Billionaire's Secret: Exposing Jay: A Chicago Suits Romance (Loving Jay Book 2) (4 page)

* * *

T
he three of us danced
, but all I could think of was Jay. I smiled at them, hoping they couldn’t sense my desire not to be with them right now. It’s a cliche, getting a new boyfriend and ditching your friends and I didn’t want to be a cliche. Instead I danced, dreaming that Jay was watching.

I stifled a yawn. We’d been in the bar almost five hours and I hadn’t exactly had much sleep that week. Not that I’m complaining.

When the song ended, I pulled the two of them off the dance floor and back to our table.

“I’m so tired,” I said.

“Are you ditching us?” Jenny asked.

“Look at her, she’s been up all week screwing her new boyfriend. Poor thing needs her beauty sleep,” Sam said laughing.

I laughed. “Ain’t that the truth.”

“Okay missy, go home to your man,” Jenny said.

I hugged both of them, “Thank you both so much for everything. I love you both so much.”

“Whatever drunk lady, go home,” Sam said then smacked my behind.

I left the bar and headed home. After a block I realized Jay said he’d come pick me up at the bar. Oh well, I’ve walked home from it every Friday night for years, I wasn’t worried.

I
turned
the corner and came face to face with Calvin. My heart pounded in my chest. What was he doing here? On this street on a Friday at ten pm? I picked up my walking pace.

In an instant he was in front of me, blocking my way. I’m sure he still blamed me for getting him fired from Force McAllister. But I thought he’d worked his aggression out when he’d emailed the photo of Jay and I having sex to the entire office.

My pulse pounded in my ears as I tried to side-step him.

“Well, if it isn’t the boss’s fuck toy,” he said, snarling.

“Leave me alone Calvin.” I tried to sound forceful.

“Even after all his lies you’re still fucking him.”

“What lies?” Why did I engage him? I need to get away from him.

“You mean you don’t know?”

“Know what?” He burst out into maniacal laughter and I willed Jay to appear.

“The man has secrets.”

“How would you know?” I spat the words at him.

“Let’s just say a friend told me.” This was crazy. Calvin was crazy. I tried walking around him again, but he blocked me.

“What do you want from me?”

“It’s not you I want something from.”

Enough of the riddles. I pulled out my phone and called Jay.

“Calling your boyfriend, are you? James McAllister, the lying liar.” He laughed.

“Yes, he’s only around the corner. He’ll be here in a second.”

“Suit yourself, but I’m only trying to help you. You’re trusting the wrong person. Be careful. Watch out for his lies.”

He smirked then disappeared into the shadows. I put my phone away and speed walked home.

* * *

I
tried
to make sense of Calvin’s words, which was difficult in my drunken state. Why was he there, on that street? He’d made me feel threatened, but then he said those things about Jay. Was Jay hiding more stuff? Telling more lies? I didn’t believe it. Didn’t want to believe it. Calvin was crazy. But how did he know so much about Jay?

* * *

I
walked into my condo
. Jay jumped up from his position at the little dining table to greet me.

“Beautiful, why didn’t you call?”

“Sorry, I left kind of fast and forgot.”

“You have to phone me, I need to make sure you’re safe.”

“Safe from what?”

“Everything.”

“Don’t worry, I’m home safe and sound.” Except for the run-in with Calvin, but I decided not to tell Jay about it.

“Good, I couldn’t bear anything happening to you,” he said as he slid his hands around my waist and kissed me.

I melted into his arms, forgetting all about Calvin. Now the only thing that mattered to me was Jay.

“
L
et’s go
, I want to get out on the water early.”

I followed Jay out of the condo and down to the street. He’d parked in the pay parking lot just down the street. I’m glad he’d gotten the hint from having his car keyed and didn’t park in the no-parking zone in front of my building now.

We approached a deep blue Bentley.

“Where’s the other car?”

“Being painted.”

I laughed. “How many cars do you have?”

“Several.”

“I’m surprised you don’t have a chauffeur.”

He gave me that look again. The one he gives me every time I say something normal and naïve that betrays my ignorance about having money.

“I have a driver but I only use him when I need to get work done while we’re moving. Otherwise I drive myself because I enjoy it.”

I laughed. Of course he does. I have to stop being so surprised at these things.

As soon as we were out of the parking garage, he floored it. The car rumbled and my body pushed back into my seat. I gripped the door handle as Jay wove his way in and out of cars, never stopping for any yellow no matter how far back we were.

* * *

W
e arrived at the marina
, and I plodded along behind him, slack jawed at the sight of all the boats. Yachts and cabin cruisers of all sorts. Jay led me to the biggest cabin cruiser in the marina, which didn’t surprise me. He plunked the picnic basket down on the boat.

It was a huge boat with a deck at the rear and sundeck on top. The name Bourbon Chaser was written across the back. Jay started untying it.

“Why’s it called Bourbon Chaser?” I asked.

“My parents used to own racehorses, Bourbon Chaser was the best, it won every race it entered.”

“Wow,” I said. Racehorses? He must come from money. I knew less than nothing about horses. Other than that Matt would sometimes talk about them. I’d always tuned him out.

“I thought you said you made your fortune on your own, without any help from anyone.” From his kneeling position on the dock, he looked at me.

“I did. My mother lost all her money. Now she only has what I give her.”

Jay usually clammed up when I asked him about his family or his past. That he now feels comfortable enough with me to share warmed my heart.

“What about your father?”

His eyes shifted to the ground. “He died when I was a baby.”

My insides welled in grief for him. “That’s terrible,” I said, going over to him and rubbing his back.

“Bourbon Chaser was his favorite, so I named my boat after it. Anyway, it’s all long ago. Hop aboard.”

* * *

I
t was warm for October
, and I even took my jacket off. Jay fired up the engines. I stood beside him as he piloted the boat out of the marina and onto the openness of Lake Michigan.

“I like to come out here to get away from everything,” he said, looking straight ahead.

“It’s amazing how quickly life sinks away,” I said, looking back at the Chicago skyline.

“Exactly.”

I gripped his arm and squeezed, his bicep taut under my touch. We traveled straight out, until the skyline was a faint outline against the sky. Jay cut the engine, and we drifted.

“Now,” he said, grabbing my waist. He didn’t finish his sentence because he planted his lips on mine. A slow, deep kiss that could have gone on forever.

My insides fluttered, willing his hands to rip off my clothes. Instead the kiss went on, and my hunger for him grew.

* * *

“
I
s there
a bed on this boat?” I broke the kiss to ask.

“Several,” he said, kissing me again. My lips, my neck.

“Guess we have our work cut out for us.”

“I hope you have some sexy lingerie on under these clothes.” He toyed with the bottom of my sweater.

“Sort of.”

He nuzzled at my neck. “What do you mean ‘sort of’?”

“I mean I learned my lesson about wearing g-strings out.”

“Oh? So what are you wearing?” He slid his hand between my skin and jeans. I sucked my tummy in, giving him easier access.

His hand moved all the way down to my mound, and he groaned in approval when we found I wasn’t wearing any panties.

I tugged at the bottom of the black shirt that clung to his body, wanting access to his chest. I ran my hands underneath the shirt, over his perfect body underneath. A body I could never get tired of touching.

He broke away and said, “Come with me.”

Jay took my hand and led me through the glass siding door at the back of the boat. A narrow set of stairs led up from it, and he herded me up them, then a second set.

* * *

W
e emerged
onto the fly deck, a large, open area at the top of the boat. A metal rope rung the outside, and there was a large chest in the middle that looked like a part of the boat with built in seating wrapping around it. The deck was otherwise empty.

Jay unlocked the chest and opened the lid. He flicked on a speaker, took out his phone and soon after Ed Sheeran sang out across the water.

He pulled out cushions and chucked them on the floor in front of the built in seating they were intended for. Only then did I clue into his plan. Still bent into the chest, he came up holding a bottle of champagne and flutes.

“Sit,” he said, passing me a glass.

I smiled and took the glass in my hand before making myself comfortable on the cushion.

Jay sat beside me, and said, “To the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.
My
beautiful woman.”

I blushed as we chinked glasses. I leaned against his body and we sat, drinking our champagne and looking out across the water. The water that seemed to go on forever in all directions.

“You know how you said we should just keep driving?”

“What, all that time ago?”

“Yeah, you said we should take off and leave everything behind.”

“That was before I knew who you were.” I cringed, embarrassed at the memory.

“We should do that.”

“Huh?”

“We could take this boat and go.”

I laughed, “Before I said we should go until we run out of money.”

“Except we’d never run out of money. Ever.”

“And what about our responsibilities? If I remember correctly I accused you of not having any.”

He laughed and took a sip of champagne. “I can hire people to run my companies. Easy.”

“Okay. Where would we go? What would we do?”

“We could boat through the lakes, out to the Atlantic and down the coast. We could winter in the Caribbean. And summer there. If we got bored we could fly over to Europe.”

I looked at him, studying his face. “You sound like you have this all planned out.”

He looked away. “I’ve been thinking about it. About what I want out of life.” He paused and looked back to me, held my eyes captive in his intense gaze. “I concluded the only thing I want out of life is you.”

I swallowed and took several breaths while he held my eyes in his. Was he serious?

He leaned into me, placed his hand on my cheek, and kissed me. A deeper, more loving kiss even than the one we’d shared below deck. Every iota of my body came alive, and I wondered what else I needed in life aside from this. This man, right here, right now. I couldn’t think of anything else I needed.