The Billionaire's Beautiful Runaway Dakota Rebel (first color ebook reader .txt) 📖

all my family’s wealth, she had very little freedom.

I would never be like her. I would never let someone else rule over my life.

What Em had with Chase was nothing like that. Again, I thought of Luke and wondered what it would be like with him. Would he be like Chase or like my family? Finding out, loving him and being stuck, scared me. It was why I’d avoided him, both at Christmas and at Emerson’s wedding. God, that had been difficult. Because I was drawn to that man as I had never been to another. He looked so similar to Chase, yet I had no interest in my friend’s husband, not even a flicker of attraction. Luke, however…

That man set off all my alert systems.

I needed to stop thinking of him, with his dark hair, chocolate-y eyes, and lickable physique I wanted to climb like a—

Stop it, Laura!

I pulled out my phone. I still had signal, thank God, but my battery was dangerously low. With my dead car, I couldn’t even charge it.

Emerson answered on nearly the first ring. “Laura, what’s wrong?”

“I see the ESP is in full-force,” I laughed.

“Well, I know you wouldn’t call me on my honeymoon unless there was a problem.”

I heard Chase in the background, telling her to find out where I was.

“My car died,” I told her. “I’m sorry to call you; I really am. But I didn’t know who else to call that wouldn’t sic my dad on me. He canceled my credit card, so I can’t even get someone to come tow it, so I can get it fixed.”

“Where are you?”

“In the middle of BFE Michigan?”

“More specific?”

“Northern BFE Michigan. I’m about ten miles outside of Brandywine. Upper Lake Michigan.”

“’Kay,” she said. “Hang tight. We’ll get you taken care of and safe. Could be a couple hours, all right? But we’ll have you out of there by tonight. Will you be okay to wait there?”

I heard Chase talking in the background while I glanced down at my console. “Yeah, I have water and my reader. I’ll just kick back with a book. I’ll wrap up in a blanket, since it’s February and pretty dang cold. At least, it’s not snowing.”

Yet.

“Stay as warm as you can. Don’t go off with any strangers; you hear me? We’ll be there soon?”

“You’re coming?” Crap, I didn’t want her leaving her honeymoon for me.

There was no answer. Glancing down at my phone, I saw it hadn’t died yet, but the wind must have shifted or something. I had zero bars.

I sighed, tossing it on the seat beside me. This day was just great. And I’d just disrupted Em’s day, by dragging her into my drama, too. Well, fuck, fuck, fuckity fuck.

* * * *

The knock on my window startled me from sleep, and I jumped about a mile, slamming my head against the window in the process. I rubbed my hand across the frosted-up glass to try to clear it enough to see outside.

All I could make out was a large body in what looked like a long wool coat. It was open, revealing a charcoal suit, white shirt and silvery-gray tie. I couldn’t see the person’s face through the icy glass. This wasn’t a tow-truck driver or some regular Joe happening by. A businessman of some sort?

Then he leaned down, and I reared back, my eyes wide as I met the dark-brown stare of the man I’d been trying so hard to forget.

He didn’t look happy, even as a smirk lifted one side of his lips.

Luke…

“Open the door, Laura,” he ordered, his voice muffled by the window.

I hesitated. If I released the lock, there was no protection from him—not that I thought he’d hurt me. I just… It was a deeper, more fragile part of me in danger.

“Laura,” he growled.

What was I going to do? Stay here and freeze? I didn’t have much choice. Even bundled up as I was, my fingers barely worked anymore from the cold. I fumbled with the mechanism. I’d barely clicked it when the door opened, and Luke leaned inside. He pulled me into his arms, leaving everything else, then stalked toward a black SUV, waiting several yards away. My arms went around him. I held on tight, even though I didn’t think he’d drop me. His warm woodsy scent enveloped me, and I closed my eyes momentarily just letting it sink into me. Along with it came surprising peace.

“What are you doing here?” I murmured into his neck.

“Get everything from her car. Everything. Clean it out,” he told the man we passed. I hadn’t even seen him until we were going by him.

“Yes, sir.”

Luke didn’t say anything else until we were settled into the back of his vehicle. “I’m here to get you.”

“I…”

He shook his head, and the words froze in my throat. He was here. He was saving me. But he was super pissed.

“I’m sorry you had to come get me. I—”

“Don’t,” he interrupted.

“But—”

“Don’t,” he said again through his teeth. “Just give me a minute to calm down.”

He wasn’t calm? He seemed calm.

“Do you have any idea what could have happened to you? My God, Laura. When I think about it…” He lifted a hand as if to swipe away his words and sighed, staring out the window opposite of me.

My eyes burned, and I blinked back my emotions. I hated him being upset with me. And what was that? I’d never felt that way. My father was the master of guilt, and I’d learned early on not to give in to it. But with Luke… I wanted to promise him anything to ease the pain or irritation he obviously felt.

The driver climbed into the front seat before I could say anything else. “Everything’s in the back, sir.” He reached over the seat and handed me my purse. “I put your phone, wallet and tablet in there, ma’am.”

“Thank you,” I told him, surprised.

He nodded then shifted his gaze to Luke. “I called the service and they’ll be here for the