The Billionaire Bargain (Millionaire's Club) (6 page)

“Here’s a thought. Trust me.”

“Oh, right, what was I thinking? Trusting you should be a breeze. Especially since you’ve proven yourself to be so trustworthy before.”

His dark brow arched. A play of emotions crossed his features. Regret?

Not the topic she wanted to discuss right now. “Besides, I’m sure you say that to every woman you bring here. According to the papers, there’s someone new every week. Think I’ll pass.” Did that come out as jealous?

He laughed, and it mocked her insecurity. His amusement trailed down her spine as if he’d scraped his fingernail down it.

“So you get your information about me from the papers?” His expression was a mix of anger and disdain.

“What you do in your personal life is none of my business. I have no right to voice my opinion,” she said, trying to shake off the fire from his glare.

He pinned her with his gaze. “You have to take risks outside of the boardroom if you want to really live.”

“You’re one to talk. Not all of us enjoy putting our lives on the line for thrills.” He’d just agreed to help her, why was she being so combative? Because she was losing her grasp on the few tendrils of sanity she had left being so near him. He made her want things she shouldn’t. Like his arms around her. His lips on her neck. His hands roaming her body.

“My so-called unsafe jaunts into the rain forest have saved thousands of lives,” he scoffed. Contempt parted his lips. “Besides, a life lived solely for work is hardly worth the effort of breathing. How do you not die from boredom?”

“You, with enough money to line up your bills and wrap the world a thousand times, should talk. At least I’ll live to work another day,” she said, blinking back tears. What was it about the truth being spoken out loud that hurt so much?

“You’re not getting away with the easy answer.”

“You don’t get a say,” she sniffed.

His jaw clenched. “Why are you so serious all the time?”

“Why are you not?” But she knew that for a lie as soon as the words rolled off her tongue.

“Are we going to keep going round like this?” he barked. “We’re losing daylight.”

“If I get hurt, who’ll be there...?”

She stopped herself from asking who’d be there for her father. He didn’t even want her around and Daegen already knew that.

“To what? Take care of your father or finish your work? Which is more important, Rae?”

“Look, others depend on me.” She folded her arms and hugged them tightly into her chest. Did he think she’d left him for her career?

“I’m sure your office will figure out how to sit in meetings, form committees who’ll create endless lists of action items, and schedule even more meetings while actually accomplishing nothing without you right there to direct every movement.”

Right. He did everything on his own terms. Didn’t depend on anything or anybody. Not that she didn’t admire the quality. She wished she could breeze through life hopping from one adventure to another never needing another soul. Oh, and with enough money to have financial security and the added bonus of never feeling alone.

To never be lonely.

Because that was about all she ever felt.

“I’m good at what I do. What’s wrong with caring about your career?” Could he see her body tremble?

His hand came up and tucked a loose tendril of hair behind her ear.

She stepped back to avoid his embrace. “You don’t know me.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. I see right through you, and you’re scared as hell. You and your father aren’t alone. You have me now.”

“That doesn’t change the reality.”

“You’re a fighter. You’ll find a way.” He took a step forward, and his hand closed on hers. “I’m offering you a once in a lifetime opportunity. Let me show you something rare,” his dark eyes sparkled, “something few have ever seen.”

She figured he referred to about a dozen swimsuit models, but who was she to count? A stab of jealousy struck low in her belly. Glancing outside and then back to Daegen, his determination tugged at her. She risked lowering her guard a little.

“You’re right. I’m scared,” she admitted.

A spark lit his face. “That’s the best part.”

“Really?”
Don’t tell me you’re half human after all these years I’ve been seeing you as some kind of super hero in tailored clothes who also happened to occasionally sport a tie.

“Whether you believe it or not, it’s true. I’m not an idiot. Everyone has fear. Fear is good. Fear keeps a man alive. It’s only a problem when it limits us from doing what we want. When it stops us from finding our boundaries.”

Rae thought long and hard about what he was really saying. He needed to see she would relent, that she would follow his lead.

“All right. I’ll do it. But if you let me fall off a cliff or something out there, I’ll literally kill you.”

His arm slipped around her waist, causing her stomach to drop faster than if she free-fell from thirty-five thousand feet.

“I won’t let anything happen to you,” he said as he breathed warmth onto her neck.

She softened against him and a storm of emotions engulfed her.

“You can trust me,” he soothed.

Her muscles pulled taut. The old tapes started.
The only person you can depend on is yourself.

She took a step back. “I don’t know.”

“Hold on,” Daegen said before disappearing. He returned a few seconds later, hands full of rope. “These will help me keep my promise.”

The climbing belt secured around her hips did little to comfort her. Especially with him this close. She didn’t realize she’d been holding her breath until her lungs felt like they would burst.

She released, and then dragged air in. The scent that belonged solely to Daegen ushered into her senses. God, she could stand there forever.

Using what looked like sturdy fishing line, he hooked her belt to his, ensuring a strong connection.

“Now if I let you fall, which isn’t going to happen, you won’t have to kill me. I’ll be dead too,” he said with his coy upturned smile, and her heart fluttered.

The honest truth was Rae wished her messy life could be untangled by simply hooking onto someone else. Someone strong like Daegen. Someone who could share life’s burdens. If that were an option, she feared she would never let go.

But it wasn’t. By choice or by force, everyone left.

And yet, the pull toward Daegen was too strong to ignore. As though by a gravitational force outside of Rae’s control, she leaned forward until she rested against his solid walled chest.

His arms stalled, but then wrapped around her shoulders.

The reassurance she felt should have scared her, but for whatever reason it didn’t. She pushed her logical brain aside for now because pulling from his masculine strength fortified her.

Feeling his body pressed against her, she could easily let go of her tightly-gripped emotions and get so very lost in the moment, in the feeling of being safe.

He seemed so at peace here in Borneo. She gave herself a moment to admire him. The serene expression he wore, the sense of belonging he must’ve felt.
What was that like?

But then came the disconnect. Because her safety net wouldn’t last.

The kind of comfort she felt would tumble faster than a house of cards in a wind storm.

Safety came from a full bank account, the ability to depend on herself, and options. The only way to achieve those things was to work hard and sock away money, which she had been doing rather successfully until life had thrown her into chaos.

Before, she had plans. A direction. Security.

What did she have now? Nothing.

Her hands fisted. No use going down that road again. Feeling sorry for herself was a waste of valuable time. Life rode on a track of its own.

At best, she could hope to stay ahead of the curves.

She took a step back, breaking the connection between them. “I think I’m ready.”

“Let’s go.”

Rae turned to face the dense woods, ignoring the tightening knot braiding itself deep in her stomach. There were big animals that could eat her alive. Snakes. A shiver raced up her arm. That wasn’t even the scariest bit. In there, a sting from a tiny bug could kill her.

She couldn’t help but notice the tension in Daegen’s jaw as he ground his back teeth and his shoulder blades tightened. She hoped she wasn’t reading something into his reaction that wasn’t there because facing that rain forest, going in willingly, had her questioning her own sanity. Her pulse drummed. Icy fingers of panic squeezed around her heart. She’d climbed so far outside her comfort zone already her nerves were fried. It was too much, too soon. “Wait.”

“Are we going to do this?” Daegen said, his tone clipped.

She set her jaw. “No.”

A thin man with dark glasses, covered head to toe in full hiking gear, ran up. “Sorry to keep you waiting. My luggage was tagged and I had a heck of a time getting through customs.”

“Steve is my herbalist.” Daegen said before introducing Rae to him. “Now let’s go. We’ve wasted enough time as it is.”

As if the day couldn’t get any worse, when she should be home working, rain poured down in buckets. She could have been inside the villa, warm and dry, salvaging her severely damaged career. Instead she stood there swatting at flies practically the size of her balled fist. “Only to the edge of the forest for me. I won’t go in all the way in.”

“Do whatever you want,” he said icily.

The ground was soaked. Rae was sticky and exhausted. She had no plans to smell like hot jungle sweat. Daegen on the other hand looked like he couldn’t be happier. His dark brooding features gave way to a determined, self-satisfied smile as he cut through the brush using a machete. He was on a hunt, and never looked more relaxed. The anger she’d seen in his features earlier softened. Borneo was the one place that affected him like that.

“What should I be looking for? The purple clover?” Rae asked as droplets of rain pelted her forehead. What little makeup she had on before was long gone, left in the dredge of mud and leaves swirling around her feet.

“It’s small.” Daegen pinched his thumb and forefinger together without looking back.

“If I may,” Steve interrupted. He faced the ground, his gaze dropped, and his shoulders sank. “The plant we’re looking for is purple with dark green streaks running through the leaves.”

“Sounds beautiful,” Rae said with a slight smile, silently urging him to go on.

“Not nearly as attractive as present company.” Steve’s cheeks flushed.

It was probably the stress of the day that made Rae giggle. Although flattery had a way of lightening even the most somber moods. “Thank you.”

A grunt issued from Daegen. The brush in front of him took a fierce whack from his machete.

Rae thought Steve would jump out of his skin if Daegen said, “Boo.” She slanted a cross look toward him.

“Don’t pay attention to him,” she whispered.

Steve glanced at Daegen and then at Rae.

“The berry holds the properties of what we’re looking for,” he continued with a glint of expectation making his light eyes sparkle.

Rae decided, on closer appraisal, he looked almost cute when he wasn’t so pinched. Cute in a nerdy-but-endearing-boyish way. His thick-rimmed black frame glasses highlighted pale blue eyes.

And at least he was being helpful.

“Might hold the properties,” Daegen cut in, suddenly more interested in what was going on behind him than in front as he whacked another bush without looking. He turned, extending his hand to Rae, looking rather impatient for her to take hold.

The look he shot Steve was pure heat and promised violence if he got any closer to Rae.

She didn’t make a move. She stared at Daegen’s hand for a long moment as if it were a swarm of wasps that might sting her.

“It’ll be rough going from here,” he said, looking irritated she hadn’t taken his hand already.

If Rae didn’t know any better she’d say he was jealous. Daegen Tan? Nah.

Possessive? Maybe.

She wasn’t property to be owned.

Besides, this forest was home to some of the largest insects on the planet. A shiver raced down her spine. Palm-sized giant forest ants, rhinoceros beetles, and centipedes with paralyzing toxic bites waited. The heat combined with near one hundred percent humidity made going any further a physical challenge. To top that off, wet droplets covered her. “I’m at my limit. I never agreed to go all the way in there.”

“Fine,” he said.

Rae could tell he meant that about as much as he wanted to hand over a blank check to a stranger. She stood in the rain, arms folded, waiting for Daegen to unhook her.

Chapter Five

By the time the duo appeared an hour later, Rae’s stress indicator had nearly impaled her. She’d walked from the villa to the edge of the forest at least twenty times. She was in pain, soaked, and tired. Her imagination had taken over and she’d visualized every possible way they could’ve died, not the least of which was parasitic mites. Relief they were alive was short-lived when she caught hold of Daegen’s intense expression.

Steve offered a quick handshake before hopping in his truck and disappearing. Did Daegen’s demeanor have the poor guy practically running to make a quick exit?

“My Internet has been spotty here, is there someplace I can go to get a better connection?” she asked.

“You’ve been waiting right here the whole time?” Daegen asked incredulously.

Her arms folded and her temper flared. “No. I haven’t. I just got out here. I’m not here for sightseeing unless you forgot. You’re forcing me to stay.”

“Make sure and check yourself for parasites,” Daegen said coolly. He hadn’t been out of the rain forest two minutes before his dark features creased.

“Parasites?” she echoed, and then immediately began inspecting the exposed skin of her arms.

“Leeches. Nasty creatures.”

“Blood suckers?” Oh, great, now her life really had gone to hell. An image of their heat-seeking sensors and multi-jawed mouths coming at her made her heart race. She imagined the first painful bite, followed by watching the creature swell up as it drained her blood. Shivers raced up her arms. “Seriously?”