Page 13 of Off Limits Billionaire

“This is truly beautiful, Marcus. I can’t believe all of this is happening.”

My heart swelled and suddenly my mouth was moving before my brain could tell it to stop. “What if you were my permanent authentication expert?”

The way Anabella snapped her head around as we dropped our bags made me glance at my reflection in the large window. It was nearly six in the evening and the lights of London’s nightlife glowed like fireflies outside.

Our two-bedroom suite was the largest one in the hotel, sitting on the top floor. The living room area had a sofa, television, and desk area. They'd even left chocolates on the pillows. I smiled, being able to share this with her.

I didn’t waste time tossing my suit jacket over the back of a chair and undoing my shirt as I waited for Ana to find the words to answer my offer.

“You’re distracting me with pending nakedness, so this has got to be a trick,” she said, shaking her head. “My grandparents told me that you’d try pulling something.”

“I have no intention of being naked in front of you until you’re ready to be naked in front of me again.”

My eyes couldn't help but rake over her silhouette. It had been too long since I’d seen her in the throes of passion, pleading with me to coax another orgasm from her delectable body.

“Let’s just get through this weekend before we talk about doing any more business together. Besides, you have no idea how long restoring this clock will take and by the end of it, you might not like me. I’m very exact when it comes to my job. I do not and will not take shortcuts to skimp on costs, and if I need materials, I get what I want how I want it. I can be a real pain in the ass.”

My gaze went straight to her ass. I wanted to run my hand over it and she was right. I had no idea how I’d feel towards her by the end of this. All I knew was the more time we spent together, the less I wanted her to go.

“I don’t doubt the pain in the ass part—you’re a Pierce,” I told her jokingly. “Speaking of your work ethic, how about we head to the auction house and talk to my friend? You can see the clock and the documents with it. Afterward, we can grab dinner or come back here to relax a bit. You can take the larger bedroom.”

Ana nodded slowly as she brought her bag into the larger room, taking a moment to freshen up and change clothes. I did the same. We moved around each other, mostly in silence, but still in sync. Being so comfortable with her in my space was jarring.

I didn’t want to fall for Ana, but love had a mind of its own. Why did she have to be a Pierce?

A part of me knew that it didn’t matter that much to me because financially, my family needed me a lot more than they needed to fight with the Pierces. I could sway them into seeing her beauty, inside and out.

Ana, on the other hand, felt the edge of defiance. She didn’t want to rock the boat. She wanted to be a good granddaughter, continuing her family’s legacy, even if that meant upholding a stupid rivalry.

I pushed thoughts of us out of my mind to focus on the task ahead of us. It didn’t take long for us to get ready and head over to Montclair’s. One of the auctioneers met us at the door once I told them we were on our way.

Desiree Beauchamps opened the door for us as soon as we stepped out of the car. She smiled. “Good evening, Mr. Adler, Ms. Pierce.”

Ana’s gaze shifted toward me before I spoke up to introduce them. “Ana, this is Desiree Beauchamps, she’s the friend I was telling you about.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Desiree.” Ana shook her hand lightly.

Desiree offered us a smile and hurried us through the lobby to what appeared to be a private elevator.

We were heading down into the building’s basement as she spoke, her eyes darting around nervously. “Mr. Adler, you wanted me to tell you if there’s been significant interest in this clock. Someone else has been asking about it. My bosses are thinking it will go for around 15,000 US dollars because of the damage.”

“How much damage?” Ana asked as Desiree led us into a wiry looking cage with various items labeled for the auction tomorrow. Desiree held out her hand for Ana to take a look.

The tall case clock’s dark wood splintered up the side. I groaned. “That’s not in any of the pictures, Desiree.”

“Look here,” Ana pointed at the golden dial on the face of the clock. “Some of these numbers are about to fall off, like someone has tampered with the original work and didn’t know what they were doing. There’s also a crack here that will require a goldsmith. You’re not going to like this, but my brother, Hunter, does metalwork and fabrication. He’s helped Nina more times than I can count when she’s restored instruments.”

“Wait a minute, it’s authentic then? You wouldn’t be concerned about finding a goldsmith for a clock that wasn’t real.”

She nodded. “It’s an authentic Godschalk. This cabinet here is meant to house a pendulum. The finials—”

“The what?” Desiree asked.

Ana pointed to the ornamental design of the wood’s carvings on the top corners. They curved inward and mimicked flames on each corner.

“I’d have to fix these few areas that cracked here. This looks like someone dropped it on its face,” Ana said in an accusatory tone.

Desiree shrugged. “I’m sure they did. The only reason it’s even going to auction is because they know Mr. Adler wants it.”

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