The Billionaire's Baby Bargain (A is for Alpha) (2 page)

He smoothed a thumb down the softness of her cheek, then shocked himself by making the request anyway. “Join me for a drink later tonight in my room.”
 

“In your room?” she repeated. The haze of arousal slowly faded from her stare, like a wave retreating back to the sea. Instead her expression turned wary, and she gave a slow shake of her head. “I-I can’t. I’m sorry.”

Her cheeks filled with color and she glanced beyond his shoulder to look at some point down the beach.
 

A moment ago she’d been melting in his arms, and now she appeared eager to be far away from him.

“Why is that, Chloe?”
 

Her breathing hitched; she lifted her chin and swung a defiant look back to him. “I don’t owe you an explanation of why I’m choosing not to go to your room. Now if you would please release me.”

She’d dismissed him. Quite curtly. Andrés’s gave a tight smile, and he found himself torn between amusement and dismay. “After that kiss,
cariño
, I think you at least owe me a reason.”

The color in her cheeks heightened. “Excuse me? I don’t recall actually asking you to kiss me.”
 

He offered a small smile. “Though you may not have used words, you most certainly asked.” He let his fingers trace the skin of her lower back, just above her sarong. So delicate. So alluring. “I know when a woman desires me.”

Her mouth fell open and her eyes flashed with anger now. “Well, guess what? I know when a man is far too arrogant for his own good.”
 

Her body trembled with indignation beneath his fingers. He was surprised to find himself enjoying her frustration as she struggled to deny the attraction between them.
 

“Come to my room tonight,” he cajoled. “I promise you will not regret it.”
 

She made a noise of exasperation. “Do you ever get told no?”

He gave a slight shrug and replied matter-of-factly, “I do, but generally in the context of no, don’t stop.”

Her lips twitched, and he thought for a moment perhaps she might be fighting amusement.

“Chloe,” a male voice called out from down the beach. “Are you coming with us or not?”

Andrés stilled when she winced. Had she declined because she was with someone else? His nostrils flared when he realized the kick in his gut was something akin to jealousy.

No. That couldn’t be right. He set the thoughts of jealousy—of
 
her being already spoken for—quickly aside. Chloe would not have succumbed so easily to his kiss if she had belonged to another man.
 

“I…I really must go,” she stammered and lowered her gaze. “I’m sorry.”

Chloe pulled away from his embrace with more force this time, determined to be free from whatever sensual spell he had cast over her. She turned and fled down the path to join her friends, her heart still pounding frantically in her chest.
 

Pressing a hand to her warm cheek, she shook her head, completely overwhelmed and befuddled with what had just transpired.
 

How had she completely lost herself in that man’s embrace? That man? Good heavens, she didn’t even know his name.
 

Of course she’d been kissed by men in the past, but never had she experienced such a hot urgency from a kiss. Or the staggering vortex of pleasure that threatened to drag all thoughts of reason from her mind.
 

Come to my room. Those four little words still rang in her ears, keeping her pulse racing and spreading heat low in her belly.
 

Casual sex. That’s all he’d been offering. And despite her irritation at his shameless suggestion, she’d been tempted to do something completely out of character and take him up on it.
 

How many nights prior to flying out from Seattle had she envisioned the perfect summer with her dream lover? Finding something similar to what she’d read about in the diary? Of course she’d known it was silly, and so very unlikely that she’d ever find the equivalent to what they’d had.
 

But it hadn’t stopped her from secretly dreaming. And in her fantasies she would bury her head on her lover’s shoulder while riding through the streets of Spain on his motorcycle. Sip sangrias while watching the sunset together. Be serenaded by him while he played the Spanish guitar.

She’d never expected him. This arrogant stranger on a moonlit beach, wooing her with a kiss and then expecting her to hop into his bed.

It wasn’t as if other Spanish men hadn’t tried to seduce her. If there was one thing she’d learned about the men here, it was that they loved to flirt. At first it’d been rather charming, but over the weeks, the novelty had faded. And none of the men had ever made her pulse race or her knees weaken with a look.

Until tonight.

At the return of the butterflies in her stomach, she pushed aside any silly romantic ideals. Yes, tonight, you fool. Under a palm tree with a guest who’d likely drunk too much and decided to kiss the first woman who came across his path.

She stumbled in the sand. Really, what kind of overly confident, self-entitled man just hauled off and kissed a woman? Then assumed she’d jump at the opportunity to go up to his room?

One who rarely gets told no. And he’d admitted it so matter-of-factly. Dangerous. Oh, yes, the man on the path was wickedly dangerous. And wickedly handsome.

A hot shiver raced through her blood. She remembered the feel of his hands on her arms. His breath mingling with hers just before he’d kissed her—

She needed to stop thinking about it. There was no time for a romance anyway. Most of her time this summer had been spent working like a dog.

She spotted her group of friends up ahead and waved in greeting, shoving aside the thought of random moonlit kisses by sexy Spanish men.

From the twentieth floor of his hotel, Andrés stared out the window of his lush office down at the sprawling beach below. He told himself he wasn’t searching for her, but still he watched the shadows for the silhouette of the curvy blonde who’d amazingly turned him down.
 

He leaned back in the leather office chair, twirling a pen between his fingers while he stared outside. What was it about Chloe that made him want her so swiftly? So intensely? Could it be so simple as her rejection? But no, he’d wanted her prior to that unfortunate occurrence.

Chloe had fled as if he were the big bad wolf, about to devour her. Though perhaps the girl was smart, because his intentions were indeed something along those lines.
 

His mouth twitched. He turned his chair and focused his attention on the file in front of him once more. The figures showed the net profits for Diablo’s Paraíso had increased by nearly twenty-five percent in the last six months, and his Valencia resort was quickly becoming one of the most popular of his European locations.

Apparently his decision to hire Estella Martinez had been a wise one. The divorcee was as astute as she was beautiful. Though it was for her qualifications, not her looks, that he’d hired her…even if he sensed the woman might want more than just a business relationship between them. Fortunately, there was no attraction on his part, and even if there were, he would not be so unintelligent as to act on it.
 

Andrés closed the file and stared out the window once more, restlessness prickling under his skin. It was getting late in the evening, and the beach was less crowded than it had been a couple of hours ago.

 
Once again his mind slipped to Chloe. The softness of her mouth beneath his and the seductively feminine response she’d had while in his arms.

“
Basta
.” He shook his head and stood up from his chair. No woman deserved to occupy this many of his thoughts.
 

A cold shower would rid her from his mind. Or no, perhaps a vigorous swim in the Mediterranean. It was always a failsafe to eradicate unwanted stress.

With a growing determination, he set off to the penthouse to change.

Chloe squeezed a bit more ocean water from her hair as she walked back to the resort on the moonlit beach. She inhaled the salty air and shivered, the gentle breeze caressing her damp skin.

Her friends had protested her leaving so soon, but she’d explained having to wake up early to be at work in the morning. To which they’d bemoaned what a tyrant Estella Martinez was. They were always quick to point out how the resort used to be a wonderful place to work until she took over managing it. And from everything Chloe had seen about the woman, she could well believe it.

Smothering a yawn, Chloe winced at the thought of another long day tomorrow.
 

The swim had been invigorating after her long shift, but she’d skipped the alcohol the rest of the group had been indulging in. She rarely drank, and Chloe knew if she’d taken a sip of the sangria she’d just grow more tired. And her mind was still fuzzy from that sensual moment earlier with the handsome stranger.

Who was he? She bit her lip, trying not to think about the kiss and just how much it had stirred her.

She was nearly back to the path to the hotel when she realized someone seemed really close behind her. She cast a quick glance over her shoulder to investigate and her pulse jumped.

A man. Mostly in shadow. Biting her lip, she tried to increase her pace.

The hotel was closer now and was within view of the path up ahead. Chloe gathered the length of her sarong and started to run. Footsteps rushed behind her and she knew she was in trouble. Her heart slammed against her ribcage when a hand grabbed her arm; his painful grip spun her around.
 

“What’s your hurry, baby?” he asked, his voice slurred.

Chloe recognized the man immediately. He was one of the guests at the resort, an American. Oh, no. No, no, no.

“Let go of me,” she said forcefully, hoping her panic didn’t show through.
 

That policy Estella Martinez had instilled at the Diablo’s Paraíso resort, or the Devil’s Paradise, was catching up with her in a big, nasty way.

“I thought we could pick up where we left off this afternoon, when you were serving me drinks.” He pressed himself closer to her and the alcohol fumes from his breath nearly burned her nostrils. “Damn, but you’re a pretty one. You’re an American, too, aren’t you honey?”
 

She tried to jerk away, fear in her gut, but it was impossible.
 

Flirt with the guests. Make them feel important. Do whatever it takes to ensure they are satisfied, Estella had ordered. Flirting didn’t come naturally to Chloe, but she managed to force herself. And until now it had never posed a threat to her safety.

Her throat went tight with fear, her heart pounding a mile a minute. “Please, let me go. I’m not interested,” she protested, trying to free herself from his grip, searching around for someone on the beach who could help.
 

“You sure seemed interested this afternoon, baby.” He grinned and then grabbed her bottom.

“Stop it.” Panic hit full force and her voice rose.

She managed to pull free enough to stumble backward. Her relief was short-lived when her foot caught in her sarong and she went sprawling onto the sand. The man was on top of her in an instant, lips burying against her neck, hands tearing at her bikini top.

Chloe screamed full force, terror clogging the air in her throat while she fought to free herself. But she was no match for his drunken dead weight.
 

The weight of the man suddenly lifted, the smell of sweat and alcohol removed from her nostrils, and she sucked in a desperately needed breath.

She scurried backward in the sand, fearful he would grab her again, but then she looked up and gave a sob of relief.

Chapter 2

Andrés let out a snarl of rage as he gripped the American’s shirt, lifting the man off the ground. He drew back his fist and smashed it into the man’s face. His snapped back and he gave a groan of pain.
 

“Leave before I kill you,” he muttered savagely, thrusting him to the ground.

The man stumbled to his feet, gripping his jaw, but fearfully ran in the opposite direction.
 

Andrés turned to find Chloe, his throat tight with fury and regret. She cowered just yards away, arms wrapped around her legs and her head lowered on top of her knees.

“You are safe now,
cariño
.” He knelt down beside her and lifted her chin. Her eyes brimmed with tears of shock and fear. Muttering a soft curse, he scooped her up into his arms.

“Please,” she whispered, shaking her head. “I’m fine. I can walk back myself.”

“
Basta
. Enough,” he said fiercely and lifted her petite frame higher against his chest.
 

He managed to grab her backpack before carrying her toward the resort.
 

Still, her body trembled and tears spilled down her cheeks. She’d been lucky he’d been swimming nearby and had heard her screams. To think of what could have happened… When he’d seen Chloe pinned beneath the bastard, heard her cry of terror, he’d snapped. Never before had he experienced such rage, nor had he wanted to snap a man’s neck more than in that moment.