Hey Wild Ones! I’m excited to announce that my newest book is up for pre-order! The Sinful Billionaire was a fantastic roller coaster to write, and I loved every tense moment of it. Come see why Maria and Andrew wrung me out by the end of the novel!
Can a strong, independent woman learn to trust and not get burned by love again?
Maria González is a successful businesswoman who struggles with her deepest desires. She wants a man to surrender to. Someone to spice her life up. A strong partner she can lean on. The trouble is, she doesn’t trust anyone.
Andrew McClerkin isn’t looking for a relationship. He’s busy running his Miami real estate empire and managing the club he owns with a friend. He sticks to casual encounters for what he wants. Nothing gets in the way of his goals.
Except Maria. What happens when a woman who goes after what she wants meets a man who won’t open up for anyone?
Love billionaire romance novels with strong female characters? Long for deep feelings with your steamy scenes? Buy this HOT and spicy MF romance and get lost in the journey! It’s part of the Club Sin series, which features a different relationship style and dynamic in every book.
Here’s the first chapter for you to get excited about:
Chapter 1
Club Temptation was packed. Finding a man for Maria to take home for the night would be about as easy as picking up shells on the beach. Finding a hard man, as the saying went, would take a little more doing. Not much, since Miami was full of men who worked out. The club was therefore pretty well-stocked with men who hit the gym on a fairly regular basis. A few stood out as exceptionally well-muscled with a gorgeous face to go with it.
Maria leaned up against the bar watching them strut past and trying to figure out if any of them would be worth the trouble. It had to be closing in on two in the morning and none of the twenty-somethings looked tired at all. The crowd was thinning a bit, though. If she wanted to snag someone she’d have to do it soon.
“You just looking, or actually choosing?”
Maria turned around just as the bartender placed her drink in front of her. “Nothing worth picking.”
The woman raised her eyebrow at the crowd behind them. “Not one of these fine young men caught your fancy?”
Maria shrugged and turned back around to assess the new crop of fine young men walking past. “Some of them are damn fine, sure. But they’re all so… inexperienced. Cocksure and full of themselves, but no experience to back it up. I’d rather not have to draw him a map so he can find the important bits, if you know what I mean.”
The woman laughed. “You’re not wrong. I’ve occasionally accepted an offer from one of these hotties and let me tell you, they can be so full of themselves it’s almost like I’m not even part of the equation.”
Maria shook her head. “Not even worth it.”
Then the crowd parted a little and revealed a blond man in a sharp suit talking with someone. He was trim, but he filled out his suit in all the right ways, hinting at muscled arms and thighs. She couldn’t tell if there was any gray in his blond hair, but he was close enough that she could see the smile lines around his eyes when he laughed. Maria couldn’t tell his exact age in the dim light, but with his muscled body and strong chin, he wore it well.
Maria whistled low to the bartender. “Now he, on the other hand, is worth all my attention.”
The woman leaned in close. “Don’t get too worked up about him. That’s Andrew McClerkin. He’s a big figure around here and he doesn’t go home with anybody. I’ll just be the one to break it to you that it ain’t gonna happen.”
“Well, I can still enjoy the view,” Maria said. Just then Andrew started for the bar – and caught her looking at him. His gaze swept over her, assessing. She cocked her hip and let him look: long curly brown hair, short skirt covering ample hips and showing lots of Cuban-American golden-tanned legs. She looked good tonight, and she was pleased when he smiled a little and came over, sliding up to the bar beside her.
His hot gaze caught hers for a moment and made her belly flutter before he turned to the bartender. “1800 Cristalino, please. Double shot.”
“Right away,” the woman said, then turned to grab the bottle.
“A man with good taste in tequila,” Maria commented.
Andrew’s gaze met hers. “I only pick the finest.”
He radiated strength and Maria couldn’t look away from his steely gray-green eyes. This was definitely a man with experience. She was willing to bet he could find her g-spot in 30 seconds with his eyes closed. She swallowed hard, totally at a loss for what to say.
The moment was broken when his drink was placed in front of him and he reached out to get it. There was a silver link bracelet around his wrist with a charm hanging from it: a winding black snake gleaming in the blue overhead lights. Maria’s eyes grew wide as she looked at it.
That charm meant only one thing: Andrew was a member of Sin, the exclusive BDSM club rumored to be somewhere in this building.
Her gaze shot up to his face, to find him studying her. “You know what this is?” Andrew asked, lifting his wrist.
Maria nodded mutely.
“How do you know?”
She swallowed again. She didn’t want to admit that Sin was a rumor passed between those that frequented Temptation often. She came back over and over because she hoped it was more than a rumor.
“I’ve heard some people talk about it.”
“What people?” His eyes narrowed.
“Just random people,” Maria said quickly. “I don’t really know them, only heard them talking amongst themselves. They didn’t mean for me to hear.” It was true. That was the first time she’d heard of Sin and she was hooked on the idea from the moment she’d heard it. Other times had been snatches of conversation that the speaker would never confirm, or boasting young men that were too drunk to take seriously. When she asked people they either went silent and excused themselves, or gave her their theories about the club, all different from the last set of theories. And yet, spoken from the mouths of enough different people the idea of the secret club had persisted with Maria.
Andrew took a sip of his tequila, keeping eye contact with her over the rim of his glass. He licked his bottom lip when he was finished, catching a stray drop. His lips were full and sensuous. She’d gladly lick the tequila off for him.
“You’ve only heard of it.” When Maria nodded he said, “I’ve seen you here before. You come here a lot, and you stand out.” Maria flushed, and he chuckled as he eyed her short skirt. “Yes, you’re hotter than most here, but that’s not what I meant. I mean you’re older than most of these kids, you’re usually alone, and you almost never leave with anyone. So you’re here for something, and it’s not dancing with your girlfriends or picking up hot guys. Now what could that something be?”
“You’ve seen me before?” Maria didn’t know whether to be flattered or freaked out that he’d observed so much about her.
“I have. You could say I have a responsibility to this place. I come here often to keep an eye on it. I see things.” His gaze bored into her. “Like you, looking for something.”
Maria had been obsessed with learning about BDSM from that first night she’d heard Sin mentioned. Every time she’d come here she’d desperately hoped she’d find out a clue about Sin and how she could get into it. All she ever got was the occasional comment and a glimpse of a snake charm, which she’d figured was more than mere coincidence after spotting the third one on a person who’d mentioned Sin. It had to be a signal. Andrew was the first person who seemed to be willing to even hint at its meaning.
“I’m looking for Sin,” she said.
Andrew raised his eyebrow but didn’t reply, merely studied her for long moments before taking another sip of tequila. When he spoke it was to say something she didn’t expect.
“Are you experienced?”
“Pardon me?”
“Are you in the lifestyle?”
“What lifestyle?”
He sighed. “Like a babe in the woods.”
Maria bristled at that. “Excuse me, I’m forty-six years old. I’m no babe in the woods.”
“You’re looking for something you’ve got no clue about.”
“I know Sin is a BDSM club, and I know I want to try it. I know you’re into it. I want you to take me.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“You’ve been drinking.”
Maria looked down at her mojito. “So?”
“So, BDSM and alcohol don’t mix. Also, I don’t know a thing about you.”
“I thought you knew my whole life story from watching me.”
“I got a read on you, but I’ve been wrong in the past. Why should I trust a total stranger in a bar with my secrets?”
Maria looked away and laughed humorlessly. “Truer words were never spoken.” Uncomfortable thoughts of Clint, who she’d also met in a bar, flitted through her mind before she chased them away with a deep gulp of her drink. She set her glass down to see Andrew watching her, and the expression on his face said he saw the pain she’d tried to mask so quickly. Maria pushed on, using bravado to turn his attention from digging into her past. “So we have something in common – shitty strangers in bars. Never want to go through that again. I’m Maria González, 46 years old, and I work at the biggest investment bank in the city. Look me up if you want. I just want an in so I can figure out if it’s something I want to explore more. I won’t screw you over if you won’t screw me over.” She held her hand out, pinkie extended.
Amusement softened Andrew’s face. “You don’t take no for an answer very well, do you?”
“I never take no for an answer when it’s something I want. That’s real pertinent information about me you need to know.”
Andrew reached up and linked his pinkie with hers. “I won’t screw you over. But we still aren’t doing this tonight.”
“And what exactly is this?”
“We’re vetting you.”
“Vetting me for what?”
“For admission to the club.”
“Not for you?”
Andrew’s expression turned incredulous. “What makes you think I’m looking for anyone right now?”
Maria shrugged, a slow and sensuous movement that made the strap of her top slip down her shoulder. As expected, his eyes followed the curve of her shoulder before meeting hers again. “Because I see you looking.” She held her breath, waiting to see what he’d do.
His expression grew heated. “You don’t even know if we’re compatible. You don’t know how I identify, and I doubt you even know what you want from this kind of encounter.”
“True, but I feel a pull to you. You’re still talking to me so I think you feel it, too. If we were so mismatched there wouldn’t be anything between us.”
Andrew stepped closer and his energy changed, somehow seeming to grow larger and take up more space. It made her feel small in the face of his power, like he could push right through her if he tried. “If we do anything it will be when and how I arrange it, and that time is not now.”
She pouted a little about that, without even meaning to.
“You don’t like that answer but I promise if I decided to do anything I’d make it worth your while to wait. I could give you a high that would last a week without even taking a drink, and have you begging me for more. That what you’re looking for?”
“Yes, Sir.”
He held her gaze for a long time, making her forget to breathe until amusement crossed his features and the moment broke. “I’m not your Sir and we aren’t in a scene. Don’t call me that.” He pulled out his wallet and slid out a card and passed it across to her. It was glossy black with the word SIN printed on it in electric blue letters. On the back was a phone number and email address. “Contact me tomorrow. We can arrange a meeting to see if I can trust you with Sin.”
He drained the last of his tequila, nodded to her, and walked away. Maria was left gaping after him. “I can’t believe I just did that,” she breathed.
“I can’t believe he said yes!”
Maria jumped. The bartender was back, efficiently removing Andrew’s glass and wiping the counter.
“Girls fling themselves at him all the time and I have literally never seen him do more than nod to them while he’s brushing them off. What the hell did you say to him?”
Maria grinned. “I told him I don’t take no for an answer.”
The woman laughed. “I don’t know why that did the trick, but you’ve worked some kind of magic all right. You better not let that card out of your site. If you lose it in a place like this you’ll never get it back. These girls would cut a bitch for it.”
Maria slid the card into her bra, right next to her heart. “Safe as safe can be.”