CLAIMED (By the Alpha Billionaire #2) Read Free

and controlled every inch of my body, placing his mouth in my most intimate areas. Where was she?! Did she know her husband did these things?!
    This poor, poor woman.
    But that’s when I heard Sawyer calling my name.
    “Maisie!” he yelled from the foyer. I sat my phone down and stomped in his direction. His face fell when he saw the look on mine. “Everything okay?”
    “We need to have a talk,” I said, my hand on my hip as the other one gripped my phone.
    Countless shopping bags lined the area around his feet as he stood staring at me, his brows furrowed. “Okay?”
    “Who the hell is Alexandria and why is all her stuff here?” I demanded to know. “You’re fucking married, Sawyer?! You fly me here with you and you’re married?!”
    His hands flew to his temples, massaging them as he breathed out in frustration. “Maisie…”
    “There’s no excuse for this, Sawyer,” I said. I crossed my arms. “This is disgusting. I feel sick to my stomach right now. I’m not this kind of woman. God, Sawyer, and we even look alike. Nice.”
    Sawyer shook his head, unable to respond.
    “You were fucking me and your wife is God knows where?”
    He lifted his head, our eyes meeting from across the foyer. “Six feet under.”
    “Wait…what?”
    “She died last year,” he said. “Cancer.”
    Shit. Fuck. Wow. “Oh, my God, Sawyer.”
    My hand flew to my chest. I felt like the world’s biggest asshole.
    “After everything that’s happened with me the last couple days…I guess I was just being hyper vigilant. I just assumed that…” I tried to defend my terrible accusation, but I couldn’t. There was no excuse. “I’m sorry.”
    His full lips pursed and he gave a quick nod before brushing past me and entering the depths of his spacious penthouse.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
FOUR
     
    Sawyer
    I just wanted to escape. I just wanted to forget about my pain for a while. I wasn’t usually in the business of fucking strange women, but she made me laugh. She was, in a weirdly irritating yet sexy sort of way, a breath of fresh air. She amused me with her spunk and her personality and her quick wit. Sure, she looked like my Alexandria, but that was beside the point.
    It was almost as if Alexandria was trying to tell me to move on. The previous day, when I met Maisie at the bar, was the one year anniversary of my wife’s passing. Somehow my plane just happened to break down over some small town in Missouri, and I just happened to meet this spunky little thing at the only hotel bar in town who just happened to look like the twin of my late wife. It couldn’t have been any more poignant than that.
    I flew past Maisie and retreated into my office, trying to drown myself in a few work priorities. I’d planned on taking Maisie out for dinner that night, and I’d had my assistant pick her up a hot little Herve Leger bandage dress at Barneys. But the night had gone to shit before it’d even begun.
    A light rapping on the door brought my attention in that direction, where Maisie stood. An apologetic look on her face as she bit her lip, she said, “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. Sawyer…”
    She walked in and stood across the desk from me.
    “I’m an asshole,” she said. “I’m mouthy. I have no filter. I say things without thinking. I’m an asshole.”
    I sunk back in my seat, studying her. She was still wearing my white button down from earlier.
    “I’m the asshole, Maisie.” I cleared my throat. “I never should’ve brought you here. I was selfish. I had my own reasons. For that, I’m sorry.”
    My words seemed to shock her and leave her speechless for a moment. Her brows raised and her mouth held open in limbo.
    “I don’t regret this,” I said. “I had fun with you.”
    “Me too,” she said, her words barely a whisper. “But why are you sorry?”
    “I thought spending a few days with you, would make me feel the way I felt when I was with her. Those were my intentions with bringing you here. I wanted to