Billionaire Bad Boys of Romance Boxed Set (10 Book Bundle) (88 page)

He climbed on top of me, his hips wedged between my spread legs. I was trapped beneath him, not completely powerless, but almost.

My insides clench
ed as he fingered my slick folds, preparing them for what was about to come
.
The finger, the one teasing, tormenting me, delved deeper, finding my entry and piercing it roughly. I bucked, blood surging through my body. “Tevin!”

“You are so tight.” He added a second finger, and I cried out. My insides clenched ar
ound the invading digits, warm juices easing his entry as they slid deeper before gliding out. He pushed them in again, and out, knuckles scraping against the spot inside that made me quiver. Already, the first tremors of an orgasm were quaking through my body, but I fought it, wanting the sweet torment to last.

He groaned as I clenched my inner musc
les again. “You are more beautiful than I ever imagined,” he said, his voice rough.

“So are you.” I traced the line bisecting his torso, from chest down to his belly button.

A rumble vibrated beneath my fingertip as he made a little growling sound. “I want to do things to you…so many things.”

“Maybe I want you to do those things, too.”

“Maybe?” He flicked a fingertip over one of my nipples and I trembled.

A sparkle glittered in his eyes. “I would say that’s more than a maybe.” His brows crinkled a little as he gently pinched my nipple, sending a tiny blade of pleasure pain zipping through my body. “But there’s one thing.”

“What’s that?” I asked on a sigh.

“Condom,” he mumbled.

“I don’t--“

“I do.” He pushed himself upright and reached for his pants. Once he had them in his hands, he jerked out his wallet out of the pocket and flipped it open.

I closed my eyes and listened to the crinkle of a condom wrapper as he tore it open. My fingers curled into fists. Oh God, this was really happening. I was about to have sex with Tevin Page. Premier’s newest client. My newest client. And to hell with the consequences.

To hell with it all.

I wanted him. He was mine. Mine, dammit! I deserved a little happiness too. Even if it wouldn’t last forever. Even if it might not last more than one night.

One incredible night.

Yes, that was what I would have. One night with a man who inspired my dreams.

I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. I was aware of every breath I drew in. I was aware of every sensation, the taste of his kiss still lingering on my lips, the quiet but oh so sexy sound of his lips smacking gently as he kissed the fullness of my breast.

When his tongue flicked over my nipple, little blades of heat pierced through my center. It was as if a current charged through me, from my nipple to my core. Every nerve in between was sizzling, and all I could think about was what he would do next. What glorious pleasure would he introduce me to next?

Within a handful of excruciating seconds, he
was pushing his way past my sodden tissues, entering me slowly, inch by glorious inch. I stretched to accommodate his wide girth. He was thick. Long. Perfect.

He
lifted my thighs and forced them wide apart. The friction of his forward thrust was absolutely glorious. In he stroked, and out. Slowly, his movements so controlled I fought against his control, wrapped my legs around his hips to deepen the strokes.  Our bodies worked together perfectly, fit together perfectly, as if they’d been made to complete each other. Waves of pleasure washed through me with every touch, every kiss, and every intimate stroke. I’d never felt so beautiful or so desired. The way he looked at me, whispered my name, as he drove deep inside made me feel like I was the only woman for him. I was his. He was mine.

Gradually, those waves grew stronger as I writhed beneath him, my hips gliding forward and back in time with his thrusts. My eyelids drifted shut as I became overwhelmed with the pleasure. One more stroke. No two. So hot. So tight. I trembled and whimpered and begged until finally…at last…

“Yessss.” A white hot blaze swept through my body, igniting every nerve, from the tip of my toes to the top of my head. I convulsed around him so hard it almost hurt. I cried out his name as he surged forward and back, thrusting hard into me, driving toward his own release.

My orgasm had barely faded when I felt his member swell as he climaxed.
My body still vibrating, I tumbled into another orgasm. I jerked and writhed and screamed as he pounded mercilessly into me, driving every drop of come from his body.

And then, he bent over me and laid his head on my chest. His semi-flaccid member remained buried deep inside me. Little twitches and tingles accompanied the warm afterglow of that mind-blowing experience.

I’d never come like that. I didn’t know it could feel that way.

“You are exquisite,” he said a few minutes later. He straightened, but only after giving me a sweet kiss on the chin. He grasped the base of his cock, holding the used condom in place and pulled out.

My first instinct was to cover myself.

My second, to throw on my clothes, go home and cry myself to sleep.

Yes, that had been the most intense sex of my life. But now that my head was clearing, I was becoming more and more confused.

Confusion quickly morphed into regret.

I’d made a mistake. A huge mistake.

Oh God, how was I going to sit there and watch him fall in love with someone else? How?

You have to get your head together.

I needed to leave.

My hands were shaking as I reached for my clothes. Fortunately, Tevin had his back to me. He was loping toward the bathroom, the used condom pinched between his fingers and thumb. He didn’t see my shaking hands.

By the time he returned, I had my bra, panties and skirt back on, and I was working on my top.

Still completely nude, and clearly comfortable with it, he sat beside me. “You’re getting dressed.”

“I…should go.” I tried to look him in the eye, but I couldn’t. I was so conflicted and upset with myself for what I’d done.

“Daryl.” He cupped my chin and lifted it. “Look at me.”

It took at least a minute for me to work up the strength to meet his gaze. “What?”

“What’s wrong?”

I forced a smile, or what I hoped would pass as a smile. “Nothing.”

“It’s not nothing. Tell me.”

I shook my head. My eyes were burning. So was my nose. Oh God, I was going to cry.

Hold it together.
With Tevin looking on, waiting patiently for me to pull myself together,
I took a few deep breaths.

“Daryl. Wow. Can’t say this has ever happened before. If you think I bring girls out here to screw all the time—“

“That’s not it.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“The problem is my job is to set you up with the woman of your dreams. How the hell am I going to do that now? After…after this? I don’t have casual sex. I don’t just screw for the sake of screwing.” I was doing it, holding back the tears. But barely. “Do you see now why I didn’t want to go out with you? Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“I would like to go home.”

“I’m sorry if I pushed you into doing something—“

“You didn’t push me. You didn’t have to. But that doesn’t mean this is going to be any easier. Honestly, it makes it worse. Because I don’t want to be your matchmaker. I don’t want you to find someone else you like better.” I covered my face and gritted my teeth. “Shitshitshit.”

“I think we should talk this out—“

“No. No more talking. It won’t do any good. Just take me home.”

His sigh was audible. Clearly he didn’t agree with me, that I should leave. “Okay. If that’s what you want, I’ll take you home right now. But we are going to talk about this later. I’ll call you. We’ll figure it out.”

“There’s nothing to figure out. You’re a client of Premier. I am an employee assigned to you. My job is to help you find your perfect match. If I can’t do that, then…well…”

“We talk about it later.”

“Don’t call me. Please, Tevin. I can see you’re trying to be nice about this, but the truth is you’re making things worse. The bottom line is I think you owe it to me to stop the games and let me out of our arrangement. You know I need my job. And you know I like you a lot more than I should. I’m telling you, I’ll lose my job if my boss finds out what I’ve been doing. And I’m this close to telling her because it’s tearing me up inside, thinking about sitting through another fucking mixer and watching those other women drool all over you.”

“Okay. Fair enough. You don’t have to go on any more dates. I’m sorry. I never meant for things to get so out of hand. I just…wanted to spend time with you.”

As he drove me home, his words echoed in my head, over and over.
I just wanted to spend time with you.
When my head finally cleared, hours later, I realized he’d sounded as torn and conflicted and confused as me.

What the hell were we doing to each other? To ourselves?

Chapter 7

It took me roughly forty minutes for the truth to sink in. Forty minutes and dozens of phone calls.

Nobody was coming. Not one girl. Not even Clark, Katarina’s friend, who I had worked so hard to sign for this event. She’d been absolutely perfect for Tevin. Beautiful. Down to earth. Smart. Educated. And she didn’t care at all about money—which was why she’d been so perfect for him. While I’d secretly hated her a little for being so freaking perfect for Tevin, I had felt pretty good about finding such a wonderful match for him. Tonight he was supposed to be meeting his dream girl.

But everything seemed to have fallen apart. How was this possible? What happened? We had never had this happen before. Even the event last summer, during a power outage following a wicked summer storm. More than half of the girls scheduled had shown up for that one.

Tonight all of them had pulled a no-show. Every single one? What the hell happened?

Had Marguerite cancelled the event without telling me?

There had to be a logical explanation.

At the sound of the back door slamming, my heart rate kicked into double time. That had to be Marguerite.

Either I was about to get some answers, or I was going to be making up excuses left and right to appease her. God, I hoped she knew what was going on.

Aware that I was wringing my hands, I forced myself to lower them to my sides as I click-clacked down the hall toward her office. My thumping heartbeat pounded in my ears.

Her door was open, so I poked my head inside. She was standing behind her desk, her eyes focused on her computer screen. If she knew I was there, she wasn’t acknowledging me.

Knees a little wobbly, I knocked.

Her eyes lifted. She smiled. “Ah, Daryl. Is everything all set for tonight?”

“Y-yes, I think so.”

“Good.” She gave me a little nod as she settled into her chair and rolled it into place. Her head tipped slightly. “Is there a problem?”

“Was there a change in the schedule?” I asked.

“No. The event was booked for seven o’clock.” Marguerite turned her attention back to her computer.

Damn.
“Okay.” I checked my watch for the millionth time. It was ten to seven. We required all girls to arrive an hour before the start of the event so we had time to go over their clothes and makeup, give the new girls a rundown of the rules. “Marguerite, there are no girls.”

She responded, without looking up from her computer, “Yes there is.”

“I’ve been waiting for almost an hour. None of them came. Not Katarina. Not Josephine. None of them.”

“That’s because I called them all and told them not to come.” Pushing out of her chair, she circled her desk as I stood mute trying to figure out what the heck was going on. She approached me with a calm, pleasant expression on her face. Clearly, my news wasn’t earthshaking. Clearly she intended for none of the girls we had initially invited to come. Why?

“I talked to Tevin, Daryl. There’s only one girl he’s interested in seeing tonight.”

Was she going to…did he…?

“He wants to see you.”

He didn’t.

He did.

Oh God, was I in trouble?

Her smile widened. If I was about to be fired, would she be looking at me like that? “Daryl, it’s okay. I could see the sparks between you two at the last mixer. I’m a matchmaker. It’s my job to notice those things.”

Oh God
. “I…okay, yes. Maybe there is a spark between us. You aren’t angry? I can still do my job--”

“Why would I be angry? I didn’t fail. I think I may have found Tevin a match. A great one. He’s a good man. And you’re intelligent. And beautiful. You deserve a good man as much as any of my girls.”

That wasn’t the response I was expecting. Had I been torturing myself this whole time needlessly? Should I have told Marguerite from the start? I pulled in a deep breath and let it out. A weight lifted off my shoulders, and I felt like I could finally breathe. While I suspected Tevin hadn’t told Marguerite about our secret dates, she knew enough now that I didn’t have to totally lie. But after a wave of giddiness washed over me, a wave of fear, of panic followed. If Tevin was no longer beyond my reach, then that meant…that meant…Was I ready for what it meant? Did I want to pursue a relationship with him? “He does seem to be a good man.”

“Trust me, he is.” She gave my shoulder a pat. “Now, let’s get you fixed up for your date. We don’t have a lot of time. And that hair…” She rolled her eyes. “Honey, how many times do you need to be told, you don’t wear your hair in a ponytail for a date?”

We shared a laugh at our inside joke as we headed into the dressing room, where we kept a stash of makeup, clothes, and hair stuff to help the girls with last minute preparations.

In fifteen minutes, I emerged from the dressing room looking completely different. My hair was a mass of bouncy, sexy curls, my makeup was darker and sexier, and I was wearing a knit top and skirt that clung to my curves perfectly. I had never felt so sexy.

Or so conflicted.

Yes, I was attracted to Tevin. Very. And now there was nothing keeping us apart. Or so it seemed. There was just one little issue.

That issue was me. I genuinely didn’t believe I was capable of having a lasting relationship with a man. Not only was there the issue with my parents. Being the daughter of two murderers tended to scare away most men. There was also something wrong with me. Which was why the few relationship I had been in ended so badly. This one, if it got that far, would too. And then what? Would Marguerite find out about my parents? Would she judge me? Would she fire me?

Oh God, was I in a worse position than ever?

When I heard the front doorbell chime, signaling Tevin’s arrival, I turned to my boss, and said, “Thank you for being so understanding.”

“You’re welcome.” She gave me a quick hug—something she’d never done before—then a little push toward the front lobby. “Now go. Have fun. Introduce that man out there to the beautiful, confident, intelligent woman that you are.”

Confident, I was not. Not in the least. “I will.”

Her expression sobered slightly. “Do I need to remind you of the rules?”

“No, of course not.”

She continued anyway, “Only one drink. Keep to public places.”

We’d already broken the second rule.

“No sex on the first date,” she warned.

My cheeks heated. That one, well, technically we  hadn’t broken that one, since our first date had been the trip to Ludington. “No worries.”

“Good. Have fun.”

My heart started pounding again as I clattered down the hallway. I took a deep breath before opening the door leading out to the lobby. The extra oxygen did nothing to help settle the deranged butterflies zooming through my insides.

I pulled open the door.

Tevin was sitting on the couch, one ankle resting on the opposite knee.

He looked relaxed and so incredibly handsome. When our gazes met, a brilliant smile blossomed across his face, touching each feature. He pushed to his feet and started walking toward me as I clicked across the lobby’s polished stone floor.

“You look incredible,” he said, catching my hands in his as soon as I stepped within reach.

“Thanks.” Cheeks sizzling, I gave him a quick head-to-toe perusal. “You look pretty good yourself.” Laughing, even though my insides were a twisted up mess, I said, “I see you remembered our rules. Jacket, button down shirt, dress shoes.”

“I tried.” He motioned toward the door. “Shall we go?”

“Sure.”

He led me outside and into the waiting limo. Recognizing the driver, I gave him a little grin and a “Nice to see you again,” greeting as I ducked into the car. I watched Tevin climb aboard as I settled onto the buttery soft leather seat. He folded his large frame into the seat next to me and draped one arm over the back.

He smelled great. And, even though I was now more anxious than ever, I had to admit it felt good sitting beside him, the heat of his body warming mine. I gave an audible sigh.

“Am I that boring?” Tevin asked, laughter in his voice. He pinched my chin and turned it so I was looking at him.

Our gazes met, and my heart did a triple flip in my chest. I opened my mouth to respond, but he cut me off by slanting his mouth over mine.

My heart jerked. My lungs deflated. Then a surge of heat blazed through my body. I whimpered. I hesitated. And then, when I simply couldn’t fight it any longer, I surrendered. The kiss quickly changed from a soft seduction to a fierce possession. His tongue pushed into my mouth and filled it with his decadent flavor. As a rush of need blazed through my body, I melted against him, my curves pressing into his hard, lean bulk. A sigh slipped up my throat and echoed in our joined mouths when one of his hands cupped my breast. A buzz of electricity snapped and sparked all around us.

Never, not in my entire life, had I felt such overwhelming chemistry with a man. It was magical, and for one moment, I let myself hope it would never fizzle out, that it was real.

By the time the kiss had ended, I was breathless and a little dizzy and disorientated. Snuggling into his embrace, I murmured, “I’m so glad to see you. To be with you tonight.”

“I take it this means you’re not upset with me for talking to Marguerite?”

“No, I’m not upset. A little surprised, maybe. I thought you would pick someone else. Another girl.” I tipped my head back to find that he was looking at me with the oddest expression on his face. A chill swept up my spine. “Tevin, is something wrong?”

“No.”

It was a short word, and yet it felt heavy. “Are you sure?”

“Nothing’s wrong.” He cupped my cheek. “But there’s something we need to talk about.”

Random thoughts popped into my head. None of them made any sense, not after what he’d just done, talking to Marguerite about me. Was he about to give me the this-doesn’t-work-for-me speech? Already? Was he sick? Was he moving? Had he lied about something? “Okay.”

His gaze dropped. He slowly shook his head. “I don’t know how to say this. But I have to. I owe you the truth.”

The truth?

About what?

I swallowed hard.

I was about to be crushed. That had to be it.

The fantasy was over before it had barely begun.