Billionaire Games (12 page)

“That’s all?” he asked a moment later, hating that he sounded needy, hating that he cared, but not able to stop himself.

“What do you mean?” she responded. She had set her plate aside and now swung one of her legs over the lounge chair to face him.

The fading sun gave her skin a beautiful golden hue that was only amplified by the long dress that lovingly caressed her body. One that he’d be removing soon enough.

“You only mentioned work. What are your other plans?” he asked.

“I…” She trailed off and then sighed. She looked away from him, her face almost wistful. “That part I need to figure out. Let’s say it’s a work in progress,” she said, a slight grin lifting the corner of her mouth.

“Fair enough. But to what end? What’s the big goal?” Simeon asked, pushing the issue.

He didn’t get the sense that she was being intentionally vague, but the more they spoke, the more he wanted to know. It was slightly masochistic on his part, because whatever those future plans were, they didn’t include him, but still, he craved an answer to the question.

“I don’t know,” she said. Then she paused, considering, before she started again. “Well, that’s not completely true. I know for sure I want to have kids.” She nodded. “So that’s it. That’s the goal I’m going to start working toward. And everything else I’m going to trust will fall into place,” she said.

The stab in his gut was almost as painful as a real blow would have been.

He’d never forgotten that about her. Claire had always wanted to have kids and had been determined to start a family, but Simeon never paid much attention. He hadn’t been able to take care of himself and Claire, let alone a family, so he’d never given it much thought, had kept it on the periphery. He’d figured they could talk about it once he was established.

But then things had ended, and he’d been consumed by plotting his rise and how he’d make her regret what she’d done, and he hadn’t given anything else much thought. Now, though, he tried to grapple with the idea of her actively pursuing someone, of her choosing a man to father her children.

A man that wasn’t him.

The very idea made him recoil, and everything inside him screamed
no
, rejected the idea completely.

But there was nothing he could do, because in two weeks she would be gone, free to do whatever she wanted, with whomever she wanted. She wouldn’t give Simeon a second thought.

He looked at her again. “Come here, Claire,” he said.

He heard the change in his own voice and saw the way she responded to it. As she stood and walked toward him, the last rays of the day’s sun softly caressing her body, it began to sink in. Soon, she would leave him, be gone completely and forever. But not for two weeks.

And while he had her, he would make sure she thought of nothing else, no one else, but him.

When she reached him, he put his hand at the deep curve of her waist and rolled his thumb over the soft skin of her stomach, worrying at the silken fabric. Then, slowly, he moved his hand up, began stroking her tight nipple through her shirt, thinking of how she’d looked on the beach today.

“Did you like your bathing suit?” he asked.

“N-no,” she said, her husky voice, her little stutter and the deep flush that color lit her skin giving away her desire.

“I liked it. Very much,” he said, as he moved his hand from her breast and cupped her ass with it. “I like this dress too,” he said. “But I’d like it better if it were off.”

He reached for her with the other hand and began lifting the skirt. It moved up her legs slowly, and when he exposed the dark hair that covered her sex, he paused to stare. His cock hardened when he saw the way the tangled curls at the apex of her thighs were wet with desire.

“Take this off,” he said as he continued to pull the dress up her round thighs and over her stomach.

After she took the dress and continued to lift it, he kept his eyes centered on her body and leaned forward to kiss the front of one thigh, then the other, the scent of her sex a siren’s call. He faintly heard the dress as it fell to the ground with a gentle
swish
, but he kept focused and kissed his way up and down her thighs, slowly working toward her core.

When he reached her center, he placed one kiss at the apex of her thighs, only allowing himself a taste of her. Then he pulled back abruptly, saw her drawn expression and the neediness on her face, neediness that didn’t began to touch that which fired his blood.

He slid his swim trunks down and revealed his cock, which stood at full attention. Claire moved without prompting and straddled him so she was centered above him. Without any hesitation, she gripped the base of his cock and then lowered herself onto him, her pussy swallowing his dick in one smooth motion.

She wasted no time in beginning to move and she rode him without any trace of shyness.

Being inside her was perfection, perfection that only increased when as he watched her move above him, her tits moving in time with the thrust of her hips. He reached out for her, cupped her full orbs in his palms before he smoothed his hands down her sides and held her hips.

Suddenly, an image of her soft and full and carrying his child flashed into his mind.

His cock hardened even further inside her, and he tightened his hold on her hips and took over, thrusting up into her with hard thrusts, moving faster and faster with each thrust, his pace one he’d never reached before.

She belonged to him. She was his.
His.

Simeon thrust harder and squeezed her tighter, burying his face into her full breasts.

Claire clenched down on him hard, and the combination of her pussy squeezing her cock and his mind screaming to claim her triggered his release.

He emptied his seed inside of her until he had nothing left to give. And then, he pulled her to him and held her close.

“
S
o you like it here
?” Simeon asked several days later.

Claire smiled, and then glanced up at him. “I love it.”

And she did. They’d spent days in his house exploring each other’s bodies. And even more, they had talked, gotten to know each other again, and Claire felt close to him. This morning, Simeon had said he wanted to show her more of the area, so they’d spent the afternoon on the beach, and then walking through the small town. It was so vibrant, alive, and the most beautiful place she’d ever seen in person.

She looked at Simeon as he gestured toward their server.

The company didn’t hurt either.

Claire couldn’t put her finger on what exactly it was, but something had changed since they had come to France.

Simeon had changed.

He seemed calmer, less intense, and more importantly to her, he didn’t seethe with rage toward her anymore. He seemed…happy, like he was at peace.

Claire may have wanted to pretend otherwise, may have wanted to resist, but she didn’t because she felt the same way. She was at peace. She was happy.

She’d never wanted anything for Simeon but the absolute best, wanted him to find the happiness that he had been so cruelly denied throughout his life, and she was contributing to it now. It was worth it. Even given the way they had started, the things that they had gone through, it was worth it.

She didn’t know what would happen in the future, and right now she didn’t care. They’d have this, their time together in this magical place. And she would enjoy every single moment and treasure it forever.

After they’d eaten dinner and sat in the outdoor café and watched the sun set, Simeon looked at her with heated eyes. Claire’s body began to tremble as she thought of all the new and imaginative ways Simeon would love her later. She smiled at him. “If you’ll excuse me,” she said.

“Okay,” he said. “Are you ready?”

Simeon pierced her with a searing gaze, and she felt her body began to respond. He’d phrased his words as a question, an innocent enough one at that, but Claire heard the meaning underneath.

“I will be,” she said.

“Good,” he replied.

Claire smiled again and then stood, headed toward the restrooms.

As she walked, the long skirt she wore swished against her skin, making her feel decadent, feminine in a way that she rarely had. Earlier, when she’d been feeling bold and daring, she’d teasingly suggested she go out in the bikini Simeon loved so much. She’d expected him to say a flat no, but he’d surprised her, smiled gently, and suggested the ensemble she wore now.

He had been right, too. Going out in a bikini was too much and Claire knew she would lose her nerve, but this compromise was perfect. She felt sexy, desirable in the sundress, like the kind of worldly woman that got whisked away on trips to Saint-Tropez by smoking-hot billionaires. In these clothes she was more than Claire, the plain, chubby, boring architect.

“
Bonsoir
.”

Claire turned at the sound of the French greeting and met the eyes of the tall man who’d spoke it.

“
Bonsoir
,” she replied, stumbling over the word.

Her French was terrible, not even passable, really, but the man smiled, seeming pleased as though she had accomplished some great feat.

“I saw you before, at the beach, no?” the man asked, his words flowing like music, the sound of his deep, accented voice clear over the din in the café. A few weeks ago, Claire might have been affected by him, or at least paid some attention, but next to Simeon, he didn’t make any impression.

He smiled and stepped closer, and his motion reminded Claire that he had asked a question. She had been so enraptured by Simeon that she couldn’t really recall seeing anyone else at all, but she instead of telling him that, she simply shook her head.

“Yes. It was you. One would never forget a face as beautiful as yours.” He let his gaze roam over her body. “The rest of you either,” he said.

“Thank you,” Claire said. Then she went to move, but was stopped by an unfamiliar hand on her elbow.

She turned, met the stranger’s gaze again. “Off so soon? Certainly you have time. Perhaps we can get to know each other better,” he said.

“I—”

“Take your hand off her.”

Simeon’s voice cut through the noisy café like a knife, and Claire watched as the whole place went quiet, most of the eyes focused on them. After glancing at the other diners, Claire looked at Simeon and saw an expression of rage so intense that it took her aback.

“You have a friend. My apologies,” the man said.

Then he quickly let go of Claire’s arm and smiled at her, though he rushed away when Simeon took a step toward him.

“I thought you were going to the bathroom,” Simeon said.

Claire frowned, glanced up at him and noticed that his expression had only softened a bit.

“I was,” she said.

“Is that what you’re calling it these days, Claire?”

“Simeon, what are you—”

“Let’s go,” he said, interrupting her.

Then, with no further words, he took her elbow where the stranger had touched her and led her out of the café. Where the trip earlier today had been fun, playful, the return to the villa was completely grim.

Claire didn’t even bother to attempt to speak, knowing that in the state he was now Simeon would completely ignore her. And as they walked her own anger grew. Why was he treating her this way? What made him think he had the right to do so?

When they reached the villa, Simeon let her in and slammed the door behind him. As frustrating as she found his actions, Claire didn’t want to lose the peace and happiness she had found here, so she tried to calm him.

“Simeon, don’t be upset. It was harmless,” she said, waving a hand to demonstrate how inconsequential that man had been.

Her words and her actions did nothing to calm Simeon. In fact, they only seemed to make him angrier.

“Nothing?” he said, his expression bordering on outrage.

“Yeah, Simeon. Nothing,” she replied, trying and failing to keep her own cool.

He scoffed, the sound bitter, humorless, and far too reminiscent of the Simeon who had confronted her those weeks ago, the Simeon she wanted to forget.

“It probably is nothing to you. You probably get off on it, don’t you? Are you disappointed that I didn’t beat the shit out of that guy? You would have liked that, wouldn’t you? Watching me protect your
honor
. Would you have fucked that guy if I hadn’t shown up?”

He seemed to transform before her eyes, and by the time he finished speaking, Simeon was nearly vibrating with rage, his expression verging on furious. She watched him, waited, and then realized that she couldn’t possibly reason with him. He didn’t trust her, and nothing she could say would convince him, not when he was like this.

Having decided that talking would be of no benefit, Claire turned and headed toward one of the other bedrooms. She hadn’t actually spent much time exploring the house, but she knew there had to be somewhere she could go to be away from him. Because she couldn’t look at him right now.

“Go ahead. Leave, Claire. You never wanted to be here and you never wanted me. And I don’t want you either,” Simeon said, his voice low and cold.

Her words stopped her and she turned toward him. He wasn’t yelling, didn’t even seem angry anymore, but she saw the flash of something in his eyes, something that was far too like hurt for Claire. But it was gone as quickly as she’d seen it, and for a moment she wondered if she had imagined it.

Then she wondered no more. She was sick of Simeon’s games, sick of always feeling wrong when all she’d ever wanted to do was love him.

“So you’re ending this?” she asked.

He seemed momentarily surprised, but then he narrowed his eyes. “Why not? I’ve gotten what I wanted from you,” he said.

She knew he said the words to hurt her, but her awareness of his intention didn’t make the words sting any less. She’d always known what this was, but she’d deluded herself into thinking it had grown into something else. It hadn’t, though, and she might as well drop the charade.

“And will there be consequences for this, Simeon?” she finally asked.

Her voice was cold, distant, but there was nothing else she could do. Simeon had exhausted her, beaten all of the fight out of her, and she wouldn’t let him take anything more.

“Consequences? Such as?” he asked, his distant billionaire self back in place, no hint of the old Simeon there.

“My job. My…parents,” she said.

He smiled, but she’d never seen a less amused, more distant thing in her life. And rather than filling her with happiness, that expression was another dagger in her heart.

“You weren’t perfect, far from it, but you held up your end of the bargain, so I’ll hold up mine. You can have your job, and don’t worry about your precious father. He has nothing to worry about from me. I keep my word, rich girl,” he said.

Claire recoiled as if she’d been slapped, and in some way she had been. She glared at him, responding though reason told her to let this topic lie. “Are you saying I don’t?”

His silence was answer enough.

His silence was also the final straw. She exploded.

“How dare you! How
dare
you!” she yelled.

He didn’t respond, which only spiked her anger, and she closed the few spaces between them and glared up at him.

“You may have forgotten this, Simeon, between your grudge holding and bitterness, but
you
walked out on
me
. Not the other way around. You broke my heart like it was nothing. And now you show up, threaten me, suck me back in with your stupid games. Then blame me!”

She glared at him, her heart galloping not with passion or desire, but with rage and heartbreak. Then she shook her head, a realization hitting her.

“You know what? It’s my fault. I knew you couldn’t be trusted. But I wanted you so much,
missed
you so much that I ignored it. And this is what I get.”

“Broke your heart?” He spoke low, his voice barely audible, but it brimmed with emotion. “You betrayed me. You lied to me.”

“Never! I never did that,” she said vehemently.

“You’re lying now. Did you lie to the others, too? How many men did you con with your nice and sweet and innocent facade? How many did you get with your pretty smile and innocent eyes and great tits? How many did you chew up and spit out like you did to me?”

His voice never rose above a tight whisper, but Claire couldn’t miss the scorn and anger it in. She deflated completely, all of the air sucked out of her.

She stared at him, searching his eyes for something that she didn’t find. Finally, she spoke. “There were no others, Simeon. There was only you. Ever. Only you.”

Claire continued to watch him and she still got no response.

Then, finally she asked, prim and proper like Simeon always accused her of being, “Would you please take me home?”