Page 182 of Under Her Skin
Stormfronts
An Alpha Billionaire Romance
When billionaire property mogul Theo Storm gives the Commencement address at her college, grad student Jess Wood initially dismisses him as a rich, bland businessman. When he notices her in the audience however, his blatant admiration for her attracts whispers amongst her friends and colleagues and an embarrassed Jess escapes from the throng, only to find herself unable to stop thinking abouthim.
Storm tracks her down to her tiny apartment and persuades her to have dinner with him. The incredible attraction between them becomes almost unbearable. Theo takes Jess back to his luxurious penthouse and going against all her self-made rules, Jess goes to bed with him. Instead of breaking the tension between them, their tempestuous, uninhabited sexual chemistry awakens something almost feral inside of her, leaving her craving more and more of this incredibleman.
* * *
Come With Me PartOne
It might have beenthe fourth glass of bourbon, or the fifth or the sixth. Theo Storm wasn’t sure. All he remembered was making a dumb bet with Max who, with mischief in his eyes, shook Theo’s hand, muttering ‘Good luck with that’ under hisbreath.
Theo opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling of the hotel room. God, why was it every time he went drinking with Max, he turned into a loud mouthed asshole who thought that he ruled the world? The trip to Vegas had been to celebrate the opening of their latest boutique apartment building – and to thank Max for working every hour of every day to get it done. Theo had promised himself that he wouldn’t get trashed. He never came out on top when drinking with Max. The guy had hollow legs, for Christ'ssake.
‘Jesus.’A headache shrieked around his skull and Theo groaned. He rolled out of bed onto the floor and briefly considered staying there for the rest of his life. Reluctantly he staggered to his feet and into the bathroom, stepping under a too-hot shower and sighing with relief as the water hit his tired body. After he’d dried himself, he wrapped a towel around his waist and stood at the small sink to brush his teeth, studying himself in the mirror. Almost forty years old and he still acted like a twenty-year-old college kid, partying nearly every night. He knew what his dad would say, with disappointment in his eyes. Settle down, son. Grow roots. Make a home, a family. Theo sighed. It wasn’t enough for his dad that he was the head of StormFronts, the company that Theo had built from literally nothing. That he’d been top of his class at MIT or that he’d designed, built and paid for his dad’s retirement home in the Florida Everglades (thankfully a continent away from his own Seattlepenthouse).
Theo rinsed his mouth and then threw back a couple of glasses of tap water to combat his hangover. He'd been moaning about his Dad’s attitude last night at a staggeringly unsympathetic Max, who merely rolled his eyes and called him a poor little rich boy. Max was right, he knew. He just had to ignore the parental pressure but still… it was probably why he’d made that ridiculous bet withMax.
I will find the love of my life within threemonths.
Theo shook his head at the thought of it. Why the hell had he made that bet? Hubris and hyperbole. He shrugged – it wasn’t as if Max would hold him to it in the cold light ofday.
‘Iam absolutely goingto hold you to it,’ Max told him on the plane back to Seattle. Theo groaned and slumped back in his seat. His hangover wasn’t abating at all and now he was on the way to give the Commencement speech at Seattle’s most prodigious college. Theo was used to public speaking in his job, not that it was his favourite thing to do, but he’d agreed to it back when he’d been dating a girl from Tacoma – whose name he couldn’t remember, he thought now with a jolt of shame – whose cousin was part of the graduating class. The speech was written, his custom-made Armani three piece pressed and waiting. He’d even managed to shave this morning. Outwardly, he’d look the part of the billionaire mogul but inside… he swallowed a wave of nausea. Idiot. Why get hammered the night before thespeech?
Theo definitely wasn’tin the mood for another grilling from his best friend. Max fixed him with a seriousglare.
‘You promised me you’d find the one. I want you to, at the very least; try to have a social life. You haven’t dated anyone sinceLorelei.’
Theo grimaced and Max sniggered. Lorelei had been a sweet girl but her obsession with the healing power of crystals had doomed that relationship very, very quickly. Theo chuckled at thememory.
‘Yeah,see? ‘
Max rolled his eyes. ‘That’s not a reason to avoid the whole dating thing. You can’t write off the whole thing just because your last girlfriend thought she could talk to the spirit world. It’s an important part of life and besides, you’re not getting anyyounger.’
‘Thanks,dude.’
Max grinned at Theo’s sarcastic tone. ‘I’m serious. I want you to meet someone who’ll make youhappy.’
Theo studied his friend. ‘You say that with all the smug complacency of the happilysettled.’
Max flashed him his cheesiest grin. ‘What can I say? I got lucky with Joel. Now if only you’d embrace your inner gay guy, I’ve got a hundred friends panting to meetyou.’
Theo grinned. ‘Ah, your ongoing campaign to turn me. Sorry, dude, I appreciate itbut…’
‘You worship at the Alter of Vadge, Iknow.’
Theo sniggered. ‘Charminglyput.’
Max sighed dramatically. ‘Well, a guy can dream. How long has it been since you were serious aboutsomeone?’
Theo didn’t answer – mostly because he couldn’t remember ever being serious about anyone. ‘Can we dropthis?’
‘Nope,’ Max was grinning wildly, ‘I tell you what, I’ll make this interesting. You get married before Christmas – I’ll work for you for a year forfree.’
Theo’s eyebrows shot up. ‘You’re serious? Married? Not going tohappen.’
Max nodded, leaning forward in his chair. ‘Dude… you’re my best friend and I just want you to slow down. You work, work, work, which is all good but you’re missing out on so much. Meet someone, fall in love, and get married. Hell, I’d be happy if you just dated someone. Come on, help an old romantic out. Besides…’ he sniffed huffily, ‘I really don’t want to find you dead of a stress-related heart attack at your desk. We’d never get the smell out of thecarpet.’
