The Billionaire's Gamble

The slam of the penthouse door fifteen minutes later proves me right. Nolan trudges into the den, his face going through emotions so quickly I can barely name them. I see anger and guilt and sadness. “I’m so sorry,” he says, coming over to the couch. He kneels down in front of me, and it hurts me to see how absolutely heartbroken he looks. “You have no idea how sorry I am. I did everything I could to keep those photos private. I tried, Dani.” He leans forward and puts his arms around me. I hug him back hard, because I know he needs it, and because he going to need it even more in a second.

“I know you did,” I say. “It’s not your fault, I released the photos.”

Nolan’s body goes stiff in my arms, and he pulls back to look at me, his eyes wary. “You did what?”

I tell him about what happened in his office, and the fact that Gerard was there. His face grows darker and angrier with each passing second.

“It was the only way, Nolan. If the photos are released they have nothing to threaten you with.” I see the wheels clicking in his head, and the sudden realization that I’m right. “They were trying to take everything away from you, and I couldn’t let that happen. It’s just a photo of me. No one who really knows me will care about it.”

“How did you release it?”

I roll my eyes. “I called Aaron Meyer. I thought that he was the one who took the photos and I was right. He gave me the originals. Plus, I got him to sign a paper saying that he was paid by Frank Baron and the other members of the board to take compromising photos of us.”

“How on earth did you manage that?” Nolan is beaming now.

“I promised I wouldn’t sue him for almost killing me with his car.”

He laughs. “I still think that suing him might be worth it.”

“You don’t have to resign tomorrow. Nothing can happen to you now. I couldn’t live with myself if I knew I was the reason you were being blackmailed.”

“You’re amazing. Did you know that? You’ve set aside a lot of things for me.” His fingers find mine, tracing my hands.

“Not just you, but yes. But I do need one thing.”

“Anything.”

I tell him what I found out about Kelly’s house—that I had to see him and know whether he had known about her house, that’s the reason I went to his office in the first place. “I want you to stop this,” I say. “I want you to save my neighborhood.”

“It’s going to be hard with those bastards trying to stop me,” he says, “but I promise I’m going to do everything I can to get her house back.”

Nolan kisses me, hard. He lifts me up from the couch, and I wrap myself around him as he carries me towards his bedroom. This is exactly why I had Sage take Kelly out to dinner. I want Nolan to fuck me senseless, and I don’t plan on keeping quiet. Halfway up the stairs Nolan freezes. “Holy shit.”

“What?”

“Baron was using the morality clause in my contract as leverage. He said the photos violated the morality clause. But he, and all the other members of the board have the same contract. A signed statement implicating them in corporate espionage and blackmail is more than enough to force them resign.”

I start to laugh. “They’re going to get one hell of a surprise tomorrow.”

“I can finally find board members who want to make Coldwater into a good company. People who don’t want to buy up small towns and auction them off to the highest bidder.”

“Does this mean we can save Kelly’s house? Save Angelica?”

Nolan closes the final distance to his bedroom, setting me down on the bed and kneeling before me again. “Kelly’s house, anybody’s house that needs saving. Now, enough talking about business. I’m going to celebrate with all pleasure.”

He lays me back onto the bed, pushing my skirt up with one smooth movement. His fingers are in my underwear, pulling them down, exposing me to his mouth which is so, so close. “I remember a promise I made you in Vegas, that I don’t think I’ve kept yet.”

“Oh, and what was that?” I ask, already delirious with the touch of his skin on mine.

“I told you that I was going to make you wait. Tease you until you couldn’t even speak because you wanted my cock so badly.” His tongue flicks out over my clit, and I groan. “This seems like the perfect night for that.”

“I disagree,” I say.

“Too bad.”

Then is mouth is on me, and I’m dragged down into a world of exquisite pleasure. His mouth is slow and steady, and I know that he’s entirely serious when he says he’s going to wait, and make me wait. But that’s okay, because I know that in the end, the wait is worth it.