Darker (The Dark Billionaire, #3) (5 page)

“As I told you, I don’t understand why you want to work with Kenichi in Thailand. You guys already have an official and legit partnership. It’s none of my business, and I may not be qualified to tell you what to do, but honestly, it doesn’t make sense. Anybody would agree with me, seriously. It doesn’t matter if I’m your former secretary or your chief financial officer – it’s still an illegal and risky venture. Period. I shouldn’t try to convince you. It’s obvious!”

Jennifer looked at Bruce, but he was expressionless. “You keep saying it’s personal but what does that mean? How many times did I hear you say that good business should not be driven by emotions?”

Bruce cleared his throat and ignored her question. “I feel like you kind of blackmailed me...”

“What? Blackmailed you? What are you talking about?”

“You disappear for three days, you make me go crazy, and that’s how you get your answer. Smart.”

“It’s ridiculous, Bruce. I would never do that.”

“Should I remind you that YOU wanted to teach me a lesson when I was looking for a bride? You are the one who set me up, remember? Aren’t you trying to teach me something again?”

Jennifer sighed. “Oh no, Bruce, this is completely different. I just wanted to leave. I wanted to be away from YOU.”

“That hurts,” Bruce said.

Jennifer paused, shook her head, and crossed her arms. “I’m sorry to say that, but I didn’t ask you to come after me. I intended to come back when I was ready, and it had nothing to do with teaching you anything. It has nothing to do with you at all. It was just about me.”

Bruce raised his eyebrows. “Okay... I guess I deserved it this time...”

“I’m not naïve, Bruce – when it comes to business, there’s nothing I can teach you. I just wanted to give you my honest opinion as your life partner. The decisions you make affect both of us now, and you can’t expect me to be a passive spectator.”

He stood up and went to the bar. He kept silent for a while, apparently thinking. “Fine, you win.”

He poured himself a glass of whisky and continued. “When I was a kid, my dad used to be an accountant for a rich guy – Cliff Hansen – who owned a factory. The man made a fortune, but one day, he got caught by the IRS for undeclared revenue. For years, he had manipulated his results and was hiding huge amounts of profits.”

Bruce paused and looked through the window for several seconds. Jennifer invited him to continue. “Okay? Then what happened?”

“Do you remember when my ex-wife showed up with the kid? I told you I grew up without my father...” Bruce took a sip. “When Hansen was caught, he didn’t want to fall alone – he dragged my father with him. Mom told me that my dad lost everything, and he couldn’t handle it. He committed suicide – he hung himself – and left me alone with mom. We were broke. It’s been very tough for my mom.”

“Oh, baby, that’s horrible. I’m so sorry...”

“It’s been my motivation, my fire, and my drive. I’ve seen my mother working two, sometimes three jobs, to feed me. I could see how tired and worried she was, but she never complained. She never – not even once – showed me she was struggling. I never asked her for anything, but I’ve always had everything I needed. She never remarried and dedicated her life to raise me as a good person. It was a very stressful period. I’ll never forget.”

Bruce’s eyes were wet with tears, and he shook his head vigorously. “Anyway; Hansen got out of prison after five years. Somehow, he got back on his feet and opened a new business. I’ll admit the man is impressive – he rebuilt his entire fortune from there. A couple of months ago, I stumbled upon him at a fundraising event. He didn’t recognize me, but I knew who he was. The old man happens to be a gambling junkie now – he loves to bet and feel the adrenaline from making quick profits. That kind of person is also very sensitive to the appeal of investing and trading for
easy money
- especially in a country where he can avoid paying taxes on capital gains.”

It all made sense for Jennifer. “So you want to attract him as a client and...”

“Rip him off, yes. That’s my story. That’s why I’m here. Yes, it’s friggin’ personal, but I can’t let it go. I’ve achieved everything I wanted to achieve in my life but I’m not at peace. Since I’ve met him again, I have nightmares. The guy is haunting me. That night when I met him...”

Bruce was shaking and his fists were clenched. “God, I wanted to strangle him right away with my own hands. I wanted him to look me in the eyes. I wanted his face to turn purple just like my dad when he hung himself. I wanted him to suffer like I did when they showed me my father’s dead body at the morgue. Instead, I got drunk to death... and that’s how I crashed my Lamborghini – the one my insurance won’t cover.”

Oh yeah, I remember... Mike, the guy from the insurance, assured me Bruce was drunk, but he always denied it. I didn’t understand. Now I know why...

“You’re looking for vengeance, Bruce. Do you know that it clouds your judgment? Oops, sorry.”

Bip bip!
Jennifer received another text message.
“I can’t stop thinking about you. Please don’t ignore me like that. Tell me what’s going on. Enzo.”

Bruce frowned. “Again? What is it this time?”

Jennifer deleted the message right away. “No, nothing. This time it’s just advertising. I have no idea what they say. I can’t read it.”

Jennifer’s heart was beating like a drum. She didn’t want Bruce to keep asking questions and quickly resumed their conversation. “So what was I saying? Yes, it’s all about vengeance, and I don’t think it’s worth it. It won’t bring back your father. I really think you should try to let go and find peace in your mind. That’s the true answer to your problem.”

“I know, but that’s my plan. Listen, I don’t want to argue with you, Jen. Let’s stop talking about it. It brings back memories, and I don’t need that right now. The last three days have been hard enough for me, looking for you everywhere, and I... Oh, damn I have to call Kenichi to tell him you’re back! His men are still looking for you.”

“Tell him I’m extremely sorry, and I appreciate all his efforts. We should try to relax, Bruce. It’s been tough for both of us. We haven’t even spent a moment together since we came here.”

“You’re damn right. I have an idea, but I have to ask Kenichi for his help. I’m not sure if it’s possible...”

***

I
t was 8:00 PM, and the car parked in front of a large building, all covered with light brown wooden slats.

“Wow, Bruce, that’s beautiful. What is it?”

“I saw that place when I was looking for you. It’s called an Onsen – it means
spring water
in Japanese. Basically it’s a bathing facility but they also have all kinds of massages. We can’t stay in Thailand without having a massage, right? So we’ll start by having a very hot bath, and then we’ll get a great massage – sweet, isn’t it?”

“Oh my God, that’s awesome! It’s exactly what I need. The place doesn’t look very busy though. I don’t see any car parked outside. Are you sure it’s safe?”

“Kenichi knows the owner and they agreed to close down to the public for the last three hours of the day - just for us.”

“Jesus! That’s so sweet!”

“Not so fast! I paid them for the opportunity cost, obviously.”

“The what?”

“I paid them the equivalent of what they would make during a regular evening, plus a little bonus to entice them to agree. Don’t worry. It’s still reasonable – around 300,000 Thai Baht.”

Jennifer took her cellphone and converted into US dollars. She gasped.
My goodness, more than $9,300!

“But you didn’t need to do that, baby. We could have just enjoyed it like everybody else.”

Bruce winked at her. “You think so? What if I told you that men and women are separated? Let’s just say that I paid to have a small privilege. Come on, let’s go – they’re waiting for us.”

As they got out of the car, Jennifer felt her cellphone vibrating again. She didn’t dare check it right away. She had switched her phone to vibration mode in case she received another message and obviously, she didn’t want Bruce to be suspicious.

They both marched off in the direction of the reception, where they were greeted by an army of employees. They were offered a cup of green tea while someone removed their shoes to give them Geta sandals – the traditional Japanese footwear.

Then, they were led to the changing room and undressed completely - they were supposed to bathe naked. As she put her clothes in the locker, Jennifer made sure Bruce wasn’t next to her and checked her cellphone.

What she read surprised her and scared her at the same time.
“Jennifer: I have a little surprise for you tonight... Enzo.”

J
ennifer pushed the glass door. She felt warm instantly as she entered a huge room with two dozen showers on her right and four large pools in front of her – one with hot salty water, one with hot spring water, one with hot water jets and the last with cold water.

There was a steam room on her left. On her right, there was a little covered garden with a sauna, another pool and three big wooden buckets – big enough for a man to sit in.

Bruce was already taking a shower, sitting on one of those little plastic stools like a traditional Japanese person. She could only see his wide shoulders and his slim waist, so characteristic of his sexy V-shape back. From there, she saw his back muscles rippling below his neck as he was washing his head. Her eyes continued their downward journey towards the slit of his ass as his bottom cheeks were flattened against the stool.

She hadn’t had sex for the last three days – and had only touched herself when she had given a blowjob to Bruce in the plane – and she was starting to feel it. She wanted Bruce to take her as soon as possible, as roughly as he could. Her pussy was starving for his huge cock – her juices were literally dripping along her inner thighs – and she was dying to be filled balls deep.

However, there was another guilty thought in her mind – Enzo. The way he had cared for her when he saved her from the taxi and the way he had kissed her at the mall had triggered a lot of unsatisfied arousal. Jennifer was conscious that she was doubly excited because of him as well.

However, she had never been the kind of woman to sleep with a guy she barely knew – there was no way she would have gone to bed with him so easily. While her physical attraction for Enzo had been strong and intense, at the end of the day, he was just a guy she had met in a bar while on vacation, and Jennifer tried to convince herself that she didn’t care about him.

Come on Jen, you’re not sixteen anymore! Why give so much importance to a little crush? Even worse, you’re not single! You are not available. You are not going to fall for him! You are definitely not going to let him ruin everything with Bruce!

Jennifer took her place next to Bruce and started to clean herself.

But Enzo seems persistent - he won’t leave me alone. He keeps sending me messages, in front of Bruce too! I have to be extra careful, or it might go terribly wrong. What does he have in mind - a surprise for me tonight? Jesus, I hope he won’t do anything embarrassing.

Bruce was now clean and stood up. Then, he came behind Jennifer and gave her a gentle massage on her shoulders.

“Oh my God, baby! Mmm, it feels so good, yeah. You can go a little harder, oh! Yeah, perfect, just like that. Oh...”

While standing behind Jennifer, Bruce pressed his strong thighs against her back, and she felt the velvet skin of his cock against the back of her neck. She closed her eyes and leaned back against him, letting go of all her thoughts and concerns, simply enjoying the moment.

The fresh water of the shower was caressing her breasts, hardening her nipples, while Bruce’s strong but careful hands gently rubbed her delicate skin. He took care of her like this for nearly fifteen minutes, and sat down behind her.

She could feel his pectoral muscles and his abs against her back and also his cock rubbing her lower back. His legs were surrounding hers, and he grabbed her breasts from behind, cupping each one of them and kissing her neck.

Jennifer felt like she was melting. He was kissing, sucking, and biting her, going back and forth between her neck and her ears, going to her right side, coming back to her left side, and moaning in his deep sexy voice.

With one hand, she reached for his head behind her and grabbed his hair while she slid a finger in her eager pussy with the other hand. All her tensions disappeared immediately – she was overwhelmed by the expert tongue of her lover, his caresses and the liberating feeling of rubbing her wet clit and empty vagina.

“Okay, enough with the shower. Let’s go take a hot bath now.” Bruce said to Jennifer, who was on the verge of climaxing.
Oh no, Bruce...

Disappointed to stop so early, Jennifer followed him to the hot salty water but her disappointment didn’t last very long. Next to the pool, there was a bottle of champagne in a bucket filled with ice alongside two flutes. A white folded towel was covering the bottle, and rose petals were scattered all around.

Jennifer’s chest heaved and she clapped her hands over her mouth. “Wow, Bruce! It’s just perfect...”

“Be careful, it’s slippery and it’s pretty hot. Come in slowly.” Bruce got in the water first, turned around and grabbed Jennifer’s hands to help her join him. Then, he opened the bottle of champagne and gave her a flute. “Cheers, Jen!”

They both sat down in the water. “Cheers! Jesus, it’s hot, but it feels absolutely great! The champagne is delicious. You really know how to treat a woman...”

Bruce took a little white towel near the pool, rolled it, and put it behind Jennifer’s head. “Lie down. Just put your head against the edge with the towel as a cushion. There you go. Just relax. You like it?”

Jennifer exhaled loudly. “Jesus, I LOVE it. What a great idea, baby! I don’t know if I want to sleep and relax or to jump on your dick and suck it. It’s really tough!”

Bruce chuckled and leaned back in the same position in front of Jennifer. “You have three minutes to decide before I fall asleep.”