Page 45 of One Night with the Billionaire Boss

“You need to relax or you’re going to break something,” I tell her.

She gives me a wry look. “I’m a bit nervous, that’s all.”

“Why? It’s only me.”

Now she looks exasperated. “If you don’t understand, I’m not going to tell you.” She opens the door and gets out.

Puzzled, I get out too, and retrieve our bags from the boot. We walk over to the office, I sign the paperwork, and then we head over to where the helicopter is waiting for us on the TLOF—the touchdown and lift-off area.

We put our bags in, get into our seats, and buckle ourselves in. Then we both pull on our headsets and adjust the microphones. I run through the safety procedures and standard checks, and then when we’re all ready, turn the helicopter on.

Some people might find it strange that I don’t mind flying when I’m afraid of heights, but as long as I don’t look directly down, for some reason I’m absolutely fine, and I actually enjoy it. Titus, Mack, and I took helicopter flying lessons a couple of years ago, and I fly regularly enough that I’m comfortable doing it now. I open the throttle to increase the speed of the rotor, pull up on the collective, and depress the left foot pedal to counteract the torque as the pitch of the blades changes. When it gets light on its skids, I grip the cyclic and nudge the helicopter forward, and slowly we rise, head out over Waitemata Harbour, and fly east.

“Are we going to Waiheke Island?” Elizabeth asks. I’d kept it a secret up until now.

“Yep.”

“Oh…” Her face lights up. I know it’s one of her favorite places. It’s New Zealand’s most densely populated island, roughly twelve miles by six, and very hilly. The eastern part is the remains of a volcano that erupted fifteen million years ago. There are lots of scenic beaches, and it’s also a very arty place, with a cinema, a theater, a library, and an art gallery. But today we’re heading to one of the isolated ridges, to an exclusive collection of villas I think she’s going to love.

“This is such an amazing view,” she says as we cross the Pacific, which is a glorious deep blue. It’s a beautiful evening, with not a cloud in the cerulean sky, and the sun is summer-warm, even though we’re heading into autumn now.

“Oh my God, Hux!”

“What? I can’t look down.”

She laughs. “I just saw the huge black fluke of an orca whale. Oh, how fantastic.”

I smile, glad she’s enjoying herself. We all work hard, and most of her time is dedicated to helping others, so it’s great to treat her for once. This isn’t all about sex. Okay, so it’s mainly about sex, but I want her to enjoy herself.

I want to enjoy myself, too. It’s rare for me to take an afternoon off work, and the fact that I’m out with my favorite girl is a bonus. Whatever happens today, hopefully at the least we’ll have a great meal, a swim in the pool, and a few drinks as we watch the sun go down.

And if it ends with the spectacular sex I know the two of us could have, even better.

I head inland, over the dense bush of Whakanewha Regional Park, to a hilltop retreat on a high ridge of land with fantastic views over the island and the Hauraki Gulf.

I land the helicopter on the pad to the rear of the property and turn off the engine.

“Wait a sec.” I get out, go around to the passenger side, open the door, and offer her a hand. She climbs out carefully in her high-heeled sandals, but stumbles a little as her feet touch the ground, and she falls against me.

“Careful,” I murmur, catching her.

She places both hands on my chest, and her face flushes. “I think you did that on purpose,” she scolds as I rest my hands on her hips.

“Any excuse.” I kiss her nose. Then, as she looks up at me, I kiss her lips gently, and she sighs.

Unfortunately, we’re interrupted as a guy comes over to welcome us and collect our bags. “Mr. Huxley?” he confirms. “And Ms. Tremblay, it’s lovely to have you here. I’m the manager, Ralph Inman. Please, follow me.”

We cross the helipad toward the main reception. Wow, this place is very swish. A dozen individual villas radiate out from the central block, all angled in such a way as to give them complete privacy. When we go into the building, Ralph tells us there’s a gym, a large, heated pool, and a restaurant just five minutes’ walk away at the vineyard that borders the property.

We sign in, and then he takes us across to our villa. He tells us as we walk that it’s the biggest one, often reserved for celebrities and other important guests—the guy is very proud to name several movie stars who’ve stayed here. He unlocks the door, and we go inside.

The huge living room contains what looks like a comfortable cream leather sofa and chairs, a huge flat-screen TV, and a desk and chair in case you want to catch up on some work. A good-sized kitchen is tucked into the corner.

We walk out through double sliding doors onto a large private deck. It has an outdoor sofa and chairs, a dining area, and its own giant hot tub that faces the magnificent view.

Lastly, we turn into the bedroom that’s set in a separate area at right angles to the living room with its own entrance off the deck. It’s beautiful: large and lit by the early evening sun. A circular white rug takes up most of the floor. There’s a dressing table with an old-fashioned oval mirror and a chest of drawers, and a sofa to one side. But it’s the bed that grabs my attention. It’s a huge four-poster, with a sumptuous lavender-colored duvet, pillows that look soft as puffy clouds, and lavender curtains that can be drawn to give the occupants complete privacy.

Elizabeth meets my eyes again. Her lips curve up a little, and I wink at her.

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