Page 82 of Million Dollar High

Now, he was supposed to contemplate four days without Leia? No fucking way was that going to happen. “Where are you going?” he asked nonchalantly.

“Hong Kong. Production hit a snag. I need to make sure things get back on track asap. The launch is creeping up fast. Ican’t afford to sit back and let the stupid bureaucracy sort itself out.”

Unable to lie there and pretend he was okay with it, he got up from the bed and paced to his closet. Pulling out a pair of shorts, he stepped into them.

“Is there any reason you’re attacking your shorts like you want to rip them apart?”

He whirled to face her. At the amused smile on her face, he exhaled. “Yes, dammit, I can’t keep an eye on you from halfway across the world.”

She dropped the silk shirt in her hand and slid her arms around his waist. “Noah, my stepfather’s back in prison. We don’t need to keep our guards up so much anymore?—”

“Yeah, but Snyder’s still out there. He wouldn’t have gone underground if he didn’t suspect we knew he’d orchestrated that fucked up delivery to your place. Wishing he’s gone quietly into the night would be fucking naive.” Worry made his voice harsh.

She leaned back and glared at him. “I get that, but don’t bite my head off for wishing the danger was over, Noah.”

He forced calm into his body. Waking up to her this morning, sexily tousled, warm and so fucking ravishing, he’d let himself entertain that same wish. But wishing was foolish when the reality was so much more unsettling.

During the police investigation, before he’d been sent back to jail a week ago, it had become clear very quickly that Willoughby had been a puppet controlled by Snyder.

When Stephen was sixteen, Warren Snyder had turned up out of the blue at the Willoughbys’ family ranch looking for work. Willoughby Senior had offered him a job as a ranch hand.

Within months, the Willoughby family had been destroyed. Stephen’s mother had walked out and his father had hunghimself. Snyder had taken Willoughby under his wing. It was during that time that another underage girl had been sexually assaulted. The cops had never managed to pin it on Willoughby. Snyder had stuck around until the inheritance money ran out and then disappeared overnight.

He’d only contacted Stephen again after Logan Michaels died. He hadn’t directly introduced them, but he’d made sure Stephen was well-positioned to meet the newly widowed Mrs. Michaels.

The psychopathic long game he’d played was what made Noah wary of Snyder.

With him still out there, no way in hell was Noah letting Leia out of his sight.

“What exactly is going on with production?” he asked.

She relaxed back against him, her long nails lazily raking his back. “I’m not sure. My last half a dozen emails and phone calls have gone unanswered. I know there was some sort of labor strike last week but indications are that it’s over. Besides, the strike had nothing to do with La Carezza or any overseas company as far as my people could tell. Which is what’s puzzling about the whole thing.”

He leaned down and brushed her lips with his. “I have contacts out there. Want me to sniff things out, see what I can find?”

Her tongue snuck out and brushed his. His body thrummed and he almost groaned when she pulled away. “I’d rather go see for myself what’s going on.”

“Hmm, but you do know there’s no way I’m letting you go on your own, don’t you?”

A mutinous look entered her eyes. “Noah…”

He clenched a hand in her hair and pulled it tight. “It’s non-negotiable, sweetheart. I come with or you’re not going.”

Her mouth dropped open in surprise. “You? I thought you were going to sic me with Paddy again.”

Noah chuckled. “I wouldn’t do that to Paddy. He hates to fly.”

Her answering laugh warmed his heart. “Small mercies, I guess.” She gave a long moan when he massaged her scalp. “Can you really come with me?”

Bending his head, he trailed his mouth down her throat, then lower to graze the top of her breast. “It’ll be a good opportunity to test the waters for new deals by day and indulge my insatiable sex slave by night.” He caught her nipple into his mouth and suckled. Her whole body shuddered.

“I think I can… work with that.” Her nails dug deeper as she tried to hold on.

Noah smiled and flicked the hard nub. “Great, I’ll make the arrangements.”

About sixty hours later, Leia rolled over in bed, sat up and was hit by another skewed sense of déjà vu.

She was back in Noah’s suite on the Indigo Lounge jet. He handed her a glass of champagne, then sipped his whiskey while flicking through the list of onboard and off-board activities on the screen.

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