My Bad Boy Werewolf Quadrillionaire Space Lord

6 - Exploring the Unknown

It really did feel like a sauna in here.

The cedar smell was lovely, taking me back to relaxing spa days where my worst worry was how hot the masseuse was. The heat was exactly right; enough that I definitely had to strip off the top half of my jumpsuit and tie the sleeves around my waist.

This was purely practical, of course. It had absolutely nothing to do with the glistening billionaire leading me into a cave that smelled like a resort. No, strike that, not a billionaire. A magazine was projecting that his terraforming project could make him the world's first quadrillionaire. Which is as different from a billionaire as a billionaire is from an average person's salary.

That is so hot.

I'm not ashamed to admit that I thought about abducting him. Not that I haven't been thinking of tying him up already, but there's a certain novelty in using handcuffs and zip-ties for what they're meant for. I mean, I am a pirate.

But right now, he was leading the way into a very dark cave, and I did not want him to get to that score before me. His eyes had glazed over when he realized how much money there was to make, and I recognized the expression because it's how boys usually look when they've given up pretending they're interested in eye contact.

The cave was almost pitch black, but the corridor was long and straight, and the light reflected off the stone enough that I could make out its basic shape. The ceiling was high, easily twice my height, and wider than a rich man's car garage.

Well, not Luca Cardego rich. The guy owns a yacht so large its indoor pool is classified as a small lake.

But after about a minute's walk, the corridor ended rather abruptly at a set of doors so large my ship could probably fit through if they were open. Which they were most distinctly not.

"What is this?" I asked, running my hand along the door.

"Whatever it is, I didn't build it," Luca admitted.

"What have you ever built?" I asked. "Pretty sure those hands have never felt a hammer before."

"Okay. It isn't something I paid to have built," Luca clarified. Ha, point for me! "And space flight is way too well documented for a secret project this big. This door is massive."

I waited, cringing in preparation for his next line, which I was sure would make me want to hit him. But one moment passed, and then another.

Eventually, Luca looked at me and asked, "What is it?"

"I, uh, just expected you to make a dick joke," I admitted.

"Why would I do that?" Luca asked, and he looked so genuinely appalled that I actually felt bad, and lowered my gaze. Partially to use his abs to cheer me up.

"To be fair, rich boy," BIRD said as he landed on my shoulder. "You do seem like the type."

"Why is that?" Luca asked.

"Have you seen how billionaires behave? They usually go from playboys to sponsors of evil political lobby groups. They're almost always into disturbing hobbies and have an obsessive preoccupation with living forever," BIRD said, with a gentle prod.

Impressively, Luca frowned for a moment in consideration, then nodded. "I'll give you that one, birdbrain. Billionaires give billionaires everywhere a bad name."

"Especially the Wattpad ones," Isabella said.

"You read Wattpad for the billionaires?" Luca asked.

"And the possessive werewolves," BIRD replied.

Luca coughed uncomfortably. I shouldn't be surprised; more than a few of those stories were about him. "Anyway, how about getting through this door?" Luca asked, knocking the bottom of his fist against the massive entrance. "I don't see a knocker, handle, keypad, or infrared sensor."