Page 150 of The Billionaires

Shit. I forgot about that.

Thinking unsexy thoughts is futile, so I misdirect her attention by reaching for food. The problem is, at that exact moment, she reaches for the same item—and our fingers brush.

If my cock had a voice, he’d be roaring in frustration.

Gasping, she grabs a spinach artichoke twist and stuffs it into her mouth, as if I were going to steal it from her.

Once again, my reaction is sexual instead of the usual fight-or-flight I get when I see people eating—but in my defense, what else can you expect when she’s wrapping her lips over such a phallic-looking object?

“Does my eating bother you?” she asks after she swallows. “Please tell me if it’s like the panna cotta.”

“I’ll tell you,” I say and grab one of the avocado deviled eggs. Like her, I swallow it almost without chewing.

“Good,” she says and stares at my lips intently. Her voice has a peculiarly breathy quality that makes my cock twitch.

Damn it. I need to step away. Now. But for some reason, my feet refuse to move. We stare at each other, barely a foot of space separating us, and my heartbeat picks up as the moment stretches—the way I ache for her pussy to stretch around my cock.

No, what am I thinking? I need to stop this. Right now. Move, feet, move back now. But they disobey, taking the tiniest step forward, and I hear her breath hitch in her throat, see her eyes widen as she realizes what’s happening. And then… Oh, fuck, somehow I’m kissing those soft, tempting lips, and she—holy fuck—is kissing me back. Her delicate arms wrap around my neck, and she all but climbs me like a baby koala would a prime eucalyptus tree—and it’s the hottest thing I’ve ever experienced.

A sudden bark wrenches me out of the kiss.

I pull away just as Lilly leaps backward, like she’s been burned.

For a dog trainer, she sure is skittish of barking.

The source of the bark is obviously the dog, but he’s not distressed, as I initially assumed. He’s actually looking up at us excitedly and wagging his tail for all he’s worth. My guess is, he thought the kiss was something fun and wanted to get in on it.

Lilly and I stare at each other, our breaths uneven, and then we say in perfect unison, “That was a mistake.”

I frown immediately, some of the heat leaving my body. I know why I’d say that, but why would she? I’m the employer here, not the other way around, and she’s not the one?—

“A mistake?” Lilly hisses, her eyes turning slitty, like those of a fox.

Before I can retort, she turns on her heel and dashes away.

I look down at the puppy to see if he understands what’s just happened.

Doubtful. He stares after Lilly’s disappearing back disappointedly.

I take a deep breath and let it out slowly, then pick up the dog to calm myself further. It works—it’s amazing what a little ball of fur can do for one’s state of mind. He’s like a Xanax that eats and poops.

Doing my best not to think about that kiss, I carry him back to my bedroom and place him in his bed before I dive into mine. Closing my eyes, I try to sleep, but without the dog distracting me, the kiss comes to the forefront of my mind. The kiss and its aftermath. And the more I dwell on the latter, the angrier I get.

Why would she say it was a mistake? If Forbes is to be believed, I’m a catch and certainly not someone you treat like a foot fungus.

Maybe she’s a socialist, or some other “ist” that hates the wealthy?

I have no idea, but I know this much: something like that kiss must never, ever happen again.

CHAPTER 18

LILLY

A mistake?

How dare he say that kissing me was a mistake? He wasn’t the one kissing his nemesis. He wasn’t the one kissing a man who seems to already have a girlfriend… or even a wife.

I dive angrily into my bed and smack the pillow, wishing it were his face.

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