Burn Into Me (37 page)
Authors: Jillian Leeson
“I’m sorry, beautiful, but I’ll have to catch up on some work. Why don’t you have a rest?”
I stand and open up her personal closet, handing her a bag of toiletries and a set of pajamas.
“Get changed. I’ll get your bed ready.”
“But I—”
“No buts.” I reach out my hand to help her up from her seat, and when she’s fully upright, I deliver a tight slap on that perfect ass of hers.
“Go on—change.”
Elle glowers at me, raising her finger, but I grab her hand and bring its knuckles to my lips, grinning. She’s so damn adorable when she looks at me like that. And she is insane to think she can pretend to be angry with me when I spot the twinkle in her eye that she’s desperate to suppress. I can’t help but let out a chuckle when she snatches the pajamas from me and stomps off.
As if she’s overheard our conversation, a flight attendant magically appears the moment Elle leaves. With one push of a button on a touchscreen display, she folds out her seat into a bed and covers it with fresh white sheets, a soft cashmere blanket and a pillow.
It stings to look at the inviting bed I know I won’t be able to share with Elle. But when she returns, looking cute in her gray airline PJs, her eyes grow wide at the sight of it, and that soothes my heart. I love seeing her joy and appreciation for the little luxuries I’ve come to take for granted over the years.
“Wow. That’s like a real bed,” she says.
“Try it out. It’s comfortable, probably more so than that lumpy bed of yours.”
“I like my bed,” she growls, but her hand gingerly pressing down on the blanket gives away her curiosity. I take the pile of clothes from her to store them in her closet while she slips under the covers, pulling the blanket up to her chin.
“You’re right,” she says, “it
is
comfortable.”
“I told you.”
“Mmm. This feels really good. And you know how it would feel even better?”
Her hand emerges from under the covers, reaching for me. “If you’d join me.”
I point to the open side of the suite. “We won’t have much privacy. And I think it’s a bit narrow for both of us.”
“I don’t care.”
Elle sits up, grabs my shirt, and yanks me down, but I just manage to prop myself up on my elbows on either side of her, willing myself to stay strong and not give in, although my body screams the very opposite.
“I’ll make it up to you when we get to the hotel, I promise. And you know I don’t like it when you’re wearing anything in bed but me.”
Tugging on the collar of her soft PJs, I lean in for a kiss, savoring the sweetness of her lips, but before I get lost in it—in her—I press a remote control into her hand.
“In the meantime, enjoy the inflight entertainment.”
I flip the flatscreen TV screen up and press a button on the remote control. All too soon Elle is engrossed in the myriad of entertainment options, and my heart sinks a little when I realize she has forgotten about me.
Sighing, I sink down into my seat and open up my laptop. The churn in my stomach that has tormented me for the past few weeks returns.
I may have told Elle we are taking a fun holiday to China, but that is not entirely true. As I told her, a technical glitch struck my company’s computer system, despite all the state-of-the-art, top-level security measures I had installed. But what I failed to mention is that in that brief time window when the system was down, the stocks I had heavily invested in, plummeted. And I lost a lot of money.
A
lot
.
It was particularly painful as I had just gone big into the market, using my personal as well as borrowed funds. I was going to make a killing. And a killing it was—to the tune of a hundred million dollars.
For an experienced trader and hedge fund manager like me, it isn’t an amount I’d be overly worried about. I am confident I can earn it back, given some time. But this temporary setback was enough for half of our clients to withdraw their investments immediately, having lost faith in the company—in me.
I tried to convince them not to leave; after all, this has never happened before, ever since I’ve founded my fund management firm five years ago. But nothing I said could sway them; they’d already made up their minds, sweet-talked into joining my competitors. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if one of them has something to do with the computer malfunction.
And now the computer system is down, the company’s income is easily halved, while outgoings remain constant—rent, wages, and other overheads, not to mention charity donations and investments. So I have to find a way to bridge the multi-million dollar shortfall. If I can’t, everything I worked so hard for throughout the years will vanish in a flash.
I double-click on the presentation I’ve prepared for this trip and flip through the slides. All I need is a few big investors, preferably far from the tight-knit world of Wall Street, where rumors spread like wildfire. So where else to turn but China, the fastest growing market in the world? If I am lucky I will be able to attract the clients I need in the next few days, when we attend an exclusive luxury-goods trade show in China, followed by some business meetings in Hong Kong.
If I can secure the necessary investments, Elle and I can have the holiday I promised her. More importantly, I can convince her to move in with me. I don’t know why she has been so hesitant, insisting on keeping her apartment where she stays for a couple of nights a week. Doesn’t she know how much I want her—need her—to stay with me?
We’ve been too busy lately to talk, to really talk. But it’s been virtually impossible with the problems that have been keeping me up at night. Right now, my first priority is business.
I
must
save my company. And this has nothing to do with pride or fear of failure—I don’t care a damn about any of that. What I care about is the people who will be affected by my firm’s collapse: my staff, our suppliers, the loyal clients who have stuck by me. And more importantly, the homeless families who are waiting to be accommodated in a new housing development I’m funding in Chelsea. This would give them the break in life they so desperately need. But without my funding, the project will be scrapped, and hundreds of children will continue to live rough on the streets.
And that is why I won’t be able to tell Elle the real reason why we’re taking this trip. I wouldn’t be able to bear it: to see her crushed when the project she is so passionate about is in jeopardy. I will have to keep it from her; there’s no point letting her worry about this. In spite of her good intentions, she won’t be able to help me. She would just start worrying, and that is the last thing I want her to do. Lately she has been so happy, and she has every right to be. Her hard work has borne fruit—she has had plenty of partnership and sponsorship offers for her app project. No, I don’t have the right to burden her with my problems.
A ping snaps my eyes back to the screen. An unread email message is waiting for me in my inbox. It is from Alliance Partners, one of my oldest clients, with the subject “Thank you.” A feeling of dread comes over me, and my hand trembles when I open it. The first line proves me right: “It is with regret that we will have to withdraw our funds from Crest Management.”
Shit. Another client leaving.
I drop my head and wedge it between my clammy hands, my fingers massaging my temples to soothe the splitting ache that is threatening to burst my skull. This trip
has
to work out, even if it’s going to be the death of me. Because for the first time in my career I realize: I could lose it all. Not only my money and the material goods that go with it, but even my relationship with Elle.
Although I know she probably couldn’t care less, I believe that my material wealth defines me. Without it, I won’t be
me
. Without it, I’ll become a lesser man. A man who lives from charity handed out by people with pity in their eyes—something I want to avoid at all costs. I’ve had enough of that when I was a little boy growing up on the streets.
I never, ever want to see that pity in Elle’s eyes. I only want to see sheer joy and excitement in them when I take her on more first-class flights like this, drive her around in my beloved Ferraris, travel with her to my houses all over the world. Because that is what she deserves. She has suffered more than enough in her life, and I need to make sure she is always well taken care of.
I start typing my reply to the client, trying to set up a meeting for when I get back. And I am about to send the email when my laptop lid suddenly thuds shut.
What the hell?
The fury I intend to unleash instantly dissipates when Elle appears in front of me, her eyes half closed, her dark long hair in a tangled mess. It reminds me of watching her wake up in the morning—soft and warm from sleep.
“Ryder! You’re working too hard.”
With furrowed brow, she bends over and moves my laptop to the side table. I try to reach for it, but she pushes my hand away.
“Nah-ah. That’s enough for today.”
“Beautiful, come on, I’ve got to finish this.”
She sidles into my seat, pressing her body against mine, and slings her long legs across my lap.
“You said this is going to be a holiday, not a business trip. So I won’t allow you to do any more work than you have to. If you go on like this, you’ll kill yourself working. Have you had any sleep?”
I nod. “Yeah, sure.”
I haven’t slept a wink; in fact, I haven’t slept much at all in the past few weeks, but I’m not about to tell her that. So I do the first thing I think of to put her mind at rest—I fake a yawn. Pretty convincing, I think, because she smiles and strokes my cheek.
“You slept, huh? I don’t see any sleep marks. You can’t fool me.”
She pulls my head against her chest, and after kissing me on the head, she starts rubbing my neck and my shoulders.
“My poor baby,” she says, “you really need this holiday. It looks like you haven’t had a good sleep in weeks. I’ll really have to keep you in bed most of the time. I’ll make you relax.”
“Mmm, that sounds good.”
I close my eyes, relishing the feel of Elle’s soft, warm body against mine, while she continues massaging me. The splitting ache in my head subsides when I finally allow myself to relax a little. In spite of the difficulties I’m going through, I feel like I’m the luckiest guy on earth. I love Elle so much; she is my everything. And I wouldn’t want to let her down—ever.
I just hope and pray I won’t have to.
Want to read more? Get your copy now!
Burn For You
by Jillian Leeson
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www.amazon.com/dp/B00UQLIUDC
Other Books by Jillian Leeson
Burn For You
(Burn Into Me #2)
- A New Adult Romantic Suspense Novel -
They were supposed to have a romantic holiday … until they were violently torn apart.
Against all odds, they’re finally together: Ryder, the billionaire Wall Street tycoon and Elle, the tattooed student activist from the rough parts of Harlem. They had a rocky start—the clash of their two worlds almost pulled them apart. But they’re determined to make their relationship work. An idyllic holiday to Asia seemed like the perfect chance to spend time together and overcome their differences.
How wrong they were.
What started as a relaxing getaway, soon turns into their worst nightmare. A nightmare that sees them ripped apart, changing their lives forever.
Will their love be enough to bring them back together?
Set in the exotic backdrop of Hong Kong and south China,
Burn For You
is a wild, thrilling, sexy ride that will keep you glued on the edge of your seat until the very end. This is the sequel to
Burn Into Me
, but can be read as a standalone novel. It contains mature content and is recommended for 18+ due to mature language and adult situations. Full-length HEA novel (94,000 words) told from two perspectives.
Get your copy!
Burn For You
by Jillian Leeson
- Three Contemporary Romance stories -
