Billionaire Bad Boys of Romance Boxed Set (10 Book Bundle) (38 page)

Beth groaned in frustration. What in the hell had she done? What had just transpired was exactly what she'd been trying to avoid. Did she want to play? Oh, good God! Was what just happened a teaser for what he wanted from her? Slipping from the dresser, her legs felt like jelly under her and she had to grasp the edge for support. Once she felt steady on her feet she ran a shaky hand through her hair as she gathered up her tossed aside clothing. Could the past few days have gotten any crazier or more confusing? She doubted it.

* * * *

Finishing up with the work he'd left undone to come home early that day, Gabriel changed out of his suit and into a pair of jeans and t-shirt before heading back downstairs to check on the progress of dinner. Pete had given him a good report on her lesson for the day so he was anxious to see the results. According to Pete - based on their first lesson - her biggest problem was her confidence, but in contrast her eagerness to learn was her greatest strength.

As he approached the kitchen the mouth-watering aroma of scallops drifted to him, causing his stomach to grumble. He didn't enter immediately, instead he leaned his left shoulder against the archway, crossed his arms over his chest and watched her busying herself. His hunger for food was immediately replaced with a deeper, more feral hunger.

It had taken every ounce of strength he possessed to pull himself away from her earlier. He feared he'd seriously overstepped his boundaries with her, but she was so receptive and those soft, sweet moans had driven him near insanity. He swept his tongue across his lower lip and could still faintly taste her and his dick began to harden as a result.

Ahhh, fuck!

Gabriel loved watching her as she attended to the meal. Her forehead creased as she concentrated on what she was doing and she caught her lip between her teeth as she presumably tried to decide if the risotto was cooked properly. However, from where Gabriel was standing, it was the scallops that she needed to be more concerned about.

He rushed over to the stove and removed them from the heat, just as she turned to do so herself. She gasped, surprised to see him appear behind her.

"Baby, they were seconds from being burnt," he explained, giving her a smile.

Her face flushed, an attractive rosy colour. "I'm sorry, I was just about to get to them. I was just..." She motioned to the risotto.

"I know." Grabbing a spoon from the drawer holding the utensils, he dipped it into the risotto and tasted. "That is excellent. Creamy. Cooked perfectly, I'm very impressed."

Beaming, Beth looked up at him, her blue eyes shining with pride. "Really?"

"Definitely." He dipped the spoon in once more and brought it to her lips. "Try it."

She opened her mouth for him to feed her the risotto. She chewed and swallowed, her smile widening as she nodded her confirmation.

"See, what did I tell you? Even a woman who burns bacon and toast and whose specialty is," he cocked an amused brow at her, "
mac
and cheese can work wonders in the kitchen under the right tutelage."

"Thank you."

Grabbing a knife from the utensil drawer he sliced one of the scallops in half and popped it into his mouth. Spearing the other half with the fork in hand he offered it to her. She opened her mouth and accepted his offering.

"Also nicely cooked. The flavour is stunning."

"Need I remind you that if you hadn't been here to save the day you would have had burnt scallops," she reminded him, but her wide smile and the hint of pride in her eyes were in contrast to her words.

"Give yourself some credit," he said, bumping her hip with his, subtly pushing her out of the way and plating up the food for them both, "you did a good job and I know that by the time Pete finishes with you Monday the fillet I expect from you that night will be equally as good - if not better."

She watched him intently as he expertly plated the food, garnishing it with such finesse that when he was finished it looked as though it would be something served straight from
The View
.

"You really know your way around a kitchen," Beth commented as he added the finishing touches and carried their plates over to the small kitchen table.

Gabriel grinned at her and gave her a wink, before opening up the wine cabinet to select a wine for the evening. "Let's just say cooking is a passion of mine. One I don't have the luxury to indulge in."

"So again, why me? Why not someone who doesn't need to be trained?" she asked, slipping into one of the kitchen chairs.

Selecting a bottle of white wine he grabbed a corkscrew from the counter and made his way over to her and the table. "I could," he started, screwing in the corkscrew, "but I seriously doubt I'd enjoy their company nearly as much as I do yours." His eyes caught hers as he gave the cork a jerk, opening the bottle.

He guessed her mind went rushing back to their little encounter because she diverted her gaze and ran a nervous hand through her long locks.
Fuck! And double fuck!
He growled at himself as his jaw clenched. He didn't want her to be uncomfortable being around him and that was exactly what he'd done.
We'll talk and get this straightened out after dinner
, he told himself as he grabbed her wine glass and poured some out to her.

Chapter 6

As Beth made her way to the outdoor swimming pool where she was supposed to meet Gabriel, she still felt uneasy and the black bikini she was wearing was only a small part of the reason. A combination of embarrassment over her wanton behaviour with him earlier and the feelings that were beginning to form within her for him were clouding her judgment. Was she a fling? Was she an employee who things just got out of hand with? Did he usually participate in sexual activities with the women who worked for him?

Her face blanched.
Oh my god!
What if he hired me with the sole thought in mind of having me here for a quick fuck whenever he had the urge for it?
The thought was like having a knife jabbed into her stomach.

I have to discuss this with him. I have to make sure
.

Her mouth fell agape when she opened the back patio door and stepped out into the warm night air. A soft seductive melody played from hidden speakers and the pool area was lit by tiki torches along the perimeter. Combined with a cloudless, starry night sky, it was beautiful in its simplicity. The shimmers of light as the full moon bounced off of the water only added to the romantic atmosphere. She groaned inwardly; could this get any more uncomfortable?

Slowly making her way with towel in hand to the pool, she watched Gabriel swim laps, his strokes long and powerful. His body appeared to glide over the water. As she stepped down the final step she leaned a shoulder against the porch railing and watched him.

Sensing her arrival, Gabriel finished his final lap and then pulled himself out of the water, in one swift, powerful motion. The water glistened like small diamonds over his body as it ran down his muscular torso to disappear into his forest green swim trunks that rode dangerously low on his hips.

My God, he's gorgeous!
She immediately felt a stirring between her legs. Did it really matter why he wanted her there? He wanted her, wasn't that enough?
No! No, it's not
, a voice in the back of her head screamed out to her, shaking her loose of the trance she'd been in while watching him.

He looked up and his dark eyes caught her. "Come on over, the water is perfect tonight," he motioned for her to join him as he sat by the edge, his feet dangling into the pool.

With hesitation she made her way over to him, aware that his eyes were examining every inch of her body as she walked. With this knowledge she squared her shoulders and tried to appear more confident than she really was. Placing her towel on the cool cement, she sat down beside him, letting her feet dangle into the water. He wasn't kidding: it was just warm enough to take the cool edge off, but cool enough to be refreshing.

"That suit looks... amazing on you Beth." The tone of his voice was low and silky smooth to her ears.

The flutters in her stomach joined the growing ache between her legs. She groaned inwardly.
Why did he have to be so damned sexy and charming and... Ugh!

"What's the matter?" Gabriel frowned as he looked over at her.

"I..." she looked over at him and sighed.

"Oh. This is about earlier?"

"Yeah." Taking a deep breath in Beth decided to simply get it out in the open and be done with it. "Why did you hire me?"

Gabriel's frown deepened and as he opened his mouth to speak she held a finger up to his lips. "Don't lie to me."

Taking her hand in his, he kissed the back of her hand lightly. "I like you Beth."

I would fucking hope so all things considered!
A small jolt of anger welled up within her.
Whoa, where did that come from?
Part of Beth wanted to forget about being confrontational and let it go. He looked so genuinely concerned that it tugged at her. But the other part, the more dominant part needed to know the truth.

"But what am I
exactly
? I joked the other day that I was like a wife without the sex and well... I have a feeling that is where this is headed. The sex part."

His jaw clenched, but he held her gaze, nodding. "And..."

Beth groaned loudly. "Don't you see how wrong that is? This is a sexual harassment suit waiting to happen! Do you have relationships like this with all your cooks slash maids slash personal assistants?"

A grin touched his lips and amusement shone in his eyes as he cocked a brow up at her. "Are you planning to press sexual harassment charges, Beth?"

Beth laughed at the silliness of it all. When thinking back to earlier that day, he hardly forced himself onto her. She had more than welcomed, hell she practically begged for it! "No, of course not." She narrowed her eyes at him, "You don't think that it was a little inappropriate? I've been on the job for less than twenty-four hours and you've already seen me naked and..." she could feel the heat rush up to her cheeks, and the desire within her rose as visions of him between her legs came rushing back to her.

"Perhaps it was a little... inappropriate. Does that have to mean it was wrong?"

"Well tell me this," she countered. "The last person you had working in my position. Did you have the same type of working arrangement as you do with me now?"

He chuckled, giving her hand a light squeeze. "Well, to be honest, the last person was a sixty-five-year-old woman named Gretchen, who quit because she and her husband were moving to Florida. She arrived at 6am and left at 5pm and I assure you I had no desire to touch her in
any
way inappropriately."

Beth rolled her eyes at him, but couldn't help but laugh a second time. "Please don't make me laugh, I'm being serious."

His attempt to keep a stern expression was nearly as humorous as his words. "And so am I. She was the sweetest woman, been with my family for decades, she practically raised me, but she just wasn't my type. Don't get me wrong, knee-high stockings can be extremely sexy..."

Pulling her hand from his she gave his shoulder a playful swat, still giggling. "Stop. I get it!"

"But why hire
me?
" she stressed the "me" part. He was being intentionally elusive, but there was no way she could let it go without a satisfactory answer.

He leaned back on his elbows on the towel he'd laid out previously, causing her to lean back as well, turning to her side facing him, bracing her head with her hand, to watch his expression as he talked. "I've had a slight," he cleared his throat, and even in the dim light of the torch fires, she could see his face redden slightly. It was apparent he wasn't very accustomed to explaining himself to anyone. "A slight
crush,
if you could call it that, on you for some time now."

Beth couldn't stop the soft giggle that escaped her lips. With all of the models and high-society bimbos that she'd seen him with in pictures and in the gossip news she had a hard time visualizing Gabriel having a "crush" on anyone. She would have thought the roles were normally reversed.

He raised a brow at her, amused. "You think I can't have a crush?"

She shook her head. "It's hard to visualize, that's all."

"I see. Well, I have."

"But you date these models and I saw a picture of you with some soap actress."

He grinned and chuckled. "Without the glamour and the makeup, they aren't near as beautiful as
they
think they are," he stressed the word
they,
"Besides, most are fake and superficial. Fame does that to people. Not all, but most. And you really can't blame them. When you have thousands - millions even - of people constantly telling you how wonderful, beautiful, talented you are, it's bound to sink in and have an effect."

"I see. So again, why me? Why offer me this job?"

"Do you know what one of the highlights of my day is?" He rolled over to his side so he was facing her directly, mimicking her position by bracing himself up on his elbow.

Beth shrugged.

"Going out of my way each day to stop by the coffee shop to get a cup of that horrid coffee you people serve. It's horrible. I imagine the only reason the shop stays in business is the good-looking women it tends to employ."

Beth laughed her agreement with his assessment of the coffee. "So why
hire
me? Why not just ask me on a date?"

He clucked his tongue off the roof of his mouth. "All right, answer me this. How many times a week did you get hit on by customers?"

It was Beth's turn to blush. She saw where he was going with this and saw his point. "A few or so."

"I didn't like the idea of being another one of those asshole customers. And so when I showed up and realized you were in a situation that I could help with I figured it would be a good chance to get to know you."

"Inviting someone to live with you is a really fucked up way of getting to know them Gabriel," she chided.

"It is," he agreed, his amusement slowly fading to be replaced with the heated, hungry look that she was becoming very familiar with and sent her pulse racing. He touched her hip, just above the string that tied at her hip, holding the bottom together and slowly trailed his fingertips over her hip and along her waist.

She wanted to close her eyes and sigh. She wanted to fall into his arms and let him do whatever he pleased with her as long as it meant she could touch him, and feel more of his sweet caress. She needed to get the conversation back on track before he...

Oh good lord!

With his hand stopping just below the side of her breast, he lowered his mouth to hers, gently kissing her. His lips barely touching hers was enough of a tease that the fire within her for him flared up with a vengeance. "We should discuss this Gabriel," she protested, reaching over and flattening her palm against his wet, hard chest, her fingertips tracing the contours of muscle.

He moved over her, pressing her back against the towel, as he nipped at her neck. "Why wouldn't I want you here?" he countered, his tongue lashing out and teasing her neck where he'd just gently bitten.

"There are more qualified people..." She groaned inwardly as he began to kiss his way down her neck, slipping her arms up over his powerful shoulders.

To her dismay he stopped his teasing to gaze down at her, his eyes catching hers. "You're beautiful, and sweet, and funny, and your smile lightens up my mood no matter how bad it may be," he stated, kissing her lightly after stating each attribute. "Why wouldn't I want you near me? I'd have been a fool to have let the opportunity pass me by."

Her ability to keep a clear head was rapidly dissolving as her body took over. "How could you possibly know these things from five minutes a day?" she gasped as his mouth came crashing down onto hers. His kiss was demanding and she happily surrendered to him, no longer concerned with the whys or hows. As their tongues danced, she held tight to him, pulling his hard body down to hers as she moaned against his lips.

His cock, thick and hard under his shorts pressed against her leg, enticing her and she wanted it. Beth slipped a hand from his neck and was about to snake it under the waistband of his shorts when he suddenly - and to her dismay - stopped kissing her and grabbed her wrist.

Her brow creased as she opened her lust-filled eyes up to stare at him. What did she do wrong?

A wide, mischievous grin spread across his lips as he stood and extended his hand to her. "Come for a swim with me."

A swim? Damn he's infuriating.
She scowled up at him as she took his hand and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet. Her pussy was an inferno of need and she was grateful that her bathing suit bottoms were black, because she could feel her juices soaking them. She chanced a glance down at giant bulge at the front of his trunks and licked her lower lip.

His soft chuckle had her looking back up into his eyes. "Come on. Humour me." He took a step backward, pulling her reluctantly along with him.

"But..." she glanced down at the towels that they had just been lying on. "We were..."

Without warning he scooped her up into his arms, lifting her as though she weighed nothing more than a feather. She followed his gaze to the pool and then snapped her head back around to glare up at him, knowing exactly what he had planned. "Oh Mr Reynolds, you wouldn't dare!"

He wiggled his eyebrows at her and without another word tossed her in. She squealed as she found herself flying through the air and then plunging into the warm water feet first. They were at the deeper end of the pool at a depth of ten feet. As her feet hit the bottom she lunged upwards and broke back through the surface sputtering, wiping the water from her face and trying not to laugh. She wanted to be furious as she treaded water, but glancing up at him standing at the edge of the pool laughing at her distraught state washed the anger away.

When he realized her eyes were on him, he plunged head first into the water, with the skill and grace of a professional diver. Seconds later, he resurfaced a foot away from her, his body once again glistening as the beads of water ran over his shoulders as he treaded water.

"What if I couldn't swim! I would have drowned!" she growled, splashing water at him and feigning anger, though in truth she was more amused than anything else.

He laughed as he closed the distance between them. Wrapping an arm around her waist, Gabriel pulled her to him, while moving them toward shallower waters. "I would have saved you."