BILLIONAIRE: Secret Ransom: Desired Love Series: Book 1 (New Adult Contemporary Romance) by D.S. Sage Read Free Book Online Page A

forward on wobbly legs, Lily slowly stretched to the tips of her toes and peered through the peephole, picturing some kind of shadowy man or worse yet Powell having come for her and the drive.
                  “Oh my God!”
                  Lily flung the door open and came face-to-face with Michael. His jaw was set like steel, his body a concrete pillar as she wrapped her arms around his stiff frame and buried her face in his neck.
                  “You came,” she murmured. “Thank you for---”
                  “Inside, Miss Vasquez.”
                  Michael’s push was sure and strong but in no way cruel as he pressed her back into the apartment and firmly closed the door behind them. Looking up, she saw Michael’s cheeks already crimson and his nostrils flaring as he folded his arms across his chest and glared down at her.
                  “What exactly are you playing at?” he asked.
                  Powell had to have gotten to him.
                  “It’s not what you think,” Lily started. “I only went to see him because---”
                  “So Powell wasn’t just blowing smoke up my ass,” Michael said. “Are you trying to make me look like a fool?”
                  “No,” Lily swore. “I---”
                  “Because Powell and his boys had one hell of a laugh at my expense,” Michael said. “That is not why I brought you on.”
                  “I’m sorry if---”
                  “And then you weren’t there. Nowhere to be found. Can’t say I remember Walters teaching how to play both sides against the middle.”
                  “No,” Lily managed, trying to turn the mood light. “Not on the syllabus, Michael.” Her fingers were nearly at his neck when he batted her back and hissed.
                  “Don’t be cute,” he spat. “Give me one good reason why I would trust you now, you little bitch?”
                  Lily shuddered at the sound of his words, and she fought the tears brimming in her eyes when she reached to the table and held the flash drive before his eyes.
                  “Because I went to Powell’s office to get this,” Lily said. “To steal it, okay. I thought it might be of some help to you, Mr. Bingham.”
                  Michael’s jaw suddenly went slack, and his hand trembled as he touched the stick before meeting her eyes.
                  “But you… what if he hadn’t been called away?” Michael asked. “Do you know what he could have done to you?”
                  “Yes,” Lily confessed. “And I… I guess I would have let him. I just wanted to help you.”
                  Unable to stop her tears from flowing, she handed Michael the flash drive and started to turn away from him. Feeling filthy at the thought of what Powell’s intentions and even worse for hurting Michael, she wanted nothing more than to hide her head under her pillows when he suddenly grabbed her arm and spun her back around to face him.
                  “But I don’t want anything to happen to you,” he said.
                  Michael’s own eyes brimmed, and Lily started to sink into his chest when he gathered her in a fierce embrace and held her close. Her sobs hit his sleeves, and she relaxed some at the feel of his hands trying to soothe the tension from her back as his gentle whisper poured into her ear.
                  “You don’t have to take chances, Lily,” he whispered. “Not for me.”
                  Slowly lifting her head, Lily kissed him lightly, pulling back to stroke his cheek as she huddled closer to his body.
                  “I couldn’t help it,” she said. “I wanted to take your pain