Red Hot Revenge (Erotic Romance) (Dominated by the Billionaire) (2 page)

Not for the first time since those days, she
heaved an inner sigh of regret. Hurting Jason had been one of the things she’d
been ashamed of. And she had never been given the chance to explain…

“Well,” she said at last, forcing a smile unto her
stiff lips, “You can be sure I won’t be making the same mistakes again. That’s
why I came here today, to see if I could be given a chance to recover and
rebuild. With more time, I could…”

He was shaking his head. “The firm isn’t happy
with the turn of events, Bella. I’ll be frank with you – you’ve lost
nearly everything. Coupled with the fact that you’re already behind on
payments, it doesn’t look good. Despite wanting to help, I’ve been asked to
handle this with the strictest of procedure.”

Bella felt her heart sink even further at his
cool, impersonal tone. “I understand, Jason, trust me. And I don’t blame you if
you intend to follow your instructions to the letter. I mean…even if there were
a way you could be of assistance – I would be the last person you’d wish
to help.”

He rose to his feet, a surprised expression on his
face as he moved from behind his desk. “Why would you say that, Bella? You
think me so...unforgiving? We weren’t kids then, and we certainly aren’t now.
You made your choice, and I had to live with that. Seems like now, so will
you.”

She nodded slightly, a look of understanding
crossing her face as she gathered up the dignity to stand. “I should have known
there’d be nothing you could do,” she told him with a tone that had more than a
trace of bitterness.

“Ahh, not so fast. I didn’t say that,” he drawled,
making her pause as, despite herself, wings of hope rose in her heart once
again. “Yours is a very promising business, Bella. We are aware that you’ve
shown great potential from the start. Your lapses have indeed put a strain on
our confidence in you having a head for business…”

Bella sat forward earnestly, telling herself not
to smart at his formal tone. “Jason, I can do this; I just need your firm to
give me another chance. I’ll hire a professional accountant this time, and take
more care with my affairs. In a few months I’ll be back on track and it’ll be
like all this never happened at all.”

He nodded, looking thoughtful. “You’re asking us
to…erase the past. Hmm, I’m sure that’s a sentiment we both share – in
more ways than one.” His eyes met hers in a mocking glance. “I’ll admit, that
when I saw your name come up, I was interested. I never thought in a million
years that our paths would ever cross again – and certainly not in
circumstances where you’d need my help. And I assure you, Bella, that I
can
help. A simple good word from me, and you’ll have all the time you need to get
your business back on its feet. I could even secure another small loan to help
you pay off other debts. However, I have to wonder – since I’ll be
willing to do all this for you, for old times’ sake, of course…what exactly
would
you
be willing to do for
me
?”

Bella stared at him, not sure of what to say. Her
hope had swelled as he’d fed her hope only to pull it away from her once again.

“I don’t really understand what you mean, Jason,”
she replied slowly, standing still as he began to pace, circling her in silence
as his gaze ran over her intently. She tried not to squirm beneath his
fathomless eyes. “I would be more than grateful, of course, if you could do
anything to help me. I guess…I guess if there was a way I could show how much I
appreciate your efforts, then I wouldn’t hesitate to do so.”

“That’s good to know,” he murmured, and she could
feel him stop behind her. She didn’t know what to think as she became aware of
his light, warm breath on the back of her neck. His closeness caused the
strangest reaction in her – alarm, yes, and a certain stirring of
feminine awareness. The danger, the dark heat, emanating from his body was
unexpected, and it brought to mind all those years ago when for a few weeks,
they had been so, so close…

“Though, from experience,” he continued in the
same casual tone, “I remember that you were never really the type to return
someone’s kindness. If anything, you felt entitled to everything that a man had
to offer.”

Bella sighed shallowly, turning her head slightly,
about to face him, only to be stopped when he gripped her arms, keeping her in
place. “I used to fantasize about a time just like this,” Jason growled and
Bella felt his breath wash across her neck, his lips almost touching her
delicate lobe. This time, she could not repress a quick shudder.

“You…in trouble, needing my help. And I…holding
the power to make you suffer just as you made me suffer all those years ago.
Such sweet revenge for being used and abused by the beautiful, yet ruthless
Bella Adler.”

“I…I thought you said that you’d keep
this…strictly business,” she heard herself say in panic, not sure why her heart
was pounding so hard to feel his body so close behind her.

“Oh, trust me, this is nothing but business
Bella,” he assured her smoothly. “I have a simple proposal, which I am sure
will get you exactly what you need…while providing me with what
I
want,
as well.”

Bella swallowed. “I…what do you want Jason?”

“Bella,” he whispered, and she felt him lower his
face to her neck, inhaling deeply. “It’s been years…but you still smell the
same. Sweet, hot…tempting. I never stopped wanting you, Bella. Even when I know
you’re nothing but a shallow, heartless woman, you still have such a hold on
me. How pathetic is that?” He tore away from her, and she felt her chest inhale
quickly.  She hadn’t realized that she had been holding her breath.

She started to turn towards him, wanting to tell
him how sorry she was but before she could reply he was pressed up against her
once more, his eyes blazing with such passionate intensity she could feel the
fire dripping from every word that spilled from his beautiful mouth. 

“But I’m not the man that you used to know, Bella.
Not anymore. This time I’m not interested in any romantic idea of us being
together. I don’t need it nor do I want it.  Jason’s hands flew up to her
shoulders and he gripped them tightly, pulling Bella tightly against his chest.
“This time I just want you…in my bed.  Give me that and you’ll get all of
the help you need.”

Bella could barely breath with Jason’s broad chest
pressed against her back.  She opened her mouth struggling to force the
words out from her trembling lips. “You want…you want me to sleep with you?”

He chuckled softly, his lips trailing softly along
her neck. “I want to do a lot of things with you, Bella…but I promise you,
sleeping will not be one of those things.”

“How dare you!” she snapped, twisting round and
wresting herself from his hold. She met his sardonic expression with fury and
distaste. “You’re right about not being the same man,” she fumed with disgust.
“The Jason I used to know would never take advantage of an innocent woman this
way.”

“Innocent woman?” he echoed, tilting one eyebrow
mockingly. “Hardly a word I’d use to ever describe you. And I told you; I’m not
the Jason you knew, Bella. That Jason was a fool.”  He turned around
quickly, his expression darkening as his eyes settled on his flushed cheeks.

“What could possibly be holding you back from
accepting my offer, Bella? It’s not like I’m asking for anything that you
haven’t given away freely before.  God knows, you certainly spread it
around back in college.”

Bella felt her cheeks sting at his words. “I don’t
know what you mean about college, Jason. If you’re trying to say I was some
kind of …”

“Bella, I know all about your escapades. With Roy,
and probably half the football team…you had quite a reputation. I always
wondered why I never got to see past your golden curls and baby blue eyes to
know you were really nothing but a slut.”

Bella’s hand flashed across his face before she
could stop herself. And then she stumbled back in shock at her own violent
reaction, seeing the tracks of her fingers spread across his jaw before they
disappeared.

He hardly seemed moved by the unexpected blow, though
his lips thinned somewhat.

“I can’t see why you’re so flustered. You were
hardly an angel, Bella.”

“I certainly wasn’t the whore that you seem to
recall, either,” she choked, her fists clenched at her sides as she tried to
contain her emotions. “I can’t believe you’d actually think me capable of that.
I don’t know what rumors Roy may have circulated about me, but…”

“Bella, there’s no need to explain,” he said,
raising his hands. “You never cared what anyone thought of you back then. You
did what you pleased – I don’t think you should worry now. It’s all in
the past anyway. All I’m really interested in now is whether you’ll accept my
offer.”

Her lips curled in aversion. “You may think I’m
cheap and lacking in morals…but then what does that say of you, huh? Bribing me
into becoming your whore – the very thing you so harshly accuse me of
being back in college.”

She quickly took up her bag that had slipped from
her shoulders earlier, and forced herself to meet his silent gaze with a raised
chin. “No thank you, Jason. I’ll find a way out of this mess without your help
– and certainly without having to spend any amount of time in your bed!”

Bella turned sharply and was already at the door
before his next words hit her.

“If you walk out that door, Bella, then you can
kiss your business goodbye,” he told her coolly. “I’ll call in all the loans
and within days, your whole shop will be closed down. Add that to you losing
every other thing of worth you have as we move in to recover our losses.”

She turned sharply once more to face him, eyes
widened with a sudden panic she could not conceal. “You wouldn’t dare…”

He smiled, and it was in no way reassuring.
“Bella, apart from the fact that it’s my job…I’m actually going to relish doing
it. It’s about time you realized that things aren’t going to keep falling into
your lap. Now, if only you’d agree to fall into mine…” His grin widened with
mirth, the blaze in his eyes unmistakable.

“I could take you right now, right there on that
desk,” he said softly; coming forward to stand in front of her, close enough
for her to see every tiny pore on his face. Her eyes were drawn to his mouth
with its generous bottom lip as he formed those husky words. His hand lifted to
trace his fingers over the slope of her cheek, before wrapping round her neck.
“All I’d need do is push up that sinfully short skirt of yours, rip aside your
panties…and shove my cock hard into you…again and again till I’m done. I can’t
think of a better way to spend the next fifteen minutes.”

Bella could hardly breathe, immobilized by his
words and his touch, which felt like they’d put her under a spell of lust,
mixed in with anger and rage. Damn him, his words went coursing through her
body like quicksilver, making her pussy twitch in incredible response. How
could she actually even be considering what he was saying! She berated her
treacherous body, as it trembled in anticipation.

“However,” he added, when she did not –
could not- reply, “I do have some sense of…delicacy. I’ll be willing to take
you to dinner first, maybe a bit of dancing. And then afterwards…” He slanted
his head to plant a kiss right on the corner of her parted lips. The pressure
was light, yet all the more breath-taking for its veiled promise. “It’ll take
more than one night to slake the past four years’ frustrations…so I’m willing
to make do with three. Three nights, Bella, and you get all the support you
need for that quaint company of yours.”

It was only when he withdrew moments later that
Bella could actually piece her thoughts together. His proposition rang through
her head over and over, even as she stared into his face searchingly, just to
be sure he was actually serious. There was no trace of jest in his eyes, which
seemed darkened from grey to black with the strength of his intent.

He backed away, hands outstretched. “Well, Bella?
You know the deal. This is your chance to wipe the slate clean – in more
ways than one. So what’s your answer going to be?”

“My answer,” she began, eyes narrowing with the
anger and powerlessness she felt, “is to let you know that you’re not going to
get away with… sexually blackmailing me! I’ll speak to my lawyer about this and
I’m sure he’ll know exactly how to handle your kind of “deal”.”

Instead of looking threatened, he actually smiled.
“Somehow, I don’t think you’ll do that,” he said with a careless shrug. “The
unnecessary embarrassment…the possible disgrace – not to mention the cost
of taking action against an executive of this company. Face it, Bella, I’ll
have more of a chance of convincing people that you tried to proposition
me
,
not the other way round.”

For some reason, she realized that he might
actually be right. It was unlikely that anyone one would look at Jason and
think he’d ever have to sink to the level of blackmailing a woman for sex. Not
only was he incredibly good-looking and fit, he was rich and successful.

She hid her inner consternation behind a smile.
“Yes, I can imagine that you must have plenty of female admirers – which
makes it so unfathomable why you would choose to do this. In a way, I know I
should be flattered that you want me this bad that you’d sink so low. However,
a part of me senses that this is simply a ploy to further demean me, shame me
for what you think I did to you.”