TheBillionairesPilot (6 page)

Evan shook his head. “You’ll only be able
to tell them you’re engaged, not that it’s fake.”

“You want me to lie to everyone important
in my life?” Her chest tightened at the thought of putting even more distance
between her and her dad.

Evan sat with his forearms on his knees,
looking at her intently. “You’ll have to. Otherwise, it will increase the
chance that Xavier finds out this is a sham engagement.”

“Then we’ll have a big breakup as soon as
we get back to New York,” she resolved. She could do a few days of this.

“You heard what Xavier said. He
threatened to back out of this deal if we broke our engagement.”

Leaning forward slightly in her chair,
she studied him. “Who needs this deal more? You or him?”

“We both need it. It’s mutually
beneficial.”

“Then he won’t back out.”

“He has other offers to consider.”

“But not as good as yours,” she insisted,
knowing from her own experience with Evan that he wasn’t a stingy negotiator.

“Supposedly. That’s why I’m here and not
another company’s CEO.” He settled back in the armchair.

Cassie stood and walked to the open
balcony doors. Wrapping her arms around her waist, she looked out at the
moonlight reflecting off the ocean. “I don’t like this. I hate lying.”

“So do I.”

She glanced over her shoulder at him.
“But you do it so well.”

“I could say the same for you. Your
performance at dinner was impeccable.”

“I just followed your lead.”

“And I truly appreciate it.”

She sighed and returned to the empty
chair. “How much do you appreciate it?” They might as well talk dollars because
she couldn’t see herself bailing out on him now. Loyalty was one of the most
important values to a soldier, and it was too ingrained in her to consider
walking away from Evan now.

She’d agreed to the weekend, and now it
looked like her performance as his fiancée was going to be required for a while
longer. She might as well see how much further she could get herself out of
debt and set herself up financially because who knew if she was going to be
able to continue flying Mitchell Industries’ helicopter when this all ended.

She’d certainly been forced to leave her
last position when things crashed and burned between her and Trent, and she
suspected she wouldn’t be interested in sticking around Mitchell Industries
when Evan was done with her. So much for learning from her past.

“Ah, yes,” he said, placing his palms
together with his fingers steepled. “Let the negotiations begin. Where would
you like to start this time?”

“Well, I assume I’ll still be employed as
your pilot during the day, so you’ll only need to compensate me for the hours
outside of the normal workday. What exact duties will you require of me?”

He dropped his hands and used one to
massage the back of his neck. The man should seriously consider hiring a
full-time massage therapist to help him with his trigger points. He looked like
he was suffering, but he’d clearly let her know he didn’t appreciate her
helpful touch.

“I hadn’t really thought about the
details yet,” he said. “I guess we’ll have to be seen going to dinner and the
occasional society event.”

She nodded. “That sounds reasonable.”

“And we’ll need to visit my mother and
your father.”

She froze. “My father?”

He studied her for a moment. “Would you
really prefer if your father heard about your engagement from the gossip rags?”

“He doesn’t read those.”

“No, but someone who knows him probably
does. Trust me, I’ve lived this life long enough to know that it’s best to talk
to your loved ones first before they hear the stories from the press.”

She considered that before saying, “Okay,
so a few dinners a week and a visit to our folks. That sounds manageable.”

He heaved a big theatrical sigh. “So,
what’s it going to cost me?”

She ignored his dramatics while figuring
three dinners at three hours apiece, plus extra time to get ready, was roughly
ten hours a week. “I’ll do it for five hundred a week.”

“You’re charging me four thousand for
this weekend, but you’ll be my fiancée for only five hundred a week?”

She shrugged. “Much less hours involved.
Would you rather I ask for more?”

He shook his head. “No, I’ll pay you what
you asked for.” He stood and held out his right hand. “A gentlemen’s agreement?”

“An officer and a gentleman’s agreement.”
She stood and shook his hand, forcing herself not to react to the sensual tug
pulling her towards him.

“Good.” He dropped her hand and started
unbuttoning his shirt. “I’m going to shower before bed. Do you need the
bathroom before me?”

“N-no. Thanks.” She tore her eyes away
from his bared chest with his well-developed pecs and washboard abs. Was he
tempting her on purpose, or did he really not see the effect he had on her?
“I-I’ll use it when you’re finished.”

As he left the room, she lingered over
mental images of his naked body under the jets of the shower, the water
sluicing over his defined muscles and down through the dark hair between his
legs. Her stomach flip-flopped and her knees grew weak as she imagined the bar
of soap in his hand sliding over all that hot skin. Oh, how she’d like to kneel
before him and—

She really had to let go of some of these
pent up feelings, or her body would go into meltdown. Taking a deep breath, she
pictured herself landing her bird in Siberia in the dead of winter—snow,
ice, and below freezing temps—to cool herself down.

When she heard the bathroom door shut
firmly behind Evan, she went into the bedroom to find something to wear after
her shower. Glancing around for her suitcase, she found it sitting empty on the
floor of the closet underneath her neatly hung clothes. One of the staff must
have unpacked for her while she was at dinner, which made her feel weird that
someone had touched her personal things. She wasn’t used to having staff or
servants or whatever the rich called the people who worked in their households.

She went to the dresser and opened the
drawers, looking for a T-shirt and a pair of comfy shorts. She had to have
packed something she could wear to bed. Something, of course, other than the
satin and lace nightgown she’d bought during her shopping spree this morning.

She’d been so caught up in the fairytale
of buying a weekend wardrobe fit for a billionaire’s girlfriend, she’d picked
out a sexy negligee, never thinking she’d actually be wearing it in the same
room with Evan. In her mind, a platonic agreement had meant separate bedrooms,
but that clearly hadn’t worked out for her.

She shoved her hands through the drawer
of panties and bras, searching with growing despair for something asexual.

“Did you lose something?” Evan asked,
coming out of the bathroom behind her.

“My pajamas,” she said without turning
around.

“Is this what you’re looking for?”

She could hear the self-satisfied smile
in his tone and knew what she’d find in his hand. Slowly, she turned to face
him.

He held up the satin slip negligee on the
padded hanger that had come with it from the store. “The maid must have hung it
in the bathroom for you.” His smile widened. “I can’t wait to see you in this.”

As far as sleepwear went, it wasn’t too
terribly revealing. The hem would fall to her mid-thigh and the top covered her
breasts, but the black lace trim and orchid purple satin seemed to scream “sexy
rendezvous imminent”.

“Yes, that’s my nightgown. Thank you.”
She reached to take it from him, ignoring his comment about seeing her in it.
If she could manage it, the lights would be out when she came back into the
bedroom. “Are you done in the bathroom?”

“All finished.” He held his hands out to
his sides, and she realized he was only wearing a pair of black boxer briefs.
His bare chest still looked damp from his shower, and his dark hair was slicked
back off his forehead. Feminine appreciation stirred in her gut.

“Great. Thanks. I’ll be out in a few.”
She refused to lower her gaze as she sped past him. She would not take a second
look at his sculpted shoulders, or pecs, or abs, or even his thickly muscled
thighs. She certainly wouldn’t glance at the bulge in his briefs and imagine
his dimensions.

And she
absolutely
refused to
react when his low laughter followed her into the bathroom.

After her shower, she took longer than
necessary smoothing on the jasmine-scented body lotion provided on the bathroom
counter. If she spent enough time in here, she hoped Evan would be asleep when
she emerged. She combed through her wet hair and debated blowing it dry. That
would fill more time, but she was too tired to make the effort.

The day had started so early with her
mad-dash shopping extravaganza, then the flight down here, followed by a taxing
dinner with Xavier and Esmé. Now that she was showered and her body had begun
to relax, she realized she was bushed.

She considered the threat of her
intermittent nightmares, which were more likely to occur when she got too
fatigued. She could only imagine Evan’s shocked reaction to her screaming and
hitting the floor. And that’s what infuriated her about these nightmares; they
didn’t reflect what truly happened. In the heat of the moment, she’d maintained
her position, held control of her aircraft, and delivered her men to safety
without even registering her own injury. So, why the hell did she cower and
whimper in her dreams?

Mentally shoving aside the possibility of
losing control in her sleep tonight, she flipped off the bathroom light and
slowly opened the door, praying Evan would be sound asleep.

“I wasn’t sure you were ever coming out,”
his deep voice greeted her in the brightly lit bedroom. He sat propped up with
pillows against the ornately carved headboard.

“Hey, isn’t that my book?” She stepped
closer to the bed to get a better look at the familiar cover.

“Yeah, I didn’t bring anything to read
other than business reports. I figured you wouldn’t need it while you were in
the bathroom.”

“Did you dig through my bag to get it?”
She stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at him. Why did everyone think it
was okay to go through her things?

“No, I didn’t have to dig. It was right
near the top.” His gaze fixed on her until she realized she was practically
posing for him in her nightie with her chest puffed up.

Dropping her hands and hunching her
shoulders, she skedaddled to the other side of the bed. Tossing back the
covers, she quickly got under them with her back to him.

“Goodnight,” she said, switching off the
lamp on her side table. “And remember I know self-defense.”

She closed her eyes tightly, trying to
block out his freshly showered citrusy scent and the heat coming from his side
of the bed. But there was no blocking out the throaty chuckle that wrapped its
way around her and seemed to caress her skin, sending her pulse skittering.

Damn, it was going to be a long night.

Chapter Six

“
Which
ring do you like best?” Esmé asked from a nearby armchair as Cassie sat on the
living room couch close to Evan. Xavier stood behind his wife with his hands on
her shoulders, his sharp eyes focused on Cassie and Evan.

Cassie’s pulse pounded in her throat as
she stared down at the velvet tray in her lap filled with exquisite diamond
rings. Never before had she been this close to jewels this valuable. Barely
moving, she took shallow breaths, afraid she would disrupt the tray and send
the rings scattering across the tile floor.

She hadn’t realized Esmé was serious last
night about having her jeweler bring over a selection of engagement rings this
morning. Then, while they’d eaten breakfast on the patio, this magnificent
collection of diamonds had been delivered.

Cassie was beginning to lose count of all
the unexpected things that had happened in the past twenty-four hours,
including the fact her exhaustion had beat out her attraction for the nearly
naked man sharing her bed last night. She’d fallen asleep with relative ease
and hadn’t suffered any night terrors. Thank heavens. But now, sitting so close
to Evan with Esmé and Xavier watching, Cassie was far from feeling at ease.

Surrealistic feelings overwhelmed her as
she fought the sensation that she’d stepped into a fairytale. Evan had been
most charming to her through breakfast with Xavier and Esmé—pulling out
her chair, engaging her in the conversation, and bestowing compliments just
like a fairy prince…or a real life Dom.

She had to continue to remind herself
this was make-believe, nor was she in a scene. This was all pretend. Though the
sexual heat between her and Evan felt real enough, the rest was playacting.
They were not actually a couple, nor would they ever be. The helicopter pilot
and the billionaire never ended up together in real life.

“Do you see one you like, darling?” Evan
used one of the terms of endearment he’d adopted for her since they’d been
together, and he sounded so convincing when he said it.

“Each one is amazing,” she whispered in
awe over the unimaginably expensive display.

“Yes, my jeweler has a remarkable eye,”
Esmé said. “I’m pleased you like them.”

Cassie looked up at her hostess. “Like
them? I love all of them.”

“That’s typical of a woman.” Xavier
chuckled. “Isn’t it, Evan? They get all starry-eyed and can’t make a decision
when presented with too many choices.”

“I’m sorry, dear,” Evan said to Cassie,
“but you’ll have to be satisfied with only one engagement ring.”

The warmth of his body pressed against
her side kept her nerves tingling, and she suspected from the glances he’d been
sending her all morning that he felt it too. That earthquake-proof wall she’d constructed
was getting a hell of a shaking, but she was determined not to be a notch on
another man’s bedpost, especially her boss’s, because he certainly couldn’t be
interested in pursuing a real relationship with his pilot, a former soldier at
that. Men of his station might have a fling with women like her, as Trent had,
but they always settled down and got serious with one of their own kind—a
society woman. Something Cassie had learned the hard way.

“Perhaps you could help her decide,
Evan?” Esmé prompted.

“Yes, you know women,” Xavier said.
“Sometimes they need a firm hand to guide them in the right direction.”

Cassie looked up sharply at Xavier’s
second chauvinistic comment. Depending on the setting, his comment could have
been interpreted as coming from a Dom, but from what she’d observed so far, she
suspected he was simply a sexist asshole. She bit her lip to restrain herself
from responding. She would do nothing to jeopardize Evan’s business deal with
this man. Therefore, in order to make mental peace with her host, she decided
to chalk it up to the cultural differences of his Spanish heritage.

As Evan removed the tray from her lap, he
sent her a covert wink, as if he were letting her know he followed her
thoughts. After setting the tray on the coffee table in front of them, he
reached in with his big fingers and deftly plucked up a marquise diamond with
pear-shaped side stones. “Let’s see if this one suits you.”

Cassie didn’t know much about carats and
such, but to her eye it looked like the biggest rock on the tray.

Before she could respond, Evan got down
on one knee and lifted her left hand. Slipping the ring onto her finger, he
held her gaze with his intense brown eyes and said, “Cassie, my love, will you
marry me?”

Her heart thumped wildly in her chest and
her throat tightened as the moment took her breath away. Then she berated the
little girl in her who wanted to believe her prince had come, as she shied away
from the force of his look. Glancing down at her finger, she lost herself in
the fire within the stone as it reflected the sunlight shining in from the wall
of windows behind her. When she tilted her hand, the side diamonds sparkled at
her.

Evan cleared his throat, drawing her
attention back to him. He smiled playfully at her. “Do I need to repeat the
question?”

“What? No.” She shook her head, trying to
draw in a deep breath.

Evan’s brow creased, and the smile fell
from his lips. He glanced nervously in the direction of Esmé and Xavier.

“I mean, no, you don’t have to repeat the
question,” she quickly reassured him. “Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you.” Her stomach
leaped into her throat, and she met Evan halfway as he pulled her into his
embrace for a kiss.

Their first kiss.

Her head swam as his warm, tender lips
pressed against hers, and his strong arms encircled her in a close, protective
hold. Wrapping her hands behind his neck, she curled her fingers into his soft
hair. With her eyes closed, her other senses drank him in—the heat of his
skin, his freshly showered scent, the faint hum coming from his throat, and the
subtle taste of coffee on his lips.

And heaven forbid, in that moment, it
felt too real. She really felt engaged to this handsome, smart, powerful man
kneeling at her feet, and she was happy. Happier than she could ever remember
being in her life…and wouldn’t it be wonderful to always feel this good.

Xavier and Esmé’s polite clapping and
congratulations broke through Cassie’s fanciful thoughts. She sat back on the
couch, reluctantly removing herself from Evan’s warm embrace, feeling slightly
chilled.

Evan returned to his seat close to her
side and took her hand in his. His grasp was strong and comforting as she
attempted to ground herself in the true reality of the situation. She was his
hired companion, nothing more, so why was she having such a hard time
remembering that?

She risked a peek at him, but he was
giving his full attention to their host and hostess. Had he been as affected by
their kiss as she was? Or was it like the massage on the airplane when the
attraction had only flowed in one direction?

“We must have some champagne.” Xavier
moved towards a bar set beneath an arched alcove. “And then, Evan, you and I
will excuse ourselves to conduct our business while our women enjoy themselves
at the pool.”

“That sounds like a plan,” Evan said as
his hand tightened around Cassie’s.

She glanced at him. Was he nervous about
this meeting? It was hard to tell because he always appeared so confident, but
when he turned to face her, she caught a glimpse of anxiety in the tense lines
around his mouth. She squeezed his hand in show of support, and the grooves
vanished as his smile reappeared.

Her heart leapt in her chest, and that’s
when she knew. No matter how much she tried to pretend, when this engagement
was over, she was going to be hurt badly. Because her heart refused to listen
to her head and had already given a piece of itself to this domineering,
arrogant, sexy man.

It was so unfair that history was
repeating itself. She should be able to protect herself from these feelings,
especially when she could look at her past relationship with Trent and predict
how terribly, badly things would go with Evan. How the hell had her concrete
wall collapsed so easily?

She would rebuild it, but with manganese
steel this time. The incredibly hard skin of the steel would resist any wearing
down by her boss’s charm…she hoped.

* * * *

“
I am
unpleasantly surprised by your offer.” Xavier sat in a leather armchair in his
bookshelf-lined library, a frown marring his face.

Evan took a sip from his glass of iced
tea, invoking the iron calm he’d been famous for on the racetrack. He would not
let Xavier take the advantage in this negotiation. Evan was willing to use
every bit of information he had.

Lowering his glass, he studied the older
man, using the silence to his benefit before replying. “Your company was under
investigation for drug smuggling.”

“And we were cleared of all charges.”
Xavier was quick to respond.

“Yes. I know.” Evan had done his own deep
investigating to be sure the charges had been
legally
cleared. “Otherwise,
I wouldn’t be here making this offer.”

“This offer is much too low. It is an
insult.” Xavier huffed.

“Estrella is not worth the same as it was
before the investigation, Xavier. Even though you’ve been cleared, the
company’s value has not returned. You need to take this offer, and you know
it.”

“You are so much like your father.”

Evan felt a stab of regret and instant
denial that he was anything like his father, but he kept his face blank. His
father had put everything of himself into his company, while Evan had been
traipsing about playing with cars, ignoring his duty to help with the family
business. He was nothing like his father, and Evan deeply grieved for his loss.

Xavier continued. “He never pulled his
punches either, but I will accept no less than twice what you bid.”

“I won’t budge on my proposal. You take
what’s on the table, or I walk away.” Evan took another sip of the iced tea.

“I have others willing to buy.”

Evan took his time setting his glass on
the mahogany side table. “Who? Linders? I know for a fact he can’t afford what
I’m offering you. The recession hit him too hard.” Thank God, Dan had given
Evan those figures on the plane on the way down yesterday. There was just so
much Evan needed to learn, and the problem was he didn’t always know what he
didn’t know. Dan was a priceless resource.

“There are others interested in making a
deal,” Xavier asserted.

“Then why aren’t they here? Why did you
only invite me?” Evan held up a hand. “No, wait. I’ll answer that for you. It’s
because I’m your highest bidder.” God, he hoped Dan’s research was exhaustive,
and Xavier hadn’t been secretly meeting with any other companies.

“Yes, you are right. Our value was hurt
by the investigation, but we will recover. Then we will have offers pouring in,
much better offers than this one.” Xavier waved his hand dismissively at the
contract on the low table between them. “Offers that won’t include the
controlling seizure of my company.”

“If others haven’t made the offers by
now, when they can grab your company at a discount price, they won’t be coming
around when your value rebounds.”

Xavier frowned fiercely. “I am not a
bargain basement deal.” His voice was nearly a growl. “Estrella is a valuable
company.”

“It was, and it still has great assets.”
Evan attempted to soothe Xavier’s bruised ego. He didn’t want to beat the man
down in the process of this negotiation. He only wanted to establish that he
held the winning hand. “But you have declined too much in the past year to
recuperate your losses on your own. It’s obvious that’s why you’ve been looking
for investors.”

“Investors are exactly what Estrella is
looking for, but this contract is more than that.” Xavier’s voice rose
slightly. “You are asking me to hand over the management of my family
business.”

“It’s about stability in this volatile
economy, Xavier.” Evan kept his tone steady. “If new investors see that
Mitchell Industries is now in charge of Estrella, they will be reassured the
company is in good hands.”

Xavier glanced down at the contract and
back at Evan without commenting.

“Look, Xavier.” Evan pushed a little
harder. “I don’t need this deal. Mitchell Industries will be fine without it,
but Estrella won’t. Your star will burn out.” Evan forced his breathing to
remain smooth and regular as he waited for Xavier’s answer.

Would Xavier accept Evan’s bluff? Because
in reality, Mitchell Industries did need this deal as badly as Estrella did,
but they needed it under the terms that favored Mitchell. Transportation costs
were eating up their profits. With this contract, Evan would slash those
expenses to a fraction.

After a painfully drawn out moment of
silence, Xavier stood and offered his right hand to Evan. “You’ve done your
homework, young man. And you are a gifted negotiator. Estrella will accept this
agreement.”