Bedding The Billionaire (Bedding the Bachelors Book 3) (2 page)

“You’re talking commitment when we haven’t gone out yet? You’re
definitely
not the right kind of guy for me.”

“What I am is willing to explore possibilities. I don’t always want commitment; I’ve had my share of casual sex. But with you…” He frowned, as if he couldn’t quite verbalize how his feelings for Lucy were different from how he felt about other women. Then his expression cleared. “What’s wrong with commitment, anyway? Long term relationships can be damn sexy.”

She obviously hadn’t looked convinced because he’d smiled. “Think about how sexy it would be to be in a relationship with someone you know every intimate detail about. You’re familiar with every square inch of their body. You know what every sigh means, good or bad, and you know exactly how to cause the good ones. You know that a certain moan means faster, another moan means slower, and that a long, slow exhale means you’re giving them exactly what they need.”

Lucy’s breath had caught in her throat. Her pulse had quickened and she’d grown wet between her thighs. She’d shuddered, hard enough that it was readily visible to him and he’d smiled even wider.

Damn him for getting her all hot and bothered
, she’d thought.

“You’re talking about sex, and I don’t need commitment to have sex.”

“No, but committed sex is the best there is. You should give it a try. Go out on a date with me and who knows…”

She’d laughed, but in the end, he’d gotten his way.

She’d gone out with him. And not just because her friends Grace and Melina had dared her to give dating a “nice” guy a try. But because she liked what he said, liked how he looked, and most of all, loved the way she felt when she was around him.

Once more recalling the words he’d used to
get
her to go out with him, she thought,
What kind of man says things like “committed sex is the best kind?”

Maybe a man who she could indeed trust and build a real relationship with.

Maybe even marry—

Whoa, whoa, Lucy. Where had that thought come from? She didn’t want to get married. She forced her wandering thoughts to a screeching halt. She’d settle for a relationship that didn’t burn itself out in six months.

With supplies for a simple pasta dish out on the counter, she went to set the table, picking up the pile of paperwork and files Jamie had set there when he’d come inside. As she moved it, a few papers shifted and fell, and she was straightening them when the invitation caught her eye.

It was printed on delicate paper, announcing the engagement party of Eric Davenport to Brianne Whitcomb. The same last name as Jamie. Huh. Must be a relative? The invitation indicated the engagement party had taken place the weekend before, when Jamie said he was going to visit his parents. At the time, considering Jamie was so big on commitment, she’d wondered why he hadn’t invited her to go with him, but then figured that if things continued to progress between them, she’d meet his family eventually.

Was there a reason he hadn’t told her about the engagement party?

Was it possible he’d taken someone else?

Insecurity swarmed through her and she immediately wondered if he’d been embarrassed to introduce her to his family or if the feelings he professed to have for her were all a lie.

But no, that was just her usual paranoia and cynicism talking. Jamie might have suggested she dressed too provocatively a time or too, but that wasn’t terribly uncommon; men tended to be possessive. He’d never done anything to indicate he was embarrassed of her. Or that she couldn’t trust him.

Then the location of the engagement party caught her eye.

Joyau Cache
in Paris, France.

He’d flown to Paris for an engagement party for the
weekend
? That had to have cost a small fortune.

Who did that?

People like her father and mother did, that was who. People who were very rich. People who had money to throw around. People who, in Lucy’s experience, often thought they were better than most.

Better than
her
. It didn’t matter that she came from an affluent, respectable family herself because she didn’t act the way a respectable, proper lady should act. She’d been treated like an oddity in her own family for as long as she could remember. Her own family had made her feel bad simply for being who she was. And in order to make sure she never felt that gut-wrenching sensation of rejection again, she never dated men who came from money.

Was it possible that Jamie was richer than he’d let on?

Suddenly the fact that he had commented on her provocative clothing seemed less about possessiveness and more about judgment. The fact he was withholding himself sexually suddenly became more about games and manipulation rather than giving their hearts time to open to one another. Hadn’t other boys, one boy in particular, pretended to love her only to cast her off as soon as he’d gotten what he’d wanted? According to her experience, that’s what rich boys did. Played games. Lied to get what they wanted.

“Hey,” he said from behind her.

She turned around to see Jamie looking fresh and happy, but when he saw the invitation in her hands, his face paled.

Any hope she’d been harboring that things could progress between them vanished.

Because he looked guilty.

And that’s when she knew.

Once again, she’d been a fool.

And he was the one who’d made her one.

CHAPTER ONE

Three months later

“Ask her…”

Lucy looked up from the notes she’d been reviewing. A familiar-looking blonde urged her friend, a short brunette, forward. Lucy recognized both girls as being enrolled in her women’s studies class, which had just ended for the semester. Folding her hands on the desk that sat at the front of the empty university classroom, she waited for the girls, who looked like younger versions of Lucy’s two best friends, Grace and Melina, to gather their courage and ask whatever was on their minds.

“You ask her,” the dark-haired girl said.

“You said you were going to ask her.”

“I changed my mind.”

Lucy’s mouth twitched and she made a mental note to offer another seminar on developing confidence once summer break was over. These two were a mess.

“Come on, ladies,” she called. “If you have a question, the best way to get the answer is to just ask. It’s just the three of us in here,” she pointed out encouragingly, waving her hand to encompass the empty classroom that was one of Lucy’s favorites on campus. Unlike some of the cavernous lecture halls she had to teach in, this one promoted a casual, intimate environment, and allowed her to actually get to know her students a bit.

The two girls shuffled toward her as one unit. “Hi, Professor Conrad. I’m Janet Harger,” the blonde began.

“Of course. I know who you are, Janet.” Lucy smiled encouragingly at her, and then at the other girl. “And you’re Lisa Mills. You both got As on your final exams. Excellent work.”

Lisa’s eyes widened with surprised delight. “Wow, I can’t believe you remember my name.”

“There were only thirty-five students in this class. Why would you be surprised?” Lucy asked.

“Well, it’s just…you’re one of the hippest professors here.” Lisa leaned closer as if confiding a state secret. “I love how you change up your hair all the time.”

“Thank you.” Like Lisa, Lucy was a natural brunette. She changed colors and styles on a whim, but she had a definite penchant for red; right now, her hair was a deep sherry color and the longest it had ever been. Her hair, her nose piercing, her personality, heck even the way she dressed set her apart from the other female professors who were prone to wear ankle-length flowery dresses or stuffy masculine business suits. The fact Lucy didn’t take herself too seriously was also reflected in her teaching style. She worked hard to be approachable and relatable to her students. Sometimes Lucy even—horror of all horrors—cursed in class. She didn’t make a habit of it, but when the expletive fit…

She was glad that to Lisa, Lucy’s style made her hip rather than some of the less-complimentary things people had said about her in the past. But even if that hadn’t been the case, it wouldn’t have mattered. Lucy acted and dressed for herself and no one else.

That included a certain incognito billionaire.

Today she had on a camo-inspired jacket that felt like it had been tailor-made to hug her curves. Underneath it she wore a hot pink silk cami that revealed just a hint of her tattoo. Her flirty dark green skirt was pleated and ended mid-thigh. The four-inch pink platform wedges she wore were one of her favorite pairs of shoes. “So, ladies, is there something I can help you with?” Lucy prompted.

“Um, yes, Professor Conrad, I’m sorry. Lisa and I had a question. We have this friend who is a…” Janet bit her lip, then said, “Well, let’s call her a ‘serial’ dater. She moves from one guy to the next with barely taking a breath in between. She says that’s how she wants to spend her life. She doesn’t ever want to get married, or have kids. I know you say that dating and sexual habits are a personal choice but we’re just worried that she’s going to get a bad reputation, you know?”

Lisa jumped in. “And what about later on in life, when everyone else has settled down and she’s too old to have kids? What if she regrets it and people look at her as some weird old cat lady or something?”

Lucy smiled at the cat lady reference, but the rest of what the girls said gave her pause. Everyone in the world was so worried about what other people thought of them. Few realized that if people would just be themselves and let others do the same, the world would be a much better place.

“Sit down, girls,” she told them. “Please.”

The girls pulled up two chairs and sat.

“You two seem like good friends, and I’m sure the girl you’re telling me about is lucky to have you both in her life. But I have to tell you what I’m hearing here. Your concerns are about how other people will perceive her and how those perceptions will affect your friend’s life, am I right?”

“Yes,” Lisa said. “We just don’t want people to think she’s a slut.”

“People will think what they want. If they say it to her, I’m sure she’ll be hurt. But in the end, your friend has to love herself. Does she?”

“She says it’s her life and she can do what she wants. She likes sex…a lot. She says that she’s over eighteen and she uses protection and she’s not hurting anyone, so it’s no one’s business but her own.”

“She sounds like she knows herself and what she wants,” Lucy said. “That might change some day, but that’s for her to find out on her own.”

Janet and Lisa still looked doubtful, so Lucy continued, “Look, everyone has a different perception of things. There are billions of people in the world and there would be no possible way to please them all. So in the grand scheme of things, who does it make the most sense to please?”

“Yourself?” Lisa said, repeating what she must have heard Lucy say in her teachings.

“Exactly,” Lucy said, holding her arms up high, as if embracing the very essence of herself. “The key to being happy is to love yourself. If you’re constantly trying to bend to meet the expectations of others, then you never even get a chance to know much less
like
yourself. There is nothing wrong with refusing to conform to the standards society has set for us as women. As a matter of fact, words like ‘slut’ were designed for the very purpose of trying to force us to conform. As long as your friend is happy with herself, try to be happy for her.”

“Don’t you ever want to get married?” Janet somehow found the nerve to ask her. Lisa looked horrified by her friend’s brazenness.

“I have two amazing friends who are in committed, long-term relationships. One’s married and I’m betting the other will be soon. I have no desire for any of that. I’m happy with my life as a single woman, and my friends and I both accept and cherish our differences.”

The girls looked pleased with Lucy’s opinions. Most of her students usually were. One of the things that made Lucy good at her job was that she lived what she taught. She encouraged her students to be independent and empowered to take control of all aspects of their lives—from their careers to their own ideas about femininity and sexuality. She had done all of that herself since she’d become emancipated from her parents at the age of sixteen. And she had personal experience with having to live her life in spite of the negative opinions other people had about her.

She dated a lot of men, and when she felt like it, she slept with them. Although she never slept with more than one man at a time, that was by choice, not because she’d ever promised monogamy or exclusivity to someone. She enjoyed a man while they were together, but when she tired of him, she didn’t feel guilty about moving on to the next, in particular because she was always honest about not wanting anything too serious. She liked to feel sexy, she liked sex, and except for the short time she’d dated Jamie, she’d never had a problem getting a man to give it to her. She dressed to show off her assets in their best light possible, and she didn’t think she should have to apologize for that to anyone; therefore, she didn’t.

“Thank you, Professor Conrad,” the girls told her as they got up to leave.