Read Passion and Surrender (The Billionaire's Temptation Book 6) Online
Authors: Cali MacKay
Passion and Surrender (The Billionaire's Temptation Book 6)
Passion and Surrender
Book Six in The Billionaire’s Temptation Series
By Cali MacKay
Passion and Surrender
The Billionaire’s Temptation Series
By Cali MacKay
Copyright © 2015 by Cali MacKay
Published by Daeron Publishing
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher or author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. The story contained within is the work of fiction. Names and characters are the product of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
This story contains explicit sexual scenes and adult language and is only for readers over the age of 18.
Printed in the United States of America
First Printing, 2015, edition 1.0 (links included)
ISBN: 978-1-940041-32-2
Table of Contents
Passion and Surrender
By Cali MacKay
Chapter One
Marshall had always been a calm and even-tempered man—but Claire was capable of pushing even a saint to commit murder. “I told you to take it up with my lawyer. And if you show up here again, I’ll get a restraining order against you.”
With a flick of her head, Claire gave him a smug look, her lips painted too glossy a red, her hair too perfectly coifed, and her fuck-me heels impossibly tall. How he’d ever fallen into her trap, he hadn’t a clue. He might be a doctor, but he needed to get his goddamned head checked. “You can’t, Marshall. Not when I deserve to be part owner of this company. And by the time my lawyer’s through with you, you’ll be lucky if I don’t take everything you own away from you in the divorce. Just you wait.”
“You don’t own any part of this company until the courts say you do. So in the meantime, Claire—
get the fuck out
.” Marshall couldn’t believe she was going to try to steal his company from him, especially when she’d spent their time “together” screwing his friend and colleague at the hospital, while he busted his ass to build Clio from nothing.
He’d have never found out she was cheating on him, if it hadn’t been for one of his surgeries getting canceled at the very last minute. He’d come home to find her getting fucked on the dining room table by Dr. Luke Bingham. It’d been the final straw in what was already a miserable marriage, especially when he found out that they’d been sneaking around behind his back before they’d even said their marriage vows. That was probably the most infuriating part about it all: the fact that things between them had been nothing but a lie from the very start, doomed to fail.
And he fucking hated failure
.
He just hadn’t seen through her act until it was far too late—and it had truly been an Oscar-worthy performance. She’d set him in her sights from the moment she heard the word “doctor” and had milked it for all he was worth, playing the part of the dotting girlfriend. Once they were married, she’d withdrawn and put the blame on him, even if he’d done all he could to make her happy—not that their marriage had ever stood a chance when it’d been nothing but a lie. And once he’d caught her cheating, she’d dropped the act and shown him the true person he’d married.
“So nice of you to use vulgarities when speaking to the mother of your child.” She gave him a smug smile, one hand on her hip as she rubbed her belly with the other. “Because
it is yours
, Marshall. So you better be careful, or you’ll never get to see your child. I’ll make damn sure of it.”
Rage and hatred roared in his chest, even as doubt and confusion clouded his mind. Had he really been stupid enough to sleep with her again? He couldn’t fucking believe he’d do such a thing. Not in a million years after what she’d put him through.
But the truth was, he didn’t remember much of that night, and he half suspected he’d been drugged. She’d come over upset about the divorce and had seemed conciliatory and apologetic. They’d had a glass of wine because she’d wanted a drink, and then…he had no clue. He’d awoken in his bed the following morning with a killer headache, and Claire was nowhere to be found.
The last thing he’d have guessed was that they’d slept together. And maybe they hadn’t. It could just all be a ploy to make his life miserable until he could prove that the child wasn’t his. In all their time of dating and being married, she’d always insisted on using a condom. Would she really change her ways? Unless her plan had been to get pregnant.
“I’m done arguing with you, Claire. I’ve already wasted too many years on you, and I’m not going to waste another fucking day.” Marshall picked up the phone and called security, not wanting to risk putting his hands on her even if it was just to escort her out of the building, since he knew she’d somehow twist it around in the courts. “Security is on their way, so unless you want them to physically drag your sorry ass out of here, I suggest you get moving under your own steam.”
“That’s fine, since this place will be mine soon enough.” With a glare, she hiked her designer purse higher onto her shoulder, and headed for the door, yanking it open and plowing into the unsuspecting woman on the other side as papers went flying everywhere. “Watch where the hell you’re going, you cow.”
Furious, Marshall watched her go, before turning to Harper Jones, one of his engineers, who was kneeling on the ground trying to gather the papers that had strewn across the floor. With his heart racing, he crouched at Harper’s side and helped gather what looked like the report he’d requested, though he knew it was nothing more than a ploy to see her again. He’d been making excuses to see her—to flirt with her—ever since she started working at Clio nine months earlier. “I’m so sorry about that. And so sorry about her rudeness too. Are you okay?”
“I’m sorry if I interrupted something.” Harper stood, holding onto the pile as papers stuck out in every direction and would likely take an hour to sort.
He stood by her side, towering over her petite but curvy frame as he gave her a smile and tried to slow his thundering pulse. Harper had been a new hire for their engineering and manufacturing department, and with her degree from MIT and the innovative projects she’d worked on while there, she’d been a perfect fit for Clio—in more ways than one. She was a brilliant engineer—one of the best he’d come across—and her designs had left Marshall excited and feeling inspired for Clio’s future, as long as Claire didn’t mess everything up.
“You have no reason to apologize, Harper. Honestly. I’m just sorry you had to be on the receiving end of all that. Let me give you a hand with these.” He helped her get the papers into an organized pile and then went on the hunt at his secretary’s desk for something to keep them contained. “I don’t quite know where anything is. My assistant moved to Texas to follow her dream of becoming a cowgirl, or some such thing, and the temp hasn’t shown up yet.”
“Amy, right? I didn’t really know her but…wow… a
cowgirl
?” Harper stifled a laugh that lit up her grey-blue eyes as she tucked a strand of dark mahogany hair behind her ear. Marshall’s pulse raced, just as it always did when Harper was close. The girl was a bombshell, and she’d caught his eye from the moment he first met her during her final interview—not that he’d pursued her so soon after his split from Claire.
Yet it hadn’t stopped him from making excuses to run into her at company events or in the break room, chatting and flirting over coffee and donuts, even if he’d told himself to leave well enough alone. But with things well and truly over between him and Claire—not to mention the little fact that Claire had never been faithful—it was hard to ignore the fact that he wanted Harper, desperately, and even their simple flirtations had made him a hell of a lot happier than he’d been while married to Claire.
His smile kicked up as a delicious tension coursed through him, his cock immediately going hard with a mind all its own, even as he tried to focus on the conversation at hand. “I do believe she found
‘true love’
on some dude ranch when she went out there on vacation. But hey, I guess everyone’s allowed to follow their dreams and happiness, right? It’s just left me rather short-staffed at the moment.”
The temps were either more concerned about updating their profiles on social media or were appalled at the idea of working for a sex toy manufacturer—even if their products were high-end. “The temps the agency sent over haven’t been great, though I half suspect my ex is either bribing the company or the temps in another attempt to make my life miserable.”
Not that a simple assistant would truly fit the bill. Though he needed someone to manage his calls, emails, and all the day-to-day stuff—he also needed someone he could bounce ideas off of, someone to discuss the products and the industry and who’d be able to give him an educated opinion when he need it. He needed a personal assistant who would help him hone his ideas and held him focus where to take the company next—and not for the first time, he thought Harper would be perfect for the position.
“Wow…that seems pretty underhanded of your ex to screw with every aspect of your day.” Not that Harper looked surprised that Claire could be behind that sort of ploy.
“I’m sorry—I must be taking up your time. Are these the design reports for the new Clio product line?” He held out his hands, offering to take the papers. Instead, she turned to what had once been his assistant’s desk, and dug around the drawers, pulling out a giant metal clip.
“They are. And you’re the boss, so if anyone’s allowed to take up my time, it’d be you, right?” Giving him a smile over her shoulder that made him want her all the more, she efficiently sorted the papers into a few piles and then compiled them. His gaze drifted from her smile down to her slender waist, before lingering on her plump ass as she clipped the papers together. “There—that clip should hold better than the one I’d used originally.”
“Well, I doubt you’d planned on literally running into my ex-wife.” Because Claire was most certainly his ex as far as he was concerned, even if the divorce hadn’t been finalized because she was dragging things out. He managed a smile, despite feeling frustrated with Claire, and then took the papers Harper was handing him. “Thank you, Ms. Jones.”
“I’ll let Todd know you have the reports. I’m sure he’ll want to speak to you about the designs. Don’t know if Todd mentioned it to you but…I was working on a bit of a side project. Thought it might work well with this latest design, so I made some notes. It’s just an alternative method for developing vibrations that would provide…deeper stimulation. Anyway, it’s all there. I’m sure Todd will schedule a meeting with you to go over it all.” She started to go, when he stopped her with a gentle hand on her arm, unable to resist the urge to touch her. She turned back to him with a hopeful smile. “Was there anything else?”
“No, I suppose not, though I might have questions for you once I’ve read through your report.” He told himself it was just work. Nothing more. Except that he knew he was lying to himself. It’d been too long since anyone truly piqued his interest, and Harper had most certainly done just that, right from the very start.
“Okay. Well…just let me know. I’m happy to go over the designs with you or answer any questions you have.” She gave him a wave and then walked off, leaving him to watch the sway of her hips, his cock already hard, urging him to go after her, to pursue something more. But then she slipped around the corner with a final glance in his direction, a smile still on her lips.
Promising himself to do something about Harper, even if it was just a one-time thing to get her out of his system, he sat down at his desk. After a quick call to the temp agency for a more permanent solution, he then went through the project reports before turning his attention to Harper’s idea for a new sort of vibe.
Although he’d started his studies as an engineer before switching to pre-med, Harper’s designs were well over his head, though he got the general gist of it—and it was brilliant. Most vibes on the market used the same method for delivering vibrations, but this was a completely new approach—which was exactly what Clio needed.
As of late, it seemed like their competitors’ designs were looking far too similar to their own. But Harper’s new vibration method…it was perfect, especially if he could incorporate it into his own latest designs. He just had to make sure he kept it under lock and key, and maybe, just maybe, Harper was exactly what he needed to keep them ahead of the pack. Not to mention, with her brilliant mind, fuckable lips, and curves that he couldn’t get off his mind, her designs weren’t the only thing he wanted from the amazing Ms. Harper Jones.
Somehow, he managed to push her from his mind long enough to get a bit of work done, when there was a knock at his door and his brother let himself in. “Hey, Keane. I wasn’t expecting you to come in today.”
Though Marshall and his brothers didn’t need to work after having inherited a sizeable amount of money, Marshall couldn’t bear not working, and it seemed as though the same could be said for his brothers. Keane had decided to take on some of the marketing at Clio, and had been doing a damn good job of it, though he often worked from home. But given that there was a mole among them, Marshall was glad to have Keane around, knowing he could always trust his brother to have his back.
“I just wanted to drop off some of the latest packaging designs and ads we’ll be running on targeted sites—and to see if you want company at the conference next week.” The mischievous look in Keane’s eye told Marshall all he needed to know—that his brother was looking to get himself into some trouble at the sex toy and adult novelties convention in London.
“What I need is for you to keep an eye on things here while I’m gone, especially with everything that’s going on. Work with IT on this to go through emails, logs…whatever it takes. And if you think it necessary, get in touch with Quinn Ryker. His brother’s fiancée runs a top-notch security firm.” It pissed Marshall off to no end that someone within their company might be a mole, especially when he’d gone out of his way to make sure his employees were happy, well-compensated, and had every perk imaginable, from a full gym with a pool to gourmet coffee and donuts, not to mention great health insurance, a matched 401k, a casual atmosphere, and plenty of paid vacation time.
Though they were a sex toy manufacturer, there was an awful lot of money to be made, and the market was only growing as women became empowered and got more comfortable exploring their sexuality and taking ownership of it. Sex was no longer as taboo a subject. But that also meant that the sex toy industry had become lucrative, and whenever there was money involved, there were people willing to act less than honorably—hence the thefts of their designs.