Free Bad Boy Billionaire (A Standalone Romance) by Cara Cruz Page A

searching for something. Why?
    He’d found it strange since they met that she’d chosen to work as an assistant. She was too much of a lone wolf. Neither a leader nor a follower. Why would she opt for a career that revolved around following orders from someone else?
    He reached up and massaged his temples. This was giving him a tension headache. He had thought he’d be able to get her out of his mind after they’d fucked, but he was wrong. If anything, he wanted her even more. The memory of her, writhing beneath him made his cock twitch into life again.
    He shook his head. Why was nothing ever easy?
    “Are you coming back to bed?” she purred. God he loved the deep tone of her voice. It made everything she said – no matter how innocent or professional – sound downright sexual.
    But that didn’t mitigate the fact that she’d gone snooping in their systems. Why? He didn’t know what the hell BEK and Naylor were – he would as soon as he saw Mike again. But Keton? He knew all about that. What did she want with information about that? And was her presence here in Chalk Key, arguably the heart of the project. A coincidence? Or had she planned the whole damn thing? He shivered. Usually he would have taken Ruth along on a trip like this. But this time he hadn’t. Why? He’d been so besotted with Maria that he would have done anything to win her over. He’d hoped that some time on the scenic, relaxed Key would make her warm to him.
    He glanced at her half-asleep form. Of course it wouldn’t have been so easy to win her over. He’d been a fool to even think it. But he couldn’t believe she’d planned the entire thing. Especially without him suspecting. If she had, that made her a formidable enemy.
    He stood rooted to the spot. Her back rose and fell with her calm, resting breath. Her gorgeous butt rose high in the air, so tantalizingly close.
    He realized that he was never going to be able to think straight with her presence this close, especially when it was her that he needed to think about objectively.
    He slammed the door shut behind him. “Sure am.”

Chapter 19
    Maria rolled her eyes. Chase’s town car had just dropped her off. Just . And her phone was already buzzing with a message from Johnny.
    It was still ridiculously early: they’d left the Key shortly after dawn, despite her protests to Chase that they should stay a while longer and enjoy the beach.
    He’d been wound up ever since his meeting with Ralf the night before. Maria had gone along to take notes. She’d listened intently for any mention of Keton or any other potentially relevant information, but there was nothing. The two men had spent most of the time talking about fishing trips they’d made around the Keys and comparing notes on their catches.
    The only thing they’d mentioned about business was a few scattered references to the office that Breton was about to open in Orlando. But that was legit: in her document search, Maria had found several memos and project plans relating to the opening. It was above board. She was sure of it.
    She had a few questions of her own for Johnny. They’d agreed to meet at the A Street Deli. She’d chosen it because it was the busiest place she knew, especially in the morning, so she’d be safe. And the booths at the back were private: if she was going to betray Chase, then she was determined not to be overheard doing it.
    The bell rung out loud when she opened the door and stepped inside. She walked straight to a booth without looking at anyone. That was another thing she liked about this place: there was no way to get in without setting off that damn bell. It meant that nobody could sneak up on you. Sometimes that was vital in her position. Although, during the morning rush the damn thing rung almost constantly. Luckily, she was confident that Johnny wasn’t out to hurt her. He needed her; or rather, he needed the information that she could get for him. She tuned out the sound of the bell and