The Billionaire Takes All (The Sinclairs Book 5) Read online

  He laughed just because she was positive that they couldn’t be civil for very long. There was something about the way she judged him as a person instead of a superstar or a rich Sinclair that made him want to please her. And he really hadn’t given a shit about anyone’s opinion of him for a very long time.

  “You okay?” he questioned as he looked at her concerned expression and the placement of her hands.

  “Yeah. Sometimes if I put my hands on something tangible, it helps.”

  “Sarah told me the medicine would help.”

  “It does. I’m fine. Really.”

  She didn’t look fine, and Julian hated that. “You look nervous,” he observed.

  “I’ve never flown before. It’s . . . different.”

  Julian knew that she was almost twenty-eight, several years younger than he was, but still, he wasn’t sure how it was possible that she’d never been on a plane. “Why? The motion sickness?”

  Kristin shook her head. “No. I’ve just never had the chance.”

  He watched as she seemed to visibly relax. “No travel?”

  “Only by car. I’ve never gone far enough to need to fly.”

  He’d found out enough about her life that her answer made sense. “So I’m your first?”

  Kristin rolled her eyes. “The plane ride is my first,” she retorted and raised a brow. “Maybe I haven’t flown, but don’t you think a twenty-eight-year-old virgin would be a rarity?”

  Her question made Julian think about Kristin with other men. It wasn’t a pleasant thought. He didn’t want to contemplate her being intimate with anybody except him. Possessiveness clawed at his gut, and he clenched his fists on his thighs to keep from grabbing her and making her forget there had ever been other guys.

  Slowly, he calmed himself down. He didn’t need to be her first.

  But he was damn certain he was going to be her last, best, and only from now on.

  CHAPTER 4

  Okay . . . maybe Kristin hadn’t been with a ton of men, but she wasn’t about to share her sexual history with Julian Sinclair. Yeah, she’d only been with two guys, two boyfriends that had never worked out, but that was her business.

  Julian wanted a truce, and Kristin could agree to that . . . for now. But she and Julian were always at each other’s throats, so it wouldn’t last long.

  Foreplay?

  For her, the attraction had always been hidden beneath the surface, kept at bay only by being on the defensive with him. He probably did have good qualities. She had just never wanted to look at them. It was easier to keep her distance. Besides, they really did have very little in common.

  It’s only for a weekend, a special few days off work that I never have. I can manage to tolerate his bossiness for that long. “Okay,” she finally relented. “If you stop being a high-handed jerk, I’ll stop fighting with you for a few days.”

  He nodded, a stormy look on his face as he inclined his head.

  “Drinks?” The flight attendant stopped beside the table, a beautiful woman with rich dark hair, a skinny body, and wearing a dress with heels.

  Julian asked for a beer and then looked at her.

  “Ginger ale?” she asked tentatively. She had no idea what they stocked on this plane, but her stomach had settled, and she wanted to keep it from rebelling again. Living through the humiliation of puking in front of Julian once was enough.

  The woman nodded and walked away, so Kristin assumed the bar was well equipped. “Nice jet,” she mumbled, still not able to quite take in the opulence of the aircraft. Maybe she’d never flown, but she’d seen what a normal airplane looked like on the inside. And it never appeared this comfortable on TV.

  The seating area was in sections, but all of it was done in cream leather. There was a couch along the wall in the front, some plush leather loungers, and the seats with a table in between that she and Julian were presently occupying. The bedroom and bathroom had been a luxury she hadn’t expected, but she had taken full advantage of the facilities to feel human again.

  “I like it. I avoided spending money when I was building a career. I wanted to be successful on my own. If I had to fly, I used Micah’s or Xander’s jet or just flew commercial.”

  “What’s it like to fly in a regular plane?” Kristin was curious since she’d never stepped foot on anything that flew.

  “Hell,” he admitted. “Especially in economy. No legroom, and if you get stuck next to somebody who doesn’t believe in deodorant, you’re screwed for however many hours the flight lasts.”

  Kristin laughed, finding it hard to imagine Julian stuck in a small economy seat. The man took up space. But just the fact that he’d lived like a normal person made her soften a little. “I can understand why you didn’t want people to know who you were, but weren’t you ever tempted to tell anybody?”

  “Once,” he answered thoughtfully. “A woman I was dating. In the end, I was glad I didn’t. Seems she didn’t want to be with a struggling actor. She wanted somebody to help her get upward mobility. She wanted to fuck me, but she didn’t really want to be with me.”

  He was aloof, but she could hear the tiny thread of bitterness in his tone. “She hurt you. I’m sorry.”

  “It was a long time ago. Not long after I finished college.”

  “You went to college?” Since he was an actor, she’d just assumed he hadn’t continued on after high school.

  “I went to Juilliard. My dad wanted me to chase my dreams, but he also wanted me to be educated when I did.”

  “Your father must have been a smart man,” Kristin concluded. She paused before adding, “I’m sorry about your parents and Xander.”

  She knew about what had happened to them. Almost everyone knew now. It was an unthinkable tragedy. Both of Julian’s parents murdered, and although Xander had come through his injuries alive, he would probably bear the emotional and physical scars of the incident forever.

  “Thanks,” he acknowledged, then changed the subject. “So what were your dreams when you were a kid? Did you always want to be in medicine?”

  She nodded her head. “I wanted to be a doctor when I was young.”

  “Why didn’t you pursue it?”

  “It wasn’t realistic for me. But I love what I do. Working with Sarah is wonderful. She’s a good doctor. The patients love her. I’m pretty happy doing exactly what I do now.” She didn’t regret not being a doctor, since she’d had other priorities when she graduated high school. Luckily, she was still able to do what she loved. “How’s the movie going?”

  “Almost done. I just need to shoot on location for a few weeks.”

  “Is it better than the last action movie?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen the whole thing put together yet, but the plot is pretty thin.”

  “What’s next?” she asked curiously.

  “I’m not sure. You were right when we were talking in the bar and you said movies can be made for simple entertainment. They do help people get away from their lives if they need to for a little while. But I’ll probably wait for the right script to come along after this film is done rather than do a big-budget picture where the special effects overtake the plot. I want to do something . . . different.”

  “Something like your first movie?” It had been a tearjerker about a bipolar man and his struggles with the mental condition.

  He laughed. “Yeah. Something like that.”

  “How do you know that the right film will ever come along?”

  He shrugged. “If it doesn’t, I’ll wait until I finish writing my current screenplay.”

  “You write, too?” Now she was really intrigued.

  “I wrote my first movie. That’s how I ended up being the lead. Getting it into the hands of somebody who would read it was hell. But I finally found a guy who wanted to produce the movie and they gave me the starring role after I went through multiple auditions. They decided nobody else could do the lead like the guy who had written the screenplay. I doub
t I would have even been asked to audition if I didn’t already have my foot in the door. I actually made it on my writing, not my acting.”

  “But you got an Oscar,” she answered defensively.

  “Two, actually. One for best screenplay, and the other for best actor. But I wouldn’t have even had a shot at a leading role if nobody had picked up my screenplay.”

  He was good. Damn good. His first movie had been insightful, deep, and a film that was in-your-face gritty. She’d seen it several times, and she bawled her eyes out every single time. “I didn’t know you wrote it. It was fantastic.” She might not like him, but she admired his talent.

  “I had a friend who was bipolar. He was my inspiration.”

  “What’s the next one about?”

  Julian was silent for a moment before he answered. “I started a manuscript about a drug addict, a man who was driven to drugs to escape.”

  “Like Xander,” she concluded, an encouraging note in her voice. She knew Julian had to be concerned about his youngest brother, and if he wanted to talk, she’d listen.

  “Yeah. But I didn’t know how it ended, or all the facts about how it began. So I started something else and put that one away for now. It was too personal. This one is kind of a bittersweet love story. Totally fictional this time.”

  Kristin’s heart melted. She could see how much Julian cared about his brother, so much that he couldn’t write a story that reminded him of Xander’s struggles. “He’s in rehab,” she reminded him softly. “He can change.”

  “He has changed. Unfortunately, it’s not for the better. Hell, he used to be the nicest, biggest-hearted Sinclair. Now I don’t know him anymore.”

  “Then he has the core of a nice guy.”

  “He’s an asshole.”

  “But he wasn’t always that way,” Kristin argued.

  “He’s my little brother. They’re always a pain in the ass. We fought, and we disagreed like most siblings do sometimes. But he was a hell of a good person. His fame never went to his head. He was always well grounded and kind. Now he’s just an asshole. I just hope he dries out.” Julian sat back and ran a hand through his hair in apparent frustration. “Shit! I don’t blame him for being depressed. He had to watch our parents die in front of his eyes. Their death almost destroyed all of us. The way it happened, so damn much gone in just seconds. But it’s like we lost our little brother, too. He’s alive, but he isn’t the sibling we knew anymore. I can’t get through to him, but I can’t let him go,” Julian rasped.

  “He has to want to live clean, Julian. It’s not you.” Kristin had never had an addict in her family, but she’d worked with plenty in her job as a medical assistant. “If he’s not willing to try, nothing you say will matter. Give it some time. He’s stayed at the rehab center. That’s something to be positive about.”

  She was gratified that after a few moments, Julian started to grin. “Are you trying to make me feel better, Scarlet?”

  Kristin shrugged, trying not to return his infectious smile. “You did hold back my hair when I threw up. Isn’t that what friends do?”

  Julian was quiet, pausing as he watched her.

  Her heart beat just a little bit faster as their gazes met. Her breath caught as she saw the predatory look in his beautiful blue eyes.

  “I think we both know this is a hell of a lot more than friendship we’re feeling,” he answered in a husky tone. “But I’ll take it . . . for now.”

  Instead of letting the moment pass, she asked breathlessly, “Why are you pursuing this? Okay. Yeah. I’m attracted to you. I think probably most women in America think you’re a handsome guy. But I don’t understand why you want to push this with me.”

  “Because I have to,” Julian answered mysteriously. “I can’t not talk about it.”

  Damn! It was an answer without really being an answer. Obviously he wasn’t going to clue her in on why he’d come all the way to Amesport to make sure she got to the wedding. And he wasn’t going to explain why he kept looking at her like she was . . . well . . . as beautiful as a cover model that he was lusting after.

  They were interrupted as their drinks arrived, and Julian asked the flight attendant to bring them a light meal.

  “I’m not hungry,” Kristin said, smiling at the gorgeous woman who gave her an ice-cold ginger ale in a fancy crystal glass and a napkin.

  “Bring it to her anyway,” Julian demanded. He shot Kristin a pointed look not to argue as the woman left to go get the meals.

  “I said I’m not hungry,” she whispered to him angrily.

  He lifted a hand to cut her off. “Dr. Sarah’s orders. She said you needed small meals to keep the nausea away.”

  “You talked to Sarah?” Kristin asked, surprised.

  “You were sick. Who else would I call? I’d think that you trust her medical advice. You work with her.”

  Caught!

  What could she say to that comment? Not only was Sarah her boss, but Kristin trusted her more than any other doctor she knew. “If I didn’t think she was a great physician, I wouldn’t be working with her,” she confessed. “Why did you call her? I was just motion sick.”

  She knew she was being difficult, but Julian was making her crazy. Even when he was being high-handed, he didn’t seem to think he was.

  “I was worried,” he confessed without hesitation.

  Kristin toyed with her glass, swiping at the condensation with her napkin. Nobody worried about her except occasionally her parents or Mara. And for quite some time, her mom and dad had been too consumed with other things to fret over their only child. They knew she was capable of taking care of herself. She took care of them now.

  Although she couldn’t tell Julian, he’d totally disarmed her with three simple words. If he’d come back with a smartass comment, she could handle that. But when a friend did something out of concern for her well-being, it was a little . . . disconcerting, maybe even touching.

  She’d suffered a simple incident of motion sickness, something she’d had all her life, a difficulty that rarely popped up. But he’d called her boss and friend, a doctor, who could confirm he was doing everything right.

  “Thanks. But I told you I’d be fine,” she reminded him.

  “I was still worried,” he answered honestly. “You were pale, and you were sick. How could you be sure it wasn’t something else?”

  She smiled, unable to hold it back. He had been concerned because she’d gotten sick, and it was a novelty for her, something she wasn’t quite accustomed to, but it was . . . nice. “Believe me, I know the feeling of motion sickness. I’ve experienced it enough over the years, but I’ve learned to avoid situations where I actually get that sick.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Because I was angry. I assumed what you were doing was all a joke. And I didn’t want it to go on any longer. Maybe I thought you were just making fun of me. I just wanted to get back to the bar. Honestly, I didn’t even think of my little problem until we were almost to the airport.”

  He took a slug of beer from a frosted mug before answering. “No joke,” he rasped. “Why in the hell would you ever think that?”

  “Because rich, amazing superstars that look as hot as you do don’t kidnap women like me.” She glanced at him over her glass as she sipped her soda.

  “You think I’m hot?” He raised a brow with a smirk of satisfaction on his face.

  Kristin rolled her eyes, irritated that he was trying to embarrass her. She decided to retaliate, using his irritating sexual references by slinging them back at him. “Yes, Julian. I have fantasies every night about you. My vibrator needs new batteries at least every other day, and I nearly swoon every time I see your picture,” she told him sarcastically as she fanned herself with her napkin.

  He leaned back in his chair, a mischievous smile on his handsome face. “Good . . . because I’ve been having the same problem lately. I think about kissing every freckle on your beautiful face, and I dream about making you smi
le. I want to see if you have those adorable freckles everywhere on your body. And if you do, I want my mouth on them, too. I stroke myself off in the shower just thinking about burying my face between your thighs and feasting until you come so hard that you can’t say anything except my name. But it isn’t enough. I want you desperate. Begging me to fuck you. I want to see that beautiful, curly, sexy red hair on my pillow while I bury myself so deep inside you that you never want me to leave.” He took another large gulp of his beer before he finished, “So I guess we have the same thoughts.”

  She squirmed in the plush leather seat, her core clenching with need and her nipples as hard as precious gems. Jesus! She couldn’t play sexual games with this man, because he had no problem and felt absolutely no embarrassment at blurting out whatever he wanted to say.

  Unwilling to let him win, she said suggestively, “You never think about having my hands and mouth on you, sucking you off until you beg for mercy?” She ran her finger along the rim of her glass slowly, deliberately.

  “I’d be fucking begging for more,” he growled as he surged forward and reached out to grab her wrist, stopping her caressing motion on the crystal. “Don’t keep playing this game with me, Scarlet. You’ll lose. I’ll have you bent over the table naked in about ten more seconds.”

  She shivered at the warning tone of his voice, finally realizing she was playing with fire. Licking her lips nervously, she realized he was serious. “Why?” she whispered, confused because this was much more than a game, and the intensity she clearly saw in his expression was almost frightening.

  It wasn’t scary because she feared Julian. It was terrifying because her body reacted to every single emotion he displayed, feeling like they echoed her own.

  “Why? I’ll tell you why, Scarlet. Because I want to fuck you so badly that I won’t be able to stop myself!” he grumbled, releasing her hand so she could rest it on the table. “You’re traveling, and you’re sick. It’s the only thing keeping me from pinning you against the nearest solid object and doing what I’ve wanted to do since the moment I met you.”