The Virgin Billionaire: Switched at Marriage Part 2 (5 page)

"Oh, baby, they won't even have to use their imagination."

Was he flirting with me? He had to be flirting with me. I should have been cautious. Maybe he was testing to see how loyal I was to his protégé Jus. Just how easily could I be parted from my billionaire if I was flattered by another, smoother, more seductive, more mature, more attractive one? How much of a gold-digging girl was I?

I was pleasantly buzzed from one too many highly delicious, skillfully made cocktails. The drinks Lazer served were so smooth, they went down like water.

Some people were mean drunks. I was a flirtatious one. I felt positively kittenish, as if I could curl up in Lazer's lap and purr. Couldn't help myself. It used to make Eric furious when I flirted back with his fraternity brothers at drinking functions. Something about alcohol took away my inhibitions and blew past my good sense. It was harmless.
Usually
. In this case, I wasn't so sure.

"It will be a minor character," he said. "Not a main, playable one."

"Fine by me."

"Would you like to be an alpha tester and see your character in action?"

"You really are my knight in shining armor! Put me in, please!"

His smile was disarming. "I warn you. It's as much work as play. You have to play the game to catch bugs."

"Not a problem!" My fan-girl side had abandoned any pretense of playing it cool and was positively gushing.

"You're in. I'll get you set up tomorrow. You really will have to sign a nondisclosure then. And not tell anyone about the game. Or even that you're testing it."

"I can keep a secret. Believe me." I couldn't stop smiling. "I can't believe this. My cousin is going to be
so
jealous! Pea green!"

"Should I be jealous, too?"

At the sound of Jus' voice, I literally jumped. I spun around to see him standing in the doorway, looking at us as shocked as if he'd caught us sleeping together. How long had he been standing there? And how much had he heard?

J
ustin

"Ooooh. That felt good. Hit me again!"

At the sound of Kayla's voice, I froze in the hallway outside Lazer's damn game room.

"You like that? Good. Beg for more, baby." Lazer's voice was slick with adrenaline.

Shit. My heart hammered. I was afraid of what I would find when I looked in the room. Kay was breaking my heart.

"You're going to make me beg? You sadistic bastard." Kayla laughed. "Quick! Unchain me."

The door was open. How bad could it be? I screwed up my courage and stood in the doorway, forcing myself to look.

Kay and Lazer sat next to each other on the sofa, game controllers in hand, thumbs flying, playing Lazer's hottest investment's newest creation. Damn him! He
would
seduce her with that girly fantasy game.

They were so absorbed that neither of them heard me approach. I clenched my jaw so hard the muscle in my cheek ticked. What the hell? Kayla played like she was experienced. How had she hidden that from me?

Lazer was coaching her. Expertly. Patiently. Intimately. And sitting way the hell too close to my wife. As they played, they laughed and joked like soul mates. Moving together and interacting with their characters. Easy in each other's company. And damn it, they looked like they were made for each other.
I
felt like the one intruding on
their
honeymoon.

The chemistry between them fairly crackled. I'd seen it the moment he'd helped her down from the copter. I'd seen that same look on her face in college when she'd looked at Eric. On screen, Lazer's studly king kneeled before her buxom queen and presented her with a prize. How chivalrous of him.

I shouldn't have let her come. I should have kept her the hell away from Lazer. Women loved him too easily. He did nothing but break their hearts.

But this was different. Look at them. Shit,
look
at them! They were the perfect couple. Lazer, tall, dark, handsome, charming, and rich. Kay so beautiful that looking at her made my heart tight.

He'd barely met her and already he'd enticed her into playing his game. I had no idea Kay was into this kind of activity. A girl like her enjoying video games? It seemed out of character.

I was her husband.
I
should have been the one to introduce her to the art of gaming. I clenched my fists at my side and willed myself to calm down. I felt betrayed and jealous as hell—she'd played with him first.

I stood in the doorway for a good minute, watching Kay and Lazer, before my jealousy got the best of me and announced myself before I was ready. "Should I be jealous, too?"

Kay jumped. They turned and looked over their shoulders at me, guilt as clear on their faces as if I'd walked in on them.

"Yeah, jealous you aren't playing with us. I was just showing Kayla the new game." Lazer always had been quick on his feet. "Come in and join us, buddy!" Lazer waved me in.

"Another time." I'd had too much to drink. It had been a hell of a day. I started the day expecting to be a single man again. Not a jealous husband. I was riding on a volatile edge. "It's getting late. Gary will be arriving with the copter any minute."

Kayla set her controller down and glanced at her watch. She flushed so deeply, it was evident even in the intimately lit room. "Sorry, Jus. I didn't realize we'd been gone so long."

She stood, slipped her shoes on, grabbed my jacket that had been thrown over the back of the sofa, came over to me, and slid her arm through mine. "Thanks for the sneak preview, Lazer. And everything tonight. I'll never forget my only EIEIO meeting."

She leaned her head against my arm as if to make amends while I wrapped my suit coat around her shoulders.

Lazer dropped his controller and stood, too. "I'm glad you came. I'll show you out."

I almost told him not to bother. But why look even more like a jealous prick? Lazer was just being Lazer.

By the time we said our goodbyes and made our way to the front door, the copter was waiting for us. I made a point of being in good humor and pushing my jealousy aside.

But as I grabbed Kayla's hand and ran with her to the copter, I made a vow. I wasn't losing her to Lazer. Not if I could help it.

K
ayla

We rode back in the helicopter in stony silence. With Jus' bag with his award in it between us. Although, what really is stony about silence? We sat in some kind of silence, anyway. Jus seemed upset. I was contemplative. There was so much I wanted to say. So much I wanted to explain. None of which I could do in front of Gary.

The copter took off into the dark, starry sky. To the howl of a coyote in the distance. The ride should have been romantic. If I'd been a real bride I would have curled up next to Jus and whispered how eager I was to get him home. How gorgeous the night sky was. How gorgeous he was. And how this was a night I'd never forget.

But I didn't want him thinking it was Lazer I wouldn't forget. The cold night air had sobered me. I sat with my hands demurely folded in my lap, looking out over the dark forests and thinking being dropped into the middle of them was almost preferable to being frozen out by Jus.

The car met us at the airfield. We rode home in silence in the car, too. Just this morning I'd been blissfully single. With no thought of marriage. Now I was having seconds thoughts about the contract I'd signed. Could I handle 364 more days of faking
everything everywhere
? Pretending I was in love with a guy I really barely knew now. Turning away other men. Gorgeous men. Charming men. Men I had instant chemistry with. Letting other delicious, desirable opportunities slide by. On the other hand, financially speaking, what other opportunity would pay off as handsomely as this one? Would have as many other side benefits and beautiful clothes?

Or would I screw up time after time as I had this evening? Make us into tabloid fodder? Would I crack? Jus had asked for one condition—that I not embarrass him with other guys. In his eyes, had I already violated the agreement?

I didn't know what I wanted anymore. This had all been thrust on me. I hadn't had time to think through all the consequences.

Neither of us spoke until we were safely inside the penthouse.

"I'm sorry," I blurted out the moment the door closed behind us. I couldn't hold it in any longer.

Jus set the bag he was carrying with his award in it on the sofa and gave me a questioning look.

"I've done something to upset you," I said. "Was it throwing myself at you while we were cutting the cake? Was that too much? Not funny? Or going off alone with Lazer, is that it? We just lost track of time playing the game. You've been lost in a game before. You know how that goes."

His jaw was set. He looked at me, but he didn't acknowledge me. He stood incredibly still.

I wondered if he was regretting taking me to the meeting. Wishing he'd taken adoring Ophie along instead. She wouldn't have embarrassed him by gaming with Lazer. No, she would have spent the evening appropriately fawning over Jus. Like a bride who was desperately in love with him should.

I took a deep breath and made a split-second decision. "I can leave now if you want. Call the deal off. I'll sign anything you want waiving any rights." I sighed. "I don't know if
I
can do
this
."

"You mean pretend to be in love with me?" His expression was a mask. "It's not that hard. Just pretend I'm Lazer." He snorted as if not quite amused. As if I'd hurt his feelings.

I'd probably just embarrassed him.

"In my defense, I'm a flirty drunk," I said. "You remember that from college, right?"

"You never flirted with
me
." His voice was hard.

"We never went drinking together, did we?" I didn't think we did, but I honestly couldn't remember. He'd been too young to get into the bars and he wasn't in a frat.

"No." He frowned, looking as if he was recalling unpleasant memories.

"But I told you my funny drinking stories and how Eric used to blow up at me."

He frowned.

The more I talked, the more I messed things up. I took a deep breath. "Call the car service and I'll go. We'll think of something else to save your reputation." I slid his jacket off and held it out to him.

"A deal's a deal, Kay." He sounded angry. "You can't back out because of one small slipup. On our first day. Give us time to grow into this role. We're both in too deep now. There's no going back."

I nodded. "I'm not backing out. I'm giving you an out."

"I don't want a damn out!" He took a deep breath. "I'm just…it's just…damn, I wanted to be your first." There was a tiny smile playing at the edge of his lips, as if he was trying to break the tension.

I stared at him and played along. "First? You know I've gamed before?"

"No, I didn't know you played. You never played with Dex and me in college. I thought you were inexperienced. A gaming virgin. It's something a husband should know."

"I played with Dex."

He shook his head. "Everyone played with Dex. Hell, I played with Dex."

I smiled. "You're right. I
should
have told you." I put a tease in my voice. "Before we signed that postnup. I had no idea it was a deal breaker. I'm coming clean now."

I sighed. "It's my dirty secret. I kind of have a reputation for being a secret gaming slut. With Dex, mostly. But also with Eric and his frat brothers, too. In college, I was able to keep it from my sorority sisters. And even act like it was beneath me. But the houseboys knew. Sometimes I sneaked down to game with them, too. In the basement." I took a deep breath. "Does that change the way you feel about me?"

He looked me in the eye. "I wanted to be your first…something."

"You are. You're my first husband." I gave him a shaky smile. "No one will ever take that away from you or us. You'll always be my most important first." I took a step toward him.

He held his arms out for me. I threw myself into them and rested my head against his hard, broad chest.

"I don't deserve you, my darling trophy wife." His heart was hammering wildly.

I looked up at him, past that damned beard. "Is this our first fight?"

"I think it is." He squeezed me tight. "We made it through, what? Eighteen hours of wedded bliss before we started to argue. Do you think we're doomed?"

"I know we're doomed. Our marriage has an expiration date." I laughed softly and batted my eyes at him in an exaggerated way. "Am I forgiven for gaming with another guy?"

"Stop batting your eyes at me like that!" He sighed, acting as if he was exasperated.

I batted them more enthusiastically. "Only if you forgive me."

"Stop that! You look like you have something in your eye." He smiled outright.

I made kissy lips at him.

"Uncle! I forgive you. You're obviously not the first person to do something stupid when they've had too much to drink. Given the situation we're in, I can hardly talk."

I smiled at him, more relieved than I expected to be. I'd regretted my offer almost the minute the words slipped out. I stopped the wild eyelash fluttering. What had I been thinking? I wasn't ready to leave him and face marital failure after less than twenty-four hours. How would I explain that to my family? I wasn't a quitter. And life with him
was
exciting.

"I brought you something from the party." He pried loose from me and went to the sofa to rustle through his bag.

His back was to me as I imagined all kinds of things. Like a delicious piece of our wedding cake, for example. To put in the freezer and serve with champagne when we divorced on our first anniversary. It would have been thoughtful, actually, for Lazer to send the extra cake home with us. Maybe if we hadn't left in such a hurry…

I was picturing Lazer with his shirtsleeves rolled up. The intense look on his face. The fine curve of his biceps. The way my heart fluttered around him.

Jus turned around suddenly.

I wiped my face clear of thoughts of Lazer just in time.

Jus held out that offending cake topper to me. "For you, my dear. So you can smash it to smithereens." He balanced it in the palm of his hand.

It seemed symbolic of the whole delicate, precarious nature of our faked marriage. It
had
been a long day. That was my excuse for my heart going soft and mushy. And tears standing in my eyes. Jus was the sweetest guy I knew. In that moment, he looked completely, adorably vulnerable. At least I hadn't married a douche.

When I took the statue from him, our hands brushed. I was left wondering if I imagined a tiny spark. Or was the air just particularly dry?

"This is made from resin," I said. "It's going to be hard, if not impossible, to smash. Now if it were more expensive ceramic—"

He frowned. "Damn that tightwad Lazer. I'll get you a hammer." He turned toward the kitchen. "I have one around here somewhere. It's probably in the junk drawer."

A lump formed in my throat. I grabbed his arm. "Smash the topper from our only wedding cake? Are you kidding? This is going in my keepsake box. Since I wasn't at our wedding, and you can't remember it, we have to grab what memories we can for posterity."

He looked startled, and happily, surprisingly touched. He wrapped his arms around me and hugged me. "You're right. Thanks, Kay."

I felt warm and safe in his arms. Which had to be a good sign.

"It's late," he said after the hug had lasted an indecently long time. "I have to get up early. We should go to bed."

Yes, bed. Definitely. "Oh. Right. Agreed. Guestroom?" I pointed in its general direction.

He shook his head. "Magda will be here in the morning. She arrives bright and early to make my breakfast. She insists on it. For appearances' sake, you should probably sleep with me."

"Um, yes. Of course. Is it just me, or did we not think all the details through?"

He grinned and took my hand. "Not you. We're definitely playing this on the fly." He squeezed my hand. "Don't worry. I have a king-size bed." He paused and made a funny expression. "And no one's ever told me I snore."

I laughed. "The bigger question is whether you sleep in the middle?"

"I sleep anywhere I feel like it. But you're small. You'll be fine. You don't take up much room."

"I just remembered. I left my clothes in the guestroom. Should I get them?" I set the cake topper down on the nearest end table.

"Good thinking. Yeah, probably." He pulled me toward the guestroom, where we picked up my clothes and carried them to his room.

I realized, with a start, that I hadn't gotten a tour of the complete penthouse. This was my first glimpse at his private domain. As he pulled me into the room, I felt like an interloper in his private space. Everything in the room was black, gray, silver, and red—the bedding, the furniture, the accent pieces.

We dumped my clothes on an oversize red armchair in the corner. I would argue for closet space tomorrow.

"The bathroom's there." He pointed.

I hesitated. "The thing is—I don't have a nightgown. Or a toothbrush."

"No problem. You can sleep in the nude. I won't be offended." His eyes danced.

"In your dreams!" I put my hands on my hips. "For tonight, I need a shacker shirt."

He just stared at me.

"You know, one of your T-shirts to sleep in?"

"I know what a shacker shirt is. Being the nerd I am, I've never given a girl one before."

I laughed. "Good. Now I get to be your first. How about you? Do
you
sleep in the nude?"

He grinned. "When the mood strikes or I need to do laundry."

"Sooo," I said. "What does your laundry hamper look like?"

He laughed. "Relax. I'm a man of my word. And Magda did the laundry yesterday." He went to his polished black dresser, pulled out a clean T-shirt, and tossed it to me. "You can sleep in this.

"Need anything else? A toothbrush? Toothpaste? Magda stocks the guestrooms with toiletries. Tomorrow, if we have time, we'll make a run to your apartment. Or I can send someone over to pick up a few things. We'll make arrangements to move over whatever you want."

I looked around his room and frowned. As masculine as it was, there was nothing inexpensive about it. "Even my best things will look cheap in this room."

He shrugged as if he couldn't care less. "For the next year, it's your home, too. Bring whatever you like."

I nodded, still uncertain, and wandered into the bathroom to change. And crap, which is sort of literal considering the room, one wall of the bathroom was windows floor to ceiling. With no curtains. The most beautiful black claw-foot tub stood by itself next to the windows. So he could bathe in the stars. Or shower. There was a shower with black and red tiles right next to it. He even had black towels.

I wasn't shy about my body. But I generally liked privacy in the bathroom. I huddled as far from the windows and changed as quickly as I could.

When I came out, he was standing in his boxer briefs and T-shirt, waiting with an armful of toiletries.

"Your bathroom has no curtains," I said, accusing him of something. Though I wasn't sure what, exactly.

"I know. Isn't it gorgeous?" When he saw my face, understanding dawned. He laughed. "Don't worry. No one can see you. We're above everyone else."

"You do realize how snooty that sounds?" I said.

"Just stating the facts." He brought the toiletries into the bathroom and dumped them on the counter between the two sinks. Magda had good taste. The guest supplies were all high-end brands.

"This is very domestic," I said as we brushed our teeth side by side with our backs to the windows.

He smiled at me in the mirror and winked. But I refused to floss my teeth in front of him.

When we were finished, we went back into the bedroom and hesitated, awkwardly, at the foot of the bed, staring at it as if it were the enemy.

He cleared his throat. "We can't stand here all night. One of us is going to have to make a move. Which side do you want?"

"Which side do you usually sleep on?"

"You're hedging," he said. "I asked you first. You're my guest. You pick."

"Guest?" I laughed. "I'm no guest. I'm your wife. You realize that which side we sleep on will define our entire relationship? Forever."

"You mean for a year?" he said, deadpan.

"Yeah. That. Which side do you usually sleep on?"