Page 49 of A Billionaire Between the Sheets

CHAPTERSIXTEEN

It didn’t take long for Deacon to figure out that he hated being photographed. Or maybe what he hated was being photographed by a photographer who had singled Deacon out for his outrageous flirting.

“No, gorgeous.” The photographer squatted in front of Deacon with his camera poised. “When I said I wanted a seductive smile, I didn’t mean a badass glare that would start a barroom brawl. Why don’t you try going to your happy place, sweetheart? Somewhere calming and seductive. Like a candlelit bedroom with a bottle of chilled champagne and a sexy naked woman stretched out on the bed.” He winked. “Or a naked, very appreciative man.”

His brothers, who were standing beside him, burst out laughing. Which made Deacon wonder if he wasn’t going to start a barroom fight after all. He was certainly pissed enough. Not just at the photographer’s flirting and his brothers’ laughing, but because Olivia had completely ignored him. He had asked her to be here in fifteen minutes and it was going on an hour since he’d tracked her down in the studio. And maybe that was what really pissed him off. He’d had no business tracking Olivia down.

The kiss in the boardroom had made that perfectly clear. He wanted her. Not a couple of stolen kisses, but lots of stolen kisses, followed by lots of steamy sex. And having sex with Olivia was stupid. Money and sex worked only with hookers and porn stars. In real life having sex with business associates could complicate things in a hurry, and things were already complicated enough.

Deacon was enjoying being the boss a little too much. Or maybe what he was enjoying was the challenge of bringing French Kiss back from bankruptcy. It was a pipe dream. In the last few days, he’d discovered the depths of the company’s problems, and it would take much more than a hillbilly from Louisiana, even one with a degree in business, to save the company. It would take a miracle. And he had never much believed in miracles.

“I’m done.” Tossing the photographer one final annoyed look, he stepped off the set and ducked around a white umbrella that was being used for lighting. He stopped short when he saw Olivia sitting in the director’s chair in one dimly lit corner.

“He’s right, you know.” She sounded slightly breathless. She got up, and for the second time that day he noticed how hot she looked. Her hair was down and hung in soft golden waves around her face. The white shirt was loose and sheer. The jeans tight and butt-hugging. And the purple high heels sexy as hell. They clicked against the tile floor as she moved closer. “Women won’t be tempted to buy from a surly man.”

“You’re here.”

She took a soft breath. “I thought it was an order.” She hooked an arm through his and led him back to his brothers, who were grinning from ear to ear.

“Hey, Cuz,” Nash greeted her. “Long time no see.”

She smiled, and Deacon tried to remember if she’d ever smiled at him like that. It annoyed him that the answer was no. Of course the smile didn’t annoy him as much as Olivia’s reaching out to straighten Nash’s shirt collar. “Kelly mentioned that you and Grayson don’t have a car. Feel free to use my Porsche.”

Deacon would’ve laughed at the thought of his tall brother being stuffed into Olivia’s tiny Porsche, if he hadn’t been so pissed at him for flirting.

“How about if we drive home together,” Nash said with a wink. “I’ll make you dinner. Unless you’ve got a date with your boyfriend.”

Suddenly Deacon’s anger shifted from Nash to Olivia. No doubt she’d been having dinner every night with Parker while Deacon had been staying late and working his ass off. But her next words took all the starch right out of his anger.

“Parker is no longer my boyfriend.” As if she’d just commented on the weather, she moved over to Grayson. “I liked your beard, but I like you better without it.” She unbuttoned the top button of his shirt. “There, that’s perfect.” She went to stand behind the photographer. “We’re ready when you are, Miles.”

Miles studied Deacon. “Do you think you can get Mr. Sexy Pants to stop scowling?”

Deacon ignored him and directed his questions to Olivia. “Why? Why did you break it off with Parker?”

She glanced at the photographer. “Miles, would you excuse me and Mr. Beaumont for a second? We’ll be right back.” She headed to a dressing room in the far corner, and when he followed, he found her holding the door and breathing rather shallowly.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Just a little out of breath,” she said before she closed the door and rested her back against it. “I broke up with Parker because I wanted to. Not because you ordered me to.”

“I didn’t order you.”

She laughed, or more like released her breath in a sexy chuckle. “You really need to learn the difference between asking and ordering, Mr. Beaumont. Asking means a person has the right to decline without penalty. Ordering means that they have a right to decline with one.”

“And exactly what penalty would I implement if you didn’t follow my supposed orders?”

She hesitated for only a second before answering. “You’d sell the company.”

The words and her somber expression broadsided him, and it took more than a second for him to reply. “You really think I’d do that? Especially after all the hours I’ve put in?”

She studied him with her clear, direct eyes. “Why, Deacon? Why have you worked so hard to save a company that you don’t even care about? And don’t tell me it has to do with the money. You could’ve had the money without the work if you had just signed the contract.”

She was right. After a couple of sleepless nights, he’d figured out that it wasn’t about the money. Nor was it about the power and big office that came with the job. But he’d be damned before he admitted the truth to her. The truth that it all had to do with his ego and the desire to prove to her and a ghost that he was more than just a stupid hillbilly from Louisiana. And if that wasn’t stupid, he didn’t know what was.

“So you broke up with Parker because you wanted to?” he asked.

“I’m not good at taking orders—even with the fear of losing the company. I did all three things because I wanted to.”

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