Billionaire Undaunted: The Billionaire's Obsession ~ Zane (10 page)

Ellie swallowed hard, confused by his rejection which was then followed with him asking her to go with him to Denver. “Of course. I’m your assistant.”

“I’m not asking you as an employee to accompany me to the ball,” he said ominously. “I’m asking you to be my date. Will you go?”

Her heart lifted, but she still didn’t know what to make of Zane’s behavior. It was dark, and she couldn’t see his expression. “Yes,” she answered softly. “I’d love to go. I’ve never been to a ball.”

Maybe that made her sound pathetic, but it was the truth. Chloe’s mom had hosted events at her resort, and Ellie was always invited, but she’d never attended.

“Good. At least I’ll be your first for something,” he answered in a satisfied tone before he turned and headed toward his own bedroom.

Ellie sighed. He could have been her first lover; he hadn’t wanted that. But he was happy about having her going with him on a party date?

Shaking her head in the dark, she wondered if she’d ever understand exactly how Zane’s mind worked. He was a genius, but he was also a man. Did regular men think the way that Zane did?

Somehow, she found it highly unlikely. After listening to years of Chloe talking about her brothers, Ellie knew that Zane was probably unique. Ellie knew she’d never met anyone like him.

As her eyes fluttered closed, she smiled. Somehow, it pleased her more that he’d offered to take her out on a real date than it would have if he’d taken her to bed. Somehow, that was significant, but she was so tired that she fell asleep still wondering exactly what Zane was thinking.

E
llie couldn’t remember a time when she’d felt more out of place.

However, she wasn’t about to let her nerves spoil her fantasy evening with the most handsome guy at the ball.

She’d had exactly one day to get ready for Zane’s charity fundraiser once they’d arrived at his Denver home. Luckily, she didn’t find as much organizing that she’d need to do at his place in the city, but there were still piles of paperwork everywhere that needed to be filed and put away.

The Denver mansion was gorgeous. Not that she’d expected it
not
to be, but it wowed her just the same. Unlike his home in Rocky Springs, the bedrooms were all upstairs, making the downstairs living space enormous. Honestly, she wasn’t sure she’d even seen every room in the house yet. They’d arrived last night, and she’d been busy most of the day.

Earlier, she’d treated herself to a makeover, getting her hair put up in an elegant style, the short locks almost refusing to be tamed into a sophisticated style. Her makeup had been done by a professional, and she’d chosen a simple cocktail dress in black, a garment that was pricey enough to make her squirm. But she’d bought it anyway, after hanging it back on the department store rack several times because she wasn’t sure if she could justify spending that kind of money on a dress. After the dress, she’d needed accessories. All in all, she’d spent more money today than she had in several years in Rocky Springs.

But somehow, she couldn’t regret it.

As she’d stood in front of the mirror earlier, Ellie had done a full assessment of herself, and not just the physical body in the reflection. Yeah, she had admitted that she looked nice, but mostly she recognized that she was changing the way she looked at herself. She felt stronger, freer than she’d ever been. Maybe it was her harrowing experience she’d been through, but she had an inkling that Zane was beginning to make her see herself in a whole new way. He liked her. He cared about her. He pointed out things that he really admired or liked about her, and she’d started to take notice of things about herself that she’d never even considered.

She was getting stronger.

She was learning to handle her fears.

She wasn’t letting what happened to her shape her life.

She liked what she was doing, and she liked…herself.

Ellie sighed and swiped another glass of champagne from a passing waiter as she made her way back from the restroom, eager to find Zane. She had the most handsome, most intelligent date at the ball, and she wasn’t about to let him hang out alone, waiting for her.

He’d made it very clear that she
was
his date, and he’d treated her like a princess. Zane didn’t miss the opportunity to tell her how beautiful she looked, and he’d given her a beautiful bouquet of flowers before they left the house because he knew how much she loved them.

Dinner had been amazing. Zane had taken her to a fancy steakhouse, and the food was so good she had a difficult time not moaning with pleasure as she consumed way more than she should have, including the rich dessert.

When they’d arrived in the beautiful ballroom, she had to admit that she’d been intimidated by the blatant wealth all around her, but she’d had Zane there to remind her all of them might be rich, but they were still human, just like anyone else. It had made her relax a little, but everything around her was so perfect and such a stark contrast to her old life that she couldn’t help but feel nervous.

Trying to make herself taller by standing on her tiptoes, she scanned the elegant, crowded ballroom for her handsome date. It was pretty difficult to recognize him easily since every man was here in a tuxedo, including Zane.

God, he’d been breathtaking when he’d wandered into the kitchen earlier in the day, perfectly groomed and impeccably put together in his black tux. His face was freshly shaven, his hair still damp from the shower, but he’d looked delicious. Ellie had wondered for a moment if she needed to wipe the drool from her mouth.

She had just finished chugging down her second glass of champagne when she spotted Zane. He was talking to some curvaceous redhead, and he looked uncomfortable. Not that anyone else would notice, but Ellie could see the subtle signs.

Wriggling her way through the crowd, she made her way across the room, hesitating because she didn’t want to interrupt him. But when she saw the redheaded female put her finger on Zane’s face, tracing the line of his rugged jaw, Ellie saw red, and she was certain he wasn’t discussing business.

He’s my date, dammit. I feel like Cinderella, and I’m not missing my time at the ball.

Dodging all of the handsomely dressed couples as she steadily made her way to Zane, it wasn’t difficult to discern that he wasn’t responding at all to the pushy redhead’s advances.

Ellie smiled as he grasped the woman’s wrist and pulled it from his jaw, his expression stoic as he spoke to her.

Stopping abruptly as she neared the couple, Ellie was momentarily surprised to see that the woman was young, and drop-dead gorgeous.

And Zane was obviously completely and totally…uninterested.

Striding forward, she took her place next to Zane and put her arm on his muscular bicep. “I’m so sorry,” she told him with a bright smile that she hoped didn’t look as fake as it felt. “The restrooms were busy.”

She’d felt him tense beneath her fingers for a brief moment before he realized who was touching him, and then he relaxed as he finally turned his head to look at her. “You’re worth the wait,” Zane answered smoothly, wrapping a strong arm around her waist.

“Who is this?” the woman who had been fondling Zane asked haughtily.

“My date,” Zane answered simply, not even bothering to introduce the two of them.

Ellie spoke up and extended her hand to the gorgeous woman in front of her, refusing to let the female know that she was intimidated. But honestly, she was a little daunted by the flame-haired beauty. “I’m Ellie Winters,” she introduced herself simply.

Ignoring Ellie’s outstretched hand, the woman glared up at Zane. “You didn’t tell me you had a girlfriend,” she hissed.

He shrugged and reached for Ellie’s outstretched hand and entwined her fingers with his and brought them to his side. “Why would I?” he answered dismissively.

Ellie suddenly saw the woman’s expression change from seductive to pouty anger. “I’ve been trying to get your attention for almost a year, and you pick somebody like
her
over
me
?”

The muscle in Zane’s jaw began to twitch, a subtle sign that he was pissed. Ellie had become a master at reading Zane’s body language over the last few months since he didn’t always express what was on his mind. He might get irritated, but he never lost complete control.

He took a deep breath before he spoke. “I had hoped you’d get the message that I wasn’t interested, Elena. Or maybe it’s the fact that you’re fucking your boss and he appears to care about you that turned me off. Frankly, though, the reasons are irrelevant. You just don’t do it for me.”

Ellie couldn’t help it. She gaped at Zane for an instant before she schooled her expression back to normal. Zane’s comment had been spoken in a glacial tone she’d never heard before. As usual, he was blunt, never bothering to explain more than he felt he needed to, but she’d never heard him quite so cold.

Elena? A beautiful name and gorgeous woman who obviously had the heart of a reptile.

The tension in the air was electric as Elena slowly assessed Ellie carefully, and obviously found her lacking. “Do you really think you can compete with me?” Elena huffed.

Ellie forced herself to give the woman a brief, dismissive glance before answering, “There’s no competition necessary,” she said in a falsely pleasant tone. “I already won.” She put a gentle hand on Zane’s jaw, and then planted a gentle kiss to the side of his mouth.

Caught off-guard when Zane turned the soft embrace into a possessive kiss, Ellie quickly gripped his shoulders to keep from stumbling in her heels.

Right there, in the middle of a fancy fundraising ball, Zane Colter claimed her, his kiss long and lingering, leaving no doubt that Ellie was exactly what he wanted.

For a moment, her eyes fluttered closed and she let herself drown in the sensual feel of his lips sliding over hers with a pulse of possessive, sultry energy she’d never experienced before.

It wasn’t long, and it wasn’t entirely sexual, even though it was meant to arouse.

The embrace was more like a covetous demand, and Ellie’s heart was skittering, even as he slowly released her mouth.

His gaze clashed with hers, his gray eyes tumultuous and greedy. Her body responded, a deep-seated need for Zane to touch her so acute that she could barely suck in a deep breath.

Finally, Ellie pulled her gaze away, no longer able to see what she knew was reflected in her own hungry stare. “She’s gone,” she murmured as she stepped back from him.

“I don’t care,” Zane answered huskily. “Dance with me,” he ordered, grasping her hand again and tugging her toward the ballroom floor.

He sheltered her as he plowed his larger body through the crowd, making her a path so she didn’t have to dodge around people to follow him. She was breathless by the time she tripped onto the dance floor, tumbling straight into Zane’s arms.

“I’m not a very good dancer,” she confessed.

“I am. Just follow me,” Zane replied as his arms tightened around her and he began moving expertly to the slow melody the orchestra was playing. “Relax,” he urged, rubbing one hand gently down her back.

As she began to match his movements automatically, Ellie felt her body melt against him, and she gently laid her head against his shoulder. It became obvious very quickly that he could competently move around the other dancers. “How is it that you dance so well?”

“I’m a Colter. My mom has been involved in charity events as long as I can remember. She taught every one of us when we were young. Most of us try to be at her events out of respect for what she does.” He paused for a moment before he added, “Except for her billionaire auctions. Almost all of us managed to bail out of that one.”

Ellie laughed softly, loving the feel of his deep voice vibrating against her. “She auctions billionaires?” She had to have misunderstood.

“Yes. If she thinks it will help get her causes out to the general public.”

“Tell me.” Ellie was curious and wanted to hear the whole story of Aileen’s event.

Zane relented, his tone disgusted. “One year, she decided to put billionaires from around the country on the auction block. One night only. One date only. It raised a fortune and got a lot of attention, so now she’s trying to do it again.”

“Did any of the Colter brothers attend?” Ellie questioned, noticing he hadn’t said all of them had gotten out of the event.

“Only Tate. He was still single at the time. The poor bastard. Luckily, he ended up with a winning female who was around eighty years old and just really wanted to talk about her grandkids all night. But he would have been okay with anybody. That’s Tate. You know he was always able to charm any female, even in high school.”

Zane’s voice was thoughtful, so Ellie asked, “Do you think you couldn’t have done just as well?” Women were obviously falling all over Zane, albeit not for the right reasons. But somehow she had a suspicion that he didn’t feel like he measured up to his brothers.

“I’m a nerd scientist, Ellie. I’m just…different. You know I don’t do small talk well, and all of my siblings can charm the hell out of anybody at any kind of party or event. Chloe might not like going to them, but she can play the perfect hostess when she has to.”

Leaning back, Ellie looked at the accepting look on Zane’s face, and it made her heart swell. “You don’t have to be anybody else,” she said fiercely. “You’re not that nerdy kid anymore, not that there was ever anything wrong with that. You’ve grown up and matured into the hottest guy I’ve ever seen. So what if you don’t want to talk about the weather unless it’s out of the ordinary? Small talk is boring, and you have more important things to discuss.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You think I’m hot?”

Zane was teasing, but Ellie was fairly certain there was still a small doubt in his mind about his personal value when compared to his brothers.

Ellie tightened her arms around his neck, the effects of the champagne she’d guzzled making her feel a little bit less inhibited. “I find intelligent men incredibly sexy. You have gorgeous eyes, a hot body, and a mind I admire. You’re tenacious, and you’re the only person who was still searching for me when everybody else thought I was dead. You’re my hero. I would say that puts you pretty high on the fuckable scale for reasons that have nothing to do with your money.”

He pressed his mouth against her ear. “I’m not your hero. I’m just a man.”

Ellie shivered as his warm breath wafted across her ear, his husky voice making her core clench so hard she missed a step. Zane guided her to a quick recovery before she answered, “An amazing man.”

“I don’t want you to want me just because I saved your life,” he rasped.

Surprised, she replied adamantly. “I don’t. I never did. I’ve always cared about you, way before you saved my life.”