Billionaire Novelist's Fiery Debutante by Nic Saint Read Free Book Online Page B

from her, and return them to the synopsis and excerpts from her own novel she’d handed him as reading material. It wasn’t quite his style, but he had to admit she had a way with words and plot that enchanted him. Her stories were original and humorous, and her characters quirky yet real. He was vaguely familiar with the tropes of the genre, and it seemed to him that she managed to surprise the reader with the way she turned the plot. Not unlike what he did with his own stories.
    Among the reading samples she’d handed him, was a quite extensive love scene, and he felt a blush creep up his cheeks as he read it. The dark-haired stranger Antonia had met at the bus station turned out to be her childhood sweetheart, and while the rain poured down on his car, they made passionate love in the backseat, years of pent-up desire coming to a boil. He could really see Chloe in the Antonia character, and had little difficulty imagining himself in the role of the childhood friend. Before long, his heart was racing, his breath came a little faster, and he was licking his lips as he imagined it was him kissing Chloe and making wild love to her.
    “Like what you read?” suddenly her voice intruded upon his fantasy.
    With a jerk, he looked up, feeling caught. “I, erm—” He nodded earnestly. “It’s pretty good stuff.”
    She rewarded him with a bright smile and tapped the pages he’d handed her. “Yours, too. You’re a great writer, Josh.”
    “Thanks,” he said, having a hard time not picturing Chloe clasped in his arms and pinned beneath him on that backseat in the downpour from hell. “You, too. Quite… vivid.”
    She cocked her head and gave him a curious look. “You’re reading the love scene, aren’t you?”
    He grinned. “Busted.”
    “You… like it?”
    “Very much.”
    “Wanna… give me any pointers?” She blinked, seeming to catch herself. “On style, I mean.”
    “Nope. Your style is flawless.” He let his eyes roam over her body for a moment. “Absolutely flawless.”

CHAPTER 13

    That night, Chloe had a hard time finding sleep. Throughout the day, she’d come to appreciate Josh more and more. Contrary to her initial impression, he was a great guy. The lousy temper he’d displayed at first was, she now saw, due to the immense pressure he had resting squarely on his broad shoulders. He had a lot riding on this retreat, and if it didn’t work out, life as he knew it might be over soon. So she did her best to prompt his creative juices by asking a ton of questions about his characters and their motivation. What was it that made Frankie Knox tick? And what place did Jacqueline Spark hold in his heart? He was surprised at first, not being used to approaching his stories quite this way, but he was a sport and played along.
    Gradually, she began to see that it was the connection between the two main characters of the Knox thrillers that formed the glue that held the stories together. Finally, she made a bold suggestion. Why didn’t he make Jacqueline the lead character for once? And why didn’t he place Frankie in mortal danger, with Jacqueline the only one who could save him. In the nick of time, of course. And what if… he made this book personal. An old enemy of Frankie bursting onto the scene, intent on exacting revenge on his nemesis. And Jacqueline, when she discovers Knox kidnapped and presumed dead, realizing for the first time that what she feels for him is more than mere friendship.
    She could sense that her suggestion had struck a chord. It was as if a light was lit behind his eyes, and for the first time in days a renewed vigor took hold of him. The rest of their session was spent spitballing possible plots twists and turns, an area he proved a real master in.
    She glanced over to where he slept. In spite of the AC, it was still pretty warm at night, so they both dressed appropriately. He only wore his boxers and she her panties and a simple white cotton T. She watched as his chest rose