The Billionaire's Secret Boxed Set (9 page)

“Shall I get you something to drink before I show you around? A glass of wine, perhaps?” he continued in the voice that threatened to melt her.

“Yes, thank you,” she stammered. 

“Wait right here,” he said, and disappeared down a hallway.

Belle stood in the large front hall and gazed through a doorway into what looked like a combination study and library.  Even at first glance, she could tell that the renovations had moved the house toward an elegant, more modern simplicity without sacrificing the character of the home’s historic origins.  Belle peered into the library, gazing upon rows and rows of books, some of which were clearly quite old. She wondered if they were books that had been in his family for generations.  If so, it was appropriate that he bring them back here, to their rightful place in his ancestral home.

Belle glanced at a portrait of a woman that hung on the wall.  It looked to be of a young Mabel
Semple, Gregory’s grandmother.  Belle remembered Mabel vaguely from her childhood.  The Mabel Semple she knew had been tall, stately, and statuesque, beautiful even in her old age, but very private.  She was already a widow by the time Belle entered elementary school, and Belle remembered that her appearances in town were brief and rare.  She wondered now, as the portrait seemed to gaze down upon her, what Greg’s relationship with her had been like.

In the kitchen, Greg poured two glasses of red wine and checked briefly on dinner as he tried to compose himself.  Having her here, in his home and away from the scents of others, he was battling mightily to keep control.  He could smell every inch of her.  His body thrummed with need to take her
now
.  He closed his eyes and shuddered, listening to the call of her body as though it was a song he could actually hear: the call of his mate echoing through the night.  Only his knowledge that she would need to be tamed before she could be taken kept him from leaping toward her, the wine glasses crashing from his hands.  Christ! He needed to master himself, and now.  He took a deep breath, then slowly let it out. Opening his eyes, he gained control of his inner beast with a supreme effort and strode into the hall.

“I see you’ve found the library,” a voice said behind her.

Belle started, turning around to see a smiling Greg holding two goblets of red wine.  “Yes. It’s so beautiful!” Taking one of the glasses from his hand, she took a step into the room and asked, “Is this your grandmother Mabel?”

“Yes, it is,” Greg acknowledged.  “You knew her?”

“Not really,” Belle admitted.  “I remember seeing her from time to time when I was young, though. I recognized her right away, even though she’s much younger in the portrait than I ever remember her being.”

“Perhaps I didn’t know her much better than you, then,” Greg said.  “I only came here a few times as a child, and my grandmother never came to see us in the city.  I do remember that she was very kind to me, though, and that I always felt a special bond with her.  She used to send me letters about my family history, and books for Christmas and my birthday.  Many of them are here now, on these shelves.”

“It’s wonderful that you brought them here, back to the house they came from,” Belle said softly. She looked up at him with emerald eyes, and his breath hitched with desire.  Her coral dress clung appealingly to her thighs and breasts, and brought out the color in her cheeks and skin.  God, he wanted to be between those thighs as they wrapped around him in ecstasy.  He wanted to fill her, to thrust into her as she cried out, to explode inside her, to claim her as his own.  He needed to take her, so completely that she knew there could never be anyone else.  Feeling his beast rise within, he turned away and attempted to calm
himself.  “Yes,” he responded gruffly.  “It’s become important to me to return to the place of my origins.  For many reasons.”

Belle noticed his change in tone, and wondered if she had said the wrong thing.  Shifting the conversation, she asked: “Would you show me around the rest of the house?  I’ve always wondered what it was like inside.”

Greg seemed to snap out of his reverie.  “Yes, of course, though it’s changed quite a bit from what it used to look like.  Still, the architect managed to preserve quite a bit of the character of the old place, even if a lot had to be torn out and redone.  Come with me into the solarium.” He led her into a large, airy space with floor to ceiling windows and a view that opened out onto a large wooded area at the edge of the property. 

The rest of the tour passed relatively calmly, with Greg pointing out a feature or a change here and there, and Belle commenting or asking a question.  Finally, they arrived at the kitchen, where delicious aromas wafted toward Belle’s nose.  “More wine?” Greg offered.  “You can keep me company while I finish things up here, and then I thought we could have dinner in the solarium.”

“That sounds fantastic, thanks,” she said holding out her glass to him.

A few minutes later, they were seated in the solarium at a small, intimate dining table, with a stunning view of the setting sun.  “So, tell me more about yourself, Belle. Have you always lived here in Dyersville?”

“Yes,” she admitted.  My parents are both from here – high school sweethearts. I was their only child.  My mom died when I was little, and my dad died from cancer five years ago.  Ever since then, it’s just been me.”

“That must be incredibly lonely,” he said, his eyes darkening in sympathy.

“Yes, it is.” Belle stared out the window towards the sunset.  “It hasn’t been easy, I’ll admit.  But in some ways, it does make the thought of leaving easier.  I know everyone in this town, pretty much, so it’s not as if I’m totally alone, but there’s not much here for me now except my memories.  My future will have to come from somewhere else.”

“What is your future, do you think?” he asked, gazing at her with a strange expression.

She smiled quietly.  “Well, no one knows that exactly, do they?  Life has a funny way of handing you something unexpected just when you were making other plans.”

He laughed.  “Yes, doesn’t it, though?  Who knew when I bought this house that I would be dining in it with such a beautiful woman?”

Blushing slightly, she opened her mouth to deny the compliment, and then thought better of it.  As though he had said nothing, she continued: “My plan, if it works out, is to go live in the city and go to school to study hotel and restaurant management.  It’s the only thing I have any experience in, and I think I’d be pretty good at it.  I’ve definitely gone as far as I can up the ‘corporate ladder’ of The Church Key,” she finished wryly.

He smiled.  “Yes, I suppose so. But do you really want to move away from here, to the city?”

“Yes, I think so, but I’ll never know until I go, will I? Dyersville is all I’ve ever known.” 

“It is not enough for you, then?” he prodded, his voice softening. 

Something in his tone had grown quietly erotic as they spoke.  His words now seemed full of double meanings. She looked into his eyes, and saw that he was asking another question with them – a question she only partially understood, but which she felt her body answering in spite of herself.  She met his gaze, her tone matching his, and murmured, “I don’t know what else is out there, but I know I need more than Dyersville has been able to give me.”

Greg’s breath hitched.  He stared intently at her in the candlelight, his eyes seeming to bore into her.  “And what do you
need
, Ms. O’Hara?” he asked thickly.  The expression in his eyes had turned predatory, filled with barely restrained carnality. 

“I…” she began breathlessly, and found herself without words.  Her lips parted as she gazed at him, her body responding to his with a desire that was almost violent. 

Belle’s hand had been resting on the table, and he caught hold of it.  Bringing it to his mouth, he brushed his lips against the pulse of her wrist.  His hot breath seemed to burn into her flesh as she gasped, her nipples tautening instantly.  He traced the short distance to the palm of her hand, and she felt herself moistening with need.  A moan escaped her lips as she felt his tongue against her skin.  Beneath the table, her legs parted involuntarily, her panties going from moist to wet. 

Then they were both standing, his arms around her, his hands in her hair.  He pulled with barely restrained force, raising her face to his, and crushed his lips down on hers. He captured her, possessed her with his mouth.  His hands moved from her hair to run freely over her body. He pulled her tightly against him, the full length of his rock hard shaft pressing against her throbbing sex.  She parted her legs instinctively, rocking her hips up to meet him, suddenly drunk with desire and need.  His tongue probed deeply, drinking her in, and then he tore his mouth from hers, moving to her neck.  She could feel his hot, ragged breath as he burned a path along her skin, pressing her even harder against him.  She moaned with an unleashed, animal desire she had never known, wrapping her arms around him desperate for him to take her in the most primitive way possible. 

Belle felt his hand reach up to bare her breasts.  He cupped one, bringing the nipple to his hungry mouth.  He nipped it lightly with his teeth before lapping at the taut bud with his tongue.  She gasped as the electric jolt of it went straight to her core.  Her panties were now completely drenched, and she whimpered and thrust against him, begging him with her body to give her what she needed.  His hand moved between her legs, pushing aside her soaking panties. A finger moved inside her wetness, and she cried out in pure, animal pleasure.  She thrust against his hand with her palm, no longer mistress of herself, no longer thinking, wanting nothing more than to be possessed by him in every way.

Suddenly, with a loud groan, he tore himself from her.  “NO!” he growled.  “Not like this!”  He stepped away from her, undisguised lust and anger on his face.

Startled and uncomprehending, Belle looked at him in shock.  He stood before her, panting, an expression almost like fury on his face.  His need was evident, and she could barely restrain herself from launching at him, taking what she so desperately craved.  “What…” she began shakily, and then fought to compose herself. “What’s wrong?”

“It can’t happen like this,” he said, turning away.  His back to her, he muttered something else that she couldn’t hear.

“What?” she cried, her voice shaking with desire and confusion. “What’s wrong?”

Greg took a moment to compose
himself, and then turned around.  “I’m sorry,” he said, his tone cool and formal. “I think this was a little sudden.  I didn’t mean to lose control of myself like that. Please forgive me.”

Belle mistook his politeness for rejection. Tears of frustration pooled in her eyes as she blushed to the roots of her hair.  “I…”  She gulped back a sob. “I don’t understand.”

Greg looked at her, his eyes unreadable.  “Yes, that’s true.  There are things about me… about this… that you don’t understand.  Yet.”  With an effort, he regained the rest of his composure and smiled formally at her.  “I think it would be better if we continued this another time, when we’re not so… heated.”

Belle wanted nothing more at that moment than to sink into the ground and disappear.  Willing herself not to cry, she took a deep breath to calm her shaking voice.  “Yes, of course,” she said, straightening her dress and smoothing her hair.  “I really think I’d better go.”

“Please, Belle, I’d like you to stay.  There’s dessert still, if you’d like,” he said, a hint of sadness in his voice.

“No, thank you.  I’m sorry, I need to go. Thank you very much for dinner, and the tour, and…”  Taking a deep breath, she smiled quickly at him and walked quickly from the room, down the long hallway, and out the door.  Once outside, she began running, only breaking into sobs once she was in her car with the door closed.

Belle drove as best she could until she was out of sight of the mansion, only then stopping by the side of the road to weep uncontrollably. Never in her life had she felt so exposed, so rejected.  Greg had awakened needs in her she had never felt before, and then just as violently, rejected her and thrown them back in her face.  She was confused, she was humiliated, but most of all she felt that she had lost something that she desperately needed.  It was as though he had opened a door to show her her future, and then slammed it in her face.

That night, sleep came with difficulty.  Belle tossed and turned, unable to get Gregory Thorne out of her mind.  Finally, in the early hours of the morning, she succumbed to her fatigue,
dreaming strange, dark dreams of velvet sex, forest floors, and the scents of blood and lust. If Belle had looked outside her window into the night, she would have seen a pair of feral eyes staring out of the trees, their reflections glinting in the moonlight.

Belle woke early the next morning, her eyes red and puffy from crying.  Exhausted, she padded to the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face, then went into the kitchen to brew herself a large pot of coffee.  She sat listlessly in the living room, staring at nothing as she tried to decide how to pass the time until she could leave for work.  For once, she welcomed the routine of the bar.  She hoped against hope that a busy shift would take her mind off of the humiliating experience of the night before. 

The hours passed slowly.  Belle did laundry, cleaned the house, did some weeding in the small vegetable garden, and wasted some time on the internet.  Finally, it was time to leave for her shift.