All Chapters of The Billionaire Romantic getaway: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Mandy WAITED UNTIL she got into her car before she allowed the tears to fall. She hadn’t meant to yell at her sister like that. Everything had just boiled up and up and finally over. It was like Claudia’s mission in life was to make her big sister feel like she was nothing. She had been trying to lose weight and it was working. She had a whole new wardrobe to prove it! She was in no way jealous of Claudia marrying Stephen. Or maybe she was. Not of Stephen, but the fact her younger sister was getting married before her. “The marriage won’t last, anyways,” she told herself, and then felt like crap for trying to condemn it before they’d even said ‘I do’. As much as Claudia’s comments hurt, though, she had to admit the sense of relief lifting off her chest couldn’t be missed. She was tired of being spread thin by Claudia’s crises and work and the passive aggressive comments about her weight. She didn’t even want to think about the wrath she’d have to face from her mother, but suddenly Ma

Carl smiled knowingly at her as he brought his head up and forced her to watch him. He tugged down her bikini bottom so he could stroke her bare skin. He slipped a finger inside her again and she cried out as his thumb found her center and began to rub against her. His stimulation, the sensual movement of the water around them, proved unstoppable. She cried out as her body exploded and she came against his fingers. She clung to him as the ripples of sensation subsided. “I’m just getting started.” His hot breath teased her ear. “Strip me,” he ordered. She was putty in his hands. She reached down and pulled down his swim trunks. They were instantly on the pool steps, her bare bottom pressed against the lining as one of the jets teased her thigh. “Take me already,” she begged, stroking him until he was even bigger and harder. Harder than she had ever felt him before. “With fuckin’ pleasure,” he bit out, and grabbed her hips, thrusting into her in one stroke. Mandy cried out again,

ON MONDAY, Mandy SPENT most of the morning in the office on her own. Gina called in sick and Carl sent her a text message to say he was meeting clients out of the office. When she messaged him back to confirm he would be back in so she could let other investors and trade companies know, he didn’t reply.Answering both phones, hers and the front office, had her running back and forth between both rooms and barely able to get anything else done. She had a contract that needed to be written, and a million other things to get done. Busy was a good thing, it kept her from worrying if Carl had taken the meetings out of the office as a way to avoid her after their last encounter in her apartment suite. She had been hoping that things would go back to normal, like when they had slept together.It had taken weeks to find the flow and act normal, and even then they still had lingering looks and unspoken words. Or maybe it was just her. Maybe she was imagining all this shit because she had the h

“Trust you?” Carl scoffed. “Let me tell you this: reconciliation is impossible and my pride has nothing to do with it,” he snarled. “You don’t know what he did, what they did. What they put me through. You have no fuckin’ idea.”“Then why don’t you tell me?” Mandy asked quietly. “Please. I want to help. Your father’s dying and wants to see you again. Your brother’s trying to make amends as well.” She moved forward on her chair so her knees pressed against his. “I know you’re not happy with things as they are. Maybe I can help figure this out, but I can’t do anything unless you tell me.”Carl glared at her for a long moment. It took everything in her not to say anything and just let him be. He stared at the wall then, the muscles in his jaw working as he got his thoughts and emotions under control. “It’s a long story,” he said finally.“I’m not in a rush,” she offered.Carl stood and held out his hand to help Mandy up. “Let’s get out of here. I need a drink.”“Sure.” She was terrified

“I threatened Stephen.” Carl looked at her, anger blazing in his eyes from the memory. “I told him that if he didn’t stay away from you, or if he made you uncomfortable in any way, I was going to wreck his father’s company. I could buy it way below its real value and then rip it apart and make sure no one would even know that it had existed. Not only would it destroy his father’s lifework, but it would kick Stephen out of his easy and comfortable lifestyle effectively. I think he told your sister to kick you out of the wedding.” He shook his head. “I’m so sorry, Mandy. I was trying to help. I’ll fix it, okay? I’ll explain it all to Claudiaand—”“No.” Mandy shook her head, smiling suddenly. She couldn’t help but feel proud and oddly excited at the thought of Carl threatening Stephen to protect her. She knew a cold-hearted move like that could ruin his reputation if the press got the right spin on it. But he was willing to do it to protect her? “I didn’t want the maid of honor job anywa