Knox Read online

  Table of Contents

  The Billionaire’s Secret Kink 1

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  The BILLIONAIRE’S Empire

  Copyright

  Join the Reader List

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  The Billionaire’s Secret Kink 1

  By Lisa Ladew

  All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons or organizations, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

  Copyright © 2015 Lisa Ladew All Rights Reserved

  Book cover by: http://www.stunningbookcovers.com/

  Chapter 1

  Knox

  Knox Rosesson leaned against a pillar in a secluded corner of his father’s trophy room, hate for his father consuming him. He didn’t want to hate the man, but he couldn’t help it. Felix Thane Rosesson was a first-class bastard who had a knack for ruining the lives of those he touched. Knox would disappear forever if his brothers didn’t still seem to love the man. His mother too, as much as that had destroyed her.

  Knox watched his father, clad in a spotless Armani Tuxedo, gesticulate excitedly to the head of a gazelle on the wall, commanding the attention of a small group of people around him. Knox couldn’t hear his father, but he knew the story. He’d heard it many times during his unfortunate childhood.

  The group surrounding his father sucked in a collective breath at an exciting tidbit and Felix crouched, telling the story of the hunt with his body movements. Knox pulled his eyes off the group and looked down at the glass in his hand. Empty. Fuck. Like his fucking life right now. Last week he’d been up north, helping old friends out of a life and death situation, but this week he’d been bored out of his mind. Work was slow and routine was strangling him. He needed something. Some excitement. Anything.

  A waiter passed and Knox lifted his glass to get the waiter’s attention. “Highball,” he said. The waiter nodded and started away to get his drink.

  As Knox looked back over the crowd, a figure emerged from the door next to him. Knox turned his head to see his brother, Daxton, walk in like he owned the place, a cocky smile on his face. Knox’s eyes dropped to Daxton’s shirt and a hearty laugh escaped him. Daxton was dressed like he was going to work or staying home to lounge on the couch, instead of at a black tie party. He wore scuffed sneakers, beat-up blue jeans, and a black t-shirt. The t-shirt read Ask me about my big cock.

  “You fucker, she’s going to throw you out,” Knox said.

  “Let her try,” Daxton said, his eyes roaming the room. “Dad’ll love it.”

  “He might. Or he might tell you to get your ass dressed. The invitation did say black tie.”

  Daxton shrugged. “So I’ll leave. I can hang out with Phoenix anytime. I don’t need this party to tell him welcome home. I already told him that anyway.”

  Daxton gave him a dirty look then strolled towards Darcia and Phoenix, who were standing just next to where Knox’s dad was still entertaining his small group. Darcia was introducing Phoenix to some stuffed shirt and Phoenix was faking a big fucking smile. Knox watched with interest. He couldn’t wait till Daxton broke up their little party. No matter what happened, Knox was happy to see Daxton here. It had been ages since Daxton had gone anywhere but work. After that bitch, Darcy, cheated on him, all the life had seemed to have gone out of him. Knox had worried about his brother night and day, spending most weekends at his place, cooking him food and coaxing him to eat it. Bad-mouthing Darcy. Anything he could think of to get his brother back on track. He hated seeing him depressed and alone.

  Over the last few weeks, little by little, Daxton seemed to be recovering some of his old self. He’d started smiling again, joking, wearing his stupid shirts. And now he was at the kind of thing Knox knew he hated. If he was there just to fuck with his father’s girlfriend, that was even better.

  Knox watched as Daxton approached Darcia’s little group of three and squeezed in between Phoenix and the old guy. Darcia’s gaze did a once-over of Daxton, her tiny little nose already turned up. She stopped to read the words on his shirt and then her eyes widened. She grabbed the old guy by the hand and pulled him away quickly, showing him to the buffet table, throwing deadly glances over her shoulder at Daxton who was now conversing happily with Phoenix like nothing had ever happened.

  Knox smirked. Now the fireworks would start. As soon as she got the old dude out of the way she was going to go back and unload on Daxton. Knox wouldn’t miss this for the world.

  He stayed in his quiet corner and waited for the show to start. The sound of laughter and glasses tinkling washed over him, making him feel strangely nostalgic. He’d seen hundreds of parties in this room. A bitter longing swept through him as he realized he missed his mother. She should be throwing this party to welcome Phoenix home from Afghanistan, not Darcia. Darcia shouldn’t be there, using every trick she had to get his father to marry her, trying to act like their stepmother already.

  Stepmother!

  The waiter brought his highball on a tray and he took a long draw, resisting the urge to snort into the glass. Darcia Murray was a month younger than him, and she was this close to marrying his father, even while his mother wasted away in a rehabilitation center, supposedly clinically insane, refusing to say a word for years now. Even to him.

  Knox pushed away the pain that speared through him at the thought and focused on his brothers again. Darcia hadn’t returned to them yet. A yard of blonde hair caught his eye and he turned his head to follow it.

  A woman walked through the crowd on a man’s arm, their backs to Knox. She wore a tight black dress that curved away from her amazing backside. His eyes were drawn to her ass and he felt heat flood into his sex as he imagined fisting that blonde hair and tugging on it, while he buried his cock into the unknown woman, making her whimper.

  It had been too long.

  He needed a distraction from his life. She would do. He just had to get her away from her date and see if she would agree to his … requirements. Then he could spend all night distracted and sleep through tomorrow. Maybe something would change by then.

  Darcia and Daxton forgotten, he watched the couple. They made their way to the buffet table and the man began filling his plate. The blonde turned and seemed to scan the room. Recognition rocked into him. Brindi Battaini. The hot little private investigator that Hawk introduced him to last week.

  He watched her eyes as they traveled over all the males in the room. They stopped on Daxton and Phoenix and her gaze sharpened, her eyebrows pulling together. Daxton looked a lot like him. Maybe she wasn’t sure if Daxton was him. He liked that she was looking for him.

  Knox pu
lled himself upright and focused all of his attention on her, making himself tall and broad. Her eyes pulled to him and he lifted his chin and gave her a slight smile.

  She smiled broadly and waved as Knox resumed his former relaxed attitude. Would the fact that he knew her make it easier or harder for him to get her home with him? He didn’t know, but he was up for the challenge.

  He watched her say a word to her date and then walk towards him, enjoying the roll of her hips a little too much. He’d never fucked a PI before, never meeting one he wanted to. Normally, he went for soft, society women, women he met at parties like this or at his father’s club, and then took home to shake up their sheltered lives, to give them a hint of bondage and alpha sex without them having to make any decisions beyond their pleasure for the night. The way he’d perfected the game over the years, they all knew exactly what they were getting into before they ever started. One night, blindfolds and restraints, more orgasms than they’d ever had in their life, then off they went.

  Brindi reached him, practically bouncing to a stop before him. He swept his eyes down her body in a calculated move. She was hot and he wanted her to know he thought so.

  “Knox,” she said breathlessly, her smile wide. “It’s so nice to finally meet you in person.”

  She held out her hand to him. Knox took it, but turned it and brought it to his lips. “Miss Battaini,” he murmured, keeping his eyes on hers.

  “Call me Brindi.”

  “Brindi,” he said softly, her hand still held in his.

  She pulled it back and her eyes widened slightly. She was getting the point already.

  “Th-Thank you so much for getting me an invite. A party like this is a great opportunity for me.” She stammered at first, but then regained her composure.

  “Anytime,” he said, cocking his eyebrow in a practiced gesture. He’d seen the effect it had on women before. It was his go-to move.

  Her smile faltered as she stared at him, trying to figure him out. “I-I brought a date, because, well because…”

  Her voice trailed off, as if she wasn’t even sure what she was doing. She looked nervously over her shoulder at her date, who was still perusing the food, blissfully unaware of the electricity Knox felt passing between him and Brindi.

  He smiled at her, tracing the line of her lips with his gaze. “I generally keep my dance card open,” he said. “But I’m regretting that. I should have brought you myself.”

  Brindi turned her head slightly and stared at him aslant, assessing him. He opened his hands. What you see is what you get.

  Brindi’s eyes narrowed. He could almost read her doubts in her face. She had heard something about him. She watched him like she would watch a suspect. “I hope everything turned out ok for your friend, Hawk.”

  Knox smiled broadly, genuinely. “It did. We found the guy who blew up his house. Everything’s back to normal now. Thanks for your help.”

  Brindi relaxed too. “That’s wonderful.” She looked over her shoulder again and saw her date searching the room for her. He found her and lifted a tentative hand. She waved back and raised a finger. One minute. When she turned back to Knox he could see the disappointment on her face. She wanted to stay with him. All he had to do was get rid of the guy somehow and tonight was a done deal for them. His night was spoken for.

  “I better get back to…” She cocked her head back the way she had come and Knox nodded, letting her off the hook, for now. He’d follow her in a few moments, see what the situation was.

  “I’ll come introduce myself to your fella in a minute,” he said slowly, his voice pitched low, seductive.

  “Oh good. Ok then.” She gave him a nervous half-wave and turned to walk away. Knox watched her go, knowing her cheeks were heating as she felt his eyes on her. He could see it in the new tension in her hips. She passed through the throngs of people, and when her lower half was blocked from his vision, his eyes crawled the crowds again, looking for his brothers or Darcia. He’d probably missed the explosion. But no one had yelled or screamed or cried or thrown anything, so there must not have been much to miss.

  For the second time that evening his wandering gaze was caught by a woman. Knox paused in the act of lifting his drink to his mouth, his eyes locking on the brunette standing alone in another corner, nervously shifting her feet. Her! Even as he thought it, he knew it wasn’t her. This woman was too tall, and her cheekbones were shaped differently. But the same gentle demeanor seemed to accompany her, even from all the way across the room. Her lips twisted in the same perpetual pout that made him want to kiss them, taste them, devour them.

  Studying the woman in the corner made Knox’s mind wander to that night on the train ten years ago for the first time in months. To the sweet, soft woman who had yielded herself to him so completely. To the last woman he’d ever trusted. To the night of tender, consuming passion that every experience he’d had since had been measured against.

  Oh Rachel, he thought for what felt like the millionth time. What happened to you? Why didn’t you listen to me? Where are you? Alive? Dead? Do you ever think of me?

  He watched the mystery woman, thinking about those stolen moments so many years ago and wondered if his life would be different if she hadn’t disappeared. If he would have had a chance to get to know her. To bring her home. To protect her. To learn her secrets.

  Maybe he wouldn’t have so many secrets of his own right now. Maybe there would be more to his life than his current, twisted view.

  Knox put his drink down on a table and crossed the room to the brunette, Brindi all but forgotten.

  The brunette wasn’t Rachel, but she looked enough like her that if he tried hard enough, maybe he could recapture just a little bit of the magic from that night.

  Chapter 2

  Mica

  Mica Nichols sat straight up in her bed, nervous energy already filling her. She blinked her eyes and looked around the room. Everything seemed to be in its place. Soft sunset light shone in through the window. She’d pulled an all-nighter the day before, trying to prepare for her runway show in a few days. She did that often when they got close, especially when things started going wrong, like everything seemed to have yesterday. She’d worked all night on last minute alterations, preferring to do her creative work at night anyway, less distractions. She let her assistant take care of the administrative work during the day. She hated dealing with people when a show was coming up.

  She’d made it till 10 that morning, then stumbled home to fall into bed for a few hours of sleep. Now she would head into work, meet with Justin for a few hours, finalize whatever she could, then try to get back on a bit more of a normal schedule.

  Mica turned to the nightstand next to her bed, her eyes traveling along the gun safe. A war raged inside her.

  Take the gun? Leave the gun?

  She got up and used the adjoining bathroom, giving herself more time to decide, then returned and stared at the gun safe. Sighing heavily, she slid her fingers into the grooves designed to read her fingerprints. She jumped slightly as the door popped open, revealing the cold, deadly steel.

  Mica reached in and took the gun, then walked to her bedroom door and unlocked it, hating not feeling safe in her own house. It wasn’t right. If there was anywhere that she should feel completely safe, it was there. But the bastard had ruined that for her. Shattered any sense of security she’d managed to build up over that last decade.

  She hated him for it. Hated him like fire. She almost wished he would show up inside her house so she could kill him herself. Would she ever feel safe again until he was dead? Probably not.

  She’d been foolish to think she’d ever been safe from him, and on some level she’d always known it. That’s why she’d taken the gun classes, and the karate classes. Not that she had a chance against him without a weapon. He was too huge. Too mean. Too strong. Too insane. But still, the karate classes made her feel she could at least go down fighting.

  Mica padded down her hallway, her eyes sw
inging left and right, looking in every room. The house felt empty. Good. She held the gun at her side, liking the weight of it, the deadly reminder of it at the end of her hand. But who was she kidding? She’d trained to fire the gun, but shooting at paper targets and tin cans was nothing compared to putting a bullet through flesh and bone. Would she even be able to do it if it came down to that? She shivered, hoping she never had to find out. But then her mind rebelled. If she never found out, just how exactly was this ordeal going to end? Maybe Dick would just drop dead of a heart attack? Or laugh and say, just kidding! I don’t really want to terrorize you until you break and give me every cent you’ve ever earned! Not likely.

  Sighing, Mica entered her kitchen, all the lights already blazing. She hadn’t turned a light off since this all started. She peeked behind the door and around the corner of the L-shaped dining area. Empty. Quiet. Maybe she should get a dog. That might make her feel safer. But she’d been through this before. She flew to San Francisco and stayed in her townhouse there at least twice a month. She couldn’t take the dog on the airplane. Not a big dog anyway. The drive from Seattle to San Francisco was twelve hours. Way too long. No dog.

  Satisfied she was safe for the moment, Mica placed the gun gently on the counter, grabbed a sparkling water out of the fridge and walked to her message machine where two messages blinked up at her. She twisted the top off her bottle and took a long swallow while pressing the button for the machine with her other hand. Her assistant’s voice boomed out at her.