One Night With the Billionaire (Men of the Zodiac) (4 page)

He pulled out his phone and pretended he had a reason to look at it. Anything to break his focus on her and that tight little body and how much he wanted it twisting up his sheets.
Interior design
. She might think herself unqualified, but she’d sure as fuck redesigned the way his dick fit in his pants. “If you don’t play the part as a designer,” he asked, “how do you expect your cover to stand?”

“Not with me coordinating fabrics, that’s for sure.”

He cast an unwitting eye over her dress. “Isn’t that a thing women do?”

She rolled her eyes. “It’s a thing
people
do, but not all of them. Consider me among the least qualified.”

“In that case, consider yourself lucky. I already had a professional coordinate everything. I just need you to go through the rooms and tell me they look good.” To her raised brow, he added, “Make sure everything is in place. Right number of curtains and that kind of thing. Think you can handle that?”

“I can count, yes.”

He relished the tiny smile that punctuated her words. It was the first hint of normalcy since she’d walked back into his life. Maybe they could be friends after all.
Right
.

“I have some time now,” he said. “Let me show you around.” He tugged his shirt into place, noticing with amusement that her gaze followed his hands.

“You don’t have a person for that?” she asked, her attention still on his abdomen.

“Not a chance.” He actually did have someone who could have given her the tour, but he wasn’t letting her go that easily. Especially in the vicinity of his buddy Hector, the resort’s outdoor adventure guru, whom no woman had ever turned down. Or so Hector said, but Ryder hadn’t seen much evidence to the contrary.

She fell into step beside him, setting fire to his blood. Every palm they strolled past, he fought the urge to pin her against the trunk, wrists over her head, body lithe and slick against his. The woman was a distraction and then some, and if he wasn’t doing a sorry job of hiding it now, he would be when his buddies started asking questions. They’d see past his denial in a heartbeat, and that would only bring more questions. Ryder had no qualms about taking what he wanted, but he couldn’t take her.

Not even if she begged.

“So who were those guys with you when I came up?” she asked. “Do they work here?”

“Yep,” he said, grateful for the change in topic. “Hector is a pilot, and he’s into adventure sports, so he’ll be the one terrorizing guests. Neil is a charter boat captain in charge of fishing expeditions. Carson is a bartender from back in his college days, but he doubles as my right hand. He more recently acted as a CFO for a Fortune 500 company, so he knows his way around the numbers, and for the last month has had his head glued to a spreadsheet making sure everything is in place for the opening. He’s run most of his reports now, but old habits die hard. I had to drag him away from a computer to get him to help with the construction.”

She gave a short, nervous laugh. “It’s not everywhere a person walks up on a billionaire and a Fortune 500 CFO swinging hammers.”

Ryder grinned. “Probably not, but I decided I wanted a gazebo there, so we put one together with some excess lumber we had hanging around.”

“So they just jump when you say jump, huh?”

“Yep, but I’d do the same for them, and they know it.”

She smiled warmly, and it lit fire to something inside him. Made him feel human.

Vulnerable. Like her approval still mattered.

He cleared his throat. “The resort consists of thirteen cabana suites like ours,” he explained, “each with a private pool. They’re isolated for privacy, though not as spread out as you might think. I wanted to grant each one solitude while keeping close to amenities.” They turned a corner, and the main building came into view. He nodded in its direction. “There are twenty-one suites in the tower.”

“Tower? You use the term loosely.”

He laughed. “Yes, only five floors, but with sprawl. Enough for a view from the top, but not so much that it ruins the view from everywhere else. Anyway, you’re basically double-checking the list I have, and it’s all on the computer, so I’ll give you a tablet, and it’ll be cake. I know you don’t need to be deep undercover here, but having something of a story should keep your visit from snagging too much attention. The guys wouldn’t pry, but this way, you won’t have to answer any questions—even the casual ones. I know they can be uncomfortable.”

“I appreciate your trouble,” she said quickly. Dismissively. “What’s that one?” She pointed to a two-story building that meandered through the palms, an architectural design that allowed each of the 500-square-foot studio apartments to have a private terrace.

“That’s the staff quarters.”

“They won’t think it’s odd I’m not staying there? I’m staff.”

“More of a consultant. Besides, putting you in there would be the equivalent of throwing you to the wolves.”

She threw him a wry look. “Surely the doors lock.”

He bit back a grin at how readily she tossed his words back at him. Very few people saw fit to give him a hard time since he’d made his fortune, and not one of the intrepid few had been of the young female persuasion. “Indeed they do have locking doors,” he said, “but I wouldn’t subject a woman to such close quarters with what is currently a building full of guys. Not without backup.”

Her eyes narrowed. “So what you’re saying is, you have a bunch of Neanderthals working for you.”

He nearly choked on her assessment. It probably wasn’t too far off, although he knew they were good guys who respected women. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be anywhere near his resort. “They’re not blind,” he said mildly.

“That’s no excuse,” she shot back. A playful smirk softened her admonition.

He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Haven’t we already had this conversation? Besides, I didn’t say it was an excuse.”

“But?”

“But I took personal responsibility for you and intend to see that through.”

She pressed her lips together, seemingly irritated. What had he said to offend her? After the way she’d reacted to his tale from the backseat, he got the feeling she preferred dirty talk to business, so perhaps being reminded—or realizing for the first time—that she fell into the latter category hadn’t gone over well. He filed away the assumption with a hint of amusement.

He led the way into the main building, with its oasis of stark white and sea blue décor. Beige accents softened a number of windowed nooks with views of the beach or pool. Barrel ceilings, their arches richly detailed, added a dimension of luxury, while the oversized pillows and plush seating promised comfort. Columns offered subtle distinctions between spaces without closing off the open floor plan, which remained brilliantly lit by sun-drenched windows from sunup to sundown.

Behind him, Zoe’s breath caught. “It’s beautiful.”

He smiled to himself. “I’m glad you approve.” And he was.

“The designer did a great job in here.”

He smiled, stupidly pleased that she liked what she saw. “The guest suites are right this way.”

She trailed a step behind him, and he let her. Safer that way. “Are they all laid out the same?” she asked.

“Most aren’t, actually. I wanted to avoid the cookie-cutter habit of most resorts in favor of a truly personal experience, so no two rooms are alike, but they’re all maxed out with amenities.” He swiped a key card through the nearest lock and opened the door for her. “Right this way.”

Despite a number of differences, the two-bedroom suite wasn’t unlike the cabana he and Zoe shared. Once the final coat of paint was on, one bedroom would offer a king-sized bed, the other a pair of doubles. The same colors remained a theme throughout the resort, though the exact assortment in each room varied. Every suite boasted a generously appointed kitchen, a stocked wet bar, two and a half baths, and theater-quality media, though he hoped his guests would find their surroundings more interesting than the electronics.

She walked a small circle around the suite, her wonderment causing him to see it anew. He couldn’t imagine he’d ever grow tired of the white sand and turquoise waters of the Caribbean, but they’d never looked more beautiful than they did with Zoe in the forefront.

He was on his way to the window to detail the view when she turned, the sudden movement clashing with his own. She landed flat against his chest, and he steadied her without forethought. And just like that, she was in his arms.

Nonsensical objections spun through his head, but his only focus was on the curve of her lips. Their eyes met through the thickness of her lashes, and she denied him his only chance of salvation by not fleeing. If anything, when her gaze dropped to his mouth, she reeled him in. Her fingertips traced his biceps with the gentleness of a lover, and any chance he held for resistance hit the floor. But dammit, he was not going to go there.

At least, not until those fingertips touched his cheek and lingered. Then her thumb dragged across his bottom lip.

“You’re in dangerous territory,” he managed to mutter. Right before he fucking kissed her. And it wasn’t some old granny peck, either. It was a full-fledged possession, his mouth devouring hers. He half hoped she’d slap him, but the soft whimpers she produced didn’t sound like any objection he’d ever heard.

He dropped his hands from her upper arms and cupped her face, his thumbs caressing her cheeks gently. Possessively. Her lips couldn’t have been any softer. Nothing sweeter existed than the slide of her tongue and the fit of her body or the way she moved it against him.

And then, inexplicably, it was over. By the time her absence registered, she was across the room and out the door, leaving him stunned and empty and alone.

Chapter Five

Z
oe turned a blind corner, no real concept of where she was headed beyond
anywhere else
. Her lips still stung with the sweet torture of Ryder’s kiss. Her fingertips tingled. Her
everything
tingled. She stopped and leaned against the wall in a failed attempt to catch her breath.

“Can’t say I’ve seen many women run from him.”

Zoe jerked upright and sought the source of the voice. The hall opened into a common area, and she hadn’t noticed the older woman on the far side. She held a bottle of glass cleaner and a cloth, but didn’t seem concerned with either.

“Excuse me?” Zoe asked.

“Usually it’s Mr. Nash trying to head off in the opposite direction. Oh, he’s nice about it, but you can always see the disappointment in her face when a woman fails to catch his eye.”

Speechless for the second time that day, Zoe could only stare. Streaks of gray in the woman’s dark hair suggested she was older, and while her face remained neutral, the twinkle in her eye was evident even with the distance between them. Clearly she knew Ryder, which left Zoe feeling outnumbered even though they were alone.

“Oh, honey, I’m talking out of turn again. I’m Aggie Miller, and you can call me Aggie.”

“Michelle,” Zoe said. “Michelle Elliot.” Michelle was her middle name, and Elliot her mother’s maiden name. The adopted pseudonym wasn’t far from the truth, but still, the words felt unnatural. Already she felt guilty for lying about who she was. Ryder surely had been right when he said no one on the island would look twice at her. What difference did her first name make? It wasn’t as if she’d taken up residence on a rock in the Potomac within view of the Lincoln Memorial. She was in the Caribbean, for heaven’s sake.

“Michelle?” Aggie frowned. “I could have sworn you were someone else. Must be this heat. Us old folks don’t preserve well when it’s a hundred and ten in the shade.”

“Your ability to exaggerate hasn’t suffered, though, has it?”

Zoe jumped at Ryder’s voice so close to her ear—could the man not make noise when he walked?—while Aggie smiled at his teasing tone.

“It’s not a degree over seventy in here, Aggie, and you know it.”

“I also know your friend Michelle here is the spitting image of—”

“She’s here to finish the interior design, not listen to you go on about how much she resembles your former neighbor’s aunt’s cousin’s sister’s daughter.”

Aggie put her hands on her hips. “And you say I exaggerate! Actually I was going to say—”

“You were going to welcome Miss Elliot to the island and offer to assist her in any way you can.”

“Well, for heaven’s sake. Of course I was.” Aggie wiped her hands on her apron and fastened a warm smile on Zoe. “Anything you need, honey, you just let me know. Especially if that boy gives you any trouble. I’ll turn him over my knee in a heartbeat. Now, where are you staying?”

Zoe glanced at Ryder, who hesitated a beat before replying. “With me.”

Aggie’s brow shot upward, but she didn’t speak. Zoe caught the tail end of the warning look from Ryder that must have silenced Aggie, and her heart stuttered in her chest. Whatever Aggie wanted to say, Ryder wanted kept quiet.

“If you’ll excuse us,” Ryder said to Aggie, “we need to finish our tour. Miss Elliot is here to check on the rooms, so she’ll have a master key while she works, but should she need anything else, please help her in any way you can.”

“Of course. A fine thing to meet you, Miss Elliot. We’ll have coffee soon. Or a shot of whatever you’ll need to put up with that man in such close quarters.”

Zoe laughed. “I’d like that.”

“You’d like it more if he’d open that bar. Not much in the pantry worth drinking.” Her tone suggested they’d gone rounds over the topic before.

“I’ll open it up Friday, just for you ladies,” Ryder said.

“As long as you boys don’t go getting any ideas.” Aggie punctuated the words by adjusting her ample bosom in an exaggerated huff.

Ryder laughed and shook his head. “Nothing of the sort from me, but you watch yourself around Hector.”

“You tell Hector to watch himself around me.”

Zoe watched the exchange with amusement. She liked Aggie, and seeing Ryder interact with her somehow humanized him. She didn’t need that any more than she needed the taste of him lingering in her mouth or the memory of what he looked like out of that shirt.

He took her arm, his hand warm against her skin. Rough, but in the good way. A silent thrill crept through her at the thought of him touching her intimately, at what those hands could do.

She swallowed, but it didn’t help her throat, which was now as dry as the Sahara.

“A drink sounds great,” she said as he led her away from Aggie. The words were weak, her attempt at small talk unconvincing. As if they could just forget what happened. “I’m already looking forward to the weekend.” Her voice shook, killing any stab at lighthearted conversation. He had her turned every way but straight.

He didn’t respond, and they didn’t go far. As soon as they rounded the corner, exposing a long, wide hallway with even wider seating areas scattered throughout, he turned to her, propping one hand on the wall near her head. He leaned close and spoke in a low voice. “Why did you run?”

“It was more of a brisk walk.”

“Zoe.”

Her name, two syllables of admonishment that fell from his lips like honey.
Messy
. “What?”

He brushed a lock of hair away from her eyes. “What are you afraid of?”

Falling
.

He edged closer. She sensed tension and wondered if what Aggie said could be true…if Ryder did more running than chasing.

He reached behind her with one arm, tugging gently on the tips of her hair until she looked up and got lost in the riptide of his eyes. Had he any idea how mesmerizing they were?

“Unless I’m mistaken,” he said gruffly, “you were the one dragging your thumb across my mouth back there in the room. That’s not the move of a woman who doesn’t want. Say it, Zoe.”

She blinked his lips into focus. “Say what?”

“Say no.”

No
? The word had dissolved from her vocabulary.

He brushed her ear with a kiss and a jolt of electricity. “Tell me you don’t want me. Tell me you don’t want me to talk dirty, princess, while I fuck you until neither one of us can move.”

“I…can’t.”

She caught the barest hint of a grin a moment before his lips grazed hers. The pressure wasn’t enough, and when he released her, he left her shaky and aching and needing the heat he’d taken with him.

Not unlike she’d done to him moments before.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “My life has been turned upside down, and I’m just so used to everything being under control and this…this is just…”

“Not under control.” The words came out all sin and sex, and despite their brevity, they managed to completely change her perspective on what it meant to be out of control.

On how good it could be for him to take her there.

It didn’t matter that there hadn’t been anything between them—he was deliciously familiar, and there wasn’t a synapse in her body that didn’t recognize that. She had no idea if he used the same lines on every other woman he met, but it didn’t matter. Lines or not, they worked. He made her feel good, and she hadn’t even realized how much intimacy was missing from her career-driven life until his sensual mouth formed those dirty words. With a single whispered seduction, he’d wrecked her.

“I haven’t dug into what brought you here,” he said, “and I won’t. That’s not my business. But I will say that somewhere along the line, someone forgot to treat you like a woman. Someone forgot you were a fucking goddess.” He paused. Touched her chin. “
You
forgot, didn’t you?”

“I…I don’t think I ever knew that.” Her? A goddess? She’d laugh, but there was nothing funny about the way this man looked at her.

Like no man before him. But he’d made it clear earlier that he didn’t do relationships, so she’d be a goddess for one night or maybe a handful, and then a castoff, likely. And given the out-of-control feelings she was experiencing now, one night might not be enough for her. Which would be adding a whole new level of humiliation to the national humiliation she’d come to Latitude 13 to escape. No, thanks.

“Listen to me, Zoe. You’re beautiful, and you deserve more than whatever he did to you. You deserve to be treasured. Don’t you ever give yourself to another man who doesn’t damn well know it.”

She could only stare, stunned. How could he think so much of her? Every other man in her life seemed to think of her as a commodity of some sort, and here he was, Prince Charming without a horse. Saying all the right things, igniting all the right desires. She couldn’t imagine the practice he must have had getting women into bed, but even with that knowledge, she couldn’t make herself feel like one of the masses. He’d gotten through to her. Made her feel like he really thought she was special, and it felt so good, she didn’t care whether or not he was sincere.

He took a step away and pushed his hand through his hair. “I guess I should have offered you a drink a long time ago. Will ice water do for now? Or tea?”

Relief sluiced through her with the distance he adopted. Ryder’s intensity surprised her, more so that it seemed to exist on her behalf. But as hard as that cloud of unexpected emotion swirled, it did nothing to dull her attraction for him. And attraction was an understatement. The man had her vibrating on a new frequency, and whether it was him or the setting or the fact that her life had gone to hell, all she could think about was riding him like a cowgirl on a wild bull.

“Water would be great,” she croaked. Water and a side of him. Was this what rebounding was? She hadn’t been down this road before, and while her ex wasn’t anything to miss, when the scandal broke, she did miss her boring, normal life. Or she thought she had. A few coarsely whispered words from Ryder had her at a loss for breath. What would it be like for him to touch her? For those hands she’d once coveted to possess her?

“I’ll get the water,” he said. “And a tablet for you to use, and I’ll meet you back in the guest suite to walk you through what you’re doing.”

She nodded, just as disappointed by the change in subject as she was relieved. But then, mid-exit, he stopped and shot her a grin that turned her legs to rubber.

“And then, later, I’ll meet you at the cabana.”

R
yder found Aggie where he’d left her moments before. “You talk too much,” he said, kissing the top of her head to soften the admonishment.

She swatted him on the chest. “If you weren’t hiding something, you wouldn’t think so.”

Ryder froze. “What do you mean?” He glanced back, grateful he didn’t see Zoe. He’d left her to count curtain rods and pillow cases, and he figured she was glad for the distance. But if she was going to walk up on him, just his luck that it would be now.

“I saw how you looked at her,” Aggie said with a knowing smile.

“Whatever you think you know, you can forget it. She’s here to check the orders.”

Aggie planted her hands on her hips and stared him down. “Seeing as how any one of us can count, I’m not buying that you flew her in just for that. Especially considering you had everything finalized weeks ago.”

He shrugged. “She’s doing quality control. What can I say? They’re thorough.”

She shook her head and shot him a look that made clear what she thought of his claim. “No one waits until two weeks before a project of this magnitude opens to double-check the linens. That last rep took the final paperwork with him when he left. As a matter of fact, there was a tracking notification in the corporate inbox this morning for the final load of supplies, so you might want to tell them to re-route that plane if you want that story of yours to stand.”

His mouth fell open. “They’re being delivered already? They’re not due for a week!”

“You’re a big account,” Aggie said mildly. “They aim to please.”

“Great,” he muttered. He’d have to find Zoe and regroup. It wouldn’t be that big of a deal to say she was there personally to make sure everything was as he requested. Ever since the construction had been completed, he’d had only a core group at the resort—just him, Aggie, Hector, Neil, Carson, and a small grounds detail, plus his pilot, who seldom ventured away from his cottage near the airstrip. The rest of the staff was due to arrive in a couple days for training, with the resort’s fully booked gala grand opening set for a week from Friday. After a welcomed post-construction lull, things were about to get hectic. It was likely no one would question Zoe’s role at the resort, but it wasn’t the extended staff Ryder worried about. It was the people who knew him…the people who had nothing better to do for the duration than watch him watch her.

“Besides,” Aggie added with a waggle to her brow. “I’ve seen the picture.”

“What picture?” As if he didn’t know. As if the image hadn’t immediately filled his brain, despite the fact he kept it tucked away.

“The picture in that old yearbook of yours. I know it’s not high school you’re missing, and that photo tucked between the pages speaks volumes. Looks just like her, only a few years ago. Her name isn’t Michelle, is it?”

Aggie’s cross-examination would probably impress Zoe, but it got under Ryder’s skin. He didn’t like dodging the truth, or that anyone could read him so well. He frowned. “Part of it is, but that alteration isn’t for me. It’s for her, so let it be.”

Again with the stare that saw right through him, she asked, “And what about you?”

“What about you going through my things?” he shot back, knowing the deflection would be obvious. But this was dangerous territory, and more for him than Zoe. No one knew how deeply his past scarred him…not even Aggie.

She waved a finger in his face. “Rubbish, boy. You hired me to head the housekeeping staff, and you left the book lying open. I didn’t snoop, but I didn’t shut it with my eyes closed either.”

“It’s an old picture. I just haven’t thrown it out yet.” Truth was, he kept the yearbook to stay in touch with his past, just so he wouldn’t forget from where he came. The man who had judged Ryder unworthy and thrown money at him so he’d go away had earned Ryder’s appreciation, but not his respect. Ryder never wanted to become that kind of judgmental asshole.