Billion Dollar Bad Boy (Big City Billionaires #1) (22 page)

That hadn't worked. And so, I began sending her letters.

The dark-haired woman was still smiling, her eyes dancing between Alexis and me. “This place is beautiful!” she said, waving at the hanging lights and the long table of pastel colored snacks. “Am I crazy, or is that cake over there shaped like a giant dildo?”

Alexis patted Laralie on the shoulder, giving her a gentle shove. “No way it's—” Trailing off, she spotted the display for the first time. “What bakery
made
that thing?”

“They're a small business, but really talented. I've used them before,” I said. Turning towards Laralie, I tucked on my nicest smile. “I'm guessing you're the guest who insisted on meeting me in person.”

Laralie didn't even blush, she just shrugged. “I had to see if you were real.”

Narrowing my eyes, I glanced at Alexis. “I'm very real.”

“I'll say!” Winking, Laralie gave her friend a shove. “Okay, so, rich
and
hot?” Alexis turned beet red, but Laralie just went on. “You have any look-a-like friends you can hook me up with, Mister Very Real?”

Alexis covered her eyes, but she couldn't hide her smile. “Laralie, please.”

“It's fine,” I said, playing along. Spotting Florian across the room, I waved him over. “Here, this is my partner. He's a genius and
painfully
available.”

Florian scoffed, acting offended as he joined our group. He was almost my height, a slim man in a pale-grey coat and black slacks. He was clearly handsome enough, because Laralie stopped goofing with Alexis, her demeanor shifting.

In seconds, she went from silly to sultry. That yellow dress caught the lights when she cocked her hip. “Hey,” she said, offering a hand. “I'm Laralie, nice to meet you.”

“Florian, though I guess Keswick already announced that, among other things.” Chuckling, he shook her hand. I expected him to focus on her, but his eyes danced sideways, onto Alexis. “I saw you the other day, I didn't get your name.”

Recognition crossed her face. “Oh, right, you were sitting at a computer.”

“I usually am,” Florian said with a dramatic sigh.

Taking his hand, she squeezed. “I'm Alexis.”

Florian lingered, but from the way he peered at me, I sensed he was wondering what was going on between her and I. Instead of letting him guess, I pointedly slipped my long fingers over Alexis's shoulder, cupping part of her neck possessively.

Under my touch, she shivered deliciously.

Laralie lifted her eyebrows, the first hint of her being uncomfortable. “Uh, so! Florian! Keswick said you were a genius, what do you do?”

“I'm not a genius,” he snorted.

“He is,” I said. “Almost as smart as me.”

Florian clutched his shirt. “Ouch.” His teeth flashed, attention darting to Laralie. “I handle the oh-so-fun world of data. Well, when I'm not picking up the pieces because my
partner
has run off without any thought about his responsibilities.”

Pulling Alexis closer, I kept my stare on Florian. “I think I know what my responsibility is.”

“Silver,” she mumbled, blushing furiously.

“Silver?” Laralie asked. Florian looked just as unsure.

Alexis rocked side to side. “It's just a nickname.”

Laralie puckered her lips, but she said nothing. Sensing the tension, I nodded at Florian. “Why don't you give Laralie a little tour around the place. She seemed interested in the dildo-cake.”

Laughing, he scratched at his short, sandy hair. “The Volcano? Keswick designed that one years ago, but he refused to have it made until I found it in his backlog of files.”

“Right, go show off the frosting covered version of the beast you forced my hand on.”

He waved at me frantically. “For the ears of the ladies, I'll keep from making a dirty joke about your hands and forcing them onto things.”

“Why else
come
to a sex toy party if it's not to hear dirty jokes?” Laralie asked.

Florian pointed at her. “I like this one.”

Laralie bowed before facing Alexis. “I'll see you after, don't do anything I wouldn't do!” Together, the pair headed off towards the table of snacks. Florian bent down, speaking into her ear and causing her to laugh.

I gave Alexis a small nudge. “Would she blow off a party to get some privacy with the man she's in love with?”

She linked her fingers with mine, whispering back, “I think she would.”

“Good.” With long strides, I led her out the back door. “Then let's get out of here.”

****

“I
t's so quiet,” she said, stepping through the doors of Pure Pleasure. “Do you not have any security—ah!” A small, sharp beep had surprised her.

Grinning, I pulled the doors shut behind us. From my pocket, I slid out my phone to show her the screen. “This is my security. It's an app Florian and I created.”

She leaned close, watching the phone. There was a live feed of where we stood, and she looked up, trying to locate the camera. “How does it work?”

“Motion sensors. They feed into my phone, alerting me if there's anyone moving around in here after I set the alarm.”

“Huh. That's clever.”

“Don't flatter me
too
hard,” I teased. Scooping up her hand, I marveled at how I'd never get bored of that instant tingle. “This way. I want to show you something.”

We walked through a side-hall, the darkness thick around us. I didn't need any light to know where I was going; I'd walked these floors for thousands of hours. I knew my building like the back of my hand. The only one who might know it as well was Florian.

It was his idea to make a display room of our most popular toys, too.

“Oh my gosh,” Alexis laughed when I flicked on the overhead lamps. The room was wide, long tables of flat metal and glass along the walls. On top of each of them sat an array of multi-colored sex toys.

She pulled away from me, wandering the room with amazement strong on her face. “If I'd seen this room first, the dildo-cake wouldn't have shocked me.”

Following her, I trailed wherever her eyes paused. I wanted to see into her head, eager to know what she thought about each item. “It's mostly to show to investors, or the occasional curious visitor.”

Her hand went up, hovering just above the curved tip of a silver, modern-art styled toy. “This one is kind of pretty. Did you really design
all
of these?” She was acting amused, but her blush was creeping up her throat.

“Most.”

“Can I ask why?”

Alexis had stopped moving, her attention fixing on me. There was an undeniable eroticness to how she was standing, fingers just inches from the surface of something I'd designed to make women come again and again.

Swaying closer to her, I stood on the other side of the display case. “Because I'm obsessed with the idea of knowing I'm the reason girls are squirming in bed. But honestly, it's because it makes me a lot of money.”

A ripple moved over her brow. “That's all?”

Reaching across, I plucked the toy from the table. It was heavy, most of that coming from the sharp metal base meant to keep it pointing upright. “Did I need another reason?”

She half-turned away from me. “Saying it bluntly makes you sound heartless.”

I found myself staring helplessly at the curve of her ear. It was bare, empty, and I hated that. “Pet, I'm not heartless. My heart has plenty of room in it for you, and it has nothing to do with wanting to keep my bank accounts flush.”

Looking at the floor, then me, she sighed. “You're right. I was just hoping you had another reason for creating stuff. When I was...” Trailing off, she shook her head. “Never mind.”

“No, tell me.”

Her black pupils sucked up all the green in her eyes. “When I was planning to leave and go out to LA, I was—it'll sound so stupid.” At her waist, she twisted her fingers together. “I had these big dreams of getting accepted into a college for designing clothes. That was what I wanted to do. Remember the dress you saw me in five years ago?”

My heart dehydrated, shrinking. “You made that?”

She didn't answer with her words, but I knew.

Tension turned my muscles into useless rocks. They crumbled, cracked, threatening to crush everything inside of me that I dared to call human. I'd already accepted that I'd have to spend an eternity making up for my sins... for what I'd done to this woman.

Was there no end to the destruction my revenge had created?

Breathing heavily, I said, “Tell me you didn't stop creating clothing.”
Say it wasn't because of me.

There were no tears on her cheeks, but her smile was just as tragic. “I'm a secretary now at a fashion magazine, it's pretty close to what I wanted to do. And it keeps my accounts flush, like you said.” Alexis laughed, like she wanted to ease the mood, but the noise was as dangerous as broken glass. “I probably wouldn't have made it as a designer. Anyway, forget it. That was a lifetime ago.”

I ruined everything for her.

Everything.

“I think Laralie is texting me.” Taking her phone from her purse, she glanced at me and froze. “Silver?” She was staring at the toy in my grip; it was shaking from how hard I squeezed. “Are you okay?”

Carefully, I set the heavy object back on the display. Alexis couldn't have known what was going on in my skull, yet her eyes burned warily on me. I'd be stupid to think I could hide how her story had affected me.

Hiding isn't the answer.

“I'll fix it,” I whispered.

“What? What did you say?”

Lifting my eyes, I saw how she watched me. Alexis... my Pet... she held such concern for me, the man who'd broken her future into chunks and then swallowed them up.

I'd spend every fucking second of my life making it up to her.

“Silver, what is it?” she asked. “If it's about what I said, forget it. I was being dramatic, I—”

“No. I won't forget it.” Faster than lightning I crossed around the table, capturing her shoulders. It was easy to pull her against me, her purple dress sliding over my shirt. “The last thing I'll ever do is forget.”

“Wha—ah!”

Scooping her up, I ran from the room. She clung to me, nails cutting in deliciously. Ignoring her baffled shouts, I carried her quickly up to my office. The door was locked—I always locked it after hours. In seconds, I yanked my keys out, working the lock free.

The door bounced off the wall, and then, she bounced off the couch in my corner where I dropped her. “What are you doing?” she blurted.

Kneeling beside her, I pushed her purse and phone from her hands. They tumbled to the floor, forgotten. Alexis sat up, her mouth open in surprise. That made it easy to steal a long kiss.

And another.

And then another.

In that room lit only by the city lights through the window, we clung to each other and said no words. I didn't need them, and she certainly didn't. I knew this woman inside and out, but still, she revealed a new scar to me every time we were together.

Was it twisted that I wanted to take that pain from her with pleasure?

Her body slid over the leather couch, thighs spreading for me before I touched her anywhere but her lips. Taking the hint, I hooked her dress up, revealing another set of the beautiful lingerie I'd bought her.

Honestly, she'd have looked just as magnificent with nothing on.

“Is this okay?” she asked, breaking away. “Having sex in your office?”

“It's
my
office. Of course it's fucking okay.” Ripping her panties down, I felt the texture of the thigh-highs she'd squeezed into. “Unless you want me to stop?”

Her eyes were wild, frenzied. “Don't you dare.”

Smiling wide, I buried my face in her cunt and inhaled.
Fucking hell.
Grazing my thumb over her clit, I pulled her lips further apart to expose it. The pink glint called to me, what could I do but answer?

“Ah!” she whimpered, clawing at my hair. Her pussy ground on my face, wetness slicking my cheeks. Two fingers trailed up her slit, teasing until her thighs shook around my ears.

I wasn't so cruel, though.

Inch by inch, I happily gave her what she wanted.

Alexis groaned, arching while my fingers filled her. Bending them, I pet the roof of her tunnel, exploring her vigorously. I wasn't expecting her to shiver, tensing around my knuckles in an abrupt orgasm.

It shocked us both, my cock raging in my pants angrily. “That's it,” I growled. “That's too much for me.” My belt clanked down, jeans draping low enough to free my swollen prick.

Her hand found me, circling my base tight. “You're so hard,” she said in wonder. “Fuck me, please, hurry and fuck me.”

My eyes fluttered in my skull. The sensation of her touch was making me dizzy, but it was her insatiable hunger that had my lower belly tingling. We hadn't used a condom last time, so I didn't bother looking for one now.

Hooking her ankles, I shoved her down on the couch until she bent in half. Her pussy was spread wide, my cock sliding up and down along her entrance. The fat tip bumped her clit, causing her to tremble. “You want this?” I asked.

She nodded, her red lips parting in a silent cry.

Biting my tongue, I sank into her in one fast, solid thrust. Alexis cried out, nails scraping over my lower back. We stayed like that for a full minute, my eyes leveling on hers. She asked, “What are you doing?”

Squeezing her ass, I smirked. “Fuck yourself on me. Grind until you get off.”

In frustration, she wriggled as much as she could. My weight was holding her down; only her clit was rubbing me with how I'd angled myself. “I can't!” she said, her brow furrowing. “Just fuck me, don't play any games.”

“I love games, though.” When she went to push me away, I held her tighter. She was pinned, my cock stretching her out while her clit could only get any contact if she gyrated with all her might.

Breathing faster, she realized I was serious.

Swallowing, she closed her eyes and started to rock. It was barely an inch, allowing her to just graze her twitching clit on my flat stomach. Her cunt rippled, strangling me as it heated up in desperation.

There's nothing sexier than a woman who'll do anything to come.