Resisting the Billionaire Collection (7 page)

"Don't worry about him, he likes them cold.
All he has to do is take off the plastic wrap. Didn't the big lug
tell you that?"

She shook her head and then followed along,
drawn in tow by his powerful masculinity. She was exhilarated and
nervous at the same time. She felt like she wouldn't ever be able
to say no to anything this man asked of her. However, he was still
her boss, they had a professional relationship, and she had learned
her lesson the hard way with Mitch. When that train wreck had
fallen apart, she swore it would never happen again and she was
going to stick to her guns this time.

Who am I kidding anyway? The guy is a
billionaire. All he'll want from me is one night and then I'll
never see him again.

When they got to the bedroom, she could see
that he had made himself at home. His things were everywhere. It
looked very personal; far more private than she should have been
allowed to see. After all, she had only met him a couple of hours
ago.

"I need your help making sense of my
schedule for the next day or two -- if that's okay with you of
course. Margaret always does that, too."

"I'm not a personal assistant," she said,
"but I'll do my very best."

"I'm sure you'll do just fine." He said
without any trace of doubt. "My little brother has dropped you into
the hot seat, so don't worry. I'll expect a learning curve. Anyway,
there's only a day or two of business and then it's all fun after
that. You know how to have fun, don't you?"

"Actually, I haven't really had time for
much fun lately, so I may be out of practice."

He looked concerned.

"Is that so?" He said, and took a step
closer to her. "Well, we'll have to see about that. A beautiful
young woman like you? That is just a tragedy. We'll have to make
sure this is a trip to remember, okay?"

"It's okay. I'm happy just to see the
island. I know I'm here just as your employee, so really there's no
need to worry on my account."

"Oh yes, that's right. And colleagues
shouldn't ever have fun together, right? I think I saw that in a HR
manual somewhere." He gave her a mischievous grin. He was
irresistible. If he said the word, she wasn't sure if she would be
able to stay strong. But she would be the one to get burned, not
him.

"Anyway, you won't be working around the
clock, Melanie. Everyone is entitled to some downtime. Sebastian
and I aren't slave drivers, you know and the island is like a
second home to us, so we'd love to show you around Tahiti.

Oh great 'we'. Psycho brother Sebastian as
well.

"So if you could just get a handle on my
itinerary, that would be a huge help. Everything you need to know
is in there. Any questions, just let me know, okay?"

She nodded. What else could she do?

Alex left the bedroom for the spacious
en-suite bathroom and she set to familiarizing herself with his
agenda. She had worked only a few minutes when she heard
Sebastian's voice again.

"Hey," he was shouting from the dining area.
"I need those tails for God's sake!"

What a king-sized asshole.

She jumped up and headed back out to the
kitchen area.

"I'm sorry Mr. Drummond. Your brother called
me away. How would you like your meal served?"

"Cold. On a plate. In the cockpit." He
turned and left her.

Double asshole.

She dished the tails out onto a plate and
set it on a tray to bring to the cockpit. When she got there, he
was hunched over the controls.

"Here's your meal, Mr. Drummond."

"You don't have to call me that." He said
abruptly, to the point of being rude.

"It's okay, Mr. Drummond."

"Don't call me that." He said louder. "If
you can call my brother by his first name, then you can call me by
mine, okay?"

"Whatever you prefer, uh..."

"Sebastian. It's Sebastian."

“Okay, Sebastian."

"Just leave it there."

Melanie couldn't believe the contrast
between the two brothers. In every other way, they were identical
-- remarkable even. To meet one man with such good looks was
amazing in itself; to be alone with two of them was almost
surreal.

Stop it, Melanie. Don't be crazy.

This wasn't her thing. Not at all. Spoiled
rich guys? No way. They were identical in every hot, beautiful,
sexy way, down to the rippling muscles in their thighs and butt
cheeks swelling under their tailor-made suits. Then there was the
difference in personality, which seemed to be the only way to tell
them apart. That, and whatever they happened to be wearing at any
given moment.

She left Sebastian behind to brood and sulk
and returned to the master bedroom to see if there was anything
else that Alex wanted. She found it empty, so she knocked on the
bathroom door. There was no answer, so she went inside.

All of his things were there: his expensive
aftershave, leather-bound shaving equipment, and monographed
handkerchiefs. He hadn't lied when he had offered her one. He
obviously had a fresh supply every day. He was every inch the
successful businessman born from wealth and privilege.

She began to tidy things up and put
everything in order. Sure, he hadn't asked her to, but it was a job
she was happy to perform. The feel of his possessions was luxurious
even to the touch. Where quality wasn't evident to the eye, it was
clear to her sensitive fingertips and palms.

"Hi there."

The voice was deep, commanding, and soft. It
must be Alex.

She turned and saw that he had gotten
dressed, abandoning his business suit for jeans and a sweatshirt.
Even casual looked rich on him. She felt like a schoolgirl with a
crush again as her eyes lingered for a microsecond on his strong
torso before coming to his face.

"Hi." She managed to say.

"You didn't have to do any of this," He
said. "But I sure do appreciate it."

"It's okay." She said. "I really didn't
mind."

"By the way, I should warn you that the ride
is set to get a little rocky."

Just as he said that, the plane lurched and
she slammed against his hard body. They fell to the floor and she
landed solidly on top of him.

She could feel his lips against her ear and
her thighs instinctively squeezing around his thick, muscular leg,
her own thigh pressing in between his. It was entirely accidental.
Her breasts squeezed against his strong chest and molded themselves
to his chiseled form.

She couldn't tell if the plane was still
rocking or if it was just her.

"My God! Alex... I'm so sorry--"

He didn't say a word but just rolled the two
of them over, his hot breath coming down on her as his body
strained to lift her against the rocking and bucking of the
plane.

She was an experienced flight attendant so
it would take a lot of turbulence to make her nervous. This was
significant but nothing she hadn't experienced in the past.
Nevertheless, she couldn't help but feel safe in the powerfully
strong arms of Alex. His biceps bulged under his sweatshirt and
pressed against her back and knees. He staggered to the bed,
flopped her down like a rag doll, and then lay next to her, placing
one large, tanned hand onto her abdomen to steady her.

"Better if we stay here to ride this one
out." He said.

The plane continued to jump and shake in the
invisible blue-sky turbulence. His hand was low on her abdomen to
keep her in place and all she could think of was the rush of blood
coming to her hips and thighs. His hand was so low down, almost to
her pubic mound, firmly pressing into the soft flesh below, his
other arm was around her shoulders, cradling her, his powerful legs
spread out to keep him steady on the bed. Her own right hand, she
realized, was resting on his inner thigh because there was nowhere
else for it to go without inadvertently caressing him intimately.
She left it there, resting lightly and trying to stay as still as
possible.

She was so close to him.

Only hours ago, she had been doing
everything she could to avoid him, and now they were lying on a bed
together.

The turbulence flattened out but they stayed
where they were.

"How good a pilot is your brother?" She
asked.

He smiled. "Not as good as me, but still
really good. I trust him completely."

Their faces were just inches apart. His
strong clean, masculine scent filled her senses and the warm
sensations passing through her abdomen and into her breasts just
wouldn't quit.

Was something going to happen here? This was
ridiculous. She didn't want to be a rich man's plaything. Fucked in
the master bedroom for a little tension relief on his annual
vacation and then reassigned back on the LA to Columbus route,
never to be heard of again once the fling was over.

She pushed herself away from him.

"Alex..." She said.

He held onto her tightly.

"Where are you going?" He said softly.

"Alex--"

"This turbulence isn't done yet. We need to
stay here and ride this one out together." He was staring deeply
into her eyes, just inches away from her, his hand still pressed
firmly to her lower abdomen, and hers still resting on his inner
thigh.

"Alex, is there something going on
here?"

"I don't know." He said. "You tell me."

She couldn't answer. She was confused. Maybe
she did want to be a rich man's plaything after all. Just for one
night. Maybe it would be an experience, like climbing Mount
Kilimanjaro or trekking through the Himalayas. Take a few pictures,
write a letter home, and then tell the grandchildren about it one
day.

She pushed herself away more firmly,
extricating herself from his arms.

"Alex, I really can't do this. I'm sorry.
I've been hurt before."

He sat up quickly, a furious look in his
eye.

"Who? Who was it?"

"It's okay Alex, I don't mean like that. I
just mean that I've gotten involved with someone I worked with
before and it didn't turn out well."

"Someone at Drummond?" He sounded intense
now, as though he would throttle whoever it was who dared to come
near her. She couldn’t possibly say it was about Mitch. As much as
she despised her manager, she didn't want Alex to fire him. She
knew it was absolutely against company policy for romantic liaisons
to take place between employees at unequal levels of seniority.
Mitch would be fired immediately and that was still a step beyond
what she was willing to do.

"Don't you work for Drummond Corporation,
too?" She said.

"Damn it." He said. "Yes I do. But that can
be fixed. I can resign."

Was she hearing right? Why would he have to
resign? He owned the company. He could do whatever he wanted.

"Alex, we don't even know each other. I
don't know you at all. "

"What is there to know?" He sounded urgent.
The two of them were still sitting on the bed together; he put his
big hands to her shoulders and turned her to face towards him.
Melanie felt like warm putty in his hands and she wanted him now
and desperately wanted him to just take her, so that she wouldn't
have to take responsibility for the consequences.

"Why does life have to be so damn
complicated? Aren't we just a man and a woman? Just two people like
any other who--"

"Know absolutely nothing about each other."
She interrupted.

"That's not true." He insisted. "You're
Melanie Hutchinson. You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen.
You care deeply about people. You're a loyal person, a good person
and all you want to do is be happy and to do the right thing."

"That's everybody Alex, not just me."

She protested with words but her body was
crying out to accept his extreme emotions. She felt it now in her
underwear, the heat rising inside her loins, her thighs becoming
warmer as his desperate gaze hungrily enveloped her, his dark brown
hair still tousled from the fall to the floor.

She felt herself grow moist as he urged her
to accept the depth of his feeling for her.

"I'm sorry." She said. "So sorry. I've just
got to get to know you first. This whole thing is crazy. It’s
wonderful, but still crazy."

He got off the bed and stood up in front of
her, the well-defined muscles of his butt and thighs rippling as he
did so. He took off his sweatshirt and she could see his powerful
chest and arms under his t-shirt.

"What's to know?" He repeated. "Look at me!
I'm just a guy. Sure, I'm a billionaire, a golden boy rich kid, but
God damn it, I'm just a guy underneath it all. I'm so sick of
people not being able to see past all this bullshit and just take
me for who I am."

Melanie didn't know what to say. She had
been guilty of exactly the same thing. As soon as she had found out
who he was, all she could think of was his wealth, status, and
privilege. He held the power over her and everyone that she
considered a friend at Drummond Airlines.

"I'm not better than anyone else." She said.
"The truth is that I wouldn't even be here if it weren’t for the
money."

"You mean if it wasn't for your mother.
Because that's what you want it for, right?"

She nodded her head. It was true. She would
never have been railroaded into personally serving some rich guy
who was trying to date her just for money. However, the chance to
help her mother had overridden everything.

"Is that how you magically came up with that
number?"

"What number?"

"Twelve thousand dollars for ten days of
work?"

"You're worth every penny of it Melanie.
It's money you're earning -- not charity or a bribe."

"You could have chosen any one of a hundred
or more flight attendants but you chose me for the job. What is
that if it isn't charity?"

"Melanie, you just don't get it, do
you?"

He got down on one knee, his muscles bulging
and rippling. He was very close to her again.