One Night With the Billionaire: Book One (7 page)

He’ll be damned if he lets anyone think he is.
 

“I’m young, and rich, and I have my pick of women to date. There isn’t anything wrong with taking advantage of that.”
 

“There isn’t,” Elise agrees cautiously. “But when you use that as an excuse not to form personal attachments because you think it’s dangerous-”

“It
is
dangerous,” Jason replies loudly, clapping his hand against the table top so hard that the glasses clink together. Even if he wasn’t so attuned to his surroundings, he still wouldn’t miss the way the chatter dies down after his outburst.
 

Still, he can see the curious eyes of the people in the restaurant settling on him. He leans forward, careful to keep his voice down and his temper under control. Elise has
never
understood his fear.

“It is
dangerous
, Elise,” Jason says lowly. “I don’t even like being here with
you
. You think I can fall in love while I’m constantly looking over my shoulder?”
 

Elise’s eyes soften, and she reaches out and takes his hand.
 

“I think you wouldn’t look over your shoulder so often if you had somewhere else to focus your attention. You wouldn’t be so worried if you had a hand to hold. Living a life like this, without human connection, that’s not what your par-”

“I have human connections,” he argues, cutting her off.
 

“Not ones that stick. Not ones that matter.”
 

Jason takes a deep breath, willing himself to calm down. “Can we not talk about this right now?”
 

“I love you, Jace. I just don’t want you to be lonely. I don’t want you to live your life thinking you’re happy, then look back and wonder, ‘what if?’”
 

“I don’t wonder that.”
 

“You never do, until it’s too late to do anything about it. When you meet someone, and you want to stick around…stick around, okay? Don’t live your life in self-imposed exile.”
 

“Elise,” he warns.
 

She opens her mouth like she’s going to argue, but instead she sits back in her chair and nods.
 

Jason grips his whisky, and desperately tries not to think of Kaia, of the way her wavy hair felt against his bare skin. Of the way her lips tasted when she kissed him goodbye. Of the ache he feels when he remembers it.
 

No, he can’t get lost in thoughts of a gorgeous blonde who made him laugh for the first time in what felt like years. A woman who made him feel a lightness in his chest that he thought was lost forever.
 

* * * * *

In the back of a town car that’s stuck in midtown traffic on the way to his office from the airport, Jason thinks about his conversation with Elise.

He doesn’t like to admit it, but maybe she was right. Before he met Kaia, he never felt lonely, never felt unfulfilled by a one-night stand. He reveled in the pleasure that was offered him knowing that he could find more when he wanted it. He’s surprised by the fact that he wants
her.
 

Again.
 

Maybe it will turn out to be nothing. Maybe they’ll have dinner, and figure out that they aren’t compatible. Maybe all that’s in the cards for them is one more night of amazing sex, and a fond farewell.
 

Elise mentioned living without regrets, which is honestly something Jason never considered when it came to his personal life. He hasn’t ever looked back and felt regret about a dalliance not becoming something more.
 

Over the past few days, he’s been thinking about Kaia, going over their night together in meticulous detail. And when the car pulls up to the curb outside of his building, he looks at the spot where they ran into each other, where he effectively busted her computer all over the sidewalk, and actually feels a pang of longing for her.
 

Maybe it’s the beginning of regret. Maybe it’s a niggling of curiosity of what could be. He wants to find out.
 

The cold reality of why Elise was worried about Jason’s personal life in the first place washes over him. If he lets himself care about someone, that person can be used against him. He feels the sting of pain long past, the reminder that history can repeat itself. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he can hear his mother’s screams, his father begging, the sharp bite of the point of a gun pressed against his temple.
 

Jason has overcome considerable odds. If he puts his mind to something, he can achieve it. It’s selfish, maybe, but he thinks he can keep Kaia safe. It’ll be some work, but maybe finding out what could happen between them is worth it.
 

It surprises him when he realizes that he’s not afraid of that.
 

Jason walks through the empty lobby of his office building, waving a quick hello to one of the weekend security guards before he makes his way into the executive elevator.
 

Sitting down at his desk, he catches sight of the Post-It Kaia wrote her address on the other day. He’d given the address to a courier to deliver her laptop right before he left for San Francisco, but held onto the paper for a reason he wasn’t quite sure of at the time.
 

Now he knows: it was so he could find her again. He probably always knew deep down inside that he’d try.
 

He was going to try to get some work done this evening, but he can’t wait another second longer.

Jason calls his driver, who meets him at the curb, his nerves on edge as they weave through traffic on the way to Kaia’s place, which is a quaint little walkup off of a quiet street.
 

He tells his driver to wait for him at the end of the block: he’ll text when and if he’s ready to leave. Jason isn’t sure what Kaia’s reception is going to be like. Will she be glad to see him? What if she isn’t home?
 

He should’ve asked for her number, but he had a rule about that.
 

Jason’s going to break a lot of his rules tonight.
 

He catches the door to the lobby as one of the building’s occupants walks out, grateful he doesn’t have to buzz Kaia’s apartment to be let in.
 

He makes his way up to the fifth floor in the cramped elevator, then steps out into the dimly-lit hallway.
 

Jason locates her door.
 

He knocks.
 

One Night With the Billionaire continues with
book two
.
 

* * * * *

About the Author

Cassie Cross

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Cassie Cross is a Maryland native and a romantic at heart, who lives outside of Baltimore with her two dogs and a closet full of shoes. Cassie's fondness for swoon-worthy men and strong women are the inspiration for most of her stories, and when she's not busy writing a book, you’ll probably find her eating takeout and indulging in her love of 80's sitcoms.

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