His to Have: A Billionaire Romance (2 page)

“About her, or about the ex?” Blake says.
 

“I don’t know.”

“Same thing either way: show them you don’t care.”

“How am I supposed to do that?” I ask. “They’re all judging me. I came here like an idiot, and now they’re judging me.”
 

“Like this.” He leans in and kisses me, wrapping his arms around my back and dipping me slightly as his lips press firmly against mine. His kiss is thrilling and warm, and for a second, I forget all about Prentiss and Felicity and everything that’s gone wrong with my life, and I just savor that feeling.
 

I pull away. “Why did you do that?” I ask. I’m still dizzy from that kiss.

“I just gave them something else to think about.” He wraps his hand around mine and takes a step towards the door. “Now let’s leave while we’re ahead.”

He’s right. I know he’s right. I grasp his hand like my life depends on it and follow him back out of the party. As soon as we’re in the hall, he spins me around and kisses me again.
 

“You know no one can see us out here,” I say. I steal a breath as he kisses me again.
 

“That’s kind of the point,” he says, “just you and me.”

I know what he’s getting at, and I like the idea. I’ve never been a one night stand kind of girl, but there’s something about Blake that leaves me wanting more. This isn’t love. I know that, and I still want it more than I can say.
One night
, I tell myself.
What’s the worst that could happen?

CHAPTER 2

CATHERINE

Blake’s place is in SoHo or Tribeca. I can’t tell, and I don’t care. My head is spinning with excitement as he helps me out of his car. I need this, I tell myself. One night with a brazen guy like Blake to clear my head and have some fun. Everyone else has their way. Why shouldn’t I. I tell myself that this isn’t about the party, isn’t about proving anything, isn’t about the way his hand feels against my back as he leads me into his building. But as much as I try to tell myself it’s about me and not him, I know that isn’t true. I don’t just want sex. I want him. I want the blue-eyed man who looked at me with complete desire and decided he wouldn’t stop until he had everything. He wants me, and I want him.

As soon as we’re in the elevator, we let loose. He slips the straps of my dress off my shoulders and kisses my neck. “I need you now,” he says between kisses. He presses his lips against my shoulder and reaches around my back to unzip me. He’s not wasting any time.
 

I don’t know if it’s the elevator or the way his hands feel on my body, but I feel delightfully off balance. “What if someone sees?” Though the threat of being seen is kind of a turn on, I don’t want anything to stop Blake from having his way with me and me from having my way with him.

“Private elevator.” He presses me against the wall and kisses me hard and fast as he pushes his hips against me. I can feel the heat of his erection. I can feel his growing excitement. I reach down and feel the outline of his length.
 
He takes this as an invitation to slide his hand between my legs. He spreads my thighs apart and rubs his fingers against me. Only the thin fabric of my thong separates his fingers from my clit.
 

Then, with a quick motion, he leaves nothing between his skin and mine. I moan softly as he rubs against me. I’m already wet, and every little motion of his fingertips against my sex makes me more excited. He pushes a finger inside me and rubs my inner wall. I tense against the wall as pleasure floods through my body. “I need you now,” I tell him. I want to feel his cock inside me.

“Then we shouldn’t waste another moment.” With his free hand, Blake grabs my ass and pulls me hard against himself. The elevator dings, and the doors open behind him. Beyond the half-dark of his place, the city lights throb below us, their glow casts shadows across the modern layout of an expansive living room, “We’re here,” Blake says. He kneels down on one knee and slips my dress down over my hips and kisses my thigh, running his hand up and down the back of my legs. With the other, he caresses my stomach and reaches back between my legs. Then he slips my panties down around my knees and looks up at me. “Every inch of you is beautiful.”

Before I can move he kisses me between my legs. Softly licking my clit and sliding his tongue against the warm folds of my sex. He slides a finger back inside me and strokes. I feel the surge of orgasm branching up through my core. I grab Blake’s shoulder to steady myself as the waves of delight crash through me. I expect him to rise back up and decide it’s his turn for fun, but he keeps going, driving my right back into a spiral of delight. Finally, when he has me back on the brink, I tell him I cry out, “Fuck me, now.”
 

He rises up and scoops me up in his arms. A moment later, we’re in his room and he tosses me on his bed. A moment after that, he’s on top of me, and I’m fumbling his belt and his buttons and imagining how good it will feel to have him inside me. He unhooks my bra and tosses it across the room as I tear his shirt off. I love the warmth of his chest against mine. I can feel the strength of his erection pulsing against me. He reaches over and grabs a condom from his nightstand. I grab his arm. “This is a one night thing.”

“Of course.” He kisses me again. I hear the tearing of foil as he frees the condom. I have my hand around his waistband, and I can’t wait to have him free. As soon as he is, he reaches down and slides it onto his cock. I rub the base of his shaft as he slides the protection into place. Then he places his tip against my sex, rubbing my clit slowly before making his first thrust.
 

When he enters me, it’s like he connects his entire body to mine, sliding his tongue against my lips as he pushes his length inside me, locking his hips against mine. He rocks himself against me with wonderful force. Each thrust sends new levels of bliss through every inch of my being. I feel the sweat breaking of out every pore in my body as he races against me. I close my eyes and disappear into that sweet escape. For this moment, for this night, I don’t have to worry about who I am. I’m his, and he’s mine.
 

***

It’s the best sleep I’ve had in months. So good, in fact, that I completely fail to notice Blake’s alarm going off, or him getting out of bed. Thankfully, he laid a robe for me at the end of the bed. I slip it on, and go to find him. His place seems larger in the daylight, starker, more modern. The sunlight catches off the angles of the glass wall that looks over a roof terrace. The terrace stretches around the corner of the building and could pass for a park in the sky. There are a few ornamental trees and grass and Blake. He’s leaning back in a chair and reading the paper. I don’t know which one is more surprising, his park in the sky or the fact that someone still reads the physical paper.

I find my way outside. “Morning,” I say.
 

“I’m half disappointed you’re wearing the robe,” he says. He doesn’t even look up from the paper.

“You’ll make me blush.”
 

“I’d like that very much.” He puts the paper down.
 

I can’t hide my grin as I sit down next to him. “Nice place you have here. A bit bachelor-chic for my taste, but it has potential.”

“Most people would kill for a place like this,” he says. “There was something I wanted to ask you last night, but it didn’t seem like the right time. I don’t know how else to say this, so I’ll be blunt. Last night you said this was a one night thing.”

“I’m not one of those girls, Blake. I don’t need you to lie to me and make promises you don’t intend to keep.”

“It’s not that,” Blake says. “This is something I wanted to tell you last night, but you wouldn’t let me.” He folds the paper and gets up. “I used to work for your father.”
 

“So? Is that why you picked me up last night?”

Blake laughs. “No, I had no idea who you were until your ex said your last name. That’s why I wanted to leave. I didn’t want to cause you any more trouble. I didn’t exactly leave the company on good terms.”

“He didn’t either,” I say.
 

“No, this was years ago before the scandal and the company going under. I left and started my own company.”

“Why are you telling me this?” I ask.

“I just wanted you to know. I want to be as honest with you as possible. I also want to be as direct as possible. I want to make you an offer.”

“Does it involve breakfast?”

He smiles. “It can involve as many of them as you like.”

“I guess that will depend on the rest of the offer.”
 

“I need someone to help me navigate this whole world of old-money. Business, I understand, but your people, the Prentisses and Felicities of the world, I have no idea what makes them tick.”

“Why do you care at all?” I ask. “You’ve obviously done well enough for yourself without them, and I’m not exactly looking to spend more time with them after last night.”

“I need them. Their parents. There are things that money can’t buy. Influence, loyalty, power.”

“You realize that I’m a complete pariah now, right?”
 

“I don’t need your name, I need you, what you know.”

“And here I was hoping you wanted me for my body.”
 

He grins. “Well, that could be a side benefit for both of us.”
 

“What makes you think I’d be interested?”
 

“You’re interested,” he says. “You help me do this, and I’ll help you rehabilitate your image. In the meantime, you’ll get all the benefits of spending time with me.”

“I need to think it over,” I say.
 

“Take all the time you need. I have to head into work in a few minutes. Feel free to ransack my place while I’m gone.”

“I have places to be too,” I say. It’s a lie. I have nowhere to be.

“Should I call you a car?”

“I can take care of that myself.”

Blake reaches into his pocket and pulls out a black business card. “My number. Call me when you decide you’re in. I promise you two things: I won’t lie to you, and I won’t let you down. Think about what you want, Catherine.”

He kisses me on the forehead again. “Either way, I hope I’ll see you again.” Then he heads out, leaving me alone, holding his stupid business card, wondering what the hell I’m doing with my life. I look at the view of the river for a while and decide I should at least shower before taking my walk of shame.

The bathroom is clean and modern like the rest of Blake’s place, and even the shower feels like a work of art. The hot water feels good, and I let everything fog up around me before finally stepping out. The stone floor must be heated because it’s warm underfoot. My apartment, nice as it is, doesn’t
 
hold a flame to this place. If I pass up Blake’s offer, I wonder how much longer I’ll be able to live this kind of life. I don’t know if I can live a normal life.

I dry off, find my dress, and slip back into it. I find the business card and slip it into my purse. I take one more look at Blake’s place before heading out. I wonder where he is. Whether he really had a meeting or if he just wanted to get out. Either way, when the elevator ride is over, I’m glad to step into the fresh morning air and head on my way. It’s a new day, and, whether it’s with Blake or not, I’m going to make the most of it. I’m so caught up in my train-of-thought that I don’t notice the man frantically waving to me.
 

“Catherine,” he calls. “Hey, wait up!”

I turn as he reaches for me.
 

“Ben?”

“How have you been?”

I freeze in place. How many years has it been? How long have I thought about this moment? Ben. My first love. The boy who never cared about my family name or my money or any of that. The boy who broke my heart. The one who got away, showing up the second I leave Blake’s place. “Good,” I say. It’s all I can manage to get out. I force myself to add, “It’s been a while.”

“I know we didn’t leave things on the best terms, but I need to talk to you somewhere more private.”

Ben walks over to the curb and hails a taxi. “Where are you headed? We can talk on the way.”
 

“I think I’d rather walk.”

“It’s about Blake. You need to stay away from him.”

“What? We haven’t spoken in years, and you want to talk about Blake? How do you even?”

“I’m trying to protect you,” he says. “You have no idea what you’re getting into.”

“How do you even know about him?” I ask.

Ben reaches in his jacket and pulls out an ID badge. I see his picture and the bold letters FBI. “I’m going to lose my job for telling you this.” Get in the car, and I’ll explain everything.”
 

CHAPTER 3

BLAKE

I lean over my desk and try to catch my breath for a minute. Breathless. That’s how I’ve felt since the moment I laid eyes on Catherine Carlisle. It’s mid-morning, and usually I’d be halfway through my day’s work at this point, but I haven’t been able to get a damn thing done. I can’t get halfway through an email or any of the dozen reports on my desk without my eyes glazing over and my mind drifting back to her. I pick up the phone and press 9.

“Edna, get me Damien. Tell him to bump the rest of his morning.” I hang up and pace the room until Damien arrives. He looks like he ran up two flights of stairs. He’s going to kill me. I know it. He’s going to chew me out and tell me I’m the biggest asshole who ever lived. I know that too.

“Morning boss,” he says. He takes a quick look at me and his eyes light up. “Late night last night?” He taps my arm and smiles. “You look like you got run over.”

“You have no idea.”

“A girl or a crisis?” he says.

“Both,” I say. “ I met someone last night.”

“When you were meeting with Anderson? I was going to ask how it went. We need to make some friends fast if what you think is about to happen is really about to happen.”
 

“It didn’t. He had another thing. Don’t worry about it. I just wanted to give you a heads up about what did happen. You might want to sit for this.”