Blackmailed into the Billionaire's Bed(32)

She figured the resilience and fortitude that Mac possessed in such abundance had been there since a young age, and had probably helped him become the powerful and often ruthless entrepreneur he was today. He was a driven man. One who didn’t let anyone or anything stop him from reaching his goals.

“So the authorities put you in a children’s home aged two? That’s so, so sad, but at least you were being looked after.”

“Christ, you’re so naïve, aren’t you, honey? I long ago lost count of how many children’s homes I was in. Five, six, seven, who knows. Sometimes they’d wrap me in a blanket and move me in the middle of the night. I’d wake up two hundred miles away from where I’d started. The system sucks and leaks like a fucking sieve, and from what I hear, it ain’t no different today.”

Kendall shook her head, finding Mac’s early life difficult to comprehend. “I can’t even begin to know what that felt like.”

After drying all the way from the insides of his muscular thighs then down to his feet, she said, “All done.”

“Thanks, honey. I don’t like talking about my childhood. It wasn’t a happy period of my life, but maybe, sometimes it helps for a guy in my position to let it all out.”

She kissed his lips again. “It does. I’m sure of it.” She needed to choose her next words very carefully, and she hesitantly asked, “I don’t want to upset you by probing further, but where was your father while all this was going on?”

“My father? Huh. Perhaps a better question would be who was he, not where was he, because I don’t believe even my mother knew his identity.”

“Oh, Jesus, Mac. It gets worse.”

“Tell me about it.”

Now she knew why he kept his early life so secret, and Kendall felt privileged that she was the one he’d opened up to. That made the growing bond between them even stronger.

“As the months turned into years, and the authorities moved me from one children’s home to another without any warning, I’d pick up snippets of information from the people around me. Nothing concrete, you understand, just whispers and gossip. I heard rumors that when my mother was desperate for her next fix, but had no money, she’d think nothing of prostituting herself. Poor kid, she never stood a fucking chance.”

Mac was a strong, powerful man, but even so, she saw how hard it was for him as he recalled his childhood in lurid detail.

“The more I heard from those around me, the more I just wiped the slate clean. I’d tell any new kids that I came into contact with that my parents were two wonderful people, who’d been killed in a plane crash just a few months after I’d been born. That made it easier for me to deal with and got me a bit of sympathy in the bargain. Not that I needed it, because with each passing year, I grew stronger and more determined to make something of my life. I figured the only person I should ever rely on was myself.”

Mac took the towel from her and tossed it one side. “That’s a philosophy I still practice to this very day.” He then scooped her up and threw her onto the bed, and almost immediately she felt his weight follow as the mattress compressed beside her.

Both naked, they lay on their backs, staring up at the large overhead fan as it swirled the air around. When she felt the palm of his left hand gently come to rest on her bare stomach, Kendall felt compelled to look at the beautiful man lying next to her. What Mac described was horrendous. The stark, loveless environment he’d endured as a child would defeat many kids to such an extent that they would fail to thrive in adult life, their emotional baggage an insurmountable barrier to moving on. Not Mac though. This guy was made of pure granite mixed with tungsten. He’d overcome crushing adversity to become a huge success in the newspaper world. When he’d confided the trauma of his early years, moving from one kid’s home to another, she hadn’t detected a single ounce of self-pity in his voice. Maybe that was why the legendary Mac Buchanan was so ruthless today. Perhaps he figured that if he could overcome difficult obstacles in life, then everyone else should be able to do the same.

Still staring at the ceiling, he said, “You have something, Kendall.”

“What do you mean, Mac?”

“It’s no secret, I’ve had sex with hundreds of women, but never once have I felt the urge to tell them what I’ve just told you. You’re special, honey.”

“You’re special, too, Mac. Anyone who can deal with the adversity that you’ve had to is obviously made of the right stuff. Going on to become the boss of Buchanan Enterprises is proof of that.”