An Heir for the Billionaire (12 page)

Katrina sighed softly, as she slowly woke to the feel of her hair being stroked. A soft smile touched her lips and she debated with herself on whether she was going to wake up or not. The empty feeling in her stomach and the insane urge to pee became the deciding factor. She needed to get up, regardless of how good it felt to have Damon stroking her hair while she slept.

"Mmmmm. Didn't you get enough last night?" They'd had four rounds of love making the previous evening, taking them well into the morning. They had finally fallen to sleep under the blanket he'd draped over her shoulders earlier that evening with the fire frolicking in the background.

He didn't answer, but continued to stroke her hair, but getting a little more rough, yanking at a lock of hair with force. "Ouch! Damon!" She slowly opened her eyes, pulling her hair from his grip and let out an earth-shattering scream as her eyes didn't focus on Damon's, but two chocolate brown eyes of a small monkey.

The monkey leapt back and onto the back of the sofa, replicating her scream and placing its hands over its mouth.

She screamed a second time, still in shock as she scrambled to her feet clutching the blanket around her. The monkey also screamed a second time, a blood curdling high-pitched scream and began to bounce around the room, its eyes wild in terror, highlighted by its white furry face.

Struggling to lower her heart rate she took several deep breaths in and slowly released them as she watched the monkey, who was also beginning to settle down. Perched on the back of the rocking chair, its toes curled around the rails and it began to eye her with suspicion and hostility.

Once she got over her initial surprise at being woken up by a monkey stroking her hair, Katrina had to admit the little guy was pretty cute. It reminded her of that monkey they had on the television show
Friends
. For the life of her she couldn't remember the monkey's name, but it was definitively the same species. A giggle escaped her lips when she noticed he was wearing a diaper.

Deciding she wasn't a threat, the monkey jumped down from the rocking chair located across the room and made his way over to her. He jumped up onto the leather sofa and perched himself on the back so he was almost eye to eye with her.

"Kimmy!"

Still slightly riled up from her surprise wake-up, the appearance of a petite blonde woman bursting into the den had Katrina jumping in surprise and screaming for a third time. The monkey, who she now knew to be named, 'Kimmy' also screamed, while jumping up and down on the sofa.

"There you are." The woman rushed over to the monkey, virtually ignoring Katrina, and gathered the animal into her arms. The monkey climbed up onto the woman's shoulder and perched herself, its dark eyes still locked onto Katrina.

The blonde woman turned to look at Katrina, whose face burned with her embarrassment. Where was Damon? Why did he leave her there sleeping on the floor to be fondled by monkeys and stared at by...

She quickly surveyed the other woman, who was dressed in a light brown uniform, with a nametag identifying her as Faith, and that she worked at the Houston South Zoo. She let out a loud sigh. So this was the zookeeper. She didn't
look
like much of a zookeeper; she looked like she belonged on a cover of a magazine. It was apparent she wasn't wearing a stitch of make-up and she was still a stunning woman. Katrina felt a pang of jealousy. This woman was here every day?

Faith stared back at her. She didn't seem to be any more pleased to see Katrina as Katrina was to see her. The zookeeper had a thing for him; there was no doubt in Katrina's mind. Had he had a fling with her too? He'd admitted to having a fling with his secretary, did he fuck all his female staff?

*****

"What's going on?" Damon rushed into the room and skidded to a halt as he watched the two women eye each other, sizing each other up.
Ahhhh shit
, he groaned inwardly. He'd been busy in his office and hadn't expected for Faith to enter the house. Usually when she came in she announced herself, she hadn't today.

Both women turned their attention to him and Faith was the first to speak. "Damon. Hi, I ummm... Kimmy decided to explore and I lost her." She shrugged. "Found her in here with..." She turned her eyes back to Katrina.

Letting out a loud sigh, Damon nodded as he walked over to Katrina, slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her tight. "Well, Faith this is my fiancée, Katrina."

Faith's smile fell and her expression went blank. He knew she was taking the news hard. She had a thing for him for close to a year now, he hadn't encouraged her, but at the same time he hadn't discouraged her either. He enjoyed the younger woman's company, but at the same time he didn't have that 'click' feeling towards her so never pursued anything more than friendship with her.

Katrina cuddled up against him, a smile forming on her lips as she glanced up at him and caught his gaze.

"Oh," the zookeeper finally managed to get out once she got over her shock of the engagement. "That was fast. I didn't even think you were dating someone?" She frowned, keeping her eyes focused on him.

"Yeah, well..." He cleared his throat.

"Nice to meet you, Faith. I look forward to getting to know you better." Holding the blanket she had wrapped around her tight to her chest, Katrina extended her hand to Faith. The younger woman accepted her hand, giving it a quick shake.

"Good to meet you, Katrina." She motioned towards the door. "I'm going to leave now. The animals are taken care of for the day." She scampered away with
Kimmy
seated on her shoulder before Damon could respond, closing the door firmly behind her.

Katrina slipped from his embrace and he didn't have to look down at her face to know she was angry. As he lowered his gaze to hers, sure enough, there was fire in her blue eyes and not the kind that was in them last night when they were making love. She was indeed pissed.

"Did you fuck that one too?"

Damon fought to keep a smile from emerging on his lips. He'd forgotten how sexy she was when she was angry and how much of a temper she had when other women were involved.

"Well." She tapped her bare foot as she waited for his response.

"My God, you're sexy when you're jealous," he couldn't help but tease.

"I. Am. Not. Jealous," she hissed, poking him in the chest to accent each word.

A bout of laughter overtook him. He couldn't help it. She was just too damned cute and it brought back so many memories.

"This isn't funny. I'm serious," she protested, but a grin was fighting to emerge on her lips, he could see the corners of her lips lifting. "You left me alone to be fondled by monkeys."

"We've been engaged for less than twelve hours and already we're fighting." He
tisked
at her softly, and pulled her into his arms.

"We're not fighting," she defended, the smile breaking out on her lips. "I was asking a question."

He laughed again and lowered his lips to hers. "Uh-huh. I'd forgotten how jealous you get."

"I'm not jealous, but she gave me a look and you admitted to having that fling with your secretary." She kissed him back, releasing the blanket and sliding her hands up his chest and lacing her fingers behind his neck, pressing her naked body against him.

His cock immediately sprang to life, pressing against his jeans. He wanted to take her again. He'd been having a hard time trying to get any work what-so-ever done that morning because his mind kept going back to her and their night together.

He gave himself a moment to run his hands down her back and caress her bottom, while he deepened the kiss, his tongue searching out hers. He was tempted to pick her up, toss her onto the sofa, strip naked and spend the afternoon filling her over and over, but he had stuff to do and it wouldn't get done indulging his cock, no matter how much he wanted to.

With great reluctance he pulled away from her, and stepped back. "Honey, I gotta run into Houston for a few hours so you'll have to entertain yourself. Explore the house. Make yourself at home. If you want to go into the city, maybe do some shopping I can give you one of my credit cards and you may shop to your heart's content. Just take whatever car you want, the keys to them all are in the top left hand drawer of my desk."

Her face fell, disappointment registering in her expression.

"It's not a business thing, I promise. You'll like it. I just gotta do this on my own. But I won't be long."

Her smile reappeared, but not as bright. She fingered the collar of his light blue, pinstripe, button down shirt. "Okay. I'll stay here. But you're all mine tonight?"

He hooked his index finger under her chin, tilted her face upwards and he kissed her softly. "All yours. In fact, there is going to be a delivery in a few hours for you and I have something really special planned for us."

"Really?"

"Really," he confirmed.

*****

"Just make sure it happens, Kevin." Damon ended the call, not waiting for Kevin's reply as he pulled his Lamborghini into a parking slot in front of Gamble and Fennel fine jewellers. They had the best of the best in Houston when it came to engagement rings. He'd rather of had one custom made for her, but considering they were on a time crunch he had to make due.

Getting out of the car, he closed the door, locked it with a press of a button and made his way into the lavish boutique. He immediately walked past the display cases towards the back of the shop. He'd already called ahead and apparently they were supposed to have the perfect ring for him.

As he made his way towards the back of the store his eyes caught sight of a stunning yellow sapphire pendant suspended from a diamond chain set in platinum, with matching diamond pear drop diamond earrings. They were perfect for her and would match the yellow satin gown he was having delivered to the house this morning. Without even bothering to look at the price he kept moving towards the back counter where he was supposed to meet with a man named Ralph Gamble, the owner of the shop.

As he approached, an elderly gentleman entered the showroom from the back to greet him.

"Mr. Gamble," Damon asked, extending his hand to the gentleman.

"Yes, Sir. And you would be Damon?"

"I would. Before you bring me the ring," he turned and pointed to the case in the center of the room featuring the yellow sapphire necklace, "Could you have someone wrap the necklace in the center showcase for me along with the earrings and a matching bracelet."

"Of course, Sir." The jeweller motioned to one of the younger female saleswomen who was within hearing range. "Please box the Esmeralda diamond set, Jenny." Reaching under the counter he produced two velvet cases. The first he opened displayed a perfectly cut 5ct oval diamond in a platinum setting. The second featured a matching platinum wedding band set with three diamonds on the top of each of the bands. The sparkling of the diamonds was mesmerizing under the soft florescent lighting.

"Your fiancée is a very lucky woman," Ralph commented, motioning to the rings. "These are some of the best cut diamonds you can find anywhere."

Damon smiled as he removed the ring from the case and inspected it a little closer. The light danced off of the edges of the diamond. The funny thing was that Katrina would have been happy with a ring from the showcase of Wal-Mart. She'd never been the kind of woman to demand much. She'd been struggling for so many years financially, now that she was in his life, as far as he was concerned she would only get the very best from now on. She deserved that much at the very least, because what she was offering to give him was priceless.

Chapter 12

"Delivery for Miss Alexander," a young FedEx delivery man announced as Katrina opened the front door. Juggling a long white box under his arm, the delivery man thrust an electronic signing device at her, pointing to the spot for her signature. "Sign here."

Katrina signed and accepted the white box secured together with a large silver ribbon and bow. She closed the door with her hip, as she pulled the card from under the ribbon. She made her way into the living room and placed the box onto the oval coffee table. She then opened the envelope and pulled out the card.

For tonight, I know you'll look amazing in it. Love you, Damon
.

A wide grin spread across her lips as she opened the box to reveal a yellow satin gown. Standing, she gently pulled it out of the box, and examined it at arm's length. The dress was floor length and sleeveless, with a v-cut that dipped low, appeared to be form-fitting and flared out at the bottom. The satin was so soft in her hands that she couldn't resist the urge to bring it to her cheek and rub her face against it. It was beautiful, easily the most stunning dress she'd ever owned. Along with it, the box contained a matching purse and golden, glittering strappy heels.

"You got the dress I see."

Spinning around, her grin widened as she set her eyes on Damon, looking as sexy as ever in a black suit, with the blue pin-striped shirt he'd been wearing earlier. "Thank you so much. I love it!" she squealed rushing across the room and into his arms. "You don't need to buy me stuff. I'm happy just to be with you again." She pressed herself against him and kissed his lips lightly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."