The Billionaire's Terms: Prison Or Passion (14 page)

She hated being insecure about how much of his money she’d spent. He was the one who had sent her to the expensive store. So if he didn’t like it, he could just rot, she told herself and swung around to head out of the bedroom.

As soon as she walked down the stone stairway, she heard the laughter. Apparently, she was the last one to change and come downstairs.

“Good evening,” Adam called, walking over to her as soon as she appeared. He took her hand and led her into the room, pouring her a glass of something yellow that was in a pitcher on the bar. “I hope you like it,” he said, handing her the liquid in an interesting martini type of glass. “Rosa discovered the drink in a romance novel a few weeks ago and has been eager to try it out on her guinea pigs,” he explained.

Alicia eyed the liquid suspiciously. “In a romance novel?” she asked, wary immediately.

“Of course,” Eleanor said, raising her glass to clink the edge of Alicia’s gently. “Something about Brazil and lemons. I wasn’t sure about the rest of what she said but apparently Adam was fine with her explanation.”

Alicia looked to Adam for an explanation but he only raised one eyebrow, as if daring her to take a sip. Alicia of course, could never back down from a challenge so she tasted the icy liquid and found it to be amazingly sweet and wonderful. “It’s delicious,” she said, taking a longer sip.

“I thought you’d like it,” he said, lifting his glass of bourbon to his lips.

 

“You’re not drinking Rosa’s concoction?” she asked, raising her eyebrow just as he had done a moment ago.

 

“I don’t think so,” he replied evenly, amusement erupting from his expression.

 

“Why not? Too girly for you? Are you afraid of your masculinity? Might be challenged, huh?” she asked and turned around.

She had her back to him but she already knew that he wouldn’t allow her to get away with such a comment. She almost laughed out loud when she was smacked on the bottom. She turned around and glared instead. “I don’t think you want to challenge my masculinity, do you?” he asked, one hand moving to clasp her wrist in his, while his thumb rested along side her pulse. “I think I could do a very good job of proving myself to you.”

Alicia shook her head mutely.

 

Adam chuckled. “No, I didn’t think so.”

Gary laughed at that point as well. “Now that my friend’s manliness is satisfied, how about a friendly game of pool?” he asked. “Don’t you have a pool table around this mausoleum somewhere?”

Alicia glanced at Adam who only nodded. “Absolutely. It is down the hallway.”

Gary simply laughed and thwacked Adam on the back. Turning to his wife he said, “That look means that he knows he can beat me yet again but he’s being too polite to say so in front of my lady love,” he explained, humor in his eyes. Turning back to Adam he shook his head as he said, “Dear boy, you have to have a weakness somewhere. And I’m determined to find it.”

“I’m not the best at pool,” Adam said politely.

Gary only shook his head in mock misery. Looking at Alicia he said, “That translates into, ‘I’m pretty good but I’m too polite to tell you not to challenge me,”,” he explained. “But you know what, old man?” Gary rallied gamely, “I’m going to do it anyway. I’ll have these lovely ladies on my side to cheer me on,” he said.

“Cheer you on?” Alicia said. “Are the ladies not allowed to participate?” she asked, rising to the bait.

 

Gary was instantly interested. “Are you saying that you’d like to play?”

 

Eleanor shook her head, laughing hilariously. “Don’t do it, Alicia. These men have competition down to a blood sport,” she cautioned.

Alicia looked over at Adam and considered his expression. She’d spent many years playing pool as she bartended in both high school and college, whiling away the hours when she didn’t have customers. It hadn’t been one of the hard core, biker area pool halls, just a nice, hamburger joint that also had pool tables in the back for the noneating, beer drinking customers.

“I might not win,” she lied smoothly, trying to ease them into a false sense of security until she could gauge their expertise against her own. “But I can probably hold my own,” she said.

Two hours later, she chalked her pool stick and then set up her angle, gauging the distance and the timing. Taking a shot, she knocked the last two balls into the hole then turned to face the gentlemen who were sitting on the sidelines sipping their drinks in stunned silence. Eleanor was the only one making any noise and she was bouncing on the bar stool, clapping her hands in her appreciation for Alicia’s expertise.

She hopped down and took Alicia’s pool stick in her hands, placing it back into the holder. “Well, that was an invigorating game, wasn’t it gentlemen?” she asked, slipping her arm through Alicia’s. “I can’t tell you when I’ve enjoyed watching pool more than tonight. And now,” she said, with humor in her eyes, “I think it is time for dinner.”

Gary and Eleanor left Sunday afternoon and Alicia was genuinely sorry to see them go. They were nice people and she’d felt as if she and Eleanor were friends. It had been a long time since she’d had a friend other than a co-worker.

Alicia and Adam were standing out on the front steps, waving to the couple as they drove off and Alicia felt awkward since the scene was more reminiscent of a married couple than of her true relationship with Adam. She didn’t want him to think she was assuming anything. But she was feeling depressed now that they were gone. Would Adam start ignoring her again and turning to her only when he wanted sex? The thought sent a chill through her bones and she wrapped her arms around her middle.

“What’s wrong?” Adam asked, putting an arm around her waist.

Not wanting him to misinterpret anything, she forced a smile on her face. “Nothing. It was a nice weekend. Thank you for letting me come along and get to know your friends.”

“They liked you too.”

She looked at the buttons on his shirt front before continuing, knowing she wouldn’t be able to hide her laughter. “I guess they won’t know they were robbed blind until they get home, huh?”

Adam pulled back suddenly, his eyes searching hers but at that point, she could no longer hold back her laughter. “You’re teasing?” he demanded. When she laughed harder and tried to take a step backwards, he shook his head. “Oh, no you don’t!” He tossed her over his shoulder as if she were a sack of flour and walked back into the house.

“What are you doing?” she demanded, putting a hand on his back and trying to see through her hair which was now covering her face. But she couldn’t stop laughing enough to put any force into her words. “Adam, put me down,” she demanded between gasps of laughter.

His only response was to smack her bottom playfully.

 

When she realized he was heading back upstairs, her laughter only increased. “What? Are you going to punish me by making me go back to sleep?” she challenged.

 

“Oh, you’re going to beg for mercy by the time I’m done with you but you won’t get it.”

The door closed and the next thing she knew, she was being tossed onto her back on the bed with Adam’s body covering her own. Making love to Adam with laughter was a wonderful experience, she thought an hour later as she pulled on a pair of shorts. Adam was going to teach her to play tennis and she knew she wouldn’t be much of a challenge to him on the courts. But she was excited anyway.

This whole weekend had given her hope that Adam might start thinking of her as something other than a convenient sexual partner or a crook.

Her hands stilled on the button to her shorts. Why would it matter that he was thinking of her differently, she asked herself. Why should she care? She wasn’t anything to him and as soon as he’d determined that she had paid off whatever someone else had stolen, he would move on.

She bit her lower lip, considering everything that had happened over the past four and a half weeks. Adam had changed, especially this weekend, she thought. What did it matter? She sighed, realizing the truth. She’d fallen in love with him. Completely, irrevocably and mindlessly.

Pulling on a tee-shirt, she considered her options. She could simply push these feelings down into herself, ignore them and hope that, when the relationship ended, she would be able to go her own way. Or she could fight for him, show him that he needed her in his life. And he did, she knew. Adam was happier, lighter, more relaxed. She’d seen it this weekend. Had it only been because he was around his friends? Or could it be that he’d enjoyed her company as much as she’d enjoyed his?

The fact that he was willing to spend Sunday with her alone, teaching her to play tennis and other things gave her hope. He might not have feelings for her, but he wasn’t pushing her into a small section of his life and ordering her about anymore.

Could she let that hope flourish? Was it wise? Probably not, she accepted. But there was nothing she could do about it. Despite her father’s actions that had left her mother and sister in a painful situation, Alicia was basically an optimist. Otherwise, she’d never have been able to survive her high school and college years, supporting her family through that painful period. After her father had died, it had been so much better and everyone’s spirits had lifted, including hers.

Pulling on an old pair of sneakers, she tied the laces and made up her mind. She’d fought so hard for her family, working menial jobs that had put food on the table and paid off the mortgage. She’d been fighting for her family’s survival for so long, it was time for her to start thinking about herself.

And if it didn’t work out, if she discovered that Adam couldn’t return her love or even start to care for her, then she would deal with that later. Meanwhile, she had an undiscovered time with him and she would use it to make him start to care for her. She wasn’t sure exactly how she would do it but at a minimum, she would put a little bit of fun into his life.

How much time did she have with him? She’d have to ask that question, knowing it would only remind him of her assumed perfidy but that couldn’t be helped. She would need all the data in order to form her plan.

Feeling better, she left his bedroom and skipped down the stairs. He was waiting at the bottom, two tennis racquets in one hand while he watched the stairs.

 

“It’s about time,” he said, his eyes never leaving her as she walked down the stairs.

 

“Sorry, I didn’t know you were waiting for me. I thought you’d gone over to the courts already.”

 

“Nope. But I told Rosa that we’d go out to dinner instead of eating in if that’s okay with you. She apparently has something she wanted to attend tonight.”

 

“That sounds very nice. Her granddaughter is singing in a play tonight,” Alicia explained.

 

They were walking out of the house and down the pathway towards the tennis courts. “How do you know that?”

 

Alicia looked back at him, surprised at the question. “I asked her ,” Alicia said simply.

 

“When?”

Alicia considered taking offense at his snappy question but she looked at him and he only looked curious, not suspicious. “Last night when she was serving the meal. You were talking to Gary about some sort of rumor that had been spreading throughout the industry. Eleanor asked Rosa about where she’d learned to cook. She told us about her grandchildren and that’s when she mentioned that her granddaughter was singing in the choir tonight.”

“Why didn’t she tell me?” he asked, moving forward to walk on ahead.

 

Alicia raised one shoulder. “Possibly because you were engrossed in a conversation.”

Adam looked back at Alicia, wondering how she was able to draw out people so often. It didn’t matter what socio-economic status they held, she was open and friendly with everyone. Was that part of the way she gained people’s trust and had avoided prosecution so far? How much had she stolen from others?

But as he watched her walk along side him, he knew that his convictions about her character just didn’t fit any longer. There was the one side that was the criminal and he had an entire file folder full of proof of that. But something niggled at him.

He pushed those thoughts aside, preferring to deal with the here and now. And right now, she was looking incredibly sexy in a pair of khaki shorts that had definitely seen better days and an old tee-shirt that had a hole in the side. “I thought you’d bought new clothes,” he commented as he set up the automatic ball machine.

“I did,” she said, taking the smaller racquet in her hands and feeling the weight.

 

“You didn’t get new shorts,” he pointed out.

 

Alicia laughed. “Of course not. What’s wrong with these? Eleanor and Gary aren’t around so I didn’t think it would be necessary to wear something nicer.”

Adam didn’t say anything but his mind automatically thought back to other women he’d been with in the past. They had spent his money as if it were theirs, constantly needing one more thing to make whatever ensemble they were considering work better or match more perfectly. And here was a woman who had stolen over one hundred thousand dollars from him and yet she didn’t even bother buying decent clothes. What had she spent all the money on?

Adam realized there was more to this situation than he had thought about. Loose ends bothered him as did unanswered questions. He was going to have to get Jim to look into her finances a little more carefully.

He set the machine to slow and then walked Alicia through the various serves and volley’s. After an hour, he had to admit, she had the potential for being a descent player.

They finished the lesson and Alicia walked off, allowing Adam a chance to work out a little more hardily with the machine while she changed into her suit for a swim. The afternoon turned out to be wonderfully relaxing. She pulled a book off of his shelf and carried it with her to the pool. Then she spent the afternoon watching Adam play tennis against himself, noting that he was just as ferocious against a machine as he was against Gary. He then changed and joined her by the pool, reading through several papers he’d brought down. They swam and Adam worked, eventually Alicia dozed off, exhausted after the evening with Adam in which she hadn’t gotten much sleep since he’d made love to her twice. The man’s sexual appetite was truly amazing, she thought as she closed her eyes. But then, so was hers where he was concerned.