Billionaire Auction by Brynn Paulin

Chapter Thirteen

Not ten minutes after Kendrick instructed Frank to bring them to the penthouse, Moriah and Kendrick were walking through the door. She immediately sensed a change. The lights were all low and she saw the flicker of candlelight. Kendrick’s arm tightened pulling her closer to his side, and he nuzzled behind her ear.

“A bath’s been drawn for you. Why don’t you go relax and cleanup while I check dinner? I’ll join you in a few minutes.”

She bit her lip, thinking of the huge tub in the center of Kendrick’s enormous master bath, with the marble steps and greenery all around it. She’d wanted to sink into early, just to try it out. Feeling closer to him than ever, she wanted to experience with him, now.

“Hurry,” she urged, holding his hand as she started to walk away and not letting go until their arms were stretched between them. She felt his absence the moment their fingers released. Almost the entire day, even in the helicopter touring the skyline, they’d continually touched. It was as if they had to be connected. They’d held hands, brushed fingers over the other’s arm or leg, she’d lean her head on his shoulder, he’d kiss her somewhere… Just constant, inconsequential touches that had added up to a substantial connection wrapping around them and binding them together.

“I’ll be there as soon as I check on things,” he promised. “I expect you to be naked and in the tub when I get there.” Though they’d just parted, he closed the space between them, grasped her hips and pulled her to him. His forehead leaned to hers. “No touching yourself while you wait,” he rasped quietly.

“Or else?”

“Or else,” he confirmed. “And it won’t be a spanking for you to enjoy.”

Moriah was half-tempted to push him and see what would happen if she defied him, but she wanted to prove she could obey him, too. She liked being naughty with him, but she wanted him to remember the good girl she’d been, too. She wanted to give Kendrick whatever pleasure she could, even if it was the pleasure of commanding her and her submitting to it.

Tipping her mouth closer to his, she brushed her lips across his. “Yes, sir,” she whispered. “Naked and no touching. Got it.”

He growled, and his fingers tightened on her waist. He turned her and gave her a gentle shove toward the bedroom. She giggled as she sprinted away, intent on following directions.

Sure they were alone and it was safe to undress, she started slipping off her dress on the way. She was down to her shoes when she entered the bedroom. She’d just kicked them off when she realized she wasn’t alone.

An involuntary scream escaped. Panicked, she scrambled for the garment she’d just dropped.

“Moriah,” Kendrick yelled. She heard him tearing down the hallway toward her as she stared at the unfamiliar dark-haired man, her dress clutched to her front. He made it to the door in long strides, closing and locking it before he closed it with a smirk on his face. A moment later, the knob rattled and Kendrick pounded.

She opened her mouth to yell, but the man shook his head and tapped his hand against his thigh, drawing her attention to the gun he held there.

“What do you want?” she asked in a strangled voice.

He scanned her barely covered body with hungry eyes and licked his bottom lip. “I’ve been sent to collect you.”

“No.” She wasn’t sure he heard her over Kendrick’s yelling and the bang of his fists on the wood. There was a loud thump of a body hitting the door. Oh God, Kendrick was going to force his way inside and this guy had a gun.

“Get your ass dressed before I shoot him through the door.” He eyed the dress. “In something besides that thing you’ve been fucking him in.”

“I—”

“Now.”

“How did you get in here?” she asked, delaying.

“It doesn’t fucking matter. Get your ass in gear or I won’t be delivering you untouched—not that anyone would know if I had a taste for myself. It’s not like you’re a virgin anymore.”

If her blood hadn’t already gone cold, it would have been pure ice now. She edged toward the closet, keeping her front toward him, unwilling to show him her back or her naked backside.

“Who sent you to get me?” she asked as she reached blindly for a pile of clothes on the shelf just inside the closet door, hoping it was something she could wear. Thankfully, it was a pair of jeans and a T-shirt.

“Shut the fuck up and get dressed,” he demanded, looking over his shoulder at the door. Apparently, realizing he wasn’t coming through the well-constructed door, Kendrick had stopped banging himself against it. He wasn’t yelling either.

Taking advantage of the man looking the other way, she yanked on the pants. She dropped the dress and tugged the tee quickly over her head, hating that she was once again without underwear. She hadn’t cared that she wasn’t fully covered while with Kendrick, but with this stranger, she wanted everything possible between the two of them.

“Shoes,” he growled, picking up a pair of what were obviously women’s runners.

“How do you plan to get out of here. He’s not going to let you just waltz on out.”

His hand shot out, closing around her neck. “I said to shut the fuck up!” He squeezed and her eyes watered. “You think he won’t let me waltz out of here with a gun to your head?”

She made a choking sound and her eyes went wide. He smirked, thankfully not realizing her response was from the shadow moving in behind him, rather than him strangling her.

“Actually, it’s the gun to your head, fucker,” Kendrick snarled, his weapon jammed up to her would-be kidnappers temple. “Drop it and get your hand off her,” he demanded. “Now, or this will be the last thing you know.”

She stumbled backward as the intruder suddenly let her go. His gun thunked to the ground. Apparently, he realized Kendrick wasn’t making idle thoughts. Her hand went to her throat as she gasped for air.

“Baby, are you okay?” he asked, keeping his full attention on the man.

“Yes,” she rasped.

“Good. Head out to the living room to wait on the police, okay.” He shoved the gun harder against his prisoner. “Put your hands on your head and follow her, asshole.”

She stared at Kendrick, unable to move. Now that he was here, she shook like a leaf, on the edge of hyperventilating.

“It’s okay, kitten. Go on.”

“O-o-okay,” she stammered. She edged around them and headed for the still-locked bedroom door. She glanced at him askance. How did he get in there?

“We’ll talk about that later,” he said, answering her unspoken question.

“Okay,” she whispered and flipped the lock. Reality was slamming down heavily on her. Someone had just fucking tried to kidnap her. She’d been safe, feeling secure for once and someone had been…in Kendrick’s sanctuary, ready to take her.

Moriah practically sprinted down the hallway, almost worried the man had an accomplice with him.

“Watch the security monitor in the front hall,” Kendrick instructed. “They have the emergency code to get in, but you’ll be able to see them coming.”

“Okay.” She seemed unable to get out any other words.

“Who sent you?” she heard Kendrick demand.

Silence greeted his question.

“How did you get in?”

The man chuckled. “Pretty easy with everyone you had running in and out of here for the little bitch.”

She heard a thunk and a grunt. When she whipped her glance toward them she realized Kendrick had hit him with the gun. The intruder glared at her. “You’re so not worth it,” he growled.

“Want me to hit you again,” Kendrick grated. “Say another word, and I’ll knock you out until the cops deal with you.”

The man snorted in response but held his tongue.

Moriah swung around when the elevator made a soft dinging sound to announce its arrival them the doors swooshed open. Several officers spilled out into the foyer, two heading directly toward Kendrick and his prisoner.

“We’ll take it from here, Mr. Bergana,” one of them said.

Kendrick immediately stepped away while they took command of the man. Kendrick set his weapon on a side table then grabbed Moriah to his chest. She sobbed leaning into him. The episode had been over before it had even really started, but she’d never been more terrified. And he’d saved her.

“Shh, it’s okay, baby,” he murmured. “I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

“But…but…”

“I promise. If I need to hire more security, I will. No one’s hurting you.”

“Sir,” one of the officers interrupted. “We’d like to speak to you both about what happened.”

Moriah looked up to see the bound intruder being led out of the penthouse. Her chest loosened slightly then she looked over at the blond cop who’d spoken.

“Certainly,” Kendrick said. He indicated the living room. “Let’s have a seat. I think Moriah needs to sit.”

“Of course,” the man said. “After you.”

Kendrick led her into to one of the wide couches and seated her then wrapped a thick afghan around her shaking shoulders before he took his seat beside her and pulled her close to his side. She leaned her head to his shoulder, absorbing his strength and trying not to think about what would have happened if he hadn’t gotten to her.

The cop pulled out his notebook. “The other officers are doing a sweep to be sure he didn’t have a partner; is that all right, sir?”

“Of course,” Kendrick replied without hesitation.

The man nodded. “I’m Detective Jenkins and this is my partner, Detective Jones.” He nodded toward a man she hadn’t realized had followed them. “Can you tell us what happened? You first, ma’am. Start with your name.”

“It’s Moriah Cabraro,” she said, and his eyes widened slightly as if he recognized her name then immediately went impassive, and she thought maybe she’d imagined it. “I’m…I…”

“She’s my fiancée,” Kendrick inserted smoothly, rubbing his hand up and down her arm. She looked up him, her eyes wide with surprise. “We haven’t announced it yet,” he continued, giving her a tender smile. He indicated the candles around them and the warmers set up in the dining area on the patio just beyond the glass doors to outside. “We were getting ready to celebrate.”

Moriah nodded, grateful for his subterfuge to protect her virtue and respectability. He could have told them she was staying here for the weekend, that they were just acquaintances, but instead, he’d made their relationship seem special.

“We just got back,” she said, feeling stronger. “I was going to the bedroom to take a bath and change before we ate. That guy was in there waiting when I got there. I screamed, but he locked the door before I could get out or Kendrick could get to me.”

“Do you know who he is?”

She shook her head. “He said he’d come to collect me, whatever that means. He threatened to shoot Kendrick through the door if I didn’t cooperate. He threated to…rape me…if I didn’t do as he said.”

Kendrick’s arm tightened. “Jesus,” he muttered, and she felt the shudder that went through him. Not fear. Rage. Glancing at his face, she suspected he’d murder that guy if he were still here.

“I don’t know how he planned to get out of there, but he made me put on something other than the dress I had on. He started to choke me when I asked questions.” She lifted her chin to show her neck that still throbbed, unsure whether there were marks or not.

Kendrick kissed the top of her head and took a deep inhalation, seeming to breathe her in to calm himself.

“When I realized what was happening, I tried to get through the door, but I couldn’t,” Kendrick explained, sounding mighty pissed off that his sturdy door had flummoxed him. “I called 9-1-1, then I went to the bedroom beside mine. The balcony adjoins. This high up, I don’t always lock the door, and even if it was, I could have broken through. I was able to get in, grab the gun from my bedside table and come up beside him before he knew I was there.”

“Thank God,” she whispered.

“You said he claimed he was here to collect you. Do you have any idea who sent him?”

She shook her head. “No, not really.”

Maybe one of the men who hadn’t won the auction, but she didn’t want to tell them that or admit having any part of the tawdry affair.

“Possibly her father,” Kendrick offered. “He’s been embezzling from my company and is trying to use Moriah as a pawn to get me to forgive him.”

“You’ve reported this?”

“No.” He shook his head. “We were keeping it inhouse. I gave him until Monday to repay me. Failing that, all the documentation would be released to the board and charges filed. I didn’t want to wait, so we had a preemptive meeting scheduled for tomorrow afternoon with someone from your department to discuss the situation. I’m sorry, I don’t have the specific information from my assistant off the top of my head, but I can get that for you in a few moments.”

“Please,” Jenkins said, and Kendrick pulled out his phone.

“Would your father send someone to take you against your will?” Jones asked.

“I don’t put anything past him anymore. I never thought he’d steal millions from my…fiancé.”

Kendrick half-laughed beside her. He looked at the officer across from her. “Apparently, I’m supposed to meet with you and Detective Jones. He scheduled it as a representative from Berg Trade.”

The man nodded, apparently recognizing the appointment. “Seems we have a lot more than embezzling to discuss then. Our white-collar crime division is doing most of the investigation. The documentation and files they reviewed were cut and dry, like he didn’t even bother to cover his tracks. But now it seems we might have more to deal with now. There’s a child involved?”

“My younger sister, Jade Cabraro.”

They discussed Jade’s living conditions and Jofre’s threats. Moriah told them about Jofre threatening her to get her to do what he wanted, that he’d wanted her to sell herself for the money but stopped short of telling them what she’d actually done.

“You should know Mr. Cabraro was already under investigation—”

“For what?” Moriah asked before she could stop herself.

“Alleged trafficking.”

“What?” she exclaimed, though she supposed she shouldn’t be surprised. She shuddered as she realized her plight could have been so much worse—and if he’d sent that man to take her, she could have been on the brink of something from which she never would have survived.

He closed his notebook and frowned when at the look his partner gave him. Jenkins turned back to Jones. “I’m going to hear all about that I shouldn’t have told you that.”

“No, you shouldn’t have,” Jones, the older of the two men, injected with clear censure.

Moriah held up her hands. “I didn’t hear anything. I just want my sister safely away from him.” Even if Jade became a temporary ward of the state, Moriah had to believe she’d be safer than with her father.

Kendrick pulled her against his chest as they stood to see the officers out. “And I just want you safe,” he said against her hair. She sagged against him as soon as they were alone.

“The bath is probably cold by now,” he said.

“I just want to go to sleep,” she murmured. It wasn’t that late, but she was exhausted.

“You should eat.”

“I can’t.”

He nodded. “All right. Why don’t you go climb into bed, and I’ll clean up—”

“I don’t want to be alone.” It was probably foolish; the cops had checked the entire place. She just didn’t feel safe by herself.

“Okay, baby,” he replied, seeming to understand. “Stay here on the couch. You’ll be able to see me while I take care of things.”

Drawing the blanket tighter around herself, she sat again. She didn’t realize she’d fallen asleep until she felt Kendrick carrying her. She was vaguely aware of him disrobing her, tucking her beneath the blankets then sitting beside her as he quietly spoke on the phone. Then he was next to her, holding her tight in his arms as if he were afraid she’d sneak away—or someone would take her.