The Billionaire's Lure
Investigative journalist Justine Sky will go to great lengths to find out the truth. Even if it means rubbing elbows with the city's most feared billionaire.
As a prime time crime solver, she’s tackled a great deal of scandals during her career, but nothing could prepare her for a life with Bentley Thomas. Because of his criminal past and merciless ambition to get to the top, Bentley has been the scapegoat for the people of Westlake, Texas. With all fingers pointing to him as Ivy Smith’s slayer, Justine becomes hellbent on exposing him.
After pulling strings to get an invite into his mysterious world of luxury, Justine enters, thinking she'll be met by a cold and vicious mobster. Instead, he reels her in with soft charm and a passion that catches her off guard. Their chemistry is automatic, and Bentley is more of a hopeless romantic than she ever thought he could be.
However, even though he's quite the charmer, Bentley does harbor secrets of his own. When Justine learns that he might have been the last person to see Ivy alive, her doubt settles in once again. It's her relentless fight for the truth and growing love for Bentley that makes her dig deeper. Only to find out that the killer is someone she knows very well.
As the danger of the investigation sneaks closer, Justine is caught in a deadly game of ransom, and Bentley doesn’t hesitate to risk everything he has to save her. In a world full of lies, secrets, and betrayal, she has to trust someone. But is Bentley her most dangerous enemy, or the only one who has been telling the truth?
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Chapter: Dinner For TwoI got home from work that evening, and the billionaire himself was waiting at my doorstep.I thought he was done with me for good. I thought if I wanted to contact him again, I had to go through his lawyer.However, we both thought wrong. Our passion and desire for one another wouldn’t let either of us stay away. The lure was too strong, and the lust was too addicting.“What are you doing here?” I asked. “I thought your lawyer would be taking my calls from now on.”He ignored me, took my keys and bag from my hand, and opened my front door as if he lived there. I followed him inside and locked us in, while he held on tight to the silent treatment.I hated being ignored. I hated it being so quiet when there was so much to say. Yet Bentley made the game fun. It was interesting and intense. Sexy and tempting. But it was a game I didn’t want to play all night.“Are you gonna say anything?” I asked. “If not, you can leave. I’ll get ready for bed so that I can get an early start on my invest
Last Updated: 2024-11-27
Chapter: Another Reason To Walk AwayAnother victim. Another story. Another reason to walk away.I called Bentley immediately after leaving Silvia’s home. He said he had already heard because her parents called him, pointing fingers. They felt he was the one to blame because she worked for him, and honestly, I felt the same way.It made sense. She talked to me about what she knew, which wasn’t much, but he didn’t know that.My immediate thoughts were that Bentley had eyes on every single one of his employees, so he knew that I had talked to her, and he wanted to silence her before she said too much.He swore he didn’t. He swore he was nowhere near Silvia’s home or had anyone else take care of his dirty work. I wanted to believe him so badly. I wanted to trust him. But my decision shifted from one side to the other.“You have to know something,” I said. “There’s no way two people who are tied to your club lose their lives so close to each other and you don’t know a thing about it. Why? Huh? Why Silvia? Were you afraid she
Last Updated: 2024-11-27
Chapter: The Price of Knowing“I take it your visit went as planned?”Fredrick stood near his SUV smoking a cigarette, eyeballing my ruffled shirt and messy hair when I returned.I felt a little embarrassed that I was figured out. But I owned it.“It went fine,” I said as he opened the door for me to get inside. “Do you feel like being my chauffeur for one more stop?”He extended his hand with a mischievous grin on his face and said, “Where to Mrs. Thomas?”I had never envisioned myself as a wife. Especially not to a man who wasn’t even my boyfriend.Yet, the name had a nice ring to it. Mrs. Thomas. But it was much too soon for marriage talk. Although I did picture Bentley and me standing at an alter, ready to say our I-do's, and got butterflies.“Just drive the car," I laughed. "I’ll tell you where to go.”I put my sunglasses on and rode my chariot all the way to Silvia’s place.I wanted to talk to her alone, without Rodger, and see if she’d elaborate more on what she said about him.He had a very distinctive look
Last Updated: 2024-11-26
Chapter: The Meeting Can WaitI left work early that day.When I called Bentley to see if he wanted to sit down and talk more about the article, he ignored my calls.With good reason, I guess.I was pretty mean to him in my office when he was only trying to help. But I didn't see it that way at the time. I thought he was looking for another reason to do something reckless, as the reckless billionaire does.I called him twice more before I decided to give Fredrick a call and make my own move on Bentley. To my surprise, he answered with cheer in his voice and was more than willing to help me out.“You know this is crazy, right?” he said as he drove me to one of Bentley’s establishments. “He doesn’t like his meetings being interrupted. I’ve seen people get dusted for that.”Dusted was something I had no desire to know the meaning of. My focus was on the man in charge. For some reason, I craved him more when he ignored me. Or when he was busy, I should say. Because I wasn't sure that he was ignoring me, I just assumed
Last Updated: 2024-11-26
Chapter: Playing With FireBentley stormed out on me. He was angry and disappointed.He wanted me to stand up for myself and him because he swore he was innocent. But I couldn't make that call so soon.He questioned why I ever slept with him if I didn't trust him, and I asked myself the same thing. I don’t know why I did it. Did I enjoy it? Very much so. But he and Rodger were right. I was playing with fire.“What was that all about?” Marcia entered my office with concern on her face. “Things looked pretty heated between you two.”I sighed and lowered my head.Telling her about my night with Bentley was out of the question because I knew how much she gossiped, but somehow she pieced it together on her own.“Is that who had you in such a good mood earlier!?” she gasped. “OMG! No way, Justine! You did not sleep with the very man you’re investigating!”“Shh!” I hissed. “Lower your voice before someone hears you.”Her eyes were as wide as her smile, and her thirst to know every single detail was even wider.“Wow, yo
Last Updated: 2024-11-26
Chapter: Caught In The SpotlightMy office door flung open unexpectedly.I thought I would look up from my report and see Rodger huffing and puffing a second time about my own personal choices. But it was Bentley.He stood there, half smirking as he watched me close my notebook to attend to him. There were no flowers in his hand or any fancy gifts that time, but that didn’t stop me from thinking he had stopped by as a sweet gesture.Tina, Marcia, and Mandy were all standing outside my window peering in, making googly eyed faces, and fanning themselves.I playfully shooed them away to no avail, while Bentley made himself comfortable in the seat in front of my desk.For a moment, he sat there, staring at me through piercing eyes. I thought he would tell me he was done answering my questions and to never contact him again.Until he finally spoke and put me out of my misery.“So, this is it, huh? Where all the magic happens and crimes are solved.”I put down my pen and rested back against my chair.“Yeah. This is it,” I
Last Updated: 2024-11-25