The Billionaire's Secret (An Erotic Romance) Read online

  “Yes,” I say. “My nam—“

  “Stop.” She raises a palm. “Your name isn’t important.”

  “Why not?”

  “Here, we give our prisoners codenames, as to allow their privacy.”

  “Ok,” I respond, shrugging my shoulders.

  “Oh, but my name is important. I’m Maria Pierce.”

  “What do I need to do to get out of here?” I think it would be best to get to the point.

  “You just got here, why the hurry?”

  I ignore her question.

  She sighs. “Well, I believe I should go over the rules first, and tell you what you will be doing. That is after all, why I am speaking to you right now.” Maria clears her throat. “We do things a bit differently from normal prisons. Once you pass the first evaluation, you will become one of our servants. As a servant you will perform various tasks such as cleaning, cooking, and catering, as well as some…unconventional task.”

  I didn’t like the idea of being someone’s servant, but there was something else that caught my attention. “What’s this first evaluation?”

  “It’s a test that determines whether you belong here or in a normal prison. Normally, the fact that you are here on this island is proof enough, but that isn’t always the case. This is more of a precaution than anything.”

  “What are these unconventional tasks you speak of?”

  “Are you familiar with firearms?” asks Maria.

  “Yes.”

  Her eyelids widen. “Martial arts?”

  “Yes.”

  “Not bad,” says Maria eyeing me over with curiosity. “I wonder who you were before this.”

  “You honestly don’t know anything about your prisoners?”

  “We like to be unbiased in our evaluation of our prisoners, so the only thing we know about you is the number associated with you when you arrived.”

  “I see,” I say, hiding a grin. This could work to my advantage.

  “Continuing,” says Maria, “you will occasionally act as personal bodyguards for us, so we require you to be somewhat decent in weaponry.”

  “You have a private military and you want prisoners to guard you?” It didn’t make sense.

  “I did say it would be unconventional didn’t I? That’s why we evaluate our prisoners. It’s not as big a risk as you think when the ones protecting us have their freedom on the line.”

  “Ok.” The silliness of her demands was aggravating, but I remained calm.

  “And you will be responsible for hunting the wildlife on this island and preparing them for meals, along with any other task we require and ask of you.”

  “Not to be rude, but this sounds silly. I didn’t agree to this to be free labor.”

  “You’re forgetting that you are still prisoner,” says Maria with a grin. “You are free labor.”

  “I was told I was getting a second chance, not being forced into slavery.”

  “You can always go to a regular prison if you want.”

  I tried to control myself, but this didn’t make any sense. I couldn’t obediently agree to these demands. “I’m not even supposed to be here. Why do I have to subject myself to servitude just because I did what I needed to? Why should I have to suffer due to the injustice in this world?” Maria is silent, listening to me, but showing no signs of response. “You can grant me freedom right? Then please release me.”

  “I can’t do that,” she says. “But if you can at least work with me, you will get out of here sooner?”

  I take in a deep breath. “How long?”

  “That depends on you.”

  A snicker leaves me. I really did no longer have any control over my life, and that was infuriating. “Alright.”

  Maria smiles. “You’ll find it’s not as bad as you think, as long as you follow the rules.”

  “Rules?”

  “You mustn’t try to escape, you mustn’t attack another servant or anyone else on this island, and you mustn’t disobey a command from your superiors, unless it contradicts with a previous command. Failure to comply will result in an extended stay at Befreiung.”

  “I can do that,” I say.

  “You’ll have to,” says Maria. “With that out of the way, I like to let my servants choose their new names, but to make it fun, the name has to have the same number of letters as your real name.”

  “How would you know if I were lying,” I say with a brash smile.

  “I wouldn’t,” she responds. “But I trust you.”

  “Alright, then how about…Elen.”

  As I say that Maria’s eyes widen and she looks astonished, like she had seen a ghost. “Elen? Why Elen?”

  “I think it’s a beautiful name. Do I need another reason?”

  She stares at me with discomfort but then shakes her head as if snapping herself back to reality. “Elen it is.”

  “When will my first evaluation start?” I ask.

  “It started the moment you walked through this door.” She hands me a map of the area. “You’re in hotel C, room 231. For now, go there and wait for further instruction.”

  As I get ready to leave Maria stops me.

  “Oh I forgot to mention something.”

  “What?”

  “We have one more rule. You are not under any circumstances, to form a relationship with any of the other servants. If you are found, the consequences will be severe.”

  “Understood.” I doubt I will have an issue like that, so it’s nothing for me to worry about. Although, I did find the rule odd, and did want to question it, but I think it would be better for me to silently comply.

  Maria takes my hands into hers and looks into my eyes with mystique, most likely fascinated with my eye condition. “Welcome to your new home.”

  As I head for my room, I hear what sounds like a commotion. Two men are having an argument about something. One of them is a tall man with a dark brown James Dean style haircut, who wears an Alexander McQueen biker jacket, along with dark leather pants and Versace boots. From the look of the other man he is arguing with, who appears to be a servant, I could tell that he is clearly the dominant male in the discussion.

  “I’ve been here for two years,” says the servant, fuming at the mouth. “When will I be able to leave?”

  “Whenever you show progress,” says the other man, not paying much attention to the man who he was speaking to. “Now if you’ll excuse me.”

  “Two years, and I’ve shown no progress!”

  “You’ve shown you can be quite aggressive, but other than that, you haven’t shown me you are ready, and we both know you’re here for a reason. If I were to let you back into society, it has to be as someone who will bring something positive with them.” He looks the man up and down and a small grin forms on his face. “Keep working on it.”

  The handsome alpha male pats the man on the shoulder and continues walking away. He is walking to my direction with his back completely turned to the servant behind him.

  The other man is seething. His mouth is pulled into a scowl and his fists are clenched. He looks down, grinding his heels into the ground and spitting into the dirt. He looks back up to the man walking in my direction.

  I knew that expression. Those eyes were determined. The angered man wanted something, and he intended to act on it. His rough breathing his glare piercing the back of the other man’s head. He was going to act.

  The servant turns toward the other man and begins walking after him. His steps increase in pace, and then he gets ready to pounce like a leopard upon its prey.

  This servant was well built, and looked like he could do a fair amount of damage if he landed a hit. I heard from Maria that they are also trained, so I should assume this guy to be dangerous. However, the other man, seemingly unconcerned with the action about to transpire behind him, didn’t look anything like a pushover.

  There’s a part of me that wants to watch this scene pan out just from curiosity. The attacker looked like he had the advantage, but
I wouldn’t count the other man out if he could resist the first surprise attack.

  Another part of me felt I should say something, and from the expensive clothing and the confident demeanor of the man walking towards me, I expect he is someone important. If I help him and get on his good side, this can be beneficial to me in the long run. Yeah, I’ve made up my mind.

  “Look out,” I shout, just as the servant raises his fist in the air, ready to pummel the other man with a surprise strike.

  Impressively, the man heeds my warning and shifts his body to dodge the attack, while at the same time moving himself in a position to counterattack. He extends his leg and trips his attacker.

  The attacker, unable to stop his momentum from the missed swing, tumbles and lands face-forward right in front of me.

  “Are you alright?” I ask the fallen man, in an attempt to score bonus points with my real target of interest. I immediately realize my mistake.

  The man, whose anger was originally directed at the other man, was now aimed at me. “Why did you interfere you bitch?” His brow was twisted into a fear inspiring scowl, and heat reflected off of his lips, signifying his disapproval with my actions. Once again, I knew what he was planning to do.

  Or at least, I thought I did, but by the time I notice his hand clasping at the dirt, and taking a handful, it’s already halfway to my face.

  Dirt hits me square in my eyes. I cry and drop my belongings and a stinging pain courses through them. It’s a tear jerking, burning pain that causes me to jump back to my feet, rubbing at my eye like a wild woman as the small grains prick at me and refuse to let go.

  “What the hell!?” I say, still unable to see. “Why would you do that to me you id—“

  A heavy force crashes against the side of my chin, sending a shattering wave of pain to my face. My entire body proceeds to go limp and in my few seconds of remaining consciousness, I understand exactly what happened. He hit me!

  As my unresponsive body falls to the ground with a loud thud, the seconds draining away the last bit of consciousness I have, I can see the servant being choked out by the man I intended to help. The plan succeeded, I think, but this isn’t how I expected I would start my first evening here.

  When I come to, the man I helped is standing over me, and the servant is lying face down, out cold. “Are you alright?” he asks, extending his hand.

  “How long was I out?” I ask, taking his hand and allowing him to help me up. When I get to my feet, I’m still dizzy and I stumble, nearly falling back to the ground, but he catches me from falling. Humiliated didn’t begin to describe how I felt right now.

  “About four seconds. Do you need me to take you to the infirmary?”

  “I’m fine.” I push away from him and grab my forehead. I had never been knocked out before, and after experiencing it, never wanted to again. It wasn’t pleasant, and my head still ached from the cowardly servant’s surprise attack.

  “He got you pretty good. You sure you don’t want to check for brain damage?”

  A rush of blood flows to my face, reddening my cheeks. “I said I’m fine. I can handle myself.” I avoid looking at him at all cost. I made the decision to help him, but I in no way thought that my plan would backfire.

  Me? A former FBI agent, knocked out by such a rough and undignified brute?

  Did this man want to laugh?

  Did he think I was pathetic?

  While lost in thought, the man in the biker jacket gently takes my wrist. “I’m sorry,” he says.

  In shock, I look up at him. “Why are you apologizing? You didn’t do anything to me.”

  “I should have anticipated hi—“Getting a clear view of my face, the man freezes, his eyes stare intently into mines, and he looks speechless. “Such beautiful eyes.”

  I look away and wriggle my wrist to signal for him to let me go. He understands, and does. I pick up my belongings and continue heading for my room, avoiding all eye contact from him. I thought that doing this would benefit me, but all I felt now was disgrace. I let a greenhorn get the best of me, and this man chokes him to sleep in a few seconds? Who really helped who?

  “You have nothing to be ashamed of,” he says. “You have my thanks.

  For a moment I stop, but quickly continue to my room.

  * * *

  I had been here a week, and there was barely any time for rest. I received a butler suit, and went straight to work afterwards.

  The first two days were training days. I quickly showed that I was one of the most proficient servants when it came to guns and hand to hand combat, so I spent most of my training learning how to perform task around and outside of the mansion. There were around one hundred servants in all, so there were plenty of tasks for each of us to do. On Wednesday, I was tasked with serving food and cleaning the mess hall, which to my surprise, saw a lot of employees from Skycorp. The next day, I was tasked with cleaning, taking apart, and repairing the guns in the shooting range, and checking inventory in the armory. The nature of the tasks were odd to me, who was a prisoner, so dealing with weapons, both armed and otherwise still felt strange. I didn’t exactly feel like a prisoner, but I also didn’t feel free. Servant was the right word indeed.

  We received three square meals a day, which we had to prepare ourselves from what was on the menu, as well as maintain our portions, and after a day of work, I would spend the rest in my room, which, in truth, was a cell disguised as a hotel room. It had all the necessities; a shower, toilet, bed, and a dresser. They were even caring enough to include a mirror with the dresser. My room also had a phone line for emergency use, as well as a speaker for receiving broadcast. I’d spend the rest of my time in there until the doors unlocked and it was time to work. I rarely entered the mansion, so I saw very little of Maria, and even less of that man I met earlier.

  Today I was tasked with cleaning the mansions swimming pool, along with the area around it. It didn’t see much use, so I may have taken a few shortcuts to get the job done, but no one would notice. After I finish my task early, I step out to the second floor balcony of the mansion and take in the amazing view. I could see a whole section of this prison from this side of the balcony. There were still a lot of buildings I hadn’t been to, but it wasn’t as if I had any desire to see them. Right now, I only had one desire.

  I take out my locket and flip it open, revealing the picture of me with my sister and niece. I wonder if they thought about me. Does Christie even know what happened? Has she gotten better? Has Rin healed? I missed them.

  “Family of yours?” asks a voice coming from behind me. I remembered that voice. It was an alluring, masculine voice, and due to that and other reasons, one I wouldn’t forget.

  I close my locket and turn around to see the man who previously wore the biker jacket. He now wore a sharp Kiton formal suit. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

  He walks beside me and puts his arms against the railing of the balcony, leaning forward. “It’s a beautiful night out.”

  “I suppose, when I’m not locked in my room or busy with something else.”

  “The name’s Nolan,” he says, turning to face me.

  “I see,” I say looking out in the distance, and putting my locket away. “And what exactly do you do here?”

  “I’m the owner of this island, as well as the CEO of Skycorp.”

  It was as I expected then. He was someone important. But why was he talking to me? Was he just passing the time? Did he want to say something about last week? Or, was this simply a coincidence. “Skycorp; what is it?”

  “Wouldn’t you like to know?” he asks.

  I turn to him, and he gives me a playful smile. I can’t help but giggle. “Touché.”

  “I tell you what, you answer my original question, and I’ll answer yours.”

  “You’re persistent,” I say, taking my locket into my palms. “But why not?” It’s not as if showing him wouldn’t benefit me, and the more I could impress him, the greater my chances of leaving this place
earlier. I flip open the locket, and show him the picture. “It’s my sister and niece; they’re all I have.”

  “Parents?”

  “My mother passed away, and I’ve never been able to confide in my father. You could say we just couldn’t connect, but he helped me when it mattered most. I’m thankful for that at least.”

  “How bad do you want to see them again?”

  “I answered your question, now it’s your turn to answer mines.”

  He chuckles. “A tough negotiator, I like that.” He clasps his hands together and looks up at the stars in the night sky. “To put it simply, Skycorp is a science and technology development corporation.”

  “Don’t give me simple,” I say, “give me the sophisticated juicy details.”

  “I could go on for hours if you like?”

  “Neither of us have that time.”

  “Well, I guess I’ll have to show you some other time.”

  While I didn’t mind talking with him, I was starting to wander whether he only approached me out of pity. If that was the case, then I wouldn’t accept that. “Look, if this is about the incident from when we first met, you don’t owe me anything. I was just trying to help when I called out to you, nothing more.”

  “Is that so?” he asks, giving me a wary smirk.

  My eyes narrow. “What do you mean?”

  “You didn’t see an opportunity in helping me?”

  “Are you implying I only helped you for my own benefit?”

  Nolan smiles. “I’m not implying anything, only asking a question.”

  Did he see past me? “Who knows? You’re free to assume what you want, but I don’t recall asking for you to speak to me, and I don’t see how I can benefit from getting knocked out.” I proceed to walk away, but Nolan grabs my arm, pulling me in his direction.

  “You have enchanting eyes, you know that?”

  “So I’ve been told,” I say.

  “It’s rare to see someone with the Gold Bloom mutation.”

  “You know about it?”

  “I’ve did my research on it. Your eyes go well with your suit.”