Prologue
Jade
Five Months Ago…
“Just a few more minutes, Ms. Sinclair,” the secretary informed me as she hung up the phone. “Mr. Stone is running somewhat behind today.”
Somewhat behind?
I’d been waiting for close to an hour. I’d pretty much read every magazine in the waiting room from cover-to-cover, even the articles I wouldn’t normally bother to read. Did women really want to know how to attract a man, or how to get the attention of one of them who didn’t want to be with her?
Pretty weird articles, really. Or was I the one who didn’t really understand? Judging by my not-so-exciting dating life, maybe I should have paid more attention to all those women’s magazines. I didn’t exactly have men beating down my door to go out with me. But then, it has always been that way.
Can I have a dating slump when I never really had an incredible dating life in the first place?
Because of work and school, I’d never really been able to try out a lot of different guys, and to be honest, they hadn’t really wanted to date me, either. I’d made one major mistake in college. I either had to blame that one on complete exhaustion and stress, or admit to myself that I’d let somebody use me for two years.
I preferred the former excuse.
I don’t really want to attract a guy who doesn’t notice me the first time he meets me.
Wasn’t there supposed to be some kind of spark, some unknown recognition that somebody was my soul mate? And wouldn’t they realize it, too?
I certainly hope so, otherwise I’m waiting for something that was never going to happen.
Unfortunately, thanks to the score of women’s magazines in the room, I now knew how to get a man who didn’t want me, and what the moon and stars had in mind for my future mate according to the horoscopes.
Maybe the article about improving my orgasms would have been useful if I had any, but I could have skipped the piece on giving a guy a better blowjob.
Not exactly something I’d normally peruse, but I’d had an hour to kill, and after I’d read the interesting stuff like National Geographic, I’d still had time on my hands, so I’d pushed my way through the women’s magazines, too.
I was pretty sure I wasn’t better off because I was now armed with the wisdom on how to deal with a commitment phobic male, and I was getting restless.
I smiled and nodded at the secretary politely from my seat in the plush outer office of billionaire and business mogul, Eli Stone. It wasn’t the elderly assistant’s fault that her boss had left me waiting for way longer than anybody should have to wait for a scheduled appointment, even with a billionaire.
I’m a billionaire, too. Isn’t there some kind of unspoken courtesy thing among the mega-rich? Did one billionaire leave another one waiting for an hour to see them?
Unfortunately, I hadn’t been rich long enough to know the rules.
Mr. Stone had a net worth a lot higher than mine, but once somebody reached billionaire status, did it really matter?
I dropped the last magazine I’d finished on the table with a sigh.
I’m completely out of reading material, even the ridiculous stuff.
I tapped my foot impatiently, wondering if this was the way billionaires treated each other.
Truth was, I’d only been a billionaire for a matter of months, and I still had no idea what I was supposed to do with my newfound wealth. To be honest, all my money and investments terrified the hell out of me. I was a science and wildlife geek. Ask me any question about conservation or animal behavior, and I could go on for hours. But I had no idea what to do with a fortune.
I only knew how to live poor, so I was basically paralyzed with fear every time I glanced at my bank account and my investment portfolio. I knew I should be happy, but for some unknown reason, I wasn’t.
Through an accident of birth, and because of the father I’d never known, I’d suddenly become one of the richest women in the world. I was now a wealthy and powerful Sinclair.
Well, I’d always been a Sinclair, but the wealthy part of it—not so much. Never in a million years would I have guessed that I was related to the super-rich Sinclairs on the East Coast.
Me, my twin sister, Brooke, and my brothers Noah, Seth, Aiden and Owen had gone from being dirt poor our entire lives to having more money than God because we’d discovered that our father had been a bigamist. My father was a man who had acquired two wives, and two separate families on opposite coasts.
My siblings and I had kind of gotten the bad part of that deal. Well, financially, anyway.
It’s not that I wasn’t grateful that the East Coast Sinclairs had found our family on the West Coast. My half-brother, Evan, had brought us all together as one very large family. But our inheritance, which had made me and all of my siblings ridiculously wealthy, was still something I just wasn’t used to.
I’d invested the majority of my legacy with Evan’s help, and he still assisted me by managing my overwhelming portfolio, even though all of my half-brothers and my half-sister were on the East Coast. He’d set up my money to make more money, and I sometimes got dizzy watching it grow. And that’s pretty much all I did. I watched my fortune increase every single day. I felt too intimidated by all those zeros to do anything else.
Unlike my brothers, I didn’t much care if the money continued to multiply, and I didn’t have big plans like they did.
I wish I did. Maybe it would be easier if I was constantly busy, and planning out my future.
The only major purchase I’d made was a waterfront cottage in my hometown of Citrus Beach. Again, Evan had made that happen. I’d picked out a home I’d love to have like my half-brother had requested, and he’d pushed the sale through at a pace I found mindboggling. Really, it was a lovely house I’d much rather be enjoying right now instead of waiting on Eli Stone in the middle of downtown San Diego.
Glancing at my watch for about the millionth time, I hoped Mr. Stone would give me what I wanted, and I could make it home in time to watch the sunset. But if it took much longer, I was going to get stuck in San Diego traffic, and I wouldn’t see my house until it was already dark.
“He’s ready for you, Ms. Sinclair.” The secretary stood up as she spoke.
I rose and grabbed my purse. I was probably underdressed to be inside the Stone corporate headquarters, but at least I’d been comfortable waiting in my well-worn jeans, sandals, and a baby blue top.
I nodded at the woman who opened the enormous double doors, and then closed them behind me like a gatekeeper.
I moved forward and perched on the edge of one of the massive chairs in front of Eli Stone’s desk before I finally looked up at the man I’d waited an hour to see. I gaped at the guy I’d only seen on television or on the cover of a magazine in the supermarket.
He cleans up good.
Most of the time, Eli Stone had only gotten my attention because of the outrageous hobbies and challenges he pursued. If there was an element of danger to an activity, this man always seemed to be up for trying it.
Race car driving.
Big wave surfing.
Skydiving.
Extreme water sport challenges.
Hang gliding.
Rocketry.
For God’s sake, the guy had purchased his own rocket company and was planning on sending unmanned flights into the Milky Way shortly. From what I’d heard, Eli Stone was way ahead in the private space game, so he obviously took that pursuit seriously.
“Mr. Stone,” I said in a modulated tone. “Thank you for seeing me.”
I was pretty sure I’d never seen him in a suit since he seemed to enjoy flashing his half-naked body in his photos and videos. Personally, I found the gray suit and elegant gray and navy tie much more appealing.
Not that he didn’t look good half-naked, too. But it was pretty hard to take somebody doing an insane stunt all that seriously.
But this Eli Stone, the one sitting in front of me, had my complete attention.
He looked aloof, but he was watching me like an eagle eyes potential prey from the air right before it finally strikes. And I really didn’t like being the rabbit that he’d just spied from above.
Starting at the top of my head, he assessed me slowly. “Ms. Sinclair,” he acknowledged in a smooth baritone. “What can I do for you?”
Many things came to mind as I stared back at him, but I answered, “I sent you a proposal on the property I’d like to buy. Have you had a chance to look at it?”
I really had to stop staring into his cool, gray eyes, thinking about how well his suit matched his eye color.
For some reason, I was completely fascinated by this Eli Stone. Unlike his television persona, this man was all too real.
He made me nervous for reasons I couldn’t explain. There was tension in the air between us, even though we had never met. And I wasn’t at all comfortable with the heat that was pooling between my thighs.
I’d never been struck with instant lust. But there was something about Eli Stone that completely captivated me.
Maybe because the guy in front of me wasn’t at all what I’d expected.
He was a clown on television, and he was always smirking arrogantly in his photos. I’d expected to meet a person who took almost nothing seriously. Instead, I’d gotten a man who commanded attention just by being present in the room. And he looked like he had absolutely nothing to smile about.
I could practically smell his earthy scent, although I knew it wasn’t really traveling from his body to my nose all the way across the big desk.
Swallowing hard as he casually opened his jacket and leaned back in his chair, I waited for his reply, but he didn’t seem in any hurry to give me one.
I knew that he had a drool-worthy body. Generally, I wasn’t big on tattoos, but the tribal markings that I’d seen on his arm had always looked good on him.
Funny, but I’d never been hit with the primal urge to screw him when I’d seen his ripped body in magazines or on TV. But being up close and personal was... different.
“I didn’t read it,” he said sharply. “I’m not interested in letting go of that piece of property. It’s been in my family for decades. It’s not developable right now, although it could be in the future. My question to you is—why do you want it?”
Shit! Since the land near Lucifer’s Canyon was pretty much useless, I’d been hoping to easily convince him to part with it. Compared to the businesses, vast properties, and the land he owned, that acreage in the backcountry was less than nothing.
“I’m a wildlife genetic conservationist,” I explained. “A portion of the land is an important wildlife corridor. I’d like to make sure it’s always preserved.”
Who knew what Eli Stone would do with the land in the future? For all I knew, he’d turn it into a launching pad for his spaceflights. It was important to me to see that the passage leading from one open space to another was kept intact.
“Ah yes,” he said in a condescending tone. “The wildlife conservationist and primitive survivalist who suddenly became a Sinclair, right? I had my people check you out before I accepted your appointment. You have an interesting history.”
“I’ve always been a Sinclair,” I said through gritted teeth.
Jerk! Why in the world had he needed my life story just to tell me he didn’t want to sell some property? It had to have been the most boring report he’d ever read.
Maybe I hadn’t always been part of the high-profile Sinclairs, but my siblings and I had faced a lot of challenges, and we’d always gotten through it. I was pretty proud of that.
“Just not one of the wealthy ones until recently,” he pointed out. “The Sinclairs on the East Coast have been a powerful family for generations. How did you say you became part of that family?”
“I didn’t,” I snapped. It was none of Eli Stone’s business how I was related to the Sinclair dynasty. And my father’s bigamist behavior wasn’t something I wanted to talk about, especially not with him.
The West Coast and East Coast Sinclairs shared the same father. That’s all anybody really knew. My brothers here in California had made it a point not to turn the tragic story into a tabloid scandal. My twin sister, Brooke, had been on the East Coast recovering from her own trauma, and none of us wanted her to find out the news that she was going to inherit a fortune from the gossip papers. She needed time to heal from losing her friends and co-workers in a bank robbery where she’d nearly lost her own life as well. Brooke didn’t even know about the money yet. My siblings and I had all agreed to give her time to deal with the tragedy before throwing anything else on her.
Honestly, I was surprised that Eli had been able to dig up any information about me or my family. My half-brother, Evan, had gone to a lot of trouble to make sure nobody got to the truth until Brooke was emotionally healed and back on the West Coast again.
Evan had obviously been successful since Eli Stone apparently hadn’t been able to get access to all the details.
“I might be willing to bargain on other properties, but not that one,” he said thoughtfully.
I folded my arms in front of me. “Since that’s the only one I’m interested in, then I guess we’re done here.”
Maybe I was disappointed that I couldn’t secure the wildlife corridor, but I had the sudden need to get out from under the intensity of his stare. I was pissed off about him digging into my personal life, but I was squirming from his blatant stare. I quickly came to the conclusion that my need to escape was currently more important than my outrage.
Before I could get up, he said casually, “You’re really quite beautiful, Jade.”
That stunned me into silence, and I gaped at him as my palms began to sweat. “I don’t understand.”
His expression had changed mercurially, and so fast it was almost scary.
He smiled, a calculated grin that I was pretty sure he always used to his advantage. I was certain almost any woman would drop their panties the moment they saw his attractive smile.
Fortunately, I wasn’t almost any woman.
“It’s quite simple, actually. I find you attractive,” he answered.
Nobody had even said that to me during my twenty-six years on the planet. My twin, Brooke, was the pretty one. I was the other twin, the one who went out in the wilderness and practiced making traps, finding drinkable water, and kept adding to my survival skills.
It was something I usually did alone.
Especially after getting dumped by my one and only boyfriend in college.
I wasn’t the kind of woman that a guy did a double-take on when I walked down the street, and I was sort of okay with that. I liked being me, even if I wasn’t the kind of woman who attracted much attention with my physical appearance.
Not that I went out of my way to get noticed. I was quiet and shy by nature unless I was with friends or family. Most of the time, I preferred the company of animals instead of humans.
Yeah, I had the hope that there was a soul mate out there somewhere for me, somebody who would see me underneath my timid, tomboy exterior. But I wasn’t holding my breath until I met him.
“Can we get back to the subject of the property?” I asked, trying not to let his appreciative looks intimidate me. “If that was a firm no answer, then I won’t waste any more of your time.”
He moved forward and linked his fingers together on the desk, his intent gray eyes never straying from my face. “I make you nervous,” he observed.
“Maybe I’m not used to meeting billionaires,” I said.
He shook his dark head. “It’s not that. I don’t think you’re impressed by my money. I found it intriguing that you inherited your own fortune, but the only thing you’ve purchased was a home. In Citrus Beach. A sound investment since the area is growing fast.”
Okay. I had to admit that it was a little creepy that he knew so much about me.
“It wasn’t an investment,” I argued. “It was a home. My home. And I hope Citrus Beach never gets too big. I like it the way it is.”
I found it unnerving that he seemed to know every move that I’d made since coming into money, and that he’d had the audacity to have me investigated. Who does that just to meet with somebody about a property proposal?
My outrage was starting to take over my desire to get up and run out of Eli Stone’s office.
He shrugged. “Time marches forward, Ms. Sinclair. It’s what makes us richer. Citrus Beach will eventually grow. It’s close enough to San Diego to make it a desirable place to live.”
“I don’t need to get richer. I’m already so rich it makes me a little nauseous. I just want that piece of land.”
“The money makes you uncomfortable?” he asked.
“No,” I lied. The last thing I needed him to focus on was how uncomfortable I was with my wealth.
“You recently finished a fellowship,” he said, completely ignoring my statement. “Your education is pretty impressive. But what do you do with a degree in wildlife?”
Scratch the idea that he’d only checked out what I’d done since I’d inherited. He knew my whole damn life!
“I have a doctorate in wildlife conservation,” I corrected. “My focus is genetics. I think we can someday use genetic material to save species that can’t recover their numbers with the usual methods.”
He nodded. “Admirable. And the survivalist training?”
Was there anything that he didn’t know?
“It’s a hobby. I teach classes now because it’s something I love.” I had no idea why I felt I needed to confirm my life story with an unsettling billionaire, but the words just kept popping out of my mouth.
“I respect that.”
“I’m not looking for anybody’s esteem,” I informed him icily. “I just came to buy a piece of land. But since you’ve already refused to sell, we are done.” I stood, unable to sit still with him watching me.
He got up and moved around his desk as he said, “You’re defensive. Did I make you uncomfortable, Dr. Sinclair?”
Rarely did anyone use my doctorate title, so I hesitated, trying to decide if he was mocking me, or if he was doing it out of respect for my education.
I finally told myself it didn’t matter, and I moved toward the exit. I really needed to get the hell away from Eli Stone.
His large, powerful body stopped in front of me, blocking my path to the door, which ignited my temper. And I almost never got pissed off. But I was tired of playing whatever game he seemed to be enjoying.
I had no idea how to win this match, and I didn’t plan on being around long enough to complete it.
“As a matter of fact, yes—you did make me uncomfortable,” I replied. “I don’t appreciate anyone investigating my private life over a proposal. It was completely inappropriate and more than a little creepy.”
“You’re right,” he conceded. “But I was curious.”
“Not a good reason to invade my privacy,” I informed him coolly.
“Maybe it wasn’t,” he agreed, not sounding the least bit contrite.
Everything about this man made me squirm, and I wasn’t generally a nervous female. But Eli Stone was the most intense guy I’d ever met.
“Are you upset because I was open about the fact that I wouldn’t mind having you in my bed?”
His bluntness made my heartbeat kick faster.
Dear Lord, I’m out of my league.
I tried to keep my expression blank. I didn’t want him to have the satisfaction of knowing he could rattle me.
“Did it ever occur to you that I might not want you in mine?” I asked him indignantly. “Does every woman you know fall at your feet after you tell them that they’re attractive? Because it’s really not all that unique.”
“Did you know that your eyes get a deeper shade of blue when you’re angry?” he asked with a grin.
Dammit!
Eli Stone was playing with me, but for what purpose I didn’t know.
“Have a good day, Mr. Stone. Personally, I wish I hadn’t wasted so much of mine waiting for you when you were already certain you weren’t going to sell,” I said as I pushed around him and made my way to the door.
He caught my arm as I reached for the door handle. “I was curious as to why you wanted that property,” he explained. “Wealthy people generally don’t seek property that has very little chance of making them money someday.”
“It’s not useless. Not to me,” I argued. “In fact, it’s pretty damn important for the purpose of preserving wildlife.”
He shrugged. “I don’t know anybody who cares about that.”
“Then maybe you need to get some new friends,” I retorted.
I shook off his hold, and then turned back to him, angry that he valued nobody’s time but his own. “You could have called me and asked why I wanted it. I didn’t need to come to the city and then wait for an hour just to hear you tell me no. It’s rude. It’s inconsiderate. And it’s incredibly arrogant.”
“I guess you still need to learn that people wait for billionaires,” he stated flatly.
I put a finger to my chest. “Not this billionaire. I guess I’m just not as self-serving or conceited as you are. But I don’t like people waiting for me. It makes me feel guilty.”
I didn’t mention that I was pretty motivated by guilt all the time.
I was pretty sure that Eli Stone never suffered much from remorse, so he probably had no idea what I was talking about anyway.
“Have dinner with me, Jade,” he said, his statement a command and not a request.
“I have plans,” I threw back in his face. “And I’m hungry. I’m not willing to wait like a pathetic puppy until you decide to feed me.”
He crossed his arms in front of him with a smile, his eyes dancing with amusement. “Now that I know what a nasty temper you have, I wouldn’t dare make you wait,” he said drily. “I promise that I’ll feed you immediately.”
“I came here to make a business deal, not to spend a night in a playboy billionaire’s bed.”
“I’m not playing, Jade,” he said in a low, dangerous tone.
“Not interested,” I said angrily as I opened the door. “And you really need to get a lot more interesting reading material in your office if making people cool their heels in your waiting room is a chronic thing for you. I’m pretty sure I lost a few points off my IQ from reading your fluffy women’s magazines.”
I didn’t look back as I rushed through the door, almost certain I could hear a very male laugh as I left Eli Stone’s office like my ass was on fire.
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