Very Bad Billionaires (10 page)

Chapter 6

FRANCESCA

I can't believe I'm doing this.

I had promised myself I would stay away from Kaiden Hunter, knowing he was bad news. He's a womanizer and a libertine, at least according to the press ...

But as soon as I see him walking over to me on the red carpet, so determined to have me, I can't resist but to accept his offer.

Plus, he's fucking hot.
Especially in that tux - though I've spent the last few minutes imagining what he looks like underneath it.

I take Kaiden's hand and let him guide me into the darkened theater, waving occasionally at people he knows. I feel out of place - my place is in fashion shows and up-and-coming venues, not movie premieres like this one.

But somehow, Kaiden's presence manages to calm me down.

We finally reach out seats and sit down. There's no time for chit chat, as the program starts immediately. I stare in awe at all the movie stars immediately, and perk up when Kaiden's mother enters the stage before us.

She must be over fifty, having had Kaiden quite late, but she's absolutely gorgeous. She's wearing a very appropriate dress that still accentuates her beautiful figure, and she looks like I want to look when I'm her age.

I listen to her kind thanks and think she really is a true movie star. Somewhere in the middle of her speech, my eyes dart over to her son sitting next to me, and I notice he's staring at me with an amused look on his face.

I blush. I
actually
blush. I don't think I've done that since I was about 12 years old.

Then, the movie starts.

I'm immediately intrigued by the premise and start following the story closely. It's a romantic comedy about a woman (played by Kaiden's mother) and her daughter, who both fall in love with the same guy.

I'm engrossed in the story when I feel a set of fingers on my hand.

I try to look down as inconspicuously as possible and spot Kaiden's hand holding my own. He meets my eye hesitantly, and I give him an encouraging look after a second of thinking about it. He takes my hand in his and holds it tightly in his palm.

It's just handholding, but my heart is pounding like it's the end of the world. I can't focus on the story anymore, but then Kaiden decides just holding my hand is too innocent for him.

His hand slowly slips out of my fingers, and I'm sorry to see it go ... Until it lands on my inner thigh.

There's no prelude, no touching my knee or something like that. He just goes straight for the kill, using the slit in my long dress to his advantage.

I can feel his stare on me, and I can also feel the air in the movie theater getting hotter by the second.

Or is that just me?

I seem to be frozen into place, because I don't ask him to move his hand or do anything to stop him ... So his fingers start moving, coming closer to my sore clit.

I'm throbbing, and I can feel the wetness dripping down my leg, and he hasn't even reached my thong yet. I don't dare look at him, but I realize I won't be able to say no.

Because I want this just as badly as he does.

I hear him shuffling in the seat next to me and I realize he's repositioning himself so no one can see what we're doing. At least he's that considerate.

I take a sharp intake of breath when his pointer finger reaches my panties, and I can feel him do the same when he finds me wet and willing. Hesitating only for a second, he finally, mercifully, moves my panties for the side, his middle finger outlining my swollen wet lips.

I'm dying for his touch, so eager for him to plunge his fingers inside me I almost straddle him right there, in the middle of the crowded movie theater.

Thank God the seat next to me is empty, as is his - and then I realize he must've chosen these seats in the back on purpose.

That stupid prick ...
Like he actually thought I would give it up like this?!

I pout my lips and I can feel him chuckling softly under his breath, so I shoot him an annoyed glance. But he makes me keep my gaze on his and just then, he plunges a finger deep inside me, my pussy taking him in, tight and ready for Kaiden Hunter.

I gasp and immediately cover my mouth, angry at the fact he got my body to react when my mind didn't want to. But then I can't focus on pouting anymore, because his fingers starts pushing inside me and it feels
so fucking good
...

He looks at me the whole time, even when I look at the screen, too embarrassed to meet his eye. His finger is joined by another one and I have to fight back a cry of pure passion when he starts fucking me with both.

The movie ends right then, and the credits come on, and I'm just about to come when he pulls his fingers out. The lights come on and I frantically move my panties in their place and tuck my artfully curled hair behind my ear.

Then, I risk a look at Kaiden.

It's like he's been waiting for me to turn towards him, because he immediately raises his fingers to his mouth and groans when he smells them. Slowly, he licks both fingers that were inside me only seconds ago, and I nearly die right there and then.

Instead, I gulp and practically run out of the movie theater with Kaiden hot on my heels.

Chapter 7

KAIDEN

I can't believe I just did that.

I also can't believe how damn good it felt, just touching her like that, hidden in plain sight.

I'm hot on her trail when she rushes out of the theater, but just as I'm about to grab her hand and pull her back towards me, we run into a person I
really
don't want to see right now.

"Kaiden!" she says happily and I smile a sour grin.

"Hello, mother," I greet her, finally stopping right along with Francesca, who immediately blushes a deep shade of beetroot. I bet she's wondering whether my movie star mother can tell what we just did when we should have been watching her newest flick ...

"And who is your little friend?" she asks curiously, looking at Francesca out of the corner of her eye.

Here's the thing.

I've never brought a girl home, never voluntarily introduced someone to my mother.

Sure, she knows I have quite the reputation, and she's met some of the girls I dated, had flings with, even. But somehow, I want to shield Francesca from her imploring gaze, as if afraid I'll lose her to my mother.

How sick is that?

Reluctantly, I introduce the two with a fake smile plastered across my face.

"Mom, this is Francesca DeMarco," I say, stepping aside so the two can shake hands. "Francesca, this is Monica Hunter."

"Pleased to meet you," my mother says pleasantly as she checks out Francesca, and she says something nice in response but it's so quiet I can barely make out the words.

My mother scrutinizes Francesca's appearance and it's the most awkward minute I've ever had to live through. I know I've been seen with some pretty questionable women, but having my mother stare my almost-date down is pretty awkward nonetheless.

"I like your styling," she finally offers with a merciful smile, and Francesca smiles gratefully while I breathe a sigh of relief. She might not know it, but a compliment like that from my mother means
a lot
.

"Thank you, Mrs. Hunter," Francesca says, smiling a little awkwardly. "You look beautiful today. Are you wearing Cartier?"

My mother's hand flutters to her neck, where a thick necklace encrusted with jewels is resting. "Indeed I am," she says, looking intrigued. "You have a good eye."

Francesca blushes with pleasure and it makes me weirdly happy to see these two connecting like they just did. My good mood might have come too soon though, because my mother has a new slew of questions for us, starting with one I very well can't answer.

"So!" she says enthusiastically, looking around, probably to check if there's a photographer around that she should pay attention to. Finding no one of importance, she focuses back on us. "Did you enjoy the movie?"

Francesca flushes in such a deep shade of pink it's almost purple and I actually have to bite back a laugh. My comments, however, come out uncensored.

"Loved it, Mom," I say enthusiastically. "I think Francesca liked it even more than I did though! Every time I looked at her, she was flushed and fanning herself. Especially during the sex parts."

Francesca looks like she wishes the earth would open underneath her and swallow her whole, but not before she smacks me silly. And it makes me weirdly happy to get a rouse out of her.

My mother looks quite shell-shocked as well, but pretty soon, her expression is replaced by a pleasant smile. "Yes, the love scene were very artistic, weren't they?" she says dreamily.

Let me tell you, I caught a glimpse of the sex scenes while I was playing with Francesca, and nothing about seeing your mother's bare breasts jumping up and down on a big movie screen screams
artistic
to me.

But I can't resist the opportunity to torment my little sex kitten even more.

"Indeed," I say with a somber nod. "Francesca is quite artistic, that's probably why she got so into them. I could swear I caught her panting at one point."

My mother laughs pleasantly, the sound of which is cut short as her name is called by a slew of photographers. She excuses herself politely and I'm left alone with a steaming date by my side.

"Wasn't that fun?" I ask with a smirk on my face, finally turning to look her in the eye.

And what I see surprises me, because Francesca's eyes are filled to the brim with hot tears of humiliation.

Before I can react, her hand hits my face with a loud 'smack' and she turns around and storms off, while I stand there, the sound of her slap resonating in my ears and a burning sensation spreading through my cheek.

"Trouble in paradise, Kaiden?" a photographer shouts at me, and of course, I realize they got it all on their cameras.

How's that for a hot story?

Chapter 8

FRANCESCA

I don't think I can eat another scoop of ice cream for the rest of my life.

For the past week, all I've been doing is being cooped up in the apartment, eating junk food when my tummy aches get too bad. Basically, I've been existing on Ben & Jerry's Cookie Dough, and a box of donuts Emmalee brought to my place a few days ago, worried about me.

The donuts are all that is left now, since I can't fathom eating another spoon of ice cream, and since they're so old they've gotten moldy, I'd rather not risk it.

At that point, I realize I can't stay in my apartment for ever.

Never mind the fact I've been told that by Emma, my housekeeper, my brother and both my parents. I needed the time to heal, because the past week has been nothing but a shit storm of blog posts, tabloid articles and general terrible gossip.

It started with Kaiden's damn interview. And then someone took a photo of me arriving at his place, which was just perfect, because it kicked off further speculation.

Of course, it wasn't mentioned until the day of the premiere, when I was too busy to pay attention to the media. Then, all hell broke loose the day of the movie premiere ...

There were photos of everything - save for our little touch and feel exploration in the theater, thank God. If anyone were to know about that, I would just about die of embarrassment.

But there were plenty of other photos ... Like me, red as a tomato, in the middle of an embarrassing conversation with Monica Hunter.

Fucking Monica Hunter, who's won two Oscars, and I was being teased about being fingered in front of her.
Can I die now, please?

And then there were the photos of me slapping Kaiden, which of course, fired off a whole new story and plenty of speculation about what happened.

Let's just say our faces have been plastered on every gossip website, many of which took it upon themselves to tag me in their posts to make sure I saw it. Who
does
that?

I don't let myself think about
him
.

Meaning, I try to stop it, but occasionally it
does
happen.

I'm too embarrassed to even think about what I let him do in the theater, but what's surprising is the fact that he hasn't made a single comment to the media about us. Actually, the tabloid's favorite movie star kid has been keeping low, not even photographed with a pretty model, leaving a club and looking completely shitfaced.

It's
mildly
shocking.

But I don't let myself dwell on it too much, because Kaiden Hunter is a complete, utter asshole, and I don't want anything to do with him.

My phone has been ringing off the hook, though I haven't bothered to check my messages yet. Not many people have this number, so I have no idea whether the media got a hold of it or what.

However, staring at the moldy donuts I realize something's gotta give.

With a sigh, I take a long shower, dry my hair and sit down to do my hair and makeup. Somehow, despite the fact that I've been existing on junk food for the past week, I seem to have lost weight. My cheekbones are jutting out even more than usual, and it's not a good look for me.

With a sigh, I glance at my answering machine, wondering whether I should just delete everything. On a whim, I press the button to hear my messages, of which I have 37.

I take my makeup brush and start to apply eye shadow, when Kaiden's voice comes across the line and I immediately drag a line all over my eye, ruining my makeup before I've even started.

I pout and start to remove the eye shadow, ignoring his pleading voice in the machine, but too stubborn to turn it off. Or at least that's what I'm telling myself ...

He starts with apologies. He's sorry, he fucked up, he was nervous, he feels strange around me. He trips over his words in a rush to get them out, and it's kind of cute.

Next, he tries flirting with me, which makes my blood boil in my veins. It's still kind of adorable though, and I don't mind hearing the compliments after a week of self-pity.

Then we have mild annoyance because apparently, it's been three days since the premiere and I haven't bothered to answer my phone, plus Emma won't give him my address.

Poor thing.

And smart Emma.

But why am I kind of angry at her, then?

The messages go from angry, frustrated, flirty and then some more apologizing, and by the end, I'm completely exhausted. But my makeup is finished too, and I've gotten dressed as well. So I take a deep breath and prepare myself for my first foray into the outside world after a week of absence.

I figure a little shopping never hurt nobody, so I call my driver and he confirms he'll be waiting for me downstairs in a few minutes.

Feeling restless, I finally decide to just head outside and get some fresh air.

As soon as I step out on the pavement, I regret my decision. There's a whole bunch of photographers camped out in front of my building, and I can barely shade my eyes with a pair of sunglasses before they start snapping their cameras in my direction.

Questions about Kaiden are fired at me, and I ignore every single one.

Probably because at that moment, I spot the man himself standing across the street from me, partially hidden by a tree and disguised with a newspaper.

It actually makes me smile, it's that silly.

He motions for me to come closer, and I don't know why, but I
really
want to.

So for once, I listen to my heart, not my head. I follow him into a side alley, shaking the photographers off and almost bumping into Kaiden when I turn the corner.

"Fuck, you scared me," I curse out loud, then clear my throat, feeling embarrassed by his mere presence.

I'm afraid to look up, because his closeness alone makes me lose my mind. I'm angry, feel cheated and annoyed, but there's still that underlying current of attraction between us ... And I'm afraid that if I raise my eyes to his, I'll lose any resolve I had when I came out of the building.

Thank God I'm wearing sunglasses.

"Francesca," he breathes and my heart does a wild thing in my chest, hearing my name on his lips. He should say it more often, it sounds that good.

"Yes?" I reply icily.

He flashes me an embarrassed grin, scratching his head, obviously gathering the courage to apologize to me in person, too. "I've been a jerk," he finally admits. "Sometimes it's hard to get out of my own skin ... I think you just drive me a little bit crazy."

I raise my eyebrows, not bothering to say a word, but imploring him to go on with my gaze alone.

"Fuck, I don't know," he says, frustrated. "I just ... I really like you."

I snort and he starts waving a hand in the air. "No, I do ... Not like anyone else before you. And I'm so scared you'll realize I'm not good enough for you, you'll just write me off."

I can feel the sincerity in his voice and I finally take my sunglasses off, looking him straight in the eye. "I don't like people messing with me," I say sternly.

"I've noticed." His grin grows wider and an impulse to smack it off his face overtakes me.
As long as it's followed by a long, slow kiss ...

"Please, I need you to be respectful," I ask him, and this time, I think he can see I'm being serious. "I'm fine with banter ..." I reach over to him, gently stroking his arm. "But I like to keep my image spotless, and you're really not helping with that, saying things like you did at the premiere."

He actually looks sheepish for a moment, but as my hand moves up his biceps, he grins slowly, lazily. "Like what you feel?" he asks, his voice rough.

I shrug, smiling a wicked grin myself. "I could do better," I tease him.

"Oh yeah?" His eyebrows shoot up. "I bet I can take him."

"We'll see," I promise him, turning around to leave the alley. Just as I'm about to go, he grabs my arm and pulls me back, wrapping me in a tight embrace.

"Going somewhere?" he whispers in my ear. "But we're nowhere near done ..."

And then he kisses me, just like I want him to. His breath is hot and minty, and he pulls on my lower lip with his teeth gently, making me go crazy. His tongue darts in my mouth, licking mine, making my head spin and my stomach drop.

His hand finds the small of my back and he pulls me closer, making me whimper as his hands roam my body.

"More?" he asks, teasing me, moving away just a few inches. But it's too much, and I want him back where he was right away.

I don't respond, instead pulling him closer until our lips collide again.

But then, the perfect moment is spoiled by a bright light flashing in my eyes.

"Francesca! Francesca! Look this way," someone shouts and I immediately move away from Kaiden's embrace, looking like a deer in the headlights as photographers swarm us.

Fuck, we should've been more careful.

I know the question is coming, so it shouldn't be a surprise when someone asks me about my father. But nonetheless, my heart falls deep, crashing against my ribcage when they do.

"What is happening, Francesca? What about your engagement? Does your father know you're
cheating
on your fiancé?"

Kaiden looks at me with complete shock as a slew of questions are fired at us, and my heart skips a beat, knowing my game is finally up.

Fuck.

Fuck.

Fuck.