The Billionaire Saved My Life (BWWM Billionaire Love Story Book 1) Read online

  “I'm a friend of Kurtis's. We go back a long time,” he said. “I heard he was dating and someone just pointed you out to me.”

  “Really?” Tanya said.

  “Yes. Really. You have to realize that you're just as high profile as your billionaire boyfriend. Everyone knows you, too.”

  “Why do you call him that?”

  “What?”

  “Why did you call Kurtis my billionaire boyfriend instead of using his name? I thought you said he was your friend.”

  The barman put down the drinks she ordered and her companion threw some money onto the counter.

  “You didn't have to pay for these,” Tanya said.

  “I'm just being a friend.”

  “Thank you, but you haven't told me your name.”

  The barman came back to the bar with a silver tray and the change for the drinks.

  “Keep it,” the stranger said.

  “You’re full of generosity tonight, Mr...”

  “McConnagh. James McConnagh. But just James to my friends.”

  Tanya froze. This was not one of Kurtis's friends. If she hadn’t met with the girls earlier, she would’ve thought James was being genuine, but she knew full well that this was Kurtis's enemy.

  She took a step backwards and looked through the gathering crowd of people towards the doors. Where was Kurtis? Just then, she saw his tall figure edging his way through the crowd. He was smiling at her. She looked back to see what James McConnagh would do but James had gone. Slipped away as quickly as he had appeared.

  What did he want with her and should she mention this to Kurtis? Kurtis had a big smile for her and kissed her lips when he got to the bar. She decided that this was another thing she should keep to herself for now.

  The rain still continued to fall as Tanya and Kurtis returned home to his penthouse suite. They kissed as they took the elevator up and were holding hands as they entered the living room.

  “You seem a bit quiet, Tanya. Is everything all right?”

  “Yes, fine.”

  “You like the show?”

  “It was great. I did, I loved it.”

  “Well, you could say it with a little more enthusiasm than that.”

  “It's all this bad weather, makes me sluggish. It's like the night we met.”

  “The night we met? You mean your accident? Can I get you a drink?”

  She sat on his sofa and slipped off her pumps. Kurtis always did that. Whenever she brought up the night of the accident, he changed the subject.

  “I'd like some hot chocolate if you have any,” she said, watching the way he shuffled from one foot to another.

  “Coming right up.”

  She followed him to the kitchen and sat on a high stool on the circular counter in the middle of the room as he made the hot chocolate.

  “Speaking of my accident, I remember something,” she said.

  “Do you want this milky?”

  “Yes, please. The rain brought it back. It rained a lot that night, I was driving home but I was being careful. I know that. I sensed it wasn't my fault from the beginning.”

  “No one said it was, did they?” Kurtis opened the fridge to get the milk and poured a measure into a saucepan.

  “No, but I was always afraid, especially with it being on the news every few seconds, that people would think I was a bad driver. You know what I mean?”

  “No one would think that, Tanya. It was just an accident; no one's fault. Everyone knew that.” He poured boiled milk into a large cup with heaped spoons of chocolate in it.

  “It was me being careful that caused me to crash,” Tanya went on. “You see, there was a man, a man standing on the bridge. I saw him. He was about to jump. He took a step up, saw my car, and turned to me. I thought he was about to run out in front of my car for some reason and that's why I swerved. I guess because it was so slippery I lost control.”

  “I'm glad you remember,” he said, placing the hot chocolate in front of her.

  “But what about you, Kurtis?”

  “What about me?”

  “Well, didn't you see the man?”

  “No.”

  “You must have done. There was a man on the bridge. If you were walking along and saw me crash then you must have seen him.”

  Kurtis left the kitchen, went back to the living room and sat on the edge of his sofa with his head in his hands. She knelt down in front of him and moved his hands away.

  “What are you not telling me, Kurtis?”

  His deep, blue eyes penetrated hers. “It was me,” he said.

  “What was you?”

  “The man on the bridge. It was me. I was about to jump when you came along.”

  She held his hands and moved closer. “You're telling me you were about to commit suicide?”

  He turned his head away.

  “Kurtis. You wanted to kill yourself because you couldn't live without Catherine? Is that what this is about?”

  “It's a little more complicated than that, Tanya.” He did not hold her gaze for a while but spoke looking down at the floor. “I let her die, I was the one.”

  “Go on.”

  “The boat was out of control because of my shoddy repairs. It crashed into some rocks in the middle of the ocean. Catherine went overboard. I jumped right in after her but I couldn't see her. The boat was about to blow.

  I had to find her and start swimming for safety but I couldn't find her. I couldn't find her. I dove in time after time after time until my lungs were about to give. I wouldn't have had the energy to swim away. Because I saw them, you see? The first sparks to the engine about to blow. After searching for Catherine I pulled myself up to inspect the engine and I knew I'd have seconds to escape. So I did. I swam as fast as I could...and I left Catherine to die.”

  Tanya got up on her knees and held his face between he hands. There were tears in his eyes.

  “It's not your fault, Kurtis. You did everything. You never would have just left her there. You did try to save her. You were her hero, just like you were mine that day.”

  “No, Tanya, can't you see. On the bridge that night, I wasn't your hero. You were mine. I didn't jump over because I saw you.”

  She threw her arms around his neck, pulling him to her, leaving kisses all over his wet cheeks.

  “You saved me, Tanya. You saved me.”

  His kisses were deep and hard, pressing into her lips until their faces were like one. Hurriedly he ripped at her clothes and she responded in the same way, pulling apart the buttons of his shirt so they flew in various directions.

  Stripped naked, they rolled on the floor in front of the sofa, he biting into her nipples so that she was screaming with the intense pleasure it gave and pulling his hair from the very roots. He jammed himself into her, lurching deep thrusts inside her again and again. She tore at the skin on his back arching her body and demanding a deeper penetration. They climaxed in an almost simultaneous beat, lying panting on the carpet, sweat on their temples and the last tears of despair gone from his eyes.

  Chapter4

  In the weeks that followed, Tanya and Kurtis became inseparable. For the first time in over a year, Kurtis began to sleep through the night and not have a single bad dream about Catherine.

  “Because of you, I don't have to hold on to all those bad memories,” he told her one evening as they walked back to his apartment, after meeting some friends for drinks.

  “I'm glad,” Tanya said, squeezing his hand. “But tell me, Kurtis, are you still in love with her?”

  Kurtis stopped walking and turned to her. “Are you crazy?”

  “Meaning?”

  “I never felt about Catherine the way I feel about you.”

  She looked deep into his eyes, searching for the truth in his words and found it.

  “Tanya, I love you and I never want to be without you.”

  “I love you, too, Kurtis. I never thought I'd find myself saying that. We come from different worlds. I could feel it happening but
it made me scared.”

  “Don't be scared, Tanya. This is real and no one can take that away from us. No more secrets, no more ghosts.”

  They continued walking until Tanya realized that they had gone far out of the way of Kurtis's apartment building.

  “Where are we?” Tanya asked.

  “I've got a surprise for you.”

  “What is it? Where are you taking me?”

  “Just be patient, Tanya. It's supposed to be a surprise.”

  He led her to a two story building and pulled open the door.

  “Are these apartments? Are we visiting someone?” she asked.

  “Yes, we're visiting.”

  “So late?”

  “Don't worry, the person who lives here will be up and awake.”

  They walked up a wide staircase with highly polished banisters and oak wood steps. The walls were painted white with ornate wall mounted light fixtures. On the first floor Kurtis stopped.

  “There are no lights on under the door, Kurtis. They must be out,” Tanya said.

  Kurtis was feeling in his pockets and Tanya watched, dumbstruck, as he pulled out a set of keys and unlocked the door. It led to a dark corridor and Kurtis put on the light. In the corridor was a wooden table, on top of which was a small potted plant. Doors led off the corridor, two to the left and two to the right.

  “Why does this person trust you with their keys?” she asked.

  “Oh, she trusts me because she loves me. She told me so just now.”

  “What are you...? You mean...?”

  “Yes,” he said handing her the keys. “This is your place, if you like it, otherwise we'll shop around for something else.”

  “Kurtis. No. I can't afford the rent here.”

  “You don't have to pay rent. You own this apartment now. I bought it for you.”

  “Kurtis, I cannot accept it. It's too much.”

  “Well I don't know what else I'll do with it if you don't take it. I'll have the papers transferred to your name as soon as you say yes.”

  He didn't give her a chance to speak but opened the door into a very large, square living room that was painted white and had light gray carpets. There were double doors leading onto a big balcony that overlooked a communal garden.

  “You can decorate it any way you like. I'll let you have the number of a couple of interior decorators. But I was thinking, before you decorate, why not throw a housewarming party.”

  Tanya walked around the apartment with her hands on her cheeks, eyes wide and unable to speak.

  “If you don't like it, I can buy you something else.”

  “Kurtis – I love it. No one has ever bought me anything like this. I don't feel worthy.”

  “Don't feel worthy? You're the woman who saved my life. You're the woman I love. There isn't anything that's too expensive for you. And here.” He handed her a set of car keys.

  “Kurtis, no, really.”

  “You have to take this. It's the least I could do. It was because of me you no longer have a car. So now we're even and I don't want to hear another word.”

  “Just two, then,” she grinned.

  “And what are they?”

  “Thank you.”

  ***

  A week later, Kurtis took Tanya along to a music industry party. This time, when Kaya and Mae looked at her with puppy dog eyes, Tanya had no choice but to make sure they were on the guest list.

  The party was in full swing. On several occasions, Kaya had to stop Mae walking up to celebrities and asking them for their autograph. She was so star struck she could hardly speak. She would make signals with her eyes every time she saw someone she recognized and say under her breath, out of the side of her mouth, “It's her!” or “It's him!”

  “Just be cool,” Kaya had said to her, “or I'll get security to throw you out.”

  “Having a good time?” Tanya asked her friends. She had just been talking to Jeannie and Kurtis, and felt as though she had been neglecting them.

  “This party is the best, Tanya.” Mae was on the verge of exploding with excitement. “Thank you so much for getting us in. I'm so glad you crashed your car.”

  “Shut up, Mae!” Kaya said swinging around to look at her. “What if she'd died in that fire?”

  “Then I would never have met Kanye West. That is him, right? This time I have to get an autograph.” Mae rushed away before Kaya could pull her back.

  “Leave her,” Tanya said. “She's having a good time.”

  Then Tanya thought she caught sight of someone she knew. A shiver went up her spine.

  “What's wrong?” Kaya asked.

  “Oh, nothing. I thought I saw... oh my God it is him.”

  “Who? Who am I looking at?” Kaya looked all around.

  “It's that guy James McConnagh, Kurtis's old friend. Oh, my God he's heading straight for Kurtis. I should get over there.”

  Tanya got to Kurtis's side at the same time as James arrived. James nodded at Tanya.

  “Ahh, the beautiful, Tanya. We meet again.”

  “You know him?” Kurtis said, looking at Tanya but not at James.

  “Oh we're old friends.” James answered before Tanya could open her mouth.

  “That's not true James, and you know it,” Tanya interjected.

  “But you know his name,” Kurtis said. Still not acknowledging James.

  “You see we do know each other. We only met by chance and I bought Tanya a drink.”

  “A drink?” Kurtis's eyes bore into her.

  “It isn't like it sounds, Kurtis, I was waiting for you in the bar at the theater, remember? What was that show we went to see? Well, anyway, I ordered us a drink and he offered to pay.”

  “You shouldn't have accepted.”

  “He said he was a friend.”

  As Kurtis and Tanya exchanged words, James stood smiling, on the verge of laughter.

  “Relax, buddy,” James said and put his arm on Kurtis's shoulder. Kurtis flicked it off.

  “I'm not your buddy.”

  “Relax. This feud of ours was all based on lies and gossip. You know what New York is like. Anything for a story. Are you so insecure, you have to believe everything you hear?”

  Kurtis and James stood almost toe-to-toe, Kurtis scowling at James who, so far, had not stopped smiling.

  “Look, Kurtis,” James said, moving backwards. “All those lies people spread about me and Catherine died when she did. You and I were friends a long time before you and Catherine met. I'm willing to forgive and forget. Can't we just shake and be friends again?”

  “And why would you want to be my friend?”

  “For old time’s sake, that's why. You were always my buddy, my pal. My best friend until the gossipers started twisting those stories. How you could believe Catherine would cheat on you with me, I can't imagine. You should learn to trust, Kurtis.”’

  James looked at Tanya, now, who had hooked her hand around Kurtis's arm.

  “Tell him, Tanya. I didn't bite. I did a good thing. Bought you guys a drink and you look all set to punch me out again, Kurtis.”

  Tanya pulled on Kurtis's arm. “Let's go,” she said under her breath, realizing people were trying discreetly to look at them and listen to the conversation.

  “Please,” James touched Kurtis's shoulder again. “Let's just shake hands. You might not want to shake my hand now but I'll prove to you that you can trust me.”

  Kurtis looked down at James' outstretched hand and shook it. Pulling James closer so he could speak into his ear he whispered, “Now will you just leave me alone?”

  “Certainly,” James said raising his arms. “Now everyone sees we've kissed and made up. If you ever want to pay me back, you know, return the favor of buying you a drink, you know where to find me.”

  “If you say so,” Kurtis said, putting his arm around, Tanya and leading her away to the bar.

  James called after them. “And I look forward to getting to know Tanya more.”

  Kurtis shot hi
m a look over his shoulder and turned to Tanya when they were far enough away from James.

  “You just keep away from James McConnagh. That guy is nothing but trouble.”

  “I heard about the rumors going round that he and Catherine were having an affair.”

  “It's not that I believed those rumors, Tanya. People were only gossiping because he was the one starting the rumors. I know it was him.”

  “But why?”

  “Why? Because the guy isn't right in the head. Dropping him as a friend was the best move I could make. He's got some kind of jealousy thing going.”

  “What?” Tanya asked looking back at where James was talking loudly to a group of people. “He's rich in his own right isn't he?”

  “The guy is super loaded. He's just resentful I made more money than he ever did and that I got there first.”

  “But you were best friends. He should have been happy for you.”

  “Don't be naïve, Tanya. Friends are great but a lot of people don't like it when their friends are doing better than they are. It's all a competition with him.”

  “But you shook hands.”

  “I just didn't want to cause a scene. The thing about James McConnagh is he has a screw missing somewhere. Always was a loose cannon when we were growing up. Spent most of our friendship keeping him out of trouble. But that's just what he is. Trouble. Dad warned me. Jeannie warned me. You see him and you go in the opposite direction, you hear me?”

  “Yes sir,” she smiled.

  “I'm serious, Tanya. Don't trust him. That guy is crazy.”

  Kurtis turned to the bar and waved his empty glass at the bartender for a refill.

  Tanya felt that shiver again and turned back to look across the room; James was staring straight at her and raised his glass as he held her gaze. His smile was wide but the look in his eyes frightened her and she swung back around. She touched Kurtis's shoulder.

  “Maybe we should leave.”

  Chapter5

  “I know it's a surprise, Kurtis, but if you don't tell me where we're going, then I won't know what to pack.”