Page 17 of Daddy Billionaire Dragon

“Why? You are two healthy consenting adults who are not breaking rules, even if sleeping with one’s boss is frowned upon despite the absence of a non-fraternization clause,” she says with an evil grin. “But that’s what makes it all the more delicious!”

“You’re not helping! You were supposed to make me see sense, not encourage me to give in to my fantasy of sleeping with the boss!” I object, frowning hard at her reflection.

“Where’s the fun in that?” she grins.

“I already turned him down,” I confess.

“What? Why? Call him back and say you changed your mind.”

“No, it’s too dangerous.”

“But the danger makes it thrilling.”

“I don’t want any thrills. I want a nice, quiet life. I want to stay out of trouble. And it’s too soon after what happened with Manuel.”

“Look, Manuel was an ass-wipe. You can’t live like a nun because you’ve had one bad relationship,” she turns to face me with her hands on her hips.

“I’m not sure I’ll be able to deal with heartbreak again,” I say with my eyes downcast.

“Oh honey,” she sits next to me, putting her arms around me.

“I know it can be tough, but you can’t let one bad experience hold you back. You need to put yourself out there. Besides, I am not even sure you really loved Manuel. I always found him a little too slick for my liking,” she shrugs one shoulder.

“Really? You never said.” I’m surprised at her confession.

“Well, you were with him for what, three years? And I could see that at least you were trying to make it work. I didn’t want to say anything and ruin it for you. Did you really love him?”

I have asked myself this numerous times after the break-up.

“No. I don’t think I did. But the loss of love was not the heartbreaking bit,” I say without looking at her. It is still too painful to think about why the relationship ended.

Her eyes cloud with sympathy as she hugs me tighter to her side.

“He wasn’t the right man, sweetie. With the right man, you will have it all. Trust me.”

“The reason I’m scared to go out with Lex is because I already feel as if it might turn into something more than a one-night stand,” I finally confess to something I’ve kept buried in the deepest chambers of my heart for the past two weeks.

Her lips form an ‘O’ and her eyebrows rise up her forehead.

“There’s something deeper that is pulling me to him. I can’t define it. And he has explicitly said he doesn’t want anything other than a casual relationship. If I do go out on that date, if I do end up liking him even more than I already do, if I do end up sleeping with him, I am not very sure that I’ll be able to move away from it all.”

“Then all I can say is you did the right thing by refusing. I am still not saying that you must live like a hermit, but take some time and figure out how you feel,” she advises.

I sigh and stand up.

“I will. You’re the best,” I say, hugging her briefly.

“I know,” she grins. “You sure you don’t want to come out with me to this party? My friend from work guaranteed that the single men to single women ratio would be skewed in our favor.”

“Yes, I’m sure. I’m going to draw a bath, have a glass of wine, read a book, and sleep like a baby,” I say, stretching my arms overhead. But I know that there’s no chance of sleeping like a baby, not with the sexy dreams I’ve been having, all featuring Mr. Alexander Hutchison III.

Chapter 7 - Lex

I step out of the elevator that leads straight into my duplex penthouse on the 80th floor of an exclusive residential apartment complex in Billionaires’ Row. I knew she’d turn me down, but I didn’t know it would hurt. I meant what I said to her though. I am not going to give up. The only way to get her out of my system is to sleep with her.

The guys are all meeting at The Sitting Duck, but I just don’t feel like going tonight. The motion sensing lights come on as I walk into the living room and the automatic blinds slide up. I fix myself a scotch on the rocks and plop down on the patent leather couch. The large windows facing the couch show a gorgeous view of the New York skyline at night. I think of Nic and her penchant for the views. It makes me smile, but it also makes me realize that I’m thinking of her again.

No other woman has gotten under my skin the way Nic has. She’s like a parasite that has colonized my brain! My dragon growls within me when I think of her that way.

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