Page 75 of Owned By a Billionaire

I sat down on the couch and turned to Mark. “So now you know why Rey has been extorting me these years. Why he owns me.”

His warm hand landed on mine. “Then we’ll have to make him dispossess you, won’t we?”

Frowning, I scrutinized him. “I can’t resort to that, Mark. I have thought about it often enough. He loves his mushrooms.”

“There, that would work for sure. None would be the wiser.”

“No. The police would come crawling around. And knowing Reynard, he’s probably got some hidden dossier ready to expose me should something happen.”

“Then hire a professional.” He looked serious.

“That’s already been suggested. But there’s already a stain against my name, after what happened to Harry and how the man I was having an affair with plotted his murder. I can’t be involved, Mark.”

He shook his head as a faint smirk grew. “You’re lucky I’m a lazy, unambitious writer, because the Lovechilde Saga would make for a great story.”

I contracted my brow. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Don’t worry, Caroline.” He chuckled. “I’m still stuck in the annals of Charles II. He’s an equally fascinating subject.”

“That’s because he was a reprobate.”

“Quite so. No one wants to read about celibate fops.”

I laughed. I needed this.

“So Crisp used you as his way into the Lovechilde coffers.” Mark shook his head. “What a sly old prick.”

“And a sleazy one, at that,” I murmured.

His brow pinched. “He forced you?”

I wasn’t about to admit that I once carried a torch for that deplorable man. “No. I was too old and too experienced.”

He looked puzzled. “Huh?”

“He likes them young and virginal.”

“Oh yes, you spoke about that vulgar venue.”

Mark rose and lifted the bottle. I nodded. It was hardly the time to go easy on alcohol, and this session with the man I was determined to make mine forever had helped me beyond belief.

He handed me the glass.

“Thank you, Mark.”

“You’re welcome.” He smiled charmingly.

“No, I mean… thank you.”

He stroked my cheek. “No, I should be the one thanking you for finding me. You’re far more courageous than me. I would have wallowed in self-pity while listening to Audrey talk about how her only daughter prefers the company of bad men.”

I sniffed. “Does that mean you’ll stay here?”

“I’d be a dumbass, as our good friends the Americans would put it, to refuse.”

My world brightened anew. “We can work this out. You don’t need to go to Australia. I’d hate to lose you. Or, at least, let me get the best legal team available.”

“We’ll see.” He gulped his drink, and his mood darkened a little. “Haven’t you got any dirt on Crisp? I mean, his predilection for young girls seems to suggest something untoward.”

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