Bedding the Billionaire (Book 3) (Legacy Collection) (13 page)

He wrapped an arm
beneath
her waist and hauled her up until she was eye to eye with him, the material of his
unremoved
pants rubbing against the inside of her thighs. Her hands gripped h
is shoulders through his jacket and she closed her eyes in anticipation.

“Look at me,” he growled.

And she did. She looked into those hot, golden eyes as she felt his tip tease her wetness.
A gasp escaped her when he filled her with one powerful move.
Her body naturally clenched around him and they began to move in union.
He gripped her hips and positioned her so he could go deeper.

Never breaking rhythm, he explored her from within, adjusting and seeking until each stroke sent a shudder of pleasure through her
.
She gripped at the
smooth
material of his shirt, pulling him back down to take her breasts into his mouth once again.

His mouth returned to hers and t
heir climax
es
w
ere
shared, all
consuming,
and left them both shuddering against each other.

He stepped back and offered her his hand in a gentlemanly move that seemed ridiculously out of place in the scene.
She took it only
because she suddenly felt over-
exposed
lying there
, quickly breaking contact to reach down for her shirt.
When she looked up from securing it the best she could around her and adjusting her skirt, he was already perfectly put together again.
If
she could ignore the residual throbbing of pleasure between her legs or the places her body was still warm from his touch,
it would
have
be easy to believe she
had imagined the entire interlude.
Unfortunately, the panties and bra that taunted her from behind him were indeed hers.

“Lil, I
–
”

She brushed past him
and hastily bent to snatch
the
offending article
s
of clothing off the floor and stuff
them
behind the cushion of the couch.
What could he say? Nothing she wanted to hear. “Don’t say anything.” She held the front of her shirt
closed
with one hand and
pointed to the door with her other.
“Just go.”

L
ooking much more miserable than any man should after sharing what Lil considered the bes
t sex in her limited experience, he said,
“
This was…”

“A mistake,” Lil ended his sentence for him. “You don’t have to say it. You don’t have to try to sugar coat this
with
sweet words. I
’m
not naive
. I know it doesn’t mean anything.”

“Don’t…”

“Don’t what?
Don’t say the truth? Don’t
acknowledge what we’re both thinking? Look me in the eye and tell me you
don’t want
to run
out that door
and forget this ever happened.”

He couldn’t.

“Go, Jake. Go back to New York. I’ll be fine.
This was a mistake that we’d be better off pretending didn’t happen.”

He walked
to the door and shook his head.
“
I don’t make mistakes
like this
.
”

“We
ll, welcome to the human race,
” Lil said and slammed the door.

Jake rode down in the elevator,
chastising
himself as he went.
He was not
an impulsive man.
Life
was a
game
best played like chess
–
each move only undertaken
after
all the possible outcomes had been considered.

Something inexplicable happened to that belief when he came within a certain proximity to
one outspoken, fier
y
brunette
.
Half the time he wasn’t sure if he was insulted, irritated, turned-on or some bizarre combination of all three.

Now he was in the unique position of being thoroughly confused.

It wasn’t until he stepped onto the curb that he remembered he had driven Lil’s car.
Instinctively, he dialed the number
of someone who was technically Dominic’s personal assistant, but had become so much more than that to both of them over the years
.
He had yet to find a crisis Mrs. Duhamel didn’t take in stride.

“Marie, I’m at Lil
Dartley’s
place. I need a…”

The older woman interrupted his request. “She moved in?”

“Yes, she and Colby are settling in, but since we drove her car here this morning…”

“How d
id she take it?
Was she upset?”

“She was…”
Fantastic! That’s the problem.

Oh, hell, what was he supposed to say to the woman who was closer to being a mother figure to him th
an his own mother ever had been?
“She
was angry at first.
Then…”
He didn’t mean for it to happen, but his frustration spilled forth. “It’s ridiculous for me to even
be here.
This isn’t my problem; it’s Dominic’s.
His family,
his issue.
Have my helicopter readied
and at my Cambridge office building
.
I’ll be flying back in about an hour.
I’ll also need a car to pick me up. I left mine at Lil’s house.
”

“
You
didn’t line up transportat
ion back?
That’s not like you,” Marie asked with surprise.

Jake turned his back so his comment wouldn’t be heard by the valet who was hovering
and snapped,
“
I can’t make a mistake?
Will the world end if I slip up even once?”

“
What’s really bothering you, Jake?”

With a sigh, Jake said tiredly,
“
No
thing.
Just send a car.
”

“
Is
it Lil?
Did you two have a fight? Maybe you should stay and try to work it out instead of
coming
back to New York.”

Calling
Marie had been a mistake.
He wasn’t ready to discuss the jumble of emotions coursing through him.
“I didn’t call you for a lecture.”

Her tone softened and had she been there she probably would have offered him something to eat.
When either he or Dominic got particular
l
y abrupt with her, she often tried to soothe their mood with food.
Sometimes it worked. Lacking that option, she was employing the supportive, mater
nal voice – her other secret weapon
.
“
You didn’t call me for a car, either.
You have the Bos
ton car service on speed dial.
You and Dominic are so much alike…”

Jake made a sound in his throat, “I cannot imagine two people more different than Dom and I.”

Marie laughed softly and said,
“Really?
Do you know that he called me the night he met Abby?”

“This is a
n entirely different situation.”

“
Jake, it’s me, Marie.
I know you well enough to know
when you have something you want to tell me
.”

Jake loosened his tie and took off his jacket. The
mid-day sun was baking him in his dark suit and was
the reason for
his foul mood
– the only reason he was willing to acknowledge
.
“Coming here was a bad idea, Marie.
Just a bad idea.”

“
Oh, my God.
You slept with her.”

He didn’t say a word.

“Jake! Well, there is no way you are coming home tonight.
What were you thinking?”
she asked.
He
imagined
the disappointment
in her eyes
and scowled
.

I wasn’t.

Jake didn’t have to answer.
Marie continued on.
“You turn yourself around, Jake, and you go back in there and make sure that girl is ok
ay
.”

He felt about five years old when she used that tone with him. “I can’t do that.”

“
You can and you will.” Steel entered the older woman’s voice.
“
I don’t care what happened
between the two of you today;
she’s a single mother.
You were supposed to make sure she was settled in.
Did you check to see if the groceries had arrived?
Do you know if she needs anything?”

“No,
” he admitted and felt more like a heel with each wor
d Marie threw at him. He sighed,
r
ubbing his forehead.
“Why did I call you again?”

Her tone softened.
“Because you knew
you were wrong
, but you needed someone to say it.”

He
half laughed
in self-depreciation. “She’s going to think I’m crazy when I knock on the door
now
.”

“
Do you remember that time Dominic sent you into
the Repub
l
ic of
Dabron
to talk them into honoring their contract even
as their government was under attack by rebel leaders?
I asked you if you were afraid
–
”