Sinful Rewards 5: A Billionaires and Bikers Novella

By Cynthia Sax

Nicolas Rainer, Chicago’s most sought-after billionaire bachelor, has finally decided what he wants, and that’s Bee Carter in his arms, forever. He shows up unannounced on her doorstep and kisses her until her toes curl and her body burns.

Nicolas wasn’t the sexy man Bee expected to see this morning. Hawke Masters, her tattooed former marine, is riding his customized chopper toward the condo building, anticipating an equally mind-meltingly erotic encounter.

Both men want her with a thrilling intensity. Neither her billionaire nor her biker wishes to share her affections. Is today the day Bee is forced to choose?

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Nov 18, 2014
• ISBN: 9780062354167

Cynthia Sax

Cynthia Sax lives in a world filled with magic and romance. Although her heroes may not always say, “I love you,” they will do anything for the women they adore. They live passionately. They play hard. They love the same women forever. Cynthia has loved the same wonderful man forever. Her supportive hubby offers himself up to the joys and pains of research while they travel the world together, meeting fascinating people and finding inspiration in exotic places such as Istanbul, Bali, and Chicago.

Book preview

Chapter One

NICOLAS RAINER, CHICAGO’S most sought-after bachelor, is kissing me, Belinda Carter, daughter of a hardworking waitress and a biker who didn’t stick around long enough to see my birth. The billionaire cups my face with his hands, pressing his lips gently against mine as he slowly, leisurely explores my mouth.

He’s everything a woman should want—handsome, wealthy, intelligent—and I’m his focus, his top priority. He has given me his phone to hold for the next twenty minutes, ignoring his real estate empire for once in his ambitious life. I should be thrilled, ecstatic, swept off my feet.

And I would feel this way if it weren’t for the guilt churning my stomach. My phone hums against my right hip. Hawke, my tattooed former marine, is trying to contact me. I told him to call when he reached the condo complex. He returned to the building to see me, to spend time with me, not knowing that Nicolas had planned a surprise visit.

Do you need to answer your phone? Nicolas breaks our embrace, gazing down at me with eyes darkened by passion.

Yes, my soul screams. No. I force the word past my tingling lips. These twenty minutes are ours.

Twenty minutes, Nicolas repeats, sounding stunned. With no contact to the outside world. His gaze lowers to his phone, the device clutched in my left hand.

You can last that long. I laugh, clipping his device to the waistband of my white pants, the fabric sagging under the combined weight of the electronics. You’re Nicolas Rainer. You can do anything, I tease.

That’s true. His grim lips curl upward, the smile rendering his already gorgeous face even more attractive. I am an asshole.

You’re a complete asshole. I dance away from him, my bare feet slapping on the hardwood floor. The shopping bags filled with clothes remain near the door, tempting me, but I can’t look at the garments now. If I peek into the bags, Nicolas will ask about them and I can’t tell him the truth. I can’t share that Lona, the escort in five oh one south, is paying me to have lunch with a man. He wouldn’t approve of that, of me.

Seeking to draw him away from the bags, I move toward the kitchen. Can I get you anything—coffee, water, candy? I wave my hand over the bowl of jelly beans set on the red countertop.

The Wynters make good candy, Nicolas states begrudgingly as he peers into the bowl. I have to give them credit for that.

I say nothing because it is the truth. Cyndi Wynters, my best friend and roommate, is heir to the company, and they do make good candy.

Nicolas pops a couple of jelly beans into his mouth and chews. Where is your messy roommate?

I hear the disapproval in his voice and my spine straightens. Cyndi went to LA for the weekend. I shake the bowl. This jostles the jelly beans, erasing the dip Nicolas’s fingers made in the colorful candy. She’s my best friend and a nice person. And I won’t tolerate anyone, not even my billionaire, talking badly about her.

She’s a Wynters. Nicolas scowls.

I don’t know what her dad did to you. My fingers curl around the edge of the candy bowl. But it has nothing to do with Cyndi. She’s a wonderful human being.

You’re right. He squares his shoulders. You don’t know what her dad did to me.

I’ll never know unless you tell me. I stalk toward the floor-to-ceiling windows, needing to be closer to Hawke. Cyndi has no idea why you hate her. And I have too much respect for your privacy to call Mr. Wynters and discuss your personal business with him.

Nicolas says nothing, his response to any unpleasant situation, and I glare out the window, unable to craft a solution without knowing the details.

Hawke stands on his balcony with his arms raised, military-style binoculars covering his eyes. He’s watching us. I clench my fists, splay my fingers against the cool glass, clench my fists, and flash my fingers, signaling that I need twenty more minutes.

An uncomfortable silence stretches, emphasizing the fissure that I have caused between Nicolas and me. My reclusive billionaire has a right to his feelings and to his secrets. Although he had me investigated, he doesn’t know everything about me either. He certainly doesn’t know about the conflicted feelings I have for Hawke, the man he hired to investigate me.

He must never know. I inhale deeply, count to five, and release my breath.

I don’t like anyone speaking negatively about the people I love, I confess, my gaze fixed on Hawke’s big form. He’s wearing clothing today. I can’t see the details, as he’s too far away, but I suspect his black T-shirt is plain and his blue jeans are faded and torn.

His taste in fashion is deplorable, unlike Nicolas’s sense of style. I glance over my shoulder. My billionaire is clad in a formfitting black suit, an immaculate white shirt, and a beautiful forest green silk tie.

My gaze returns to Hawke. Did he understand my message? Needing to be certain, I splay and clench my fingers two more times.

The man I should be thinking about claims the space to my right, his hand brushing against mine, his expensive cologne filling my nostrils. Hawke would have positioned his big body behind me, wrapped his arms around my waist, engulfed me with his heat, his scent, his hard muscle.

Nicolas must be able to see his rival. I chew on the inside of my cheek, dreading the questions he’s certain to ask, not knowing how I’ll answer them.

The investigator warned me you were loyal, my billionaire murmurs, remaining focused on our conversation.

I frown. That investigator was Hawke, and he meant it as a compliment. Loyalty is a good trait. It isn’t something you need to be warned about.

It can be a good trait, my well-dressed executive concedes. It can also cause problems.

It has caused problems for me. My foolish heart, having sworn loyalty to Hawke, won’t allow me to focus on Nicolas, a man who can offer me everything I want. I touch the ball chain hanging around my neck. The dog tags Hawke gave me dangle between my breasts, concealed by my pale blue blouse.

I can switch my loyalties. I make this statement more for myself than for Nicolas. But I need a good reason to do that.

Avoiding a lifetime spent working minimum-wage jobs as my mom did, unable to help her, to afford rent, the fashions I love, is a good reason. Hawke doesn’t earn enough money to furnish his condo. He can’t give me the life I want. He can’t ensure my mom has a rodent-free place to stay and food in her fridge.

An unexplained dislike of Cyndi’s family isn’t a good reason, I add, unwilling to betray my buddy to gain the man and the lifestyle I deserve. You have to give me more than that.

There’s another long pause. This time I don’t apologize, don’t fill the silence with words. Cyndi has been my best friend for years, I’d do anything for her, and if Nicolas doesn’t understand this, doesn’t appreciate this, then he isn’t the man for me.

Your loyalty to her will cause problems between us, won’t it? he asks, his voice soft.

Yep. I’ll continue to defend Cyndi and he’ll continue to make snide remarks.

The light dims as clouds cover the sun, the day deteriorating as quickly as my impromptu date with Nicolas. Below us, in the tiny park, the branches of the big maple tree sway, the wind rustling its leaves.

I planned the complex around that tree, Nicolas shares. As soon as I saw it, I knew I couldn’t cut it down. It’s been here for over a century.

He values longevity, tradition, constancy, as I do, which makes his stance on Cyndi even more puzzling. So you built around it. And every morning, he sits alone in his park and gazes at his tree, cherishing everything it represents.

I did. Nicolas nods. I hired the best arborist in the city to ensure the tree survived. She was here every day, driving the construction crew crazy with her demands.

But it was worth it. I hear the love warming his normally curt voice.

It was, he agrees. The leaves turn a brilliant red in the fall and, when the snow falls, we string lights in the branches.

I sigh.

Reviews for Sinful Rewards 5

[blsfan68 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Love these books. Cynthia leaves you wondering who is the mysterious man rewarding Bee, just as Bee herself is left wondering. I can't wait for the next installment to see what will happen next.

[Anne Baker · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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