Page 55 of The Billionaire's Beauty

15

Bellamy

Look.I wasn’t born yesterday. I know he’s trying to handle me. I know that Griffin and I spend as much time battling each other and jockeying for position as we do having sex. We’re like Romeo and Juliet locked in some high-stakes chess match. I want to get closer to him emotionally. He wants to block me. He tries to run roughshod over me and everyone else at the office. I block him whenever I can. That’s how we are together. That’s our dynamic. Right now? He wants to boss me around in my own apartment. To have the last word. To dominate me. This latest argument is about money, but it’s not about money at all. It’s about whether we can ever be equal partners or not. It’s about who’s in charge. Who’s being managed with sex and diversions and who’s going to manage.

Who’s going to win.

I cannot let this arrogant bully win on my turf. I don’t care how sexy he is. I’m fighting for the dignity and power of my entire gender right now. Women everywhere are depending on me.

Ten seconds ago, my plan was to shut him down and kick him out if necessary. Simple.

But that was before he laid his hands on me and looked at me with all that smoldering heat and all those dark intentions. Before he set his mind to turning my own weak body against me.

I don’t know why everything has to be such a test with him. I just know that I can’t fail.

I stand my ground and smack his hands away.

“Get your hands off me.”

Crooked smile from Griffin. Wicked smile. Infuriating smile.

“Whatever you say.”

He makes a show of holding his hands up as though he’s the unfortunate victim of a stick-up. I start to breathe easier. I’m that foolish. I actually start to think I’ve won this round.

Until he takes those same hands, grabs his collar on each side and rips his starched white dress shirt apart right down the middle, sending buttons flying and skittering across my floor. I watch with absolute astonishment as he yanks it off and tosses it aside. His undershirt quickly follows, basically rubbing my face in all those heart-stopping muscles and all that gleaming golden skin. Paralysis sets in until I can’t breathe. The ripples of desire inside me become a tidal wave, sweeping away the little bit of air left in my lungs. But the sight of him starting to undo his belt and thereby highlighting the size of his straining erection galvanizes me into action.

“Okay. We’re done.” I somehow escape the gravitational pull of his body and walk to the door. My voice sounds a little shaky, but hey, I’m doing the best I can here. “This is me calling it a night.”

That smile blossoms into a laugh as he makes his way over, taking all the time in the world. A laugh.

“We both know you don’t want me to leave.”

Sadly true, not that I plan to admit it.

“Bye,” I say, swinging the door open for him.

He yanks it out of my hand and slams it shut again just as quickly. I turn to face him, determined not to back down now that I’m cornered. I have the vague idea of, I don’t know, pushing him away. Not that I’m either physically afraid of him or have the slightest hope of budging him when he doesn’t want to be budged. I just have to do something. But he plants his hands on both sides of my head, effectively caging me against the door. I take a deep breath and try to steady my nerves. But the gleam of triumph in his eyes—not to mention the flaming heat from his body and the fact that he’s right in my face, well within kissing range—sure don’t make it easy on a girl.

“Okay. I’ll bite.” It’s a wonder my voice is audible over my galloping heartbeat. “What exactly is it that you want here?”

“That seems obvious. I want to fuck you.”

“Hmm. I noticed.” I reach between us and give that hard dick of his an appreciative squeeze to knock the smug look off his face. To my immense satisfaction, he tenses and his breath catches. “But now doesn’t seem like the best time for that. We were in the middle of an important conversation.”

“What can I say? I got distracted.”

“Yeah? Well, I’m not in the mood. How about that?”

Another one of those lopsided smiles. “I feel confident I can change your mind.”

To prove his point, he runs his lips and nose up the side of my neck and stops at my ear. Nerve endings erupt to life all over my body, and a good fifty percent of the bones in my legs begin to melt. The only thing I can say in my defense is that I catch myself melting and recover enough to shove his shoulders. Hard.

“I told you not to touch me.”

“Yeah, but why fight? We both want the same thing.”

“The same thing?” I laugh, incredulous. “I don’t think we do. You want to control me and control how much you let me in. I want a real relationship.”

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