The Billionaire’s Bride Of Vengeance Read online

  ‘We’ll see,’ he said for the second time that morning.

  ‘We certainly will,’ she countered firmly.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  ‘SO WHAT do you think?’ Russell asked Nicole when she finally made it back to his kitchen.

  He’d sent her off to inspect his modest two-bedroomed apartment whilst he got on with breakfast, knowing that seeing was believing.

  ‘Not quite what you were expecting?’ he added with a wry smile when he saw the surprise in her face.

  ‘Not quite,’ she agreed as she slid up onto one of the two kitchen stools. ‘It’s no playboy pad. But I love it.’

  ‘You love it?’ Scepticism abounded in his reaction.

  ‘Yes, I do,’ she reaffirmed with a saucy toss of her head. ‘It’s in a great position, and has everything you would ever need—an en suite bathroom, an internal laundry with a dryer and a quite spacious kitchen. OK, so you only have the one living room, but most people don’t use dining rooms these days. And the view from the balcony is incredible.’

  ‘The very small balcony,’ he pointed out. Surely she had to be on the make. No girl who lived the life of luxury Nicole Power had lived would rave over this modest place.

  ‘Not that small,’ she insisted. ‘You have an outdoor dining area on it. It’s nicely private and north-facing. It must be lovely in the winter.’

  ‘It is, actually,’ he said, having not thought of his simple abode in such glowing terms before. ‘Weather permitting, I sit there in the sun every morning with a cup of coffee.’

  ‘I did wonder how you got your tan. Being a workaholic, that is,’ she added with one of her bewitching smiles.

  He just stared at her for a long moment before turning to pour some orange juice into a glass. ‘Here. Drink this while you’re waiting for the food.’

  He pushed it across the breakfast bar before returning his attention to the sizzling frying-pan, his thoughts spinning. Once again, she’d surprised and confused him.

  When she didn’t say anything more he glanced over his shoulder to find her sitting there, slowly sipping her juice whilst watching him closely with an odd expression on her face.

  ‘What are you thinking now?’ he asked. Maybe if he kept her talking she might show her hand. He had to find out if she was being sincere, or if she was just saying what she thought he wanted her to say.

  ‘I’m trying to work you out,’ she said.

  She was trying to work him out. Now, that was a laugh!

  ‘What’s to work out? I’m just a simple country boy who made good in the city.’

  She shook her head at him, her expression wry. ‘Nothing is that simple. You’re certainly not. For instance, this is definitely the home of a man who isn’t interested in entertaining, or impressing the ladies.’

  ‘I did try to tell you I wasn’t a playboy, but you wouldn’t believe me.’

  ‘So if you’re not a playboy, or a show pony, then who is the man who bought our extremely ostentatious home in Belleview Hill?’ she persisted. ‘If you were the sort of man who wanted a flashy place, you’d already be living in one. You wouldn’t be living here. So tell me, why did you buy it?’

  Russell jerked his eyes back to the frying-pan lest she glimpse the surge of vengeful fury which her provocative question evoked. The temptation to throw the truth at her was intense.

  Because your rotten father was responsible for my wonderful father killing himself, he could hear himself saying. I vowed to one day take everything that bastard held dear. That’s why I bought his home. And why I bedded you, his darling daughter, last night.

  But he didn’t say any of those words. Because he knew that would be the end of it. The end of him and Nicole.

  As much as Russell craved revenge, it seemed he craved her more. He couldn’t bear the thought of her exiting his life. Couldn’t bear the prospect of never holding her in his arms again, never feeling what she could make him feel.

  ‘Russell?’ she probed. ‘Aren’t you going to answer me?’

  ‘Sorry. I find it hard to talk and cook at the same time. The thing is, I actually bought your place as an investment,’ he lied as he busied himself serving up their bacon and eggs. ‘I’d heard it was for sale and hoped to get a bargain. Admittedly, I was planning to live there for a while. That way I wouldn’t have to pay capital-gains tax when I eventually sold it. But James has already offered me a ridiculously large sum, which I am seriously considering.’ This part wasn’t a lie. James had made the offer when they’d had drinks at the house the other night. ‘Now that James is married with a baby on the way, he’s looking for a good-sized family home.’

  ‘Megan is expecting?’

  ‘You didn’t know?’

  ‘No.’

  Russell could have kicked himself. ‘Keep it to yourself then, will you?’

  ‘Of course. Wow! Your friend has just gone up in my estimation. Let’s face it, wealthy men don’t have to marry girls they get pregnant these days. He must actually love her.’

  Russell adopted a poker face. ‘I did tell you he was a good guy. Still, don’t relay any of this to that gossipy girlfriend of yours. Now, where would you like to eat breakfast? In here or out on the balcony?’

  ‘Definitely the balcony.’

  ‘That was ever so nice,’ Nicole complimented after she’d finished eating. ‘You are a very good cook.’

  ‘Not really. Bacon and eggs and toast are pretty foolproof.’

  Nicole laughed. ‘Don’t you believe it. I could ruin them. I’m a dreadful cook.’

  ‘Lack of practice, I suppose.’

  ‘You’re right there. I’m totally useless around the house.’ From the time her mother married Alistair neither of them had had to lift a finger. Nicole had thought her life was wonderful at the time, not realising how spoiled and lazy she’d become.

  She had to admire Russell. He’d made his own way in life, made his own fortune. Yet despite his material success, he wasn’t a show-pony. She liked that about him. A lot.

  Her qualms over his being rich were gradually fading as well, Russell’s solid work ethics and simple lifestyle showing a man of character and depth. Surprising, though, that he hadn’t married. Possibly he hadn’t met the right girl. More likely, his priority had been making money. She wondered what was in his past which had fuelled his ambition. Nicole realised from her own experiences that past history was a great influence on the person you became. No one was immune to carrying emotional baggage. She’d had her fair share.

  Still, if she was going to keep on sleeping with this man, she really should find out some more about him.

  ‘Tell me about your family, Russell,’ she asked. ‘Do you have any brothers and sisters?’

  ‘Nope. I was the only offspring.’

  ‘You said you were a farmer’s son. Whereabouts is your dad’s farm?’

  He didn’t answer straight away, taking a sip of coffee first.

  ‘Dad passed away a long time ago.’

  ‘How sad. He must have been quite young.’

  ‘Only forty-five.’

  ‘What did he die of? Cancer?’

  Once again he seemed reluctant to answer.

  ‘He shot himself,’ he said at last, the baldness of his statement at odds with the pain in his face.

  ‘Oh. Russell… Oh, how awful for you.’

  Russell was startled when her eyes actually filled with tears. Her compassion moved him, for it seemed sincere. Suddenly, he wanted to tell her more. Not the whole horrible truth, of course. Just…more.

  ‘It was,’ he admitted. ‘The drought was very bad at the time and Dad had gotten himself into serious debt. Mum said afterwards that he’d become very depressed. When the farm was repossessed, he lost the will to live.’

  ‘I…I don’t know what to say…’

  Her soft words of sympathy got to Russell even more than her tears. Every muscle in his body tightened, the control he usually had over his emotions in real danger of disintegrating.<
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  ‘It’s all right,’ he ground out through clenched teeth.

  ‘No, it’s not all right. Suicide is never all right. Your poor dad. And your poor mum.’

  Hell, he’d made a mistake, going down this path. He could feel himself beginning to unravel, like long rows of knitting being wrenched undone. Soon, there would be nothing left of him but a twisted-up mess.

  ‘Mum’s fine now,’ he said, pulling himself together with a supreme effort of will. ‘She married again. Another farmer. They live out at Gulgong, near Mudgee.’

  ‘Whilst you came to Sydney and became a workaholic.’

  He shrugged. ‘There are worse things I could have become. But enough about me. You promised to tell me why you want to go back to Thailand.’

  Nicole knew he was deliberately changing the subject. And she didn’t blame him. Remembering the past could be very painful. She’d been terribly hurt by David’s betrayal, plus the discovery that her stepfather was equally conscienceless. But neither of those events compared with Russell losing his dad in such a tragic way. It was patently obvious that his father’s suicide had affected him deeply.

  ‘Come, now,’ he chided when she remained silent. ‘Tell the truth and shame the devil.’

  She smiled, then shrugged. ‘The truth is I met this truly amazing woman when I was in Bangkok. She runs an orphanage full of sweet but very underprivileged children. They have nothing in the way of material possessions yet they’re so happy. They made me ashamed of all the things that had been lavished on me over the years. Anyway, I promised her that after I’d collected my belongings, I’d go back and help her out for a while.’ She almost told him that she was going to sell all her jewellery to raise money to buy the children some much needed items, but didn’t want to sound like some martyrish saint. Nicole knew she was far from that.

  The expression on Russell’s face still showed true surprise, Nicole accepted that it was an unlikely thing for a girl like her to be doing. Kara’s reaction had been similar.

  ‘What kind of help are you talking about?’ he asked. ‘Money?’

  ‘Money would certainly go a long way to solving a lot of Julie’s problems.’

  ‘In that case why not just send this woman some? You don’t have to go over there personally.’

  ‘Yes,’ she said firmly. ‘I do. I promised the children. Look, I’m not going to stay there forever. I’ll be back in Sydney in the New Year to look for a job.’

  His eyebrows shot upwards. ‘A job?’

  Nicole could not help bristling at his constant surprise. ‘I am employable, you know. I have a degree in marketing. I worked for Power Mortgages for nearly two years,’ she said, her pride not mentioning that she hadn’t worked in their marketing section. ‘I only left a few months ago.’

  Once again, Russell struggled to hide his emotions in front of her. He’d been on the verge of changing his mind about Nicole’s character, speculating that she could be so different from what he’d been imagining. Not on the make, not selfish and not content to live an idle existence.

  Her announcement, however, that she’d actually worked for her father’s company for nearly two years, clearly in the marketing section, had floored him.

  She had to have known her father’s business practices; in fact, she must have condoned them.

  Any guilt he’d begun harbouring over his ruthless behaviour last night was instantly banished, replaced once again by that coldly implacable resolve to continue with his vengeful mission… He would harness his passion for her to good effect, making magnificent love to her till she changed her mind about going overseas; till she fell madly in love with him; till she agreed to marry him.

  Not that he intended to actually marry her. Hopefully, by the time she accepted his proposal, this insane desire would have burned itself out.

  ‘Why did you leave?’ he asked, pleased at his casual tone.

  ‘I couldn’t bear to stay in Sydney after what happened with David. I…I had to get away.’

  So she had just upped and gone overseas for months on end, no doubt having everything paid for by Daddy.

  And now she was going overseas again. Still using Daddy’s money, Russell presumed. He recalled her saying something to her mother last night about not needing to be sent any more money.

  Her looking for a job in the New Year was obviously not a necessity, just something to fill her time. This mission of mercy might be much of the same. One did need a purpose in life.

  Like revenge…

  ‘When are you thinking of leaving for Thailand?’ he asked.

  ‘I was hoping to fly out by the middle of the week.’

  ‘That soon.’

  ‘It all depends on the flights available.’

  ‘You must realise I don’t want you to go,’ he said, his eyes locking with hers. ‘Stay here in Sydney with me and I’ll give your friend more money than she knows what to do with.’

  Nicole should not have been shocked, but she was.

  For a while there, she’d forgotten who she was dealing with. Forgotten what life had taught her. That rich men did not always follow society’s rules.

  Russell might live a simple lifestyle on the surface, but he was not a simple man. You didn’t achieve as much as he had in such a short space of time without being very tunnel-visioned, and without becoming somewhat ruthless in the process.

  ‘That’s nothing short of blackmail,’ she scolded.

  His smile had a wickedly sexy edge to it. ‘And that’s not an answer.’

  Nicole’s heart quickened as temptation took hold. The passion in his eyes was powerfully persuasive, promising more pleasures of the kind she’d tasted last night. If she stayed here in Sydney she could spend every night in his bed, being swept away into his erotic world.

  ‘How much money are we looking at?’ she couldn’t resist asking.

  ‘As much as it takes.’

  He must really want her a lot. Nicole could not help feeling flattered. But along with the seductive flattery lay annoyance that he would think he could buy her.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ she said tartly. ‘But I’m not for sale.’

  ‘What a pity. It’s just as well, then,’ he went on as he rose to his feet, ‘that I have other means of persuasion.’

  Nicole had anticipated this moment. What she hadn’t anticipated was that, by the time he came to seduce her again, she would feel so angry with him.

  Why, then, didn’t she struggle when he pulled her up off the chair and into his arms? Why not turn her mouth away? Why not slap his arrogantly presumptuous face?

  Her vulnerability to him should have been humiliating. There were a few moments of mortification. But that was before his lips went to work with a vengeance. In no time she didn’t care what kind of man he was, as long as he kept on kissing her.

  She could not think, could hardly breathe.

  He disposed of her dress in no time, then her panties. Once again, she stood naked before him. But in the daylight this time, in the sunshine.

  He stepped back, his eyes narrowing as they travelled over her by now quivering nudity. ‘You are way too beautiful for your own good, do you know that?’

  She had ceased to know anything some time back.

  ‘Women like you have brought down countries.’

  All of a sudden he bent to scoop her up into his arms, crushing her against his chest as he carried her inside. ‘I apologise for making that insulting offer,’ he ground out as he forged down the short hallway into his bedroom. ‘But you must know how I feel about you. I can’t bear the thought of our being parted so soon after finding you. I’m crazy about you, Nicole.’

  Her head whirled at his impassioned words, then whirled some more when he literally tossed her into the middle of his bed.

  ‘We won’t talk any more of your going to Thailand today,’ he said as he began stripping off his clothes with urgent haste. ‘We’ll just enjoy each other like we did last night. Without any thought of the future. Just for
the pleasure of the moment.’

  Their mating was fast and furious, their satisfaction simultaneous. Afterwards they clung to each other, their breathing still ragged. Nicole sobbed when he withdrew, not wanting him to leave her, even for the short space of time it took him to go to the bathroom.

  When he came back, he lay down beside her and gently pushed her tangled hair back from her face.

  ‘It’s no use, my darling,’ he said as he caressed her still flushed cheek. ‘I simply can’t let you go.’

  Nicole stiffened in his arms.

  ‘I’m going to Thailand with you.’

  She just stared up at him.

  ‘What’s the problem now?’ he demanded to know. ‘You don’t want me to go with you?’

  She did. Of course she did. But something didn’t feel right. Everything was happening too quickly. Last night. And now this.

  They weren’t in love. How could they be? Love didn’t happen that quickly.

  Or did it?

  OK, so she’d never experienced anything like what she had last night. Or just now.

  But that wasn’t love. Not yet, anyway.

  ‘That’s not the point,’ she said, trying to be sensible. ‘I only met you a few days ago. Look, like I said earlier, I won’t be gone forever. If you like, I’ll come back for Christmas.’

  ‘Christmas is more than a month away. I can’t do without you for that long.’

  ‘I’m afraid you’ll just have to.’

  ‘I can’t. I’ll go crazy.’

  ‘This is crazy,’ she said, even as she felt herself weakening. ‘You can’t just drop everything and fly off overseas at a moment’s notice. I thought you said you were a workaholic.’

  ‘I was, till I met you. I’m not at work today, yet Sunday is top dog in the real-estate business. You might not have noticed but I texted a message to my office to say that I wouldn’t be in today. Then I turned off my cellphone. Trust me when I say that’s a first in several years.’

  Nicole frowned.

  Trust. That was the bottom line. There’d been something about Russell when she’d first met him which she didn’t trust. He’d come across as hard and predatory, a rich man who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. Which was her, at this point in time.