The Billionaire's Bargain (2 page)

A man came out of the office in front of her. He had blond hair and a
mild manner. The secretary gave him a dazzling smile, and then he focussed his
attention on her. She stared at the floor not wanting to gain any attention. He
walked right past leaving her nerves on high alert. She hated male company and
couldn’t wait to get out of the building.

Tess ran her hands through her hair one final time before the secretary
finally showed her through to Mr. James’s office. As the door closed behind
her, she saw that he was standing at the window looking down onto the city
streets.

“Sit down, Miss Williams.” His voice was filled with authority. Without
question she sat in the chair across from his desk. While she waited for him to
turn around, uncomfortable silence filled the room. She didn’t know what to
say, and she remained quiet.

Tess looked around his office noticing there was not a single personal
picture or photograph in his office. All he possessed was one horrible, sterile
piece of art.

It was obviously an unwanted gift, a gift he’d placed in his office,
making the space feel more cold than warm.

“What can I do for you, Miss Williams?” He still stood by the window not
even bothering to turn around and address her. No matter how rude he was being
she had to plead her case.
 

“It’s about my father, Mr. James. He—”

“Ah, the man who has stolen from my company and
my clients.”
He
turned to gaze at her finally. For a split second he stopped, only staring at
her. “What could I possibly do for you?” His voice was harsh as he regarded
her. His full glare focussed on her.

“I wanted to know if there is anything I could do that would stop you taking
this elsewhere?” She looked down to her lap where her hands were clasped
together. His stare made her feel foolish and small.

“You mean the police?”

Tess nodded her head, unable to find the words she needed to speak.

This was so hard. In her mind she had thought it would be simple to
request some leniency. The man in front of her was every bit as domineering as
her father had said. He looked too hard and cold to listen to her. She was a
librarian, not a businesswoman.
 

Duncan James was extremely handsome as well. Tess couldn’t deny his
appeal. His dark brown hair, which was lighter than
her own
raven colour, was gorgeous, and it made him appear darker. From what the
magazines had said, he had Italian heritage running through his veins. His eyes
were black as they stared at her. His body was hard and muscular. For a
businessman he was well defined. She knew he must work out to look the way he
did. She understood why he dominated the gossip magazines every week with more
tales of his personal exploits and even worse, his callousness in the business
world.
 

“How do you suggest I keep the law outside of your father’s theft and
the manipulation of my clients? He not only stole a lot of money from my
company, but he nearly damaged my reputation. So, Miss Williams, how could I
possibly help your father?” The sarcasm was not lost on Tess. It was
practically dripping from his tone. He folded his arms walking to sit on the
end of his desk. His feet were close to hers. She felt hot and uncomfortable
being so close to him.
  

“My father has been through a trying time—”

“Do you seriously believe that is a good enough excuse to steal other
people’s hard-earned money?” He kept interrupting her. His tone never dropped
back down from its hostility.

“How much has he actually stolen, Mr. James?”

He gave her an approximate sum that caused her eyes to open wide.

How could Erik steal that much money without getting caught ‘til now?

What on earth would he spend it on?
    

It made her trip here pointless. There was no way she would be able to
repay such a ridiculous sum. For the first time in a long time Tess disliked
her father.

Chapter Two

Duncan
observed his ex-employee’s
daughter. She was extremely beautiful. Her looks seemed out of place
considering her father’s bland, pretentious appearance. Her long black hair ran
wild around her face. Her dark brown eyes were so striking that he thought at
first she was wearing contacts. Unlike his fashion models, Miss Williams had
real curves. There was no amount of clothing that could disguise her full
breasts. Her curves were covered in that dreadful discoloured suit. When she
fidgeted it showed the generous curve of her breasts, the indent of her waist
and generous flare of her hips. Her complexion was flawless and smooth. Her
skin looked soft to the touch. His palm ached to stroke her cheek to see if it
was as flawless as it looked. Her voice was soothing to listen to. It was an
effort not to close his eyes and simply listen to her. Her words flowed over
him like the delicate silk of a bed-sheet. His cock thickened inside his pants.
The desire to take her was strong.
Duncan
couldn’t recall the last time he’d been so affected by a woman. He stared at
her beauty and knew he had to have her.

She was definitely a female that deserved a male’s appreciation.
Preferably his own attention.
 

 
His response to her unnerved him.

No woman had left him feeling like
this. He was the one who was in control.
No one else.
Miss Williams left him aching with the need to touch and possess her. He
mentally shook himself when he noticed she was waiting for a reply.
Duncan
needed to gain
control. She was here because of her father, nothing else.

Never before had he been so taken
with the looks and the sound of a woman that he’d missed what she was actually
saying. Most women talked incessantly, and he had the ability to drown them
out.

What on earth could she have said?
Duncan
had been so busy appreciating her
beauty he’d not paid attention to the conversation before him.
  

“What did you say, Miss Williams?”
He turned from her trying to get his confused brain to work properly.

“My father is a good man.
An honourable man.
If there is anything he or I could do to
stop you pressing charges, we’ll do it.” Her voice expressed her desperation.
She clearly didn’t know her father that well. From his few short meetings with
Erik Williams he’d not been given the best of impressions. The older man seemed
like a money-grabbing slime-ball who’d do anything for a dollar.

Duncan
took his seat behind his desk. He
considered what she’d said. She seemed desperate that there were no criminal
damages brought against her father. He stared at her for several moments. She
glanced down to gaze at her lap. He saw her hands fidgeting in her lap. She
wasn’t used to any male attention. He was sure of it. She wanted to protect her
father, while he was in need of a wife to get his family home.
His rightful inheritance.
A plan, or rather a business
contract, began to form in his mind.

It was callous, but he didn’t care.
He wanted what was rightfully his, and he would do anything to get it. Even
blackmail a woman to marry him if he had to. Tess Williams needed him far more
than he needed her. He ran his fingers through his hair at the thought of
owning her. She would be his to do with as he saw fit.

“Tell me, Miss Williams, do you have
a boyfriend?” he asked. Her name sounded right rolling off his tongue. There
were many more exciting ways he wanted to say her name.

The question surprised her, and she
answered straight away. “No. My name is Tess.” She felt uncomfortable with him
referring to her by her surname.

“Thank you, Tess. Do you have a
lover?”

“No.”

“No special
someone waiting at home?”
He fired questions at her, making sure his plan wouldn’t fail.

“Not that it’s relevant, but no. I
have no one at home waiting for me.” He watched as she glanced back down at her
lap before looking at him again. “What has my private life got to do with the
problems of my father?” Her voice held suspicion.

Duncan
had to give her credit. She knew
deep down that she was caught in something. She might not know what she’d
gotten herself into, but it didn’t matter.
Duncan
always got what he wanted. Tess
Williams had just gone to the top of his list of things he wanted.
 

“Absolutely
nothing.”
He looked
her over once more making sure that he was making the right decision. His
ability to make good and firm decisions was what had kept him on top for so
many years. At forty years old he was a successful businessman in his own
right. He would have told his father’s lawyers to fuck off if it hadn’t been
for his mother. She deserved justice after everything she’d been through. He’d
see to it that she was restored in her home.

Tess needed him to stop any damage
coming to her father. She was beautiful, and it would be no hardship to bed
her. His cock stirred at the image of her laid out on his bed, her pussy
dripping wet waiting for his cock.
Duncan
felt his body respond to the idea of bedding this temptress.

Temptress! In the clothes she was
currently wearing she looked more like a drab mouse. Still, any man with half a
brain would be able to see the luscious curves hidden beneath the baggy
clothes. Would her fire be as passionate as he imagined?
Duncan
couldn’t wait to explore everything
with the woman in front of him. She had a submissive persona about her. He
liked that.
Duncan
liked being in control and having the women submit to him.

He knew he would have her caught
between a rock and a hard place. She would do exactly as he wanted, and she
wouldn’t have a leg to stand on.

Control.
He would have complete control over
Tess Williams. He would find the experience pleasurable. He knew how to give
his woman pleasure, and he would certainly enjoy keeping Tess occupied in the
bedroom.

Certain that he was making the right
decision, like any natural predator he struck. “Depending on what you are
prepared to do for your father, it can have everything to do with it.”

He sat back waiting for her to
speak. She frowned back at him, her eyebrows drawing slightly together.
Duncan
stared at her face
and knew he wanted to see her screaming in orgasm. He shifted in his seat
trying to ease the ache in his groin.

She ran a hand through her hair. The
wild locks fell all around her face. He pictured them wrapped around his fist
as he fucked inside her sweet cunt. The lust began to build inside him. He knew
without a doubt a marriage between them would never be a business arrangement
and would never be only on paper.

He wanted Tess.

She licked her lips. The action
looked nervous to him. Did he affect her as much as she affected him?

“How could my private life have
anything to do with the situation where my father has put himself?”

Duncan
smiled. Her confusion worked in his
favour.

“Tell me, Tess, what are you
prepared to do to stop criminal charges being brought against your father?”

“Anything,” she said without
hesitation.

He knew she’d give him the right
answer.
Duncan
picked up the phone and began speaking to his secretary. His secretary
questioned him on a few points. He made sure to keep his eyes on Tess at all
times. Her eyes widened when he said the word marriage. She really had no clue
as to what she was getting herself into. Erik should have warned his daughter
that he didn’t like to play fair.
Duncan
got what he wanted by being ruthless. Every person who lived on earth had a
price.
Duncan
always found the sum and was willing to use it to his advantage. Tess’s price
was the freedom of her father. She would do as she was told or risk losing her
parent. He didn’t see the real connection. Erik rarely talked about his
daughter. He’d visited the man’s desk a few times. He possessed no photos of
his family at all.

Tess was prepared to do anything for
a man who didn’t really acknowledge her as a daughter.
Duncan
found her circumstance sad but to his
benefit.
 

Another five minutes and the
conversation ended with his secretary. Jane was going to make sure to purchase
a marriage license along with the essentials to get him married very soon. He
looked at her, and his words would shock her.
Duncan
knew he needed the element of surprise
on his side. “In two weeks, we will be married at the local church across the
street on the corner. I’ll organise a dress to be delivered to you by the end
of the day. The wedding will be at ten on Friday morning.” His words were short
and sharp.