Top Love: An Alpha Billionaire Romance (Young Adult Stepbrother and Billionaire Romance Stories) (12 page)

When he closed the door behind them, this thought magnified for a moment and then disappeared. He walked casually across the modest foyer and into an adjoining hall. Lauren followed him slowly, taking her time to look around. She didn’t disguise the fact that she was checking the place out. She thought that some small part of Riley wanted her to be impressed. For all of his talking about being drawn to her normalcy, she was sure that he still craved the awe from other people.

“I’d ask to give you a tour of the place,” he called out from ahead of her. “But that would be clichéd. And besides that, I don’t feel like giving a tour.”

He led her down the hall where she was further impressed to not see any pretentious artwork on the walls. It was done up simply, with a few decorative plants here and there, as well as pieces of furniture that she felt certain he never even used. Really, who had furniture in their hallway?

They entered the kitchen where she was taken aback by the beauty of the house for the first time. The dining table was finely polished and unblemished. The marble counters were similarly cleaned and shining, as well as the immaculate stove and oven.

“Have a seat,” he said. “The kitchen is where I usually have my conversations. I have an office upstairs, but that’s pretentious. I might go in there once a week and it’s usually not for work.”

She pulled a chair out from under the table and almost did sit down. But as she looked around the place and saw him standing like a tentative king over a kingdom that he was beginning to resent, something shifted in Lauren. Things like this never happened to her, but they likely happened to Riley all of the time. If he wanted something, he got it. And in situations like these, he was probably also accustomed to running the pace of things.

She had no idea where the courage was coming from, but instead of sitting down, she walked across the kitchen to where he was standing at the counter, reaching into the cupboard for a glass. She knew what she intended to do as she closed the space between them to less than three feet and it terrified her. If nothing else, she guessed, this would prove once and for all of he was stringing her along on some sort of messed up joke.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said. “But I don’t feel like talking.”

With that, she leaned forward and kissed him.

There was a heart-crushing moment where he pulled away, their lips nearly separating. At this moment, her head was flooded with fear and the type of rejection she had grown so accustomed to over the years. See, this was some weird prank. Someone like him would never want someone like you. Are you kidding?

But then he took a half step forward, placed a hand on her hip, and returned the kiss. It was awkward at first, as they both wanted to set different paces, but they fell into a rhythm and within ten seconds, he was leaning back against the counter, pulling her close to him and running his hands up and down her back.

Their tongues met and a spark erupted somewhere inside of her. He responded in kind, the grip on her back growing tighter. She felt movement along her thigh, an indication that he was genuinely enjoying this. She sighed against the feel of him and it was at that moment that he broke the kiss.

“What are you doing?” he asked. She saw a rise of red in his cheeks and was set at ease. He was just as flustered as he was. She had caught him unsuspecting and had knocked him off of his game.

“Things like this never happen to me,” she said, having to hold herself back so she wouldn’t start kissing him again. “I’m taking every advantage I have. No sense in wasting it.”

“See,” he said. “You’re going to be a great employee for Alderholt Lending.”

She managed to keep from kissing him again but found her hand on his chest, wishing the fabric of his shirt away.

“I don’t want to talk about that,” she said softly, still feeling guilty for getting such a generous handout.

He grabbed her waist and drew her closer; the bottom halves of their bodies were pressed tightly to one another and feeling his heat sent a spike of aching desire through her.

“Then what do you want to talk about?”

“I don’t want to talk,” she said, her eyes now on his mouth. She had never spoken so brazenly to a man before and something about that was just as exciting as the idea of having this man undressed within the next few moments.

He smile at her and kissed her again, this time finding the tail of her shirt and slipping a hand up it. His hands along the skin of her back made her shudder, sighing into the kiss. His hand was then coming around to the front of her, finding the wait of her pants. She waited for him to unbutton them, but he did nothing of the sort. Instead, with their mouths still connected, he led her away from the counter and through the kitchen, moving slowly as they kissed while leading her along by the waist of her pants.

They made their way lowly through the downstairs like this, the kissing not allowing her to see any more of his house—but at that point, she didn’t care.

Somehow, in a dizzy motion that made her swimmy, they were in the bedroom and he was laying her down on the bed. He stopped the kiss and when she looked up to him, he was unbuttoning his shirt. Her entire body surged with heat as she saw his skin and then he was coming down to her, lifting up her shirt. Her first impulse was to stop him—after seeing his perfectly sculpted chest and abs, she was embarrassed.

But he had the shirt up before she could stop him and his kisses were at the top of her breasts. She closed her eyes and took it all in, meeting his kisses when he returned to her mouth. Then, somehow, in that same dizzying speed, all of his clothes were off and then hers followed suit.

After that, nothing was the same.

***

An hour later, Lauren was lying on sheets that cost more than her rent. She was sweating and still catching her breath from what had just happened. She looked beside her and saw Riley, just as naked as he had been moments ago. As for Lauren, she couldn’t wait to have her clothes back on. While they’d had sex, she’d caught Riley looking at her, taking in her body. And while there had been admiration and no disgust, she still felt the need to hide her body some way. That’s why she was under the sheets in the afterglow while Riley was stretched out in all of his glory on top.

“I hate to say this,” Riley said. “But you look distressed. And as far as I’m concerned, there was nothing at all distressing about what we just did.”

“Oh, no, not at all,” she said, finding it hard to believe that she’d reached her climax twice—something he’d taken extra effort to ensure happened.

“Are you okay? You look troubled.”

“I just don’t get it. I’m…well…I’m fa—,”

“If you sat the f-word I might just have to withhold any future sex from you.”

This comment surprised her more than his ability to look past her weight. “You mean, you see this happening again?” It sounded like a dumb question, but she had assumed that this was going to be some sort one-time thing. Why would he stick with her when there were countless other options out there?

“I’d like it to,” he said. With that, he reached over to her and threaded his hand under the covers where he started to caress her below the breasts—not in a sexual way but in a way that was almost comforting.

“Me too,” she admitted. “But I still don’t understand it. This is like…I don’t know. Like some sort of fairytale.”

“Well,” he said, sitting up and studying her shape beneath the sheet. “I don’t ride horses and, truth be told, I’m a terrible dancer. So there’s no fairytale to be had here.”

“You don’t think so,” she said. “But it’s very much like a fairytale for me.”

“That’s setting a high bar,” he said with a laugh. He then seemed to consider something for a moment, looking to the clock.

“What is it?” Lauren asked.

“I’m trying to decide if I should invite you to stay over or not.”

“You mean for the night?”

“Yes.”

She giggled. She hated the sound of it and especially that it had come out in front of Riley, but she couldn’t help it. The thought of staying overnight in this amazing house with this gorgeous man was almost ridiculous.

“What’s funny?” he asked.

“Nothing. It’s just…this is unreal.”

“Oh,” he said, looking a bit awkward.

“And I’ll make it easy for you,” she said, sitting up and making an effort to let the sheets fall off of her body. She didn’t understand it, but he seemed to like her body, so she figured she’d try to be as open with her nakedness as he was with his.

“How so?” he asked.

“You got me that interview tomorrow,” she said. “Getting ready for something like that takes time to get ready for. I can’t stay here tonight.”

“Good point,” he said. “Well, I can give you a ride back to the restaurant to get your car.”

“Sounds good,” she said.

“However, if you aren’t staying the night, I wonder…”

“Wonder what?”

He smiled at her, gave her what she had always referred to as the up-down as he stared her naked body over, and then leaned in to kiss her. The kiss was deep and passionate and as he pressed into her, there was no fighting it. She lay back down and he was on her instantly, touching her body in a way that felt alien to her.

She thought briefly of the shoe store and how Brittany and Shelly would react if they could see this. She almost started giggling again, but then Riley was inside of her again and there was nothing at all funny about that.

***

              As she’d expected, Mr. Farr had been more that understanding about her needing to take the morning off. On the phone, he sounded chipper and in good spirits.

“I have to ask you, though,” he said. “Does this have anything to do with what I told you the other day? About Riley Thomson wanting to buy the store?”

More than you know, she thought, but kept it quiet. “I’d rather not say, sir.”

“I understand,” Mr. Farr said. “But know this, Lauren. After much thought and conferencing with my accountant, I have decided to sell. The transaction should go through next week. So if you are looking for employment elsewhere, I’m not going to get upset.”

She felt a sting as she heard him say that he was selling the store. Again, that old anger for Riley reared its head, but in a different form this time. While she understood the situation much better now, there was still the fact that Mr. Farr was selling his family business essentially to have it torn down. Something about that simply didn’t feel right.

“And this is what you want to do?” she asked. “You’re sure?”

“Want is a strong word. But with the selling of the business, then liquidating assets, I’ll be set up to retire with a much larger sum of money in my account than I thought. Most men my age could only dream of such a thing.”

“As long as you’re happy,” Lauren said.

“I think I will be,” he said. “Thanks for your concern, Lauren. Come by afterward and let me know how the interview goes.”

She realized that she’d said nothing about an interview. He had simply guessed. All she said was “Thanks. I will.”

She ended the call and looked around her apartment. It felt far too small after having been in Riley’s house last night. As she laid the phone down, she was torn by two conflicting feelings. On the one hand, thinking of Riley made her think about their afternoon together and how she had nearly started screaming near the end of their second bout of lovemaking. On the other hand, it made her slightly aggrieved to think of him haphazardly writing a large check for Mr. Farr. It would be a large check but for Riley, it would be nothing. And she resented him for that a bit.

But I still don’t have a problem taking the interview he lined up for me, she thought as she checked herself over in the mirror.

As she gave herself a once over, she was surprised to find that she was very pleased with the way she looked. Her cheeks looked bright, as did her eyes. Her hair was cute and she looked…well, happy. She grinned in spite of herself, well aware that the events of yesterday afternoon were fully responsible for the way she looked.

She felt good, too. She couldn’t remember the last time she had felt so confident. Directly after college, she’d gone through at least a dozen interviews and had been nervous as hell at each one. Just before one, she had rushed to the business’ bathroom and thrown up. But now she felt in control. If she got the job, that would be fantastic. But if not…well, this thing with Riley Thomson was showing her that life was full of surprises.

Before leaving her apartment, she took a single look back inside. It was a quaint little place that it had taken her a few years to get looking respectable. She had a feeling sliding through her that told her she wouldn’t be here much longer. It was a fluttering feeling that told her that regardless of how today went, her life was headed somewhere else.

***

An hour later, she was sitting on a large leather couch, waiting to be called in for her interview. She had already thumbed through the two magazines sitting on the coffee table and found nothing of interest. While she still wasn’t nervous per se, she was beginning to feel a twang of uneasiness—the same sort that had plagued her yesterday while she had gotten to know Riley much better.