Billionaire Romance Boxed Set (9 Book Bundle) (68 page)

My head was swimming when I
climbed into the town car at the end of the day, and I barely answered the
driver when he spoke to me. Realistically, I knew Daniel would help me figure
out a way to deal with any issues that came up. He was highly motivated to
ensure the success of our little scheme. But I was still going to worry.

I felt like a zombie for the rest
of the night, but of course I couldn’t sleep when I finally crawled into bed.
When I finally drifted off to sleep, it happened so gradually that I shifted
seamlessly from meandering thoughts into a dream.

I was thinking about Daniel,
naturally, imagining a conversation we’d have in his office when we next met.
But as my brain slowly drifted from sleeping to waking, there was an
almost-imperceptible shift in the feeling of the room. I could feel that
something was about to happen - something important. He stood up and walked out
from behind his desk, coming towards me. I thought he was speaking - something
about my “marital duties,” with a wicked smile on his face. Every nerve
in my body was tingling with anticipation by the time he touched me. His
fingers burned a trail down the side of my face, to my neck, to my chest, and
suddenly I was laid out on the top of his desk with my blouse unbuttoned and my
skirt riding up my thighs.

This being a dream - which I knew
somehow, even as I sighed and parted my legs for him - he knew exactly how to
touch me, knew all of the secret places that made me shudder and bite my lip. I
could feel my nipples pucker and tighten as two of his fingers travelled down
the valley between my breasts, pausing to dip into my navel before sliding down
my lower stomach and stopping, teasingly, just above my mound.

He smiled.

He leaned over me, resting his
elbow on the desk and brushing his lips against mine - an almost-but-not-quite
kiss. I could feel my face burning, my chest heaving with every breath; I’d
completely fallen to pieces and he’d hardly touched me at all. Yet.

The part of my brain that was
aware I was dreaming drifted further and further away, allowing me to lose
myself in the fantasy. No one in real life, not even Daniel himself, could
possibly live up to this. But I might as well enjoy it while it lasted.

I arched my back, signaling that
I was more than ready for him. Then and only then, he grabbed me by the hips
and pulled me to the edge of the desk, pulling my legs apart further until my
skirt was bunched up around my waist. He leaned down and pressed a burning kiss
on the inside of my thigh -

Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!

My arm flailed vaguely in the
direction of my bedside table, grasping for my vibrating phone, my spastic
movements sending it flying across the room. It sat on the carpet, still
buzzing away, until I dragged myself out from under the covers to shut the
alarm up.

Oh, God. How was I going to look
Daniel in the eye now?

Chapter Three

The memory of the dream was still
vivid in the back of my mind as I walked through the doors into the office. I
kept my head down, hurrying to my desk to settle in before anyone tried to
strike up a conversation with me. And God forbid I should run into Daniel. Come
to think of it, though, I’d never actually witnessed him coming or going. As
far as I knew, he slept here.

Okay, no, that wasn’t the ideal
way to take my mind off of my dream. I forced myself to focus on the work that
was on my screen, blocking out any thoughts or feelings that weren’t directly
related to this booklet design. It didn’t have a firm deadline, so I’d been
tinkering around with it for weeks. I wondered what would happen to it, after I
“quit.” As mind-numbing as my work could sometimes be, I still took a
tiny bit of creative pride in what I did for the company. It felt strange to
know that I’d be saying goodbye to all of that.

“Maddy.”

I felt a hot flush spread across
the back of my neck at the sound of his voice. Turning around slowly, I forced
myself to meet his gaze. He was standing there casually, like it was the most
natural thing in the world, his arm resting on the top of the cubicle wall.

“Good morning, sir,” I
said. Everyone in neighborhood cubicles had slowly rotated their chairs around
to stare at us, and anyone passing through the vicinity had stopped a little
distance away, pretending to be interested in a yellowed newspaper cartoon
pinned to someone’s wall while they listened to our conversation.

I knew this was exactly what
Daniel wanted, but I still couldn’t stop myself from blushing. “I’m glad
to see you here so early,” he said. “Do you have any plans for lunch
today?”

I swallowed hard and shook my
head.

“Excellent,” he said.
“I hope you’ll join me in my office at eleven-thirty. We’ll order in.
Whatever you like. I want to discuss some new ideas I have about the
project.”

“Of course,” I said, a
little louder than necessary. “I’ll see you then.”

“Very good.” He nodded,
smiled, hesitated for a moment, and then walked away. Everyone’s eyes followed
him until he disappeared behind his office door, and then they all turned to
me.

I hunched over my keyboard,
pretending I couldn’t feel their eyes drilling holes in my back. I spent the
next half hour nudging the same block of text back and forth, and when I
finally looked up, everyone had returned to their rightful places. But I knew
what they were thinking.

Now, I had to spend my whole
lunch break sitting across the desk from him. How was I going to avoid blushing
and giggling the whole time? Or worse, just staring at him like a deer in the
headlights? I hated being reduced to an airheaded schoolgirl by one stupid
dream, but it felt so real.

The next few hours flew by. Before
long, I found myself walking down the thickly carpeted hallway that led to
Daniel’s office. His door was open a crack, and his assistant was standing by
his desk with a notepad open.

“Ah, Ms. Wainright,” he
said, gesturing for me to sit. “I was just about to give Alice my lunch
order. I was thinking of takeout from Vivian’s - how does that sound?”

“Great, it sounds
great,” I replied, after I managed to find my voice. Vivian’s was one of
the most expensive steak houses in town. I’d never dreamed of setting foot in
the place. But to Daniel, it was probably like going to a sub shop for lunch.
No big deal. This lifestyle was going to take some adjusting-to.

“Alice, I’ll have a
twelve-ounce Porterhouse with mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus. Medium
rare. Ms. Wainright, what about you?”

“Oh, I don’t really…I don’t
really know what they have.” Daniel and Alice were both staring at me
expectantly, and I felt like I was being tested somehow.

“All the usual,” said
Daniel, waving his hand vaguely. “They’ll make you anything. What do you
like, steak? Chicken? Seafood? I think I’ve had everything there at least once,
I could recommend you something.”

“I’m not picky,”
I said, truthfully. “I was going to have mostly-smashed energy bar from
the bottom of my purse, so pretty much anything would be a step up from
that.”

Daniel laughed, but Alice shot me
a haughty look. “Would you rather have something light, then?” said
Daniel. “A salad, maybe? Their Caesar with grilled shrimp is really
excellent; the dressing is a special in-house recipe.”

“Sure, that sounds
fantastic.” I cleared my throat as Alice hurried out of the room with her
notepad. “Do you get lunch at Vivian’s often?”

“Just a few times a
week.” He was smiling at me, knowingly. “I promise you, my life isn’t
all that strange. You’ll get used to it. Which brings me to my next point - I
feel we ought to go out on our first official dinner date sooner rather than
later. I’m sure the office gossip mill is going to start soon.”

“My cube-mate asked me
yesterday why I was spending so much time in your office,” I supplied,
trying not to fidget in my seat. But I couldn’t stop myself from staring at his
lips, trying to remember if the recreation from my dream was accurate to real
life. I could feel a prickling heat travel up the skin on my chest as my eyes
travelled along the sleek, polished surface of his desk, remembering how it had
“felt” under my body. Almost subconsciously, I had worn a knee-length
skirt and blouse very similar to the outfit my brain had conjured up. I still
couldn’t really explain why. Did I think it was going to make him notice me?
Did I want him to notice me?

The last thing I needed was to
harbor a one-sided crush on my fake husband.

“Is it going to be somewhere
fancy?” I blurted out, trying to disrupt my very dangerous thought
patterns. He blinked at me. “I mean, the dinner date. I don’t really think
I have anything to wear.”

“Yes, I was about to
ask…” he dug out his wallet and pulled out a crisp off-white business
card, handing it to me across the desk. “If you go to this boutique, you
should find the staff very accommodating. They have my credit card on file.
I’ll call ahead and let them know to expect you. Buy whatever you like. Don’t
hold yourself back; you’ll certainly find occasion to wear all of it in the
next year.”

I stared at the card. “Thank
you.”

He steered the conversation to
small talk for the next few minutes, covering everything from the unseasonably
warm weather to a funny news article he’d seen that morning. I’d never known
him to be this talkative, or this casual, and I found myself growing quieter
and quieter. I was still trying to digest the strangeness of it all; trying to
picture myself walking into the boutique. I felt like the mere act of shopping
there required nicer clothes than I had in my closet.

Alice returned with our food in
record time. Daniel was right. The salad was delicious, but I could barely
taste it. My eyes kept drifting to his mouth, watching the way it closed around
each bite, the way his tongue flicked out to lick his lips clean -

Okay, I had a serious problem on
my hands. I just had to hope it would wear off once the memory of the dream
faded. Because if this was permanent, the next year of my life was going to be
an elaborate form of torture.

I was relieved to escape from his
office, hurrying back to my desk. I buried myself in meaningless busy work for
the rest of the day. I survived the rest of the week that way, and to my
surprise, I fielded exactly zero questions about the nature of my relationship
with Daniel. I really expected someone to say something; a few times I swore
someone was about to, but then they clammed up and retreated. Maybe Daniel
intimidated them. He certainly did me. Being perfectly honest with myself, I
was terrified of disappointing him in some way. He obviously thought I was more
than capable of pretending to be his wife for legal purposes, but I had my
doubts. What if I made some terrible blunder, or revealed something
incriminating to the INS? What if I just did something horribly embarrassing -
something that would force him to stand up for me as if I were really his wife?

I went to the boutique on
Saturday, slipping into the newest jeans I had and a pretty decent blouse that
didn’t have a single stain on it. Still, the moment the bell jingled above my
head as I walked through the door, I was painfully aware of being out of my
element. I ought to have worn high heels, or gotten my hair done, or something.
One of the sales girls came over to me, and I felt like her smile was a little
bit forced.

“Can I help you?” she
asked, looking me up and down.

“I need a dress,” I
said. “I’m sure you can tell I’m out of my element. Daniel Thorne told me
to come here, he said -“

“Oh, of course.” Her
demeanor instantly thawed. “Right over here, Ms. Wainright. It’s a
pleasure to meet you. My name’s Emma. I’ve pulled a few pieces for you. Let me
know what you think. Mr. Thorne wasn’t sure of your size, but I’m sure we can
find it if you like any of them.”

“To be
perfectly honest, I’m not sure I know my size either. It’s been so long since
I’ve bought a dress.” I looked up at what she’d chosen for me; there was
something black and slinky and something else in a deep purple, and more behind
those that I couldn’t really see.

“Let’s take your
measurements, then. Step into a fitting room.” She was already unwinding a
tailor’s tape.

Once she’d wrapped it around my
waist, hips, and bust, she scribbled a few things on a notepad I hadn’t even
noticed she had. “All right,” she said. “A few of these will
probably fit you just fine, but we can work with the others as well. Why don’t
you try the black one on first?”

I stepped out of my clothes and
slipped it over my head, spinning around in the mirror as the folds of fabric
settled on the curves and contours of my body. I had to admit I liked the way
it clung to my chest, but I wasn’t happy with the overall shape of it. I looked
to Emma for guidance.

She shook her head. “It’s
not quite right for you. I had a feeling it wouldn’t be. Try the purple.”

Close, but it still didn’t look
right to me. Then again, I wasn’t sure if my expectations of how I would look
in a dress were very realistic. I was thinking of magazine photo shoots
airbrushed all to hell. No matter what I wore, I was still going to have all
the lumps and bumps of a real human woman.

Emma was tugging at the hem. It
fell at an odd place, just below my knee, which threw off the whole look of the
dress.

“We can take this in a
little bit, if you end up liking it,” she said. “But let’s try
something else. I think Mr. Thorne wants you to have something off the rack. He
made it sound like time was a factor, and I’ve got a few clients ahead of you
in line for alterations.”

I nodded, and she dug through her
selections for a moment, finally pulling out something in the deepest shade of
midnight blue I’d ever seen. Instantly, the color transported me back to a fond
childhood memory of walking through the mall, hand-in-hand with my mom, before
things went sour between us. I’d look up at the massive skylights that lined
the main concourses, just after dusk, seeing the sky just as it turned this
particular shade of blue. I couldn’t explain why, but something about that
color always made my young heart swell with the beauty of it.

Emma was smiling.
“Here,” she said. “I can tell you’re in love with it already.
Try it on.”

It was light and silky, fitting
over me like a second skin, but not clinging too tight. My breath caught in my
throat as I looked at my reflection. Almost instinctively, I reached up and
undid my ponytail, letting my hair fall loose around my shoulders. I tossed my
head. Now I looked like someone who belonged on Daniel’s arm.

Emma’s smile had broken
into a grin, lighting her whole face up with the satisfaction of a job well
done. I felt a scratch against my armpit, and I remembered for the first time
that these dresses had price tags. But as I lifted my arm and tried to grab
onto the tag with my other hand, Emma stepped forward and gently pulled my hand
away.

“I’m sorry, but I’m under
very particular instructions not to let you look at the price.”

I stared at her. “Are you
serious?”

She smiled. “Come on. Let’s
find you some accessories.”

Emma showed me a necklace and a
pair of earrings, elegant silver pieces with alternating light blue and white
pearls and crystal pendants, far more delicate and beautiful than anything I’d
ever worn. She put me in front of a mirror and fastened the necklace while I
slipped the earrings in.

It was perfect. The lighter blue
of the jewelry was beautifully complemented by the midnight blue of the fabric,
and when Emma pulled my hair into a quick bun on the top of my head, I hardly
even recognized myself. A pair of matching shoes, and I looked ready for the
red carpet.

Walking out of the shop, I tried
not to even think about how much money I’d just spent. Daniel wanted me to have
these things. That was the important part. A few hundred - or, God forbid, a
few thousand dollars were nothing to him in exchange for me having a nice
outfit.

My phone went off just as I
walked through the door of my apartment. Sighing, I dropped my purchases on the
couch and dug it out of my purse. Unknown Name, Unknown Number. I almost let it
go to voicemail, but changed by mind at the last minute.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Maddy. How are
you?”

“Daniel.” I stopped in
the middle of my living room, my heart thudding at the sound of his voice. I’d
really been looking forward to a whole weekend of being away from him, avoiding
his knowing smiles and deep green eyes and all the things that reminded me of
that damn dream. “I just got back from the boutique, actually.”

“Oh, did Emma treat you
well?”