How to Seduce a Billionaire (5 page)

“Oh, I like that,” she said, her lips curved in a sweet smile.

“Babe, you ain’t seen nothing yet.”

She cuddled in his arms and rained little kisses along his neck and shoulder. When they reached the bed, he placed her gently on top of the covers, then knelt and straddled her. Reaching for the hem of her T-shirt, he lifted it up and off in one swift move. With her arms raised languidly above her head and her lustrous hair spread over the pillow, she looked like the stuff of Brandon’s dreams. He had to force himself to take it slow and easy as he slid his hand under her back and unclipped her bra in one smooth move.

“You are gorgeous,” he whispered reverently.

She smiled as she reached up and caressed his cheek, almost as though she couldn’t quite believe he was real, either. Brandon wasn’t sure he’d ever felt quite so alive as he did in this moment. He bent his head to her breasts and took first one nipple, then the other into his mouth. She gasped and arched off the bed, pushing herself into him, straining his control. Had there ever been a woman so responsive to his touch?

His hands continued to move over her breasts as his mouth carried on his sensual exploration, moving down her taut stomach, stopping here and there to kiss and taste her soft skin. When he reached her heated feminine core, she writhed in anticipation and he rushed to satisfy her and appease his own desperate need as well. He might’ve lost track of time, aware only of her soft moans of delight and his own heady satisfaction. Through the haze of pleasure, he heard her utter his name.

“Please, Brandon,” she said. “I need you, now.”

With those words, Brandon moved. He stood and quickly tore off his clothing, tossing his things on the chair nearby. Then he pulled a condom from his pocket and slipped it on. As he made his way back to her, Kelly licked her lips in expectation and Brandon’s knees nearly buckled. In that moment, he wanted her more than any woman he’d ever known. The thought meant nothing, he assured himself. It was all the heat of the moment.

Joining her, stretched out beside her, he urged her onto him, gripping her lush bottom with both hands as he guided her sweet center toward his rigid length. As his mouth devoured hers, he plunged himself into her heat and filled her completely.

Their bodies moved in perfect rhythm, as though both had been created for just this moment. The passion was explosive. Brandon had never felt more powerful, more driven by one singular need: her ultimate pleasure.

Her body strained to get closer to his, so close that he could feel her heart pounding against his chest. Her lips found his and molded themselves tenderly to his mouth in a gesture so sweet, it caused a shudder to spread through his body. With a desperation he’d never known, he again thrust himself into her, then again and again. She cried out his name and trembled uncontrollably. He tightened his hold on her, pushing himself to the limit until he answered her with his own deep cry and followed her over the edge.

Four

“S
o that’s what all the fuss is about,” Kelly said finally, her soft voice full of wonder.

It had taken a while, but Brandon’s head had eventually stopped spinning and his breathing had returned to normal. Now he turned onto his side and, despite being more shaken than he’d like to admit, he flashed a confident smile at her. “Yeah, that’s what it’s all about. Why do you sound so surprised? I know you’ve done this before.”

“Not like that,” she murmured, then quickly looked away and fiddled with the pillow beneath her head.

He reached over and placed his fingers under her chin, urging her to meet his gaze. “Are you telling me your dumb-ass ex-boyfriend never satisfied you?”

She met his gaze warily. “Roger told me I wasn’t very good in bed.”

Maybe his ears were still ringing from the exertion of a few minutes ago, because he couldn’t have heard her right. So he leaned in close and said, “What did you say?”

“The actual term he used was ‘lousy,’” she admitted softly. “According to him, I was
lousy
in bed.” She sighed. “When he broke up with me, I made the mistake of asking him why, and that’s what he told me.”

Brandon wondered if Kelly could see the smoke coming out of his ears because right now he was so angry, he was ready to kill that jackass Roger at the earliest opportunity. This wasn’t the time to rant about that, but soon. Very soon. He went up on one elbow and peered at her intently. “He’s dead wrong, sweetheart. You know that, right?”

“I do now. Back then, I wasn’t so sure.”

He shook his head, unwilling to think about that dumb-ass anymore tonight. “Well, that was then and this is now. And I’m sure.”

“Really?”

Her smile was tenuous and it almost broke his heart. He touched her soft shoulder with his fingers and said, “Damn it, Kelly, can’t you see how tempting you are? Forget what that fool told you. He obviously blamed you for his own inadequacies.”

Brandon sat up and leaned against the headboard and pulled her into his arms. “He was wrong, do you hear me? You’re amazing. You’re hot. I’ve never…” He stopped and took a deep breath. “Let’s just say my brains are still bouncing around my head from your hotness.”

She smiled brightly and he was suddenly mesmerized all over again by her mouth.

“Okay,” she said, nodding slowly. “I believe you.”

“Good,” he growled. “You should also believe me when I say that guy needs to be taught a serious lesson.”

Her smile dimmed. “That’s exactly what I plan to do.” She touched his chest and gazed up at him. “Would you do me a favor?”

“Another one?” he said, and chuckled when she smacked his chest lightly. He grabbed her hand before she pulled it back and held it pressed against his skin where it seemed to belong. “Of course I’ll do you a favor, sweetheart. What is it?”

“I don’t want to hear any words of remorse or blame or embarrassment tomorrow,” she said. “Please, Brandon. This was wonderful and I’m so happy. I don’t want a shadow to fall on what happened tonight.”

He stared at her for a moment, then nodded. “It’s a deal. No shadows.”

“Thank you.” Her smile was sexy as she added, “And by ‘thank you,’ I mean it in every possible way.”

He smoothed a strand of lustrous hair off her cheek. “Now it’s your turn to do me a favor. I don’t want to hear any more words of thanks. No more undying gratitude from you, do you hear me?”

“But—”

“No.” He pressed his finger to her lips. “I didn’t do you any favors, believe me. We both made the decision to do what we did, we both had a good time, and that’s all there is to it.”

She nodded. “You’re right. Okay, fine, no more thank yous.”

“Thank you.” They both laughed and he leaned in to kiss her.

“I really like the way you kiss,” Kelly confessed. She moved closer and touched her lips to his and he felt himself spring to life against her.

“In case you couldn’t tell, I think it’s pretty clear that I really like everything about you.” And he proceeded to show her just how much.

Much later that night, after the second time they’d made love—or was it the third?—Brandon pulled Kelly into his arms and fitted her warm backside against his body.

“Mmm,” she said. “That’s nice.”

“Yeah, it is,” he agreed. But part of him questioned what he was doing. Everything felt way too good. That could be a problem. Maybe he should leave now and go to his own room. It had to be after midnight. He could still get a decent night’s sleep.

Kelly chose that moment to stretch her muscles, pushing herself even closer against him. On a soft moan, she said, “Oh, I feel so good.”

Brandon’s head reeled. Was he really thinking of leaving her now? Was he out of his mind?

Not yet. But he would be if he walked out while she was pressed up against him like this.

But if he was going to stay any longer, he knew they needed to talk. So he wrapped his arm around her waist and with his last ounce of brainpower, he murmured, “Hey, you’re not falling for me, are you?”

“What?” She managed to twist and roll around until she was facing him and he was glad to see her smiling lightheartedly. “I should ask you the same question.”

“Am I falling for you?” he asked, grinning.

She pressed her finger against his chest. “Well, are you?”

He chuckled. “Hey, I know the rules.”

“Good,” she said in mock seriousness, “because I’m a busy woman and I don’t want to have to deal with you mooning all over me in the office.”

Smirking, he said, “I’ll try to contain myself.”

She laughed softly. “I certainly hope so.” Her smile faded as she added, “But since we’re talking about it, we should probably decide on a few things.”

“Like what?”

“Like the fact that I really don’t want the staff discussing our private affair.”

“I don’t want that, either,” he said. “So we’ll be discreet.”

“Okay, good.” Then she grimaced. “Oh dear, what about your family? They’ll be here in a few days and I would rather they didn’t find out that I’m sleeping with my boss.”

Brandon touched her cheek. “I understand.” And he did, because even though he had the utmost respect for her, he realized that others might consider their intimate relationship inappropriate.

“So once your family arrives,” she said, “we should stop seeing each other.”

“Much as I hate to admit it, that’s probably a good idea,” he said grudgingly, then he ran his hand down her side and stroked her thigh. “But until then…”

Her eyes lit up as she smiled and moved closer. “Mmm, yes. Until then, maybe you could show me again what all the fuss is about.”

“Where did you disappear to last night?” Cameron Duke asked when Brandon answered his office phone the next morning. “I tried to call you a few times and finally gave up.”

Brandon thought fast for a way to respond to his brother. “I might’ve been out on a run. What time did you call?”

“First call was around seven, then I tried twice more until about eight.”

“Sorry, bro. I guess I plugged my phone in to recharge and forgot all about it. What did you need?”

“Mom was bugging me to call you and confirm the reservations for everything. I finally decided I’d rather talk to Kelly than you, so I gave her a call, but she didn’t answer her phone either.”

“Huh. Maybe she went into town for dinner.”

“Without her phone? Not our Kelly.”

“That’s weird all right.” Brandon rolled his eyes. He hated lying to his brothers but there was no way he could tell them he was sleeping with his assistant. He didn’t need the grief they would give him. The fact was, he and Kelly were wrapped up in each other almost from the time they left the office until early this morning. And thinking about it now, he wished he was back in bed with her still, holding her. Inside her. Her soft, naked skin against his.

“So we’ll have the use of two golf carts for the wine and vineyard tour?”

“What?” Brandon shook his head to clear his mind of the erotic images he’d conjured up. Damn. “Uh, yeah.”

“You okay, bro? Sounds like you’ve got something else on your mind.”

“Yeah, you know how it is. I’ve got a whole list of stuff.” He scratched his jaw, wondering what the hell was going on with his brain. He’d never been distracted by a woman during business hours. Especially when things were so busy. He really needed to shape up and concentrate on the business at hand.

“I definitely know how it is,” Cameron said. “I just hope you’re ready for the onslaught.”

Brandon dragged a hand through his hair and forced himself to swipe another picture of a gorgeous, naked Kelly from his mind. Hell, it wasn’t like him to be preoccupied once he was in the office working.

Like his brothers, Brandon left nothing about the business up to chance. He’d held countless management meetings with his hotel and restaurant managers and had brought the entire staff on full-time in the past few weeks before the official opening. Every day, managers would assign different staff members to play guest while those serving meals or cleaning rooms or arranging sightseeing tours or serving wines on the patio could practice their job skills with the same professionalism they would show any true, paying guest. The management team reviewed any problems or difficulties they encountered, then they repeated the process the next day. It was the tried and true way of working out any kinks before they went “live.”

The head chef and kitchen staff in the restaurant had worked out the new menu and Brandon knew the reviews would be fantastic. The Mansion on Silverado Trail would soon be the hottest new wine country destination on the map.

His brothers and their wives would arrive on Thursday for a final pre-opening meeting. Then Mom and her friends would arrive Friday morning. Was he ready?

“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” Brandon said, chuckling at the picture of his mom and her girlfriends living it up at the Mansion.

“Glad to hear it,” Cameron said, then took a moment to entertain him with the latest stories about baby Jake before they finished the call. As Brandon hung up the phone, he thought about his family and how much they’d all changed over the past year. Who would’ve guessed how quickly Sally Duke’s sons would go from being sworn bachelors to happy family men? Well, two out of three sons, anyway. Cameron and Adam had both succumbed to the charms of two beautiful women, but Brandon wasn’t about to follow in their footsteps. No how, no way.

He flashed a determined grin as he vowed, once again, never to fall victim to his mother’s matchmaking skills. Sally had denied up and down that she’d had anything to do with Cameron and Adam meeting and falling in love with their respective spouses, but none of the men believed her. Brandon and his brothers still didn’t know how she’d managed it, but there was no doubt in their minds that their mother had had something to do with their eventual fall into matrimony.

But not Brandon. It wasn’t going to happen to him. Hey, she was welcome to take her best shot. And he had no doubt she would continue to try. Now that he thought about it, he realized he would have to be extra vigilant this weekend.

It wasn’t that he didn’t love Sally Duke like crazy. On the contrary, he owed her his very life. From the day she’d rescued him from an imminent sentence to juvenile hall, he’d been indebted to her. Brandon had been the worst kind of bad risk, but that hadn’t deterred Sally from taking a chance on him.

Sally was a young, wealthy and generous widow whose beloved husband, William, had been a foster kid, too. She’d wanted to give back to the system that had produced such a wonderful guy as William, so she’d adopted three boys all around the same age: Brandon, Adam and Cameron.

Once the three eight-year-olds had learned to trust each other, they’d sworn an oath of allegiance to themselves and Sally. They were blood brothers and nothing would ever split them apart. As part of their pact, they’d vowed never to marry or bring children into this world because they knew that married people hurt each other, and parents—except for Sally—hurt their kids.

Sally had raised them well and they’d grown up to be good, strong, smart men. Well, smart most of the time, Brandon thought. He’d warned his brothers that Sally was out to get them all married, but did they listen? No. Adam met Trish and fell in love. Months later, Cameron reunited with his old flame Julia and discovered he had a son with her, little Jake. Both couples had married recently and were ridiculously happy. Adam and Trish were expecting a little one any day now.

So Adam and Cameron had both fallen flat on the brotherly pledge, but that was okay. Brandon had already explained to them both that he understood they were weak, so he’d sworn to uphold their blood pact all on his own. They’d laughed and given him a hard time. But the fact was, Brandon had been determined long before he met his new brothers, that he would never marry and have kids. Not if it meant carrying on his own son-of-a-bitch father’s legacy. And in case he forgot, he just had to recall the hundreds of brutal beatings delivered by his old man after his drug-addicted mother hit the road. He would never forget the lessons those poundings had taught him.

It’s not that he begrudged his brothers any happiness. Hell, he was half in love with Trish and Julia himself. But Brandon had seen the worst kind of human behavior and he didn’t want his parents’ weaknesses rubbing off on any children he might’ve ever dreamed of having.

For that reason, he kept his relationships with women on a strictly superficial level. He never stayed in a relationship longer than a few weeks, a month or two at the most. Another thing Brandon rarely allowed himself to do was spend the entire night with a woman. He didn’t believe in leading them on, giving them hope that an affair with him would be anything more than a momentary fling.

That practice had fallen by the wayside last night with Kelly. He’d planned to leave her room and sleep in his own bed, but he hadn’t been able to tear himself away from her sweetness. He’d awakened several times during the night with an urgent need to be inside her. And this morning, they’d showered together and made love again.

The thought of Kelly and the way she’d looked, with her body glistening in the soap-scented water, almost made him groan out loud.