Contract with a Billionaire, The Complete Series

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The hotel room wasn’t part of the original deal. So when Jake Sutherland’s driver arrived to pick me up on Friday afternoon to bring me to the five-star South Beach Spa and Resort, anger raced through my veins. I gave in to a kiss last week, but that didn’t mean I was ready to roll around in white silk hotel sheets.

The driver extended the keycard toward me as if that would make me change my mind. Did Jake think I was an i***t? As if he could just fork over $10,000 and I’d open my legs for him? “No hotel,” I asserted.

He tightened his lips. “Mr. Sutherland gave specific instructions for you to wait in the room so you could attend the event together.”

“Why can’t we do it like last time? No one will realize we aren’t really together.” To him, I was just an escort he was paying. He was free to do whatever he wanted with me for the night--as long as it was within the boundary.

The chauffeur tilted his head to the side, while he held the door open. He looked confused. “You’re not together?”

I froze in the backseat of the limo and gnawed on my lip. Was the driver unaware of the escort arrangement? Did Jake keep it a secret from him as well? I drew in a breath and vowed to not reveal the truth. “We are together. What I meant was that no one should know we just met last week. Take me to his penthouse and we will ride together to the event.”

Did he buy my reason? Probably not, judging from the doubtful expression on his face. I was in trouble. How could I explain to an employee that his boss had broken the rules of our agreement and kissed me last week? It wasn’t just a chaste peck on the lips. It was a full-on, hungry, lip-locking kiss that shook me and forced me to rethink the entire contract.

The driver’s lips pressed to a thin line. “I’m afraid I can’t, Miss Madison.”

The dull ache in the base of my neck spread to my temples. All he had to do was get back in the car and take me to Jake’s house. He was a chauffeur, and all I wanted him to do was drive--turn around, pick up Jake, and take us to the auction. How hard could it be? I resolved to give him a chance to explain. “Why?”

The driver’s eyes dimmed. “Because Mr. Sutherland is already here.”

My mouth slammed shut as I withheld a gasp. The glassy high-rise reflected the Florida sun. Was he in there watching me? Perhaps snickering from the dark tinted window at the fool on the sidewalk?

Deep down, it bothered me that I’d accepted the $10,000. He purchased me, and I let him.

A tingling swept up from the back of my neck and spread across my face. I pictured Jake inside the room twiddling his thumbs. Was I ridiculous for putting up a fuss while one of the most important men in the world waited in the room of a luxury resort? Surely the driver thought I was an i***t.

Mr. Sutherland was no rock star, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have groupies. Women had practically thrown themselves at him at the last event. I know because I felt like beating them off with a stick, even though I had no interest in the man. It was all for show. Would people buy the fact that we were a legit couple had I not displayed a slight amount of jealousy? Absolutely not. I had to play the part. And truth be told, he simply wasn’t my type. Any way you looked at it, it was silly of me to demand the change of plans. He was a billionaire, he’d bought my time, and he owned me for the night--as long as he didn’t get too frisky. I stepped my anxious feet to the tiled sidewalk, while displaying a nonchalant look. “Why didn’t you say so?”

My pantsuit flowed at my ankles as I followed a group of glamorous ladies toward the entrance. Had I dressed too casually? He had relayed the message through Rosalyn about dress code, as clients were not permitted to call and text escorts directly. I was fine with that and even preferred clients that were bold enough to decide what an escort should wear. I’d followed Rosalyn’s command to don neutral colors for the night and picked out a high-waisted pair of white loose slacks that slightly hugged my fleshy thighs before the ends came into a wide hem. I chose a pastel pink, sleeveless crop top to go with the pants and a white cardigan that matched the whole outfit. I was accustomed to clients requesting a certain dress code. Nothing too colorful yet elegant. Just the way he wanted it.

What I wasn’t used to was that he’d requested how I should wear my hair. Odd. I wasn’t used to being told how to style it and especially not by a man. He’d wanted it loose, no barrettes or clips. It was absurd to be putting so much thought into hair, but whatever. It meant less work for me.

My shoulder-length auburn locks blew in the suction of the revolving glass door as I moved inside. I smoothed the wild wisps of hair down and scanned the lobby for the elevator. The hotel displayed a modern and sleek black-and-white marble look. Shiny. The air was crisp and clean. Couples and singles checked in at the front desk, sat for drinks and lugged light roller bags.

In five minutes I would see the man I’d envisioned for the last week. Two weeks, if you count the time from our first meeting. It had been a long time since he and I had cast eyes on each other. But that would change soon. Too soon. Had I made the right decision by letting the kiss slide? Neither of us had spoken about that night.

I knocked on the door with trembling knuckles. Calm down. This is your job. Just do your job, Chloe, and that is all.

No answer.

That’s why the driver gave you the keycard. Duh. My shoulders eased and relaxed. Did he get me my own room?

The room was chic and elegant, and was more like an elaborate suite. On the bar lay a handwritten note. It said:

Miss Madison,

Thank you for attending our date. Please pour yourself a drink. I am downstairs with a client and will be up soon.

Sincerely,

Jake

My heartbeat quickened. Had he already seen me walk in? I brushed the thought away. How silly to think he was sitting at the resort restaurant paying attention to my arrival instead of whatever billion-dollar deal he had on the table.

Before long, I heard a brief, quiet knock on the door. I flung it open to find Jake standing in another suit. My stomach fluttered as I studied his statuesque form. He was tall, having about an eight-inch gain on me. Must be six foot two, judging by how his sun-kissed head almost banged into the door. Looking handsome as always, he wore a dark-blue suit that hugged his bulging muscles. His assessing eyes looked me over.

Sandalwood and musk wafted to my nostrils as his assessing blue eyes pierced my dark brown ones. It was as if he burned a candle right through my soul so he could see all of me. But it seemed like I wasn’t the only one with secrets.

Beneath the depths of those azure orbs lay so many entangled thorns that I suddenly wanted to rethink my decision of agreeing to a second date. The passion and lust reached over the rim of his eyelashes and poured on to me. He stepped closer and absorbed me with half-lidded eyes as he grabbed a lock of hair and pressed it to his nostrils. He inhaled the hair and then blew moist air into my ear. He breathed in my scent again and trembled into a hesitated exhale before he whispered. “Better.”

Arousal peaked between my thighs. I needed to lose myself into his massive arms. My core beckoned his all-too-willing body to take me to the bed. I’d let him have his way. I need every inch…

I jolted awake, the thoughts searing my conscious. What was I thinking? I couldn’t let myself mistake fantasy from reality. This was just a business transaction. Something I was required to do for work. It was nothing more than make-believe.

This fairy-tail ‘relationship’ needed to look real for the sake of putting up a facade, but how far would he take it? What was the use in pretending when the public wasn’t even here to see? He could have any woman he wanted. Why me—a woman attached to a contract? I stepped into the hallway, creating space between us. “Ready for our simulated date?”

Icy blue eyes broke away from my glare. He turned stoic. “Simulated?”

I challenged. “Isn’t it?”

His face darkened. He said nothing as he marched past me.

I slipped the keycard inside my purse and followed him through the hall. Silence stretched between us once more, neither one of us choosing to speak. Something made me hold back. I studied him from my peripheral vision.

He was… brooding.

Was it my fault? Butterflies erupted in my belly while we waited for the elevator. What did I do? It was my job to make clients feel good, not belittle their actions. I had taken it too far. I clamped a hand over my mouth to prevent further damage.

His eyes glided over my body. “I had instructed you to wear neutral colors,” he scolded.

My chest tightened. “White is neutral.”

He turned to face me. “But pink is not. Check the color wheel. Next time you’ll do as you are told,” he ordered.

Heat spread across my chest. What difference did it make what the hell I wore? The focus should be him and the auction. And how dare he order me around as if I were a child? It was absurd. Every bit of it. Was he serious? I bit my knuckles to hold back a giggle.

He flared his nostrils as he narrowed his eyes onto me. “You’re driving me crazy,” he hissed. “You know that, right?”

Driving him crazy? It was the other way around. I fought the urge to laugh more and held my mouth shut while mentally clearing any remaining bits of amusement from my lips.

“What the hell is so funny anyway Miss Madison?”

The way he looked down and scolded me for having stepped out of line sent shocking waves of arousal through my belly. He was a rollercoaster. I didn’t know whether to laugh, cry, or bear down and allow him to have his way with me. I drew in a quick breath. “Nothing, sir.”

A muscle tensed in his square jaw. “It’s not often I have people laughing at me.”

My smile faded. I hadn’t meant to insult him.

He curled one side of his lips upward. “Punishable, but will be overlooked if you tell the truth.”

Did he not have a sense of humor? Someone needed to take this man aside and relieve some of his tension. He was way too stiff, and he took things so seriously. “Nothing, really. It was just hearing this big manly stud who is well-admired across the globe, say the word, ‘pink’.”

He raised one eyebrow. “I didn’t know I was the replica of a manly stud, and are men not allowed to speak of that color?”

I swallowed as my mind scrambled for a response. “No, I’ve just never heard it before. It struck me as humorous.”

His eyes narrowed on me. “Am I funny to you?”

My heartbeat raced as sweat prodded at my pores. “I’m sorry. Please forgive me, Mr. Sutherland. It won’t happen again.”

“Oh, it will happen again, Miss Madison,” he shot back.

There was a no-nonsense tone in his voice that brought a chill down my spine. I blinked. “What?”

Before I realized what was happening, his crunched fingers grasped my waist.

I burst out into a giggle, gasping at the sound of my high voice. I raised a flat, narrow palm to my lips.

He did it again.

This time my laugh was uncontrollable.

He tickled me, the nails of his fingers lightly grazing underneath my shear blouse and on to my bare skin. It wasn’t fair. It was like forcing a good time. I kicked my feet out and grabbed his hands. When that didn’t work, I covered my sides with open palms to guard myself. Useless. He continued the attack, and I shook with laughter and begged him to stop.

“Why should I? I thought you liked laughing,” he replied, refusing to stop the endless tickle.

My futile fists pounded against his hard chest. “Stop!”

He pursed his smooth lips and blew out air as he tilted his head. He traced my body. “I like you begging,” he murmured.

His hands slowed as we were left with only eye contact. We stared too long. We both looked away. “I don’t think I’ve seen anyone on a simulated date have this much fun.”

How many escort dates had he been on? Jealousy panged my sides. My smile faded fast. Had he slept with any of them in the past? Did he like it? How many of them did he kiss in fervent passion like he had with me the other night?

He folded his arms over his torso and lifted his head. “What’s wrong now?”

Oh god. I was probably the most troublesome date he’d ever purchased. He could read me as if I was an open newspaper, and it unnerved me. I shook my head and gave him a small smile. “Nothing.”

“Damn it, Chloe,” he cursed, a line forming between his eyebrows. He ran a tense hand through his hair and then pierced my eyes. “You’ll answer when I ask you a question,” he reprimanded.

Adrenaline charged through my veins. I was pissed at myself for not having been brave enough to ask the mystery man for more details about himself. I’d been alone with him more than once, but never had the guts to ask him anything. I also hated that I needed the information and maybe I’d regret it later, but for now every bone in my body had to know the damn answer. I drew in a breath. “Have you been with other escorts?”

He arched an eyebrow and looked at me as if I was nuts. “Of course.”