Tied to the Billionaire(78)

Richard stifled a laugh. Everyone knew Patrick Cartwright wouldn’t be married anytime soon. Not until they changed the laws, if his Master Todd had anything to say about it.

“They’re only holding back in hopes they’ll find a similarly principled company to buy them out.”

Richard rolled his eyes, fighting back an expletive that would fit the situation perfectly. How much money does it take for everyone to forget about my social life? We must be getting close to it.

“They can’t hold out forever.”

“You’re right, but they can wait a while longer. It all depends on how much you want this deal buttoned up before the end of the meeting.”

Richard shook his head, rubbing his already aching temples. This was going to be a long week. “I want it closed yesterday.” He needed it closed now. The rumours of their inability to complete the deal were starting to get out of hand. Vertical’s stock price had dropped almost three dollars in the two weeks since the last round of negotiations had ended. Already some of his best employees had started to ditch ship. He couldn’t afford to lose any more to the uncertainty.

“If you can show them you have some old-fashioned values,” Dante continued on, ignorant of his own musings, “Neil won’t have a leg to stand on.”

“How can I do that?” Richard blew out an exasperated breath. How could he show he had traditional family values in just a matter of days? Fast enough to persuade Argonaut and the lawyers to sign on the dotted line before the end of the conference.

Dante’s gaze dropped back down to the paper before him. He mindlessly tapped his silver Montblanc pen on the table. The light hit the tip, and cascaded across the desk, forming a small circle on the coffee table before him. A ring.

If Cartwright was looking for a business partner with a few more traditional values, he could do that. And he knew just the finger he needed to make his plan work.

“You’ll have to find a way,” Dante continued on, oblivious of the plan hatching in Richard’s mind. “If you want to be the biggest airline in the United States, then you have to complete this deal. By whatever means necessary.”

Richard smiled. Whatever means necessary sounded pretty damn good. Especially when it included a naughty pet in his bed every night.



* * * *



Serena stepped into the presidential suite, anticipation coiling in her stomach. She’d been waiting all day for this, dreaming through the financial earnings meetings and motivational speeches for the moment when she could return to her Master’s arms.

She paused on the threshold, startled to find the hotel room filled with light. Her Master sat on the bed, his legs spread out before him, his gaze cast down. His shoulders slumped as if the weight of the world rested upon them. And maybe they did. Though she tried to stay away from office politics and gossip, being horribly inept at both, she’d heard rumours of trouble with the Argonaut Air merger that was intended to make her Master, and all the board members, quick billionaires again.

For a second she wasn’t sure if he even realised she had entered. Maybe she should leave, give him this moment of privacy. Yet the pain in his features tore at her heart, calling her to do all she could to remove that torment from his face. But was that what he wanted?

Before she could make a decision to stay or leave, his eyes looked up to hers, piercing her in place.

“Come here, pet.” His tone was filled with such bittersweet need and longing that she couldn’t have ignored him if she had wanted to, which of course she did not. Her Master needed her, and she desperately wanted to be there for him. To soothe the frown wrinkles across his forehead and ease the burden from the depths of his dark eyes.

She dropped to her knees before him, pressing her face into his thigh. His hand descended to her head, holding her with comforting strength. She moaned, pushing further into his muscular body, his masculine smell calming every worry and stress from her body. This was where she belonged.

“I need something from you, pet.”

She tipped her head up, meeting his eyes. He had never asked for anything from her before, more content to take what he wanted, and the change shocked her. His expression wasn’t the one she was used to from her Master. In this moment, he wasn’t the hunter who stalked and took his prey. Instead he seemed all man. A vulnerable man who called to a whole different part of her. A part that wanted to hold him close and drive every painful memory from his mind.

She leant back on her heels, staring up at him and waiting patiently to learn what she could do for him. Whatever it might be, she had no hope of denying him. Whatever he needed from her, she gladly gave. Just as she gave him all she was each night they were together.

“I assume you’ve heard about the Argonaut deal?”

She nodded. Everyone in the company had heard the rumours. The chatter had been especially loud in her division, which would most likely be taking over the production and design of their planes. It was a challenge she was excited to take on. Yet another way she could show him her worth.

He continued to massage her scalp. “The deal has hit a snag. The company is owned by an old-fashioned puritanical *, who has found out about my extracurricular activities.” He smiled down at her, tightening his hand in her hair a fraction. A zing of pleasure ripped straight from the roots down to her *. “And he’s holding up the sale to look for someone more suitable.”