One Night With the Billionaire by Sarah Ballance

Sign: Sagittarius

 

Zoe Davenport is on her way to a perfect, idyllic, private resort, where there's no ex-fiancé and definitely no public scandal involving said ex-fiancé. But one look at the exceptionally sexy resort owner, and Zoe wonders if she's escaped scandal just long enough to land herself in even hotter water…

 

Except that Ryder Nash isn't exactly a stranger. He and Zoe used to live next door to each other. She was the sweet little temptation who couldn't stand him—the bad boy with a loud car and a new girl every weekend. What Zoe doesn't know is that all those years ago, her father paid Ryder off…to keep him away from her.

 

And if Ryder gives into the fiery attraction that rages between them—even for a moment—he’ll lose everything all over again…

 

Title:  One Night With the Billionaire | Series: Men of the Zodiac | Author: Sarah Ballance | Publisher: Entangled Indulgence| Release Date: 9/14/2015 | Genre: Contemporary Romance | Source: Publisher | Rating: 4

One Night With The Billionaire was a fast little read—and my first time dipping my toes into the Men of the Zodiac series—and I loved every delicious second of it.

 

Ryder was the bad boy next door and Zoe thought that she was invisible to him although she was his secret desire yet he didn’t he think he was good enough for her. Zoe’s father didn’t think Ryder was good enough either and paid him a tidy sum to stay away from Zoe. Now, ten years later, Zoe’s seeking escape from the scandal cause by her ex-fiancé and finds herself at Ryder’s Caribbean resort, that’s not yet open to the public, and the chemistry between them is hotter than the air outside. There’s just one little problem, if Ryder breaks the contract with Zoe’s father, he loses everything.

 

I was a tad bit worried that I wasn’t going to like Ryder so imagine my surprise when he ended up on my list of favorite heroes.

 

Ryder didn’t have the best of childhoods. His father was abusive and because he lived in a house that was once the servants’ quarters he felt as though he lived in the shadow of his rich neighbors. Even though he was in love with Zoe, he never believed he had a chance with her so when her father offered him money to leave her alone, he saw his chance to make a better life for himself and he took it.

 

I have to admire Ryder. The way he received the money may have been a bit questionable but he worked hard to make something of himself. And he never forget Zoe, so when she showed up at his resort, he knew he was in trouble and although he struggled with honoring the contract of following his heart he finally figured out which was more important.

 

While I felt bad for Zoe because of what she was going through because of her ex-fiancé, she also kind of annoyed me at the start because she wasn’t her own person. She was a lawyer in her father’s D.C. law firm because that’s what her father wanted. She was engaged to a high-profile politician who was a cheater because that’s what her father wanted.

 

I was really rooting for to take control of her life and while she fought the attraction to Ryder, she finally gave in and realized that’s what she wanted in her life. Yet when she realized that Ryder could lose it all because of her, she was ready to get back on a plane, go to D.C. and give in to her father. I was really hoping she was would have put up more of a fight.  

                                                                                            

I loved the fact that Ryder and Zoe knew and had been hot for each other but neither had acted on it so it added that much more intensity to the chemistry. I also liked that they didn’t immediately fall into bed together. They knew each other before but that was ten years ago, so it was nice to see that they took their time and got to know each other. Although when they finally did fall into bed, it was definitely steamy.

 

So, I wasn’t thrilled by the fact Ryder accepted a bribe from Zoe’s father to stay away from her but if I’m being honest, it was one of the reasons that I wanted to read this book. I was eager to see how it was handled because the money that Ryder received to stay away from Zoe changed his life. It pulled him out of poverty—and out of the horrible family situation he was in—and with a little work, it turned him into a billionaire and if he breaks the contract by exploring something with Zoe, then he loses it all.

 

While it’s a little skeevy, I have to admit it was bloody intriguing and it made for great internal conflict for Ryder.   

 

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick little read but I didn’t feel as though the plot was rushed. It was steady and well developed.  I’m really looking forward of catching up with this series and reading more from this imprint.

Have you checked out this series yet?