The Wrong Billionaire's Bed (18 page)

Camilla noticed at that moment the new person who now stood in the doorway of the kitchen. Her jaw dropped. “Daphne Petty?”

Daphne gave a wan smile. “Hi.”

“Oh, my God!” Camilla's hands flailed with excitement and she did a little hop, which was not an easy feat in her stiletto boots. “I am your biggest fan, for real! I love you!”

“Thank you,” Daphne said, giving her sister a ‘Help Me' look.

“What are you doing here in the woods?” Camilla's eyes widened. “Oh, my gosh, are you writing your next album? I could totally help you with that! I'm really great with lyrics.”

“Super,” Daphne said, keeping that cheerful smile on her face through great effort. She looked over at the others in the room for help. “Reese?”

“Just a minute,” he told her. “I need to check on something. Why don't you wait here in the kitchen with Daphne, Camilla?” He turned and gave Daphne his most brilliant smile.

Like a charm, Camilla turned and squealed with delight, clapping her hands. “I am just your biggest fan,” she gushed, sounding like a schoolgirl. “You have no idea. I had front-row tickets when you were in Prague for the White Lightning concert tour, and—”

While Daphne shot him dirty looks, he slipped into the kitchen.

Audrey was still in the living room, straightening magazines and books on the coffee table and dusting with a small, checkered rag. The place was spotless, but she continued to go over the furniture as if cleaning would somehow ease the turmoil in her mind.

“Audrey, we need to talk,” Reese began.

She gave him a scathing look. “What's there to talk about?”

“You and me. Camilla.”

“You and me and Camilla are
not
an issue,” she told him in a stiff voice. “You and I had no sort of agreement together, remember? It was just flirtation, nothing more. I just happened to forget that you flirt with everything that has tits.”

He sighed. “Look. I don't want Camilla here, either, but I can't send her away. She's a big part of a crucial deal that I need for a potential business venture to succeed.”

The look on her face turned even more wintry. “So you mean to tell me that you don't like the fact that a beautiful, wealthy socialite is draping herself all over you? Because I saw your face and it didn't exactly seem like much of a hardship, if you ask me.”

“Audrey—”

“No, that's fine, Reese, honestly. My feelings are not hurt.” She gave him a wide-eyed look that seemed calm despite the heated flush rising on her cheeks. “You and I had a bit of a fling in the woods. It's not a big deal. No one suggested any sort of commitment, least of all me. Remember, I'm in love with Cade. Seeing Camilla here just made me realize that I've been pursuing the wrong sort of thing with you here, but I'm glad that my head's on straight now.” She gave him a little smile. “Last night was fun, though. I suppose I should say thank you.”

Jesus
. She made it sound like they'd had a tea party instead of blisteringly hot sex. “So is that all you're going to say to me?”

“What would you like for me to say, Reese? That I'm hurt and furious at you? The only reason we got involved was because you blackmailed me over my crush on Cade. I'll just focus on him now.”

For some reason, the fact that she kept throwing Cade's name into the conversation grated on his nerves. “Is that so?”

She glanced up at him, leaning against the sofa. “What do you care? You have your heiress and you need to fuck her for your business deal, right? Go right ahead. I won't stop you.” She gestured at the doorway of the kitchen. “I'll even cheer you on. It'll make it easier for me to focus on Cade.”

“So you think your path is clear because another woman showed up?” Reese moved a little closer to her, until they were practically nose-to-nose. And she was vibrating with angry energy, which just made him even more aroused and drawn to her. “Is that why you keep bringing Cade's name up? Because you want to lash out at me?”

She stared up at him, the look on her face challenging. “Maybe I do. Or maybe I am thinking I should invite Cade to go skinny-dipping and see what I get out of this.”

He scowled.

She scowled back.

And then she reached for him, and he reached for her, and suddenly their mouths were on each other, furiously kissing. He felt her teeth sink into his lower lip, heard his own groan of pleasure as her body pressed against his, and the kiss turned wilder and even more strangely erotic. Fuck, but the woman could do the best angry kiss in the world, and his body was practically jumping out of his skin at her touch. Audrey gave a soft whimper that was at odds with the furious kisses she was pressing on him, her tongue gliding into his mouth.

He sucked on it, determined to gentle her.

She melted against him, her breasts pressing against his chest. Her mouth fitted to his and their tongues met, slicking back and forth in a way that made the melding of their mouths seem somehow perfect together.

She just fit him. She fit him perfectly.

And he had to pull away. Reese took a step backward, gently detangling from Audrey, disappointed that he had to do so. “I'm sorry. It's not fair to you for us to do this. As much as I want to drag you up over this sofa and fuck you right here, it's not fair to you—or Camilla—if I do it.”

Audrey considered him for a moment, a wry smile twisting her mouth. “That sounds stunningly admirable for a guy who's juggling two women.”

He ran a hand down his face, exhausted at the thought. “It's not like that. I figured when Camilla ran out, we were done. How was I supposed to know she'd waltz back in here a few days later, pretending like I'm late for our next date?” God, the girl was exhausting him and she'd just shown up. He hadn't realized how glad he'd been that she was gone until she'd returned.

“So what's she mean to you?” Audrey's voice was quiet, serious. “Be honest with me, Reese. I can handle it.”

“You want honesty?” He gave her a rueful look. “She's arm candy and a business deal that I want pretty badly. If I could get the business deal without Camilla I'd take it in a heartbeat. But because she's the strings attached to it, we were just playing around. I was flirting with her, showing her a bit of attention.”

“Like a gigolo.” Her voice was flat.

“Jesus, not like that.”

“Really? Gigolos have sex for money. Isn't that what you're doing?”

“You think that girl out there wants a serious relationship?” He gestured to the doorway. “Hell no. She wants a fling with a sexy guy. Nothing more, nothing less. Something to gossip about to her friends. She doesn't give a shit about me or how I feel. Her expectations aren't the same as yours.”

“I have no expectations,” she said coolly. Then she ruined it by blurting, “So did you sleep with her?”

“Not yet.” And he was suddenly fucking thankful for that. “You interrupted us in the hot tub, remember?”

“Oh.” She considered him, then said, “Well, it's your fault we're in this situation.”

“Me? Are you kidding?”

“No, I'm serious.” She crossed her arms over her chest, drawing his gaze there. Damn, but she had a magnificent chest. It was hidden by the shapeless pajamas, but now that he knew what was underneath there? He couldn't stop thinking about those large, perfect globes bouncing as he stroked into her.

Ah, hell.
Now he was thinking about her breasts again. He forced himself to focus.

“It's your fault that we slept together, because you dared me.”

“I didn't dare you to sleep with me.”

“No, but you dared me to kiss you, and then you dared me to go skinny-dipping with you.” She gave a delicate shrug. “It was a natural event in the chain of things, but my point is that if you hadn't dared me, we wouldn't be in this situation.”

“It takes two to tango, you know. You're not blameless in this.”

“I never dared you once!”

“You're right,” he said, throwing his hands up. “Let's just blame it all on me. It's all my fault.”

“You want me to take a share of the blame, then?”

She was getting riled up, which just made him want her even more.
Damn.
He hadn't been kidding about tossing her over the couch and fucking her. He shifted his weight, determined not to reach into his pants and adjust himself. “It'd be nice.”

“Fine then. How about a dare for you?” She gave him a challenging look, then flicked her fingers at him. “Seal the deal with your heiress. That's the dare.”

“
That's
the dare? Are you kidding? You want me to sleep with someone else?”

“That's the dare,” she agreed. “You sleep with her, you win. I'll let you choose what you win. I—”

“Anal sex,” he said immediately, waiting for her to freak out. Most women did as soon as anal was mentioned.

Her cheeks pinkened, but she continued. “Like I was saying, if you win, you choose. If I win, I get to choose something.”

“And what do you choose?” He leaned close to her, so close that he was seconds away from kissing her soft mouth.

“I think you have to stay here and be my slave for a day.”

It was his turn to smirk. What a childish sort of request. She wasn't very good at this game. “That's all you're going to ask for? You do realize that if I win, I get to fuck the heiress
and
you again? Don't you want to ask for something bigger than that?”

She gave him a sad look. “Reese, does it matter what I ask for? Honestly? We both know you're not going to lose.” Audrey reached up, caressed his cheek, brushed her lips against his, and then left the room.

And he was left dumbfounded for a long moment, because he had no idea what to think. Audrey didn't expect to win their bet. She'd agreed to have sex with him—anal sex—if she lost, and she didn't expect to win. But he had a feeling that if he slept with Camilla, that bet would be the last time he'd see Audrey ever again.

It'd be a bittersweet victory. He'd have his business merger. He'd have Camilla.

And he'd lose Audrey. She'd go through with the bet—his firecracker didn't back down from a challenge—but after that? She'd be long gone.

And for some reason, that bothered him a hell of a lot more than the thought of losing the cruise line deal.

Chapter Nine

“You sure you're okay?” Daphne asked Audrey for the millionth time that day. “You seem kind of moody.”

“I'm fine,” Audrey repeated. She stuffed her hands in her coat pockets and watched her breath puff into the chilly forest air. “I just had to get out of the cabin for a bit, you know. It was . . . stifling.”

“You mean because of the bimbo?” Daphne pulled out a cigarette as they paused on their walk. They were circling the edge of the lake, enjoying the afternoon sunshine and the crisp cold front that had settled in. There was no snow yet but they were assured it was on its way, and they decided to take a walk before things got too chilly.

Mostly, Audrey just wanted to get out of the house. With the addition of another person—a loud, gossipy person—it made the cozy house miserable. Camilla chewed gum as if it were trying to get away from her and texted on her phone constantly. She sucked up to Daphne as though she'd never met a star before, and then spent the rest of her time trying to sit in Reese's lap and cuddle with him.

To be fair to Reese, he seemed a bit . . . pained by Camilla's attentions. It looked as if he tolerated them, but just barely, and that made Audrey feel a little better.

But only a little.

“I can't believe he fucked you and then he's just going to let her crawl all over him like it's no big deal,” Daphne said in a bitter voice, then lit her cigarette. She took a long drag, then pulled it from her lips and flicked the ashes to the ground. “And you're just sitting there and taking it. Aren't you mad?”

Oh, she was mad. But what could she do? “It's complicated,” Audrey found herself saying in a calm voice. “I knew Reese was a fling when I met him, though.”

“But you just slept with him last night—”

“Okay,” Audrey exploded at her twin. “I'm fucking hurt, all right? Is that what you want to hear?”

“It beats that insipid, ‘It's complicated',” she mimicked, making a face. “I mean hell, Audrey, it's all right to get mad sometimes, you know.” When Audrey sent a nasty look her way, she shrugged. “I just wish I could help, that's all.”

“Well, you can't,” Audrey said, staring out at the lake glumly. “It'll either work itself out, or it won't.”

“What about the thing with Cade?”

Audrey shot a look at her sister. “What do you mean?”

“Do you still have feelings for him? Maybe you should turn to him.”

For some reason, that made Audrey feel weird. Turn to Cade after sleeping with his best friend? Confess that she'd been hurt by Reese and fall into Cade's arms? “No,” she said after a moment. “I wouldn't feel right about it.”

It wouldn't feel right on several levels—it'd be unfair to Reese, and for all that he was letting Camilla fling herself all over him, she didn't feel like he was a bad guy. Too caught in his own web, maybe, but not a bad guy. And it wouldn't be fair to Cade, either. He'd pull his white knight act, determined to fix things somehow. And she hated to think how he could possibly fix a broken heart.

She stopped herself, then shook her head. Her heart wasn't broken. Her heart wasn't even involved.

“Cade's a good guy, you know,” Daphne said quietly. “You two would be perfect together.”

Audrey gave a faint smile. “I always thought the same thing.” But for some reason, that didn't sound nearly as interesting to her anymore. She thought of Reese's roguish smile and the way he constantly strove to drive her absolutely up a wall. Maybe that was what she needed—someone to push her out of her neat, orderly life and make her spit a bit of fire. She had to admit that she felt more alive around him.

“Oh, well,” Daphne said after a moment. She flicked her cigarette into the lake and pulled out her pack, frowning. “Damn it, that was the last one. I'm heading back to the house to get more. You want to come?”

“No thanks. I think I'll stay out here a bit longer,” Audrey said, turning back to the lake. “Clear my head a bit more before returning. Camilla's perfume is killing me.”

“Ha.” Daphne snorted. “Someone should tell her it's gauche to bathe in her own line of perfume.”

“Yeah, but someone won't, because she's rich and powerful.” Audrey shared a smile with her twin, then waved her back toward the lodge. “Go. I'll be in in a few.”

Daphne headed back up the path and Audrey circled the lake again, lost in her thoughts. She really didn't know what to make of the situation. Was she the other woman? Just a bit of a fling? What was Reese other than the best friend of the man she was supposed to be in love with but hadn't really thought about much since arriving? She didn't have answers.

After about a half hour of walking alone, she arrived back at the dock and turned to head back to the lodge. As she headed back up the path, she heard voices and paused.

It was a male and a female voice. Curious, Audrey sneaked along the side of the cabin, listening in. The two were standing by the woodpile, and as she got closer, she could hear Reese and Camilla talking.

A stab of jealousy gutted her, and Audrey stopped short, surprised at herself. Why was she jealous? Reese wasn't hers. Not really. There was nothing for her to be possessive about, but when she heard Camilla's voice, she couldn't stop her hands from clenching into fists. Unable to help herself, she slid forward along the lodge so she could listen in a bit more. After all, that wouldn't hurt things, would it?

“Camilla,” Reese sighed. “Please. Don't make this harder for me than it already is. I'm not trying to hurt you. I'm just trying to make you understand. That's all.”

“How am I supposed to understand? How did you change your mind so quickly?” There was a pause and a crunch of grass, as if someone was stepping. “A few days ago, we were in the hot tub, enjoying ourselves.” Camilla's voice turned seductive, and Audrey pictured her leaning into Reese, her hands on his chest. “I don't see how things have changed that much in that little time,” the heiress continued.

“Well, for starters, you left me behind,” Reese replied. “No clothes, no phone, no nothing. I have to admit I wasn't a fan of that.”

“I was nervous,” Camilla said in a soft voice. “She was taking pictures with her phone. You know my father wouldn't be happy if I got caught in a hot tub with a strange man.”

“Topless,” Reese added.

“Topless,” Camilla agreed in that slinky voice. “So you understand?”

“Oh, I understand. It doesn't mean that it doesn't annoy me.”

“So is that why you're turning me down?” Her voice became petulant.

Turning her . . . down? Audrey cocked her head and took another step forward, suddenly intensely curious as to what the two were saying. The knot in her throat became dry as a bone.

“Don't make this more difficult than it is, Camilla.” Reese's voice was calm and easy, but it sounded a little dead to Audrey's ears. As if he was saying the words but truly didn't care how Camilla felt. Was this how he was with other women? How did they not notice his utter boredom with them?

Was he ever like that with her? She made a mental note to pay attention the next time she talked to him in private.

“I don't see why this has to be difficult at all, Reese. You told me you wanted me.” She gave another huffy sigh, and then asked, “Is there someone else?”

Audrey held her breath.

“I'm sleeping with someone, yeah.”

“Do you love her?”

Audrey nearly swallowed her tongue.

Reese laughed. “Don't be ridiculous. This is me you're talking to.”

And just like that, her heart plummeted back to reality. For a moment, Audrey felt weirdly crushed. She mentally shook herself. Why did that bother her? Wasn't she just using the man for a mindless fling, too? Who cared if he was in love?

Certainly not her. She was supposed to be in love with someone else.

Camilla gasped. “Is it Daphne Petty? Ohmigod. You're sleeping with Daphne Petty? Reese!” For a moment there, Camilla sounded excited, and then she quieted. “Is it true that she's hooked on the hard stuff? She looks like a mess in there. Yuck.”

“Camilla,” Reese said in a warning tone.

“I won't tell anyone. But you have to get me backstage at her next concert. She has this really hot drummer and I—”

“Camilla, I'm not sleeping with Daphne Petty.”

There was a long pause, and Audrey could practically hear the gears grinding to a halt in Camilla's pretty blonde head. Then, she snorted. “There's no one else here but the fat chick. Don't tell me you're riding that moped?”

Audrey bristled.
That little bitch.

“Shut up, Camilla,” Reese said in that same bored, dismissive voice. “I trust this won't affect business?”

“What are you talking about? Of course it affects business. You think I won't tell Daddy about this?”

“I rather hoped you wouldn't.”

Audrey bit her lip. She was still annoyed about the fat comment, and now Camilla was going to hold the business deal over Reese's head? She supposed Reese deserved it for trying to use the heiress for his own means, but it bothered her to have him more or less held hostage by the spoiled blonde's whims.

“You know what they say,” Reese said flatly. “Never mix business with pleasure.”

“But Reese—” Camilla's voice took on that whining tone. “You're not being fair to me. Sleep with the fat chick or Daphne Petty. I don't care. She can be your gimme.” Her voice turned seductive in a flash, surprising Audrey. “But I don't see why that has to spoil our fun.”

“Doesn't it?”

Audrey ducked behind the stairs when she heard footsteps. Sure enough, Camilla came stomping past in her adorable outfit, a pout on her pink, glossy lips. She paused at the steps, oblivious to Audrey hovering in the shadows behind them, and turned to give Reese one last look. “If you want that business deal, you know where I'll be.” Her shoulders gave a slight shrug. “I think we can still have fun together, but that's up to you.”

“I'll keep that in mind,” Reese told her.

“So . . .” Camilla asked.

He sighed. “My answer is still no.”

Audrey ducked further back into the shadows as Camilla went up the stairs of the cabin and Reese turned to walk down to the lake. She watched his broad back as he left. Their little fling had come close to ruining Reese's business deal. It sounded like Camilla still wanted Reese, even though he didn't want her, and that was confusing to Audrey.

Why was he turning down the heiress? It didn't make sense. Because of their bet? Did he really want to be Audrey's slave for a day?

She almost snorted aloud. She doubted he wanted that more than the anal sex she'd agreed to.

It had been shocking to Audrey to hear him suggest such a thing as part of their dare. She'd guessed from the challenging, almost playful look on Reese's face that he'd expected her to freeze up or flip out on him. He'd been trying to get a rise out of her.

Instead, she'd agreed to it. God only knew why. She'd never had anal sex, and she wasn't sure she wanted to sleep with a man—no matter how sexy he was—right after he rolled out of another woman's bed. But somehow, she'd found herself agreeing to it, knowing it was pretty much a sure thing that she was going to lose.

Reese coaxed her wild streak to the forefront, and she liked it. Just the thought of doing wild, dirty, forbidden sex with him sent a whole fleet of butterflies through her stomach.

Of course, his turning down Camilla had never really even been a consideration. It was downright strange. Not only was he losing guaranteed sex from two women—and according to Reese's reputation with ladies, he never turned down no-strings attached sex—but he was in danger of losing his precious business deal.

And that made her feel weird.

She should have never dared him to seal the deal with Camilla. Maybe he hadn't liked that Audrey was trying to force him in one direction or another and that was why he'd gotten cold feet. Maybe he was just denying Camilla at the moment so she'd only want him more when he returned.

Or maybe there was a bit more there with the “fat chick” he was nailing? Audrey felt a heated blush creeping over her cheeks at the thought, and she pressed her palms to her face.

What a silly thought. She couldn't hold on to someone like Reese any more than she could hold on to a handful of lake water. He was witty, sexy, urbane, and had women falling all over him. She was calm, efficient, and boring. Well, most of the time. When she was with him, she was . . . different.

She should confront Reese, she decided. Make him tell her what was going on behind his thought process so she could quit wondering about it. They were friends, after all. He'd tell her.

But for some reason, Audrey found herself slinking away so Reese wouldn't see her, wouldn't know she'd been listening in to their conversation. She'd give him the afternoon. That would allow him plenty of time to change his mind and see where he landed with this thing.

And maybe give her stomach time to calm down and quit acting all excited, like he'd just chosen her to take to the prom or something.

***

Audrey lurked in the house for the rest of the day, determined to act like nothing was wrong.

Like Camilla hadn't gotten into her car and driven away, tires screeching down the gravel road.

Like Reese hadn't gone upstairs and slammed his door as if he were annoyed at the world, and then spent the afternoon up there, avoiding the rest of them.

Like both Cade and Daphne weren't giving her curious looks and whispering to each other, trying to figure out what was going on.

Nope. Audrey acted as if nothing was going on. She popped a bowl of popcorn and settled down in front of the fire with her book and read, acting as if she didn't have a care in the world.