The Billionaire's Prize: Taken & Tempted: (Book 3 Billionaire Bodyguard Series) (20 page)

Had she not lived the experiences she had, she might’ve trusted his strength and believed in his altruistic certainty. She wished she shared his gallant convictions.

In science, every particle of matter inevitably seeks to find its lowest point of gravity. Similarly, fate always extracts its equivalent value to whatever is offered. Whether gift or sacrifice. All things come with a price.

As her mother regrettably discovered, any woman who marries for money earns every penny. Or ends up useless and discarded.

One thing she knew beyond doubt, she would never become her mother. Loving a person
to achieve
an escape, out of convenience and pride. Dazzled and seduced by a man who said all the right things, who had all the right looks and credentials and finances…who also refused to separate his desires from his vices.

Cade wasn’t that man. Kylie knew that—believed that.

But she couldn’t trust him completely.

She trusted no one.

Despite the darkness and her unfamiliarity with the layout of The Montgomery Hotel, she slid out of bed, dressed in her discarded clothes, and exited the suite she shared with Cade. She found her way to the library, a lovingly familiar space, and sank onto the rose-velvet upholstered Victorian sofa.

The remnants of a fire lingered in the hearth. She breathed in the exotic yet homey scent, a luxury for a girl who hadn’t grown up with a fireplace. What a soothing, earthen smell of burnt wood and live ash. The coals burned at the bottom of the grate like creatures glowing with crackling little lives of their own, brightening and fading at will.

This seemed like such an intellectual space, with such a masculine atmosphere. Even though he’d never been much of a reader, her father would’ve loved this room.

I miss you, Daddy. I love him, but what do I do?

She hadn’t realized she’d fallen asleep until two strong arms lifted her in an easy embrace. She mumbled an apology, vaguely sensing that one was necessary.

“It’s okay, baby.”

The gentle words cascaded over her, instantly calming her heartbeat.

“You don’t need to do anything,” he whispered. “Just let me hold you all night. Is that okay?”

“Mmm,” she responded absently, far too inundated by warmth and the sensation of being cared for far beyond her comprehension, to surface entirely from her dreams.

“Let it go,” said a comforting masculine voice that surrounded her with calm. “I’ve got you.”

“Yes…” she whispered into the darkness, knowing somehow a safety net existed beneath her for the first time that hadn’t before. And that he would never let her fall.

*

“Cade told me I might find you here.”

Kylie dragged her gaze from the heavy book in her hands and smiled at Ellie. “He was right.” She gestured at the expansive room with two walls of bookcases. “How could I resist? It’s like having hundreds of years of classics and reference materials at your fingertips.”

Ellie’s unusual golden gaze shone brightly in shared enjoyment. “Growing up, I spent hours in here, sometimes days. These books were my friends that I escaped to whenever I needed them. There’s nothing better than a great book to take you far away from life’s worries.”

“About that.” Kylie closed the book in her hands and stared at the binding. “Thank you for taking us in.”

A lyrical laugh met the statement. “It’s not like you are a couple of orphans who showed up on our doorstep,” Ellie said. “Cade and my husband have a longstanding friendship. Carter was thrilled to hear he’d be stopping by for a few days.” She touched Kylie’s arm. “So am I. It’s nice to have an excuse to ignore the daily to-do list required for running a hotel, even for a little while.”

Kylie smiled with appreciation. “Thanks for making me—us—feel so welcome.”

Ellie shrugged. “It’s in my blood. My parents owned the Montgomery Hotel for decades before Carter and I took it over to refurbish the building and the hotel’s image.”

“You’ve done a lovely job. It’s so calm and peaceful here.”

An ear-piercing wail preceded the thunder of little feet down the hallway. “Mommy!
Mommy!” Emma burst into the library and ran full speed toward Ellie. “I hurt my finger. Look!”

Ellie glanced at Kylie, offering an apologetic sigh. “Sure, quiet and peaceful…minus the screaming children.” Ellie bent down to inspect the wound, a small red nick on her knuckle, and kissed the scrape. “That looks pretty bad, sweetie.
I’m not sure even a band aid will help.”

Emma grinned, showing off a gap where she’d lost a tooth. “Yes, it will.”

“That’s what I thought.” Ellie pointed toward the gigantic dining room filled with enough tables to rival a restaurant, where the four adults had eaten breakfast an hour ago. “See if you can find Matilda in the kitchen. I know she’ll have a band aid for you in her apron. Maybe even a piece of candy if you’re lucky.”

Letting loose a squeal of delight, her pain instantly forgotten, Emma raced off to find the elderly housekeeper. Warmth infused Kylie’s chest watching the exchange. Ellie was a wonderful down-to-earth mom, who balanced motherhood and her career and her marriage like a multitasking pro.

For a moment, possibly the first time ever, Kylie seriously examined the idea of having children of her own. She’d concentrated so completely on finishing two degrees over the past five years that she hadn’t taken time to consider her future beyond graduation and landing a good paying job doing the work she loved. She’d taken care of her younger sister after school for years, while Dad went to work at the casino. When Mom left, Kylie had tried to offer a motherly influence for Lindsey, but a nine-year-old needed her real mother, not her eleven-year-old sister acting the part. She’d tried everything in her power to shield Lindsey during the media flogging that had terrorized their family. But Lindsey had been fourteen at the time, she’d comprehended what was happening, and through the whole miserable experience they had both grown up too fast, too soon.

She knew one thing for sure. Her desire to have children would depend on whether she found a true partner in life, someone who offered her and their
potential family reliable financial and, more importantly, emotional security. She required stability in her future, after going so long without it in her past. She wanted her partner to be passionate about his profession the way she was, but also understand the necessary balance between work and family life. She wanted
him to be intelligent and attractive, but not too good-looking so women wouldn’t throw themselves at him the second she turned her back at a bake sale. Someone content with a quiet, uneventful life in a suburban cul-de-sac.

Someone completely
unlike
Cade Soren.

“Kylie.”

She blinked. “Yes?”

“I asked if you’d like to join us at the pool,” Ellie said.

Kylie took one look at Ellie’s perfectly slim physique, after giving birth to two children, and considered declining.

“Come on,” Ellie nudged. “The pool is indoors and it’s heated. We’ll have it all to ourselves. Besides, I’m desperate for adult conversation. Discussing the intricacies of
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
isn’t as scintillating as one would think. Especially after reading it out loud a thousand times. And if I hear the Daniel Tiger theme song one more time I might tear out my fingernails with a rusty pair of pliers.”

After her generous hospitality, the least Kylie could do was go to the pool and keep her company. “Okay.” Though Kylie couldn’t make herself put back the hardcover volume in her hands. “Would you mind if I brought this with me? I promise not to get it wet.”

“Bring as many books as you want.” Ellie slid beside her and glanced at the title. “Southern Law, 1892?”

Kylie shrugged sheepishly. “I’m getting my master’s in paralegal studies, and what I’ve read so far in this book is highly entertaining.”

“Whatever puts butter on your grits,” Ellie said.

Amused by the southern phrase, Kylie excused herself to get dressed for the pool. Stopping by her and Cade’s room, she donned her two-piece Cade had bought for her, plus the gauzy cover up she’d worn in his hot tub.

Minutes later she met Ellie and the kids by the poolside. Her flip flops slapped on the tile, the sound echoing through the balmy room. A wall of windows spanned the length of the swimming pool. Halfway toward the ceiling, they curved and arched overhead like six rows of skylights, and morning sun brightened the room. She wondered if the space had once housed a conservatory, serving as a greenhouse before they converted it into a pool room.

She grinned and waved at Emma, who performed a child’s interpretation of a swan dive to show off her water baby skills, and then she deposited her book on a small round tabletop. Spreading her oversized towel across one of the reclining pool chairs near Ellie, at the shallow end of the pool, she propped the book on her thighs and opened to the page where she’d left off.

“Hey, Ellie, get this,” she said, her cheeks growing hot with amusement. “In Quitman, Georgia, it was illegal for chickens to cross the road.”

Ellie snorted. “No wonder they have that absurd old saying, ‘Why did the chicken cross the road.’”

“I know, right?” Kylie let out a peal of laughter, which Emma mimicked even though she had no idea what was so funny. “And in the south it was illegal for an atheist to hold office.”

Ellie grinned. “Well, there goes the separation of church and state.”

“Aren’t these insane? Now, are you glad I brought this book?”

“Tell me more about the preposterous state of affairs in our legal system prior to nineteen twenty.”

“When women earned the right to vote,” Kylie replied. “I mean, seriously, we’re intelligent human beings. How did we not have the right to vote until nineteen twenty?!”

“I know,” Ellie said, shaking her head as she helped her son swim back and forth between her and the metal ladder, his fluorescent orange arm floaties carrying him most of the way. “What other insane notions did legislators have back then?”

“Oh, get this. According to Colorado law—why it’s in this book about Southern Law, I can’t tell you—a man cannot marry his wife’s grandmother.”

“Well, thank God.” Ellie erupted into laughter. “We wouldn’t want a cougar getting in on our action.”

“Right?
Or this. In Texas you’d better not throw a banana peel, or the horses might slip.”

Ellie wiped a tear from her eye with the semi-dry heel of her hand. “God, this is hilarious. Keep going.”

“Oh, this is brilliant. According to Florida law, anyone who takes a bath must wear clothes.”

Ellie snorted. “That’s to prevent all those heathen men and women from cavorting around naked while they bathe. Good God.”

“And, it’s against the law in Kentucky to remarry the same man four times.”

Holding her hand to her chest, Ellie shook her head. “You’d think the girl would know better by then. If she doesn’t, she deserves to get arrested.”

“Exactly,” Kylie agreed.

She rattled off a dozen more preposterous laws before closing the book. Dominique would’ve adored hearing these.

Dominique.

Kylie frowned, hoping that the bodyguard Cade sent to protect Dominique and her daughter would be enough to repair their friendship. She also wondered if Dominique had been strong-armed into giving the specifics of Kylie’s whereabouts, and that had been why she’d said not to call back. It made sense, since Ramos had known their travel plans to the Virgin Islands and cut off their route, including bribing the yacht’s captain to veer off course.

Unable to help herself, she pressed the power button on her phone. She’d promised Cade and Slone she wouldn’t, but she was desperate for a text or an email, some news from home.

The text messages that popped up came from the last person she’d expected. Her sister.

*

A smile lingered on Cade’s lips, thinking about making love to Kylie last night. So hot. They’d gone to a deeper place than ever before, and he wanted to keep going in that direction.

But he had a hard time reading her signals. She kept holding back when he expected her to be right beside him. He lifted his heel, continuing the rhythm of the rocking chair where he sat on the huge front porch, enjoying the warm autumn day.

Stratton emerged with two cups of coffee. “Ready to hit the greens with me this morning?”

Cade rubbed his jaw. “You know it’s been ages since I’ve golfed. You’re going to kill me on the course.”

Stratton rolled his eyes. “Liar. You always had a knack for the sport. A born natural.
Which pisses me off that you never followed through on your skill. You could’ve made it your calling, won the PGA tour, all that shit. But no. You went back to the family business. All your talent, wasted.”

“I don’t care enough about it to go pro.”

Stratton shook his head. “That’s probably why you’re so damn good.”

“I have too much happening in my life at the moment. I’ve never been the wanderlust type who needs to travel constantly and get in on the action. I want to be in Denver.” He sipped his coffee. “My family’s there. Kylie’s there. At least for now.”