All Chapters of Bound by a Billion Dollar Marriage: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Do I really have to take everything off?Isla Bennett swallowed hard, forcing herself to look calm."Take it off when I tell you to." The middle-aged doctor glanced coldly at Isla on the padded exam table, her voice sharp with irritation.Isla bit down on her lower lip, hard enough to leave two faint marks in the soft pink skin. Her whole body was strung tight with unease. "Can I at least ask what this exam is for?"The doctor's brow creased. "It's a full pre-marital screening, obviously. If you're going to marry into the Vale family and become the young mistress, you'd better be clean. Untouched."And that wasn't all. Her body had to hold up, too otherwise who'd take the blame when Mr. Vale wore her out on the wedding night and there was nothing left to enjoy?Isla's breath caught in her throat."Hurry up. Everything off, then lie back," the doctor snapped, in a tone that left no room to argue.Isla bit her lip harder, humiliation and fury boiling under her skin. She felt like a piec

Back at the Bennett estate, Isla took a steadying breath and walked straight into the wolf's den."Where is my grandmother?" Isla's soft face had gone hard as frost."Isla, you filthy little tramp your neck is covered in hickeys! You didn't even show up for your exam yesterday. Which man did you run off to a hotel with?""You're getting married today. If you dare cause one ounce of trouble for this family, I will break both your legs myself."Regina Bennett jabbed a finger at Isla, spitting the words like venom.Isla was fairly sure the man from last night had left a mark on her throat. She could feel it.But none of that mattered right now. She looked at her aunt already curling her lip with open hostility and said, ice-cold, "What did you do with my grandmother? Release her right now or I'm calling the police."Isla made a show of reaching for her phone. Bianca stepped forward and knocked it clean out of her hand."Isla. Tsk, tsk. You look absolutely trashy after a night like that."

A ghost?Fine. If that's what she wanted, he'd give her a real scare."Tch. You've seen a lot of ghosts, huh? Ever seen one this good-looking?" Grayson dropped onto the sofa beside her, one arm braced against the cushions, boxing her into the corner.His voice low, warm, unmistakably familiar sent a jolt through her. Something about it rang a very specific bell.She lifted her head, trembling, and in the moonlight the shape of his face finally resolved.It's him.Oh my God. Is he a ghost? Is he actually here in the Vale house?Wait. Am I dreaming? Because my face genuinely hurts.Isla's brows snapped together, fury chasing out the fear in record time."What are you doing HERE?" Her voice cracked somewhere between a sob and a snarl."Little fox, you never paid me. So naturally, I follow wherever the debt goes." Grayson couldn't make out her expression clearly in the dark, but he could feel the anger radiating off her."Money? What money?" Isla curled tighter into herself, guilt floodin

The next morning, Isla was up before her alarm.The first thing she did was check herself over no marks, no bumps, no strange dreams. Relief washed over her, and she climbed out of bed to shower and get dressed in something a little more polished than usual.Today was her first day at Meridian Group, and she'd been looking forward to it enough to be up an hour early, just to make sure everything was perfect.She settled on black wide-leg trousers, a pale yellow blouse with soft ruffled sleeves, her dark hair pulled up into a neat bun.The girl in the mirror had skin like porcelain and eyes clear as still water pretty in that way that read as both grown and unmistakably young at the same time. Innocent, but not naive.After breakfast, the butler drove her into the city.She craned her neck looking up at the glass tower rising out of downtown, MERIDIAN GROUP spelled out in gleaming gold letters above the entrance.Isla's eyes shone, her smile wide, her chest full of hope for what came n

Isla felt herself yanked in by a grip she couldn't fight, her whole scalp prickling with alarm.She shoved at him instantly."Let go! Let GO!" Her small fists balled up, her whole body rattled like her nerves might scatter apart on impact.Her eyes, glassy with fear, widened.Watching her terror only seemed to bring something darker out in Grayson.With one hand, he steered her back against the glass wall behind the desk and pinned her there.Isla's eyes cut sideways. Below them, in broad daylight, the street was thick with midday traffic office workers hustling by, cars, buses, a whole city going about its business completely unaware. If a single person in the building across the street glanced up, this entire moment would be on full display.With her spine pressed to the cold glass, Isla stared out at the vertigo-inducing drop below, her legs trembling with vertigo alone.Her face flushed red, her clear eyes swimming with dread.She pressed both palms flat against his chest, trying