Page 68 of Billionaire Romantic
That damn leather and woodsmoke scent reminds me of…sucking on him. Swallowing in lusty mouthfuls.
He’s busy writing so I can watch him without him noticing. His hair is too long, curling behind his ears and down the back of his sun-tanned neck in little flicks.It was so thick when I grabbed handfuls of it, when he was licking me and eating meso greedily. I came so incredibly hard.“So this offer has nothing to do with Investment Enterprises, Cash, Colton or anyone else.”
“I told you, I’m not interested in your offer.” Irritably. I add tea bags and pour boiling water into two mugs. I slide one over to him then lean against the counter. Holding my tea in both hands, I blow on it.
Noah starts reading to me. “‘Blue Sky Enterprises puts forth the offer of fifty million dollars for one percent ownership of Ashton Holdings.’”
“What?” I laugh but there’s no humor in it. “Don’t you meanfifteen? One percent? Is this a joke? Why are you even bringing this up again? We’ve agreed the whole thing is off the table.”
“This is a different offer. Obviously.” He continues reading. “‘L. Emerson Ashton will remain in place as CEO of Ashton Holdings. If, at some point in the future she chooses to name a co-CEO and/or a successor, those appointments will be solely at her discretion, with appropriate approval from the Ashton Holdings’ Board of Directors. It is agreed by both parties that Noah Maddox will be employed by Ashton Holdings as a CEO’s consultant for an annual salary of one dollar.’”
Is this some kind of game he’s playing? I don’t understand it. He’s saying crazy things. Is he trying to smash my heart to smithereens? I take a sip of my tea. It’s too hot. So I set it back on the counter. “Noah,” I whisper, because it’s the only volume I can summon right now. “I think you should leave.”
He sets down the pen. He stands up and comes over to me. Very easily and very carefully, he lifts me and sets me on the counter. Slowly, he pushes my knees apart and stands between them. His warm palm slides under my hair and around the nape of my neck, lightly squeezing. Just like he did when we were in the restaurant. My body remembers even if my emotions are in shambles. “I wasn’t lying when I said it’s my mission now to make every single one of those wildest dreams come true, Irish.”
“You can’t—” He stops me, putting a finger over my lips.
“At its most valuable, Ashton Holdings was worth seventy-four million dollars, give or take. The decisions you’ve made over the past six months have been good ones, Lucky. If you stay that course and make a couple of tweaks that I can help you with, I predict the company will rebound to at least that much within the next two years. Within the next four, I think we could triple that number. I’m not trying to mess with you and I’m definitely not trying to buy you. I’m making a legitimate investment.”
“Atone percent?” It’s been too much of a morning. And a weekend. And a year. I can’t get my head around it.
“The other ninety-nine will belong to you and all those magical babies you’re planning on having. I’ve heard the magic ones are more expensive.”
33
Oh my god.That reminds me.
The things he’s saying to me aren’t fully absorbing. It’s too much to hope for. It’s too much to accept.
But at the mention of magical babies, my very urgent issue comes roaring back into the spotlight.
Since there’s little to no chance Noah will leave if I ask him to and since Ireallyneed to figure out what to do, I blurt it out. After all, he’s as much a part of this needing-to-google-it-immediately situation as I am. “I forgot to take my pill.”
“What pill?”
“Thepill, Noah. All weekend. It just completely slipped my mind. I remembered right before our meeting this morning. I came home so I could take all three. But I need to find out if that would work.”
“Work?” He’s silent for a few seconds, until what I’m explaining to him fully processes. “You mean…you might already be knocked up with my magical baby?”
It’s not helping that he keeps describing it like that. It’s also not helping that the pure emotion on his face at that exact moment, which I could only describe as uncut joy, makes mefall sort of utterly and distressingly in love with him. Even more than I already was. “I mean…I doubt it could happen that fast.”
“It could definitely have happened that fast, Irish. We fucked non-stop.”
“God. Iknowwe did. But it doesn’t always happen the first time.” Even if he is evil—and all signs are pointing to the fact that he very much isn’t—he feels too good to push away. Which could be extremely problematic because I’ve known the man for a grand total ofthree daysand my entire life already seems to be insistently winding itself around him like a tenacious super-strength vine with seeking, coiling tendrils that won’t take no for an answer.Almost as though it desperately wants to keep him.
“What about the second, third, tenth or fifteenth time?”
“No wonder I could barely walk this morning.”
Despite everything, we both laugh.
He places his warm, strong hands on my bare thighs, slowly sliding them up. He leans close to whisper in my ear. “Are you wet for me, baby girl?”
I place my hand on his chest. “Noah. This is serious.”
“So’s my fucking hard-on, Irish. I missed you so much. Don’t ever do that again.”
“Do what?”
