Her Billionaire Secret Part 3: An Alpha Billionaire Romance (2 page)

Sam’s low voice repeated Tevis’s instructions as he jotted the information down.

“The woman’s name? It’s Fay Tyler, the daughter of the actress Kathryn Tyler,” he responded to Sam’s next question. “Yes,
 
the 
Kathryn Tyler. Oh, and Sam, Fay Tyler is working under her real name of Claire Bretton. Someone she knows has sold or given information to Citrus Gem Magazine about her. Check out her co-workers at Stanford and Henderson Law.”

Tyler listened with satisfaction as Sam gave an estimate of the time frame he’d be able to deliver. “One more thing, I don’t want this sent to me electronically.”

Sam’s tone of voice at the other end of the phone held concern.

“I’d rather not risk this information falling into the wrong hands. Use a secure courier—or even better, bring it yourself.”

Tevis straightened and walked towards the staircase leading up to the back of the house. “Thank you, Sam. Yes, Claire is important. She’s the woman I plan to marry.

Chapter Three

CLAIRE

Claire woke up from her afternoon slumber snuggled up next to Tevis. For a moment she was confused as to why she was still with him. Then she remembered. He’d made her stick to her promise not to leave until Tuesday and pulled a guilt trip on her over Ellie’s wedding photographs.

As soon as those commitments were complete she was leaving. That’s what she kept telling herself. And she had to repeat it to make it real, and to remind her that she only had one more day with the man she’d fallen for. As soon as Tuesday arrived she would go.

Taking a deep breath she inhaled his smell. The odour of his cologne, the male muskiness that was him all committed to memory. She opened her eyes and looked up into his. The laughter lines at the corners deepened as he smiled.

“Hello, sleepyhead.”

“Hello, Mr Drummond,” she teased.
 
What was it about Tevis that brought out the best in her, that made her want to smile even though things couldn’t get any worse in her life?

“Being formal are we?” he responded, but his grin widened.

It was going to be so hard to leave. She’d only just found him and she had to walk away. A few more hours was all she had. It wasn’t fair but she’d always known she couldn’t afford to fall in love. Not with a man like Tevis. Not with a man so well known by the press. 

He stroked her face and she memorised his touch and the way he looked at her.

“I’m going to take care of you, Claire. I’m going to make everything right.” He sounded as though he believed it was possible but she knew it wasn’t.

If she stayed with him, his life would change beyond recognition. All because of the one day her own life fell apart. It would never go away and she couldn’t put him through the constant harassment of being connected with her and her late mother.

She searched his face. There was no uncertainty. He truly believed he could fix everything for her. If the courts had not been able to, then how could he?

She hid her sorrow and turned his attention elsewhere. If he realised she had not changed her mind at all he’d stay at her side constantly.

“Have you spoken to Ellie about what has happened.” She couldn’t say the words, she avoided direct reference to the magazine that made her life hell all those years ago.

“Yes, I have. She understands and she says not to worry.”

“She still wants me to take the photographs?” Claire frowned, it was difficult to believe Ellie would want to take the risk.

“Of course she does. Why would you think she wouldn’t?”

“Because, she wanted the perfect wedding without the press.”

“She’s still going to get the perfect wedding.”

“She might not and it will be because of me.”

He put a finger to her lips. “Stop arguing Claire. It’s not a problem.”

***

It was all an act— the laughter, the smiles and her banter with Ellie, her parents and Boyd as they enjoyed a late supper in the kitchen. It was the most difficult scene she’d undertaken in her life. Behind her happy mask, she felt like sobbing. Tevis held her hand beneath the table, giving her little squeezes of reassurance. Josie hovered around her, like a mother hen. Not making it obvious she was concerned, but there all the same.

It wasn’t that she felt like an impostor, quite the opposite. It was knowing how much friendship she was about to leave behind.

“Where is the wedding going to be held?” she asked. No one had mentioned the location all evening.

“I have absolutely no idea,” Ellie grinned back. “Tevis and Boyd have organised it.” She looked at Tevis with an amused smile. “Getting anything out of my future brother-in-law is impossible.”

Tevis slung his arm casually around Claire’s shoulder and she revelled in the comfort of his touch. 

“I’m still not telling you future sister-in-law,” he laughed, you’ll find out tomorrow at noon. Claire has played an important part in the arrangements.”

Claire shot a look up at his face. He was grinning at her and a bolt of warmth ran through her body. She didn’t know how she was going to cope without him. She smiled warmly back, much of it an act because everything felt hollow given the secret she was keeping from them all.

“How did I help?”

“You delivered the legal papers to enable the wedding to take place.”

“I had no idea what was in the package.”

“That's good,” Tevis replied. “Isabella stated no one else at Stanford and Henderson Law would have access to the information until after the event.”

“My co-worker Fran thought it was strange Miss Price asked me to deliver it by hand. It all makes sense now.”

Tevis looked at her with a slight frown but didn’t comment as the chatter round the table changed to other topics.
 

This was the last chance for everyone to relax together before the wedding the next day. Claire savoured every moment. She felt a part of it all, welcomed into the fold by everyone in the room. None of them referred to her past or to Citrus Gem Magazine. It was as if the outside world didn’t exist for those few hours.

As the supper ended and people wandered away to their rooms, the group dwindled until only Tevis, Josie and herself were left. Josie loaded the dishwasher as she chattered to Tevis. Claire drank the last of her coffee in silence, studying the relationship between Tevis and his housekeeper.

Tevis treated Josie like a member of the family, there was no formality between them. They joked and chatted as they caught up on household issues. There was quiet talk about arrangements for breakfast, with Josie confirming an outside catering company was to be in first thing.

“You have to remember you are a guest too, Josie,” Tevis laughed as she muttered about not being able to serve breakfast.

“All I have to do is let the caterers in and then I’m free to enjoy the day,” she responded with a smile. “Everything is planned to run like clockwork.”

“I’m sure it will,” Tevis grinned. He walked over to Claire and picked up her empty coffee cup. “Would you like some more?”

“No, I’m fine. It’s time I went upstairs.”

She stood and said ‘good night’ to Josie and walked out of the kitchen knowing they were both watching her.

She hated to be the object of pity. Her sadness over her mother had been replaced with happy memories over the years. She’d decided long ago that the way her mother had died did not reflect the love and affection she’d given Claire as she was growing up.

Perhaps ‘pity’ was too harsh a word. Josie cared and had looked after her every need as if she was one of the family, but there had been a hint of sadness about her. For the first time, Claire began to consider how many fans of her mother had mourned her loss almost as much as her. The actions of the press had hidden that aspect, replacing it with fear and a desire to run as far as she could.

Claire showered and slipped into bed to wait for Tevis but he didn’t come before she drifted off to sleep. At some stage during the night, she felt him pull her into his arms and place a kiss on her forehead.

“Tevis?” she mumbled sleepily.

“Mmm,” he responded. He sounded tired.

“Please, hold me for a while.”

“Don’t worry, I plan to hold on to you forever, my darling.”

Chapter Four

MONDAY

CLAIRE

Claire knew she’d remember the morning of Ellie’s wedding for the lovemaking between her and Tevis. He’d woken her with a kiss and the sliding of his hand down her naked back. She opened her eyes as his hand stroked her ass. A tingling sensation rippled over her skin.

“I need you, Claire,” he murmured as he pulled her tight against him, trapping her hands against his chest. He pressed his erection against her stomach as evidence of his desire. His eyes were dark and he tangled his fingers in her hair with his other hand.

She put her lips to his, thinking only to give a gentle kiss but something broke loose and she ravaged his mouth with a passion she didn’t know she possessed.

Tevis responded, matching her movements. He slid his leg over her hip to pin her against him while he used both his hands to capture her face. The kiss was bruising, passionate, and she felt heat pool between her legs. Her pussy pulsed with desire, with a need to take him in.

She didn’t care what day it was. Didn’t care what the outside world was trying to do to her. This was here and now, and all she could think about. Making love with the man who’d changed her world over the course of three days.

“Fuck me,” she whispered.

“That’s a given.” His hand slid down the curve of her body and every nerve responded to his touch. She was on fire. Her skin danced with electricity and her body pulsed a rhythm that could only be satisfied by Tevis.

He pushed her back against the pillows, dipping his head to brush his lips in a trail down her collarbone to her breast. She whimpered as he pulled a tight nipple into his mouth, his teeth teasing the hard bud and she involuntarily arched against him.

His hand skimmed across her stomach and she parted her legs to allow him to slide his finger down her slit.

He lifted his head to gaze into her eyes. “God, I love how wet you get for me,” Tevis groaned as he cupped her sex.

She writhed beneath his touch, pressing against his hand in an invitation for him to enter. He drew his fingers through her folds until he finally hit the swollen nub of her clit.

Raking her fingers down his chest, she gasped out his name as she arched away from the bed.

“I’m going to put my cock in you and fuck you so hard you’ll never want another man,” he promised.

“Oh, god, Tevis! Do it.” She was almost sobbing with need. “Please…” she begged.

He lifted his heavy body onto her, pushing her legs apart until his erection pressed against her slick folds.

She reached out to grasp him, to attempt to pull him into her, but he resisted.

“No,” he moaned, “I want to look at your face as I fuck you.”

A pulsing throb between her legs sent a racing buzz of electricity across her skin.

He pushed into her in one hard motion. “I want to see you come.”

She watched his face, his look of uncensored pleasure as she sheathed his cock.

“God, I love the way you feel,” he groaned, as he flexed his hips to withdraw and then force his way back in. Staring at her face he thrust into her over and over again.

She matched his pace, her body demanding to be satisfied. Staring at him wildly, she took the pleasure he gave her and climbed to the edge. His groans matched hers as his balls slapped against her ass and her hands grasped his shoulders.

Hard.

Fast.

I can’t take any more.

I can’t wait…

The rush of orgasm was intense as she fell over the edge, her pussy clenching him in a series of hot desperate pulses.

“Claire, I…” he moaned against her neck as he jerked everything he had into her.

***

Claire sat at the kitchen table fiddling with her camera equipment. Tevis had put her bag and her old clothes in the dressing room. Her wedding outfit was hanging in the wardrobe ready for her to change into.

Tevis sat opposite her, coffee cup in hand as he searched through the emails on his phone. For all intents and purposes, it seemed like a normal Monday morning, except for the catering team quietly moving around preparing breakfast for the household guests. Only she and Tevis had gone down to the kitchen to eat. Everyone else had chosen to have breakfast in bed.

 She frowned at Tevis when he eventually looked up at her.  “Are you still not going to reveal where the wedding is going to take place?”

“No.” He gave her a short smile.

“How are we getting there?”

He laughed. “Stop trying to dig, you are not getting any information yet.”

“Why all the secrecy?”

“Boyd wanted to do something special for Ellie. He proposed to her a month ago and he promised her the wedding of her dreams.”

A young woman from the catering team poured them more coffee.

Claire grasped the hot cup between her hands. “And what the two of you have planned is her dream?”

“Boyd thinks so, and I’m not about to argue.” Tevis took a mouthful of his coffee as he watched her face.

“Has Ellie had 
any
 say in this?”

“She said ‘yes’ to Boyd and she chose her wedding dress and flowers.” He smiled at her confusion. “Ellie came here to relax and Boyd has made sure she has. Wait and see, she will have the perfect day today.”

A camera flash reflected off the appliances across the room. The caterers looked across at them and Tevis looked over her head to towards the window. Surprised, she glanced at her equipment, thinking the flash had gone off accidentally. Then she saw the look of anger on Tevis’s face.