Page 15 of Tempting the Billionaire
My eyes widen in surprise. Holy shit. His wife … left him? For someone else?
“Oh my god,” I say quietly. “I’m so sorry.”
He smiles softly. “It’s okay. She says she’s happier. And I’m … well, I’m managing.”
A long pause stretches between us. Suddenly I wonder whether all of this changes Justin’s plans. If Ezra isn’t with his wife anymore, then being seen with me isn’t much of a scandal at all.
“We haven’t officially announced any kind of separation yet, and I still have yet to file the papers,” he continues. He shakes his head. “I know how the public perceives me—and Diane and our relationship. News of her cheating on me? She’d be destroyed in the media. And as hurt as I am … I don’t want to do that to her.”
My hope from seconds ago slowly vanishes. While Ezra might technically be separated, he’s alsostill technically married. And doesn’t seem to be ready to change that any time soon.
I nod along. “That makes sense. But I’m sorry that you really get the short end of the stick here.”
He pauses, seemingly lost in thought. Then his gaze raises to mine, pinning me to my seat. “I wouldn’t say it’s all bad,” he finally says.
I can feel my cheeks heating up, and I look away, taking a sip of wine.
“How about you? Any sordid love affairs ending up flames?” he asks with a chuckle.
I shrug. “No cheating scandals. Just an ex-boyfriend who …” I trail off, knowing I can’t tell him the actual truth of my struggles. That Justin is more than just an awful ex. That he’s turned into a blackmailer. Someone threatening to leak intimate videos of me, create fucking revenge porn out of our private moments. Someone who’s actions are forcing me to fuck over people who don’t deserve it.
I feel something wet slide down my cheek, and to my utter horror, I realize I’m crying. I lift a hand to my cheek in shock, wiping the tear away quickly.
“Oh shit, Emma,” Ezra says quickly, reaching for me. “I was joking. I hoped my situation was unique.” He gives a humorless chuckle.
I shake my head, trying to brush it off. “No, no, I’m fine. I just … my recent ex wasn’t very nice to me, that’s all.”
Suddenly Ezra’s arms are wrapping around me, pulling me against his chest. His embrace suddenly makes me want to cry harder, but I resist the urge, holding the tears back as best I can.
“Well, he’s an absolute shithead,” Ezra says, his face muffled against my hair.
I sniffle, nodding against his chest.
We sit like that for a while, Ezra holding me close, rubbing his hand along my back. When we finally pull away, he stares down at me with a furrowed brow, a cross between sadness and concern. “Whatever you went through with him, I’m sorry,” he says.
I shake my head, forcing on a smile. “It’s okay,” I lie. “It’s over now.”
He smiles, changing the topic to something lighter, asking how my day was at work and what I would normally spend my weekends doing.
By the time we’ve finished our wine, I’m curled up next to him, giggling over something he just said, surrounded by a warm, fuzzy feeling I think is half part alcohol, half part him.
He twirls a lock of hair around his finger, leaning down to press a soft kiss to the top of my head. “Emma,” he says quietly.
I crane my neck to look up at him. “Have you been a good girl?” he asks, and my belly clenches. “Did you do what I asked?”
I nod slowly.
He raises an eyebrow, almost as if he doesn’t believe me.
I straighten up. “I did,” I insist. “I mean—didn’t.” I bite my lip. “You know what I mean.”
A small smile tugs at the corner of his lips, and he leans toward me. “Who knew you were so perfectly obedient?”
He reaches out to run his thumb over my bottom lip, gently pulling so that my mouth is just barely open. My breath hitches in my throat, my blood roaring in my ears. I’m lost in those eyes of his, pinning me to the spot. I hate to admit it, but he could ask anything of me, and I’d do it. I’m at his complete and utter mercy.
And fuck, does he know it.
He rails his thumb down my face, down the side of my neck, then follows the deep v of my dress, ending right between my breasts, his eyes on mine the whole time.
