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CHAPTER 16
Last Updated:
2025-03-07 07:03:52
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Billionaire secret sweep CHAPTER 17
“He was my boundless dreams, my establishing contemplations, my every day themes, and my stomach’s knots.”~Isadora PatrasSAWYER MOVED Gradually, nimbly, like a man in total control of himself. Closing the entryway, he held up a beat some time recently confronting her. It gave her sufficient time to piece together what likely happened.Lucian would have dropped off Toni some time recently picking up Slade, which implied Sawyer knew where everybody was, but more vitally, he knew she was alone and would be until morning.“Can I take your coat?”His look held hers as he carried off his coat and a moderate jitter of nerves fell into her stomach at that point swooped into her chest, kicking her heart into overdrive. “You’re in your robe. I ought to have called.”“I wasn’t beyond any doubt you knew how to utilize a phone after three months of silence.”He recoiled. “I owe you an apology.”Was he too bad he hadn’t called or too bad they rested together in the to begin with put? She held up,
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The delicate hair at his sanctuaries prodded her thighs as he moved lower. There was a sense of direness between them that increased each sensation. The to begin with lash of his tongue against her sex had her moaning. More of the pressure from the past few months blurred absent, supplanted with substantial satisfaction.His huge hands measured her foot, holding her sex to his skilled mouth. She writhed underneath him, as the require to have him interior of her filled her with a burning ache.“I require you, Sawyer.”“Not yet,” he whispered, warm breath fanning against her tissue, driving her higher, closer to that slope of delight. His fingers returned to her areolas, pulling and strumming delicately over her most delicate spots.His experienced touch freed her. She curved into him and groaned, as he worked a consistent beat. She peaked a wave of unequivocal sensation and shattered.Her body shook as he kissed up her paunch, whispering delicate words of crave. “Bella … wonderful bell
Last Updated : 2025-03-07Billionaire secret sweep CHAPTER 19
The intellect is its possess place,And in itself can make a paradise of hell, A hell of heaven.”John MiltonParadise LostTHE Another MORNING, Isadora got up alone. She’d anticipated as much, and told herself any sense of embitterment was unseemly. Her body throbbed in mystery places, but with each twinge came a sense of happiness.Moments from the night some time recently played through her intellect, clearing out her with a unfaltering become flushed that wouldn’t blur. Indeed as she gazed at the pages of her most current novel, her intellect floated to fantasies between each line, fantasies that had been her reality as it were hours before.“You’re calm today.”Lifting her look from the novel in her hand, she looked at Lucian. “I’m reading.”His eyes contracted. Now and then Lucian was as well keen, as well all knowing. Looking for a diversion, she inquired, “Did you have fun final night?”He gestured. “We really ran into Vivian.”Vivian Callahan, Shamus’s sister, was an ancient
Last Updated : 2025-03-07Billionaire secret sweep CHAPTER 20
Sawyer called the Monday after the boys returned to school. He needed to see her once more, but in her brother’s nonappearance there appeared a highlight on her each movement. Not that Toni was concerned with her ancient, boring sister’s individual life—she had her possess life—but it didn’t go unnoticed when Isadora abruptly declared she was going out after not going anyplace in … forever.“Can I come with you?”“No, it’s a school night and you have homework.”Toni jeered. “I have to ponder. That’ll take two seconds.”“Maybe if you took more than two seconds you seem get that B short up to an A.”“Where are you going anyway?”Isadora objected with her shirt, not enjoying the way it listed in the front.Returning to her closet she said, “Out with friends.” “What companions? You don’t have any friends.”Silently tallying to ten, she changed into another shirt. “I have friends.” “Who?”She couldn’t think of a single convincing individual, so she made one up. “Susan.”“Who’s Susan?”“You
Last Updated : 2025-03-07Billionaire secret sweep CHAPTER 1
Prologue“If the only mark I leave upon this earth is the indelible caress of my whispered name within the downbeats of your heart, I will be satisfied.”Fiona SummervilleOnly Dark Around the EdgesTHERE IS a moment in every woman’s life, be her a queen or a pawn, when she is taken so off guard the game is forever changed. Isadora Patras should have been shockproof by now, but as the pieces fell, exposing her once again to the excruciating agony of loss, her hard earned fortitude slipped and she surrendered. Game over.Her lungs constricted around each draw of perfumed air as she pivoted away from her brother, Lucian. Dizzy, she flinched, each onlooker’s stare stabbing through her thin veneer of composure. Too many strangers.“Isadora?”She couldn’t whisper a single excuse to Lucian as she turned. She needed to escape. Keeping her head down she rushed toward the doorway, against the current of bodies approaching.Her life flashed painfully through her mind with kaleidoscope glimpses
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“Perhaps the freedom of flying in the boundless sky is but a lonesome fall through nothingness.”~Emily PatrasTHIRTEEN YEARS Earlier“Where were you?” Isadora called from the foot of the grand staircase, stilling her younger brother’s fleeting steps. She held onto resolute hope to get to the bottom of his recent rebellion.Shirttail askew, Lucian turned with a penetrating scowl that, had she not been anticipating his defiance, would have taken her a step back. “You’re not my keeper, Isadora.”Her heart stammered in her chest, his words cutting to the shabby roots running beneath their family tree like corroded veins. Tangled and rotted, an abandoned place since their mother had passed away eight years ago.Daunting men had always overshadowed the little authority Isadora assumed, and her younger brother’s independence was rapidly dwarfing hers. But she was still his guardian, and as such, it was her sole duty to protect him—even from himself.“Don’t walk away from me, Lucian.”“Then
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“From the nest they must fall.”~Isadora PatrasIN THE WEEKS leading up to Lucian’s departure, Isadora savored any moment her brother graced their home with his presence, though such instances were few and far between. She chose her battles carefully. No longer waiting up in the kitchen at night, but rather, worrying from her bed and only resting once the shuffle of his footsteps echoed through the house, announcing he’d returned home safe and sound.Soon enough he’d be on his own and she didn’t want to be an enemy he left behind. But she loved him and that meant worrying about him and suffering silently.He was changing and that was changing her, too. It had always been the three of them and every day that passed he amputated more of his part of the puzzle from their whole.Dominant men, like her father, could not be told what to do. Lucian was no different and she sympathized with any woman who dared to love him in the future. The impenetrable armor he’d donned since becoming an adu
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Pretending to be affronted, Shamus scoffed. “Well … maybe I’ll transfer. Luche is stealing all the attention and the last thing he needs is a bigger ego.”That penetrated her sister’s false indifference. “Don’t you dare!”Shamus laughed and nudged her shoulder. “I’d never.” He gave her a playful wink. “You know what today feels like?”Toni hung on his every word. “What?”“Ice cream. How about we take a ride into the city? You and Isa put on fancy clothes and we’ll make dinner reservations at your dad’s hotel, but we’ll only order off the dessert menu.”The pinch surrounding Isadora’s heart eased as Toni’s eyes cleared, her cheeks stretching into a wide grin. “What about supper?”Shamus lovingly knocked a knuckle against her upturned chin. “Some situations call for special exceptions. What do you say we go break the rules of good social conduct?”“Isa, can we?” Toni bounced with enthusiastic impatience.“Why don’t you and Shamus go? Have fun. I think I’m going to rest.” “You’re never a
Last Updated : 2025-02-11
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Billionaire secret sweep CHAPTER 20
Sawyer called the Monday after the boys returned to school. He needed to see her once more, but in her brother’s nonappearance there appeared a highlight on her each movement. Not that Toni was concerned with her ancient, boring sister’s individual life—she had her possess life—but it didn’t go unnoticed when Isadora abruptly declared she was going out after not going anyplace in … forever.“Can I come with you?”“No, it’s a school night and you have homework.”Toni jeered. “I have to ponder. That’ll take two seconds.”“Maybe if you took more than two seconds you seem get that B short up to an A.”“Where are you going anyway?”Isadora objected with her shirt, not enjoying the way it listed in the front.Returning to her closet she said, “Out with friends.” “What companions? You don’t have any friends.”Silently tallying to ten, she changed into another shirt. “I have friends.” “Who?”She couldn’t think of a single convincing individual, so she made one up. “Susan.”“Who’s Susan?”“You
Billionaire secret sweep CHAPTER 19
The intellect is its possess place,And in itself can make a paradise of hell, A hell of heaven.”John MiltonParadise LostTHE Another MORNING, Isadora got up alone. She’d anticipated as much, and told herself any sense of embitterment was unseemly. Her body throbbed in mystery places, but with each twinge came a sense of happiness.Moments from the night some time recently played through her intellect, clearing out her with a unfaltering become flushed that wouldn’t blur. Indeed as she gazed at the pages of her most current novel, her intellect floated to fantasies between each line, fantasies that had been her reality as it were hours before.“You’re calm today.”Lifting her look from the novel in her hand, she looked at Lucian. “I’m reading.”His eyes contracted. Now and then Lucian was as well keen, as well all knowing. Looking for a diversion, she inquired, “Did you have fun final night?”He gestured. “We really ran into Vivian.”Vivian Callahan, Shamus’s sister, was an ancient
Billionaire secret sweep CHAPTER 18
The delicate hair at his sanctuaries prodded her thighs as he moved lower. There was a sense of direness between them that increased each sensation. The to begin with lash of his tongue against her sex had her moaning. More of the pressure from the past few months blurred absent, supplanted with substantial satisfaction.His huge hands measured her foot, holding her sex to his skilled mouth. She writhed underneath him, as the require to have him interior of her filled her with a burning ache.“I require you, Sawyer.”“Not yet,” he whispered, warm breath fanning against her tissue, driving her higher, closer to that slope of delight. His fingers returned to her areolas, pulling and strumming delicately over her most delicate spots.His experienced touch freed her. She curved into him and groaned, as he worked a consistent beat. She peaked a wave of unequivocal sensation and shattered.Her body shook as he kissed up her paunch, whispering delicate words of crave. “Bella … wonderful bell
Billionaire secret sweep CHAPTER 17
“He was my boundless dreams, my establishing contemplations, my every day themes, and my stomach’s knots.”~Isadora PatrasSAWYER MOVED Gradually, nimbly, like a man in total control of himself. Closing the entryway, he held up a beat some time recently confronting her. It gave her sufficient time to piece together what likely happened.Lucian would have dropped off Toni some time recently picking up Slade, which implied Sawyer knew where everybody was, but more vitally, he knew she was alone and would be until morning.“Can I take your coat?”His look held hers as he carried off his coat and a moderate jitter of nerves fell into her stomach at that point swooped into her chest, kicking her heart into overdrive. “You’re in your robe. I ought to have called.”“I wasn’t beyond any doubt you knew how to utilize a phone after three months of silence.”He recoiled. “I owe you an apology.”Was he too bad he hadn’t called or too bad they rested together in the to begin with put? She held up,
Billionaire secret sweep CHAPTER 16
It occurred to her that their father hadn’t called. Perhaps, being that Thanksgiving was an American holiday, it slipped his mind all the way over in Europe. The thought niggled, but didn’t consume her as it once would have. If anything, she was irritated on Lucian and Toni’s behalf.“Can I sleep over at Liz’s?”Isadora’sthoughtsofwithdrawnfamilyevaporated.“It’s Thanksgiving.”“So?”“So I’m sure Liz is doing stuff with her family.”“Only dinner at her aunt’s. She asked, and her mom said it was okay.Lucian’s going out.”“Lucian’s an adult,” she diplomatically pointed out.“God.” Toni shoved her fork across the table. “I’m never allowed to do anything.”Before she could comment on her sister’s rude manners Lucian spoke. “Antoinette. Apologize. If Isa says no then the answer’s no. Don’t argue.”Taken aback by her brother’s mature intervention, she stared at her sister. Sawyer and Slade remained silent, waiting for the awkward family moment to pass.“Sorry, Isa,” Toni mumbled.Her
Billionaire secret sweep CHAPTER 15
Leaving him with a confused expression she retreated to her bedroom, shutting the door firmly behind her. Her eyes closed as she fought for equilibrium. What the heck was wrong with her? She was waspish and emotional, and behaving nothing like herself.Sitting on her bed, she stared at the carpet, waiting for the tension in her shoulders to ease. It seemed even the deepest breath couldn’t penetrate the barrier between her common sense and her anxiety.It aggravated her that a man could make her so unbalanced. She’d been fine, accepting that he wasn’t going to call until she saw Slade and found out Sawyer was doing nothing more than sitting home every night watching reruns. Now her little crush—or whatever this was—had bubbled up and erupted out of control. She had to do something about it, but she couldn’t do anything until she was able to look him in the eye and demand an explanation.She deserved something. Her aggravation only multiplied when she admitted Sawyer wasn’t just any man
Billionaire secret sweep CHAPTER 14
As Isadora peeled the sweet potatoes for tomorrow, Toni disappeared with the phone. Lucian turned to her and grinned. “She’s growing up too fast.”“The same could be said for you.”He didn’t acknowledge her indisputable observation. “Soon she’ll be able to stay home by herself.”“I don’t see why that’s important. There’s always someone here.” “Exactly.”She frowned at him. “What are you trying to say, Lucian?”He shrugged. “Just pointing out that you aren’t chained to the house.You could make time for yourself.”She rolled her eyes. “I have all the time I need.”“Really? When’s the last time you went on a date?” She laughed at the idea. “I don’t date.”“I know. I’m suggesting you start.”Holding the peeler in her fist, she lowered her hand to the counter and twisted her lips. “And how am I supposed to do that? Go sit at a bar and wait for some stranger to approach? Or perhaps I could just introduce myself then have the luxury of swatting away all the gold digging letches who care not
Billionaire secret sweep CHAPTER 13
“Heart, we will forget him, You and I, tonight!You must forget the warmth he gave, And I will forget the light.When you have done pray tell me, Then I, my thoughts, will dim.”Emily DickensonHeart, We Will Forget HimAS THE DAYS passed there was little word from Lucian and even less from Sawyer. The more time that went by the harder it became not to pick up the phone and ask what was going on, but she’d made it clear to Sawyer she wouldn’t treat this like a traditional relationship and she needed to keep her actions as low maintenance as possible. That meant she couldn’t appear needy in any way.Unsure how affairs worked, Isadora adapted her expectations on a regular basis. It was easy to get upset when he didn’t call, but no amount of longing made her phone ring or gave her the courage to contact him. So she did her best to occupy her free time with other things.Toni had started sixth grade and they spent a lot of time shopping for the school year. If anything, her sister’s tempe
Billionaire secret sweep CHAPTER 12
Her temples pounded with pressure. This was not the night to make big decisions. Her sex-addled brain was diluted in scotch and now she felt like kicking something.The truth was, it didn’t matter whether she wanted children someday or not. All the wanting in the world wouldn’t make that happen for her without a man—or some decent sperm donors at least. Always an option…Once again, she felt trapped, cornered by the bigger players of the world. This was always the way of things. She was living her life here in this house, doing everything a good sister would do, but it was never her turn to choose the next move. Everything seemed out of reach and she wasn’t sure how or if that might change.Toni wouldn’t be an adult for eight more years. By then she’d be thirty- one. Women of her social status typically married in their early twenties. She couldn’t imagine falling in love that late in life, taking the time to get married, and then the additional time it would take to start a family. S
