Bad Boy Billionaire (A Standalone Romance) (6 page)

“You like to dance?”

She nodded. “I’m a little out of practice though.”

He held out his hands. “Doesn’t matter.”

She walked to his side and watched him carefully place a record on the ancient turntable. She hadn’t seen it when she came in.

“Does that thing still work?” she asked.

He nodded. “I had it recovered by a specialist.”

“So you dance?” she asked, leaning her cheek against his shoulder. There was something about the relaxed, warm character of the beach house that made nothing else matter anymore.

“Yeah. My grandpa taught me.”

To her surprise, the room burst out in the jazzy sound of trumpets and bass. She squealed with delight as he grabbed her and swung her around the room with surprising grace.

“He taught you well.”

“Thanks.”

The room went silent. She stared up into his eyes in the warm, waning light.

“Chase…”

He held a finger to his lips. “No more talking.”

It was as if their bodies just couldn’t wait any longer. She reached for him as he reached for her. Their lips met as the music started again. He kissed her with such hunger and need that she groaned with anticipation.

“Chase?”

He stopped kissing her for just long enough to reply. “I said no talking.” He leaned in and bit her bottom lip.

She smiled, wishing they’d had time to stop and buy her some new clothes. Her dress was fine for the office – a little frumpy perhaps. But not for this – whatever
this
was.

“You seem uncomfortable,” he murmured, leaning his forehead against hers.

“I was just thinking I’m not dressed for this.”

He chuckled. “You’re right.”

She inhaled sharply as his hands went to her waist and began to untie the fabric belt of her dress. Slowly, he pulled the two sides of the dress apart, revealing her body to him. Maria was relieved beyond words that she’d worn the cerise pink lace lingerie set she’d bought as a treat for herself the previous Christmas.

Chase took a step back. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. His lips parted as he took in her rounded breasts and curvy hips. He smiled.

“Upstairs. Now.”

Maria laughed and moved toward the wooden stairs. Chase kept a hold of her dress and pulled it off her arms as she moved. She never would have thought she’d be comfortable in a situation like this, but now, in her early thirties she was completely comfortable with her body. She had been wrong about not being Chase’s type: she’d seen the desire in his eyes as he couldn’t take his eyes off her curves.

Sure enough, when she glanced back over her shoulder, he was behind her with his eyes glued to her butt. At the time, she’d wondered how such tiny panties could cost so much but now she was glad she had chosen the Brazilian briefs. The bright fabric skimmed across her butt cheeks doing little to cover them. If anything, they simply emphasized her full, rounded ass. She wiggled it, knowing the effect it would have on him.

“Stop distracting me,” he groaned. “Get into my bedroom.”

A ripple of pleasure shot through her as she obeyed without question. It was something few guys in her past had managed to grasp: while she may have always called the shots outside of the bedroom, nothing turned her on more than a guy who took control.

“Yes, sir,” she purred.

She reached her hands behind her back and began to play with the clasp of her bra. She heard him groan behind her as she opened it and began to tease the pink straps down her shoulders.

“Where’s the bedroom?” she asked, looking at him over her shoulder and pouting as she reached the top of the stairs.

“Straight ahead.”

She walked along the short landing. She pulled her hands away from her chest and let the pink lace dangle down her arm as she opened the door.

The room was smaller than she’d expected. Its walls and floors were painted white. The only other color in the room was the light grey comforter on the bed and the black wool blanket that hung over a chair nearby.

“Very masculine,” she whispered, glancing back at him.

“Thanks,” he muttered. “But we can talk about the finishings later.”

She smiled. “Why? What do you want to do now?”

“Come here,” he growled.

He walked the couple paces to where she stood in the middle of the room, still with her back to him. He reached out and put his hands on her hips. To her surprise, he spun her around effortlessly.

“Fuck, you’re beautiful,” he whispered hoarsely, eyes wide as he took in her full, bare breasts.

Her brown nipples were already hard as little rocks. She cried out in surprise as he bent his head and took one of them in his mouth.

“I’ve wanted to do this since that first day you sauntered into my office,” he said, before pulling away and slowly kissing his way across her curvaceous chest to her other nipple. He bit down gently on the sensitive flesh, making her legs shake with desire.

“Oh you like that?”

She nodded.

“What was that?” he bit down again, slightly harder. This time a gasp escaped her lips.

“Yes,” she whispered.

He smiled.

He stood up straight and tilted her face up to his so he could see her reaction as his fingers explored her body, cupping her breasts and teasing her nipples with light, feathery strokes. She closed her eyes as the pleasure coursed through her body.

“Open your eyes.”

“I can’t.”

“Try.”

She looked up at him but the moment he touched her she was lost again, closing her eyes and pushing against his hand, which was slowly stroking its way to the waistband of her panties. She reached over and started to unbutton his shirt. He pushed her hands away. Defiantly, she tried again.

“The more you try and rush this, the longer I’m gonna take,” he muttered.

“Oh yeah?” she said, standing as tall as she could.

“Yeah.” He grabbed the lace of her panties and used it to pull her closer to him. The movement pulled the already-snug lace against her body, causing the most delicious friction against her almost-painfully swollen clit. Maria cried out.

“Please,” she whispered. “Next time we can take all the time you want. But this time? I need you to be inside me.”

He stroked her cheek and seemed to consider it. She sighed with frustration. Her body was thrumming with tension. All she could think about was resolving it. Instead, he was playing with her.

She reached over and ran her nails down his chest. She stroked the front of his pants and exclaimed in surprise when her hand made contact with his huge, hard cock. She glanced up at his face.

“I want it as much as you do,” he groaned.

She stood on tip-toes and kissed his neck. “Then fuck me, baby,” she whispered, gently biting his earlobe.

She felt him shiver. His hands circled her waist. He walked her backward and pushed her down on the bed. She landed with a smile and hooked her thumbs into the top of her panties. He reached down and pulled them off her legs. They landed in a heap in the corner of the room. He stood over her, fully clothed in shirt and pants.

She sat up, thrusting her breasts forward. “Let me help you with that.” She reached forward and began to unbutton his shirt.

“Fuck it,” he muttered. He ripped the tailor-made shirt apart, sending buttons flying everywhere. “Are you gonna give me shit for destroying clothing?”

She stared up into his eyes, which looked even more blue and intense than usual. “I don’t care what you do with your clothes as long as you get them off right now.”

He smiled and reached down to unbuckle his belt. She watched him, marveling at his tight, chiseled chest. She wasn’t exactly an expert, but his wasn’t the kind of body that came from working out at the gym. Her suspicions were confirmed when he pulled off his pants and revealed thighs that were bulging with muscle. But her attention couldn’t stay on his muscles for long.

His cock stood to attention in front of her, huge and thick and almost intimidating. She readjusted her weight so she was kneeling on the edge of the bed right in front of him. Smiling up at him, she reached forward and wrapped her hand around his shaft. She guided him to her mouth. His expression was one of rapt concentration. He closed his eyes as she took his head into her mouth and circled it with her tongue. He opened his mouth in unmasked ecstasy as she eased him deeper and deeper until her lips were toward the base of his shaft.

“Stop,” he groaned, pushing her back down on the bed.

She could tell it took a lot of effort for him to stop. She glanced down. The tip of his cock was glistening.

He nodded. “One second more and I would’ve blown,” he said hoarsely.

She shuffled further up the bed as he eased himself down over her. Supporting himself with one elbow, the fingers of his other hand trailed up her thigh. She groaned when he began to stroke and explore her wet folds. His caresses intensified. She cried out as he zeroed in on her swollen bud and began to stroke it mercilessly.

“Too much?” he asked, grazing her bottom lip with his teeth.

She shook her head and kissed him back deeply; hungrily. “No. Kinda. But keep going.”

To her great surprise, Maria felt all of the muscles in her abdomen clench. She’d never been driven to the edge so quickly before. She cried out as the powerful waves of orgasm washed over her, driving relief through her body, which had been on the edge seconds before.

“Fuck me, please,” she whispered, opening her eyes and staring up into his as the white hot fire inside her finally started to ebb. The muscles in her core were still spasming; she wanted him to feel it too.

He pushed against her slippery entrance. She cried out as he slipped deep inside her, thrusting to the hilt and pulling out. His face was frowning in deep concentration. He caught her watching him. He kissed her and thrust even harder and deeper. She moaned wantonly.

He groaned. “Hearing you moan like that; it’s gonna drive me crazy.”

She felt his cock harden even more. His face screwed up as he came with such force that it threatened to send her over the edge all over again.

They lay in each other’s arms, both staring at the ceiling dreamily. Something buzzed on the nightstand.

“It’s just my cell.”

“What if it’s something important,” Maria said with a yawn.

“Then it can wait.” He rolled onto his side and stroked her face with his fingertips. “I’m busy right now.”

Her face broke into a wide grin. “Again? Already?”

He shrugged. “I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of you.”

His phone buzzed again.

“Don’t you think you should get that?” she asked, glancing over at it.

He sighed. “It never stops. The world won’t end if I don’t answer.”

When it started to vibrate again less than a minute later he began to look uneasy. 

Chase lifted himself up on his arms and reached over to the bedside table to mute it. It rang again while he held it. Seeing it was his brother, he answered it.

“I’m in the middle of something. Leave me alone.”

Maria laughed quietly and rolled over to face the other direction.

“Wait. You’ll want to hear this.”

“Not if it’ll wait an hour.” He was about to hang up when his brother spoke.

“It’s about this Maria chick,” Mike hissed. “Trust me. You want to hear this.”

Chase rubbed his tongue across his teeth and sat up. “Give me a minute.”

He glanced at Maria. Her eyes were closed and she hadn’t reacted when Mike said her name. He was confident she hadn’t heard anything: he had asked his tech team to try out numerous cell phones. He’d asked specifically for a model that didn’t allow bystanders to hear one’s conversations. In his position that was vital. Still, though. He’d spent so long fighting to get Maria to see he was different. The last thing he wanted was for her to think his nosy brother was snooping to see if she was a suitable match.

“Okay.”

Mike waited as he shuffled out of bed and padded quietly to the other bedroom.

“Okay. What is it?”

Mike sighed. “I don’t like telling you this. Believe me I don’t.”

“She’s from a poor family,” Chase whispered. “I know. And you know what? I don’t care. You should know that.”

“Chase. Bro. It’s me. Not dad.”

Chase frowned. “What else could it be?”

The line was silent.

“Mike?”

Whatever it was, his brother was finding it difficult to come out and say it.

“Is she married?” Even as he said it he dismissed the idea as ridiculous. Maria wasn’t the type of person who’d hide something like that.

“Not that I’m aware of, no.”

“What is it then?”

Mike took a deep breath. “You remember that thing a couple years back with that guy Aaron? Posed as a summer intern in the property team and—”

“And almost managed to make copies of the diagnosis software we were about to bring to market. Yeah,” Chase finished. “Get to the point, please.”

“The point is that debacle could have blown up our software division. I couldn’t risk it happening again. I set up a meeting with Jack Sawyer. Remember him?”

“The geeky guy whose parents owned the house next to ours in the Hamptons, right?”

“Right. Now he runs his own IT security firm. Real QT.”

“Okayyyyy…”

“I’m getting there, I promise. So I brought Jack in to look at our systems and find a way to stop anything like that from ever happening again. Without jeopardizing the sharing, collaborative spirit we’d built in the firm.”

“You sound like a marketing brochure. Please tell me what this has to do with Maria,” Chase hissed, rubbing his forehead. All he wanted to do was get back into bed with Maria, not listen to this.

“It has everything to do with Maria. Think of Jack’s setup as a series of bear traps designed to catch people treating the system in ways they shouldn’t.”

“So what, she opened something she wasn’t supposed to and you’re coming down on her? Maybe she made a mistake.”

Mike exhaled patiently. “No. Not possible. Jack’s traps were set up to ignore one-off mistakes. They’re foolproof, man.”

“Okay, then. What’s she been accessing that she shouldn’t have?”

“What hasn’t she been accessing? She’s been working through all of the files on the server. By folder. Doesn’t that tell you she’s looking for something she can’t quite find?”

Chase sat down on the bed. “Maybe. Or maybe she’s just curious. She’s a smart girl, Mike. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if she was trying to learn everything she could about us so she can rise up through the ranks.”

“Okay then. Well tell me this - would she have reason to go through all of your email for the past two years?”

Chase closed his eyes. “She’s my assistant,” he said finally, glancing at the door and lowering his voice. “It’s a bit strange but she has access. And it could be the same thing; trying to learn.”

“Jesus, bro.” Mike said, sounding pained. “You don’t sound like you. I take it things have progressed with her?”

“Maybe. I still don’t see anything wrong in her actions.”

“Fine. Here’s something that might worry you. It’s what triggered the system warning to begin with. She’s been searching the file directory for some strange things.”

“What things?”

“BEK. Naylor.”

“Doesn’t ring a bell.”

“So how would she know about them?”

Chase sighed. “You’re beginning to sound hysterical.”

“Okay. Keton. Why would she look for that?”

Chase opened his eyes and stood up, automatically looking to the door.

“What did you just say?”

“Keton.”

“That’s what I thought. Why the hell?”

“You didn’t mention it to her? It’s what I thought at first before I saw the other searches.”

“No, of course not. Well, on the flight down here. But she didn’t know…”

“Chase?”

Chase stared down at the shell-patterned comforter on the bed trying to remember. He’d mentioned it in passing. They were in the safety of the jet, not in the office where Keton was not for discussion, even by email. And she’d asked him about it, he recalled. What had he told her?

“Chase, are you still there?”

“Yeah, man. I’m just thinking. Trying to figure this out.”

“There’s nothing
to
figure out. Except damage control.”

“What? Don’t be ridiculous. I mean, we tried to be discreet but it’s not like it’s a state secret or something.”

“Why would your new assistant show such an interest in our discreet project though? Huh?”

“That’s what I’m trying to work out. She asked me about it, like she’d never heard of it before.”

“Bring her in, Chase. Let me interview her.”

“What are you, Mike? An enforcer? You’ll do nothing without my say so. And what are BEK and Naylor?”

Mike paused. “I don’t want to say on the phone. Similar to Keton. You get me?”

“Yeah.”

“So you see what I mean? There is no way in hell she should know about those names yet. No one does. Just me and the analyst they came through. We need to act fast Chase.”

“We’ll talk about this in the morning. First thing,” Chase warned.

“Fine,” Mike said. He paused. “And do yourself a favor. Let me handle this.”

Chase set his mouth. “No. This is my problem. I’ll sort it.”