Her Billionaire Secret Part 1: An Alpha Billionaire Romance (3 page)

Claire opened her mouth to speak but closed it again. Tevis dropped down to his knees in front of her, his face now level with hers. She knew he was seeking a chink in her armour. Whether it was via her sympathy for the young singer, or because he knew the power of his attraction, she didn’t know. He was certainly exuding sex appeal and her traitorous body was responding.

Raised blood pressure and difficulty breathing? Check.

Heartbeat racing? Check.

Impaired decision-making ability?

Too damned right!

She knew she was falling right into his trap, even as she opened her mouth.

“Why is this for Eloise?”

“Because she’s getting married on Monday and she’s terrified the press will find out. At the moment I believe she thinks you’re a journalist.”

Claire closed her eyes, nausea rising in her stomach. The memories came crashing back in one sudden flash. The noise and the confusion and the feeling of utter terror. Four days of her time was a small price to pay to prevent someone else going through what she’d experienced.

Could she do it? Yes. Should she do it? No. Not if she didn’t want to risk her hard-won peace.

Opening her eyes again, she stared at him. The silence dragged on as she fought with herself over the decision. The look on Ellie’s face when she spoke to her in the kitchen dug deep into her conscience. If she wanted, she could set Ellie at ease.

Tevis raised an eyebrow. She sighed. Claire knew that, despite her better judgement, she was allowing him to get to her. She should really refuse to help.

“If I agree…” she grasped his hand and gripped it tightly, “you’ll keep me out of all this? Keep this private? I also value my privacy, Mr Drummond.

“The wedding is a secret. There’s to be no publicity at all.”

“I’ll do it on one condition.”

“Anything.”

“I don’t want your bribe.”

He tilted his head as if surprised. “Okay, we’ve got a deal,” he responded. “Claire, you really should take it because you’re going to have to work hard.”

“I thought you only wanted me to stay in the house?”

“Not exactly.” Tevis had a smug smile on his face and it set her alarm bells ringing. “For the next four days, we are going to act as if we are passionately in love with each other. Eloise has to believe you’re the most important woman in my life.”

Claire couldn’t help laughing.

He looked at her quizzically. “What’s so funny?”

“No one’s going to believe it. You’ll deserve an Oscar if you pull it off!”

Carefully, gently, he put his hand on the back of her neck and pulled her to him. Before she could say another word he silenced her with a devastating kiss.

Chapter Three

TEVIS

Claire Bretton fascinated him. For the first time in as long as he could remember, probably the first time ever, here was a feisty sassy woman who didn’t care one iota who he was. Even better, she couldn’t be bought. His money didn’t mean a damn thing.

As he’d stood arguing with her in the kitchen, he knew he had to keep her there. In a matter of seconds, she’d done what many other women failed to do. Interested him. Attracted him. Made him want to chase her down, tame her, and have her submit to his will.

Claire was no toy, no easy fuck. She was disinterested in him but his dick hardened just at the smell of her.

Ellie, bless her, had unwittingly provided him with the ammunition to keep Claire in the house. In the end, Ellie had been the gun that he’d held to Claire’s head.

He didn’t regret it one bit.

In that first kiss in the kitchen, her lips were soft and she tasted of peppermint and chocolate as if she’d been eating candy. Sliding his hand down her back, he’d pulled her closer so that her glorious full breasts pressed firmly to his chest. He’d felt her surprise, her shock.

Most women of his acquaintance would have moved smoothly into the role of willing lover, as if they’d trained to take the opportunity when it arose. He smiled. Not Claire. She’d sworn at him and fought him every step of the way to the bedroom. He’d taken her there because it was the one room he could guarantee no one would walk in on them. The whole house was in disruption due to his brother’s wedding.

His instinct told him that getting Claire to stay would take all his negotiating skills. His instinct was right. Even his offer to fulfil her career dream hadn’t swayed her. Not even the offer of a world ticket rather than simply for Europe. He’d seen the initial delight in her eyes shut down in seconds. It wasn’t an avenue he could take.
 

It had been sheer genius on his part to use Ellie as the hook. For some obscure reason it worked. He saw the pain in Claire's eyes and, like the bastard everyone called him, he’d tied up the deal.

He had until Tuesday.

Four days in which to seduce her and get her into his bed.  Ninety-six hours in which to work out what it was about Claire that made him want her more than any other woman he’d come across.

As they’d fought, all he wanted to do was spread her wide on the bed and fuck her—to make her scream and beg for more. But also he wanted to see her face and feel the depth of her emotions. He wanted to see if she felt as he did, that this strange meeting was the start of something big.

She’d told him he’d deserve an Oscar if he could make people believe they were in love. It wasn’t going to be difficult. Not at all.
 
From the moment she’d walked into his house she’d become more important to him than anyone else in his life.

Let her believe this second kiss was an act. That he was showing her his consummate skill. He had to taste her again.

He pulled her into his arms and he knew that once more she was unprepared. 

As his lips touched hers, her eyes widened. She was so innocent, so easy to shock. If he wasn’t so intent on proving he could make her want him, he would have teased her, made her laugh. Claire was the laughing kind. The kind of woman he needed in his life.

But now wasn’t the time.

Now he was intent on proving he could melt the panties off her.

She resisted as he kissed her but only for a few seconds. He pulled her tight against him, putting his hand gently on the back of her head and pulling her hair loose. It was soft and smelt of floral shampoo and slid through his fingers like silk.

Her hands pressed against his chest, her fingers gripping his shirt. Her lips moved beneath his. Responding to him. Teasing him back.

His cock hardened, and he intensified his kiss. He couldn’t keep control. He wanted her so damned much.

Pain shot through his foot.

“Fuck!”

Claire pulled back. “Next time, I’ll stamp harder!” she spluttered at him.

He’d swear she’d been enjoying the kiss. Bet his life on it. Even now, with anger on her face, she was breathless and her eyes were dilated. She’d been as heated as him.

She must have felt his erection and realised he wasn’t acting. He guessed her anger was at her own reaction, even though she directed it at him.

He hid his smile of satisfaction behind a countenance of sardonic coolness. Claire needed careful handling.

“My shoes are handmade. I don’t appreciate you damaging them.”

She narrowed her eyes. Those sexy deep brown eyes framed with long dark lashes. They were stunningly beautiful, but there was also something familiar about them. It was a memory of someone he knew or someone he'd seen. It would come to him.

“Then don’t take liberties with me, you bastard!” 

She was rigid with anger and he couldn’t help but tease. It was too easy. “Ah, so you know my family history,” he grinned back.

“I don’t bloody care about where you came from, it’s the way you’re acting I’m not impressed with!”

He reached out and stroked a finger down her hot cheek. “It’s the way we agreed to act, Claire. I’m the doting boyfriend, remember?”

Pushing his hand away she frowned back. “May I remind you we don’t have an audience.”

“Ah, my dear Claire, this was a rehearsal. Remember, practice makes perfect.”

“I don’t think you need any more practice, Mr Drummond.”

Her voice was cutting and he winced inwardly as she stamped across the room to stand by the window. If Claire was practising anything now, it was the art of ignoring him and making a point about it.

Scooping up her bag, he crossed to the bedroom door. “Stay here,” he growled.

She glanced at him and realised what he was doing. “You can’t take that, I need it.”

He ignored her and slammed the door behind him. He wasn’t going far, only to his personal safe. Once his task was completed he returned to the bedroom. She was still looking out of the window but when she turned to him she now chewed worryingly on her bottom lip. It was endearing and he almost relented.

“You still don’t trust me. Even though I’ve agreed to what you asked?”
 

He ignored her hurt. “You don’t need anything in the bag.”

“I need my house keys. I have to go home to pack some clothes.”

“That’s simple enough to fix.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and scrolled through his contact list until he found the number he wanted. “What size do you take?” he asked, as the number connected.

Claire raised her eyebrows and shook her head.

He feigned surprise. “You don’t know?” he teased, knowing very well she wasn’t prepared to tell him her measurements.

The voice on the other end of the line took his attention. “Good evening, Christine. I have an urgent job for you. I require a full wardrobe of clothes for a young lady who is staying at my house. Casual wear, evening wear and formal dress. The works please.”

He could tell Claire was trying to listen in to the conversation as he continued to talk to Christine. “This is urgent, we’ll need some clothes immediately. Tonight if it’s possible. The rest tomorrow morning. I’ll pass you over to Claire.”

“Christine is my personal shopper. Give her your sizes and she’ll arrange everything. She’s excellent.”

Hesitantly, Claire took the phone from him. “I won’t listen in. When you’re finished, call me.”

He strode through to the dressing room to clear space for Claire’s clothes in his walk in wardrobe.

If everything went to plan, Claire wouldn’t be moving out.

Chapter Four

CLAIRE

Sitting at the large table in the kitchen, Claire was on edge. Not that she showed it. She’d invented a new Claire persona and stuck rigidly to character. Occasionally Tevis looked at her oddly but she ignored him. She might be rusty but she knew all about acting, it was in her blood. The stage was ingrained in her DNA. Ten years was a long time but it was like slipping on an old pair of gloves.

Hiding behind this ‘pretend Claire’ made it easier to cope.

Still clad in her jeans and tee-shirt, she was glad the meal was informal. A Friday night get-together between friends. Except the foursome included two billionaires, a world famous singer-songwriter and herself—Claire Bretton, a temporary admin assistant with an ability to walk straight into the middle of a whole world of trouble.

Ellie was not all what Claire had expected, she had them all in stitches with laughter. The global mega-star Eloise Grace, who everyone seemed to want a piece of, was a bouncy fun-loving young woman. She was obviously devoted to Boyd Drummond. He sat with an arm protectively slung over her shoulder as they chatted.

“How did you meet Tevis?” Ellie asked.

Tevis never flinched, he kept on stirring the bolognese sauce he was preparing, leaving her to respond without any support. They’d already agreed that, if questioned, she would keep as close to the truth as possible.

“We bumped into each other through my work,” she responded. “I work for Stanford & Henderson Law.”

She looked at Tevis with what she hoped was a loving smile. Surprising her, he blew a kiss across the kitchen. The look in his eyes however, was teasing, as if he knew how much she had to work at this. He held her gaze for a few seconds before giving his complete attention to preparing their meal. That he cooked, was a surprise in itself. She hadn’t thought him the type.

“Have you known each other long?” Boyd looked at her quizzically. If he’d caught the silent exchange between her and Tevis, he didn’t give any indication.

“Long enough.” She smiled, letting her voice drop and take on an edge of softness. “Long enough, to know that he’s the one.”

Let him wriggle out of that with his family when the time came. They’d agreed to keep it at the ‘we’re getting to know each other’ level if they were asked questions, but the wicked side of her wanted to pay him back. To give him a taste of not being in control.

But Tevis spoilt the game. Or was he taking it up a notch?

“I knew as soon as I saw her,” he countered, as he served the sauce over steaming plates of pasta. Walking over he placed one down in front of her and smiled. His eyes said 'war is on.' “Lucky for me, Clare was in the wrong place at the right time. I might never have come across her otherwise. I like to think it was fate.”

Boyd laughed. “Brother, you have your whole life mapped out. You’re the last one to believe in love at first sight.”

Tevis took the seat next to Claire and draped his arm across her shoulder, mimicking the couple opposite them. The heat of his body seared into her, but she kept still. He was too close for comfort, his thigh pressed against hers. As much as she hated to admit it, he had the ability to make a girl feel good.

“Oh, I’m willing to make an exception for Claire,” he responded to his brother.

He leant into her and nuzzled her neck, his lips teasing at her flesh and making her skin tingle.

What the hell was he doing? This wasn’t in the script! 

Also, he was putting on too good an act, her body was responding in a melting ‘take me’ sort of way and she had a strong desire to initiate a kiss. Even as she thought it, she lifted her lips to meet his.

His brief kiss was sweet. Gentle even. Unexpected. It took her breath away.