The Billionaire's Longshot: Betting on You Series: Book Three (12 page)

H
er dreams were
once again filled with Ross. They were not the hot steamy ones she had become used to. Instead, they held mystery. She saw herself turning the pages of his journal, uncovering many secrets, all of which should remain so. Of course that was only her imagination. She couldn’t picture him on the run from the law, or a secret agent. In the best dream he was secretly married to twelve women all over the world and traveled by sea to spend a month with each of them.
And I only get a week.
She laughed softly. The actual journal would seem boring compared to the type of vivid dreams she had.

Stretching, she got up from the bed and headed out of the cabin, fully expecting to see Ross still asleep. The living area was empty.
He must be on deck.
She didn’t see him there either.
Oh God, he fell overboard!
Panic filled her.
What to do?
She didn’t even know where to start looking for him, how to look for him, or even how to get help.

Tears began to fill her eyes as she stood at the stern. Then she saw it, something moving in the water. Maybe she wasn’t too late. Quickly she grabbed the life preserver and without even thinking, jumped into the water and swam toward him.

“What the hell are you doing?”

He’s alive.
She swam the few feet to him, putting the life preserver between them. “Saving you. Hold on, I’ll pull you back.”

“Saving me? From what?”

Her body was against his, and it hit her. He hadn’t fallen over; he wasn’t drowning. He was skinny-dipping.
I’m such a fool.

She was still in shock, but she pulled the life preserver away and started swimming back to the boat without answering. He was close behind. Climbing out of the water was not easy. She struggled once, then twice, and fell back in. The last thing she wanted to do was ask him for help, but it was too late. As she gripped the ladder she felt his hands on her hips lifting her gently out of the water. She was grateful for his help, as her arms were exhausted from this short swim.

Jill stood on deck, wringing her wet T-shirt when she saw him pull out of the water, naked and absolutely beautiful. She wanted to turn away but found herself gawking at him. She anticipated he would grab something and quickly cover up. Ross obviously didn’t have any inhibitions about his body, nor should he by the looks of it.

He ran his hand through his wet hair, his muscles taut from the swim. She shivered, and he was instantly by her side with a towel she hadn’t noticed earlier. Wrapping it around her shoulders, he asked, “Are you cold?”

Not one bit.
Her heart was pounding in her chest, and her hands trembled as he pulled her against him, rubbing her back to warm her. She was warm all right. Downright hot. She wanted to pull away, but that would mean standing with him naked in front of her, and that wasn’t something she was prepared for.

After a moment, her body calmed, and she settled in his arms, leaning into him with her head resting on his chest. She didn’t know what came over her, but there was a drop of water that ran down his chest, and her tongue darted out and licked it off. Instantly she felt his body jerk and his manhood snap to attention.
What have I started?

It was all the encouragement he needed. Bending, he captured her mouth, his tongue plunging deep, hungrily. Once again she could stop this and pull away, but she did neither. She wanted to feel what she had the first time. She wanted his touch, needed it. Her body burned for more.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled herself closer to him. He bent, picked her up, and carried her to the bow of the deck. He rested her on her feet and slowly began to remove her wet clothes. His eyes never left hers.

Her eyes roamed over him and rested on his shaft, large and waiting.

“Touch me,” he said, and took her hand, placing it on him.

He was so hard and hot in her cool hands. Gently she began to stroke him. He placed his hand over hers, guiding her to hold firmer, stroking it from base to tip. She did and he moaned. The knowledge that it pleased him made her want to do more. Placing kisses on his chest she licked and tasted the salty droplets. Then she licked lower, over his rippled abs, until she was kneeling in front of him. She had never done this, but everything within her wanted to taste him, to give to him like he had given to her. Somewhere deep in her mind, something screamed at her,
he doesn’t deserve this reward
. But that voice was muffled by her libido encouraging her to keep going. Show him what pleasure she could give to him. As she kissed the head of his shaft, she heard him suck in a breath. His hands caressed her hair. Opening her mouth, she took the tip, twirling her tongue around it.
Hmm, he tastes good.
She continued to lick and suck his shaft until she had him fully in her mouth. His body tensed as she took him faster, hungrily wanting him to lose his mind, but suddenly he pulled away. She looked up to meet his eyes. They were dark, filled with desire, and her fear he wasn’t enjoying it vanished.

“We need to slow this down.” His breathing was ragged.

She didn’t want slow.
I need it now! Fast, hard, and hot
. Reaching again for him he held her hands away.

“Unless you have a condom on you, I suggest we continue this in the bedroom.”

How could she have gotten so wrapped up in pleasure she wasn’t even thinking of consequences?
Foolish.
Jill pulled her hands to her side, “Sorry, I wasn’t thinking.”

Ross smiled at her, then kissed her lightly. He took her by the hand, leading her to the cabin.

Am I sure this is what I want?
Pushing aside the last shred of doubt,
absolutely,
she let him lead the way.

He never had
a problem keeping his self-control in check with other women, but with Jill it was difficult when she was near, and almost impossible with her standing completely naked before him. The thought of another man looking at her, never mind touching her intimately, drove him mad. He wanted to take her, make her his. Instead he summoned all his restraint. Gently he kissed her lips, then her jaw, moving to her collarbone. Moans rippled through her body as his lips captured one perky nipple, his hand pinching the other. “Jill, you’re so beautiful, I can barely control myself.”

He tore the foil packet and sheathed himself. With her standing, he nudged her legs apart slightly with his knee and began to stoke her clit with his index finger. He tipped her chin up so he could see the desire in her eyes. “Tell me, do you like it like this?” His finger circled her slowly. Jill nodded. “Or do you like it like this?” He increased the pressure and stroked more vigorously. She held her breath and gripped his shoulders. “Or maybe this?” He slipped a finger inside while his thumb stroked her clit.

She cried out in pleasure. “Yes.”

When she was close to release he stopped and replaced his hand with his hard cock, teasing her, letting only the head enter her then rubbing it over her clit—in and out, over and over again until he could feel her juices flowing, and she was shuddering in his arms. “Yes, that’s it, give yourself to me.” Her nails dug into him. She clung for support as her release shook her to the core.

Before her body regained control, he picked her up in his arms. “Wrap your legs around me.” She did so. He slowly slipped his cock inside her, letting her get used to the feel of him. As she settled, he gripped her ass and lifted her again and again to meet his thrust. She was wild in his arms, arching her back and throwing her head back, unable to contain her pleasure.

“Please, Ross. Please,” she begged.

He lifted her even higher for a deeper thrust. Her body shook, and he felt her clench tightly around him.
So hot. She’s so fucking hot.
He couldn’t hold back any longer. Leaning back against the wall, he exploded in a release stronger than he’d ever had.

Ross laid her on the bed and came to rest beside her. Both of them were panting. Reaching down, he pulled the sheets up to cover them. “You’re an amazing woman, Jill Aragao.”

She said nothing, only curled up into his arms, resting her head on his chest.

Time. All we need is time.

‡

N
o dream that
night. There was no need for one. She was content, resting peacefully in the arms of the man that she . . . She what? Jill knew she had feelings for him, and she had never felt this way about a man before.
Well, that’s obvious, I was a virgin.
It was by choice, not lack of interest by other men. She hadn’t met anyone she cared enough about to want to commit sexually. Even though she and Ross hadn’t spent much time together over the last few months, their conversations had opened her eyes to the real Ross Whitman. He was strong-minded, funny, and incredibly intelligent. She was obviously physically attracted to him, but she wasn’t sure about the rest yet. He was still hard to read.
Most times damn impossible.
He hadn’t yet explained why he was holding her against her will.
And I haven’t told him I really wanted to stay either.
There was only one thing still troubling her: Lizette and Elaine would be worried since she hadn’t returned to New York. Tomorrow she would need to insist they head back.
Even if I don’t want to.
She didn’t know exactly what this was. It was way too early to call it love. Love required commitment, honesty, and openness.
We aren’t there yet, but I know I want to be.
Maybe when they were back in New York things would be clearer.

As he lay there sleeping soundly, she entertained herself by letting her fingers play with the small patch of hair on his chest. Then she traced over his shoulder, his neck, and his jaw. He was absolutely perfect. She raised herself onto one elbow to get a better view. His jaw was covered in morning stubble.
Very sexy.
She had only seen him clean-shaven. Slowly she tugged at the sheet with her toes to pull it lower on him, down to his stomach, then his hips, until it revealed his private parts. They may have made love twice, but she wanted to see him, all of him, and what better time than when he was sleeping?

She saw the fine hairs that trailed from his bellybutton to his manhood. She had never seen him without an erection. It looked so soft and delicate.
You were so hard when you were in my mouth earlier.
He had been so large and hot.
And I liked it.
Jill had to resist the temptation to touch it as that surely would wake him.

Was it her imagination or did it twitch? No, it wasn’t it. It was . . . getting hard, a full erection.
How?
I didn’t do anything at all!

“Are you satisfied with your exploration?”

She turned to face him. Had he been awake the entire time? Blushing in embarrassment, she tried to hide her face by rolling over.

He stopped her and said, “I’m
up
now, what do you plan on doing about it?”

Still blushing but wanting to give to him as he had her, she asked shyly, “What would you like me to do?”

“Come here, and I’ll show you.”

The rest of
the morning had been spent getting to know each other physically. She had made a point of telling him that the afternoon was going to be about learning about each other’s life and what made them tick.
This should be fun.
That wasn’t at all what he wanted to do. If she wanted to share fine, but that wasn’t who he was.

“Ready?” she asked and joined him on deck.

Never.
He could only hope her questions were things he could answer, or better yet, things he was willing to answer. “What do you want to know?”

There was a long silence. That wasn’t a good sign. That meant she was putting thought into her questions. “Would you like me to start?” Maybe he could guide them to the track he was willing to follow.

She nodded. “That would be great. What do you want to know about me?”

“You told me about your parents, tell me about your sister.”

“That is a tough one. She is brilliant, and learning comes easily to her. It didn’t matter what course she took, she always got A’s.”

That wasn’t really what he was looking for, but it was a start. “Are you close?”

Jill looked out over the sea, “Not really. I’m a . . . disappointment to her.”

There was no way that could be true. Jill was amazing. “What makes you believe that?”

She turned to Ross and said, “I have no degree, nothing. I barely got my diploma from high school. She has her PhD in Engineering.”

“Okay, is that all? A piece of paper?”

Shaking her head she said, “You don’t understand. Like what happened at the fundraiser two days ago. I was lucky it went as well as it did. Imagine, I planned a casual event and let people bring their dogs. What if something had gone wrong?”

“That is a lot of what ifs,” he said with a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “You need to think of what it was. It was fun, people enjoyed themselves, and you raked in more money than the agency had anticipated. That’s successful, if you ask me.” He hated to watch her beat herself up. Why didn’t she see the woman she was?