The Billionaire's Bride (Complete Collection) (3 page)

“Done. I think,” she said. Her tone was
not
pleasant.

“Great.” I rounded the corner carefully.

She still fiddled with the zipper, but it wasn't going anywhere. Her breasts kept it air tight against her. A slight V formed down the middle, just enough to reveal an inkling of cleavage. That was the first sight that sent my cock on full alert. The next was the way the suit conformed to her body. It fit snugly. Her curves were all mine to adore.

I wanted to run my fingers across her hourglass shape, and then rip the rest of that suit off her, right down the middle, which she seemed to struggle with the most.

“Looks great.” I gave her a wink. I charged right into action. It was best not to keep myself lingering on how great she looked in that wetsuit. My cock already strained in mine.

“That's the best I could do,” she said with a huff. “It barely fits.”

“Aren't I the lucky one then?”

I didn't pause. She followed me to the closed off, indoor docking area, where I kept all of my water toys. They were a bit of an obsession.

“Do you have enough?”

“Sorry, I have a few obsessions. This happens to be one of them.”
And you could be the next.

Watercraft bobbed idly in the gated off section of the hut. I threw open the gate, then unlatched the two-seater. We could've went on separate standing crafts, but it would be easier her first time if she let me do all the work. I preferred to do the work anyway.

“We're going on the same one?”

“Yes, I recommend it.”

“Hmm, okay.” She crossed her arms, trying to hide what little flesh was exposed. Or else, she insinuated that I only wanted to get closer with my choice. She wasn’t wrong, but beginners should be paired up on their first ride.

I leapt onto the seat. Holding my hand out, I reached for her to take it. I tried to keep all my thoughts pure once she did. I swept her closer to me, and she tossed herself right behind me, fitting snugly against me, her warmth making my cock jump.

“Arms around me. There's no brake on this.”

“Okay,” she said as she wrapped her arms around me, hugging me tightly. Something overcame me, a want to get closer, a feeling which I didn't know could exist in me. I'd been bored for so long. I'd been static and cold. One touch of Tia, my coldness had melted.

My cynical side resisted, reaching from the deep, dark depths of my soul. It would be best if we continued. Out on the waves, I could forget how badly I wanted her. That nasty tug of war between resistance and lust could be quieted.

“It's going to be bumpy, so hang on tight. You don't have to be worried about hurting me.”

“I'm squeezing as hard as I can. I’m trying to break your ribs, but it's not working.”

“Funny.” She gave me a squeeze. I could really feel it tugging at my breath, so that was good. We could begin.

“Maybe you'll be able to ride one yourself once we're through, but for now, you have to hold onto me tightly.”

I hit the throttle. We sped off into the ocean. The first crest we hit, we plowed right through it, spraying water. Tia yelped, sliding her thighs against me, making me want to hit something harder to get her closer.

There was a tiny horseshoe shaped island nearby—only rocks and a sandy beach on it—I stayed clear of it, racing out toward the great expanse of the Pacific.

“Here we go. Keep holding on,” I screamed back to her. I hoped she could hear me. The last thing I needed was her flipping off the back and cartwheeling as we hit a strong wave. She was smarter than that. Unfortunately, some of the valley chicks, when my friends took them out, weren't. Some had come back with nasty bruises.

We jumped the next wave, getting some nice air. My heart pounded in my chest and I felt energized, ready to conquer. I settled that confidence down, trying to tell myself that we needed to take it easy. Tia was a beginner.

The next waves were smaller. There was a much bigger monster building in the distance, but I decided to keep us in the easier waters for now.

“More,” Tia screamed at me. She slapped my shoulder.

After I hit the latest wave, and we got some air, I heard her yell at me to not take it easy on her. She wanted more. That pure adrenaline rush had her hooked.
More,
she kept telling me,
more.
A man couldn’t help but imagine their woman underneath them, their thighs spread wide, his cock pumping as they screamed for more.

I aimed the front toward a choppy section ahead. Huge swells were forming, but if I hit it at the right time, we would soar right over it and we would get some air that Tia would remember forever.

Engines roaring, leaning forward, we struck the wave. As we hit, the impact crashed into us, jostling me around. Tia's grip on me weakened. Her fingers slipped. My stomach plummeted when her hands completely unlatched.

I knew she hadn't made it. I landed alone. I spun around in a hurry.

Be okay, be okay. Frantic thoughts raced to the surface. I knew there was little chance for anything serious to happen to her, but I still worried. I panicked.

Seeing her arms flailing above the surface, I dove from the jet ski and swam to her.

She caught my hand. I swept up close to her, taking her around the waist and pulling her against me, making sure that she couldn't be swept away.

I'm here, Tia. Nothing bad will happen to you.

She flipped her bogged down hair over and climbed up my chest to be clear of the growing waves. I continued to stroke, keeping us above. She coughed, not much, thankfully, then wiped the water from her eyes.

She was all right.

I almost lost it there for a moment. Such a strong, possessive need to make sure she was okay came over me, over the littlest thing. Of course, she was fine. There was little chance of anything serious happening to her. This was unusual for me. What was with all of my emotion?

“I'm okay,” she said, patting my chest. It seemed she was more worried about me.

Sunlight gleaming off her amber eyes with her wide smile directed at me, I lost it. I pulled her even closer, causing her to wrap her legs around me, keeping us bound. Unstoppable urges struck me again.

Her eyes were wide. Her lips hung open in shock, but I didn't care. This couldn't wait. I couldn't stand another moment without telling her that she needed to be mine.

I pressed my lips against hers. She was soft, salty, and sweet. An urge to claim her broke free from me, and I was energized, adrenaline blasting through me as I squeezed her hips and pulled her against my hardness. My tongue drove in, rushing against hers slowly at first, but then really letting go with reckless abandon, rolling and rocking against hers.

We kissed during a long, high wave, riding it out, and then broke apart, leaving us both in a calm.

Tia's mouth hung agape. I rested my steady, heady gaze at her. I was sure that I looked stoned, high off her kiss.

"What was that for?" She asked, her voice heavy and sultry. My cock throbbed against her. Her hold eased as I kept my grip on her waist, not letting her be taken by the sea.

“Take it as an apology, if you wish, for letting you fall, but I'm not going to apologize for kissing you.”

Dazed, she wrestled with the idea. It wasn't the reaction I was hoping for, but then again, I hadn't prepared at all. That didn't mean I was going to apologize. She might try to make me do it.  I wouldn't. There was something between us. Nothing could convince me otherwise.

“You can't just kiss a girl like that. You've got to give them a warning, at least.”

“Why ruin the surprise? I acted brashly, yes, but I don't think it was a bad thing.” I wouldn't give her the chance to say it was a bad kiss. The way she kissed me, rolling her tongue frantically against mine, ravenous for more, she had enjoyed it.

“You didn't save us yet,” she said with a sly smirk, pointing out toward the watercraft.

It floated over the waves, not too far, but if we kept talking, we would be abandoned. My rescue mission would prove embarrassing if I needed to call for help.

“Can you stay here? I'm going to swim back and grab it. I'll pick you up.”

“Go, before we get stuck out here.”

Definitely not the reaction I was hoping for. I stroked away and cut through the waves to the jet ski. Out of breath, I pulled myself up and turned it around, picking up Tia and putting her back in place with her arms around me.

“Looks like fun time is over,” she said, pointing ahead. Brent's bald head was blinding from way out there. We were having too much fun. He jumped and waved for us to come ashore.

It was time to do my bidding.

I
t was
a while since I'd last been kissed.

I had
never
been kissed like
that.

He was forceful, but smooth. His tongue ran across mine like he meant to take all of me. The way my arousal blossomed when he touched me, I thought for sure that he already had me. Only when we broke away, and I was given a second to comprehend what was happening, my rational mind returned.

I thought he melted it to mush, but my brain was in there somewhere, and I was glad I eventually listened to it. No matter how hot and heavy that kiss had been, it was important to remember who had delivered it. Lucas. Billionaire. A man who was about to have a buffet line of girls offered to him.

He had it easy. He thought he could take me just as easily. I bet he'd done that trick a thousand times. Take a clueless girl out on his jet ski, let them fall, and then sweep in to be their savior.

I wasn't clueless.

I changed back into my clothes, but my hair was still a mess, and my makeup ruined. It didn't matter. I would be leaving soon anyway.

When I stepped back out, the sun had begun to set, casting a golden glow over Lucas, standing before me in his white shirt and khakis, towering over me like a Greek god. He swept a hand through his wet mane, somehow streaking it in just the perfect way for it to fall back to normal.
Jealous. I was so jealous.

It would be forever until my hair was dry and presentable.

“That was fun,” I said matter-of-factly. “Thank you. I'll always remember that.”

He pressed his hands in his pockets. He wistfully picked his gaze up from the sand.

“It sounds like you're saying goodbye.”

“I am.”

“I suppose I've already kept you long enough.” There seemed to be a longing to his expression, like a boy kicking stones at his bad luck.

I didn't want him to feel bad. Honestly, I had fun, but that was as far as it should go. The other type of fun meant someone would get their heart broken. That someone would be me, no doubt.

This type of life, once you really dug deeper, it revealed some deal breakers. I imagined it wouldn't take long for me to discover that Lucas' extravagant, reckless lifestyle hid some demons.

Hearing no response from me, he led me back up the path back to his house.

“Tia, don't make me face all of those girls alone. They'll eat me alive.”

“That’s a problem?”

Going up the hill was far more difficult after the ride. The rumbling motor between my thighs had gotten me excited, but it also left me wobbly and weak. I wondered if the girls would think I had slept with Lucas. Probably, with my bowed legs.

“You know what I mean. Believe it or not, this wasn't my idea. I need to go along with it. There's a lot of people depending on me.”

“I fail to see how other people could care about your sexual life, but I believe your sincerity.”

He returned a pained smirk. “This has nothing to do about sex and all to do about business.”

Even worse. Who would want to mix business and romance? Who would want their life set up like a business plan? I believed Lucas when he told me that, but I still didn't believe he was completely innocent.

We topped the hill. Level ground again. I could breathe easily. As we neared the pool, we could hear the girls chatting inside the house, and Lucas looked nervous. He kept throwing his head back to look at me. Each time, I actually felt bad for him.

He slid in closer to me. “You haven't had dinner yet, have you? It's the least I could do. I did let you fall.”

“I thought your kiss was the apology?” Heat rose to my cheeks once I thought of it. I wished I hadn't brought it up.

“Have dinner with me. I promise you, you won't regret it.”

“Fine, you win. You said the magic word. Dinner. It’s one of my weaknesses.”

He grinned far too happily. I sighed and hurried up to catch him. Dinner would be appreciated. I called off work for this absurd charade. The least I deserved was a free meal.

Perhaps that part of Lucas, the self-important billionaire part, which I knew must be lurking inside him somewhere, would come to light. Then I would be able to leave with no regrets.

As we headed back inside, Lucas was taken from me. Brent had to fill him in on something. “I'm sorry,” he said. He was led away. It would be an easy time to escape, but I didn't have the heart. I took a seat with the other ladies. Perhaps I dreaded meeting them more than Lucas did.

Their snacking had started, only bites of crackers and cheese while they relaxed on the couches, wine glasses in hand that they egregiously sipped.

It wasn’t a secret that I had been the topic of conversation. Their billionaire prize already walked away with another girl and hadn’t showed himself, hadn’t even made an introduction.

That made me a target.

An awkward silence abounded. The elegant blond with the fanciest dress broke it when she asked, “Are you a worker here or something?”

“No,” I shot back.

“Oh, I was thinking you were, since you’re not dressed up, and you were spending so much time with Lucas. What were you two doing?”

Why was it any of her concern? Shouldn’t she just shut her mouth? This girl was trying to get at me, but she was doing a bad job at it. Just having some uppity bitch like her coming at me, though, that got on my nerves, no matter what she said.

“She doesn’t have to kiss and tell,” another girl said, bright auburn hair in a bun with rosy cheeks, looking so adorable and sounding it too with her southern twang.

“There was no kissing,” I said. That wasn’t a total lie. There was
a kiss.
There weren’t multiple kisses. My sex panged in response. I shifted nervously. Multiple kisses...oh, how my body craved that.

“What do you do?” The blond adorned in jewels asked.

“What do
you
do?” I replied with venom. I didn’t expect her to do anything, except maybe model her jewelry.

There was another reason why I only parroted her. How could I tell these glamorous girls the truth? What did I do? Take care of my mother, was a frequent excuse, kind of true, but not the full truth. Should I tell this girl I had three jobs? Or would that only be met with a snort and chuckle?

“Let off her.”

A lanky, athletic brunette sat up and tossed a cracker into her mouth. It was the most threatening eating of a cracker I’d ever witnessed. My savior, I thought, but then I remembered that I needed no help in defending myself from these girls.

“My name’s Carla,” the tall one said, chewing on another piece of cracker and cheese. She had the fit of a particular Russian tennis player. They could’ve been twins.

“Nice to meet you,” I said. This girl was all right with me.

“Are you going to let us know what you were really doing with Lucas? It really isn't fair if we have people going against the group already,” the blond said, turning to the other girls, who were not quite as friendly as Carla. Eyes sharp as knives honed in on me.

This clearly wasn't for me.

Where was Lucas? He shouldn’t have left.

“What were you really doing with him?” She asked again, like some batshit crazy stalker of his.
Best to let this one go first, Lucas
, I thought as I rose, gathering myself, a twisting in my stomach alerting me that I was far too exhausted and famished to deal with snobby women.

I strode away confidently. She could keep asking questions to my back if she'd like. I heard her groan and call out to me, but by then, her voice was muffled, already far into the background.

Once I got to the door, my fingers lingered over the door knob. I wasn’t willing to leave quite yet. Lucas still deserved a proper goodbye.

Searching the same hallway which I'd first discovered him in, I spotted him, definitely not up to his knees in important business, unless you counted a hot, big breasted model about to jump his cock as important business. Maybe it was to him.

This girl, cleavage unbelievable, was on her toes, her hands exploring his forearms. Their bodies touched. My body revolted. Darkness flooded over me. A numbing, defensive mechanism took hold, but I could tell I was shaking with rage as her lips pressed higher.

Lucas caught sight of me in the corner of his eyes. He spun around as I did, but it was too late. I was already gone.

He screamed, “Tia,” and I heard the direness in his tone, capable of rattling me, but not stopping me.

Rage poured through me.

Then relief. Relief, I had dodged a bullet. A bullet with my name on it.

She slipped away. Tearing away from the girl who had tried to kiss me, I threw open the door to catch her.

I needed to catch her, to tell her how much potential we would be throwing away for nothing. Because some girl threw herself at me, jumped at my lips before I got a chance to react? She meant nothing to me.

She would not get away from me.

Dusk had fallen; the front yard covered in grey. I feared what would happen if she decided to really run for it. My protectiveness of her took control, so strongly, that I needed to tell myself to contain my overwhelming possessiveness of this girl.
You just met her. You're not her keeper. Calm down, Lucas, before you get yourself arrested for stalking the poor thing.

Tia didn’t get far.

Standing at the gates, dialing a number on her cell phone, she stomped her feet and waited for the gates to open.

“Tia, where are you going?”

I went for her arm. She pulled away. She turned to me while taking defensive steps back. Holding a hand up, she warned me not to come closer. I didn't listen.

“It meant nothing. She jumped me. I don't even know who she is. Will you please talk to me?”

Someone talked on the other line, probably the cab service, but she didn't respond.

“You can't leave.”

I broke through her one handed barrier. Perhaps that went over the line. It didn't matter. There would be no misunderstandings between us. No petty little differences.

“I can do whatever I want,” she said, her tone more threatening this time. Maybe even a little frightened.

Easing up, I threw my hands up and took a step back.

“She came onto me. Not the other way around. I don't just
kiss
girls like that. It's something special. Do you think she's what I want?”

I laughed at the thought of falling for a fake girl like her. She wasn't my type. Not even close. My type stood before me.

“I’m sorry it happened.”

To my surprise, she slipped her phone back in her purse. She actually smiled. There were no words to describe how happy that smile made me.

Tia posed on one hip. “You
did
look pretty unhappy about it. Okay, what if I told you I believe you?”

“Great,” I said. That was wonderful.

“But what if I also told you that I want to go home.” Her tone was solemn. How bittersweet. I just thought I won her over, getting her to come back for dinner, when it didn't even matter. It hit me like a sledgehammer to the chest, but I still remained standing. I regained focus.

It was understandable. This whole ordeal was overwhelming. Still,
she couldn't leave. I couldn't let her give this up so easily.
She had to understand that I wasn't the type who got off by manipulating women—oh wait...that was exactly who I was.

I just thought I'd changed once I met Tia. Perhaps I had.
How naive.

Around her, I had lost all sense of my true plan, to fuck this up royally for my father by making all the women hate me. Fuck them. Use them. Break their hearts.

Perhaps it was best if Tia got away from me. Put in those words, I sounded like a monster, a man who wasn't good enough for her.

“I understand,” I told her, the words heavy and hard to speak. Taking a few steps past her, I put my hand to the gate's scanner. They opened.

“You do?”

“I'll drive you home. Let me do that much.”

“That seems fair,” Tia said. She followed me to the front door.

“Wait here. I'll pick you up.”

I decided on something flashy, but not too flashy. Seeing her standing on my doorstep, waiting for me to pick her up, it seemed too perfect. I could get used to picking her up, protecting her, taking care of her.

Too late for that, it seemed. Tia told me where to go. Once she told me how far away it was, in San Diego, another blow of remorse struck me. What was worse, she wasn't living in a particularly safe part of San Diego.

I would have to see once I was there, but I had heard stories of that block. While some parts were going through a renaissance, I would have to see for myself, check and make sure. It put me on edge to think of her getting mixed up in some sort of violence.

Speaking of which...as we traveled on, we were both quiet, and I got to thinking about her predicament. What the hell was she doing there, anyway? She didn't seem like the type my father would pick.

“You can talk to me, you know,” she said. She perked up from resting her chin on her palm.

“Sorry, I thought I’d pissed you off.”

What was I saying? When did I ever apologize? I seemed to be apologizing a lot around Tia.

“It's fine. Let's move past what happened. I believe you. She threw herself on you, which isn't hard to believe. You're a billionaire. They were sent there specifically to try to seduce you. It's not hard to believe at all.”

“Thanks for being understanding.” I meant it. It would be easy for her to use it as an excuse to leave. Did it even matter? She wanted to leave anyway.

When I looked at her in my passenger seat, another painful image crossed my mind, only painful because I didn't know if I could live without making it real. Tia driving with me. By my side.

She smiled at me, and once again, all my fears were erased, all my problems gone. Her big, loving eyes catching light and her beaming white smile stopped everything.

My eyes lingered down to her hands resting on her thighs. The way she had them curled on the edge of her dress got my dirty thoughts wandering.

My actions could tell her just how much she meant to me. I was sure once I had a taste of her, I would be unstoppable. My only purpose would be to give Tia as many orgasms as possible. I would pledge to fuck her until she screamed my name, until I claimed her and made her come countless times into the night. I wanted to make all of her dreams come true.