Billionaires in Paris: An Alpha Billionaire Romance (14 page)

“Yes, Spencer has told me about you.” Marilyn sighs. “Kathryn too, of course. Seems you’re a popular man, Mr. Mathers.”

I’m not sure if I should be flattered or frightened.

Marilyn orders nothing more than an appetizer, so I do the same. No sense in filling up on food if there’s a chance I’ll eat with Kathryn later. You know, the ridiculously confident woman I left half an hour ago. The last thing she whispered in my ear was,
“I look forward to your return.”

Do you think Marilyn has any idea what kind of woman her daughter really is?

There isn’t much for us to talk about. Marilyn isn’t forthcoming, and I’m at a loss for how to break the ice. So after the waiter leaves, I say, “I wanted to meet you because Kathryn is very important to me. We’ve been together for over a year now.”

Her eyes narrow. Does she know what direction this is going in?

“Anyway…” Not even business contacts who permanently have sticks up their asses make me this uncomfortable. “It’s good to finally meet you. I had hoped to meet you before now, but I suppose it wasn’t in the universe’s master plan.”

“No, I suppose not. I don’t go back to America very often.”

Kathryn doesn’t come to see her hardly at all. Every time I bring it up, my girlfriend says she would rather pick up cat vomit.

“I know you met with her the other night. She came back to our room fairly upset.”

I’m playing with fire here, and I know it. Why not blow some hot air all over it?

Sure enough, Marilyn leans back in her seat and clears her throat. “She told me some rather upsetting things. Like how you and her eloped in Vegas.”

Well, then! Was Kathryn ever going to share that detail with me? Even my father knows about that now. The only one who doesn’t is Spencer, my would be father-in-law, and I intend to keep it that way. That
would
get him to hack off my dick. “I hope she also told you that we had it annulled. No harm done to either of our images. Or incomes.” I know that’s what she cares the most about. Marilyn didn’t spend the first part of her married life ensuring her daughter’s fortunes for nothing.

“She did. Still can’t say I was pleased with that, Mr. Mathers.”

“To be sure. There’s a reason your husband doesn’t know. We hope to keep it that way.”

“Your secret is safe. The last thing I want to talk about is our daughter’s nuptials.”

“Speaking of…” Boy, it’s getting hot in here. “Kathryn and I are discussing possibly getting married sometime in the future.” Far into the future, I’m sure. We’re still having petty squabbles over who should move in permanently with whom, or if we should buy our own place together. She doesn’t like the idea of having to sell her place, and I’m not crazy about moving into her abode. I don’t mind staying there half the week, but full time? Too much. She’s got lace curtains everywhere. My cat would eat them.

“She mentioned that too. Not sure why you’re talking to me about it. Kathryn is well aware of my position on the matter.”

“Which is?”

Marilyn glares at me over the rim of her wineglass. “If there is one thing I’ve wanted Kathryn to learn from me, it is this: never get married. Have all the fun she wants, but marriage is like selling your soul to the devil himself.”

Holy shit. Where does one begin unpacking that bullshit? Did Spencer do something to her that neither Kathryn nor I know about? No wonder my girlfriend has some fucking issues!

“I thought she was on the right track. My daughter and I aren’t close, this is true, but she is a smart and capable young woman. Don’t you think so, Mr. Mathers?”

“Absolutely. It’s part of the reason I love…”

“Then why would you want to tear that down?”

I am at a total loss for words. What the fuck, Marilyn Alison.

“I can tell from the look on your face that you’re shocked I would say such a thing. Do I doubt your intentions for my daughter? Not really. I don’t know enough about you to make that call. I do know, however, that one of the worst things a woman can do for herself is get married. No good has ever come from beholding one’s self to a man.”

Alpha Asshole Ian would like to make a joke about gay marriage being legal, so Marilyn is totally in luck, but I shall refrain. “Kathryn would never be beholden to me. The extent to which I wish to take care of her is purely emotional and, yes, physical. Not financially. I know she’s fine in that department.”

“Perhaps too fine?”

“I can assure you that I am a man of my own fortune. Should we get married, she would be the first to insist on a very harsh prenup.”

“Then I
have
taught her well.” Why is she smiling? Oh my God, I am in deep shit and I don’t know how to swim out of it! “Perhaps there is hope for Kathryn after all. I know she is a lovesick kitten. It happens to the best of women. But I also know you men. You may think you love her now, but it’s only a matter of time before you cast her aside. You should know quite well, Mr. Mathers. Your parents are your first examples.”

That was a low fucking blow and she knows it. My mother did cite that my father’s affairs were a reason for them getting divorced, but it’s not like she was innocent either. More like it was a convenient legal excuse to get the ball rolling toward alimony payments. As dysfunctional as they are, though, it’s evident that they still love each other. They must, if they keep having an on-again off-again romantic relationship. Was it only last month I walked in on them in my father’s office? Some things will never be wiped from this poor boy’s brain.

“Kathryn and I have a very happy and healthy relationship. My respect for her is unmatched by any other man’s.” My hands are curling beneath the table. “I assure you, Mrs. Alison, I will spend the rest of my life doing everything I can to ensure her happiness.”

Marilyn leans across the table, her transparent cheeks pinking the closer she gets to me. “Then don’t marry her. You want her to be happy with you? Never put that pressure on her. I’m sure you think you’re quite the catch, Mr. Mathers. Most men assume they are. How else would your egos continue to persist? Unfortunately, reality is a harsh mistress. I know about your history as a womanizer. I also know about the other things.” Her voice turns into a bitter sneer. “I could see it in my daughter’s eyes when I saw her. She’s changing because of you. For the better? Probably not. She was more nervous and more unsure of herself than I had ever seen. This is what happens when a woman begins to serve a man. It will end with her completely losing who she is and…”

I’ve had enough.

“What do you know about her?” I ask. “You left her.
You
left
her.
You know why she’s such a wreck around you? Because she blames herself for your leaving.” Kathryn has never said this outright, but I doubt my gut is wrong. “You know what else? She’s afraid of turning into
you.
We’ve spent the past year unboxing her issues. Most of them regard you. I don’t know what you’ve heard about me, and I don’t care. I’m not going to tell you I’m a changed man. The only thing that’s changed is that I’m devoted to no one but her. That doesn’t scare me. Monogamy has never frightened me. Until I met Kathryn, though, I hadn’t met a woman who deserved such an honor in my life. Now I have. She’s the only woman I want for the rest of my life. If you can’t see that much worth in our relationship, then I don’t know what to tell you. All I know is that I want to be there for her until the world deems it’s time for me to go.”

Marilyn studies me, demeanor unchanged. “I’m sure you believe that, Mr. Mathers.”

“I’m sure you know a
lot
about my lifestyle. I won’t deny any of it. I won’t tell you that Kathryn and I don’t have that kind of relationship. We do. You know what else?”

“No, but I’m sure you’ll tell me.”

I can’t with this woman. Absolutely cannot. She’s so twisted in her own head she only sees warning signs everywhere she goes. I’m sure I’m the biggest warning sign of all, flashing right in her face.

“Your daughter isn’t any different from me. How do you think we got together? Our deviancy goes both ways, Mrs. Alison.”

I say it with so much conviction that I feel like I’m at church!

There’s no way to tell if she believes me or not. At this point? I don’t give a shit. She could think I’m a woman-eater out to destroy her daughter’s life. She could think I’m telling the truth. I’m done. Now I have a taste of what Kathryn deals with all the time. Shit, if this woman was my mother, I’d have a mess of issues too!

Our appetizers arrive. With her eyes still locked on mine, Marilyn stabs her food with a fork and rips it open with her teeth.

Ah, I firmly see how they’re related now. Kathryn makes that same face when she’s about to tear me a new asshole. Only difference is that I like it when
she
does it!

***

“How did it go?” Kathryn asks from the couch in the middle of our hotel room. I shut the door behind me and instantly rid myself of my coat and wallet. When I was marching up here, all I could think of was the burning anger inside of me. Not only did Marilyn Alison say a bunch of baseless shit about me, but she kept insisting that Kathryn would never be happy married. As the man who wants to marry the woman now lounging in front of me…

Good sparkling heavens, she is an ethereal woman.

Somehow, gazing upon her, fresh from the bath and dressed in a clingy black T-shirt and jeans has calmed me. Kathryn still has the same aura that I left her with an hour ago. Actually, it’s stronger now. She’s had more time to stew in her moment. After a full day of doing nothing but waiting on her and letting her take the lead… she knows what she’s about now.

When I told Marilyn that it went both ways in our relationship, I didn’t mean we equally agreed on our bedroom practices. Not from the perspective of a Dom and his female sub, anyway. I meant what I said. Kathryn submits to me, and in return…

My body eases from the tension gripping every muscle. “It went well. How are you?” Good. I’m not betraying the anger still bubbling inside of me. “You look quite cozy in here.”

She slinks off the couch and comes to me, hips sashaying and hair tossed behind her shoulders. That’s not a sex kitten come to make me comfortable, though. That’s a seductive vixen who has chosen me as her target.

Soft, feminine hands full of strength are on my chest, clutching my shoulders, and then wrapping behind my neck. The hungry demeanor in front of me wants to gobble me up – and probably spit me out. Would I let it? Hell yes. “I’ve been thinking of nothing but you since you left.” One arm pulls back, her finger tracing the outline of my lips. “Have you been thinking about me?”

“Yes.” It’s the truth. I simply don’t tell her that most of those thoughts have been filtered through her mother. “I’m always thinking about you.”

She has to slightly reach up to kiss me, but she feels stronger for it. What has she been thinking about since I left her? Hopefully me. Doing things to her.
For
her.

Kathryn’s teeth nip my bottom lip and drag it as far as it can go. A purr escapes her as she finally releases it. I don’t flinch. “Do you know what I want to do to you, Ian?” Her hands are all over me. Here I am, standing like a stoic bastard, replaying that horrible scene with my future mother-in-law over and over in my head like a bad movie… and Kathryn is clearly trying to arouse me.

“No. What do you want to do to me?” I now know how she felt the other night. Coming back, licking wounds she didn’t know existed, hoping I would be the answer to her discomfort. It’s enough to make me want to hold her until we’re both locked together in a never-ending swaying motion. “Please don’t leave anything out.”

Now she’s biting her own bottom lip, eyes glazing over as she imagines the raunchiest things imaginable. I kinda wanna know, and I kinda
don’t
wanna know. “I want to do things that I’ve never had the chance to do with you before.”

“Hmm.” I dare to touch her. Wispy hair falls through my fingers. Her skin is warm from the bath. Or maybe that’s the blood surging through her as she becomes aroused long before I do. The only question my cock asks is whether or not she’s wet enough to take it yet. He has no appreciation for foreplay.

I do.

“I’m open to a lot of ideas today,” I say.

“Oh, I’ve noticed. I’ve never seen you like this before.” There’s a hand under my sweater now. Kathryn’s nails always know how to wake up my skin. “I like this side of you, though. You should show it off more often.”

She doesn’t have to elaborate. She likes making all the decisions sometimes. She
likes
looking at me with nothing but the eyes of a sexual being. If Kathryn firmly had her way, this would probably be our lives once a week. Many times a week.

I have to admit, right now it doesn’t sound like a bad idea. Even men want to stop making decisions once in a while. Give our brains a rest. Stop worrying about being manly enough for the world. Sit back and
be.

“Why don’t you have a seat on the couch?” Kathryn pulls away. “I’ll be right there.”

I’ve got a good idea what’s going on here, but I’m not going to voice my assumptions until they’re already coming true. Let’s say I don’t feel any inhibitions going to the couch and having my first relaxing seat in quite a while. There was nothing comfortable about that restaurant chair the whole time I was there.