The Billionaire's Assistant (Contemporary BWWM Interracial Romance) (The Billionaire's Proposition Book 1) (10 page)

K
evin wanted
to immediately get to work on dealing with the guy who’d attacked Naomi, but he couldn’t resist the hungry look in her dark brown eyes.

They made their way to her room, and he knew it was probably a good thing he was taking this delightful detour—making love to the woman he adored would calm him down and keep him thinking rationally so he could methodically take down her attacker.

Once he managed to disentangle himself from Naomi’s beautiful, soft body, he got to work putting things in place.

It was easy to find out who the guy was, and from there, what his life had been like and the things he’d done.

He set his private investigator on him, and by the time his P.I. was done with him, Kevin had found out enough about him to ensure he got jail time—at least ten years.

The guy wouldn’t know what hit him, and certainly had no way of finding out who was behind the anonymous tips leading to his next arrest.

But before he got locked away, Kevin arranged to have someone pay him a little visit.

“
I
t’s done
, love—you won’t have to worry about that guy anymore. Don’t ask me for details.”

“Love?” Naomi said, raising an eyebrow at him while she smiled her heart-melting smile, her eyes softening in a way that reduced his insides to a deliciously familiar goo.

Christ, the woman could get him to do anything.

“Yes,
my love
,” he wanted to say.
I love you, Naomi.

But before he could say anything, she was pressing her fabulously curvy body against him, and his dick took over the thought processes from there.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” she said in the seductively needy voice he couldn’t resist as she squeezed their bodies closer, “but it’s like I can’t get enough of you.”

They hurried to her room, and he’d barely closed the door before she’d pulled her clothes off.

He quickly joined her on the bed, then joined his body with hers, his heart bursting with love and need while he sank himself into her soft, warm, wet cavern with hard, deep thrusts again and again.

As he came inside her once more, he finally remembered one very important thing that seemed to keep slipping his mind once his body got entangled with hers—as much as he loved this woman, as much as he wanted any reason to tie to her him, to make her stay in his life somehow, he knew he had to be responsible; he had to put her needs before his.

He was guessing she wasn’t on the pill, being a virgin and all, and instead of being the responsible one, he had lost his complete mind and filled her with his seed over and over.

She hadn’t said anything, and maybe she assumed he was shooting blanks or something, considering how careless he’d been, but he sure as hell hadn’t had a vasectomy, and he was a healthy, virile man as far as he knew, so there was a good chance she was already pregnant, but he had to at least make the gesture.

As soon as he could, he made arrangements for emergency contraception to be delivered.

T
he household had easily adjusted
to Naomi’s reduced assistance, but since he had to spend most of his time in his office today, she insisted on carrying out some of her old duties.

Now that she was currently on a run, Kevin decided he would discreetly drop off the box of contraception in her room—lay it on her pillow or something, and she would know he was looking out for her; she had a choice.

He didn’t want to do it, but he knew it was the right thing to do—he was not a man who believed in taking away a woman’s choice.

But as he stood by her bed, the lingering scent of her playing with his head, he reconsidered.

Why was he doing this again?

Why did he have this need to do right by her in every possible way?

If she got pregnant, he wanted that baby—almost as much as he wanted her.

He was Kevin Davenport, for Christ’s sake—all he had to do was order her to do whatever he wanted, sweeten the deal with money.

Countless women would be more than happy to have his baby—without even being paid directly for it.

All he had to do was say, “Naomi, you could be pregnant, and I want that baby. Upon the birth of my child, you will receive one million dollars a year for the rest of your life.” Or something like that.

Easy, right?

Except he knew Naomi wasn’t that girl.

He didn’t want to order her around and treat her like chattel, like some kind of mindless thing.

He wanted her to give herself to him in every way, willingly and completely.

If Naomi was to stay with him, she had to decide that’s what she wanted to do without the influence of other factors.

He knew he pretty much had her—that she was happy with her job and her living quarters. He knew everything was far more than a step up from what she’d known before, and that she cared for him.

But since she kept turning him down when he proposed taking her up to his bedroom, he had his doubts about how deeply she felt for him.

“I just feel more comfortable down here,” she’d told him once, and he had wondered at her words, the look in her eyes, the multiple possible meanings.

It seemed to be her way of drawing a line in the sand, and that was how he knew she wasn’t ready for him and all he had to offer.

He rested the box on her pillow.

N
aomi said
nothing about the box when she joined him for dinner that night, and he resisted the urge to bring it up. She obviously didn’t want to discuss it in the open with members of the staff so near.

They chatted as they usually did—as if there hadn’t been a small change, as if they weren’t broaching something significant.

“Shall I walk you to your room?” he said in a low voice, his words barely masking his meaning.

Excitement flashed across her eyes, and he looked forward to joining their bodies again, his dick already swelling.

But then she said, “Actually, I’d like to go solo; I have some things I need to catch up on. But tomorrow…” She gave him a meaningful look.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

When she declined his invitation, he immediately thought she’d gotten offended by his gesture and was mad at him, but she clearly just needed a break and a little space to herself.

Not that he blamed her—the two of them had been ravenous over the past few days.

Tomorrow couldn’t come soon enough.

I
t was Sunday
, and they usually met for breakfast, so when fifteen minutes had passed their usual time, Kevin went to check on her.

The same place he’d left the contraception box the day before, he found a note.

Sorry to let you know like this, but I have something to take care of, and I promise I’ll be back as soon as I can. Shouldn’t be more than a few hours.

Various emotions raged in Kevin at once.

He started calling around and found out from the guard she’d left half an hour ago.

He had given her freedom, but she was tempting him to put tabs on her; he couldn’t have her disappearing on him.

He fought to calm himself down.

She didn’t leave you, buddy. She very clearly said she had something to take care of.

But what was it?

Did she not trust the emergency contraception? Was she on the way to have an abortion? All alone? Was she about to get rid of his baby?

His heart thumped wildly in his chest.

You’re going to give yourself a heart attack. Just trust that she’s fine and she had a good reason. She’ll be back soon enough; you’ll get your answers.

But after not getting to spend time with her after dinner the previous night and hurrying the night along with an early bedtime so he could see her in the morning, it was a terrible blow to have the time before he saw her again put off longer.

Had he screwed up again?

He probably should have just told her he loved her.

If he had, maybe she could have finally given in to him completely, and maybe he could have had her in his bed last night and woke up with her in his room this morning.

Maybe she would have tossed the box of contraception and confessed her love for him too.

What the hell was he waiting for?

But now, because he so stupidly dropped that box off without letting her know how he felt, she was probably filled with regret again, maybe even feeling used.

The thought of her out there suffering emotionally tortured him even more.

Take it easy
, he reminded himself again.
Just a few hours
.

“
N
aomi
! You’re back!”

The relief flooding him as he saw Naomi reminded him once again he was completely done for; he was madly, hopelessly in love with her.

She’d said she might be gone for a few hours, but not even an hour had passed and here she was—just when he thought he’d lose it when she wouldn’t answer his texts as he tried to get more specific information out of her.

He’d told his guard to alert him immediately when she arrived.

Naomi smiled at him, but something seemed a bit off about her expression.

She didn’t look as warm as she usually did—her smile didn’t radiate from her core like he’d gotten used to, and again he wondered if he’d offended her by dropping off the EC.

“Where did you go? Why didn’t tell me you were heading out earlier? I was getting so worried about you.”

She shrugged her shoulders a little as she looked away, folding her arms.

Her expression was hard to read, but her body language wasn’t.

So she was pissed with him after all.

He stalked over to her, grabbing her hands in his.

“Look, we should talk about the EC. I’m not forcing you to make any decisions here, I just wanted you to know you had options. I know it might be too late for that particular method, but we’ll talk about it; I’ll go with whatever you want, Naomi. I want to make sure you’re happy.”

She looked up at him, her eyes softening a bit, and she was starting to seem more like the Naomi he knew, but something still seemed a bit off.

Suddenly he realized her style of clothing didn’t seem quite right, and there was something about her energy he couldn’t quite put his finger on.

He started developing a theory and wondered how best to test it.

But before he could say anything, Naomi suddenly started opening her khaki coat, and his eyebrows nearly rose off his face once he saw what she had on underneath it.

Her lovely brown skin was complemented by a ridiculously sexy black teddy, and his brain almost shorted at the sight.

“Why don’t you head upstairs?” he said to her. “You know where. I’ll grab some champagne and meet you up there.”

N
aomi didn’t understand
.

It was one thing to be a bit late because of unfamiliarity with the area—it was quite another to be over an hour late.

Where the hell was her sister?

Alyssa had surprised her with the news that she was unexpectedly coming to town, and they made arrangements to meet up.

Naomi had accommodated all of her requests—even the strange ones—and Alyssa didn’t even have the decency to try to get there on time.

Sorry! Accident on the highway!
was the last text message she’d gotten from her.

That was half an hour ago.

Naomi checked her phone again.

Naomi, I don’t know where you are or why you won’t answer my messages, but I need you to come home right away
, a text from Kevin said, and for some reason, she suddenly had an uneasy feeling.

She’d been ignoring him, not wanting him to guilt her over leaving so suddenly without telling him anything.

She wanted to have a stress-free time finally seeing her sister again in the flesh without any obligation to him hanging over her.

Answer
, Kevin’s next text said, then a call immediately came in from him.

“Naomi, I’m so sorry, but your sister’s here.”

“
W
here is she
?”

Naomi’s emotions were all over the place. But mostly outrage coursed through her.

“I had Jeffrey intercept her and lead her to a room that locks from the outside. She’s sort of trapped in there for now until we decide what to do with her. So what do you want to do with her?”

“I don’t know yet,” she said honestly, pacing back and forth.

She was having an inner battle of epic proportions—one part of her was still dying to see her sister in the flesh, the other part wanted nothing to do with her after such a horrible betrayal.

She eventually stopped her pacing and looked at Kevin.

“How did you know it wasn’t me?”

He seemed to let out a breath.

“Your sister is quite talented, but several things were off. You told me you guys were fraternal twins, so I had no reason to think she wasn’t you since she looked exactly like you. She even smiles like you.”

“Yeah, supposedly the Olsen twins are like that too—fraternal even though they look identical. Happens every now and then—siblings who look pretty much exactly like each other without splitting from the same egg.”

“Well, I wish you’d shared that with me, but still, even if I’d known you had a double, she made a few mistakes with her characterization of you. For example, you have a way of looking unsure, and it almost makes you look meek, which I know you’re not. I mean, you slammed a door in Susan’s face—that tells me all I need to know. But your sister operated from a place of high confidence, and it made her energy different—even though she kind of stayed quiet for the most part, which was a smart choice, but still a bad move. I figure either she thought the less she said, the less likely she’d be to make a verbal mistake, or her memory of you as a quiet kid didn’t quite translate to the adult version she imagined you as. Like, maybe she thought you stayed quiet, which you sort of are, but…” He raised his eyebrows. “…She obviously doesn’t know how…verbose you can get.”

“Well, we mostly sent instant messages, so I guess she didn’t get my speech patterns down.”

“Remarkable makeup job, though—whatever small physical differences you guys might have that set you apart today, she managed to cover them up. You must have shown her lots of pictures.”

Naomi’s shoulder sagged.

“I did way more than that, Kevin; you wouldn’t believe how much I told her. God, I feel so stupid. I mean, I even gave her a mini-video tour from the entrance to my room.”

“Naomi…” His voice was a deep reprimand.

“I know, I know…hence, why my eyes are currently averted. Unlike most of my counterparts, I read before I sign, and I did actually read the whole work contract, so I know videography is forbidden. I just…I was so excited to be here, and then to find her—especially with Jenna no longer a part of my life like before—I was so desperate to talk to someone and share my life that I totally overshared. And it wasn’t just anyone—it was my long lost sister. I never imagined she would use it against me.”

She heard Kevin sigh.

“Had this happened with my ex, I would have been duped easily because one of our issues was that I didn’t pay attention to the little things—and sometimes even the big things—when it came to her. If she’d had a twin, no doubt the woman would have been able to seduce me and I wouldn’t have been none the wiser.

“I guess your sister was banking on me not taking you seriously or being all that attentive to you, and she figured I’d never pick up on subtle differences, but there were subtle ones and there were pretty large ones. For example, she had no problem with the idea of meeting me in my bedroom. But the biggest tip of all—not that I didn’t know what was up already—was her being comfortable standing there in a lacy black teddy.” He shook his head. “Not my Naomi! Now, if she had thrown on a pair of Scooby-Doo pajamas she might have had a shot…”

“Okay, I definitely don’t have a pair of those—that was definitely way before my time…”

“…but flirting in skimpy lingerie? I would have believed it was Pod you before I believed she was you.”

“I’m sorry, ‘pod’ me?”

“You know, the Pod People.”

Naomi shook her head. “Nope.”

“Sheesh. Well, I’ll have to bring you up to speed with some awesome seventies and eighties stuff. Maybe you should read the book, actually—they’re always better than the movies, right? Anyway, your sister probably thought that, as a guy, I’d shove aside common sense and all logic and reason and take an easy offering in front of me anyway, but she made a terrible miscalculation, and now I need you to tell me how you feel so I can proceed with how to deal with her. Any other woman and I would have had her processed like any stalker or crazy intruder person, but this is your sister. Tell me what you want me to do, Naomi.”

Naomi was still amazed by how well Kevin seemed to know her—physically and otherwise. She had no idea he’d noticed so many details, that he knew her so well, that a girl who looked exactly like her had failed to seduce him.

“I can’t believe you registered all these things about me.”

“Of course, I have, Naomi—you’re imprinted on my brain and heart, and probably everywhere else.”

Her own heart leapt at his words.

“I won’t let anyone hurt you—not even your own flesh and blood.”

The words ‘flesh and blood’ twisted at her.

“I just don’t understand—why would she do this?

“Probably wanted to get knocked up so she could hit me up for money,” he said casually.

She stared at him, not knowing what to make of him.

He sounded so serious and matter-of-fact about it. But he wasn’t serious, right?

He shrugged.

“You won’t believe the lengths some women have gone trying to trap me and other men like me. You can’t even leave a condom behind—there are women who’ll find some way to get the ejaculate inside them. Happened to an associate of mine, actually. He’d been with a woman who claimed she was on the pill—of course, we all know better than to trust that. Anyway, he had used a condom and was sure it hadn’t broken, but he remembered that he had simply thrown it away, and figured she got her hands on it, and…you know.”

“Ugh! Gross!”

“And you won’t believe the lengths some guys take to prevent anything like that from happening—doubling up on condoms, only sleeping with sterile women. More extreme actions we don’t talk about. I have a buddy who makes the women sign contracts stating if anything happens, she won’t come after him for money or anything.”

“That can’t be legal.”

“You’d be surprised what’s legal with proper contracts and highly-paid lawyers. Personally, I’m never as careless as I have been with you. It’s a wonder I even let you bring me my coffee—you could have easily drugged it, knocking me out and giving me something to make my dick hard, then ride it while I’m out cold…”

“I would never…!”

He laughed at the outrage no doubt transforming her face.

“I know, sweetheart. Even if I didn’t know for sure in the beginning, I guess I was never afraid of you tying me to you somehow because guess what? Too late. The moment you cussed me out with tears in your eyes, I was done.” He looked away. “To be honest, I actually had to fight myself to not be that guy—the one getting you pregnant with you not having a say. I suddenly understood from the other side—I wanted to keep you, one way or another, do you know what I mean? I wanted all of you but was willing to settle for part of you.” He shook his head. “It took a whole lot for me to let you decide.”

“Wait, so the contraception was totally optional?”

“Yup. So did you…?” He audibly swallowed as he stared at her. “You’ve taken it then?”

It was her turn to look away.

When she saw the box on her pillow, the reality of the possibility of pregnancy set in, and once it did, she couldn’t find it in herself to suppress a possible seed. The idea sort of thrilled her.

“Not yet. I wanted to talk to you about it.”

Kevin’s face lit up tremendously and he said, “I desperately want to keep it. How do you feel?”

“Well, I’m clearly open to other…possibilities.”

“Great, because if it exists, I want this baby, and I want to be with you, Naomi. I…” He closed his eyes briefly. “I love you.”

Everything in her soared, her trapped sister completely forgotten.

“I love you too,” she squeezed out of her closing throat.

He suddenly pulled her to him and grabbed her lips into a passionate kiss.

When he pulled away and she caught her breath again, she said, “Oh, and it was Hello Kitty, by the way.”

She could hear both their hearts pounding.

“Excuse me?” he said, still holding her in his arms and looking utterly confused.

“The pajamas you saw me in the other night? They were Hello Kitty. Don’t judge.”

He made a ridiculing sound, but a grin teased the corner of his mouth.

“I am definitely taking you shopping for some new nightwear. Find out where your sister shops.”

She squeezed him as hard as she could in reproach.

“Speaking of your sister—once again, what would you like me to do with her? Don’t make me choose.”

He waggled his eyebrows at her and she squeezed him again, this time in a hug, her head on his chest.

“
Y
ou’re
way more lenient than me,” he said once everything had settled back down again, and the two of them pretty much had the place to themselves. “Had it been my sibling…”

“She only tried to seduce you. I figure the punishment should fit the crime.”

“And you really think posting pics of her in that teddy is going to show her?”

“Yeah, but she has a record now, doesn’t she? I mean, she’ll have to pay for trespassing, at the very least. Plus, she lost the chance to form a relationship with me.”

“Look who’s suddenly feeling herself.”

Naomi giggled.

Then she sobered up.

“The fact that she was willing to do something like that to me, knowing how I felt about you—she is no family of mine.”

Kevin nodded his agreement.

“Family is most certainly more than a matter of blood.”

Naomi’s mind briefly went back to Jenna.

Then she said, “I’m so glad you didn’t fall for it—I would have been devastated if you had…”

“I know, and I’m glad my eyes were open. You know, whatever you told her of our relationship, she operated as if she was sure I wouldn’t refuse her—like she knew I had a weakness for you.”

“Well, I didn’t exactly say that outright since I couldn’t be sure, but I guess she put it together from what I told her about you. About us.”

“Then she is a very smart girl, not unlike you.”