How to Seduce a Billionaire (17 page)

Jess didn’t say anything. There was no point in trying to deny anything, but somehow explaining why she’d decided to lose her virginity to Ellis McKenna was beyond her at the moment. She still didn’t understand it herself.

‘And with a billionaire too! Which makes it all the more barmy that you won’t see him again, doesn’t it?’

Jess nodded, even though Cathy’s attention was on the road. Any woman in her right mind would have at least agreed to see him again once.

‘Can’t you contact him and say you’ve changed your mind? Even if you just keep it casual. You really need to get into the swing of full-on dating now you’ve finally taken the plunge, Jess, and you’ll probably get some gorgeous presents out of it, at least.’

‘I’m not interested in his money, or anybody’s really. I only want to find the right man … and Ellis just isn’t that. Not really.’

It was true about the money. Yes, it would be nice to have a bit more, and to know she had something in reserve to cover some unforeseen disaster, but Jess was old fashioned and for her money had to be earned via a proper job, all above board.

‘You could have given him a chance to be Mr Right, you know. Clicking with a guy at first sight is very rare, and you usually don’t realise you really like them until after a few dates, perhaps even longer.’ Cathy started to slow the car. They were approaching Windsor Insurance. ‘And that’s pretty much the same with sex. For it to be really good, you have to get to know each other’s likes and dislikes, and work at it a bit.’

Ah, but it was toes-up fabulous right from the start with Ellis. Even when it hurt a bit.

But she didn’t tell Cathy that as they said cheerio, and she got out of Cathy’s car.

Even though she’d changed irrevocably overnight, as the morning wore on, Jess realised that Windsor Insurance was just the same as ever. Not out and out horrible, but not exciting. Excruciatingly boring. With her eyes half-closing every other moment or two from fatigue, and her concentration shot to hell, Jess decided to ask her supervisor if she could take the afternoon off from her hours of accrued flexi-time, and luckily, it was okay.

Not only was she bone-tired, and incapable of concentrating on anything other than thoughts of Ellis, and her own ensuing decision never to see him again, she was drawing a lot of curious looks and comments from Pam and Emma, and others. Two and two were being put together, connecting her obvious weariness and the sensational VIP who’d paid so much attention to her only the other day.

‘Meeting someone this afternoon, Jess?’

‘Seen the big and gorgeous cheese lately, Jess?’

‘Something keep you awake all night, Jess?’

With laughter and evasion, she fielded the friendly probes, but she was glad to get out of the building at last, and in a very rare indulgence, she took a taxi home because she was convinced she’d fall asleep on the bus and miss her stop.

Letting herself into the house only made her think of letting herself and Ellis in last night, and on reaching her room, she could have sworn that she could still smell his cologne. And though that was probably her imagination, she was quickly convinced she could smell another odour.

Sex. The act of sex.

She’d done it now, and she was different, a new kind of woman. All morning she’d been acutely aware of every part of her body, especially the intimate zones. All of them. Her mouth, where Ellis had kissed. Her breasts and thighs and buttocks where Ellis had stroked and touched her.

Her pussy, where he’d possessed and pleasured her, the awareness there most intense of all, in a bizarre kind of sensory high definition.

Did the scents of their joining still linger in the room? Perhaps that was just an olfactory illusion, but if she was going to catch up on sleep, she’d probably better change the sheets.

Drawing in deep breaths, she seemed to see things, too, as well as smell them.

Ellis’s beautiful naked body as he walked towards her. Ellis on the rug, half dressed, his erection high and proud. Ellis’s sea-blue eyes, puzzled and perhaps annoyed when she’d resisted his blandishments and the temptation of a sweet sexual fling.

Sod the sheets. The effort of re-making the bed was too great, and yet exhausted as she was, she knew sleep wouldn’t come, so she made some tea and brought it upstairs to drink. In an effort to stop herself thinking too much, she settled down to draw a little, but there were no prizes for guessing the subject of her sketches.

The soft graphite pencil skimmed over the page at lightning speed, sometimes recording in sharp, crisp detail, sometimes capturing a dreamy, impressionistic essence. Either way, she’d never been able to record images quite this fast before. Never been quite this good?

Ellis in his clothes. Ellis out of his clothes. Ellis’s face. Ellis’s hands. The curve of his shoulder. The sharp line of his hipbone.

The proud elegant jut of Ellis’s cock …

She hid the latter at the bottom of the pile as soon as it was done.

Well, looks like you’re my muse now, Mr McKenna, for the time being at least, even if you’ll never be more than that.

And inevitably the muse of her fantasies too; Dream Lover for the foreseeable future. He was her blessing, and the beautiful scourge of her peace of mind, all in one glorious package.

Her eyelids drooping at last, she lay down on the bed, aware even as she drifted off that she was lying where Ellis McKenna had lain last night.

Ellis’s main meeting during the day had remained inconclusive, and unresolved. He’d had to apologise to the attendees and arrange to reconvene. It’d been either that or be preoccupied and inattentive throughout the entire proceedings, and it was something he’d never once done before, even after intercontinental travel or the most athletic all-nighter with a woman. He despised bad-mannered business behaviour, and the only time he’d ever come close to it was ‘before’ … when there had been sleepless nights comforting his daughters when they were ill or teething, and even then, cherishing his family life, he’d mostly stayed home the next day with them too.

Pushing memories away, he sighed and finished his tea, then stretched out on the leather-covered couch in his London sitting room, wondering what the hell was wrong with him. No, scrub that, he knew exactly what was wrong with him. A case of totally unforeseen confusion and frustration over a certain Jess Lockhart. It had to be that, because normally he could function on a ludicrously tiny amount of sleep. Today he’d been all over the place, musing on the woman who’d turned him down.

Intellectually and even emotionally, he understood her choice. Even admired it. Women he’d known who were infinitely better off than Jess had attempted to cling on to him, as much for his wealth as for his qualities as a man and a lover, and yet she’d shown virtually no interest in his money at all.

Yes, he could see and respect why she’d told him to go, but the primal caveman beneath was roaring almost constantly at being denied the beautiful prize.

And beautiful she was. Far more than she obviously realised. A characterful beauty, lovely in depth rather than just gloss. Innocent, yet profoundly sensual. Another quality of which she was barely aware. She was a goddess of untapped erotic potential, and what a thrill and a feast of pleasure it would be to help her comprehend and enjoy her own powers as a seductress.

I can’t just give up on you, Jess Lockhart. I’ll persuade you to give me another chance. I must.

It would be intriguing to see more of her drawing and painting too. She had definite talent and she ought to be living creatively rather than doing drone work in one of his companies. Perhaps he could do something about that.

He started to wake up, the fatigue fading as purpose revivified him. He reached for his phone and opened his organiser. Meetings were stacked for the next few days, and he squashed the urge to cancel the whole lot. Other people’s lives and jobs depended on his decisions, and he couldn’t just chuck everything aside to satisfy his libido, not even for Jess. He’d have to stay in town this weekend, alas, but next weekend was all his, to be spent at Windermere Hall, his bolt-hole.

It was a long time to wait in order to be with her, but perhaps that was a good thing in a way. Nothing would be worse than making her feel crowded and harried. This way she’d have time to rethink her choice, look back on their night together, and perhaps come around to the idea of giving him another chance. And in the meantime, perhaps flowers? They were a cliché, but still. Perhaps a basket of something too. Gourmet goodies, hot chocolate, those cookies she’d liked, similar indulgences. That way he could give her a luxurious treat without overpowering her. It felt crass to send more intimate gifts, like exotic lingerie and sex toys, to a near-virgin. He could lavish such items on her later.

Smiling, he tapped the shortcut for his concierge service. His heart lifted. He hadn’t felt this optimistic and excited in a long, long time.

It’d been a weird week. The weirdest. But then again, most of her time seemed weird now, since the visit to Windsor Insurance of a certain VIP.

She’d done nothing but think and fantasise about Ellis McKenna, the man she’d told herself sternly to forget.

Fat chance of that!

For one thing, there were the flowers. A gorgeous sheaf of white and orange roses, exquisitely velvety and fragrant. They’d provoked a raised eyebrow from Cathy, and more scorn when Jess had insisted she wouldn’t be seeing him again.

‘You idiot. It’s obvious he likes you. Couldn’t you just give him a chance? Use him for sex? God knows you deserve to let your hair down.’

Jess had umm-ed and ah-ed. Cathy was right. It didn’t make sense to turn her back on him, even if there was only a fling on offer.

But you know what’ll happen. You’ll get addicted.

And when the end came, she’d probably wish that there’d never been a beginning.

The ominous thing though, was that it might already be too late to avoid that.

Then, the basket came. An overflowing hamper of edible goodies from a local luxury food store. Hot chocolate, probably the same brand she’d drunk that first morning, along with cookies and cakes and unctuous confectionery, along with speciality teas and coffees.

‘I guess you’ll have to send it back,’ Cathy had said, almost visibly drooling over the abundance, and already pulling open a package of triple choc cookies.

‘I think that would be ungracious, don’t you?’ Jess had grabbed a cookie and taken a heavenly bite.

Both women had laughed. And it was right. Ellis had been kind and it would be rude to reject that kindness. But the thank you note would have to be very carefully worded. Perhaps a proper old-fashioned card, sent to the address on the business card he’d given her?

Life seemed to go on as normal, when in fact, it was totally different.

Jess was different. Ellis McKenna had changed her. Physically, almost infinitesimally, but in every other way the transformation was massive.

She felt different. And her mirror told her she looked different; a vague, discreet change, but there all the same. Something in the way she held herself was new.

I’m not a virgin any more. A beautiful and sophisticated man desired me, and gave me pleasure, and I gave him pleasure.

It was like that ‘aura’ phenomenon she’d once mocked, an inner glamour. At first when men had looked at her with curiosity, appreciation and interest, she’d thought it was due to Ellis’s performance at Windsor that first morning, dragging her upstairs. But the changes were apparent in locations other than her workplace. Men giving up seats for her in cafés and on the bus, suddenly restored to old-fashioned chivalry. At art class, several male classmates who’d previously kept themselves to themselves began to chat, comparing notes and techniques, and to compliment her fulsomely. One newcomer, Josh, had suggested ‘coffee’ some time, no pressure.

He was actually quite nice, and not bad looking too, and if Jess’s metamorphosis had come about in any other way, she might even have capitalised on her new poise and self-confidence, and made a tentative move herself. Who knew where and when Mr Right might appear?

But unfortunately, the quest for Mr Right had been completely derailed by the arrival of Mr Sex in her life!

Despite the strangeness of her week, she still felt good about it. Sort of. Every unoccupied moment, she thought about Ellis.

She was thinking about him when her sister Mel rang one evening.

‘You sound a bit distracted, sis, are you okay?’ her sibling said after they’d done a bit of catching up, mainly Mel’s news about her life as a young professional, and her relationship with Simon, the man she lived with and adored. Mel was bubbly, and their chats always made Jess smile, even though there was often probing about her life, and the third degree about any potential men in it.

Well, there’s one now, sister dear, after a fashion.

‘I’m fine. Everything’s fine. Just same old, same old, you know?’

She could almost see Mel narrowing her eyes. The younger Lockhart was perceptive.

‘It’s a man, isn’t it? You’ve met someone … What’s he like? Do I know him?’

‘No, it isn’t … well, yes, sort of. Just someone I met through work. It’s nothing serious. Just casual. I probably won’t see him again.’

There was a pause. Mel was probably shaking her head now. ‘You don’t do casual. You’re not a casual person.’

‘Well this is very much a ships that pass in the night situation, Mel. Nothing more than that.’

‘Give him a chance, Jess. Please … I know you’re choosy. But give him a chance. Is he nice? Good looking?’

Like a god …

‘I don’t know … It’s tricky. He is very good looking indeed. And nice … in a way. But he’s not a prospect, if that’s what you want to know. There’s no future with him, and that’s a fact.’

‘If you say so … but still, maybe you should give him a chance? Have a good time, if only on a temporary basis? You know I don’t pry … but I worry. But … well … I know you’ve missed out on a lot, Jess, and for my sake too. I want you to have fun. Stretch your wings. Have a life.’