Page 47 of Sins and Secrets

Instead, I’m sitting out in my car and considering getting a room at a hotel for a night. Seeing Billie at work today, in another one of her tight little skirts with a blouse that bordered on sheer, has me ready for a cold shower and another round of fucking my fist.

A cold shower that I would take at a hotel if I was a smart man. If I wanted to avoid temptation, I would go in there, tell her that she could move back to her own house for the duration of the contract, and be done with it.

Except if I told her that, I would be lying. There is no being done with Billie. That much I’m starting to realize.

If I tell her to go back home, then I know damn well my nights are going to consist of finding excuses to go over there just so I can be close to her.

Billie is the breath of fresh air after a forest fire, breathing a life back into me that I didn’t know I had lost.

Sooner or later, I have to go in there.

My stomach growls as I consider going somewhere else once again. I could go to my office on the compound or I could spend a night in my office at The Fortuna. If I really don’t want to see her, I can pay for a hotel room at any hotel in the city.

I want to see her, though, and that’s the part that scares me. When I think about my days now, seeing her after work every night is part of that. The way she smiles and dances around the kitchen to music I hate on nights she has to cook. The way she sits at the kitchen island and learns from the chef on the nights she doesn’t.

Then there are the mornings when I find her sitting out by the pool with her nose buried in one business book or another. Even though she’s already graduated, she’s always studying.

There’re so many layers to Billie that I don’t know and as the days pass, I find myself wanting to peel them back and discover her.

Arturo is going to kill me. There is no doubt about that.

I visited him in the hospital earlier, and though he can’t properly speak yet due to his brain trauma during the attack, the message was clear. He had pointed to a picture of Billie.

Take care of her.

I groan and run my hand down my face. I’m clearly doing a great job of that. I have her trapped in my house after buying her at an auction. I put a clause in our contract that I’ll only sleep with her if she begs me to. That clause is only in there to try and ease some of my guilt for the attraction I feel for her.

At first, it was only physical, but it’s starting to turn into something more. Something I can’t bring myself to put a name to, because if I do, something bad will happen to her. Paolo will find out how I feel about her and use that against me.

He’ll kill her because I can’t stay away from her.

I ’m going to have to try my best to stay away from her. If that means being cold and detached, then that’s what I have to do.

Even though I hate being that person. I feel like a carbon copy of my father at times.

One foot in front of the other and go into the house. Your house. Stop stalling. She is just a woman, and you are only stuck with her for the next few weeks.

I wait for the song on the radio to finish — stalling for more time — before turning off the car and getting out. Each step I take feels like I have lead weights tied to my feet.

This is ridiculous.

I shouldn’t be this worried about going home and facing Billie. Even with the way that she’s been teasing me recently, I know that nothing is going to truly happen between the two of us. I can’t drag her deeper into this life than she already is. Arturo wants me to take care of her.

Acting like she is a partner to me is only going to get her killed. It will piss off her father and their relationship could be damaged forever. I don’t want to do that to her. She doesn’t deserve it. Billie already lost her mother, she doesn’t need to lose her father too.

I climb the front porch steps, stopping when I see a brown box sitting in front of the door.

Perfect. Just what I need. Another one of Paolo’s fucking games.

I’ve been searching high and low for the people in my compound who are working with Paolo. While I’ve found a few and killed them for their treason, I’m sure there are more. There is no way that Paolo would be able to get past my guards and leave dead bodies on my doorstep without someone inside helping him.

I stoop to grab the box before heading inside and making my way to the kitchen. Thankfully, it’s empty. I can put off having to see Billie for a little while longer.

My stomach growls as I drop the box on the counter. I dig through the fridge for something quick to eat, pulling out the leftovers from the night before. As the food warms up, I grab a knife and slice through the tape on the box.

However, instead of a head staring up at me — or whatever else Paolo could come up with — there is a purple vibrator. My face warms and my cock hardens as I close the box and check the label. Billie’s name is there with my address listed.

So, she wants to get herself off and isn’t willing to beg for it.

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