The Billion Dollar Bachelor(17)

And when it got too much, she turned her head into his neck and buried her cry against his skin, light bursting behind her eyes as the climax swallowed her whole, barely aware of his groan as he found his own release.

Afterward, lying against his chest, still held tight in his arms, she closed her eyes, allowing herself a couple of minutes to relax.

She should probably leave, keep moving before her father turned the city upside down trying to find her, but she was tired and had no idea where she’d go after this. Being here, in his arms, made her feel safe. It was kind of weird she would enjoy the feeling quite so much, especially since safe wasn’t what she’d been looking for tonight. Yet she did now and she wanted to keep it. Just for a little while.





Chapter 5


There was light against her eyes. Annoying light.

Pandora groaned and rolled over, trying to burrow her head under the pillow to escape it. Except the pillow wasn’t as light or as soft as her normal pillow. Nor did it give an inch as she tried to get her head under it. Come to think of it, it didn’t feel like a normal pillow, either.

Reluctantly she cracked open an eye.

Goddamn. It wasn’t a pillow at all but a muscular male arm. A bare, muscular male arm. She blinked, slowly connecting the arm to the rest of the man lying next to her. Also bare. Also muscular.

The Huntsman.

The air left her lungs and memory rushed in to fill the gap. Of the bar. The kiss. The limo ride. The apartment. The pleasure, so much intense pleasure.

She’d lost her virginity, had a one-night stand with a complete stranger and it had been … amazing.

And then she became aware of something else. That it was daylight. That she hadn’t slept for just a little while as she’d planned. Oh no, she’d slept the entire damn night.

Quickly she glanced at the clock on the nightstand. Ten A.M.

Panic slid icy fingers through her. Oh, shit, she was screwed. So utterly screwed. Both literally and figuratively.

Her father. He’d be looking for her. And she was still in New York. Still within reach.

Pandora sat up, her heart beginning to race, trying to think things through calmly and failing.

Okay, so her father couldn’t possibly track here, could he? Which meant she was safe, at least for a little while. Maybe she could wake Hunt up, ask him if she could borrow some money. Get his help to get her out of New York.

No, that was a stupid idea. She didn’t want to involve him. If her father ever found out who he was, she wouldn’t be the only one who was screwed. He would be, too.

Maybe it was best if she left now and—

From out in the lounge came the unmistakable sound of the elevator doors opening.

And panic gripped her even tighter.

There were many other reasons for those doors to be opening. For someone to come into Hunt’s apartment as if they owned the place. A family member or, worse, a girlfriend.

But a sixth sense honed by time and experience told her it wasn’t either of those options. Which left only one other: her father had found her.

She swallowed, glancing at the man beside her, his dark, beautiful face relaxed in sleep.

No, she couldn’t wake him. He’d probably come racing to her rescue and she couldn’t allow that. He didn’t deserve to get mixed up in her family shit when he didn’t even know who she was, it wouldn’t be fair.

She had to face her father alone.

Pandora’s heart pumped furiously but she fought the fear. She wasn’t going to let it get to her. Not after last night. Hunt had given her a glimpse of her own power and she didn’t want to give that up.

She didn’t know how her father had managed to track her down, but one thing was for sure: he’d kept her locked away for far too many years and now that she was out, now that she’d had a taste of freedom, there was no way in hell she was going back.

Carefully she pulled the sheet off the bed without waking Hunt and wrapped it around herself. Then, taking a deep breath, she walked out of the bedroom.

Sure enough, when she stepped into the lounge, there was her father standing and staring at the scraps of red silk on the floor—the remains of her clothes. Thing One and Thing Two flanked him, staring around the apartment, all dark suits and menace.

She stopped. Braced herself. “Looking for me?”

Nick’s head snapped up, his cold, dark eyes meeting hers. Widening. “Well, well, well,” he said after a moment. “There you are, Pandora. You’ve led us on quite a chase.”

Thing One and Thing Two smiled at her, like she was an old friend they hadn’t seen for a long time. But she could see that they were angry, too. Of course they would be. Nick probably would have punished them for letting her escape and she’d bet anything the punishment wasn’t pleasant.