Sleeping with the Billionaire (Rendezvous with the Billionaire Book 3) (3 page)

“Beer, I guess. No, water?” I shouldn’t drink around him - that was what got me into trouble in the first place.

Evan smiled but nodded and left me alone. I almost expected him to summon a butler. But being alone in a room in his house presented me with an opportunity that I wasn’t going to pass up. I got out of my chair and went right for the TV. There was a shelf with glass doors where it looked like he kept a bunch of DVDs. They were mostly popular movies, action flicks and comedies, with a few titles in French and Spanish along with a language or two I didn’t recognize. The collection wasn’t extensive, maybe fifty cases in all, but it was comforting to see what Evan liked, especially when I saw a few of my favorites in his collection.

I’d need to open up cabinets to learn more, and I almost did until I heard him walking back down the hallway towards me. My heart kicked up at the thought of being caught prying, but I stayed where I was. If he was going to leave me alone in his place, I had a right to look at what was in plain sight just like anyone else.

Evan didn’t comment when he saw me by the window. He just sat the bottle of water down on a coaster on the dark wood table and seated himself on the couch. He looked comfortable there, one arm resting on the back and his foot hitched over his knee. He smiled at me and after a moment I had to look away. Evan was being normal again, that was really not good for me.

I sat back down in my chair after scooping up the water. It was so fancy that it came in a glass bottle. This was the luxury treatment. He watched me drink, but said nothing. I wondered if he was just going to stare at me all night.

“Do you invite a lot of girls to your apartment to give them the silent treatment?” When in doubt, make a joke. After I finished speaking I remembered that he’d probably been sitting at an interrogation room at the police station all afternoon and felt horrible about myself. “I’m sorry. Did everything go alright with the cops?” I knew my life had gone to bizarro world when that statement just rolled off my tongue.

He moved his arm from off the couch and leaned forward. His smile was gone. “I was an idiot, asking you to lie for me.”

That was unexpected. But he continued before I could say anything.

“I’m sorry. I get…weird about things sometimes and I don’t think about how it affects people. I was wrong. And they suspect me now anyway.” He didn’t look me in the eye, his gaze cast down to where my sneaker tapped against the soft carpet of the floor.

I moved to the couch to sit next to him. He needed to comfort and I didn’t know how to give it from five feet away. “I’m sure you’ve got very good lawyers to take care of that.”

“You’re not going to ask me if I did it?” He finally looked at me, something haunted in his eyes.

I placed a hand on his knee, patting it once. “You already told me you didn’t.” I’d keep believing him. “Did you want to change your story?”

His face paled, he clutched my hand and pulled me a bit closer. “I lied about not knowing Nick. I lied to you.”

I stayed silent. He wanted to talk and I needed to know what he had to say.

“I knew Nick Bitterman, very well. We went to college together, high school too. Him and me, Amanda and her brother Dylan. He used to have a crush on Amanda, it never really went anywhere, but we all knew he liked her.” He smiled, “Dylan used to threaten to kick the shit out of him all the time if anything ever happened, but it was all fun.” He let go of my hand and looked away, “And then Amanda and I hooked up. It was never serious, just sort of happened. Nick was pissed, Dylan was pissed, and – I don’t know – somehow we ended up here. Our parents all like each other, they were for the relationship, said it would be a good match. I never actually proposed, we just decided that we should probably get married.”

He stood and walked over to the window. I guess he couldn’t talk so close to me. I was practically biting my tongue to keep from asking questions.

“That was three years ago. Nick and I stopped talking before then, we had this huge fight where he said that I didn’t care about Amanda and that I was just using her.” He let out a breath, “Maybe he was right.”

There was something surreal about sitting in the room while the man I was sleeping with told me all about the problems he had in his relationship with his fiancé. If any of my friends had been telling me about this happening to them, I would have thought some really judgmental things. And yet here I was.

He turned to me, “I saw him that night.”

“What?” It popped out. “Was that when you were making your phone call?”

Evan actually winced. The cops must have done a number on him. “We just talked, I would have never hurt him. I wouldn’t kill anyone.”

“Why are you telling me all this?” The man was acting like I could give him absolution, and I had no idea why he wanted it from me. And if he knew what was hanging over my head, the choice I had to make, he would keep his mouth shut.

He took his time replying. He even began speaking and cut himself off before speaking slowly. “When Amanda and I first decided to get married, I didn’t think it would be a big deal. My parents split up when I was a kid, her parents maintain separate estates. As far as I was concerned, the fact that we could maintain a civil conversation and stay in each other’s company for more than an hour was everything I needed.”

I was scared that I knew where this was going, but I didn’t want to cut him off.

“Romance, relationships, that’s never mattered to me. But now I…” He ran out of steam and recollected himself. “I’m not going to marry Amanda. I can’t do that to her, or to me. We both deserve someone that we can trust, that we like.”

The point hung in the room between us. My stomach dropped like a stone and I couldn’t respond.

He came back to sit by me. “Anyway, I just needed to talk to someone.”

I found my words, “I’m here. If you need me.”

I should have gone home. After Evan’s confession I should have walked out the door and rejected whatever he wanted from me. But he sat down by me and turned on the TV. It seemed rude to leave before finishing my drink. And then I decided to stay through the end of the show he’d put on. After that I didn’t argue when he put in a movie.

And when the movie came to an end, the credits rolling to the swelling sound of a brass band, I knew I was kidding myself if I thought I was leaving anytime soon. A few times I almost got up the courage to tell him exactly what was going on, to tell him that I needed more help than Andrea could provide. But he’d say something sweet, or hug me close and I didn’t want to ruin the moment.

I was being selfish and I needed to stop.

But Evan didn’t even let me get started.

His finger started idly circling my shoulder. I only noticed it when I shivered. He took advantage of the motion and slid his fingers under the collar of my shirt. I arched my neck, giving him better access and letting him pet me. “I should go,” I nearly whispered it.

He leaned close and pressed his lips to my ear. “Stay.” He pulled back and stood up, offering me a hand. I knew I should go, but I took his hand anyway and let him lead me to his bedroom.

The anticipation of his hands on me started the buildup and by the time we’d made it through the long hall I could feel my nipples pressing against the soft fabric of my t-shirt. Each step was a little torturous pleasure. And we had only just begun.

The trip to the bedroom was a blur of lips and fingers. Kissing, caressing, anything just to feel each other. We stumbled, collapsing into the wall, my arms around his neck and one leg arched up to bring him closer to the core of me. I needed him now, but there were far too many layers of clothing in the way.

He tugged me away from the wall, one stuttering step at a time until we were in his room, lit dimly by a bedside lamp. All I could see, all I cared about, was the bed and him. And while he was close, we still had far too many feet between us and the inviting softness. Evan seemed to read my mind. He scooped me up and carried me the rest of the way across the room, laying me gently on the bed. I expected him to join me, but he knelt with his knees between my legs and looked down at me.

The light hit his face just so, casting his eyes in shadow and illuminating his lips. I swallowed and licked my own. God, this was ridiculous. A smile broke out on my face that I didn’t even try to hide.

“What?” He asked.

I didn’t know what to say. I was half terrified that I would say something utterly ridiculous or revealing, but laughter was bubbling in my throat and the smile wouldn’t fade. I curled up, grabbing onto his shoulders and pulling his head close to mine. Still smiling, I kissed him, feeling his lips curve against mine. His lips felt softer now, more playful, and a part of me just wanted to spend all night kissing him. Another far more insistent part of me cried out for more.

Evan pulled away and sat back up. I tried to follow him, but he placed a hand on my stomach and encouraged me to stay laying down. I could have fought him, he wasn’t really restraining me, but I stayed where I was. What was he up to?

“I’ve been thinking about fucking you all day,” he confessed.

It sent a hot and wet thrill through me. “Tell me.”

He reached for the button of my jeans and undid them, slowly pulling the zipper down and exposing my underwear. I was glad now that I’d worn the lacy red ones. “I’ve wanted you in my bed for weeks, all spread out in front of me. Just like this.” I had to hitch my hips up for him to slide my jeans down far enough for any fun. “Take off your top,” he commanded.

“Bossy, bossy.” I reached for the hem but stopped myself. “You’re wearing far too many clothes. Don’t put me at a disadvantage.”

With one hand he whipped off his shirt, grabbing the collar behind his neck and throwing the shirt in an arc across the room. He raised an eyebrow and smiled, waiting for me to reciprocate.

I took it slow. I sort of had to since I was laying down. Inch by inch I pulled up my shirt, exposing my stomach to Evan’s hungry eyes. I felt powerful, in command of his complete attention even though I was the one spread out before him. I had barely exposed my bra when he took over, grabbing the shirt and pulling it the rest of the way up with an impassioned fury. I loved it.

He still had more clothes on than me, his jeans not hiding his erection. And I was there in just my bra and panties, my own jeans half off and stuck around my knees. He took a moment to take them off the rest of the way, leaving me nearly naked.

“Now you have me in your bed,” I said, “What are you going to do with me?”

His smile sent even more heat coursing through me. This man was going to kill me with this fire. “It’s not me.” He said.

“Oh?” The man gets me nearly naked, what else was I supposed to expect?

He crawled up, his jeans scraping against the sensitive flesh of my inner thighs. Unconsciously I closed my legs around him and bucked my hips. He leaned down right next to me and planted a kiss on my neck before saying, “I want to watch you pleasure yourself in my bed.”

I took advantage, kissing him while he was so close, pressing myself down the hard length of him. I rode the coarse jeans, hooking one leg over his hip. Despite his desire, he didn’t seem to mind the distraction. One of his hands found my breast, teasing the nipple to a stiff peak with his fingers while our tongues ran wild.

He pulled back after a long while. “You haven’t distracted me, you know.”

“How do you expect me to get off without a little inspiration?” I swiped my hand across my chest, cupping my breast for a moment before dropping it. “I didn’t come all the way over here to come like I could at home.”

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath at those words. I could almost see him imagining it. “We’ll save your bed for another time. How would you like to be inspired?”

“Usually I’d like something sexy to look at. Do you have anything that will do the trick?”

He put a hand to his heart, “You wound me.”

I laughed. “I think we can make do. But as nice as you look, this,” I gestured to his kneeling form, “Isn’t going to get me going.”

He placed a hand on my damp panties, swirling a finger against me. “Are you sure?”

I didn’t moan, but it was close. “You’re cheating.”

He moved his hand back and used it to undo the button of his jeans. “Were you thinking something like this?” He exposed his boxers as he carefully undid the zipper of his pants. And with one movement he pulled them both down, baring his hardness for me.

My mouth watered. “Something like that.”

Fully exposed before me, he didn’t move. He only spoke, his words making me even hotter. “Just the thought of you gets me like this. Every night, I don’t even try and I’m hard for you. And every night I’ve thought of you touching yourself,” his voice took on a ragged tone, “And I wanted to know that you did it while thinking of me.”

His words stunned me. To think that Evan Daringer thought of me, wanted me to want him that much. Well damn, if anything was going to do it that sure as hell would. I caught his eye, made sure I was the sole focus of his vision, and slowly grabbed my own breast. His eyes lit up and he licked his lips when I rolled the nipple around between my fingers. My own breath came out faster and I felt a thrill in my pussy.

I wanted his hands on me, no matter how good my own felt. But putting on this show for him made me feel powerful. I was some pagan goddess in control of this one man, the only one that I wanted to control.