Page 86 of The Billionaires

Saguaro give me strength. I turn to him and pucker my lips. “Let’s do it.”

He leans in, and our lips lock.

Oh, my. He tastes of chocolate and vanilla from the éclair, but also like him—deliciously male.

If this is purely a performance on his part, it’s good. My nipples are certainly giving it a standing ovation, and my ovaries whistle and catcall.

“Couldn’t wait, could you?” Pearl’s tone is the opposite of judgy, but I feel like a naughty teen anyway.

I pull away, and my heart skips a beat at the heat in Lucius’s eyes. Can he fake that? Also, is that a tent under the napkin on his lap, or am I seeing things?

“Sorry,” I say to his grandmother sheepishly. “I confused Lucius’s mouth for an éclair.”

Ugh, why did I say that? There’s something much more X-rated that’s éclair-shaped under that napkin.

“It’s quite all right, dear,” Pearl says. “Dessert isn’t complete without a kiss from one’s sweetheart.”

“Gram,” Lucius says with mock-sternness. “Don’t make Juno feel awkward.”

She chuckles. “Are you sure it’s Juno who feels awkward?”

Lucius puts his hands in a prayer position. “Can we please talk about something else?”

Oh, no. The eyes he’s making at his grandmother. If he ever used that look on me, I’d say yes to pretty much anything. Particularly dirty anything.

“Okay,” Pearl says graciously. “Will you leave the leftovers when you go?”

Lucius shakes his head. “I think I’d better take the dessert with me, so you’re not tempted.”

They argue about the fate of the dessert for a few minutes as I sip my non-caffeinated tea. Then Pearl launches into a story about fighting for women’s rights in her youth.

As I listen, I can’t help but feel a gnawing sense of dread. Will Lucius and I stop spending time together now that his grandmother is utterly fooled into thinking that we’re together?

No. It’s too soon for that.

Still, we have an expiration date.

It hadn’t hit me until now just how much I don’t want whatever it is between us—no matter how fake—to end. I like kissing my human cactus. I like talking on the phone with him. And having dinners with him.

Is it possible he feels something similar? If so, how would I go about finding that out?

“Juno?” Lucius’s voice intrudes into my thoughts, and I sit up with a start.

“Yes?” What did I miss?

He smirks. “The question was, are you ready to go?”

“Go?”

He nods at Pearl. “It’s Gram’s bedtime.”

She rolls her eyes. “I can stay up later.”

I leap to my feet. “No, no, I’m ready. Sorry about the woolgathering.”

“It’s understandable.” Pearl gives me a lascivious wink. “It is getting late.”

What is this grandmother implying? Whatever it is, my cheeks burn. Traitors.

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