Billionaire Erotic Romance Boxed Set: 7 Steamy Full-Length Novels (75 page)

“He’s going to tell everyone what he just saw,” she whispered, mindful of the possibility that Vincent was still standing outside with his ear pressed to the door.

“Relax,” Damien said. He clasped her shoulders with his warm hands. “He can’t do anything to us that we won’t allow.”

“But he can!” She shivered in her lover’s embrace, imagining the other jockey running off to tattle to anyone in the stables who would listen. “He can ruin everything.”

Damien made a dismissive noise. “Hardly. The best way to douse this fire is for us to be public with our relationship. He can’t reveal what’s already out in the open.” He drew her back against his chest, effortlessly supporting her weight with his strength.

Unfortunately, Sasha agreed with Damien. They had to come out as more than friends, as an actual couple, to negate any damage that Vincent could potentially do.

“You’re right,” she murmured, her heart still thumping hard in her chest.

“It’s already the end of the work day so we should do it tomorrow. The sooner, the better.” He kissed the top of her head. “Don’t worry, Sasha. Everything will be all right.”

“Okay.” Her voice sounded small, even to her own ears. She cleared her throat, not wanting to think about any of this anymore. Vincent was a problem that didn’t deserve any of her attention. Damien was right. There was nothing to be done until tomorrow. She sighed and drew back from his embrace. Then she took his hand and led him back to the couch they had so recently left.

“Since we can’t do anything about Vincent right now, tell me about that phone call I interrupted earlier.”

Damien shook his head, gathered her into his arms on the couch, her back pressed against his chest, their legs stretched out and sweetly tangled together. “That’s just jumping from one bad topic to another.” His full mouth twisted into a grimace.

“There’s a guy, Anthony Barnes, who’s had it in for me and my family for years.”

“Anthony Barnes.” Sasha furrowed her brow. “That name sounds familiar.” She thought about where she might have heard it before, and then remembered. “He’s the trainer for McGreevy’s, isn’t he?”

Damien looked down at her in surprise. “How do you know him?”

“Before I made up my mind to work here, I was considering signing on over at McGreevy’s instead. They offered a great package and they have some beautiful thoroughbreds. But I felt more at home here. Linc and High Impact sealed the deal for me.”

Damien made a soft noise of approval. “Remind me to give Linc a raise for that.”

She smiled faintly. “But we weren’t talking about me or even Linc.”

Sasha turned in Damien’s arms so she could see his face while still remaining in his comfortable and warm embrace. The blue of his eyes was shadowed, the touch of darkness so uncharacteristic for him.

“We were talking about that piece of shit, Anthony Barnes,” he said with a snarl. I’m glad he didn’t manage to steal you away, too.” She watched him for a moment, not saying a word, merely allowing him to gather his thoughts about what was bothering him so much. He sighed and told her the story.

“I never told you this, but I never wanted to be in this business.”

Damien’s voice deepened as he told her of his dreams of being a zoologist. Of wanting to get his Masters degree in Wildlife Biology and working with animals in their natural environments all over the world. Despite this desire, however, he bowed to his father’s wishes and went to school for business. Even then, he hadn’t committed to helping his father run Taylor Stables.

“Then my father died.” She heard him swallow heavily behind her. His hands tightened briefly around hers and he drew a deep, troubled breath.

His father had been tending to one of the horses, working late as usual in the stables when a fire broke out. Despite the fire alarms, for a long time that night, no one knew about the fire. It was late, it was dark, it was after hours and everyone had gone home. By the time the firefighters came, it was already too late. His father was dead, along with two of their best horses.

“Although we couldn’t prove it, everyone knew it was Anthony Barnes who started the fire.”

Sasha gasped. “Oh my God!”

“He was in the hayloft, smoking. He fell asleep up there, woke to the fire and left my father to burn.” Damien’s jaw clenched and his eyes darkened with the unpleasant memories. “I was in Botswana when it all happened but came back on the next flight.

After my own investigation, I fired Barnes for his negligence and let him go without a letter of reference. Somehow he wormed his way into McGreevy’s place and has been a pain in my ass ever since.”

He tilted his head back and stared at the ceiling. “All these years, he’s been turning McGreevy against me, trying to outbid me for horses. Stealing my best jockeys and staff. Recently, one of our trainers was mugged not too far from here. His leg was badly broken. I heard rumors that it was Barnes who did it, but he always manages to slither out of trouble. It’s amazing to me how angry he is that he lost a job and a few layers of skin when, because of him, I was the one who lost everything.”

Damien sounded so devastated, the normally strong man she knew trembling in anger and remembered sadness. Sasha changed her position on the sofa, knelt into the plush cushions and pressed his head against her breasts.

“I’m tired of him and his bullshit,” Damien said, his words vibrated against her skin. “He’s coming after me again, and I’m going to put a stop to it. But this time I won’t be so nice.”

His words were ice. Hard and jagged. Ruthless.

Chapter Twenty

“The new foal born last night is beautiful,” Sasha said to Linc with a grin as she waited for him to finish making his photocopies. To her there were few things sweeter than newborn horses. Plus the new baby was a nice distraction from the imminent revelation about her and Damien’s relationship.

“The little ones are mighty nice,” Linc said with a nod. He lifted the lid of printer and took out a piece of paper, grabbed the copies and slid them into a folder he had under his arm.

After spending all morning in the sun with Linc and a few of the horses doing exercises, she had gone in to check on the most recent addition to Taylor Stables. The new filly, hopefully named Queen of the Roses, was a light bay color and gorgeous.

Normally, Sasha wouldn’t pay much attention to the breeding portion of the Taylor Stables business but she loved the little horses so much and thought their struggling legs and softness were the epitome of innocence. They reminded her of what she had lost very early in her life and could never get back.

The long, rectangular office around her and Linc buzzed with early afternoon activity. Two women, both holding cups of coffee, talked near the door about someone’s upcoming wedding. At her desk, Linda, the stable’s administrative assistant talked quietly with the phone to her ear while her printer rolled out sheets of paper. From down the hall, came the sound of laughter, people meeting up and getting ready to leave for lunch.

Sasha tucked her hands in the pockets of her jeans and rocked back on her heels, enjoying the relative quiet of the afternoon, the comforting activity of the office all around her.

“Michelle and I are supposed to go look at the new filly later,” she told Linc.

He gave her a teasing look. “Is that the sound of your maternal instincts kicking in?”

Sasha rolled her eyes. “Hardly.”

“Hardly what, darling?”

Although she was expecting him, Sasha nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of Damien’s voice close to her ear.

“Hi,” she said breathlessly.

Linc looked at her with curiosity before greeting their boss. “Afternoon, sir,” he said with a nod.

Damien nodded back. “Linc.”

Today he was dressed in well-worn jeans and a white t-shirt under a black blazer. Casual. Sexy. Nothing like the angry and intense lover she had left the day before to his strategies and machinations on how to best rid himself of the Anthony Barnes problem. Sasha wanted to hug him. She crossed her arms under her breasts instead.

“Keep doing what you’re doing,” Damien said to Linc before his eyes moved to Sasha.

“I just came to invite this beautiful woman to lunch with me.” His hand found her elbow, an intimate gesture no one could misinterpret.

The color rose in Sasha’s face but she hoped both men would ignore it. “Uh...sure. I’d love to.”

“An hour from now in the house kitchen?”

She nodded, found a smile. “Okay. See you then.”

“Good.” Then he leaned down and kissed her. Quickly. On the mouth.

The kiss was over as quickly as it began but he might as well have bent her over the copy machine and started fucking her in the ass for all the impact it had in the small office. Everything came to a screeching halt. Conversations. Breathing. Even the damn copier seemed to pause for a moment.

“See you in a bit,” Damien said and walked off.

After Damien left, every pair of eyes swung to Sasha, including Linc’s. She wanted to clear her throat of its sudden dryness but didn’t want to bring even more attention to herself with the sound.

“So, what’s for lunch?” Linc asked. He took his manila folder of copies and dropped it into the admin assistant’s in-box. His attitude was nonchalance itself. As if he’d known about her and Damien’s relationship all along. And supported it.

“Whatever Damien tells the chef to cook, I guess,” she said with a shrug, struggling to match his casual manner.

“Sounds like you’re in for a gourmet experience, then. I don’t remember the boss being much of a meat and potatoes man.”

Sasha wanted to kiss Linc for his laid-back attitude about the revelation. The office was settling down around them, the women by the door falling back into their conversation, the copy machine once again churning out the hot Xeroxed papers. Sasha’s frantic heartbeat in her chest. She shoved her sweaty hands in the back pockets of her jeans.

“He likes a variety of things,” she said with a grateful smile. “There’s no telling what’s going to happen in that kitchen.”

“Well, enjoy. I’m sure it’ll be a good time.” He started out of the office and she fell in step by his side. “I’m heading over to Michelle’s office to see about this new nutrition plan I think will work better for the underweight foal. I won’t be back until late this afternoon. Can you stick around late today?”

“Absolutely.” Staying late today of all days was a small price to pay for his unconditional support.

“Good. I’ll see you when I get back.” Then he was gone.

With Linc off the property, she didn’t want to face anyone else. She had an hour until she met Damien for lunch so she used the time to groom Iron Fist. Then lunch time came and she walked across the grounds of the stables toward the lavish house where Damien lived. Although she knew that logically it wasn’t true, she felt that everyone at Taylor Stables watched her make the journey from the business side of the estate over to his private house. She felt like they watched her, they judged her, and found her wanting.

After asking one of the maids where the kitchen was, she managed to find it on the second try, led the last few turns by her nose. Something delicious was cooking. Something cheesy and filled with starch. Sasha’s stomach growled with hunger. Her breakfast that morning had only consisted of a packet of flavored oatmeal and a banana. By the time she’d gotten to work, her stomach already felt empty. She stepped into the kitchen and almost bumped into a woman carrying a foil-covered pan toward the oven.

“Excuse me,” Sasha dipped out of the uniformed woman’s way and stared around her in wonder.

The kitchen was massive. It was filled with light from a half a dozen windows and had the feel of a rustic cabin. Wide wooden beams on the ceiling that matched the color of the small dining set near the center of the room. An entire wall of built-cabinets and shelving, a double oven, two sinks, and enough counter space for an orgy.

Wow.

Sometimes she forgot how rich Damien was. Her entire apartment could fit into this kitchen. Maybe even twice. Along with the woman who was putting what looked like a roast in the oven, there was a slender man chopping vegetables at one of the counters and a young girl who looked like she was doing her homework on the padded window seat, occasionally looking up to stare outside with longing on her face.

Damien was already sitting at a small table by one of the windows. His blazer was off. The wind or an impatient hand had ruffled the usually immaculate arrangement of his hair. The table was set for two - glasses, silverware, dishes, napkins - but was otherwise empty. He stood up when he saw her.

He kissed her again, this time on the cheek, and gestured for her to have a seat. After she claimed her seat, he sat across from her.

“You look great,” he said with a grin. His blue eyes sparkled in his face.

She laughed, utterly charmed by him. “You just saw me an hour ago. In this same outfit.”

“You looked great then and you look even better now. Every time I see you, you look even more beautiful.” His words were low and rumbling. Private but easily carrying to the rest of the kitchen.

Was this a performance? Was he pretending to be infatuated with her so that people wouldn’t feel put out by him dating the help? Sasha frowned at him. Then noticed the faint tremor in his hands, the way he fidgeted in his seat. He was nervous. She reached out and touched his hand, threaded her fingers through his.