Page 54 of The Billionaire's Temptation

“I suspected that Ian Montrose was going to lobby a judge, asking to be appointed trustee of Clarissa’s inheritance. He was going to convince the judge that she would merely squander her father’s money. He would most likely give her an allowance while he took control of the remainder of the estate.” Clarissa frowned as he continued. “His stated goal was to invest the money, but now that you mentioned ties to organized crime, I’m thinking that there was something more nefarious going on.”

Detective Shelton nodded his head. “We’ve been trying to get Montrose for several years now, but the man is slippery. I’m going to look into this and see what I can discover.”

Levi shook his head. “I doubt that you’ll get much push back from Montrose anymore. I’ve heard through a few business acquaintances that Montrose is nearly bankrupt. No one will touch him now. He lost his biggest client when Clarissa left and the business community will keep away from him. They’ll consider him to be tainted because of this debacle. He’s humiliated.”

The detective nodded, obviously trying to hide his satisfaction at a criminal getting what he deserved, even if it isn’t through the justice system. Sometimes, being humiliated by one’s peers was a worse punishment. Finally, he stood up and nodded to them. “Thank you for your information. Please keep all of this confidential as we work to tie everything together.”

Clarissa stood up and extended her hand. “Thank you so much for your help, Detective,” she said, shaking his hand firmly.

Levi did the same, then they were alone. The silence was eerie now and she turned, looking up at Levi. “I don’t want to live in this house any longer,” she told him. “I want to sell this ugly place and build my own house somewhere.”

Levi couldn’t hide his surprise. He moved closer. “Any chance, you might consider someone else’s input into the design of your new house?” he asked, putting his arms around her waist and pulling her in close.

She smiled, her heart thudding again. “I might consider someone else’s input. Depending on who that person is.”

“What about me, Clarissa?”

“What about you?” she whispered back.

“I…love you. I tried to keep my distance, but you just…kept me coming back. My only role was to find you and tell you about your inheritance. But there was just something about you that kept me coming back for more.” He leaned in, kissing her lightly. “I’d like to spend the rest of my life coming back for more, Clarissa.”

She grinned and lifted up onto her toes. “I think I’d like that,” she whispered. “Under one condition.”

“What’s that?” he asked his lips hovering just above hers.

“You get me out of here!” she whispered. “I don’t want to spend another night under this roof. I don’t care if I live in a hotel or my old apartment until my new house is built. I just want to get out of here as fast as possible!”

He was startled for a long moment, then he laughed, pulling her in for a tight hug. When he had his amusement under control, he looked down at her, his arms still around her waist. “How about staying at my place while we buildournew house?”

She pulled back, but stayed within the circle of his arms. “You would let me invade your personal space?”

He chuckled. “Iwantyou in my personal space. I want you to invade every part of my life and my world, Clarissa. I want you to be there when I wake up in the morning and I want to wrap my arms around you as we fall asleep every night. I want to be your first and last thought of every day.”

A blush stole over her cheeks as she admitted, “You already are, Levi.”

He was shocked briefly, and then he lifted her up, groaning as he kissed her deeply. “You’re going to kill me, woman!” he said, taking her hand, pausing only long enough to let her grab her purse. Twenty minutes later, he led her into his house, but didn’t bother to show her around. He led her directly into the bedroom where they made love all night long.

Chapter 17

Clarissa stretched sore muscles, then looked around. The sun was just starting to come up over the horizon. She could see the shimmering orange rays as they peeked out over the city’s horizon. What a beautiful view, she thought, then glanced over her shoulder. Levi was still asleep and her heart swelled with love for the man.

But she knew what she needed to do. Reaching down, she picked up the dress shirt he’d tossed onto the floor the previous night and slipped it on over her nakedness. Then she walked out of his bedroom, grimacing at the brown and tan décor. Nope, she wasn’t living in the inside of a teddy bear for the rest of her life, she thought as she padded barefoot out of his room, being as quiet as possible so she didn’t wake Levi up. He’d helped her so much over the past month, being quiet was the least she could do.

The rest of his extremely large place had views that were equally magnificent. She made a pot of coffee, then poured herself a cup, bringing it over to sit down in one of the comfortable chairs that looked out at the city far below. Sipping her coffee, she stared out at the view, so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t actually see the extraordinary vista.

About a half hour later, she felt a surge of energy shift the air. Turning, she watched as Levi came out of the bedroom. He wore a pair of well-worn jeans that rode indecently low on his trim hips. She stared at him, amazed at how handsome he was. Both inside and out. She loved him.

He poured himself a cup of coffee, then walked over to a desk. There he picked something up and carried it over to her.

“Good morning,” she greeted him, still cradling her coffee in her hands.

“You left me,” he grumbled, putting his coffee, her coffee, and the notebook, down on the table beside her chair.

Clarissa yelped when he bent down and unceremoniously lifted her into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck, laughing. “What are you doing?”

“You left me,” he groused again, sitting down in the chair with her on his lap. “Now,” he started, settling her, and then reaching for the notebook. He put that on her lap along with a pen. “Start drawing,” he commanded, picking up his coffee.

“What am I supposed to draw?” she asked, holding the pen in one hand and the notebook in the other as she stared at him.

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