The Billionaire's Bargain Read online

  Evernight Publishing

  www.evernightpublishing.com

  Copyright© 2012 Sam Crescent

  ISBN: 978-1-77130-175-6

  Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs

  Editor: Karyn White

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  DEDICATION

  To everyone with a dream and a love of romance.

  THE BILLIONAIRE’S BARGAIN

  Sam Crescent

  Copyright © 2012

  Chapter One

  “This is fucking ridiculous.” Duncan James swore as his fist slammed down on the brand-new mahogany desk. The sound echoed around his office. The only person to witness his anger was his long time friend and lawyer, Mark Rogers.

  “As ridiculous as it may sound, it’s what is in your father’s will. There is no way out. I’ve checked it over and over. There is no loophole. His will is solid, and there is no way can it be changed or manipulated. The bastard thought of everything, including how to control you in his death,” Mark firmly said again.

  Duncan knew Mark was right, but it didn’t make what he had to do any easier. A wife, he needed to find a wife before he could claim his inheritance. The bastard had been a shitty father in life and an even worse father in death.

  “How the hell am I going to find a wife and be married within a month? This kind of shit doesn’t happen in real life. It’s like he read some of those lame-ass romances that women love.”

  “You seriously think you can’t find a woman willing to be your wife?” Mark asked. His friend gave him a condescending look. Duncan couldn’t help but smile. There would be any number of willing women who would queue to be his wife. He had the wealth and reputation to reel them in. All of the women in his life were beautiful and all after his money. Some were models who wanted to further their own career, while others just wanted to be on his arm. Not one of them was good enough to be his wife or mother his children. He had standards, even if they were a little hypocritical. Duncan wanted a woman who wasn’t in the public eye. A woman who’d put her family’s needs before her own. His bastard father was still haunting him from the grave. The situation would be laughable if he wasn’t the one who was being screwed over.

  Since his father had passed several months ago Duncan had taken over the running of all of his companies. There was only one problem with his position. His father had decreed in his will that Duncan could only take full control if he married a woman and stayed with her for two years. Not only did he have to stay married for two years but within that time he needed to produce a child. Being a handsome and wealthy multi-millionaire meant he was never short of attractive female company. His decision should be easy. However, he didn’t want to marry a woman he couldn’t stand for as long as it took to fuck her. His attention was hard to keep. One woman for two years would be hard for him to keep getting hard for.

  All of the women he’d dated and fucked were not the sort of person he wanted for his wife or as the mother of his child.

  He wanted someone within his life whose company he would be able to bear for more than a few days.

  How was he to find a woman to agree to marry him, have his child, and then leave without a fuss?

  His father definitely knew how to get his own way. He was even doing it in death. He knew that Duncan would do anything to get his heritage, as otherwise it would go to his heartless conniving step-mother. Duncan wanted Miranda James, his step-mother, to finally get her comeuppance for destroying his parent’s marriage.

  Shame had consumed him when his teary-eyed mother had knocked on his apartment door in London over ten years ago. His father had pushed his mother out of the family villa in Italy, to move his gold-digging mistress in. Duncan had cut off all contact, not allowing his father near him or his mother. The divorce was handled swiftly with Duncan in charge of everything. Mark had done a smashing job of keeping his father from his life. Now he was back, and he dangled the candy in front of him. Ever since his father had moved his mother out of their family home, Duncan had spent a great deal of time trying to put his mother back in her rightful place. All he needed to do was marry and produce an heir. He had never wanted to marry, but he would do so for his mother and to spite Miranda. She needed to know what it was like to suffer.

  The telephone buzzed, interrupting his thoughts and his friend’s questioning looks. He’d been so lost in his anger he had forgotten his friend was waiting.

  “Mr. James, I’m sorry to interrupt, but Miss Williams is here for her two o’clock appointment.”

  The woman whose father had pilfered hard-earned money from his clients.Duncan thanked his secretary saying he would be done soon.

  “So what do you suggest I do?” he asked his friend.

  Mark stared at him for several moments. Duncan knew his friend was getting pleasure from this. Mark had been trying to get Duncan to settle down for years. His friend had been happily married for several years with a family, and he seemed without any need for other female company. Duncan would never admit to his friend that he envied the peace Mark had gained. It would do him no good to admit to such things.

  “Well, I think if you want your father’s estate and business you need to start interviewing for the bride-to-be,” Mark said, standing up ready to leave.

  “That’s all you’ve got to say? Interview for a bride?” Duncan ran his fingers through his hair finding himself annoyed with the whole situation. He was a forty-year-old man. He shouldn’t be considering his father’s ultimatum.

  “What else will you do? You’ve said how much you want what your father had. You want Miranda out of the villa and your mother back in.” Mark picked up his suitcase ready to leave.

  “You have always doubted my thoughts with regards to my parents. Why?” Duncan asked.

  “Your parents wouldn’t admit the truth to their son. I don’t think your father’s behaviour was as cut and dry as your mother makes out. You’ll do what you want, James. You always do.” Mark walked to the door. “Let me know what you decide. Don’t hurt a woman in the process of gaining your revenge.”

  ****

  Tess Williams rubbed her sweaty palms down her skirt for the hundredth time. Her nerves were getting the better of her. This interview meant so much to the future of her father. Duncan James could ruin her father in one swift phone call. She knew her father had stolen money, not only from Duncan, but also from other clients in the company. She didn’t know the exact amount her father had stolen. She knew it had to be a vast sum to have him worrying about it. Today she would try to negotiate the outcome of her father’s punishment. She knew it had to be a serious problem for him to go to her. Erik Williams rarely approached his daughter for anything unless he had to.

  She noticed the curious glances from Duncan James’s secretary. Tess knew this place wasn’t right for her. She stuck out like a sore thumb, which only put her on edge. Tess ran her hands through her dark curls trying to make her hair look someway decent. No matter what beauty product or device she used to tame the wayward locks, they always wanted to do their own thing. The glances reminded her of her school days where she felt out of place. Her full figure and wayward hair, along with her lack of propriety, had always been a topic of discussion among her peers and her father’s friends. She knew Erik was embarrassed by her. He’d trie
d to change her while she was growing up, but she had found peace being in her garden or in the library where she worked. Being in the limelight for Erik had never appealed.

  Tess didn’t know who her mother was, so she didn’t know where she got her characteristics from. She liked getting her fingers in the dirt and staying away from anything that would consume her passionate nature.

  No one else knew who her mother was, either, and Tess had never seen her. It was the one aspect of her life that had remained a complete mystery. When she asked her father who her mother was, he would simply say, “a woman I knew”.

  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.