Her Guardian Billionaire (Forbidden First Time Romance) Read Online Free PDF Page A

now. Little Orphan Anna’s All Grown Up and Look Who She’s Kissing . James Davenport: From Daddy Warbucks to Sugar Daddy . It would go on and on. Tarnish his reputation and ruin hers before it even began.
    Pressing his fingertips into his eyelids, he willed the images to fade away. She might say she wanted him, but she couldn’t mean it. And they couldn’t act on it. It was a schoolgirl fantasy gone on too long. Nothing more.
    James took a deep breath and smoothed back his hair. He’d claw back his veneer, escort her out the door, and go back to his life. Back to the order, the precision, the system he’d constructed. To hell with the longing inside his chest. He’d just have to punish it into submission.

    Anna rolled over and blinked her eyes open. Sunlight streamed in through the window, and she dropped her head back onto the pillow, willing a fresh gush of tears to stay away. She’d never been treated so badly.
    The nerve of him to call her a whore because she came onto him. It didn’t make sense. Usually, men loved that kind of thing, didn’t they? And he was almost twice her age, shouldn’t he be extra flattered? She groaned and pulled herself up to sit when a knock sounded on the door.
    “Come in.”
    “Brought you some coffee, miss.” Malcolm gave her a smile and stepped in, setting the tray of coffee and a croissant on her bedside table.
    “Thank you, Malcolm. You know, I didn’t say it yesterday, but you’re the one person here I’m going to miss. And it’s not just the fabulous coffee you bring me, I mean it.”
    Malcolm smiled and handed her a steaming cup. “You know, you could stay for the summer if you wanted to. You don’t need to rush off to the city just yet.”
    “Then you obviously didn’t hear about last night.” She took a sip and glanced at Malcolm over the mug. His look said the opposite. “What? Did he say something?”
    Malcolm shrugged. “Mr. Davenport is a complicated man, Anna. If he said something that upset you, it was his way of keeping you safe.”
    Anna shook her head and raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t hear what he said, Malcolm. He basically called me a prostitute. That I’d be willing to trade…you know, for staying here. It was awful.”
    Malcolm patted her on the knee and nodded. “I know. Mr. Davenport can say horrible things when he’s afraid.”
    “Afraid? James Davenport? I don’t think so.”
    “Do you know anything about his past, miss?”
    Anna frowned and looked down at her half-empty mug. “I know something terrible happened. I remember at my mom’s funeral he hugged me and said he knew what I was going through. That he was an orphan too.”
    Malcolm nodded. “That’s true. James’s family disowned him when he was in high school. Kicked him out with nothing. He made his own wealth thanks to his uncanny ability to anticipate market demands.”
    “Wow. I had no idea.”
    “It’s quite impressive. He scraped together some business loans—trading on his name—and launched his internet business. Now he’s the head of Davenport Industries and owns a little bit of everything.”
    “Including Daven Security?”
    “Yes.”
    Anna nodded. She’d always assumed he’d inherited his money despite the family split, not earned it. “What happened with the family? Why did they force him out?”
    Malcolm paused and looked out the window. “It’s not public knowledge. Only a select few know about it at all.”
    “Including you?”
    “Yes, miss. Mr. Davenport trusts me.”
    “Then tell me.”
    “Anna, I—”
    “No, Malcolm, listen. If whatever happened in the past is what’s keeping him from me, I want to know. I need to know.”
    He breathed out, softening the lines around his mouth as he looked down at her. “I’m sorry. I’ve said too much already. I can’t betray his trust. But please, don’t take what he said last night to heart. Mr. Davenport didn’t mean it. He’s pushing you away because he’s protecting you. And hurting