Paris With The Billionaire: An Instalove Possessive Age Gap Romance Read online

  But he slides his hands around my hips and pulls me into an embrace. I collapse against him, wrapping my arms around his rock hard shoulders, clawing onto the muscled terrain of his back.

  He presses his lips against my cheek, hot and captivating, and then smooths them around until our lips meet in a conflagration of want and need. I moan through the kiss, digging my fingernails into his suit jacket, trying to get to the solid skin beneath.

  As our tongues dance and sizzle together, I remember how he loomed over my bed in his underwear, his body heaving, muscled, every inch of him looking as if he was carved from marble.

  He growls, muffled, and I let out another shivering moan.

  My body is alight with a thousand sensations, but nothing is more potent than the throbbing of my sex, my panties getting soaked as my body screams at me to mount him right here, to ride him until he’s exploded his seed inside of me.

  The bell above the door interrupts us.

  He leans back, smirking.

  “We’re going to continue this,” he growls, kissing the edge of my mouth. “But first—the snails.”

  He stands up and walks to the staircase railing, laying his fists against it.

  “You’re not the waiter,” he says, his voice suddenly dead-calm.

  “I’m here for Fiona,” the man says, and the world suddenly drops out beneath me.

  I recognize that gravelly voice.

  I recognize the arrogance shimmering in each word he speaks.

  It’s the voice I heard under the bleachers, the voice that belongs to his taunting leer.

  “And I’m not leaving without her,” Zack Sykes says.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Forrest

  A vein pulses in my throat, as though all the rage coursing through me is going to explode out of that specific point. The wood of the railing creaks and whines as I grip it harder, glaring down into the lowlight at the piece of shit interrupting the most important dinner of my life.

  He’s tall, around my height, and wide and thick-muscled. But he has a swollen look about him I recognize from my volunteer work at the self-defense gym back home.

  Some of the teenagers sometimes try and seek shortcuts, taking steroids, ballooning themselves up rather than take the hard path and do it properly.

  I try to help those kids as much as I can, but I won’t have junkies in my class. Once they’ve rehabilitated – which I pay for – they’re more than welcome to return.

  This man probably has forty pounds on me, all of it artificially gained.

  He has short black hair cut bald on the sides, and he’s wearing a loud blue suit with an even louder gold watch glinting at his wrist. His teeth shine luminous, as though he’s whitened them.

  “You’re not touching my woman,” I snarl.

  The man flinches.

  “Your woman?” he growls.

  Behind me, Fiona lets out a whimper that causes more daggers of fury to lance painfully through me.

  We were just having a romantic dinner, and now we’ve got to deal with this shit bag.

  “Forrest,” she whispers. “That’s him. That’s Zack Sykes.”

  Fuck.

  “My woman,” I say, nodding. “So you better leave before I lose my patience.”

  “Do you have any idea who I am?”

  “A two-bit criminal who thinks he’s tough.”

  “No, no, no,” he says, cackling wildly.

  He sounds deranged, or like he’s on something.

  Or both.

  “I’m a big fish, Mr. Ford, a big fish indeed. You might want to be careful how you talk to me. I’ve been patient with Fiona for a long time now, but she’s starting to really piss me off. I mean, what else does she want from me? I follow her to Paris, for Christ’s sake. If that’s not love, what is?”

  “You might have a point,” I say, as the wood creaks and whines and starts to splinter in my hands. “If she felt the same way. But she doesn’t. She wants nothing to do with you. So it’s time for you to leave.”

  “How did you find me?” Fiona cries, walking up beside me. “How did you know I was here?”

  “Your idiot mother posted about it on social media,” he grins, clearly proud of himself. “So off to Paris I came. And then what do I see in the online tabloids, but my little angel walking through one of Paris’ most exclusive restaurants with Forrest Ford. That gave me quite the shock, that you’d cheat on me like that, betray my trust like that. But I’m ready to forgive you.”

  “You’re sick,” Fiona whispers.

  “Send her down here,” Zack says, glaring at me. “Or this is going to get really, really bad for you.”

  “Fiona’s her own woman,” I snap. “I don’t send her anywhere. If she wants to go with you, she’s welcome to.”

  “I thought she said she was your woman?”

  “She is,” I snarl. “But I’m not her puppet master. And I haven’t told you what’d happen if she did leave with you tonight.”

  “Yeah? And what’s that, tough guy?”

  “I’ll beat you to death.”

  He forces laughter, clasping his sides, but I can read the uncertainty in his eyes even from up here.

  “I’ve got boys coming from the States,” he says. “They’ll be arriving very soon. I’d rather not make this ugly.”

  “Then you’re an idiot,” I tell him. “You should’ve waited until you already had backup. Now you’ve played your hand. You couldn’t have honestly believed I was just going to let you kidnap my woman?”

  “I have money,” he says.

  “He’s a billionaire, you idiot,” Fiona yells, her voice wavering. “How can you be so stupid?”

  “I’ll make you pay for that, my sweet Fi-Fi.”

  “Don’t call me that,” she hisses.

  “Didn’t she tell you?” Zack cackles. “We used to be lovebirds. That was my little pet name for her. My sweet Fi-Fi. I’m going to whisper it in her ear when I claim her juicy wet—”

  I vault over the banister, sailing through the air. The impact thunders up my legs, my knees shaking, but I show no signs of pain as I rise to my full height and slowly walk over to Zack.

  My instincts are primed, ready for war.

  Drums beat in my skull, heavy and impossible to ignore.

  Zack steps back, his coward’s eyes widening, his mouth opening and closing like a fish.

  He fumbles in his pocket and brings out a switchblade, opening it with a hiss.

  “I’ll c-cut you,” he snaps. “Stay there.”

  “It’s time for you to leave,” I snarl, as he backs himself all the way up to the door.

  He bumps into it and the bell gives a small rattle.

  “Or I’ll take that knife and shove it down your throat. And if you ever come near my woman again, I’ll kill you. I’ll fucking end you. Leave. Now.”

  “This isn’t over,” he blubbers, fumbling with the door handle, making a pathetic whining noise as he stumbles into the night.

  I stride to the door and watch him scuttle down the street.

  Once I’m certain he’s gone I go back inside and lock the door.

  I find Fiona at the top of the stairs, gripping the railing as tremors move through her body, making her look as if she’s going to burst into tears at any moment.

  My chest goes tight seeing her like this, rage thundering through me at the notion that some asshole could just march in here and ruin our evening like this.

  I pace over to her and wrap my arms around her from behind, pulling her close to me. She shivers against me, letting out a strangled croaking noise.

  “Can we go back to the room?” she whispers. “I don’t think I want to be here anymore.”

  “Of course,” I tell her. “I need to make arrangements, anyway.”

  “What sort of arrangements?” she murmurs.

  “Protection,” I tell her. “I’ll put a security detail on us both from now on. They’ll stay at a distance, but they’ll be ready to apprehend Zack
or any of his hired goons if he’s stupid enough to show his face again. And I think we should put protection on your family, too. Just to be safe.”

  “I can’t believe this is happening,” she murmurs.

  “I know,” I sigh. “But it is, and I wouldn’t forgive myself if anything happened to you, your mother, or your sister. They’re going to be my family one day, Fiona.”

  She turns in my embrace, gazing up at me with tears glistening in her eyes. But my woman is doing a good job at holding them back, so the tears stay contained within her eyes, shimmering but not falling.

  “Thank you,” she whispers. “I’m so sorr—”

  “No,” I growl, squeezing her tighter, praying I make her feel safer. “This isn’t your fault. He’s the lunatic. He’s the fucking prick. You don’t have to apologize for any of this.”

  “I should probably call my sister,” she mutters. “And my mom. I need to let them know that they’ll have people following them.”

  “Will they be angry?” I ask.

  “Pfft,” she says, shaking her head. “I doubt it. They know how dangerous Zack is. They’ll just be glad they don’t have to move again. I can’t believe he found me. Is this ever going to end, Forrest?”

  “Yes,” I growl.

  Taking her face in my hands, I lean down so that we’re staring directly into each other’s eyes.

  I gaze into the universe of her eyes.

  I never understood what it meant to lose yourself in someone’s eyes before.

  But I do now.

  “I’ll make sure it comes to an end. I’ll make sure you never have to worry about him again. Whatever happens, however long this takes, I’ll be with you every step of the way. You don’t have to be afraid of him now. He might think he’s tough because he’s got connections to organized crime, but I’ve got the best security detail in the world behind me. Ex-SEALs, ex-Army, ex-everything, these bastards have seen it all. And if they fail, if he ever tries to touch you, I’ll kill him with my own hands.”

  She bursts into tears, collapsing against my chest.

  I cradle her close, running my hand through her hair, kissing her forehead over and over again.

  I have to focus hard to make sure I don’t apply too much pressure on her. The rage is still moving through me, potent and alive, ready to spread spiraling hands and combust every part of me.

  I want to blow up and take the whole damn world with me, leaving just me and Fiona behind.

  Zack Sykes, I’m coming for you.

  She leans back, wiping tears from her eyes.

  “Shall we go?” she says.

  “Yeah,” I tell her. “We’ll eat in our room.”

  “Our room,” she giggles with a sigh. “Am I crazy if that doesn’t sound even a little bit strange to me? It feels natural. It feels right.”

  “No,” I growl. “It is right. We belong to each other.”

  “Thank you,” she whispers, resting her cheek against my chest. “When you were watching me in the café window, I’m sure you had all kinds of fantasies about what we would be like. And I’m sure none of them involved a crazy mobbed-up stalker.”

  “My little firecracker,” I whisper, my voice husky and deep and full of passion.

  I stroke my hand down her back, savoring the way she shivers beneath my touch.

  “No fantasy could be better than this, just holding you in a bookshop in Paris. Nothing can compare. And soon – when you’re ready – I’ll take you fully, completely. I’ll make you mine for the rest of our lives.”

  She tightens her grip on me.

  “I want that,” she whimpers. “I want to feel you, Forrest, all of you. Just—just not tonight, okay?”

  A savage part of me wants to roar at this, to tell my woman I’ll claim her whenever I want, however, I want.

  But, for now, at least, I have to battle down the beast inside of me.

  I have to be patient.

  Even if it’s killing me, being so close to her and not taking her, dominating her, owning her—even if it’s tearing me up inside, I know I’ve got the rest of our lives to claim her like the beast I am.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Fiona

  “I just can’t believe it,” Mom says, leaning close to the camera.

  Her wide green eyes are still glimmering with tears, and her hair is a tangled mess, so I know she’s been running her hands through it over and over like she does when she’s stressed.

  “I feel so guilty,” she goes on. “I didn’t know he could see that stuff online.”

  “Don’t be silly,” I tell her firmly, sitting up in the four poster bed, the laptop resting on my thighs. “This is his fault, Mom, not yours. He’s the lunatic.”

  “And now we’re in our apartment under armed guard. It’s all very strange.”

  “Yeah, strange,” Kelly grunts from beside her. “More like fucked up. Fucking Zack Sykes. Why can’t he just get it into his head that you’re not fucking interested?”

  “Do you have to curse so much?” Mom mutters.

  Kelly gaze meets mine in the camera, sharing a secret smile.

  It’s so Mom to worry about swearing at a time like this.

  “It’s very kind of your new friend to do this for us,” Mom says. “I don’t know what we’d do if we didn’t have his help. I suppose we’ll have to move again, won’t we?”

  “Yeah, I think so,” I murmur.

  “And Kelly will have to give up her management job,” Mom goes on, sighing. “What a mess. What a dreadful mess.”

  “Where is Forrest?” Kelly asks.

  “He’s coordinating with his security team, I think,” I say. “And he’s telling the police that they’ve got organized crime from the States in their city. It’s like a freaking spy novel. It’s crazy.”

  “But you’re safe?” Kelly asks.

  I stare hard at her.

  I can hear the question buried beneath the surface.

  Are you sure you’re safer there, with a stranger than at home with us?

  “Forrest is keeping me safe,” I tell her firmly.

  Mom waves a hand at Kelly. “I think it’s romantic,” she says.

  “You told her?” I say.

  “Of course she did,” Mom says. “I had to know why this billionaire bachelor was suddenly helping you, didn’t I?”

  “Yeah, Mom really digs it,” Kelly says, with a little eye roll. “She doesn’t think it’s creepy at all.”

  “Don’t use that word, Kelly,” I snap. “Please.”

  “Sorry,” Kelly says. “I’m just stressed out.”

  “That’s fine,” I tell her. “Just please don’t hate him. For me, okay?”

  “It would help if we could meet him,” Mom says. “This man has done so much for us. If it wasn’t for him, we’d be pulling our hair out right now wondering if Zack or his cronies were going to jump out every time we opened the front door. I won’t lie. This is a very strange situation. But even grumpy-kins over here can’t deny how much of a help he’s been.”

  I giggle at the nickname grumpy-kins. It’s what my Mom and I used to call Kelly when she got into one of her pouty moods as a kid.

  “Really?” I murmur. “Right now?”

  “No time like the present,” Kelly says, with a note of combativeness in her voice.

  Nerves swarm in my belly, twisting, tightening. I want to tell them no, that Forrest is just for me and there’s no way I’ll share him with anybody else, especially if they’re going to pick him apart and try to reduce what we have to ashes.

  But at the same time, Kelly and Mom only want the best for me. I know that. I don’t think I can refuse them.

  “I’ll ask him,” I say. “But he might be busy, you know, with his security detail or whatever.”

  Just saying the words security detail makes me feel as though I’m walking through a land of unreality.

  I walk across the lavish bedroom, the plush rugs cool on my bare feet and then head down the hallway toward the
living room. As I walk past the decorated walls, I still find it difficult to believe that I’m here.

  But then, that’s not saying much.

  It’s hard to believe that any of this is really happening.

  I find Forrest on the balcony, looking out across the city as what seems like ten thousand lights glitter all around us.

  He turns to me, his jaw tight, tension moving through him.

  “Are you okay?” I ask.

  He smirks and lets out a wry laugh.

  “I should’ve beat that man into the ground for the way he talked to you,” he says. “I can’t stop thinking about it.”

  I move close to him, placing my hand on his arm.

  I can feel the power trying to explode out of him, trying to tear his suit to pieces as though he’s a werewolf trying to break free.

  I’m shocked by how natural this feels, just placing my hand on this hulking billionaire’s arm. I never would’ve dreamed of behaving so forward before I met Forrest.

  “You did the right thing,” I tell him. “I don’t want you to end up in prison for a scumbag like Zack.”

  He nods, curling his hands around my hips and pulling me close to him. I sigh as I crash into his rock hard torso, the pressure causing my body to scream at me in protest, demanding to know why I haven’t taken this man yet.

  “How was your family?” he asks.

  “I’m still talking to them,” I tell him. “Actually, that’s why I came to find you.”

  “Okay?” he says, kissing my forehead softly, the sensation spreading over my cheeks and igniting a blush that possesses my entire face.

  “They want to talk to you—to meet you, I guess. Virtually meet, anyway. But you don’t have to. I can tell them you’re busy.”

  “No, I’d love to,” he says, his voice shivering with a huskiness.

  I look up at him, into his searing possessive eyes.

  “Really?”

  “Firecracker, I’m going to meet them sooner or later. Why not now? And I think it’d put their minds to ease to know that I only have the best intentions for you.”

  “Yeah, that was our thinking,” I mutter. “But I need to warn you …”

  “About Kelly?” he says, with a slight smirk.

  “Yeah. How did you know?”