The Billionaire's Mate Read online

  THE BILLIONAIRE’S MATE

  Cooper McKenzie

  EROTIC ROMANCE

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  ABOUT THE E-BOOK YOU HAVE PURCHASED: Your non-refundable purchase of this e-book allows you to only ONE LEGAL copy for your own personal reading on your own personal computer or device. You do not have resell or distribution rights without the prior written permission of both the publisher and the copyright owner of this book. This book cannot be copied in any format, sold, or otherwise transferred from your computer to another through upload to a file sharing peer to peer program, for free or for a fee, or as a prize in any contest. Such action is illegal and in violation of the U.S. Copyright Law. Distribution of this e-book, in whole or in part, online, offline, in print or in any way or any other method currently known or yet to be invented, is forbidden. If you do not want this book anymore, you must delete it from your computer.

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  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  IMPRINT: Erotic Romance

  THE BILLIONAIRE’S MATE

  Copyright © 2010 by Cooper McKenzie

  E-book ISBN: 1-60601-849-3

  First E-book Publication: April 2010

  Cover design by Jinger Heaston

  All cover art and logo copyright © 2010 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  Letter from Cooper McKenzie

  Regarding Ebook Piracy

  Dear Readers,

  I love writing my books and interacting with you, my readers. I love imagining and creating the worlds and characters and situations found in my books. Writing is also my job and I work hard at it.

  I get upset when my books are pirated. This means that someone has stolen my work.

  It is illegal to pirate ebooks. Just because it easy to share someone else’s work for free does not make it right, legally or morally. Pirating ebooks is no different than shoplifting from a store or robbing a bank.

  Please do not share this ebook with anyone. Do not send a copy of it to a forum, newsgroup, or file sharing site or auction it. Please do not give a copy of this ebook to anyone who has not bought their own copy from Siren-BookStrand or one of their legal distributor sites. Some readers think the sharing of a copyrighted ebook doesn’t amount to anything, but it does. It hurts me as a writer. It makes it difficult for me to continue writing. I have to support my family in some manner.

  Please respect my hard work and creativity and do not pirate my ebooks.

  With deep gratitude,

  Cooper McKenzie

  DEDICATION

  To M.J. Thanks for your friendship.

  THE BILLIONAIRE’S MATE

  COOPER MCKENZIE

  Copyright © 2010

  Chapter 1

  What do you want?

  The voice in her head always attacked Margot Jackson when she didn’t want to think about such things. In the shower, washing dishes, or trying to sleep was when the voice refused to leave her alone. She didn’t know if the question originated in Heaven, Hell, or her own needy heart. Wherever it came from, she wished it would go back there and leave her alone.

  What do you want?

  Tonight the dark, sexy voice curled around her, inviting her to make a wish for anything her heart desired. She’d answered before, though nothing happened. What made her think tonight would be any different?

  Her “I want” list was long, encompassing every aspect of her life in one form or another. Getting realistic, it came down to two things—money and a kind, good-looking, well-hung man who knew how to use what he’d been given.

  A kind, good-looking, well-hung man with buckets of money would narrow her list even further. Especially if he stepped out of one of the dozens of erotic romance novels she read and reread and drooled over. A big, beautiful alpha male. She’d even take a paranormal man. Maybe not a vampire, but she wouldn’t turn away a shape-shifting man with a horn dog’s sex drive and a lot of money in the bank.

  But that would never happen. Erotic romance heroes didn’t step out of books, no matter how much she wanted one. Even if they did, a man like that would never look twice in her direction. No one ever looked at her with lust shining in his eyes. Not even her ex-husband.

  She knew she was too short for her weight and too round to fit the dictates of fashion. An emotional eater, she hated dieting, and exercise never pared off the extra pounds and inches from around her waist and hips. She had neither the money nor the style sense to keep her wardrobe updated, even if she’d wanted to. Comfortable, classic clothes were more important to her than which designer was hot, hot, hot this season.

  Margot had experienced a handful of one-night stands and one relationship that lasted six months, all BM—before marriage. Her marriage to William lasted fifteen years, ending three years before when he’d left her for a woman half her size and two-thirds her age.

  At forty-two, she now slept alone and stayed away from men. Instead, she immersed herself in the fantasies of happily ever after found in romance novels.

  When she’d discovered the erotic romance genre and the explicit and imaginative sex they contained, she began buying the sexy books in bulk, though her budget squealed in protest.

  Each evening after a day at the bank where she worked as a clerk, she came home to read about hot sex and relationships that seemed to work, at least until the words The End scrolled into view. If only she could find a romance-book hero of her own.

  What do you want?

  The voice persisted, becoming demanding. She would never be able to fall asleep if she did not find a way to silence it. She needed her rest tonight. She needed to be sharp and prepared and wide awake for the job interview she had first thing in the morning. She’d survived the first two rounds with Thomasson Enterprises’ underlings, and she supposed she passed the physical and background checks since they’d scheduled a third interview with the woman she would actually be working for. All she had to do was get through tomorrow, and hopefully she would have a new job.

  “What do you want?”

  “Enough already. I want my own erotic romance story. I want to meet the perfect man. Good looking and sexy with lots of money in the bank and a cock he knows how to use to satisfy us both. A man who is nurturing and protective and who loves me as I am, curves and all. A man who doesn’t care about my potential and whether I can achieve it. I want one of those romance-book sex gods to take human form, fall instantly in love with me, and take care of me for the rest of my life. If I can’t have that, then I want a new job that pays really well. A job that’s interesting and will fulfill my need to be a caregiver. There, happy? That’s what I want. Now leave me the hell alone.”

  Rolling over, Margot punched her pillow several times before pulling the covers over her head until only her face was exposed to the cool air. With a weary sigh, she pulled her legs up closer to her chest and willed herself to fall
asleep.

  * * * *

  No one ever accused billionaire Adam Thomasson of being a hero. Ruthless, hell-driven, son of a bitch, type A, alpha male bastard who always got what he wanted were more accurate descriptions used by both friends and enemies.

  One of the few people who didn’t feel that way was his mother. She understood that his genetic makeup as much as his type A personality drove him. As a shape shifter, he had to be in charge and take care of those he cared about.

  Stalking into the lobby of the Thomasson Enterprises’ building where a dozen accountants, twice that many attorneys, and who knew how many support staff kept the company growing even when other companies floundered, Adam wanted to howl in frustration. After a week of negotiations for a European conglomerate he’d been trying to buy for three years, the deal had died at the eleventh hour. The owner backed out because his board didn’t approve of Adam’s choice of ties or some such shit.

  He’d climbed off the corporate jet exhausted and looked forward to a long run around his fifty-acre estate just outside of town followed by a hot shower and a dozen hours of sleep. Then Sam reminded him it was Thursday morning, and he had just enough time to make it across town for weekly breakfast with his mother. Usually these two-hour breakfasts were his time to relax and catch up as well as make sure that Joel and Mercedes were taking good care of her.

  Unfortunately, this week was not the relaxing visit he’d hoped it would be. His mother had spent the entire meal reminding him he was thirty-five years old, and it was past time he grew serious about finding his mate. He listened respectfully as she went on about the happiness and contentment he would find with her, once he claimed the mate the universe intended just for him. Though tempted, he did not snarl at her that he’d been looking for her since high school and was beginning to give up hope that she was anywhere to be found.

  His mother also reminded him that his presence was required at a charity auction that evening. She was part of the committee that decided a bachelor auction would be the perfect way to raise money for renovating the local historic theater.

  He was exhausted, jet lagged, and jittery from too much coffee and too little sleep. His faded blue jeans, scuffed cowboy boots, and battered leather jacket were comfortable for traveling but not appropriate for running a multi-billion dollar company. He was also an hour late arriving at the office, and Adam Thomasson was never late.

  Halfway across the lobby, his stepped faltered as he inhaled a glorious scent. Closing his eyes, he sniffed the air again. An enticing combination of vanilla, cinnamon, and honey wrapped around him and cut through his negative emotions instantly. From one heartbeat to the next, he was hard and horny and anxious to claim his mate.

  It was her. His woman. The mate he’d been looking for since puberty. He didn’t have to go looking for her as he’d promised his mother just twenty minutes before. She had found him. But how had she known?

  Opening his eyes, he swept the lobby. Which one? Three women and a man waited for appointments. Adam dismissed the man immediately. No way would the fates mate him with a man. But which one? He couldn’t just go up and sniff each woman’s neck. Not only would it get him slapped, but what would he do once he singled her out? Fall on his knees and beg her to mate him?

  No, he had to be more discreet. Filling his lungs again with the sweet smell of his mate, he finished crossing the room and passed through the frosted glass doors that separated the lobby from the inner workings of the office. He stopped in the open doorway to the first office he came to. Sarah would know what was going on. Sarah knew everything that happened in the company, even if he didn’t.

  “Who are the people in the lobby?” he asked the older woman who looked harried as she piled several files together.

  “Candidates to be the personal assistant you promised me.”

  Adam frowned. “Why are they all here at once?”

  “Like you, I’m running late. How is your mother?”

  “She’s demanding I find my mate.”

  Sarah smiled her “indulge the boss” smile. “And?”

  Sarah Hansen had been the first employee of Thomasson Enterprises seventeen years before when Adam started the company in the shed in his parents’ backyard. As such, she knew all of Adam’s secrets, including that of his true nature. She was also like a second mother to him as well as a trusted advisor. She and his mother talked daily and were of the same mind that he needed to find a mate instead of dating an endless parade of beautiful, but shallow, arm candy.

  “Finding one’s life mate isn’t as easy as you might think.” Adam turned toward his office, but he changed his mind when Sarah followed him into the hall. When she went into the conference room, he followed and took a seat in the corner. Sarah frowned at him but did not order him out of the room.

  Once seated, Adam opened the file she offered him and looked over the contents. His photographic memory came in handy as he scanned the pages, which held everything he might want to know about one Margot Jackson. Handing the folder back, he nodded. He was ready. Sarah picked up the phone and dialed the receptionist.

  * * * *

  Margot flipped through an old copy of a woman’s magazine she thought was offensive. She’d seen the magazine before at the store, and every week it touted a new diet that would blast off the pounds as well as new ways to keep a man hot and horny and other nonsense. And each issue seemed to contradict the week before. She’d already gone through several old issues of business magazines and one on health and fitness. It had been an hour since her arrival, and no one had bothered to explain what the holdup was. Instead, every fifteen minutes another much younger, better-dressed businessperson walked in, gave their name to the receptionist, and took a seat.

  She was ready to leave when he stalked through the room. His faded jeans, cowboy boots, and a black leather jacket looked like he’d worn them around the world and back. Except for the clothes, he looked like he’d just stepped off the cover of one of her erotic romance novels. She snapped her mouth closed and discreetly wiped the corners of her mouth to make sure she wasn’t drooling.

  Her fingers itched with the need to run through the curly, black hair that hugged his scalp. His bright turquoise eyes were full of anger. He looked like a thundercloud ready to explode. Halfway across the room, he stopped. A look of surprise crossed his face before he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes, the anger was gone, and he swept the room with a sharp, assessing gaze.

  When she met his bright blue-green eyes, her stomach flipped and she stopped breathing. He was gorgeous.

  Her panties grew damp just looking at him. No man, not even her ex-husband, had ever turned her on just by walking in the room and looking at her. Before she could throw herself at his boots, he spun on his heel and disappeared through the frosted glass door behind the receptionist’s desk. That was when she recognized him. That gorgeous man was Adam Thomasson.

  A few minutes later, a phone rang. After a short conversation, the woman manning the front desk looked up. “Margot Jackson?”

  “Yes.” Margot picked up her purse and stood.

  “Through that door and down the hall, second door to the left.”

  “Thank you,” Margot said as she crossed to the frosted glass door the man had just walked through. She thought she smelled him, earthy, musky, and male, then chided herself for being fanciful.

  She paused for a moment before the second door down the hall to the left.

  “Be smart, be cooperative, and do not bend,” she murmured to herself as she lifted her hand. Knocking twice, she winced when it sounded too loud in the silent hallway.

  “Come in.”

  Opening the door, she swallowed when she saw him sitting off in the corner.

  “Good morning, Ms. Jackson. Please sit down.” The woman sitting at the long conference table waved her forward.

  Once seated, Margot folded her hands together in her lap so they wouldn’t see her fingers nervously twisting toge
ther. Could she get through the next few minutes without making a fool of herself by drooling on the table or throwing herself at the sex god sitting in the corner?

  Chapter 2

  Vanilla, cinnamon, and honey wrapped around him as soon as she sat down. A moment later, the scent of her arousal added to the sweet aroma filling the room. Blood surged into his cock, and Adam was happy he’d remained seated. Leaning back, he crossed his right leg over his left thigh, hoping to give his swelling cock more room while hiding the sudden bulge in his jeans. He swallowed and fought the urge to jump over the table to get to his mate.

  Margot Jackson might not be beautiful by today’s standards, but he’d never gone for the anorexic, long-haired, waif-like creatures that populated the world these days. He preferred a woman who looked like a woman. Margot’s auburn hair glinted red and gold under the lights. The shaggy pixie cut suited her oval face. Freckles dusted her nose, cheeks, and forehead, showing she wasn’t afraid of the sun, but didn’t tan well. Golden brown eyes sparkled with intelligence. The few lines around her eyes proved she smiled easily, though he also noted lines between her feathery brows from worrying.

  Her body was voluptuous with the curves a woman should have. Curves a man could hold on to as he loved her. Curves telling the world she was a woman. Margot Jackson was perfect. Thank the gods, he’d found his mate.

  The background check Sarah ran told him she was forty-two years old and divorced with no children. She looked much younger, though he saw both pain and wisdom deep into her eyes.

  The financial check Sarah put together proved she paid her bills on time. She rented a small house in an older development near the commercial district. It wasn’t a safe neighborhood, and he couldn’t wait to move her out of there. Her drug test was clean. She had no diseases, though her blood pressure was a little high. Probably due to stress, he surmised.

  He sat back as Sarah began the interview, though before Margot Jackson sat down, he’d already decided she couldn’t work for Thomasson Enterprises. She belonged to him.