Page 32 of Billionaire's Promise
"You don’t know the half of it. It’s like when we are in the same room… It’s—"
"Madam." A plummy voice interrupts. "Mr. Baron’s asked me to convey to Miss Ava that he doesn’t like to be kept waiting."
"Of course, he doesn’t." I turn and huff at the butler who stands by the doorway to the hall. "You can tell him to—"
"Yes Ma’am?" he says politely. Bet if I told him to tell Baron to go sod himself, he’d convey the message in that polite, affable tone too. I blow out a breath, "Doesn’t matter."
I turn to the girls. "I gotta go."
"This conversation is not over," Isla warns.
"Yeah, yeah." I turn to leave and Summer calls after me, "Join us here on Friday night? Just us girls."
I raise my hand as I follow the butler out of the house. He walks me down the steps, holds the door open for me.
"Thank you." I smile at him as I clamber inside the SUV.
He shuts the door, and I stare ahead as Baron pulls out onto the road. We don’t speak for the duration of the ride. When we reach my place, I push open the door and am out of there as soon as he parks. Gah, that was the most uncomfortable twenty minutes of my life, ever. I flounce across the sidewalk, up the garden path, reach the front door and am about to open it, then stop. I glance over my shoulder to find the SUV still parked there. Is he going to spend the night in the car again? Of course, he is. Damn him, and after everything that happened earlier… The best thing to do would be to let him spend the night in the car. Again.
I bow my head.Don’t do it. Don’t do it. Damn it.I turn and march back to the car, then around to the driver’s side. He lowers his window as I reach it, then arches an eyebrow at me.
"You may as well come inside the house."
He glares back.
"I mean, come on. It’s stupid that you spend your nights here in the car, when there’s a perfectly good couch in my living room."
His forehead wrinkles. "I don’t think that’s a good idea."
"Sod that." I scoff. "I can keep my hands off you, if you can do the same."
He scowls.
"And after your earlier demonstration, clearly you can restrain yourself."
His jaw tics. His nostrils flare and he seems to be on the verge of saying something, then seems to change his mind. He rolls up his window, pushes open the door. I step back, walk over to the house, and unlocking the door, step inside. Placing my bag on the table in the hallway, I shrug off my coat. Then, grabbing my bag, I head to my bedroom. I deposit my bag on the side table, grab a pillow and a cover from the closet, then walk into the living room. Ignoring his bulk looming by the window, I deposit the bedclothes on the couch.
"There’s only one bathroom," I nod toward the bedroom, "if you want to use it, while I get some water to drink?"
Without waiting for his reply, I walk toward the kitchen, drink some water, then grab a couple more bottles of water. By the time I reach the living room, he’s seated on the couch. He’s removed his shoes and socks, and as I place the bottle of water on the coffee table, I notice his bare feet. Large feet. Blunt cut toenails. I swallow. Suddenly my chest feels too tight. Heat flushes my skin. Moisture laces my core. I straighten, "Goodnight," I mutter, as I head for my room.
"Goodnight, Ava." His low rumble courses down my spine, igniting pin-pricks of lust in its wake. Oh, Hell. This is bad. A very, very bad idea. I shut the door, then hesitate. Should I lock it? If I did, he’d hear me lock it. Not that I don’t trust him to not come in here. Question is, do I trust myself not to go to him at night? Gah! Get a grip. Think of Edward. Ed. The man you’ve been masturbating to until a week ago. The asshole priest who broke his vows for you. Then left you. I draw in a breath, shrug out of my clothes, and toss them over a chair. Then, pulling on a camisole, I slide into bed. I can’t stop the yawn that cracks my jaws. I shut off the lamp and am asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.
His scent reaches me first. Cut grass and mint. I watch as his powerful shoulders cut through the water. He swims across the length of the swimming pool, reaches the side and hauls himself up. The water sluices from his shoulders…as he swings his legs over the side. His thigh muscles ripple, his concave stomach tenses, and he straightens. He walks toward me, his huge shoulders blocking out the light of the sun, the rest of the scene behind him. His chest planes flex and the tendons of his beautiful throat move as he reaches his hand out to me. I rise to my feet, move to him, arm outstretched. Our fingers connect. Heat vibrates up my arm and my stomach muscles clench. He pulls me to him and my chest connects with his wet torso. A giggle bursts from my throat and an answering smile curves from his lips. His amber eyes gleam, then he dips his head, closes his beautiful lips over mine. Moisture pools in my core. My heart begins to race. He thrusts his tongue inside my mouth, swipes his tongue across my teeth. My belly trembles. He scoops me up in his arms, walks over to a deck chair and lowers me onto it. He follows, covers my body with his, and the weight of him presses me down. My nipples tighten and my thighs spasm. He peers into my eyes, that golden gaze of his lit from within. He cups my cheek, touches his forehead to mine. "I need you," he whispers. "I want you. I can’t live without you. You’re what grounds me to this life. Without you, I am no one."
I frown up at him, reach to smooth out the wrinkles on his forehead. "Edward I—"
"Shh." He lowers his head, brushes his lips over mine. "Don’t speak," he whispers. "Just feel." He pushes his hips into mine and that hard length of his stabs into my core. "See what you do to me, Eve?"
"Ed," I swallow, "why did you leave?"
"It’s the hardest thing I have ever done. I couldn’t be with you, Eve. I wasn’t good for you, in the state I was. But I didn’t want you to be alone."
"You didn’t?"
"No." He kisses my eyelids, the tip of my nose, my mouth. "I couldn’t be there for you, so I did the next best thing. I asked Baron to take care of you."
"Baron?" I frown. "What do you mean, Ed."
