Page 31 of How to Undo the Proud Billionaire

Radd ate another piece of her croissant before attacking his other boot. “A leopard, a pangolin, a herd of elephants.”

Nice. “I’ve never seen a pangolin.”

“They are pretty rare,” Radd said, sitting up and, copying her, put his bare feet up on the railing. “They are the most traded animals in the world and are highly, highly endangered. I tried to explain that to the bride and her maids, but they weren’t that interested. They spent most of the drive talking about the hen party and getting slammed in Ibiza.”

Brin wrinkled her nose. Torture.

Radd rolled his eyes. “One of them even asked me who did the landscaping at Kagiso?”

“At the lodge?”

Radd shook his head and nodded to the savanna. “Out there.”

Brin laughed and shook her head. “Dear God, far too much money and not enough sense.”

“Then they had the bright idea of doing a group shot on the edge of the dam. It took me ten minutes to persuade them that the dam was home to a ten-foot crocodile known as Big Daddy.”

“Is that true?” Brin asked.

“No, but there is a resident pod of hippos in the dam who don’t like being disturbed.”

“And hippos kill a lot of people in Africa,” Brin replied.

Radd sent her an admiring glance, his dark eyes warm. “You’ve been reading up.”

Brin shrugged, knowing that her cheeks were probably pink from his praise. “I love it here, I’m fascinated. Though it would be amazing to be here without…”

Brin stop speaking, not wanting to say anything negative about his guests. Radd finished her sentence for her. “Without the wedding party? Not your type of people?”

Not at all. “I’m sure they are very nice when you get to know them,” Brin diplomatically replied.

“But you wouldn’t bet your life on it,” Radd told her, laughing. “Honey, your lips say one thing, but your eyes tell the truth. They aren’t windows to your soul, they are six-foot-high billboards. And, even if I couldn’t read your eyes, your total avoidance of the wedding party would be a damn big clue that you don’t like them. Why, is it because they are rich?”

“I’m not that shallow,” Brin replied, not happy that he could read her so well.

“No, you’re not. Neither are you a snob or quick to judge, so I’m curious as to why you have made up your mind about Naledi and company so quickly. In fact, even before they arrived…”

Brin heard the knock on the door and thanked God and all his angels and archangels for the distraction. Someone above was looking after her because Radd’s questions were coming a little too close for comfort. Radd stood up and walked into the villa, and Brin released a relieved sigh. She heard his low murmur of thanks and he soon returned holding a tray, which he placed on the table between them. A full carafe of coffee, a huge bowl of fruit salad, fresh croissants and fig jam. But, instead of resuming his seat, Radd pulled off his shirt and Brin sucked in her breath at his broad chest, lightly covered with hair, his ridged stomach, the hint of hip muscles sliding beneath the band of his shorts.

He stood with his back to her, looking past the water hole to the savanna beyond, and Brin looked her fill, taking in the way the early morning sunlight bounced off his dark hair. She longed to run her hands over his broad shoulders, kiss the bumps of his spine and discover whether his butt was really as firm as it looked. She wanted to take a bite out of his thick biceps, feel if the hair on his legs was as crisp as she imagined.

He’d been a perfect gentleman and, honestly, she was over it. She wanted to enjoy that amazing outdoor shower, share that slipper bath, drop into that plunge pool naked…with him.

She wanted his mouth on hers, his hands skating over her body, her thighs parting…

As if he could hear her thoughts, Radd turned and his eyes slammed into hers. His hands, gripping the railing behind him, turned white and, as a band of heat warmed her from the inside out, she felt her nipples contract.

Radd’s eyes dropped to her chest and before her eyes, she saw him swell, his erection tenting the fabric of his cotton shorts.

He wanted her.

She wanted him.

But Radd didn’t move. His eyes just burned and a muscle in his cheek danced. “If I kiss you, there’s no going back, Brinley,” Radd growled the words, his low tone saturated with emotion.

Brin swallowed and nodded.

“Say the words, Brinley. Know what you are asking.”

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