Page 12 of The Billionaire's Bargain

She looks at me then, really looks at me, and I can see her turning over the implications in her mind.

I lean forward, setting aside my plate. "I want to take care of you, Alice. And your family. Your mother's medical bills, your brother's education. A comfortable place for all of you to live. A chance for you to pursue teaching, if that's still what you want."

Her eyes narrow slightly. "And what do you want in return?"

Everything. All of you. Forever."Your company," I say instead. "For now."

"My company," she repeats slowly. "You mean..."

"I mean I want you here, with me. Not as a servant or an employee. Not as a prostitute, if that's what you're thinking." I see the relief in her eyes and continue. "I want to know you, Alice. I want to give you the life you deserve."

"Why me?" she asks, her voice barely above a whisper. "You could have anyone."

I don't know how to explain the obsession that's gripped me since the first time I saw her. How her gentle smile cracked something open inside me that I thought had died years ago. How the sight of her working so hard, caring so deeply for a family that depends on her, awakened a need to protect and possess that I didn't know I was capable of feeling.

"Because it has to be you," is all I can say.

The night air grows cooler. I offer her my jacket, and she accepts, drowning in the expensive fabric. We talk more—about her childhood, about the café, about safe, neutral topics thatdon't require me to reveal too much of the intensity of my feelings for her. Not yet. I don't want to frighten her away when I've only just gotten her here.

When her eyelids start to droop, I suggest we turn in for the night. Her nervousness returns as we walk through the house, up the grand staircase to the master wing.

"My room was back that way," she says, gesturing toward the guest wing where I showed her earlier.

"No," I say simply, opening the double doors to my bedroom. "It's here."

She freezes in the doorway, her eyes taking in the massive bed dominating the center of the room, the wall of windows overlooking the moonlit ocean, the door leading to a bathroom bigger than her entire apartment.

"I don't—" she begins, but I cut her off.

"I won't touch you, Alice. Not until you want me to." The words taste like ash in my mouth, but I force them out. "But I need you to sleep here. With me."

She looks torn between relief and confusion. "Why?"

I step closer, close enough to smell her perfume—something expensive Vivienne must have spritzed on her—mingling with her natural scent. "Because I need to hold you. Because I've dreamed of having you in my bed since that first moment you spilled coffee on me, and even if all we do is sleep, it will still be more than I had yesterday."

Color floods her cheeks. "I don't understand you."

"You will," I promise.

In the end, she agrees, disappearing into the bathroom with a silk nightgown I've provided. When she emerges, hair brushed, face scrubbed clean of makeup, looking young and vulnerable in the pale blue silk, it takes every ounce of control I possess not to cross the room and take her mouth with mine.

Instead, I take my turn in the bathroom, changing into pajama pants, forcing myself to take deep breaths. I usually sleep in the nude, but I’m sure that would scare the shit out of a young virgin, so I’ll cover my goods for tonight. What good it will do.

When I return, Alice perched on the edge of the bed, looking small against the expanse of the mattress. My cock instantly jumps.

I slide under the covers on the opposite side, giving her space. "Come here, Alice."

Hesitantly, she lies down, leaving a careful distance between us. Not good enough. I reach for her, gently but firmly pulling her against my chest, her back to my front. She stiffens for a moment, then gradually relaxes as I simply hold her, one arm draped over her waist.

"See?" I murmur against her hair. "Just sleep."

She doesn't respond, but after a few minutes, her breathing deepens, her body growing heavier against mine. I lie awake, listening to her breathe, feeling the softness of her pressed against me. My cock is painfully hard, but I ignore it, focusing instead on the miracle of having her here, in my bed, in my arms.

Fuck, it feels amazing.Shefeels amazing.

This is just the beginning. Tomorrow, we'll talk more about arrangements, about expectations. I'll make her understand that this isn't temporary. That I have no intention of ever letting her go. That from the moment I saw her, she was mine, whether she knew it or not.

But for tonight, this is enough. Her warmth against me, her scent filling my lungs, her life temporarily entrusted to my care. I press my lips to the crown of her head, so lightly she doesn't stir.

---