Billionaire's Bargain

Jackson's mouth devoured Ava's with overwhelming possession. His large hands cupped her face, tilting her head to deepen their searing kiss. She could taste the sweet cinnamon of his tongue as it invaded her, stoking her body into feverish surrender.

This wasn't some sloppy, drunken make-out at a dive bar. No, Jackson Reynolds kissed like a man who'd been starving for decades - ravenous for her, claiming her utterly as his own. The demanding flex of his sculpted lips and the prickle of his day-old stubble set every one of Ava's nerves alight.

She knew this was so wrong - that she should be shoving him off with every ounce of strength. Calling for security, running as far from his ravenous clutches as possible. But instead, her fingers tangled into that thick, glossy hair as a helpless whimper escaped her lips.

How could she possibly resist the earth-scorching passion of a billionaire alpha like Jackson? A man who had the world and everything in it at his feet, yet craved her specifically with such ferocious, undeniable intensity?

His palms slid down to her waist, molding her supple body flush against his powerful frame. Ava could feel the scorching heat and rigid contours of his arousal straining against her lower abdomen. He growled low in his throat, rocking those chiseled hips in a slow grind that made her shudder.

"Such a smart mouth on my little wife," he rasped against the corner of her mouth. "So many dirty, shameless vows for me to remind you of."

One hand crept up to capture her breast, kneading the heavy swell through the terry cloth. Her nipple constricted to an aching peak under his rough palm.

"For starters, you promised to stay completely naked at all times in my home," he rumbled darkly. "Ready and available for your husband to ravish whenever the slightest whim strikes me."

As if to illustrate his words, Jackson shrugged aside the front of Ava's robe with ease, baring her to his rakish inspection. She gasped as the cool air caressed her tingling skin, thrust into the open for his carnal gratification. His broad palm ghosted up her ribcage to cup her bare, heavy breast once more - this time with nothing between his callused fingers and her sensitive, puckered flesh.

"So creamy and perfect," he growled in approval, squeezing the pliant mound possessively. "Made to fill my hands, aren't they? To weigh and taunt me as those rosy little nipples harden under my tongue."

He emphasized the last words by plucking her rigid peak between his thumb and forefinger, tugging firmly. Ava smothered a breathless gasp at the delicious frisson of pleasure-pain sparking through her. Jackson chuckled low and wicked.

"I can see that delirious little vow played quite vividly in your drunken fantasies, wife. Do give me the unvarnished version, won't you?"

He leaned closer, his seeking mouth hovering a breath from her parted lips.

"Tell your husband exactly how badly his bride craves being put on display for his depraved indulgence."

A shudder racked Ava's core as the words dissolved into humid panting against her flesh. She could no more resist his carnal temptation than the ocean itself could defy the moon's gravitational pull. This devastatingly virile billionaire sent her rocketing into a dark, wanton oblivion with nothing more than whiskey-rough endearments and a rough tweak of her nipple.

As if in a trance, she found herself answering him in a voice already hoarse with longing.

"I was drunk and stupid. I wanted to be your nasty little slut, stripped bare for you to use and defile however you s-saw fit..."

Jackson groaned in masculine approval, slanting his mouth over hers once more. His tongue did indeed defile her - twisting and flaying her senses till coherent thought was extinguished in lust's scorching conflagration. All that existed was the furnace of his body searing hers, ensuring every virgin inch would bear the brand of his possession.

"Yes, my feisty bride, yes," he growled between the bruising, lavish strokes of his mouth. "You'll have my dominion in your very bones soon enough, mark my—"

A loud, grating buzz filled the hallway, shattering the thick erotic miasma enveloping them. Ava jolted, suddenly struggling against Jackson's unyielding arms as a new rush of humiliated shame flooded her.

"G-get off me...someone's here!" she protested weakly, squirming from his lush, brutal kisses.

Eyes dark as sin slitted open and pierced hers.

"That's just the staff entrance to these guest quarters," Jackson husked, nuzzling deeper into the messy fragrance of her hair. "Give the order and my men can wait outside indefinitely. Or simply dispose of any unwanted intruders..."

His palm drifted down the valley between her breasts in a scorching caress. Ava's knees nearly buckled at his dark implications - both the threat of violence he could unleash, and the vile, wanton treatment he intended for her body.

"This is my home, Ava. My rules. And my newest...favorite toy." Those dangerous eyes glittered. "No one enters what's mine, unless I desire their presence. Just as no one is allowed to resist my decadent little marital privileges."

Another insistent buzz rang out, louder and more demanding now.

"God dammit—" Jackson snarled, pushing off Ava as if she were suddenly scalding hot iron. He snatched up the plush white robe pooled at her feet and thrust it over her shoulders, haphazardly retying the belt.

"Stay here until I've dealt with this disturbance, wife," he growled into her dazed face. "Any more disobedience and you'll find new meaning in the term punishment."

With a final smoldering look of sheer masculine possession, he spun on his heel and stalked toward the sumptuous guest suite's main entrance. Throwing it open disdainfully, he barked into the hallway.

"This had better be a matter of court injunction or mortal injury, Collins! I made it exquisitely clear all morning that my bride is not to be—"

A tall, rawboned figure appeared in the doorway, his gruff features inscrutable. Ava felt her heart plummet, recognizing the dapper gentleman from the estate grounds earlier. The one who'd assumed she was simply a morning-after fling to be disposed of.

What in God's name could this officious staffer possibly have to discuss with Jackson that was more vital than demanding sex?!

"I apologize for the interruption, sir. But I wouldn't have disturbed you if this weren't a matter of the gravest urgency."

The older staffer leveled a gimlet eye at Ava, then shifted his hawk-eyed focus back to Jackson.

"Harrison Drew is here at the main gate. He's demanding an audience with his client, which we both know is...well, you."

Jackson's expression congealed into a mask of chiseled fury, while Ava was left reeling in abject confusion. She'd never seen him so volcanic, not even when he was two seconds from ravishing her moments ago.

"Did he say what in the hell this is regarding?" the billionaire grated, prowling to the drawn velvet drapes and staring out at the estate's winding approach.

"Only that you would want to discuss the matters he's brought with him. In person, and at once." Collins gave a barely perceptible grimace. "It seems the situation has escalated severely since you spoke with him last."

Jackson whirled back to level that dark glare at his staffer. "Then why the blazes didn't you say so immediately and escort the bastard to me, rather than blast through my private quarters?!"

He snatched a hand through that shining black hair, temporarily rattling his poise. When his gaze flicked to Ava, she braced herself for another barrage of commands or verbal savagery.

Instead, he only muttered, "See that my wife is outfitted properly for receiving guests of the highest caliber. This situation must be handled at once."

Then he stormed past the staffer without a backward glance, his broad shoulders taut beneath that sumptuous