TheBillionairesPilot (7 page)

Evan got to his feet, holding in the
satisfaction that threatened to overwhelm him. Shaking Xavier’s hand, he said,
“It is a pleasure to welcome you to the Mitchell family.”

“Yes, we are family now,” Xavier agreed,
patting Evan on the back. His attitude had turned around completely once he
agreed to the deal, making Evan’s head spin. “Now, let’s change into our swim
trunks and join our ladies for lunch at the pool.”

As Evan walked alone to his suite, a rush
of relief swamped him, and he nearly stumbled. Xavier had bought Evan’s feigned
detachment about the deal and conceded.

He threw a victory punch in the air when
he got to the privacy of his bedroom. He couldn’t wait to share the good news
with Cassie and engineer a celebratory kiss from her. Their first kiss this
morning had taken him by surprise with its potency, and he was anxious for a
repeat.

Cassie had burst into a sexy bundle of
heat in his arms as he’d tried to keep their contact appropriate for public
viewing. If Xavier and Esmé hadn’t been present, Evan knew he would have taken
that kiss to the next level. He couldn’t wait to get his hands on her in
private.

Stepping into his swim trunks, he grinned
as he thought about sharing this king-sized bed with Cassie. They certainly
weren’t going to be sleeping on opposite sides of it tonight. He’d spent an
uncomfortable night aroused by her floral smell and the small noises she made
in her sleep. The image of her standing with her hands on her hips, thrusting
out her pert breasts in that silky nightie had been permanently etched into his
brain.

He wasn’t going to think about how she’d
chipped away at his pride with her ability to sleep so easily while he’d
suffered beside her all night. Up until their kiss today, he’d questioned
whether she was feeling this attraction between them. Now, he knew she was
equally affected; though, she seemed to have been trying to fight it.

Yeah, tonight was going to be amazing.
They were going to celebrate his first major business deal and their blazing
chemistry by roughing up these sheets, and he was going to find out if a sub
truly hid beneath her protective layers.

Dressed in swim trunks, a T-shirt, and
leather flip-flops, he left the suite and made his way outside. As he
approached the pool, he grinned as he caught sight of Cassie in a blue bikini,
lounging alone in the sun.

Her body was small and compact, but curvy
at the hips and breasts. Her skin glistened with suntan lotion, smooth and
perfect, except for a three-inch scar along the outside of her right thigh. It
shimmered a lighter color than her tanned skin. In no way did it detract from
her beauty, but his gut tightened at the evidence that something had hurt her.
Had it happened during her time serving in the Army? Thank God, she was done
with that.

“Hello, my darling.” He bent over her
chaise and dropped a brief kiss on her lips before she could react.

Sitting up, she removed her sunglasses
and glared at him. “There’s no audience here. You can stop the playacting.”

He took a mental step back. She was
right. He had to remember they were acting, but there was nothing fake about
the way he responded to her physically and how much he wanted her alone in
their bedroom.

He looked around the pool area. “Where’s
Esmé?”

“She said she’d be right back. She was
going to check on lunch.” She leaned forward and lowered her voice. “How did
the meeting go with Xavier?”

“Good. Xavier signed, and I know just how
I want to celebrate,” he said.

“How’s that?” She smiled brightly as if
she expected him to say champagne and caviar or something else equally clichéd.

Bending down, he wrapped his hand behind
her head and drew her towards him. “With a kiss,” he whispered across her lips
before pressing firmly against them.

She gasped, and he took the opportunity
of her slightly parted lips to swipe his tongue between them. She tasted of
coconut and pineapple juice, sweet and tangy.

Her initial surprise was replaced with
eagerness as her hands went into his hair, tugging him closer until he was
practically lying on top of her on the chaise. With his free hand, he skimmed
lightly over her waist down to the curve of her hip. Her skin was hot from the
sun and slick from the lotion.

He groaned into her open mouth. He didn’t
know how he was going to wait until tonight to get her hot and naked underneath
him. She was so close to being there already.

“Well, ma chérie, I don’t think the
lovebirds have lunch on their minds.” Esmé’s voice pierced Evan’s lust-clouded
consciousness.

He reluctantly pulled his lips away from
Cassie’s. Turning his head, he addressed his hosts with mock solemnity, “I
apologize for our unseemly behavior. My fiancée was very enthusiastic about my
return.”

Out of sight of Esmé and Xavier, Cassie
knuckle-punched Evan in the stomach. He ground his teeth against the yelp that
nearly shot from his mouth, and pressed his body harder against her to pin her
arm down.

With a forced smile to cover the ache in
his side, he said, “We’d be delighted to join you for lunch.”

And later tonight, he would find a way to
make Cassie pay for her little rebellion. His grin turned genuine as he thought
of a dozen naughty ways to pleasure her once she submitted to him.

Chapter Seven

Impatiently,
Evan knocked on the bathroom door of their suite. “Cassie? Are you ready?” He
pulled at the cuff of his dinner jacket to check his watch.

“A few more minutes,” she called out.

She’d been locked in there for nearly an
hour. What could be taking her so long? One of the things he liked about her
was that she seemed low maintenance. He’d certainly dated plenty of women who
needed an hour or more in the bathroom to prep for an evening out, but Cassie
hadn’t seemed like that type. So, what was she doing?

As he paced the bedroom, his mind played
around with the images of all the things they could have been doing this past
hour before they were due downstairs for the big celebratory dinner with the
executives of Estrella. Though, sixty minutes wasn’t nearly enough time for him
to thoroughly explore all her erogenous zones, it would have at least given him
time to explore whether or not she had any submissive bones in her tight little
body.

He loved the way she ignited with his
kisses, and he knew when they finally had sex, it was going to be explosive.
But since the kiss at the pool, he hadn’t had a chance to get close to her
again. Tonight, he had plans to rectify that. As soon as they finished the
requisite dining and schmoozing, he was bringing Cassie back to their suite for
an all-nighter.

On his next lap around the suite, he
stopped at the bathroom door and knocked again. “I’m giving you three minutes
before I come in and drag you out,” he warned. They only had five minutes left,
and he refused to be late.

With twenty seconds to spare, Cassie
unlocked the bathroom door.

He looked up from his watch, and his jaw
dropped. He wiped a hand over his chin, sure that he must have drooled on
himself, while he stared at the stunning woman before him.

The androgynous pilot turned sexy
girl-next-door had transformed this time into a sophisticated siren. Her brown
hair was swept up at the back of her head in a loose set of curls, but several
strands hung free, framing her face. Her red lips looked plump, and he already
knew how kissable they were. The shade of her lipstick perfectly matched her
scarlet dress, which displayed an impressive cleavage, considering he’d once
thought she was too flat to look good in an evening gown. The material hugged
her figure before flaring out at the skirt, ending at her ankles. Sliver
strappy heels raised her height by several inches, which meant he wouldn’t have
to bend over so far to kiss her.

She glanced down at herself then lifted
an uncertain face. “Do I look okay?”

“Okay?” he repeated dumbly.

Her fingers twitched nervously at the
waist of her gown. “This isn’t my usual style. Should I change?”

“Good God, don’t change a thing. You’re
perfect.”

Her lips turned upwards in a little
smile. “Perfect?” Her voice took on a slight purr.

He blinked and raised his gaze to find
her startling blue eyes shining on him. “Yeah.” His voice sounded rough. He cleared
his throat. “That’s the perfect dress for our celebration tonight.”

Her smile faltered as she nodded. “Right,
the dress.” She stepped towards the door.

And he saw, again, the insecurity
lingering right underneath the surface of her strength. If she were his sub,
he’d make sure she always knew her value. That shadow would never again cross
her beautiful face. “And you, Cassie. You’ve been perfect this entire weekend.
You have my deepest gratitude.” He reached for her, but she avoided his hand.

“Just doing the job you hired me to do.
I’m glad my performance has been acceptable.” Her tone was robotic, and she
didn’t meet his gaze. Before he could respond, she opened the door to the
hallway, cutting off his chance to speak without being overheard by someone
passing by.

Damn it. If they’d had more time, he
would have brought her back into the suite and made sure she understood what he
was really trying to say. It wasn’t just the good job she was doing that he
appreciated. It was
her
that he appreciated—the spunky, funny,
smart woman standing before him—but he didn’t have time. He wouldn’t be
late and give Xavier any excuse for thinking he’d made a mistake accepting a
deal with an inexperienced playboy like Evan.

On second thought, it was good he didn’t
have time to explain himself to Cassie. He was getting carried away with his
own growing list of lies, starting to believe this farce was real. His
arrangement with her was merely business as she’d so clearly reminded him.
Anything he thought he felt for her was just residual emotion from their
playacting. Well, that and honest sexual attraction, but the emotional stuff…
That was better off left unexplored.

“I appreciate everything you’ve done this
weekend,” he answered, joining her in the corridor and placing her hand in the
crook of his elbow.

Then, resuming their roles for the public
charade, he escorted her to the celebration in honor of his new partnership
with Xavier.

* * * *

“
This is the
perfect night to end the perfect day,” Evan whispered against Cassie’s ear as
he held her in his arms on the dance floor, and suddenly a caution flag popped
into his mind, signaling him to slow down before he admitted something he
shouldn’t.

After a dinner surrounded by Estrella’s
executives and their spouses, Evan was glad for the relative privacy of guiding
Cassie around to a slow, sensual Latin love song. Playing her role as his
fiancée flawlessly, she snuggled up against his chest, and he wrapped his arms
more securely around her small body.

“You like that word, don’t you?” She
looked up at him.

Ignoring his internal warning system, he
said, “When I have the perfect woman in my arms, what better word is there to
use?”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, we’ve already
covered that.”

“You didn’t let me finish before we left
the suite.”

“I think I got the idea.” She leaned
closer, and he bent down so she could whisper in his ear. “You like the dress,
and you think I’m doing a good job.”

“It wasn’t the dress I was complementing,
Cassie,” he whispered back in her ear. “It was the woman wearing it.”

He tilted his head back, so he could see
her face. Her eyes widened as she stared up at him.

“I think you are a unique treasure,” he
skimmed his fingertips up her exposed back, feeling her tremble, “and I can’t
wait to discover more about you.” He lowered his head and kissed her soft lips,
tasting a hint of chocolate from dessert.

Her hand on his shoulder tightened as she
moved closer into his body, and the tip of her tongue glided over his lower
lip. Willingly, he opened for her and enjoyed her exploration of his mouth. She
started tentatively then grew bolder with deeper sweeps across his upper
palate, causing him to have to hold tightly to his restraint when what he
really wanted was to take control and thrust deeply into her mouth, but he didn’t
want to scare her off.

With his hand on the small of her back,
he pulled her hips to his. She gasped softly as her belly came in contact with
his growing arousal. With a slight sway of her body, she rubbed against him,
further inciting the fire in his veins. Had she done that intentionally?

He kissed along her jaw to her ear.
“Maybe it’s time we say goodnight to our host and hostess,” he whispered.

At her nod of agreement, he grabbed her
hand and led her off the dance floor before she changed her mind and put an end
to this moment, this
perfect
moment.

* * * *

Evan barely got the door to the suite
closed behind him before he had Cassie back in his arms. She ran her hands up
his chest and into his hair as he kissed her, wanting to possess her hot, wet mouth.
He backed her further into the sitting room, singularly focused on getting them
both naked on the bed where he could kiss every inch of her satiny skin.

Her heel snagged the back hem of her
dress, and she faltered. His arms instinctively tightened around her to keep
her from falling.

Pulling away from their kiss, she cursed.

“Did you hurt yourself?” Happy to offer
to kiss her all better, he held her even closer.

Her palms flattened on his chest, and she
pushed against him. “Stop.” Her eyes narrowed on him, but not in the good
bedroom-eyes kind of way.

Not willing to let go until he had a
compelling reason, he didn’t release his hands from around her waist. “Why?”

“We’re not involved personally.” She
shook her head. “This is business. I won’t cross the line and mix the two.”

Baffled by her sudden shutdown, he
blocked out his emotions, not willing to admit he was inclined to take this to
a personal level. Instead, he resumed his playboy role and asked her the
question she’d expect from a philanderer. “Haven’t you ever had a relationship
based purely on physical attraction?”

Her nostrils flared. “No.”

He dropped his hands from her waist. “You
don’t know what you’re missing, darling,” he teased her with fake nonchalance.

“Stop calling me that! I’m not your darling.
And I’m not shallow enough to sleep with someone just because he gets me all
hot and bothered on the dance floor.”

He grinned, hiding his confusion about
her swift turnaround and wondering where the hell his ability to read people
had fled to. “It’s obvious I get you all hot and bothered. Why don’t you give a
shallow relationship a try for a change? I promise you’ll find deep meaning in
the pleasure I can give you.”

“God, you really aren’t any different
than Trent.” She spun away and grabbed a blanket and a pillow from the armoire
in the corner of the sitting room.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m sleeping on the couch. There’s
apparently no point in trying to reason with you on this.”

“I’m not Trent.” He spoke slowly, using
his Dom voice, while standing between her and the sofa. “And you’re not
sleeping out here.”

“Why not?” She stuck her chin up in the
expression he was beginning to recognize as her defense pose. He was going to
have to protect his vulnerable parts, while he continued this argument, in case
she decided to use her exceptional self-defense skills.

There were two very good reasons why he
couldn’t let her sleep on the tiny couch, in addition to the importance of
keeping up appearances with the staff. First, she’d wake up with horrible
cramps in her muscles, but more importantly he wanted her in his bed. Instead
of giving her the personal one, he went with his argument from the day before.
“I already told you when we arrived. I won’t have the staff gossiping about my
fiancée sleeping on the couch.”

“As soon as I wake up, I’ll remove all
the evidence.” She stepped around him.

His arm shot out to block her way.
“Cassie, wait.”

He didn’t know exactly how she did it,
but with a quick jerk, she had him flat on his back with one of his arms pinned
beneath him and her knee alarmingly close to his balls.

He blinked back the darkness that
threatened the edges of his vision. The thin rug between him and the ceramic
tile hadn’t provided much protection when his head hit the floor. “Damn,
woman,” he mumbled, when his breath returned.

“I’m not having sex with you tonight,”
she said in a surprisingly normal tone of voice.

“I get it.”

She leaned heavier on him. “You sure?”

“Definitely. Your knee speaks loud and
clear.”

She studied him for a moment, then stood
and watched as he gingerly sat up.

He probed the back of his head with his
fingertips and located a growing goose egg. When he checked his fingers, they
were free of blood.

“How’s your head?” she asked as if she
were concerned.

“It’d be better if it hadn’t bounced off
the tile floor.” His rising voice didn’t hide his anger.

She took a step back. “I’m sorry. I may
have overreacted.”

“
May
have?” He got to his feet
amid the pounding in his skull. “Did you really think I was going to take
advantage of you?” Shit, that she would think that made him angrier than her
throwing him to the floor. He’d never take advantage of a woman who wasn’t
willing to be his partner, whether it was for vanilla sex or his preferred
darker flavor.

“No.” She shook her head. “I don’t know
what I was thinking.”

He’d had enough for the night. Turning
away from her, he headed for the bed. When the room spun, he cursed under his
breath and grabbed for the nearest wall. Instead, his hand landed on Cassie’s
arm as she moved in to support him with her other arm around his waist.

“Oh, God. I’m really sorry. I never meant
to give you a concussion.” Her tone sounded truly remorseful, and her eyes
seemed to plead for his forgiveness.