Page 55 of The Billionaire's Temptation

He tugged at her hair, pulling her in for a kiss. When he released her hair, his blue eyes were shimmering with desire. “You’re going to draw out your dream house.”

The idea startled…and intrigued her! “My dream house?” Martha had suggested that last night and she’d been thinking about it a lot.

“Yes. You hate your father’s house. We’ll put it up for sale. But we need to find a location for your dream house.”

She nodded, then shifted against him, facing him more fully. “I also would like to do more,” she said, her voice low. “I told you about my idea for helping people. Before, I’d only thought about fixing up the apartments where I used to live. But I’ve expanded on that idea. I want to buy a piece of land out in the country and build tiny houses that can shelter families that just need a break. I want to provide them with a place to live, a car or two, and food. I want to provide a place where their children can have good day care and after school tutoring. And every house will have fruit trees and a garden. Or maybe there will be a communal garden that everyone helps to make things grow. I want it to be an oasis from the rest of the world.”

She watched him as she explained it all. “Is that crazy?” She shifted again, really looking at him now. “I mean, this money isn’t my own. But if I put a portion of it into a foundation that helps families get back on their feet, teaches them how to budget their money, and also helps them to reinvent themselves so that they can get better jobs, and …”

Clarissa couldn’t continue because he was kissing her. She didn’t understand, but when he was kissing her, she didn’t care. His touch, his kisses, made her tingle with anticipation and her heart swelled with love.

“What was that for?” she asked, pulling back and licking her lips.

“I love you,” he told her, his voice husky.

“I know that,” she whispered back, leaning her head against his shoulder. “I love you too.”

He tightened his arms around her and they both stared out at the skyline for a long moment. Then he said, “I think you need to hear a bit about my background.”

She snuggled up against him, smiling and kissing his chest. “I’d love to hear how you became the amazing man that you are now.”

“I am a bastard.”

She laughed, shaking her head. “ No you’re not. You’re a wonderful…” Her eyes widened at the serious look in his eyes. “Oh, you mean, literally!”

“Yes. I mean that I am the result of an affair that my mother had with my father. He was married, lied about his marital status in order to trick my mother into bed. He promised her everything, then laughed when she came to him, pregnant and crying.”

“Oh, Levi!” she whispered. “You mother must have been devastated!”

“She was. At first. But she survived. We both did, but only barely. He blackballed her so she could only get jobs that paid minimum wage. It wasn’t until Arthur Fuque came along that things changed for us. I’d already had several businesses when I first met your father, but he helped me get to the next level.”

“Was he…?”

“He was a hard man, but fair. I don’t know why he married his second wife, but he was still a good man. He saw something in me. He taught me how to get on in business. He tutored me in the unscrupulous ways of other businessmen.” He looked at her. “He was a harsh mentor, but he saved my life, Clarissa. I know that you don’t care for him, but he stepped in when I needed help.” He stroked her cheek. “Just as you want to do for other families.”

“Oh,” she whispered, touched by his story. “So…I would be giving back to the world.”

“You’d be saving lives in ways you won’t ever know,” he promised her.

Clarissa smiled. “That sounds like a wonderful legacy.”

He grunted, then tapped the notebook. “Now, draw. I want to see the house we’re going to live in.”

Clarissa laughed, delighted. She leaned back, lifting the notebook up. “I need a big kitchen that is open to the family room. And I want a craft room,” she told him firmly. “I’ve always wanted to learn how to sew.”

“Where’s my home office going to be?” he demanded.

She started drawing, outlining the exterior of the house first, then adding in details. He pointed to a wall and told her to add more bedrooms. “We’re having a large family. Two bedrooms won’t be enough.”

She laughed and drew more bedrooms. “And an exercise room. I want muscles like yours,” she teased. He poked her in the ribs, then kissed her shoulder. “And a garden. I promised Martha and Joe that we’d have a kitchen garden. A big one.”

“You’re going to be one of those earth moms, aren’t you?”

She grinned and nodded. “You betcha.”

“When are you going to marry me?”

She froze, looking at him. “When do you want to marry me?” she whispered.

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