Tapping The Billionaire (Bad Boy Billionaires #1) (36 page)

“I
’m sorry,” Georgia apologized for the twenty-ninth time as she knocked on the door to her parents’ suburban New Jersey home.

“Baby, it’s fine. I want to meet them. Didn’t I tell you I wanted to meet them?”

“Yes, you did. But I don’t think you meant
this afternoon
.”

I had to laugh at that. It was true, when I’d had Georgia wrapped around me in bed this morning, I hadn’t envisioned meeting her parents only five hours later. But when her mom had called on FaceTime that morning and Georgia had run away to take the call in private, I hadn’t been able to resist popping in for a hello.

“It’s my own fault. You told me not to show my face on the call,” I reminded her.

“I know. It is your fault. Maybe I’m mad at you.”

“You’re not,” I disagreed.

“Okay,” she conceded. “I’m not. Honestly, I’m just sorry that when Savannah makes demands, I can’t turn her down.”

“The power of a mother’s guilt trip is compelling. Trust me, I’m familiar. I’d love to bottle it and use it at the office,” I consoled just as the door swung open to a man with slightly wild hair that grayed around the edges.

“Georgie!” he called, engulfing her in a hug and pulling her through the door. He nuzzled her hair and breathed her in for a good five seconds before his eyes met mine and turned hard.

“Who’s this clown?”

“Dad!” Georgia chastised, her cheeks going cherry with mortification.

I couldn’t help but smile. In his most laid-back tone, her dad had thrown the ultimate insult my way. No warm-up or pretense or gestures of fond small talk. This was a man who cared about one thing in this scenario—his daughter. I liked him immediately.

“Kline Brooks,” I introduced myself, offering my hand.

“Dick. Dick Cummings.” He shook my hand with fervor, purposely trying his damnedest to crush my fingers.

Dick Cummings?
Thank God Thatch wasn’t here. He would have had a field day with that one.

“His full name is Richard,” Georgia’s mother interrupted, forcing her way into the open doorway. “I’m Savannah, by the way. It really is a pleasure, Kline.”

“Stop with the formality shit, Savannah. If the man can’t handle that I’m Dick Cummings, then he’s not the right man for our Georgie,” he retorted, eyeing me with slanty eyes. “Does it bother you, Kline?”

“No, sir,” I answered, fighting the urge to laugh. I literally hadn’t even set foot inside of the door to their house yet, and a full-length daytime drama was rounding its way into the second arc of the storyline.

“Son.” He patted me on the shoulder, nudging the girls out of the way and pulling me inside.

“When you’ve got a last name like Cummings, you can either be a chickenshit, or you can grow some balls and roll with it. That’s why I go by Dick and I had my son go by Willy for most of his life. Hell, Georgia’s lucky we didn’t name her vagina,” he said through a laugh. “Plus, it’s pretty fucking enjoyable to watch someone squirm when they meet me.” He grinned, big and wide, his eyes turning jovial. “You handled yourself well. Much better than the other idiots Georgie’s brought home. I like you already.”

“Jesus, Dad.” Georgie sighed. “Think you can tone done the F-bombs for now? It’s not even five p.m.”

“No siree, Bob. You’re in my home and I’ll do anything I damn well please. If I want to walk around in my underwear all night, I’ll fucking do it,” he responded, unfazed. “Anyway, like you should talk. Last phone conversation I had with you, you were ranting about ‘the
fucking
subway.’”

“And five o’clock is an antiquated schedule associated with alcohol, Georgia. The fucks have always been given free rein,” Savannah put in.

Georgia’s parents were a trip. I was having a hard time keeping my smile in check.

“Come here and give me another hug,” her dad ordered. “I’ve missed you, baby girl.”

She flashed a pointed look. “Only if you promise not to bust my boyfriend’s balls all night.”

“Deal.” He grinned.

She hugged her dad, a genuine smile on her face, and then moved to her mom. Hugs and smiles overflowed the small space of the foyer. It was apparent she was close with her folks. I loved we had that in common.

“And Richard.” Savannah tsked. “You know the no-pants rule doesn’t start until after dinner.”

He growled under his breath, wrapping his arm around his wife and whispering something I could only assume was full-on dirty into her ear.

“Later.” Savannah giggled, a perfect incarnation of what I knew as her daughter’s laugh, and slapped him on the chest.

He chuckled, waggling his brows at her, visibly amused with himself.

“Why don’t you two make yourselves comfortable and freshen up from the drive. There’s fresh sheets on Georgia’s bed and clean towels in the bathroom.”

Dick abruptly turned for the hallway, striding toward the kitchen, muttering something about “the fucking grill.”

Her mother still remained, smiling at both of us in a way that made me a little concerned about what would come next. “There’s also a box of condoms on the nightstand,” she whispered. “Feel free to put them to good use.”

“Gee, thanks, Mom.” Georgia sighed, tipping her red face to the ceiling in an effort not to meet my eyes.

“Anytime, baby girl.” Savannah patted her cheek, smiling. “I’m just thrilled you’re finally being adventurous with your sexuality.”

This meet the parents visit was getting more interesting by the minute.

“Dinner will be ready in about fifteen minutes,” she called over her shoulder, following her husband’s lead.

The second they were out of eyesight, Georgia sagged against the door.

“I told you they were a little offbeat. Please don’t hold it against me.”

I grinned, pulling her into my arms, and avoided the urge to tell her that her definition of a little felt more like a lot. “I love everything about your parents.”

Her eyes showed she was skeptical, but I spoke only the truth. I’d take a free spirit and a ballbuster over two sticks in the mud any day.

“They’re
your
parents, baby. Believe me, I like them. Dick and Savannah are great.”

“Yeah, they’re
real
awesome. I mean, how great is it that my mother thought to put condoms in my bedroom, you know, just in case we decide to bang it out when they’re two doors down.”

“Very practical.” I fought my smile, rubbing her shoulders to ease the tension in her muscles.

“Come on.” She took my hand. “Let me show you my childhood bedroom. Who knows? Maybe my mother left a complimentary bottle of lube on the nightstand.”

I stopped her before she could head up the stairs, pulling her tight against me, her back to my chest. “Like you’d even need lube when I’ve got my hands on you,” I growled into her ear, then kissed along her neck.

“Okay.” She let out a soft sigh, head falling to my shoulder. “Maybe we can follow the no-pants rule after dinner too.”

“Wouldn’t want to go against house rules,” I added, smirking against her soft skin.

“We
are
guests,” she said, lifting her chin and urging my lips to continue down her neck.

“Definitely wouldn’t want to come across as rude.” I nibbled along her neck a bit more, until I pinched her ass, earning an adorable squeal. “Show me your bedroom, baby.”

The stairs creaked as we climbed, and pictures of Georgia and Will lined the wall. One of a toddler Georgia stood out in particular.

“Aw, look at your cute little—”

“Don’t even say it!”

“What?” I asked innocently.

“I know you! I know where you were going, and we’re
not
going to talk about the fact that my mother keeps a naked picture of me on the wall.”

“I was just going to point out that your tushy then was nearly as cute as it is now.”

“Kline!” she snapped with a finger in my face.

I threw her over my shoulder in a fireman’s hold and slapped at said ass.

“Don’t worry, baby. I’ll pay special attention to it tonight. Especially if there’s lube.”

She shrieked and kicked as I ran up the rest and paused, throwing her to the hallway carpet at the top of the stairs and tickling her sensitive sides.

“Kline! Stop!” Her breath heaved. “Stooooop!”

When I removed my hands, she scurried up and out from underneath me, slapping at my shoulder lightly.

“What is it about being in a childhood home that makes a man act like a child?”

“Fun. Freedom.” I smiled. “Memories.”

“I just bet. Were you a bad boy in your youth, Kline?”

“Nope,” I answered honestly. “As a boy, I didn’t know enough to be bad.” I waggled my eyebrows. “I’m much more convincing now that I’m a man.”

She ran again at that, shrieking the whole way and trying to close her bedroom door between us. I played tug of war with the handle convincingly enough, reserving my full strength in an effort not to hurt her, before finally busting through and tackling her cackling form to the bed.

She turned her head to the left and sighed. “Ah. The condoms.”

I pulled her eyes to mine and touched our lips together softly before rubbing my nose along the line of hers. “We didn’t use one the night that we fought,” I whispered. I hadn’t even thought about it until now, too consumed by lies and love and the complicated mix of the two, but the box on the nightstand brought my oversight into stark relief.

She nodded.

“I’m okay with that in all the ways I can be. Are you?”

She nodded again, and a shiver ran through her body. I pulled her closer.

“I’m on the pill, and I trust you.”

“I’ll do every single thing I can to deserve that, baby,” I promised.

She looked back over to the nightstand.

“I feel like we have to use a condom tonight because my mom put them there.”

“Do you even know what you just said?”

“Kline!”

“Okay.” I laughed. “Just tell her we used our own because she failed to get magnum.”

Her body shook with laughter despite her stern face.

“Get cleaned up for dinner!”

“Yes, ma’am,” I agreed with a wink, sliding my body all the way down hers and pushing my face to the front of her pants.

“Mmm.” I inhaled. “I think I should help you clean up here. I’ll lick up all of my mess,” I promised, pledging my truth with a hand at my chest.

She just shook her head and smiled, sliding a hand into my hair and yanking up on my head. “Go get changed and throw some cold water on your face, you bad
man
, you.”

I reached into my pants with a grin and adjusted my dick to a more comfortable position.

“I can’t help it, baby,” I teased. “It’s the house’s fault.”

She shook her head again, climbing to her knees and pushing her lips softly to mine. She spoke softly right there. “What am I gonna do with you?”

“Keep me.”

“What am I gonna do with me?” she whispered. “So lost in you.”

I squeezed her tight and answered with a prayer.

“Stay there.”
Forever
.

“L
et me show you one of my favorite places in the house,” my father instructed, leading Kline toward the garage. This was another one of his tests.

Hell, he’d been testing my boyfriend all weekend.