Billionaire Games Boxed Set 1-3 by Sandra Edwards

He overfilled his glass with more than the usual double shot. “I’m sorry,” he repeated himself, feeling like a heel. He’d always protected Andre, never threatened him. Julian drained his glass.
    “I hope she cares about you, half as much as you care about her.” Andre cleared his throat around his fragile, shaking voice and perched his hands on his hips. “If she does, you two will be all right.”
    Care about her? Disbelief and confusion muddled Julian’s brain. He didn’t care about her. What Julian cared about was his freedom.
    “You might be interested in knowing that Papa’s not taking this lying down.” Andre’s confidence returned with an agreeable nod. He slid his hands inside his pockets and stepped toward Julian.
    Andre’s words bothered Julian more than his closeness. He looked at his little brother. “What’s he doing?”
    One could never feel too comfortable when Maurice de Laurent implemented one of his crazy, harebrained schemes. Julian was well aware of where he’d acquired that trait. His own scheme had Papa written all over it. And if not for the fact that the idea was born to dupe him, his father would probably be proud of the ingenuity.
    Julian didn’t like the stark look on Andre’s face.
    Not Madeleine. “No….” The word ground out like tires bouncing over ruts in a gravel road. “Please tell me he hasn’t invited Madeleine here as our guest?” Even though he doubted his chances, he still held a flicker of hope that he was wrong.
    “That he has.” Andre’s reluctance was overshadowed by the message.
    “Why would he do that?”
    Was Papa really that sadistic? Sure, Julian didn’t want to marry Madeleine, but he didn’t have anything against her either. Not enough to induce him to force her to sit around and watch him marry another woman.
    “I suspect he thinks he can thwart your efforts to marry your American…wife.” Andre snickered, as if finding perverse pleasure in Julian’s predicament. “But, before you start feeling too sorry for Madeleine, remember…she and Papa are cut from the same cloth.” His voice took on a warning tone. “She won’t accept your engagement lightly either.”
    All the more reason to avoid this evening’s dinner party. Especially if Madeleine was going to be there, which she obviously was since she was in the house.
    Julian was going to have to intensify his efforts to shelter Camille now that Papa and Madeleine were obviously up to no good.

CHAPTER SEVEN
    JULIAN GAZED AT CAMILLE IN HER black dress with its crocheted look. It was sexy. An approving moan rumbled up his throat and he grabbed her hand, moving toward an inner wall inside the third floor salon. He glanced at her, winked and popped a wall panel open.
    A soft gasp escaped her. “What the….”
    “There are tunnels all over the estate.” He coaxed her inside. “We’ll make our escape through here.” It beat running into Papa, Claudette, or Madeleine in the hallways.
    “Ooh, I feel like a spy.” She giggled as they enter the dimly lit tunnel.
    Julian chuckled. “Yeah. A spy whose sanity depends on her escape.” He quickened his pace. He wasn’t the only one well-versed in these tunnel paths. The quicker they got outside and through the gardens, the better.
    They hurried through corridors, descended steps cut into the ground and rounded corners, all in near-darkness. Camille tightened her grip on his hand.
    “Don’t worry, Chéri. I know this place inside and out.”
    “God, I hope so.” Her rich laughter wrapped him in amusement.
    “We’re almost there,” he said in a low, husky voice.
    After a few more feet and another curve to the left, Julian gave Camille a tug and pulled her closer before stopping to push his way through the outside exit.
    The twilight of a setting sun filtered inside, casting a flattering glow over Camille. Her golden hair glistened like strands of lustrous glass, and he felt a ripple of excitement when her mouth curved into a