Chained to the Billionaire

Four: Maxwell

    A cool breeze washed against his skin, which felt very nice. Maxwell let his mind drift off, thinking about everything and thinking about nothing. It was some thirty minutes later when his cell phone rang. He glanced at the screen and noted the name flashing at him. A smile crept across his face. He quickly flicked on the loud speaker, at the same time muting the music.

    "Hey, sweetheart," he greeted.

    "Daddy?" came Amelia's voice.

    "Are you coming home soon?"

    He laughed. "Yes. Have you finished your piano lesson?"    

    A pause and then, "Yes. But Luna won't eat the food I gave her. She'll starve if she doesn't eat. I'm worried. She hasn't been eating properly for days now. Should we take her to the vet?"

    He frowned. "I'll be home in a minute, Amelia. Daddy will take care of it."

    "Really?" She laughed merrily, which made his heart glow. "Daddy? I've just learned a new piece today. Do you want to hear it?"     

    "Of course," he said even though he knew that she was horrible but he would never tell her that. He didn't think the piano was her thing, but he couldn't say no because she'd wanted to learn so much.     

    "It was hard, but Mrs. West told me..."

    Maxwell shook his head. There she goes again, he thought.    

    "s**t!" He swore as his foot slammed hard on the break whilst one hand pressed down on the horn and the other expertly turned the steering wheel, veering the car out of the way. The sound of the tires screeching against asphalt was loud in his ears. An agonizing short moment later, the car came to a complete stop, miss hitting the girl by mere inches.    

    "Daddy?" A panicky voice reached him, and Maxwell realized Amelia was still on the line.

    He took a deep breath and said calmly, "Everything is okay, sweetheart. Just a rabbit on the road. I'll see you soon all right?"

    "All right," Amelia replied, uncertain.    

    He quickly cut the line and opened the door.

    The girl was sprawled on the ground, her backpack and printout map scattered around her.

    He came to stand before her, concerned she might be hurt. Slowly, he watched her drift her gaze up his legs and then finally to his face. The moment he saw her fully, his gut churned into a delicious twist of sensations. Large, frightened eyes gazed up at him. Her face was flushed and delicately pretty. Long, tangled braided hair rested haphazardly over one shoulder. The longer he looked at her, the more he was convinced he'd seen her before. Then it hit him! Jason Jones. Holy f*****g hell! She looked like Jason Jones. It was the woman he has been fantasying about for days.    

    He couldn't believe Jason's sister was this young. She didn't look much older than Jason. Her email suggested otherwise, though. Short and to the point with a no-nonsense f*****g about the bush way. From the email, he thought she was in her late thirties, armed with the two million dollars.

    Boy was he wrong. He knew the moment he met her eyes this girls didn't have two hundred dollars in her wallet, just like her brother.

    Crouching down to one knee, he looked closely at her. Then she had to go and lick her lips. His gaze was drawn to the glistening plump flesh, and a surge of desire rushed through him. Oh s**t! Not a good first impression. Nothing good was going to come out of this. Well maybe for him something wonderful will come out of it. The girl looked like she needed a good long kiss on those plump and juicy lips and maybe a lot of other places on her body.

    To distract himself, he asked "Are you all right?"    

    When she didn't respond, he wrapped one hand over her arm. Electrical sparks charged between them, and he felt the wind knocked out of him. Sparks!

    f**k! He felt sparks for Jason Jones's sister.    

    His hands tightened on her slender arm as he felt a sudden, overwhelming yearning rush through him. He slammed down the urge as quickly as it came. Slowly, he guided her up, his gaze hot on hers. Then he took a step back, refusing to think about the attraction that was slowly inching its way back to the surface.

    "Don't walk onto the road without looking if you don't want to get hit," he said.

    "Thanks," she replied softly, followed by a tentative smile that took his breath away.

    He walked away, reluctantly. In the car, he switched on the engine and turned his gaze to watch her again, curiously. She was busy gathering her belongings. Her actions were delicate, and he had no idea why he found it so fascinating. After pushing the gear forward, he pressed his foot on the accelerator and sped past her, headed up the hill.

    If she was coming up to see him about her brother, she'd have a hell of a hike to get there. He hoped like hell she wouldn't. At least not now, not after he'd smelled her, sweat and dirt mingled with something sweet, which was delightful. Not after he'd seen the perfect color of her flushed face and felt the softness of her milky white skin. She was too f*****g tempting by half. His hands itched and his c**k stirred and hardened as blood began to migrate there, readying the little beast for action.

    He slammed the arousal shut at the same time he pulled up the hand break. Switching the engine off, he took a deep breath, his face dark with a scowl.

    "f**k!" he muttered under his breath as s****l frustration spurred hot in his veins once again. He shut his eyes and took another deep breath. A few seconds later, knowing the feeling would be gone soon, he got out of the car and headed up to the front door.

    Ms. Lane, the housekeeper, waited for him. 

    "Where's Aria?" he asked, his back to her as she carefully pulled down his jacket.

    "Upstairs in her sitting room, sir," she replied tonelessly.    

    He headed up the stairs two at a time. On the second floor, he came into Amelia's sitting room. She was reading a book, and Luna and Lina, two balls of white fur, one big and one small, a Pug and English Bulldog, were beside her, resting their heads on her lap. Ms. Julie James, Amelia's nanny, sat on a chair not far away. When Maxwell cleared his throat, Amelia glanced up. Her face was bright when she saw him.

    "Daddy!" she squealed with delight, rushing to him and throwing herself into his open arms. The two dogs were after her and barked excitedly at his feet.   

    Lifting her, he kissed her on the cheek. "One for me," he said. Then he kissed her on the other cheek. "One for Uncle Jeff." She giggled when he proceeded to kiss her forehead. "And one for Uncle Tom.

    Amelia wrapped her little arms around his neck and kissed him back on his hard cheekbone. "One for Amelia."    

    He laughed. "Yes, one for Amelia."

    "Daddy, Luna won't eat." She pointed down at the Pug with accusation. "She won't listen to me."

    Maxwell raised his brows. "Oh?" Shall we see if I can make him eat, then?"

    Amelia nodded enthusiastically, and Lina barked excitedly. Max carried her out of the room and then down the stairs toward the kitchen, Luna, Lina, and Julie following close behind. All the while, his little darling kept on chattering, telling him about her day at school. Suddenly, she stopped and asked, "Daddy? Is the rabbit all right?"

    For a moment he was lost and didn't quite understand what she was talking about, but then he remembered. An image of the girl sprawled out on the ground sparked in his mind. A sudden desire to kiss and taste those plump lips seared hot in him.    

    He snuffed down the scorching craving and concentrated his attention on his lovely daughter instead. "The rabbit is fine."

    "Why didn't you bring it up?" It might have been injured and needed nursing." She sounded disappointed in him. 

    He felt like someone punched him in the stomach hard. Guilty as charged. Why didn't he offer to bring Jason's sister up to see him? Because he'd wanted to kiss and f**k her right there and then, and having her sitting in the car with would just be too tempting. He had to wait for the time to be just right.    

    "It wants to go home to its family, darling," he said evasively.

    "So it's mommy can nurse it back to good health?" Amelia asked innocently.        

    "Yes," he said, finally reaching the ground floor.   

    "But what if it doesn't have a mommy?" she asked with sad but yet still bright large blue eyes. "Like I don't have a mommy because Mommy ran away?"

    A toxic surge of anger and hurt rushed through him. He stroked his daughter's dark hair fondly and said, "It'll have a daddy to look after it."

    "Like me?" she asked, smiling happily.    

    "Yes, sweetheart, like you," he replied.    

    She tightened her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. They came into the kitchen a moment later, and Isabel greeted him with a, "Oh, Mr. Michael's, what can I do for you, sir?"

    As usual, she looked flustered in his presence. He was used to staff, regardless if it was here in the house or at the various Michael's Family hotels and resorts, looking and acting like he was about to pull a gun and shoot them in the head. It was just as well, because he had his fair share of shooting people in the head. Not to mention a lot of backstreet and underground fighting. 

    "Luna needs food," he said. 

    "She just had his," Isabel stammered, her face a little pale, as usual.    

    "She didn't eat it," Amelia said.    

    "Daddy is going to make her."

    Martha looked at the dogs. "I'll prepare it for her again right away, sir."    

    Some five minutes later, Luna sniffed at the lump of brown meats in her bowl and took a small bite. Lina helped herself to the food as well. The greedy brat!

    "She's eating," Maxwell said.    

    "How come he only listens to you?" Amelia asked, her eyes large and accusing. She was so cute; he couldn't help but kiss her.

    "I have no idea," he said honestly. "Still want to play for me?"

    She nodded enthusiastically. Maxwell lifted her and carried her across the hall to the back of the mansion where the music room was located. The dogs left their food and followed them out, as did Julie.

    He was soon listening to his darling daughter playing mistuned music, when the knocks came at the door.

    Ms.Bounds stood there, her hand clasped before her. "Security needs a word with you, sir."    

    He'd know it was coming. He turned to his daughter. "Amelia, Daddy has business to attend to, all right?"

    Amelia nodded. "Can I take Luna and Lina outside to play?"

    "Of course you can."

    Glancing at Julie, he said, "Make sure she doesn't go into the woods."

    "I'll make sure of that, sir." She smiled at him, her eyes bright.    

    He'll admit Julie was a remarkably beautiful young woman, and he always wondered why she would want to be stuck here as Amelia's nanny. He knew she was more ambitious.

    He dismissed the thought from his mind and walked out the door, up the stairs, and into his office. Switching on the intercom, he demanded, "What?"

    "Sir.: The voice of Mark O'Neil came through. "There's a girl here to see you. She said you sent her an email requesting her presence?"

    He switched on the laptop screen connected to the security camera. The black screen flashed on, and then a moment later, the girl's face appeared before him.    

    HE stared at the screen, at Jason's sister, long and hard, and felt his c**k stirring again. "Does she have a name?"

    "Err, Shelby Jones, sir."

    He took a deep breath, his eyes still on the laptop screen, on the girl who caused sparks, the girl who managed to awaken his c**k without even doing anything seductive. He was so f*****g going to regret this.    

    "Let her in."