The Hotel 3 (The Billionaire Seduction)(11)

"What's going on here, Lillian?"

I hear her short, quick breath. She knows, too. Setting down her glass,  she smiles tightly and glances my way. My heart flips twice at the  pleading in her expression. No, Lillian. Don't!

"On second thought, a room sounds great." She loops her hand through his arm. "Lead the way."

She's not supposed to leave. I'm torn between finding Dom and following  her. In a split second, I decide. I need to see which room they are  going into, and then I'll call Dominic.         

     



 

I get up and sneak from the shadows. I follow at a distance until I see  them approach an elevator. The lobby is mostly deserted, so I maneuver  behind the six-foot potted ferns and peek out.

The elevator opens and they step in. But instead of going up, they go down.

To the basement.

Something's wrong. Shit. I pull out my cellphone and try to call Dom as I  hurry to the other elevator and stab the call button. It's all the way  at the top floor, there's no time to wait. Damn it! I take the stairs  instead, hurrying down.

Voicemail. "Pick up, Dom! They're heading for the basement!"

I hang up and try again, but this time I just get beeps. No reception.

I can't stop now, not with Lillian alone with Blaine. I keep heading  down into the depths of the stairwell. Finally I reach the door to the  basement garage and yank it open.

"He gets everything he wants." I hear Blaine's voice from somewhere inside "Not this time. I'm winning this one!"

The parking garage is dim and it takes me a second to adjust my eyes. I  spot Blaine pulling Lillian toward a car a few rows away. I crouch down  to stay out of sight and creep after them. I have no idea what I'm going  to do once I get closer, but I can't let Lillian out of my sight.

"I think you're taking this too far, Blaine." Her voice shakes. She's  scared. "You know I want to help. Just bring the car up from the  basement. I'll wait for you inside-"

"I've waited for you long enough!" Blaine suddenly grabs Lillian and  slams her backwards into a car. She cries out in pain. "You never  noticed me, did you? You were so obsessed with Dominic!"

"Please, Blaine, get hold of yourself." Lillian's trying her best to  keep it together. "Just calm down, and we can talk about this. Over a  romantic dinner-"

"Bullshit!" Blaine yells. "Don't think I can't see what you're doing.  You're toying with me, just like you've kept those Rexford idiots  dangling. Well, I'm not going to fall for it anymore. I should have cut  Xander's brakes myself!"

He slaps her across the face, hard. Lillian reels back in shock.

I panic. He's losing it. Even from across the parking garage, I can see  his crazed expression. We didn't plan for this, and now Lillian is right  in harm's way.

Think.

I force myself to stay calm. I look around. We're alone in the basement.  If I tried to run for help, he might spook and hurt Lillian more. And  if he gets her in a car, he could take her anywhere. Do anything. But  what can I do to help?

I start peering in car windows, still out of sight. I need something to  use as a weapon, anything to stop him before it's too late. Finally,  just a few cars away from them, I see a toolbox on the backseat, and  beside it, a tire iron.

Yes!

I try the door, and almost cry out in relief when it opens. Thank God. I  reach inside and grab the tire iron, all the while listening to Blaine  raving, totally out of his mind now.

"You think I don't know you're all laughing at me?" he yells, as Lillian  cowers. He's gripping her arm so tightly she can't get away. "You and  Dom and Xander, you always had everything, and you never let me in.  Well, we'll see who's laughing when I take the Rexford. I'll kill you,  and Xander. I'll take everything Dom ever loved, until he has nothing!"

I take a deep breath and start to edge closer. I creep out from the  parked cars and approach Blaine from behind. If I can just get close  enough-

But I'm still six feet away when Lillian's eyes go wide. She's seen me,  and she doesn't cover quickly enough. Blaine whirls around. There's no  time. He shoves Lillian aside and lunges toward me as I raise the tire  iron and swing with everything I have.

CRACK.

The iron catches him on the shoulder. He stumbles with a pained grunt,  but it's not enough. He lunges for me again. Lillian leaps up and grabs  his shirt as he comes towards me, but he throws her down and she hits  the concrete with a cry of pain.

"Who the fuck are you?" Blaine demands, breathing heavily. "Oh yeah, the  latest whore. Still think your precious Dom is worth all of this?"

"He's ten times the man you'll ever be," I spit back, wielding the tire  iron. I'm trying to be brave, but I'm terrified. Blaine is bigger than  me, and stronger  –  and he's got a wild look in his eyes. He's not  thinking straight right now.

Suddenly, Blaine lunges again with a savage cry. I try to swing, but I'm  not fast enough. He grabs the tire iron from my hands and yanks it  away. Then he's on me, barreling me to the ground. I struggle, but he's  too big. He gets his hands around my neck, squeezing hard.         

     



 

I flail, trying to escape. He's crushing my throat. I can't breathe!

I grab Blaine's wrists, struggling as my lungs burn for air. He won't  move. I can't do this. Things are just getting hazy, when I hear a loud  yell. Blaine is yanked off me, and air fills my lungs in a cool rush.

I struggle upright, reeling, in time to see Dom slam Blaine's face in a  fierce right-hook. Blaine falls to the ground, but Dom doesn't stop. He  hits him hard, over and over, until Blaine's face is a broken mess of  blood and bone.

"Stop!" I manage to gasp, pulling Dom back. "That's enough."

Dom freezes, panting heavily. "It's over," I tell him, seeing Lillian  sitting up against a car. Even after everything, she's smoothing down  her hair and checking her makeup. She'll be OK. "It's all over now."

He holds me close. I hear sirens in the distance as I sink against him, his arms tight around me like he's never letting go.





Chapter Eleven




It turns out that the one thing we needed to turn the Rexford around was  a huge, juicy scandal. The press was all over the story before the cops  had finished hauling Blaine Prescott away. His black and blue face made  the cover of every newspaper in town, busted lip and all. By the next  morning, we were fully booked, with a waiting list a mile long.

The Rexford is back in business.

I want to get back to work ASAP, but Dom won't hear of it.

"You need to recover and rest up," he insists the next night, when I meet him at the hotel.

"I can rest at work. At my desk," I protest, laughing as he guides me  through the lobby. "Now, are you going to tell me what this surprise is  all about?"

"If I did, then it wouldn't be a surprise." Dom winks as he hustles me into an elevator.

I kiss him the minute the doors close, savoring the feel of him against  my body. I expect him to take me to his suite, but instead, when we get  off on the top floor, he takes me to a stairwell, and up another level.

"I don't think I've ever been up here," I say, looking around.

"Just wait."

Dom leads me down a narrow hallway. We're under the eaves of the rafters  here. "They used to house the servants up here," he tells me. "Now it's  all storage. Almost all."

He stops at a door at the end of the hall, and unlocks it with an old-fashioned key.

The door swings open, and I gasp.

"Dom!"

I step inside, not believing my eyes. The small room is like a time  capsule from the past: rich brocade drapes, an antique rug, and a  massive four-poster bed made with fresh linens. But it's the view that  takes my breath away: all of the city spread before us out of the  window, twinkling like jewels.

"I don't understand. I thought I'd seen all the guest rooms. This isn't on any of the manifests."

Dom smiles. "I've been having it restored as a special surprise. A secret. Off the books. Just for us."

"Us?" I'm overwhelmed. I can't believe he found a way to create a secret hideaway for the two of us right here in the hotel.

"Do you want a drink?" Dom asks. "I have champagne, chocolates, everything your heart could desire."

"I only want one thing," I tell him, bold. "You."

Dom pauses, and I see the lust flare in his eyes.

"Take off your clothes and let me look at you."

The dominant tone of his voice makes my stomach twist. I shiver, and do  as he says: slowly stripping off my dress and heels until I'm standing  naked in my bra and panties.

Dom slowly circles me. "God," he says, his voice thick with lust. "From  the moment I first saw you …  Nobody else has this power over me. Only  you."

My nipples harden. My thighs clench. I'm already wet, waiting to feel his touch, hear his wicked commands.

"Are you ready for me?" he growls. I nod. "Show me," he demands. "I want to see you touch yourself."