Billionaire's Lies: A Novel (16 page)

There was a knock on my door and I bolted up. I looked through the peephole and saw Vanessa.

"Shouldn't you be at work?" I asked, opening the door.

"I could say the same to you." She peered over my shoulder and saw the TV on full volume. "Don't tell me that you're here to see what details you can get about the wedding?"

"Fine, I won't tell you the juicy details." I moved out of the way and let her in.

"You have got to stop doing this to yourself."

"I can't help it, V. I'm not as strong as you. I just can't stop looking."

"But look at what you're doing to yourself." She gestured towards me. She grabbed my shoulders and made me look at my reflection in the mirror.

It was really a sad sight. My eyes were puffy and red from all the crying. I hadn't changed out of my baggy sweat pants since Blake had left, and my shirt was full of holes that bleach ruined. My hair was up in a messy bun with most of the hair being out of the bun. I was usually coiffed and neat but I didn't care. My first thought waking up today was:
Why bother?

"You can't let this happen." She was rubbing my back.

"Right. But I don't want to leave the house either."

"How about we order some greasy Chinese food and watch some boring documentary?" She smiled.

"You love those, don't you? Is this more about you or me?" I chuckled.

"I won't lie to you and say that I won't enjoy watching the documentary, but it will definitely get your mind off of it."

"Okay." I gave in.

"So first you're going to take a shower and look better than this." She looked me up and down. "And I get control of the remote so you won't be tempted to look at any more things." Just then my phone vibrated. "What's that?"

"Oh..." I sighed. "I set up an alert so I can get details of the wedding sent to my phone. Plus, I'm getting a live social media feed."

"I got to give it to you, you're efficient when you're into it."

***

Apparently "boring documentary" was an understatement, we were seriously watching a documentary on how they made designer purses and shoes. I rolled my eyes but Vanessa's eyes were glued to the screen. For her, this was really a two for one. She not only loved documentaries, but she had an eye for fashion. In fact, right now she was wearing some of the designers featured in the film. When it was finished, she sighed in satisfaction.

"I did not know about all the tender care that went behind all of this." She touched her purse.

"I did not know that I could be this bored. But I will say one thing: I didn't think about him at all." I smiled. "So I guess you were right."

"Yes! Now the only mistake I made was not ordering dessert. After eating all that food, I could go for some cake or something. Are you up for going out?" I shook my head 'no'. "Fine. I'll order dessert as well. I want a cheesecake." She smiled wide. "You want a slice?"

"A whole cake? You're getting a whole cake?" She didn't bother to answer me; she just took out her phone and made a call.

On the other side of my living room, my phone was vibrating like crazy. I looked at the time and saw that it was almost time for the wedding. If I'm right, the bridal party should be making their way down the aisle. If only Vanessa would leave me alone for two seconds, I could just look up some pictures. Just a few pictures to cure my curiosity. I reached for my phone when out of nowhere, Vanessa grabbed it and put it in her pocket.

"Nice try."

I laughed out loud and asked her if she would like some green tea. Hopefully, it will calm my nerves or maybe even let Vanessa hand me my phone back.

"Thank you," she said as she gave me my green tea. "No sugar? No agave?" She made a disapproving face.

"No, Vanessa." I smiled. She had such a sweet tooth.

"Not even one sugar cube?"

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't you just order a whole cheesecake?"

"Still..." She shrugged.

"Thank you for this. If you weren't here, I'd be torturing myself with this whole wedding thing."

"Don't worry about it, sweetie. That's what friends are for." She jumped up. "Damn, girl, just how many alerts did you set up for this wedding. My ass is vibrating like crazy." She pulled out my phone. She swiped the front. Her eyes opened wide. "Oh,
shit.
"

"What?"

The doorbell rang.

"That's the cake. It's all paid for. Hurry up and get it because we need to eat a slice or two for this." She was still engrossed in the phone.

"Well, at least let me cover the tip money." I grabbed a few singles off my bedroom counter before sauntering to the door.

I swung the door open, a big grin on my face for the cake I was about to devour. Instead, I felt blue fire heat wash over me as I stood face-to-face with Blake in his tuxedo.

Chapter 21

"Hey there, stranger." His lazy smile melted my heart, but I wasn't going to be swayed that easily.

I took two steps back and shook my head.
Surely, I'm dreaming.
I poked my head out of the doorway and looked up and down the halls. I was expecting to see the bride.

"I'm alone," he stated, an amused smirk playing at the corner of his lips.

I ran to my window and looked down. There was no limo, just his regular car and his driver.

"Where's the cake?" Vanessa asked. She turned and saw Blake. "
Oh shit
."

"You must be the beautiful Vanessa." He strode inside with as much elegance as royalty and extended his hand to shake hers.

"Yes, I am, but I better be going." Just then, the delivery guy came in with the cake. "Yes! I thought that I was going to miss this cake." Vanessa was grinning with so much relief, she almost looked manic.

I laughed, as I always tend to do around Vanessa, but then my eyes darted back to Blake and my laughter faltered nervously.

Before I knew it, Vanessa was shoving my smartphone back into my hand and whispering in my ear, "Be careful. And call me later?" She turned and gave Blake a small nod. "Nice meeting you. If you fuck over my friend, there wouldn't be enough money in the world that would stop me from getting to you. Do we understand each other?"

My chest warmed with love for her, even more than I thought was possible. The way she just handled Blake made him seem so much more human to me; I only wished I'd be able to talk to him with as much sass. Instead, it felt like every time I looked at him my heart would burst out of my chest. More than anything, one thought kept racing through my mind:
What is he doing here?

Blake arched an eyebrow, the rest of his face impassive. He rewarded her with a small nod, and Vanessa took that as her cue to leave.

After Vanessa had left, Blake locked the door and leaned against it casually. His eyes were still fixated on me, with a mixture of hunger and raw emotion. I wanted to reach out to him, to touch him, but I held back. He didn't deserve my affection. Not until I heard what he had to say anyway.

I crossed my arms over my chest protectively, which only made the smirk tug at his lip even more. It was infuriating. It was sexy. It made me miss the time we'd lost out on and him even more. "Well? What are you doing here?" I asked, trying my best to hide how pleased I was to find him here--and trying to silence my confusion long enough to hear him speak.

"I was in the church trying to tie my bow tie, and I couldn't do it."

"Well, it
is
a pretty complicated knot."

Blake's luminous green eyes shone bright and he grinned. It was his first real smile all day, and my heart pattered. "Good to see you've still got your humor," he mused.

I shot him a pointed look, and was about to open my mouth to snap that I actually wanted to know what he was doing here, but he spoke again.

"It's strange, because if I had followed through with my plan, then I would have effectively ruined Jennifer's career. Strangely, I felt no remorse. No, that's not why I left." His eyes searched mine, and I felt myself holding my breath to hear what he had to say next. "To hell with the deal. You were right, we don't need it. All I need is you, Christina. I would be happy anywhere with you."

My head was nodding along to what he was saying, betraying my mind which wanted him to suffer a little bit more, but agreeing with my heart that wanted
me
to stop suffering altogether.

"I love you, Christina. No one has ever made me feel the way you do, and that is true now, it was true ten years ago, and it will ten years from now. I realize now what a mistake it was to think that temporary pain now for a stronger future was a wise choice for our relationship."

Our relationship
, my heart leaped when he said the words. It should have dawned on me by now that he still wanted
me
, but after spending so much time thinking he didn't, it still felt so fresh and new.

"Next time you are thinking about a big decision that will impact our relationship's dynamic, you will talk to me first. Understood?" I tried to mimic Vanessa's firm tone. It came out sounding sillier than it did in my head, but I was proud that I was able to say them all the same.

Blake seemed to appreciate my efforts of being more assertive too because he had a playful look to him now. Or maybe it was because he recognized that I was saying that I'd forgive him. As hard as the past little while had been, the most important thing was that he never wanted her or even thought of her in that way. It was all an act, and I understood the fact that if he was going to make the act believable, then I had to believe it, too. When I looked at Blake, I knew that I didn't want to spend my life away from him just to teach him a lesson.
He'll make it up to me in the years to come
, my mind thought mischievously.

He was already moving towards me, his strong arms circling my waist in the ways I'd missed for so long. Blake grabbed me possessively, like I was
his,
and as he pressed his body against mine, I could feel that he was mine, too.

I tilted my head up to look at him, knowing full well that my eyes must have been glistening. It was surreal to think that just hours before, I was sitting on my couch, ready to watch the man of my dreams get married to another woman. At least, I thought I was ready, but I think I was mostly in denial.

Now, as I looked up into his eyes, I wondered how I ever could have thought that was a possibility. Everything in his emerald greens told me that I was the only important thing in the world. In fact, it felt like I was the only person in the world when he looked at me, and it made my heart swell for him.

My tongue darted out to lick my lips instinctively, my mouth suddenly parched. Yet the only thing that could satisfy my thirst was him. At the sight of my moistened lips, Blake groaned softly. I recognized that groan immediately--it was the one he let out before he was going to take what he wanted: me.

His fingers wrapped themselves into my hair on the back of my head. Blake grabbed a fistful of my hair gently, just enough to guide my face to his. His kiss was hot and ready; it sent fiery ripples through my heart all the way down to my sex. The moan slipped out of my mouth before I could stop myself, and I felt my body arching itself towards him, yearning to feel the length of his quickly hardening shaft against me. And in me.

Recognizing my needs, Blake lowered his arms and looped them under my ass, pausing for a moment to grab them and feel them before he tucked my ass under his arms. He lifted me and wrapped my legs around his waist effortlessly, like I weighed nothing, even as I felt my curves press into his hard chest. It was enough to make me moan again and it took everything in me to not grind my wetness against his tux.

Blake carried me into the bedroom, but each step he took felt like an eternity. He was only carrying me with one arm under my ass now, the other stroking the bare skin of my thigh. His fingertips inched their way towards my increasingly wet mound. When they finally reached the lace of my panties, he traced his fingers along the outside of the lace, taunting me. I squirmed in his grip, eager to have him touch me like he used to, and was rewarded with a cocky grin against my teeth.

This gorgeous sex god continued teasing me with his fingers as they gradually inched their way underneath the lace. He stroked the outside of my labia painfully slowly while his tongue traced my lips just as slowly. It felt like I was dancing with the devil, and the devil knew exactly what to do to make me cry out and beg for him.