The Billionaire’s Forbidden Desire(17)

“I don’t understand.”

“There’s no money. He left you penniless, which explains why your mother was in such a hurry to remarry.”

She stared at him. Words like “broke” and “penniless” didn’t apply to her family. “Dad had five vacation homes alone.”

“Mortgaged to the hilt. The debtors were notified of his death, of course, and now everyone wants their money back. It’s pretty bad.”

She clasped her shaking hands together. “How bad?”

“Net negative, really. Thankfully, you aren’t responsible for his debt. But…” Letting out a heavy sigh, George reached over and took her hand. “Unless you have your own income, keeping Chad isn’t an option.” He leaned forward. “The man can’t work for free. You know that.”

Did she ever. It had been seven years since Chad’s sister had been diagnosed with breast cancer, and he’d been helping her out financially ever since.

Biting her lip, she rested her forehead against her palm. She had no income. She’d only completed two years of college, so she didn’t qualify for any job except flipping burgers…unless she found a way to get a coaching or choreography job with figure skaters. But she hadn’t kept in touch with anybody from that world. And it wasn’t like there were lots of promising skaters just dying to get a new, untried coach.

“Don’t.” George put a hand on her shoulder and turned until he was almost embracing her. “It’s not that bad.”

“How can it not be bad?” Sophia said, looking at him.

“I can take care of you. That’s the least I owe Rick.” His hand tightened around hers like a lasso while his eyes glittered. “And Libby would want that too.”

“I can’t let you do that. I’ll just call my mom and see if she can help out.”

“Her new husband won’t be thrilled to have to fund another man’s grown-up daughter.”

“What choice do I have?” she snapped, suddenly furious with her situation. Her world was falling apart, piece by piece, and she couldn’t imagine what else could possibly go wrong now.

“Me.”

“You?”

She didn’t get a chance to resist as he suddenly pulled her forward, crushing her to him in a python embrace. He shoved his mouth against hers, his lips cool and damp. Her heart knocked against her ribcage so hard she thought she might faint. Clenching her teeth, she turned her head away. “No, don’t!”

“Come on. You know you want this,” he ground out. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited. I’ve been watching you for years.”

Cold panic froze her.

This wasn’t just any man, but George. How could this happen?

Then her competitive spirit kicked in. She wasn’t going down without a fight.

She twisted, and they crashed onto the floor. He landed on top of her with a grunt, and she bucked against him, trying to get him off her.

“Stronger than you look,” he grated.

“Get off me!”

“Stop it,” he said. “I don’t want to have to hurt you.”

“Are you crazy? You’re hurting me right now! Stop!”

His erection rubbed against her, and bile rose in her throat. She twisted and turned and bucked, trying to claw away from him. But George wasn’t some couch potato whose only strenuous activity involved going to a fridge for more beer. His fingers dug into her thighs as he pushed them apart. Then before she could pull them together, he pressed himself between her legs.

Terror clogged her throat, and she could barely draw in any air. She searched for anything she could use as a weapon. So many heavy books but they were all out of reach.

Come on, come on! There had to be something…

The lamp!

He was kissing her neck as she snaked a hand out and yanked on the rubber-coated wire. The lamp crashed to the floor, and she grabbed it and smashed it against his head.

He yelled, pulling back. She kicked him away, jumped to her feet and swung again. Blood spread on his head instantly, matting his hair. He was on his hands and knees, but she didn’t trust him to stay down. Clenching her teeth, she stepped forward and hit him a third time, hoping she wouldn’t kill him by accident. She wouldn’t be able to deal with that even if he tried to…

Finally he groaned and collapsed on the floor. The sound of her own harsh breathing filled the room as she stared at him. His back rose and fell slowly. He was still alive, at least for the moment.

The lamp fell from her shaking hand. Covering her mouth to contain a sob, she grabbed her purse and fled downstairs, stumbling and bumping against the walls. She wanted to get as far from the place as possible.