Kiss me if you dare: Alpha Billionaire Romance (The Secret Matchmaker Book 3) (2 page)

"I think it's a great investment." I pressed my fingers to my lips and stared across the table at the three businessmen who had come up with another way for our money to work for us. "Count me in. I'll take a twenty percent silent ownership, if you're willing to give up that much."

The men stood and the owner of the development company extended his hand toward me. "Excellent, Asher. Twenty percent was our target number for the remaining ownership percentage to be filled. I swear you have a phone-tap on us."

I chuckled and shook the man's hand. "Nope, I just operate in the same arena of accepted risk that you all do. Twenty percent is my max, and having worked with you guys for the last ten years, I'm willing to touch the peak for you."

"Great. We'll draw up the papers on the luxury shopping mall and have them to you at your hotel by tomorrow morning."

I nodded and watched them leave before dropping back down into my chair. The decision to invest in a new property wasn't at all the issue reigning supreme on my mind. It was what to do about Lila.

She was upset, more than she should be based on my actions. As tough and cocky as she was in all her dealings up to that point, she was beginning to take steps away from me.

"Why?" I mumbled and pulled my phone out of my pocket, hoping like hell she'd texted or called. I wanted her to want me the way I was starting to want her. She was the one building a wall between our current situation and the possibility for so much more. I didn't need her looking for my perfect match... she was it.

The text from her caused my heart to contract and my cock to twitch.
I need you.

But... no matter how much I wanted her, or thought I needed her, I wasn't willing to lay my pride on the line to be rejected by her. Until I was assured of her feelings for me, I was going on lock down. No more being overly sweet or showing my emotions. I'd done too much of that already.

Rule one of deal making was to never let the other guy know anything that might give him an advantage on you. She was bordering having a few too many clues about my internal desires for a long term partnership.

I quickly texted her back to join me in the lobby.

Getting up, I made a stop by the men's room and checked my hair and teeth before popping a peppermint into my mouth and walking toward the elevator.

We could have a quiet night in the penthouse together. Maybe a long shower and a few hot sessions before passing out together.

"Not together. Separate your heart from your cock, man." I moved toward the large water feature in the middle of the lobby and turned just in time to watch Lila walk from the elevator. The pretty white dress she wore was plain and yet had my blood pumping hard and fast just at the sight of her.

She had on a t-shirt and jeans when I left, which still had me wanting to unwrap the package. She looked like an angel with a sexy side, and no matter what she wore, I wanted nothing more than to explore her over and over, forever. For the first time in my life I felt as if I had found someone that I would never grow tired of.

I wanted to ask about her. About her family, her dreams, her goals, and her hurts. Especially her hurts. Someone had hurt her badly, I had no doubt, but now wasn't the time. I had already put myself out there a few times. It was her turn.

"How were your business meetings?" Her smile was rather forced and didn't reach her eyes, which held a little puffiness around the edges.

She had been crying. That hurt me more than it should, but I ignored it for her sake. Probably something personal that she was dealing with. If she wanted my help or a shoulder to cry on, I would hope that she knew I was available for that.

"Excellent. I made a really profitable business arrangement this morning, so life is good. I have a few more meetings later today, but then I'll finally be free." I reached out and touched the ruffle on the side of her shoulder. "This is beautiful. Looks good on you."

"Thanks." Her eyes averted to look around the lobby. "Gisele sent over a profile for a woman that I honestly think is going to be perfect for you. She's everything we were looking for."

I wanted to reach out and touch her chin, to force her to look at me, but I slid my hands into my pockets instead.

"That's great news. I look forward to reviewing the file." I wanted to push a little and ask what was going on with her, but I let a silence fall between us.

She finally returned her chestnut gaze to me, but the look on her face told of anger instead of hurt. Her words were biting and spoken in more angst than I would have thought her capable of.

"I would like an update on your end of the bargain, Asher. Tell me where you are on finding a good deal for my Japanese Onsen. I've been presenting files to you over and over for possibilities on women. Where is your file on real estate for me?"

I watched her for a minute and realized what was happening. She was giving and giving and not getting anything in return, but it wasn't that easy.

“Japanese Onsen? I thought you were considering opening a regular day spa. This changes things,” I crossed my arms over my chest and tilted my head slightly. She had obviously worked through a little more of her business model, but hadn’t updated me. Something about being left out of the loop left me agitated.

“I was, but after thinking it through over the last few days, I realize that having an Onsen would be unique. The hot springs are coveted by most and if I put a bit of an Americanized spin on it, I think I could create something that would bring people in by the dozens.” She pinned me with a hard stare. “You’re getting me off topic. Where are your leads? Do you not have a file that you’ve been working on for me? Like the ones I keep presenting to you?”

"I honestly don't have a file. It's not going anywhere right now because the market is so tight and prices are honestly high for everyone. Let’s now throw in the fact that even if I did have some leads, you just changed the game completely, Lila." I reached out and touched her shoulder, but she pulled back and pursed her pretty lips. "Besides, we’re in a bubble right now, Lila. I'm not withholding anything from you. I've been looking, but until something comes up, we’ll have to wait. I can't create opportunity out of nothing."

"When will the bubble pop? I'm tired of doing what I do, and the last piece of the puzzle for my business plan is the building." Her brow creased and damn if she wasn't more beautiful.

"I don't have a crystal ball. I wish I did." I was holding on tightly to my temper. I didn't like to be cornered and couldn't stand letting someone down. Both were happening at present. "No one knows when this will shift. If I had to guess, I would say in the next two to three years."

I wanted to reach for her again, but she'd only pull away.
No thanks.

She let out a painful sounding sigh and pressed her fingers to the bridge of her nose as we stood there awkwardly. "Right."

"Lila. What's going on? You know I'm going to fulfill my part of the arrangement. I'm a business man if nothing else. I'd not agree to something I couldn't come through on."

"Really? Because I realized a little while ago that I don't know you at all. I entered into this...," she let out another puff of air as her expression turned a little darker. "...this arrangement, for one reason. To get somewhere in my life."

"I understand that completely, but I can't influence the market prices. Surely, being an intelligent business woman yourself, you get that, right?" I raised my eyebrows at her, not wanting to attack her sense of reality, but needing her to see things my way. She wasn’t making much sense by continuing her arguments.

"I can't wait two to three years, Asher. I want to renegotiate the terms of the agreement." She crossed her arms over her chest and pursed her lips again.

"We've had this discussion already. The arrangement is what it is until I find your property or you find me a wife. I have needs and you agreed to fill them."

"Yes, because it mutually benefited us. The sex is incredible, but I'm not sleeping with you again until there is significant progress on your end of the deal. Get one good lead and we'll talk. Otherwise... find another bed warmer. This one has grown cold." Her eyes held something like hurt in them.

I'd taken her with me on a business trip, treated her like a princess at dinner the night before, held her when she was scared and made love to her like I would a woman I wanted in my life for forever, and this was her response? Anger burned inside my chest as I reached out and took her arm, pulling her close and glaring down at her.

"No. That's not happening. You signed on the dotted line and I'm sorry that you're having cold feet all of a sudden." I touched the side of her face and forced her to look up at me as she fought against tears. "What’s going on? Why are you so fucking upset all of a sudden? I've been nothing but overly accommodating."

"Yes. I agree. Thank you for the roses." She tugged away from me and brushed her hand by her nose. "You have all the power. I've given you all I have and gotten nothing in return. You have my company, my attention, my body, my dreams and I've even found you a fucking wife. What do I have to show for it?"

I couldn't argue, but seeing her upset caused something inside me to tighten painfully. I reached for her again and pulled her into my arms, locking her to me.

"Thank you. Thank you for being so efficient and keeping up on your part of the deal. I have external forces that you don't, baby. Don't punish me because of that. I’m working on it and I'll have something for you, but you adjusting our agreement or offering me a blackmail deal isn't going to fly." I brushed her hair back, loving the feeling of her in my arms. "Show me the girl soon and if she's the woman you think she is... I'll release you from the part of our agreement where you're mine in the bedroom."

She looked away from me and I released her, not able to watch the pain on her face another minute. She didn't want to talk about it? Fine. I wasn't going to force her.

"I'll send you the file soon. Good luck on your meetings this afternoon. Your whore will meet you later." She turned and walked away without another word.

"Lila. Really?" A wave of shock rolled over me. Certainly she didn't see herself as my whore. She wasn't. She was simply sharing my bed until...

Until what, asshole?

I hated myself at that moment, but it was what it was. I wasn't letting go of her because her self-righteous sense of angst had kicked in. She was mine until we ended the contract on good terms, or she realized how right we were together.

I turned on my heel and prayed like hell the latter of the two options would be our final outcome. Something told me it was highly unlikely, but I couldn't give up. Life without her in it, even after a week, seemed dull and unwelcoming.

I had to have her. There was no other option for me.

Hot tears of self-hatred burned my eyes as I marched out of the elevator and into the penthouse. I slammed the door behind me, knowing I was acting like a butt-hurt teenage girl, but I couldn't help myself. Asher was a total ass, not giving anything in terms of hope for the property he was supposedly looking for. I was giving everything in the relationship and he was laying back and taking it.

"Funny how he can make a million deals for himself, but he can't find a small shop space for me to open my spa? Fucking ridiculous." I moved to my computer and flipped the top up only to see a picture of Sofia in her bikini with a sensual smile on her face.

"Perfect. Exactly what I needed." I tapped the screen and the picture flipped to the left, leaving another shot of the gorgeous woman staring back at me. Her black dress hung low on her pert breasts, her body tight and thin, just like a model's should be.

The more I stared at her, the more I hated her. She was everything I wasn't. Tall, feminine, but not too curvy. Brilliant and flawless.

I felt like a dumpy prom queen next to her and honestly couldn't stomach the thought of how much Asher was going to enjoy her company. They would be perfect together.

"Hopefully she sucks in the sack." I walked to the kitchen and opened the fridge, hunting for a bottle of wine that I could empty to drown the horrible thoughts of inadequacy swelling inside of me.

Several bottles of wine and a lone bottle of gin sat in the bar. I took the gin and walked to the counter, setting it down and working to get the top off.

I needed to get myself back in control and fast. Fucking him at the club more than a week ago and denying him my number left me in control. Meeting him at the agency and entering into his stupid agreement with nothing more than a good fuck and a building—someday—in my line of sight, left me in control. Everything to that point had left me in the driver’s seat and in control of my emotions, but coming to Dubai and being treated with loving kindness had left me bare. Being drawn deep into his arms over the last day and left me open and broken once again.

Clearly, I haven’t healed from James and his shit. I thought I had, but I haven’t. Not even close.

Tapping the counter as my mind ran back through all of the evidence I'd uncovered on my ex and his numerous infidelities, I let out a soft sob and lifted the bottle, drinking down a large gulp of the chilled poison it contained.

I growled at the burn and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.

"Six years of my life. Gone. The whole time thinking I was everything James wanted me to be. Smart and forward thinking, confident and adventuresome in the bedroom." I let out a painful laugh and lifted the bottle again. I knew only a couple ways to drown out this kind of pain, to numb myself to it, and liquor was the top choice at the moment. Sex was the other, but the idea of going down to the bar to find some poor schmuck to spend the afternoon with left me ill.

"I should be everything that Asher wants, but I'm not. This Sofia bitch is." My laugh—if you could call it that—was a little sharper this time, as I took yet another drink before depositing the bottle on the counter and walking to the computer. I touched the screen and the image came to life again.

I flipped through all of her pictures three times before closing the top angrily. Who was I kidding? I wasn't enough.

Not for James.

Not for Asher.

Not for anyone.

Asher was becoming a problem anyway. His influence felt good on me, and I found myself craving his touch, his words, his gifts, even his opinions. How stupid was that?

I never in a million years would have accompanied another client on a trip around the world. I did it because it was Asher. It should have been a huge red flag, but I ignored it.

My only way out was to get him to change his mind and release me from the deal.

"Bullshit." I picked up my phone and touched it to my lips as the liquor began to work its magic. There were other ways around my situation. I could just say ‘fuck the arrangement,’ hook him up with Sofia and move on. I could tell him to fuck off, quit my job and never look back, forgetting all about him, his perfect smile, his sexy body and the rest.

"Stop it," I growled at myself and dialed Jessie's number, knowing that I wouldn't come to a sound conclusion without talking to my best friend about it. She was going to shove my face deep into the proverbial shit, but it was okay. I needed her to. Someone had to save me.

"Hey you. I was starting to worry. I've heard so little from you in the last week that I was about to start blowing up your phone, like some sort of a stalker." Jessie's voice was an immediate comfort.

"You know that I'm in Dubai. Forgive me. It’s been a day by the way." I let out a sigh and dropped down into one of the large wooden chairs around the dining room table.

"Since you took on Asher as a client, you’ve been MIA. You’ve been quite distant and… I don’t know. Different somehow. What’s wrong?"

I chuckled and reached for my laptop, but decided against the self-torture. I could get back to that shortly, but first, I needed to hear Jessie's opinion on what to do. She was the only one who knew the shit I'd gotten myself into.

"I don’t know, he’s intriguing, and honestly, after bumping into him at the club and now having to work side by side with him, I’m in a hurry. I need him out of my life. It’s complicated."

I pressed my fingers to my lips as the dam inside of me gave way and finally broke completely. I let it out and tried to talk through the tears, but it was impossible. I gave up after murmuring a few things and just cried while she consoled me.

"Oh, Lila. Honey, come home. It's going to be okay. Everything is okay. He's a rich bastard and has no respect for women. You thought it was going to be a great opportunity and it wasn't. You are a person that knows when to call it quits and cut your losses." She took a breath and I jumped in, having finally gotten ahold of myself enough to talk.

"I just didn't think I would fall for him, Jess. I thought I could take what he was offering and not have to feel a damn thing. What a lie. I'm so incredibly weak." I let out another soft sob and got up, walking into the kitchen in search of a towel.

"It's not weak to fall in love, Lila. You were sharing your body and a bed with someone. That usually ends up opening up your heart. You're not invincible and what's happening is completely normal. You are human, and like it or not, that is the way we are built."

"I guess, but after stupid James tore my heart to shreds with his shit, I just wanted to be alone. I don't want a relationship. Sex and partying is great, but that was the point of the one night stand. How the hell did this guy show up at the office the very next day and get assigned to me? He's so right for me, and yet I don't even compare to the type of women that really fit beside him as a partner, Jess. I don’t stand a chance next to them." I dabbed at my face a few times, trying not to smear my makeup before realizing that it was a mess already anyway.

"You're too good for him, just like you were for James. You need to find a man, Lila. A real regular man. Not a boy with toys. This guy just takes what he wants because he can. Just come home."

"I am. Soon. I need to figure out what to do with the pieces of this broken deal I'm holding in my lap. I found his perfect match, or Gisele did, really. I don't have the heart to keep looking for her." I dropped the towel and leaned against the counter, praying that he didn't walk back into the penthouse and catch me crying in the kitchen like the lovesick idiot I was.

"You're in love with him?" Jessie asked, her tone neutral, which was wise. She probably knew I was liable to snap at her because she was a safe place to explode.

"No. I'll never be in love again."

"Are you drinking?"

"Yes. So?" I felt myself becoming defensive and tried to reign it in, but it wasn't going to happen. She was going to go straight to the heart of the matter and I was going to crumble. It was inevitable.

"And you're crying non-stop?"

"Yes. I'm a big crybaby, okay?"

"No. It's not okay. Why are you feeling so shitty? What happened? Tell me the details."

I picked up the bottle and let out the breath I’d been holding.

"He brought me along on a quick business trip, but I guess he was trying to be nice and overdid it. He took me on a desert camping trip last night, we rode camels, snuggled at dinner and made love nice and slow in a private tent. Then a fucking sand storm started and he protected me." My voice broke as a fresh wave of tears started. "He told me that if he was there I didn't have to be scared."

"Oh, Lila. Are you saying he has feelings for you too?"

"I don't know, but I just need to get out of here. I need him to be authentic and honestly care for me like he did last night. It’s too much to ask for, and honestly, I don't want to depend on him for anything. He'll disappoint me. What was I thinking? Selling my body for a chance at my business dreams and here I am, on the verge of having my heart broken again."

"Did he tell you at the end of the night that nothing would become of you guys? That is was over? What has he done to make you think he's not interested?" Her voice was pleading with me.

"He's looking for a wife, Jess. I'm the dumb-ass trying to find her. How much more awkward could this be?"

"Right. Look... what are the options at this point? Beating yourself up over what you should have done, or could have done is stupid. Let that go and let's figure out what to do next."

I sniffled and nodded. "Okay. What to do next."

"You're one hundred percent sure that you don't want to pursue anything with him?"

I shouldn't have, but I flipped up the monitor on the screen and let my eyes take in Sofia again. She was perfect for Asher. I wasn't.

"No. I don't want anything from him but help with my real estate, and honestly, I'm not sure I even want that now. I’ve decided on opening a Japanese Onsen instead of a spa and of course he’s using that as an excuse to delay finding me something. He’s using any excuse he can as to why he’s come up with absolutely nothing."

"That’s not good.” She growled softly. “Let’s focus on getting rid of him. Set him up with the girl Gisele sent over and get out of the way. You can put in your notice at the firm as soon as we find you another job and we'll start working on the real estate thing together. You don’t need him. I can help you. Move on, Lila. Save yourself before it's too late."

"You're right." I lifted the bottle and took a long drink. "Alright. I'll see you soon. I'm heading home the minute I can."

"Be careful, and Lila... I'm always here if you need me."

"I'm so grateful for you." I hung up and took another long drink. Time to undo the horrible mistake I'd made a week ago. The night at the club was magical, but that was supposed to have been it between me and Asher. The rest was fate’s way of kicking me in the chest. Now, it was my turn to kick back.