The Billionaire's Secret: Billionaire Obsession (Tycoon Billionaires Book 5) (16 page)

She glanced over her shoulder, sticking out her ass suggestively. “Well, now you can.”

She turned back to kiss him again, then he reached out and rubbed the suds into her breasts, fondling them for his pleasure and for hers. Her eyes closed – caught in ecstasy – so he moved his hand down and slipped it between her thighs, caressing her tenderly with his fingers.

“I need to lick you.”

He dropped to his knees. Their position under the jet of steamy water kept their wet bodies warm, but Jake knew he could get Astrid much hotter than this. He ran his hands over her toned buttocks, sliding his fingers between her thighs, and tonguing her clit.

He glanced up. “Like it?”

Astrid reached down and ran her wet fingers through his hair. “Oh
yes
…”

Jake moved toward her again and teased, sucked, and caressed her pussy. The sound of her groaning encouraged him to continue, and she pushed herself strongly against his mouth, craving for him to get her there. To that place where she’d be completely possessed only by him. 

He sensed she was about to come, so he pulled away – needing to fuck her with his straining erection. He grabbed a condom from his wallet in his pants’ pocket, then he stepped back under the shower.

“Turn around and spread ‘em,” he said, grinning.

She laughed. “Yes, officer.”

She turned to face the shower and splayed her legs – bending at the waist to rest her palms on the tiled wall.

She glanced smuttily over her shoulder, making him want to ram it into her, but he needed to take it slow and gently. She was so fucking tight, and he didn’t want to hurt her. He rested one hand on her ass, then eased two fingers inside her and rubbed her G-spot. She ground her hips into his hand, and fondled her clit herself. Her pussy contracted and he realized she was already ready to climax. And he was
more
than ready to claim her from behind.

He eased himself inside her tight pussy, grunting as he thrust. The pace increased, and he rushed rhythmically toward bliss – his own and hers. He pulled her tight against himself, taking over the clit-action, so she could press her hands firmly into the wall – and push herself against him. He scooped his hips under, thrusting into her hard and fast.

Astrid let her head fall back against his shoulder, almost sitting on his lap now. He was happy to support her light weight. He felt her pussy contract as the orgasm struck, pulling him deeper inside.

Astrid’s body tensed and she groaned with pleasure, which threw Jake over the edge and he came deep inside her – flying high and free – feeling totally liberated from the past for the first time in his adult life.

He relished the pleasure of watching her come hard, as she experienced even more intense waves after his own orgasm had faded. Then, as she floated back to the here and now, she gazed at him over her shoulder, looking totally spellbound – utterly satisfied.

“Wow,” she said, gasping for breath. 

He wrapped his arms tenderly around her and they hugged under the warm flow of water. Something had shifted inside him now – he could feel it. It was subtle, but he realized that a secure contentment had replaced his hard bitterness.
This
was true happiness. And it was all because he loved Astrid Lawrence.

Jake stood outside the motel room, tingling with affection, smoking his last ever cigarette. She was right to ask him to quit – it was a disgusting habit.

The vast dark parking lot was daunting – he wasn’t afraid, but he didn’t like not being able to see what was ahead of him, and the crappy porch lights along the row of cabins were about as useful as the moon on a cloudy day.

He took a drag on his cigarette. Truthfully, he was going to miss smoking – it helped him think and focus. But what if he could think just by pausing and being silent like this –without the nicotine fix and tar filling his lungs? He started to think about this, but his phone rang. It was his contact from the telecoms company giving him the address of where the kidnapper’s calls had been coming from. The kidnapper had apparently been using a cell phone, which was unregistered and therefore there was no name. But the telecoms guy had been able to pinpoint the precise address.

Jake thanked him, promised he’d send him some money, then looked the address up online… It was an old mansion near the disused warehouse where the kidnapper wanted to meet tomorrow night. Jake did a search on the mansion and discovered a news story saying the building had been in negotiation to be sold and flattened, to make way for new apartments, but the buyer had pulled out unexpectedly because he’d heard a rumor the mansion was haunted.

Haunted? There sure were some strange people in this world. What kind of person would pull out of a business deal because of supernatural rumors?

He shook away this thought – it was irrelevant. What he needed to figure out was Simon’s connection with the mansion right now. Jake couldn’t find out online who owned it, but he
would
be able to do a land registry search… But that would mean asking the police to cooperate. He knew the Pennsylvania police would want to take over if he contacted them, and FBI would be all over it too. He wanted to keep this as low-key as possible. The last thing Emma needed was a media circus making the kidnapper nervous and accidentally blowing her head off.

There
was
one other cop in town he could ask, but Daniel wasn’t going to help, was he?

So – as usual – it was up to Jake to figure this out himself. Okay, what was Simon’s motive for kidnapping Emma? Obviously he wanted money, but why would he think Astrid’s family had anything like fifty grand, when he’d known her for all this time – and knew they weren’t wealthy.

It was almost as if Simon was a red herring, planted by someone who might have a vendetta against Astrid’s family… But who?

He grabbed his phone and logged into his emails – hoping something might spring into his mind if he distracted himself. There was an email from Adam, letting him know they’d definitely decided to pull out of Cole Graves’ project, so he was welcome to screw Astrid as much as he liked. Adam sure did have a way with words...

‘Thanks for all you did for us Jake. The technology is just too unstable for us to get involved with. Astrid did a great job. If you’re with her, tell her we said thanks, okay? God knows where Graves is planning to get his fifty grand from now, but that’s his problem. It won’t be from Quinlan Brothers.

Good luck with the treasure hunt. Don’t forget there’s a family party next weekend to celebrate Samira’s…’

Jake stopped reading. His gaze scanned back up. ‘
God knows where Graves is planning to get his fifty grand from now…’

Graves?

It was certainly a motive. And it
had
been Astrid who’d blocked him. Could Cole Graves be holding Emma in the hope that he might get his hands on the funding that way? But where did Simon come into it? Had Graves simply managed to enlist the paid help of a disgruntled ex? Jake’s mind swum with confused threads, trying to stitch them together to find the answer.

There was only one way to find out… Confront the kidnapper and finish this whole thing off. But one thing was for sure – Jake realized – he was going to need some armed back-up from the police, and that only meant one thing. He’d need to put his ego aside, and ask for assistance from the one person who’d probably be most reluctant to give it.

Back inside the motel room, Astrid was pumped up and ready for the final showdown with the kidnapper tomorrow, but she didn’t even try hide her surprise at what Jake had just told her. “You want to ask
Daniel
to help us?”

He chuckled. “Yeah. I’ll call his cell phone first thing. But for now, come here and sleep in my arms.” Jake’s face flashed with surprise. “Jesus, did I really just say that?”

Astrid laughed. “You did. And I’d love to.”

The next morning, Jake called Daniel and discovered he was still in Philadelphia, having breakfast in a diner – so Jake said he wanted to call a truce, and they went to meet him.

The diner had a red and white theme – red and white floor tiles, red vinyl stools at the white counter, and two waitresses wearing red and white dresses. Jake held Astrid’s hand as they walked inside. There weren’t any other customers in here – just Daniel sitting in a booth, eating apple pie.

Astrid felt a shiver go down her spine as she gazed at him innocently eating. She trusted that Jake knew what he was doing – but she didn’t trust Daniel. He’d shown his true colors and could easily double-cross them.

“It’s okay,” Jake said, picking up on her reluctance. He squeezed her hand and they strolled over to meet him with caution. Technically, they were fugitives and this could be a trap. After all, last time they’d seen Daniel they’d tied him to a tree, and he most likely wasn’t going to forgive and forget very easily. A wave of mischievous pride washed through Astrid as she remembered how they’d left him there like that. But he was a spiteful insecure rat, who loved nothing more than to hold a grudge. Astrid knew Jake was still furious with Daniel for screwing him over and getting him falsely dismissed from the NYPD. But Emma’s life was at stake – now wasn’t the time for vengeance. That would come later…

Jake halted at the table, firmly holding Astrid’s hand. Daniel looked up.

“Hey,” Jake said. “Can we trust you, or you got the place surrounded?”

“Take a seat,” Daniel said, swallowing his mouthful. “And we’ll talk.”

“I guess you’d like an apology for what happened yesterday?” Jake said, as he and Astrid sat on the vinyl seat opposite him. “You know, for handcuffing you to that tree…”

Daniel shrugged. “I don’t trust you any more than you trust me. But I’m curious to know what’s with the sudden change of heart?”

“I just want to get Astrid’s sister back.”

Daniel wiped his fingers on his napkin. “You said you had some information?”

“Jake’s worked it all out,” Astrid said. “He knows who the kidnapper is.”

“I
think
I know,” Jake said. “Cole Graves.”

Daniel gazed blankly at him. “And he is…?”

One of the waitresses brought over some coffee for Jake and Astrid, so they remained silent until she drifted away.

Jake lowered his voice to explain. “He’s the CEO of a company that Astrid’s been inspecting, and I think he’s not only got a grudge against her, but he now needs a lot of money to continue his funding. God knows why he thinks Astrid’s family would have that kind of money, but he wants Astrid to meet him in a disused warehouse this evening.”

Daniel shrugged. “So you’re planning to go with her, right?”

“Right. But I’ve got something better to do than playing
his
game. He’s been making calls from a local mansion – which I think he might own. He wanted to sell it recently, but he can’t get a buyer… Presumably that’s why he wants the ransom money.
You
could find out if it
is
his by checking the land records. And if he does own it, I suggest we raid the house today. Surprise him.”

Daniels’s face remained blank. “And if you’re wrong?”

“If I’m wrong, I’m wrong. If I’m right, I’ll let you take the glory.”

Daniel glanced at Astrid. She resisted the urge to say anything, and instead steeled herself, waiting for Daniel to reply.

Daniel glared at Jake. “If you’re thinking of double-crossing me…”

“No,” Jake said firmly. “But you need to drop this stupid idea that I killed your brother. And I want you to leave us alone after this is over. Drop all charges against us.”

“Don’t you think you deserve to be –?”

Jake slammed his hand down on the table in frustration. “We need to work together, Daniel. This isn’t about
us
. It’s about doing the right thing – something neither of us has always been too good at. But Astrid has, and we can take her lead now. All
you
need to do is to make the arrest at the end – and get the glory – I’ll do everything else.”

Daniel picked up a few crumbs on his finger and licked them. “Okay. Then we’ll share the treasure, right?”

Jake’s chest surged with anger. “Why are you thinking about the fucking treasure? You’re a cop – where the hell are your priorities?”

He grunted. “Just because I’m a cop, it doesn’t stop me wanting to make my fortune.”

“Then you joined the police for the wrong reasons.”

Astrid’s patience cracked. “Daniel, my sister’s in trouble, And I’m getting her back with or without your help.”

“I said I’d help.”

“We’ll need police back-up this afternoon, okay?” Jake said. “For when we raid the mansion. I’ll go in first, but I’ll need a few cops there to watch my back. Just in case my hunch is correct and Graves is there.”

Daniel held Jake’s steely gaze. “
I’ll
watch your back. Alone.”

“Why?” Astrid asked. “Surely you could just –”

“I don’t want any other cops involved,” Daniel said. “Especially not the Feds.”

Astrid glanced at Jake, not understanding why Daniel was so reluctant to involve any other police.

Jake held her hand under the table. “It’s because he doesn’t want anyone to know he’s letting a civilian take charge of a case, when all
he’s
worried about is the goddamn money I might or might
not
have stashed somewhere. Right, Daniel?”

“Watch yourself, Jake. You need me more than I need you.”

“Bullshit.”

Daniel smirked sinisterly. “Do you want my help or not?”

“I want your surveillance equipment and data. I want your powers of arrest. This isn’t about me needing you. Got that?”

“Sure. And what do
I
get?”

Jake stood up and loomed over him. “You might get to avoid going straight to hell when all this is over.”