Adriana Anders [Anders - Loving the Secret Billionaire

I originally wrote this book for the Rogue Desire anthology. Initially, it seemed like that was ita super short novelette with a quick, sweet Happily Ever After. But after the story released, Zach started speaking to me. And, honestly, he wasnt the guy I thought Id written. This Zach is good and kind, but hes got a bit more of an edge than the one you may have met before .

Youll see, as you read, why Ive called this series Love at Last Because our heroes finally get the love they didnt know they needed. The beauty of it is that theyre quick and steamy and theyre perfect for those times when you dont want to wait for your Happily Ever After !

ONeal gets her chance at love in Loving the Wounded Warrior. And look for a Holiday book, Loving the Mountain Man, out in the Fall of 2018 !

If super sexy, emotional, love stories, with tough heroes and strong heroines is your thing, check out my Blank Canvas Series .

Happy reading !

xo, Adriana

M ystery man, recluse, finance guru Virgin .

I was a shut-in for a reason. With too many secrets, too much to hide, and way too much at stake, I spent years in my mansion in the woods, never trusting a soul. So, when a stranger showed up at my door, with her plans to save the world, I should have sent her away, like Id always done .

But from the second she arrived, I couldnt resist Veronica Cruz. She was all the things Id been missingpassionate, generous, and so damned sexy .

I let her into my life, gave her everythingincluding my heart .

Now, the one thing she wants is the truth. The question is, will she still love me when she knows my secret ?

Loving the Secret Billionaire is a sexy standalone novella in the Love at Last series, featuring a virgin hero and a slightly older woman .

V eronica

I couldnt run for city council if I was dead .

Which was why Id saved the house in the woods for last. That way if the person who lived there turned out to be an ax murderer, Id at least get my canvassing in first .

No one could say I wasnt dedicated .

I hiked up the long, wooded drive on the very edge of town, feeling exactly like a horror movie heroine before things got really bad. If I were in the audience right now, Id be screaming at me to turn back .

Who would live out here ?

I rounded the last bend and stopped .

The houses windows were dark, with no cars in the driveway, but it was the only house I hadnt gone to that didnt sport a Rylie for City Council sign in its yard. I had to at least give it a try .

I could barely see the violet glint of my sneakers as I picked my way through soggy, overgrown grass and up sagging steps to a porch that had seen better days. It wasnt until I got to the door that a wave of something hit mea prescience or foreboding .

This house will change my life .

Ignoring the shiver that worked its way up my spineit felt kind of good under the sweat Id worked up these past few hoursI tried checking the time on my phone only to find the battery dead. Right. Now, I couldnt even check the app again to see if this house had been canvassed since an hour ago, or even what party they were registered under. Or call for help if this was, in fact, a murder house .

Whatever. It was still light out. I squinted over my shoulder. Well, lightish. Everything was muted this deep in the woods .

I lifted my hand to rap on the door, defeat already settling heavily on my shoulders, and stilled. What was that? Eyes narrowed, I leaned closer to the chipped wood .

Music! Ha! The house was inhabited. Something itched between my shoulder blades and I knocked .

I counted the seconds in my head to the tune of Wheels on the Bus, like Id done at every other house Id visited today, and for the past few months. Earworm from hell .

Nothing.

But someone was in there, dammit .

It was almost full-on dark now. For about twenty seconds, as my yard signs started to slip from my sweaty hands, I considered turning back and calling it a day. Everything would be so easy if I just let those signs drop and walked away, not just from this house, but from the election, from everything .

Clint S. Rylieor Wily Rylie as wed known him in high schoolchose that moment to park at the far end of the driveway in his pristine black Audi. He emerged with his pretty blond wife, who let two well-behaved children out of the backseat. All that perfection and I still didnt trust him. I remembered, even if nobody else seemed to, how hed cheated to get his straight As. Everybodyd known it was happening, but hed never once been caught .

It looked like he and his wife were unloading a slew of itemsprobably their magnets, stickers, goody bags, for Gods sakeand rather than curl up and hide like the low-budget fraud I was, I gripped my garish Veronica Cruz for City Council yard signs tighter and kicked the shit out of the creepy houses front door .

I must have pounded pretty hard because I didnt hear footsteps or anything, but suddenly the door was yanked open and I was frozen in raised-limbed limbo. I had no idea how long I stayed in that positionsuspended with a foot and a hand up, about ready to claw my way through that door .

Yes? The man in front of me was nothing like the monster, or the sad, wizened old woman Id expected to live in this house. Not thisthisgosh, Amazon was a description just for women, right? Okay, so Superman, maybe. With dark hair, smooth, pale skin and wide cheekbones, and eyes that made me blink a few times and look away from their strangeness. Ohand the man was clearly not happy with my intrusion .

Following a path created from repetition rather than instinct, my hand opened and shifted to waist level, ready to clasp. Shaking hands with parents was one thing, but as a politician

I steeled myself against the usual imposter syndrome and widened my smile .

Hello, Im

Can I He cleared his throat and ignored my hand entirely, his words overlapping mine. Help you ?

Hi there. My names Veronica and Im running for city council. He looked like he might open his mouth to interrupt and, rather than stop and listen, as Id generally do, I rushed through my pitch. Are you aware that theres an election coming up? If so, do you know who youll vote for? Its a decisive moment for policy in our town. I glanced over my shoulder and gave up entirely when I saw the Rylies trundling up the walkway. So close, I could smell the sanctimony. Can I come in please ?

Uh. No .

Please. Why was I so frantic ?

I knew exactly why. Because at house upon house Id struck out. People had no interest in what I had to say. Theyd seen Rylies signs, had heard of his campaign, knew his family, and didnt give a crap about his actual platform. He was a known quantity, whereas I was a stranger. A dark-haired, dark-skinned stranger, with a message they didnt even want to hear. Please. This last came out as a whine .

Are you in danger? The mans face tightened, his scruff-covered jaw grew hard, his too-curvy mouth thin and aggressive. I stopped myself from stepping back, and I refused to look behind me, but Rylie and his family were close. I could hear their cultured voices in respectfully quiet conversation .

Oh my gosh, am I? I didnt have to fake the tremors in my voice, because they scared me, or intimidated me, at the very least. I shut my eyes for a second, wishing Id just headed home .