Step-dad Billionaire

Her clear-soled heels clicked noisily on the marble, echoing in the vast emptiness of the entryway. The whole house was like that, cavernous and devoid of life. Ever since her mother had died, the house had seemed so barren, as if she had been the only thing bringing any light to the long shadows that Landis Jones cast.

“Where are you taking me?” she demanded, instigating yet another futile attempt to wrench free of his grasp. “What are you gonna do, lock me in my room and ground me?”

Landis’s frosty gaze met hers from the corner of his eye. “No. That’s a punishment for children. Since you’re so certain you’re an adult now, I’ll punish you like one.”

Claire’s heart skipped a beat. For a moment, there seemed almost to be a hunger in his eyes, a burgeoning flame licking at his dark irises. But then he looked away, pulling her up the stairs toward his study, the place she hadn’t stepped foot in since her mother died.

She felt the chill in the air as soon as she crossed the threshold. Lan