The Billionaire's Burden (Key to My Heart #2) (7 page)
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Authors: Ella Cari
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Also by Ella Cari:
Key to My Heart, Book 1
Macy has all but run her bakery into the ground. Crippled by loss and a heavy heart, she has accepted the defeat of her dreams.
Then, one summer evening, Sebastian walks into her bakery and flips her world upside down.
A sexy but entitled billionaire, Sebastian is willing to make all of Macy’s dreams come true…with a catch. Sebastian needs a bride, and he needs one now.
Loss and Love
The Billionaire’s Heart, Book 1
Caroline Davie is living in a nightmare.
In one loud screech of her tires, she lost both her husband and unborn child. With the burden of pain and guilt on her tired shoulders, she quickly flees the memories trapped in her small town, leaving behind the support of her grieving family.
Through her months long whirlwind of loss and regret, she somehow finds herself working for billionaire CEO Jake Roma.
Jake, while handsome and suave, is cold. Dealing with his own painful past, the two quickly cling to each other in the floundering of their agony.
The flowers of love, passion, and happiness begin to bloom in Caroline once more, but can she handle the light of new love when all she feels she deserves is darkness?
Chronicles of Nienna, Book 1
War has ravaged the land of Landrian, leaving nothing in its cruel wake but destruction.
An egotistical male vampire and a human girl with much more hidden up her sleeve suddenly find themselves thrown into the middle of the chaos. Each turn they make unearths more and more of the plot against their world, forever blurring the line between friend and foe.
Love between a human and vampire has many tribulations, but when fate itself seems set against their union, what will the pair go through just to remain together? Will the penalties be worth their feelings for one another?
In Book 1 of the Chronicles of Nienna, the start of their journey begins as the pieces of their fate slowly slide into place. Choices that the vampire and human make will have resounding reverberations through not only their own lives, but the lives of everyone they hold dear.
Little does one young woman know that her gorgeous hunk of a neighbor hides a moonlit mystery…
Jade knew that her neighbor, Eli Hunter, was sexy and tall. She’d seen his tan muscles rippling in the afternoon sun and she’d seen his golden eyes flash in her direction.
What she didn’t know, however, was the secret of the full moon that Eli so desperately kept hidden.
After she accidentally stumbles right on top of that surreptitious secret, Jade abruptly finds herself the keeper of his mystery and the keeper of his howling heart.
Not everyone in Eli’s pack is so happy with this change, however, and the pair will have unforetold opponents to their love.
He gets one chance. There is one perfect woman on this Earth to complete him.
Werewolves roam the planet, searching out their other halves, looking for the missing piece of their heart’s puzzle. When they find each other, they know. Instantly, the warmth of their eternal love floods their carnal heart. The eyes of their partner, seen for the first time in person under the glittering moon, have watched them carefully from the darkness of their dreams.
The bond between werewolf lovers is everlasting, powerful, unquestionable, and flawless.
College student Dana Scott, however, is as far from flawless as she is from being a werewolf. The last thing she expected when she walked into Biology 101 was for her hunky, gorgeous professor to stop dead in his tracks, staring at her as though she was the only girl in that classroom.
Maybe Dana had leftover breakfast burrito on her face, maybe the professor just really loved a girl in old sweatpants, or maybe Dr. Thomas Lucian had just discovered the love of his life – whether he likes it or not.
Fifteen years ago, vampires rose from their shadowed depths, overthrowing and conquering the preexisting human realms with cold hands and cold hearts.
Now, mortals live in everlasting fear of the darkness. Each month, a woman is selected in King Albert’s kingdom to be shipped off to the cruel and bitter Vampire King. These women, the Lost Ones, are never to be heard from again.
Meredith has been trained since the vampiric uprising to end the tradition of the Lost Ones. Her instructions are clear – murder him, and end the vampire’s brutal regime.
Unfortunately, the Vampire King has other plans for Meredith, and her mission is soon muddled in confusion when she discovers that the land of the vampires is not at all how it was painted to be.
Will Meredith still be able to fulfil her task? How will she manage to save her people from vicious deaths at the hands of the vampires, when her mission is soon much more convoluted than she believed?
Book 1 of The Billionaire’s Proposal series
One Little Weekend will change both of their lives forever…
Down on her luck, Cecilia Hewitt is excited to leave her financial woes and family strife far behind her as she jets off to Paradise for her best friend’s wedding, only to realize that her ex-husband and his new lover will be attending as well.
Things look up when she meets the green eyed gaze of sexy Scottish billionaire, Grant Ellar. Soon after, the pair is forced to bunk together for a night.
After a sizzling weekend together, Cecilia thinks that their shared time together was a once in a lifetime event. The two will board their planes and fly off to different corners of the world, never to speak or to hold each other again.
The billionaire, on the other hand, has quite the different plan.
After all, his family had quite the different perception of the wedding the pair attended, and he can't return home without a bride on his arm.
Book 2 in the Billionaire’s Proposal Series.
After One Little Weekend changed both of their lives forever, Cecilia Hewitt and Grant Ellar find themselves air bound for Scotland.
Grant, sexy suave Scottish billionaire, has a proposition to the woman who stole his heart over the past weekend. He needs a desperate favor – one that he only trusts with Cecilia.
This handsome billionaire needs a bride, and he’s hoping that Cecilia will be the one to give him her hand in fake matrimony
Sebastian Fox was a billionaire before he even hit his twentieth birthday thanks to his ingenuity and intelligence. Now 29, he has to find a bride or his entire business will come crashing down.
Before he walked into my struggling flower shop that day, I’d seen his face a million times already. His gorgeous green eyes lit up billboards, magazine covers, and TV interviews.
The multi-billionaire had a proposition for me. He would help save my business, and in turn, I would help save his.
All that Sebastian needed was my hand in marriage.
Married for convenience, how will we even begin to bring our lives together? My husband and I knew nothing of each other before our wedding day, and now, we will be together forever.
Will he ever be more than just a man who kissed me at the altar?
Shrouded Sun, Book 1
Vampires roam the world freely, destroying villages and bringing once powerful kingdoms to their knees.
Humans have one chance left, a young female sacrifice to be wed off to the commander of the vampire realm.
Princess Violet has grown up with tales of vampires’ coldness and cruelty. Now she will depart to their land in one last attempt to keep her people alive.
In the land of never ending night, she must somehow manage to keep her courage and her mission in her heart, all while a powerful vampire attempts to seduce her.
Billionaire Blake Chester is used to getting everything he wants. The sexy blue eyed playboy has never heard the word ‘no’ in his life before.
That is, until Lana came under his roof as the new maid.
Fueled by rejection, Blake desires her above all else. He wants her in his arms and in his bed, and he’s determined to make it happen.
What will the billionaire do when he suddenly realizes that he wants the maid for more than just her body, but for her heart and soul as well?
I have no choice. Today is my wedding day, like it or not.
When billionaire heir and playboy Sebastian Sullivan totaled my car, the last thing I expected was a marriage proposal.
Unfortunately, we needed each other. The beautiful, selfish man needed a wife to keep his lucrative family business and I needed cold hard cash.
Though I only met my handsome groom two days before my wedding, now I’ve signed the contract of devotion, and I’ll have to spend the rest of my life with him.
Head editor of a struggling magazine, strong willed and fiery Miranda needs to figure out some way of saving her staff from unemployment and her company from certain bankruptcy. She’s willing to do anything and everything to make it work.
Suddenly, Miranda finds herself trapped between the steamy affections of a newsroom celebrity and her sexy old college flame who’s recently taken over his lucrative family business. Both hunky billionaires want to help Miranda’s magazine flourish, and both want to help themselves to her hand in marriage in return.
Which billionaire will ultimately win Miranda’s love?
I'm a billionaire's wife.
I don’t think I’ll ever get used to thinking that. I’m married. I’m a wife now. Not just to any guy, but to freaking Owen Pearson, celebrity billionaire and sexy hunk.
My parents’ company was failing, their bills were adding up faster than they could even tally them. We would be lucky to just go bankrupt. Then, Owen called.
My dad had been his teacher and mentor when Owen was still in school, and now, the billionaire was ready to return the favor after hearing how badly business was suffering.
All that Owen needed to pay off the bills and have our debts forgiven… is a wife
I’d never even met Owen before our wedding day, but now we’ll have to spend every day together, forever, as husband and wife.
Before I met him, I knew him.
Thax Johnson, business savant and heir to a family fortune, twenty nine years old and already a billionaire. His striking, handsome face filled the evening news, billboards, and magazines. His life must be full of luxurious gifts, beautiful women, everything and everyone available at his beck and call.
Then, he wandered into my bakery one lazy afternoon. I could probably count on one hand the number of customers I had that day, but none mattered except for him.
Before I knew what was happening, he was making me an offer: wed him and he would save my faltering bakery. We both needed each other; I needed to fund my shop, he needed to find a bride before his upcoming birthday or lose his inheritance.
Now, our worlds are colliding and melding into one shared life, but will we be able to persevere a wedding of convenience? Will my husband ever be more than an acquaintance in my bed each night?
"Morning, Jade." My roommate muttered tiredly as she plopped an overflowing cup of coffee down in front of me.
Her brown eyes watched me intently, eyebrows raised just slightly, daring me to deny her precious offering.
With a stifled groan, I reluctantly pulled the mug up to my lips. Tentatively, I sucked in the tiniest sip possibly while plastering a pleasant grin on my face.
Lucy made the worst freaking coffee, if I were to be so nice as to call it ‘coffee.’
I don't know how she managed to do it, every night I carefully put the grounds beside the pot. Sometimes, I even pre-filled the thing so she only had to press a button. Yet, here were for the five hundredth time, because she always managed to wake up five minutes earlier than me. There was nothing worse than being woken to the sound of her quietly humming and digging through our mug collection.
Yep, for sure, those mornings where my dark haired roomie decided to be "nice" and make my coffee were the worst.
"It's good for you." She said with a frown, "Look at you, all pale. I just add some ginseng, some vitamins, you know, things to perk you up."
I tried not to show my obvious grimace, sipping again at the dirt water in my hands. I'd have to stop by the coffee shop on my way to class.
"How'd you sleep?" I asked, trying to distract her from watching me as I swirled the mug in my hands, inhaling the steam. It almost smelled like regular coffee. This was the kind of foolery that would give a person trust issues if they were to accidentally drink it without knowing what they were getting in to.
The girl rolled her eyes, flopping down into the chair beside me and kicking her legs up onto the other rickety chair.
"Eli was having one of his ragers again last night, you didn't hear it?" She sighed, frown tugging her pink lips, "I'm pretty sure everyone in the complex heard his scream-o metal."
Our entire complex was full of college kids, the landlord didn’t care in the slightest about who was making noise in the dead of night.
With a clear of my throat, I tried to hide the slow reddening of my cheeks behind the mug, daring myself to take another sip.
Eli Hunter.
Sexy, muscled, senior student, Eli Hunter.
Though I knew very little about the early twenty something year old, I'd never met a man more beautiful than him. The first thing I saw when Lucy and I moved in together was him.
He’d casually waved, barely even glancing in our direction as Lucy and I stared, open mouthed and in awe.
Tall and rugged, there are three things that everyone knew Eli was obsessed with. Motor biking, running cross country, and his huge monthly bashes.
I secretly admired him from the kitchen as he worked on his bike, sun shimmering on his golden hair and tan bod.
He barely noticed me or Lucy, though. We were too plain for him, I suppose.
"How do you think we can be neighbors for almost an entire year and never get invited to one of his crazy parties?" I finally frowned, turning to look at her, "Why won't he invite us?"
Lucy stared at me silently over the rim of her thin metal glasses, one dark eyebrow arched to her hairline as she observed my kitty cat pajama bottoms.
"It's a mystery." She said with a dramatic roll of her eyes.
With a sigh, she stood, straightening her black romper as she swung her bright pink bag over her shoulder, "I'll see you tonight, Jade." She murmured with a wave of her hand, prancing out the door as I speedily jerked to my feet, dumping the terrible coffee into the sink the second she was out of the kitchen.
I refilled the mug with water, drinking it, trying to drown the dirt taste that clung between my teeth.
Outside, the sun had only just begun its trek across the morning sky. Lazy soft pinks and baby blues inched lazily, as though it were too early for even the color to awake.
With a yawn, I rinsed out the mug one more time.
When I looked back up, a tall, blond head loped across my vision, stopping at his bright red jeep. I froze, a deer in headlights, staring as his tan hand dug into his back pocket, pulling out his jingling keys. I swallowed, eyes lazily tracing up his strong body from his sneakers to the way his muscles strained against his denim jeans, soft green t-shirt clinging to his svelte abs.
It should be a crime to be that gorgeous, this early in the morning.
Was Eli an early riser, too? Or did he have to drag himself out of bed? What did his bed look like? Was it all dark, mussed silken sheets?
Did he sleep naked?
When my eyes drifted further upwards, I met the sparkling golden orbs that pierced straight through my aching heart.
Eli blinked, frowning at me as I dreamily gazed into his eyes, only then realizing what a weirdo stalker I must look like, staring at him as though he were an ad in a magazine.
With a yelp, I bent downwards, sliding onto the kitchen floor with my back against the wooden cabinets, mug still held tight in my hands, hiding from his intense stare. Finally, I heard the rumble of his jeep as his engine turned over, leading him out of the complex.
Grabbing the edge of the kitchen sink, I hoisted myself up to peer out of the window one more time, watching as the back of the red vehicle turned the corner.
"It's a mystery." I echoed after Lucy's own words, hiding my face in my hands.
I as an embarrassment to the both of us.
No wonder Eli Hunter never invited us to his parties. He probably thought we might try to kidnap him in his sleep or something.
With a groan, I headed back into my room, trying not to think about how utterly humiliating that had been. With a body like Eli's, I was sure he was used to people ogling him, but at 7 in the morning? That was just outrageous.
I tugged on a pair of blue jeans and a lavender blouse, throwing my books into my shoulder bag as I headed out the door, locking it behind me.
As I slid into my own car, slamming the door shut, I jacked up the radio, trying to drown out the buzzing repetition of my brain telling me how embarrassed I should feel.
The drive to campus was short and quiet. Most sane people chose later classes, but I'd always been an early bird. Though, if I could have later classes and avoid Lucy's miracle coffee, perhaps it would be worth the trade.
After classes, I usually spent my afternoons with my bookstore work shift. It was slow this time of year, so I basically just hid out behind the counter and flipped through any book that piqued my interest. I got paid for it too. Bonus.
Lucy and I had met in that very same bookstore about a year and a half ago during our freshman year. I was restocking the shelves, and she was judging me for my sloppy placement.
It was friendship at first sight.
We bonded later, over a love for Grey's Anatomy and mint chocolate chip ice cream. I'd had difficulty making friends in my first weeks at college, and I was grateful for her companionship. She was a prickly sort of pear, but she was fiercely loyal, and could be shockingly sweet in the strangest sort of times.
Our studies were vastly different. She was an environmental major, I was psychology. Neither of us had any idea what we wanted to do when we grew up.
We had time to figure it out, we liked to believe, but we were sophomores now, already half way through our university years.
"Maybe I'll work in the bookstore forever." I'd teased Lucy the other day as we lay lazily around the apartment, doing a spectacular amount of nothing.
It'd been a typical Saturday evening for us, a bottle of red wine open on the coffee table and an 80's horror flick on in the DVD player.
"Maybe we could open a cafe together." She'd retorted as she delicately applied navy blue polish to her toenails.
I quieted instantly, unsure if she was joking or not. There would be zero market for her type of coffee.
It was only then that I could feel the smirk she teasingly hid.
I abruptly realized that I was giggling to myself at the memory in the middle of my abnormal psychology lecture, the professor casting a worried glance my way as the students around me rolled their eyes simultaneously. It’d be no surprise to anyone if my face were in the upcoming pages.
Sinking lower into my seat, I wished the minutes of the class to please, please pass by.
Which, to their credit, they definitely did. Very, very slowly.
My eyes stayed locked on the clock, antsily tapping my foot with each soft tick tock that quietly peppered the lecture.
I held my store bought coffee tight in my hand, sipping it as I tried desperately to stay away. While I'd always been an early riser, advanced theories of the mind so early would put anyone to sleep.
Around me, the other students scribbled away diligently at their notes. By the time I realized I should actually be paying attention to the lecture, the class was already being concluded. I shook my head, hoping the professor would put the notes online. Some days, it was impossible to sit in a giant hall in a sea of students and pay attention.
As the rustling of papers being stuffed into backpacks filled the spacious lecture room, I stood up, slinging my bag over my shoulder and leaving. My entire body was numb from sitting in the seat for so long.
I'd made a terrible mistake in signing up for a two and a half hour lecture first thing in the morning. Fortunately, the glazed over eyes of the other students around me made me feel a little less alone in my terrible decision making skills.
I walked through the halls of the campus towards the bookstore, enjoying the warmth of the early afternoon sun on my shoulders. All too soon, I was back inside the chilly walls of the store, waving to the cashier who was preparing to leave for his own classes.
Tiredly, I slid onto the uncomfortable stool behind the clerk counter, digging through the drawers for the novel I'd hidden last week.
Because it was slow in the store, I was the only cashier. Somewhere, my manager hid, probably hitting on all the girls who wandered the small aisles. I didn’t mind keeping myself occupied, I didn’t mind the quiet or the calm. I was perfectly content to sit alone and read and daydream my shift away. Because we weren’t busy, the shifts weren’t very long. Most of the workers brought their homework and to concentrate on.
We were a small campus with small stores and a small staff, it was part of the reason I'd chosen this college.
As I triumphantly retrieved my book, slapping it down on the counter, a man leaned over, blond hair falling into his eyes.
"Is that one good?" He asked, golden eyes that I'd so fondly swooned over earlier this morning meeting my shocked gaze.