An Escort for Christmas: A Billionaire Novella (5 page)

Chapter Eleven

The party was already in full swing when we got downstairs. The entire first floor was filled with guests, and by the look of enjoyment on their faces, the alcohol was flowing freely. 

Gorgeous gowns and designer dresses draped every female figure in the room. The men were all smartly clad in casual designer labels. The entire room screamed money and refinement, and I was so far out of my league I may as well have been on another planet.

Several of the women shot me curious looks as Jameson ushered me into the fray. I wondered if any of them were some of his past companions. Not that I should care.

“There you are,” Julia exclaimed the moment she saw us.

She was a vision in an emerald green dress that was the very embodiment of class. I swallowed the lump in my throat while she took in my outfit.

“Harper, you look…”

Like a tramp?
My subconscious supplied.

“Absolutely beautiful,” she finished. “Every woman in here is going to be envious of you tonight.”

Her words seemed to please Jameson for some reason, but they only made me more doubtful.

“Thanks,” I croaked.

“And you my son.” She squeezed Jameson’s cheeks and made them flame in embarrassment. “You look so handsome, doesn’t he Harper?”

“Indeed, he does,” I agreed. “He’s very dashing.”

He flashed me his dimples quickly before retraining his smile into the flat and unaffected expression he often wore.

“Oh.” Julia perked up. “Here comes Robert, Jameson. He’s been looking for you already.”

Jameson turned around and greeted another man around his age, slapping him on the shoulder with the most genuine smile I’d ever seen on him.

“How have you been man?” Robert asked. “It’s been way too long.”

“I know,” Jameson apologized. “I’ve been busy.”

“So Forbes tells me,” Robert chuckled.

His gaze fell on me, and he let his eyes wander unashamedly for a moment. I felt like a piece of meat being dangled in front of a lion, and Jameson’s expression hardened at his friends ogling, but he said nothing.

“Who’s the hottie?” Robert wiggled his eyebrows.

“Robert this is Harper. Harper, Robert.”

I reached for his hand to shake it, but he pulled it up to his lips for a kiss instead. “My, my Jameson. I’ve really got to get to New York one of these days and see where you keep finding all these honeys.”

I groaned inwardly and pulled my hand away the moment it was appropriate to do so.

“Speaking of honeys,” Robert whispered. “Here comes Katherine now.”

I glanced in the direction he was staring to see the woman I’d been wondering about all day. She was beautiful, as expected, with a perfect cast of Nordic features. Her hair was pale blonde, and her eyes looked like they’d been cut from the finest crystal. Her skin was porcelain and everything about her was dainty and beautiful. She was the complete opposite of me.

“Jameson,” she breathed his name like it had never tasted so good. “There you are.”

They exchanged double cheek kisses, which seemed absolutely ridiculous, before she pulled away with a feline smile. “Your mother told me you were coming home this year. I had to see it myself to believe it.”

I clenched my hands at my sides and took a deep breath. She had completely disregarded me standing beside him as if I were nothing. But to my surprise, Jameson tucked me against his side, wrapping a possessive arm around my waist as he introduced us.

“Katherine this is my girlfriend, Harper. I don’t believe you’ve met.”

Her lips flattened as her gaze finally swung to me out of necessity. Her crystal eyes travelled the length of my body, not even attempting to hide her distaste.

“Lovely to meet you,” she purred. “Jameson’s quite the catch.”

“He is.” I glanced up at him and allowed my eyes to wander over his face.

“I should know.” She laughed too loudly. “Since I had him first.”

Okay, so the claws were definitely coming out tonight.

“Well, you are right about one thing.” I gave her an icy smile. “He is quite a catch. And I’ve no intention of letting him go.”

Jameson appeared both surprised and pleased by my possessiveness, and I guessed I was doing something right.

Robert cut in with a boisterous laugh as he blatantly ogled Katherine right in front of Jameson. “You look magnificent, Kat. How many years has it been?”

I didn’t catch the tail end of their conversation, because the next moment, Jameson was leaning down to murmur in my ear. “Vixen.”

One word, so many possibilities. He wanted me to show this room full of people he belonged to me. That I couldn’t get enough of him. I was beginning to fear just how true that may be the longer we played this game.

I spun in his arms and gripped him by the shirt collar before trailing my palms up his chest. His eyes flared with heat as I wrapped them around his neck and pressed my body flush against his. I could feel him hardening against my stomach, and it sent my pulse skyrocketing.

I stopped thinking about what to do next and just let my body do what it wanted to. My lips found his neck, and he sucked in a breath of air, his grip on my hips tightening painfully.

I kissed my way up towards his jaw, inhaling his cologne as I went. He smelled so good. Like cedar and limes. I wanted to rub against him like a cat, bathing myself in that scent.

I didn’t get to finish my attempt at seduction, because a moment later, his lips were on mine, greedy and demanding. I gasped against him, and he invaded my parted lips with his tongue. I was vaguely aware we were in a room full of people, and I wondered if he’d intended for it to go this far. But I didn’t care. All I cared about was the feeling he ignited inside of me. Like he’d lit a match and set fire to my insides.

I clenched my thighs together and smashed my breasts against his chest just to try to get some relief.

Someone made a noise of disapproval behind us, and a low growl erupted from his throat before he pulled away. His eyes were wild, filled with surprise and unadulterated lust as he stared down at me. I could feel that lust reflected in my own eyes, and suddenly I wished we were upstairs. Alone.

And then the shutters came down. His face became cold and expressionless as he nodded towards Robert.

“I’m going to get a drink,” he told me. “Why don’t you go mingle.”

I felt like I’d been slapped as he turned away from me and left me standing there like that. And to make matters worse, Katherine trailed after him like an eager puppy. But he didn’t tell her to go mingle.

Lily sidled up to me and handed me a much needed drink. I swallowed it in three gulps.

“You don’t have anything to worry about,” she said softly. “He wouldn’t touch that again with a ten-foot pole.”

There was something cryptic about her words that told me she was a lot more clued in than what she let onto. But I simply nodded. It didn’t matter because I knew the truth now. Jameson was using me to make Katherine jealous.

It was why he’d called me vixen while I was standing right in front of her. And the only reason he would want to make her jealous was if he still cared. I wasn’t a relationship expert, but even I knew the basics of human emotions.

“This party is a drag,” Lleyton said as he joined us. “There aren’t even any single ladies here.”

“Well, I could think of one,” Lily replied with a teasing smile.

Lleyton’s gaze narrowed on his sister. “Not even remotely funny.”

Another inside joke I wasn’t privy to, I kept quiet.

“How nice of my brother to leave you to fend for yourself,” he remarked.

I glanced across the room to see Katherine with her hand on his chest, way too close to be considered appropriate. “Yeah, well I guess he’s busy.”

Lleyton followed my gaze and frowned, shaking his head. “Do you want to dance?”

I regarded his outstretched hand, remembering Jameson’s words clearly. This would probably be considered not staying the hell away from his brother. But he was too busy flirting with his ex-girlfriend to notice, so what the heck.

I took his hand and let him lead me onto the dance floor. Lily called after us with a worried gleam in her eye that Lleyton waved off.

“What is going on?” I asked as he swayed back and forth. He was a good dancer, unsurprisingly.

“What do you mean?” he frowned.

“I mean it feels like there’s a giant elephant in the room, and I’m the only one who doesn’t know what it is.”

Lleyton’s expression turned sad before he nodded and spoke. “You aren’t the only one,” he muttered. “Most of my family doesn’t know. Except Lily. Because Jameson is too much of a good guy to say anything about it.”

“About what?” I asked.

Lleyton sighed. “Three years ago, Jameson and Katherine were dating. They’d been together since high school, and it was all but an arranged marriage between our parents. If they’d had it their way, the ink would have been dried on the marriage certificate the moment they turned eighteen.”

I frowned at this new development, not realizing exactly how serious it had been between them.

“So what happened?”

“Our father wanted both of his sons to follow in his footsteps. But that was never Jameson’s way. He’s always done his own thing, whether anyone approves or not. I admire him for that.”

Lleyton was quiet for a moment before he spoke again. “He doesn’t know it. He thinks that I’m the golden son because I do everything that’s been laid out for me. But I’ve always been jealous of Jameson. We’ve been rivals since we were kids.”

“Aren’t most brothers?” I asked lightheartedly.

Lleyton shook his head. “I don’t know. Jameson’s always been a bit of a lone wolf. He royally pissed off our father when he chose business school over med school. When he started up his company, he had to spend a lot of time in New York to get established. But he couldn’t take Katherine without marrying her first. He told her he just wanted to get things up off the ground because he knew her father wouldn’t approve otherwise. Kat’s dad also wasn’t too pleased in Jameson’s choice of career.”

“That seems kind of unfair,” I remarked. “He should be able to make his own career decisions.”

Lleyton just shrugged. “That’s the way it works in these kinds of circles. There are a lot of expectations that come with family names. But Jameson never fit the mold.”

“So is that why him and Katherine separated?” I asked. “I mean, he obviously ended up succeeding, so I don’t see why her parents wouldn’t approve.”

“No.” Lleyton grimaced. “It wasn’t that.”

He closed his eyes and made a face like he was steeling himself before explaining. “We were having our annual Christmas party that year, and Jameson was busy trying to make some new contacts. Katherine kept pouting and whining about how he was ignoring her. So I offered to take her mind off it. I snuck a couple bottles of champagne and we went out to the pool house.”

My entire spine stiffened as I braced myself for what he was about to say next. His voice was anguished, and the puzzle pieces were starting to fall into place.

“We got really drunk,” Lleyton explained. “And I know it’s not an excuse. But she practically threw herself at me. And I was thinking with my dick, not my head. Jesus, it was so stupid of me.”

“Oh my God, Lleyton.” My heart squeezed in my chest. I couldn’t even imagine the betrayal Jameson must have felt.

“He thinks I did it because of our rivalry. To prove a point. I honestly didn’t, but he’ll never believe that. He won’t forgive me, and I don’t blame him.”

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered. It was the only thing I could think to say.

“He thinks I went after her, but Katherine was the one who came onto me. I know it makes no difference, but he doesn’t see it that way. He thinks I ruined his relationship on purpose. But truthfully, I’ve wondered since then if I was the only one she did that kind of stuff with.”

I didn’t get a chance to answer him. Because a moment later, a strong pair of hands was ripping me out of his arms.

“Stay the hell away from my girlfriend,” Jameson slurred.

I stared up at him in shock, surprised by how drunk he was. Apparently when he said he was going to have a drink, he meant ten.

“Jameson,” Lleyton began…

“What’s the deal with you?” Jameson snapped. “One wasn’t enough? You want all of my sloppy seconds?”

His words hurt me, and I tore my eyes away as they filled with tears. Lleyton’s voice was filled with anger as he spoke again, and I knew people were starting to take notice.

“Don’t talk about Harper that way,” he growled. “Don’t punish her for my sins.”

Jameson laughed, low and deadly as he gestured between us. “What, are you two teaming up now?” he asked. “Did he raise my offer, Harper? How much?”

Lleyton glanced at me in confusion, and a sob escaped from my chest as I tore my arm from Jameson’s hold. “Don’t you fucking touch me,” I hissed.

“Harper?” Lleyton’s voice called after me as I darted for the stairs. I didn’t listen to what he had to say. The only thing I could do was get away from the prying eyes around us, so I could cry out my humiliation alone.