of his cock moving inside her, the spice and musk of his scent, and the feel of his arms as they wrapped around her. Gathering her close as he moved inside her. Giving her pleasure, so much pleasure she couldn’t stand it.

  And when it got too much, she turned her head into his neck and buried her cry against his skin, light bursting behind her eyes as the climax swallowed her whole, barely aware of his groan as he found his own release.

  Afterward, lying against his chest, still held tight in his arms, she closed her eyes, allowing herself a couple of minutes to relax.

  She should probably leave, keep moving before her father turned the city upside down trying to find her, but she was tired and had no idea where she’d go after this. Being here, in his arms, made her feel safe. It was kind of weird she would enjoy the feeling quite so much, especially since safe wasn’t what she’d been looking for tonight. Yet she did now and she wanted to keep it. Just for a little while.

  Chapter 5

  There was light against her eyes. Annoying light.

  Pandora groaned and rolled over, trying to burrow her head under the pillow to escape it. Except the pillow wasn’t as light or as soft as her normal pillow. Nor did it give an inch as she tried to get her head under it. Come to think of it, it didn’t feel like a normal pillow, either.

  Reluctantly she cracked open an eye.

  Goddamn. It wasn’t a pillow at all but a muscular male arm. A bare, muscular male arm. She blinked, slowly connecting the arm to the rest of the man lying next to her. Also bare. Also muscular.

  The Huntsman.

  The air left her lungs and memory rushed in to fill the gap. Of the bar. The kiss. The limo ride. The apartment. The pleasure, so much intense pleasure.

  She’d lost her virginity, had a one-night stand with a complete stranger and it had been … amazing.

  And then she became aware of something else. That it was daylight. That she hadn’t slept for just a little while as she’d planned. Oh no, she’d slept the entire damn night.

  Quickly she glanced at the clock on the nightstand. Ten A.M.

  Panic slid icy fingers through her. Oh, shit, she was screwed. So utterly screwed. Both literally and figuratively.

  Her father. He’d be looking for her. And she was still in New York. Still within reach.

  Pandora sat up, her heart beginning to race, trying to think things through calmly and failing.

  Okay, so her father couldn’t possibly track here, could he? Which meant she was safe, at least for a little while. Maybe she could wake Hunt up, ask him if she could borrow some money. Get his help to get her out of New York.

  No, that was a stupid idea. She didn’t want to involve him. If her father ever found out who he was, she wouldn’t be the only one who was screwed. He would be, too.

  Maybe it was best if she left now and—

  From out in the lounge came the unmistakable sound of the elevator doors opening.

  And panic gripped her even tighter.

  There were many other reasons for those doors to be opening. For someone to come into Hunt’s apartment as if they owned the place. A family member or, worse, a girlfriend.

  But a sixth sense honed by time and experience told her it wasn’t either of those options. Which left only one other: her father had found her.

  She swallowed, glancing at the man beside her, his dark, beautiful face relaxed in sleep.

  No, she couldn’t wake him. He’d probably come racing to her rescue and she couldn’t allow that. He didn’t deserve to get mixed up in her family shit when he didn’t even know who she was, it wouldn’t be fair.

&
nbsp; She had to face her father alone.

  Pandora’s heart pumped furiously but she fought the fear. She wasn’t going to let it get to her. Not after last night. Hunt had given her a glimpse of her own power and she didn’t want to give that up.

  She didn’t know how her father had managed to track her down, but one thing was for sure: he’d kept her locked away for far too many years and now that she was out, now that she’d had a taste of freedom, there was no way in hell she was going back.

  Carefully she pulled the sheet off the bed without waking Hunt and wrapped it around herself. Then, taking a deep breath, she walked out of the bedroom.

  Sure enough, when she stepped into the lounge, there was her father standing and staring at the scraps of red silk on the floor—the remains of her clothes. Thing One and Thing Two flanked him, staring around the apartment, all dark suits and menace.

  She stopped. Braced herself. “Looking for me?”

  Nick’s head snapped up, his cold, dark eyes meeting hers. Widening. “Well, well, well,” he said after a moment. “There you are, Pandora. You’ve led us on quite a chase.”

  Thing One and Thing Two smiled at her, like she was an old friend they hadn’t seen for a long time. But she could see that they were angry, too. Of course they would be. Nick probably would have punished them for letting her escape and she’d bet anything the punishment wasn’t pleasant.

  Well, that was too bad. They could suck it. She wasn’t going back.

  “What are you doing here, Dad?”

  “I might ask you the same thing.” His gaze dropped to the sheet wrapped around her. “Though, I can guess.”

  She resisted the urge to pull it tighter—to hell with being ashamed or embarrassed about what she’d done. “How did you find me?”

  “You think turning off your phone is enough? I have eyes and ears all through this city, sweetheart. You know that.”

  She swallowed. “I’m not going back, Dad. Understand that right now.”

  He smiled and her heart contracted. She knew that smile. Like a shark’s. Whenever he was very, very angry he smiled like that and when he did, everyone knew that the consequences were going to be very bad indeed.

  “The car’s downstairs, Pandora,” he said calmly. “I’d get down there now if I were you.”

  She’d never argued with her father before. Never refused to do what he wanted her to do because she didn’t have any power of her own to fight him with. The couple of times she’d made a token rebellion he’d taken away her Internet access. For a girl stuck in a tower, her life curtailed by bodyguards and walls, a computer her only escape, that had been akin to blinding her.

  But last night she’d gotten out. Taken a step into the real world, not a virtual one for once. And discovered a power she never knew she had. A power she was damn well going to use.

  “No,” Pandora said.

  Nick’s smile flickered. Became colder, more fixed. “Get in the fucking car.”

  “No, Dad. I’m not getting in the fucking car.” She met his gaze. “I’m not going anywhere with you ever again.”

  “We’ll do this the hard way then.” He made a gesture and the two bodyguards began to advance on her.

  “Lay a finger on her and I’ll rip your fucking arms off.”

  The breath left her body at the sound of Hunt’s voice, low and deadly behind her. Oh, God. He must have woken up. What the hell was he doing out here, the idiot? Didn’t he know how much danger he was in? She whirled around in time to see him advance into the room wearing nothing but a pair of low-slung jeans.

  Jesus, even now, with her father here and her newfound freedom at risk, all she could think about was how hot the guy was.

  “Don’t,” she began. “You should have—”

  “Oh, Christ,” her father interrupted in a voice redolent with disgust. “Jax Morrow. This is your place?”

  Shock broke over her. She’d stumbled into a bar and into the arms of Jax Morrow? Holy freaking God. No wonder he’d seemed somehow familiar. His face wasn’t as recognizable as that of his brother Donovan since he kept himself firmly out of the spotlight, but his name was a fixture in the newspapers, magazines, and gossip columns of the city.

  “Jax Morrow?” she said faintly. “You’re Jax Morrow?”

  Hunt/Jax’s intense blue gaze flicked to her, a brief searing glance. Then he returned his attention back to where her father stood. “Garret,” he said calmly. “Yeah, this is mine. How the hell did you get up here?”

  Pandora stood there, still stunned. He would know who her father is, of course he would. The Morrows and Garrets were rivals from way back. Which meant …

  He now knows who you are.

  Oh Jesus.

  “The locks on your door aren’t as strong as they look,” her father was saying.

  Jax’s face had darkened with anger. “If you’ve broken anything, so help me—”

  “Relax. The door is fine. I, however, am not.” Her father’s cold stare got even colder. “It appears you’ve taken something of mine.”

  Oh, shit. They were talking about her. “He didn’t take anything,” Pandora said hotly. “I asked him—”

  “Be quiet,” Nick ordered, cutting her off. “You need to do as you’re told and get into the car. Or shall I get Danny to pick you up and carry you?”

  Pandora’s heart felt like it was going to come out of her chest. Nick wouldn’t hurt her but the thought of the bodyguards dragging her kicking and screaming out the door was humiliating. So, either do what he said or be forced into it? Not much of a choice there.

  “She’s not going anywhere.” Jax Morrow’s voice was rough and dark and absolutely certain.

  “The hell she isn’t.” Nick stared at him. “She’s my daughter and she does what I tell her.”

  Menace permeated the air, the bodyguards tensing. God, she should just do what she was told. Nick looked angry enough to do Jax harm and she didn’t want to be responsible for that.

  “It’s okay,” she croaked. “I’ll do it.”

  Jax turned his head, his gaze scorching her. “Do you want to go?”

  “No.” Hell, no.

  “Then you won’t.” He looked back at her father. “I’m not one of your minions, Garret. And you can’t intimidate me, either. She’s not going anywhere.”

  Nick was silent, not taking his eyes off Jax. “You want her?” he asked finally. “Then you can have her. But I demand compensation for what you stole.”

  “Compensation?” Pandora said. “Dad, I’m not a possession you can just—”

  “You’re my daughter. And I had plans for you. Plans that have been severely disrupted by your little escapade.”

  She folded her arms tightly over the nausea that sat in her gut. “Don’t tell me: Sergei.”

  He neither looked surprised she’d guessed nor did he try to deny it. “An alliance with him will be good for all of us.”

  “Not for me it wouldn’t.”

  “It’s for your own protection, Pandora. There will come a day where I can’t do that for you anymore and I—”

  “Oh, spare me,” she cut in, suddenly, blisteringly angry. “Don’t try to dress it up. I’m just the bone you’re throwing to one of your dogs.” She’d never said things like that to him before and part of her couldn’t believe she was saying it now. Normally she just nodded her head and went back to playing World of Warcraft or Second Life, or working on one of her coding projects. Not today though. Today she’d discovered an inner core of strength she didn’t know she had.

  Her father’s gaze could have frozen fire. “You will not speak to me like that. Not after all I’ve done for you. Get in the car. I won’t ask you again.”

  “What compensation?” Jax said before anyone could move. “And who the fuck is Sergei?”

  “My daughter is promised to an associate of mine.”

  “Promised?”

  “The engagement is to be announced today.”

  Pandora gritted her teeth. �
��I knew it. I knew that’s what you were going to do. Happy birthday to me.”

  Jax blinked, as if he couldn’t quite understand. “What is this? You have a fiancé you didn’t tell me about?”

  “No, of course not.” She took a ragged breath. “I would never—”

  “I’ve arranged the marriage,” her father interrupted, “in return for territory and numerous other advantages.” He stopped, his eyes calculating as he stared at Jax.

  And Pandora began to get a very bad feeling about what was going to happen next.

  “But maybe I’ve changed my mind,” Nick went on. “Maybe I could do better than Sergei.”

  “Dad …” Pandora began.

  “Far better,” Nick murmured, ignoring her, his gaze on Jax, an acquisitive gleam in his eyes. “You wanted to know about compensation, Morrow? How about this for compensation then. I want you to marry my daughter instead.”

  *

  At first Jax couldn’t quite understand what the man was saying, not when he was still reeling from the discovery that his Snow White was Pandora Garret, daughter of Nick Garret, head of the most notorious crime family in New York and once the Morrows’ greatest rival.

  The virgin daughter he’d screwed over his couch and whom the guy now apparently wanted him to marry.

  “No,” Pandora was saying. “No, Dad. He’s got nothing to do with this.”

  But Nick Garret was staring at him with the same dark eyes as Snow’s, his expression that of a man who has just uncovered his mortal enemy’s weakness. An analogy that wasn’t out of place given the situation.

  The Garrets and the Morrows had been rivals a long time ago, when crime was big business for both families. Except the Morrows had eventually chosen the path of legitimacy while the Garrets stayed in the underworld, making money and gaining influence on the sly.

  Shit, even if she hadn’t been a complete stranger, even if he’d been in love with her, he would never agree to marry her. Be associated with a crime lord’s daughter? Not a good business move at the best of times let alone now, with every sordid aspect of Morrow’s past plastered all over the headlines.