Page 41 of Her Forever Billionaire

‘Yeah,’ Drew agreed, utterly serious. ‘He’s the master of big air.’

Jack led her away with a slightly pained expression.

‘He meant hot air,’ Kelsi teased, wriggling away from Jack’s marauding thumb.

His arm went right around her waist and he pulled her close. ‘Very funny,’ he muttered in her ear.

He took her to talk to the fans there to meet him. But as they all came together again to sit down for dinner it struck her that the other snowboarders were just as much fans of Jack’s as the people who’d paid to be there. They all watched him, they all hung on his every word. Beside her he rested his elbow on the back of her chair, leaning close as he listened and answered the zillion questions that came from both fans and fellow athletes. Quietly humble and polite in the face of all the adoration.

His attention to her was all politeness, too—he was just being nice, friendly, ensuring she was having a good time. Which she was. He was the perfect PR charmer—who she was so hopelessly attracted to.

Just as the formal part of the evening came to an end, a woman appeared—welcomed with cries from Tahu and Max about how typical it was for her to be so late. She was medium height with long blonde hair, blue eyes and smooth, clear, freckle-free skin. Kelsi gazed at her in awe.

‘This is Tori—New Zealand’s future slopestyle queen.’ Jack introduced the girl who was smiling so brightly at him.

This girl wouldn’t just be the queen of snow, she’d be the queen of the world. Just as Jack was the king. It wasn’t midnight but the dream was over already—Kelsi was the pumpkin in the presence of the real princess. Tori was everything Kelsi wasn’t. And not just in looks—she was sociable, talented and successful in a field others were actually interested in. She had it all.

Kelsi looked around the room and saw all the other fit, fit bodies—male and female. Good genes and talent and determination oozed from all these absolute champions. And the fun she’d felt only moments before tumbled away.

She was so out of place.

‘Dance with me.’ Jack couldn’t wait a second longer to get Kelsi in his arms. To wangle it so he could feel some more of her soft, smooth skin again.

She obliged, but she wasn’t focused on him. She was too busy star-spotting and determinedly not looking at him.

‘There are a lot of really gorgeous women snowboarders, aren’t there?’ she commented. ‘Like Tori. They’re all so beautiful and nice and amazingly talented.’

‘You’re more beautiful,’ he said simply.

He watched the colour flow in her cheeks and her lips tighten. She didn’t believe him. She was really that insecure? He’d seen the way she’d fidgeted with her dress when she’d seen the short-skirt numbers of the netballers. He thought her outfit was devastating in the less-skin-is-more kind of way. Although right now he wanted more skin for sure. But she wasn’t comfortable in it, was she—just being in her own skin?

Suddenly he saw what the problem was. The completely obvious obstacle that had made her try to put up all the stop signs the minute he’d walked back into her life.

She didn’t think she was hot.

He swore under his breath and had to consciously relax his hold on her. Didn’t she realise he was the envy of every guy here tonight? That they all wanted to tuck her into their pocket and carry her off somewhere private to do wicked things with her?

He watched her eyes flicker again as another six-foot netball Amazon strutted past.

Everything crystallised.

She’d accused him of wanting ‘anything that moved’ because she didn’t think she was pretty enough to attract him. She thought that he’d only hit on her that day because she was there—the nearest body to scratch the itch he had at the time.

Good grief.

Insulting to him, yes. But even more insulting to herself.

Fury rose—who hadn’t told her how beautiful she was? How incredibly sexy? More than that, how attractive she was underneath the skin—how interesting, fun, sweet, talented, strong. Yeah, she was unbelievably strong and determined and bright and articulate... He could go on and on and on because she really did bewitch him. And he couldn’t believe she didn’t believe it.

She was an amazing woman, who should never have lost her confidence in herself like this. He hated whoever it was who hurt her so badly. He wanted to know who and why and how. He wanted to slam out the insecurity.

Desperate desire hurtled through his body, testosterone snapping every muscle to tight tension. And with it came the single-minded determination he was famous for.

He’d prove it to her. He’d prove her gorgeousness. Tonight. Over and over and over again.

TEN

‘We should go home, Kelsi.’ Jack coughed to clear the rasp from his voice.

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