Page 34 of Black Tie Billionaire
Her accusation struck too close to the doubts that had pricked at his conscience only moments before. That only stirred his anger.
He didn’t give a damn if she knew the truth.
“Win?” He arched an eyebrow, not bothering to prevent his sneer. “Win what, exactly? A relationshipbased on lies and greed? A woman who would jump to the next dick as long as he was willing to pay handsomely for the privilege? Tell me, Shay, doesn’t that sound like a terrible grand prize?”
She gaped at him, no doubt stunned by the ferocity of his reply. “What do you mean?” she asked, her gaze roaming his face, as if searching for the truth. As if she actually wanted the truth. “Do you meanshe—”
“Cheated on me? Oh yes.” He nodded, and the smile on his mouth felt savage. “We’d been together a year and a half, engaged to be married. Gorgeous, fun, witty, exciting—I didn’t care who her father was or about her family name. All I wanted was her. And all she wanted was what I could give her. At least, until she found someone else who could give her more. Care to guess who that someonewas?”
Her lips formed her brother’s name, but no sound came out.
“Yes, Trevor. I came home early from a business trip and stopped by her place. I had the key, so I went in and found them together. In the bed I’d just made love to her in two days earlier. It hadn’t been the first time they’d been together. The next day, when giving me back my ring, Madison informed me that it’d been goingon for some time—six months. According to her, I might be rich, but Trevor had prestige, connections and a family name. She’d upgraded.”
Shay’s chin jerked up as if he’d delivered a verbal punch to her jaw. Sorrow flashed in her eyes, and for a second, he resented her for it. He didn’t want her pity; he wanted her to understand the kind of bastard she called brother.
“Your brother didit on purpose, Shay,” he pressed. Just as he’d used Gideon’s sister to get to him. “He went after Madison because she was my fiancée, and faithless bitch that she is, she had no problem sleeping with a man she knew I hated. She not only betrayed me with her body, but with her loyalty, her heart. So I don’t need to prove to Trevor who the better man is. Because, Shay, your brother isn’t a real one.”
“Gideon,” she whispered.
“No.” He slashed a hand down between them, done with the topic. Done with laying out his stupidity before her. “And to address the second part of that statement, you’re not dumb. Far from it. But you are blind.” He narrowed his eyes on her. “Why are you so quick to believe the manipulative claims of a jealous woman?”
She blinked. “What do you mean?” She frowned.“Madison’s not—”
“Jealous,” he interrupted again. “Why is that so hard to accept?” He didn’t wait for her to answer, but continued. “And this doesn’t have anything to do with me. You’re everything she wants to be. Respected. Admired not just for your beauty but for who you are—successful, brilliant, esteemed. She, like me, like Julian, watched as you charmed everyone around you tonight, andas they damn near competed to have a moment of your time. And that has nothing to do with your last name. That’s all you. I’m the toy in this scenario, moonbeam,” he murmured. The thought of being her plaything roughened his voice, tightened his gut. “And she wants me only because you—a woman she could never be—has me.”
If he hadn’t been watching her so closely, he might’ve missed her flinchbefore she controlled it. “Why are you calling me that?” she rasped.
“The other women there tonight... They were like the sun—bright, obvious. Trying so hard to be noticed. But you, Shay, you don’t have to try to grab someone’s attention. Like the moon, you’re distant, cool and beautiful. Men can’t help but notice you. Be drawn to you, ready to beg for some of your light rather than be lostand alone in the dark.”
Only the harsh grating of their breaths filled the back of the car. Part of him demanded he rescind those too-revealing words. But the other part—the greedy, desperate part—refused to, instead waiting to see what she would do with them.
“What game are you playing now, Gideon?” she whispered, her eyes wide...vulnerable. “I don’t know how to play this one.”
“Thenset the rules,” he said, just as softly. Unable not to touch her any longer, he cupped her deceptively delicate jaw, stroked the pad of his thumb over the elegant jut of her cheekbone. “Set the rules, and I’ll follow them.”
It was a dangerous allowance. In this “relationship” the balance of power couldn’t shift; he couldn’t hand her a weapon to use against him. Not when revenge for his sister’spain, his family’s torment hung in the balance. But that knowledge didn’t stop him from shifting closer to her, from tipping her head back and brushing a caress over her parted lips. From staring down into those beautiful eyes and letting her see the desire that hurtled through his veins.
“Just one. Make...” She paused, briefly closed her eyes, but then her lashes lifted. “Make me forget.”
“Forget what, moonbeam?”
The answer was already yes. He’d surrender anything to her if she’d permit him to continue touching her.
But that same hunger to brand her vied with the need to conquer what haunted her. He’d never considered himself some knight facing dragons, not for anyone, but for Shay, he’d forgo the armor and charge into the fire.
One hand rose to his wrist, the slenderfingers wrapping around and hanging on to him. The other slipped inside his jacket and settled on his chest before sliding up to his neck, her thumb resting on his pulse.
“Forget that you’re trying to destroy my brother, my world,” she whispered. “Forget that you’re going to break me. And I’m going to let you.”
A vise gripped his chest and tightened until the barest of breaths passed throughhis lungs. If he was a good man, he would release her, promise not to touch her again. Walk away from this whole plan that already ensnared her like barbed wire. She was right; he would probably end up hurting her, and if he had a conscience, he would warn her to protect herself from him.
But he’d never claimed to be good.
Still, he could do what she asked. He could make her forget.
“Kiss me,” he ordered in a low rumble. “Take what you want—what you need from me. And, moonbeam?” He lowered his head, pushing his thumb past the seam of her lips and into her mouth. Moist heat bathed the tip. “Don’t be gentle,” he growled.
She studied him, and as he watched her in turn, desire eclipsed the vulnerability that lingered in her gaze. He felt her teeth first, and the tiny stingarrowed straight to his lower body.
