Page 35 of Kicking it with the Billionaire

“To the Michaels Foundation.” He bit his lower lip again as he listened.

“Exactly. My great-grandfather founded the company when he was young. When my grandfather took over, he really pushed charitable giving. My mom wasn’t such a big giver, but when I took over, I started the foundation and appointed Ross to run it. And while I do have my assistant do research on the recipients to familiarize myself with each case, I don’t have any hand in the selection process. My company gives money. That’s it.”

“And you didn’t tell me any of this up front because you thought I’d see you differently. Like just a checkbook or something?” When I nodded, he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “That’s why I didn’t tell you a lot about my past, either.”

I listened as he told me about his upbringing, his fear of being identified as the “poor kid” as an adult, and what went through his mind as he panicked when he heard about my money. He told me how his friends had encouraged him to talk to me, and how his mom and sister had supported him while he processed the events of the previous day. As he talked, the tension knotsin my stomach and chest unwound, my shoulders relaxing with every word.

“I’m sorry,” he said at the end. “I shouldn’t have panicked. You have every right to keep things to yourself. I don’t have to know every last thing about you to know how I feel about you.”

I swallowed and inhaled a shaky breath. “And howdoyou feel about me?”

He ducked his head and laughed once. “I’m in love with you.” When he looked at me again, his cheeks were pink. “I hope you’ll forgive me.”

“You’re… in love with me?” Butterflies flooded my stomach.

He nodded and words tumbled out of his mouth. “And I understand if I blew it and you don’t want to keep seeing me. I just didn’t want our relationship to end without telling you.”

“I’m in love with you, too.”

A smile formed on his lips. “You are?”

“God, can’t you tell? I’ve been a wreck since you left here last night. I was sure you were done with me and I didn’t know how I was going to handle it. I even took the day off work today because I didn’t want to go into the office and pretend I felt okay when nothing inside felt right.”

Bennett nodded, beaming. “Well… now what?”

I reached out and took his hand. “Now I think it’s time for me to give you a house tour.”

He furrowed his brow. “A house tour?”

I grinned slowly. “I especially want to show you my bedroom.”

Finally, understanding dawned on his face, and he smiled again. “I think I could get on board with that.”

I stood, pulling him up with me, before leaning in and kissing him once. “Good. Let’s go.”

Chapter Nineteen

Bennett

Dex led the way through his huge, modern home, with its wood floors and soaring ceilings, to his massive, sprawling bedroom with a king-sized bed in the center of the far wall. With a sleek leather headboard, piles of fluffy white bedding, and a storage chest at the foot, it looked more like something out of a movie set than someone’s actual bedroom. There was a wide canvas hung above the bed with abstract art on it and very little in the room besides the bed. I let out a low whistle of appreciation.

“This is something else,” I murmured.

He turned to me, eyebrows raised. “You okay?”

I bit my bottom lip and nodded briefly. “Yeah. Is thisyourstyle, or did someone design it for you?”

With a soft chuckle, he shook his head. “Believe it or not, someone designed it for me.”

I smirked. “I believe it.”

“What gave it away?”

I shrugged and sauntered over to the window that looked out over the river. “You don’t really strike me as the kind of guy who enjoys minimalist art. Or white sheets. Or leather.” I turned to him and quirked an eyebrow. “Okay, maybe the leather,” I said with a smirk.

Dex snorted and came to stand behind me, putting his arms around my waist as we stood together watching the mid-afternoon light dance on the river. It was a clear day, and the sun was shining, the sky was blue, and the river rushed by below us. I leaned my head back onto his shoulder, suddenly in no hurry to do anything but be with him in that beautiful moment.

Dex had other ideas, however. He lowered his head and kissed my mouth gently before letting his lips travel along my jaw and then below to my neck. He tenderly licked and sucked on my throat, causing my cock to ache and fill. I shifted a little, widening my stance and resting more weight against his chest, and his low chuckle, lips still resting on my throat, sent a shock of pleasure through me.

---