Win a Filthy Bad Boy: A Bad Boy Romance (17 page)

He led her to an area in the back with Roman pillars, lit with industrial lamps. At the center of the room was a low mahogany table set with cutlery, and beside it, large velvet cushions and Turkish carpets. “Make yourself comfortable; dinner will be served in a minute. I'll be right back,” he said, strolling down the hall. “Frazer will be in shortly. Tell him to serve dinner without me, I won't be long.” Then he was out of sight.

Bonnie tried to take his advice and sat back on a large cushion.
Make myself comfortable?
Bonnie thought.
Impossible
. Her nerves were relentless.

The grandeur of the place made it feel impossible to get comfortable. It spoke a lot of Chad's incredible wealth and power. Yet, when she looked at him, he rarely reflected the tremendous power and control a man in his position was expected to have; at least, he never seemed to crave power or desire control. He seemed more comfortable when things were out of control and the only lust he had, his only insatiable craving, seemed to be his hunger for women. As it happened, Bonnie was latest object of his desire.

Bonnie looked out into the blue water, which was brightly lit by artificial lights. A vividly-colored fish swam by the glass. The scales of impossibly bright colors dazzled Bonnie, but even more fascinating was its beak-like jaw.

“The parrotfish are part of a large group of marine species that you'll find all throughout the world,” said a man clad in a butler’s outfit. He smiled when Bonnie spun to face him. “If you wait long enough you might be fortunate enough to see our guest who occasionally frequents these waters.”

“Guest?” Bonnie asked, looking out into the blue.

“Yes. A shark has been known to frequent these waters.” He bowed, “Frazer, at your service. Please forgive my abrupt intrusion, Miss Jensen.”

“Oh… um… no worries. Mr. De—I mean, Chad said that he won't be long.”

“Yes, Miss Jensen.” With that, he gave a curt nod to three helpers who stood at the far end of the room, before quietly laying out dinner, then making a beeline down the corridor. “Have a pleasant evening,” Frazer said, bowing again. As suddenly as he appeared, he disappeared, leaving Bonnie alone again.

Bonnie was so taken by surprise, she could only smile. Realizing, she forgot to thank him, Bonnie cringed at her lack of manners. Taking one last look out into the ocean to see something large and dark in the distance, she wondered if she'd just spotted the shark Frazer spoke of.

Bonnie was surprised when she made her way to the table and saw Chad enter the room. He looked sexy as hell in the tux. Given the humidity, his dress might have been a bit excessive if they were outside, but the air beneath his hotel seemed cooler.

“You must be starving,” he said, as his voice caressed her skin. “I hope you like sea bass with caramelized fennel?” He walked over to the table and sat on a cushion. He held Bonnie in his gaze, causing her to look away. At the sight of her turning crimson, amusement glimmered in his eyes, one eyebrow lifted, and his seductive lips twisted into a smile.

She mirrored his action by sitting, proud of herself for remaining composed, as her legs wobbled and shook, which she disguised as a clumsy fall to the cushion. Convinced she’d been the victim of her heels and not his lethal eyes, sinful lips, or melting smile.

“Looks delish,” she said. She tried telling herself she referred to the food.

“Very,” Chad said. He never took his eyes off her.

Panicked, she began to formulate a coherent way of articulating how totally wrong and unacceptable it was for them to be here while the whole world was looking for them. Bonnie peeled her eyes away from his naughty smile.

“You know we're going to get into serious trouble,” She said.

“The delicious kind, I suspect,” he growled.

Catching a whiff of his cologne, his masculine scent enveloped her.
Damn he smells good! “
What about Leslie and—”

“Fuck them, I don't care about Leslie. I invited you here and I want you to stay. I want you.” He sipped his champagne. “I just called my agent to let her know the situation.”

“And Leslie?” She didn't even attempt to hide her jealousy.

“What about her?” Chad said. “You want to know if I’ve slept with her? The answer is no.”

Bonnie inhaled deeply and bit her bottom lip. “I shouldn't have… I mean, it's not really…” She began, but stopped to bite down on her lip again.

“What do you want to know, Bonnie?” Chad asked, huskily. “That I haven't slept with another woman since our first night together? That I haven't been able to forget you?”

“It's your job to fulfil women's fantasies. Maybe you're just exhausted.” Sensing a shift in their unusual relationship and fearing she couldn't trust herself around him, her anxiety peaked. Escape was the most rational option.

“You're different,” Chad said, probing her with his sexy silver eyes.

Running her tongue over her lower lip, she tasted blood where she'd bit into it. Even though her mind screamed for her to run, her body would not let her leave.

“Look, I don't know why I'm here—”

“Too eat,” Chad said. “No games. Only dinner.”

Bonnie didn’t believe one word of what he said. Finally, they started on their food. Every so often, a waiter would come in and present them with a wide selection of drinks.

“So tell me more about you. I know you were born in Champaign, Illinois, you have a sister that lives in Bloomington, and your parents live in Indianapolis. You wanted to be a journalist so you could understand people better.”

“Wow, how do you know all of that?” Bonnie said, surprised.

“I’ve been watching the show,” he said. “Since middle school, you’ve always been the smart girl, interested in other people's lives.”

“I don't know how you can stand to watch the show. Every time I see myself on TV, I cringe.”

“Every time I see you on TV, I can’t look at anything else.”

To hide the tingling in her cheeks, Bonnie looked down at her plate and poked at her fish with her fork. Chad had a large appetite and ate quickly; she wondered where he stored it all. He didn’t have an ounce of body fat to show for his voracity.

“But what was your childhood like? Why did you really want to become a journalist?”

Bonnie shrugged. “I was good at it. I've always been
me
. The girl who never got to go to the dance because no one invited me. So I was perfectly happy to observe people with more interesting lives.”

She remembered first getting her bra and having boys snap her straps back, which she somehow equated with them liking her. Or how guys secretly wanted to date her, but wanted nothing to do with her when the prettier girls came around.

“So why won’t you give me chance to show you off? You’re the one the world should be looking at. You deserve at least that,” Chad said.

“You can't. The women that throw themselves at you have been supermodels and movie stars. Not Plain Jane’s, who happen to get lucky and end up on a reality show.”

Chad's eyes narrowed, his pupils darted to the side, and his jaw tightened. “No one is ever going to say those things about you ever again.”

It almost seemed like Chad was being protective. Did the “Plain Jane” article really affect him?
Impossible
. But, he clearly looked pissed.

A waiter refilled Bonnie's wine glass and cleared away the empty plates.

“Thank you,” Bonnie said. “Dinner was lovely.”

“Tell me more about you,” Chad startled Bonnie with the request.

As a child who was socially awkward, her bedroom felt like a sandbar in a turbulent sea. She told Chad everything, skipping the really embarrassing stuff, but outlining the fact that she'd never felt like someone people
should be looking at
, as he phrased it.

Her house and neighborhood were ordinary, a four-bedroom house on an acre of land. A pool they rarely used. But she was never alone because she had her older sister, Jennifer, who either played role of best friend or worst enemy.

Fully conscious of his eyes on her, she continued to talk, only to glance up and glimpse his tilted head as he listened attentively: her failures and her triumphs and passions and her fears. Whenever she caught his eyes, she either stuttered or lost her place, but she carried, wanting him to know everything about her.

“You don't like writing for the tabloids and you don't seem like a city girl. Why do you stay in New York?”

Bonnie sighed, sat back, and scrunched her forehead in thought. “To be honest, Jill. She's what keeps me optimistic. If it wasn't for her, I would probably run home to my parents with my head hung in shame.”

“Hey, there's no shame in trying to make it on your own. With folks like yours, the expectations don't get higher.” Chad said, referring to the fact that both Bonnie's parents were college professors.

Frazer and a few waiters entered to clear the table and brought a tangy lemon tart and glacé strawberries for dessert.

“Okay, I'm impressed,” Bonnie said, kicking her shoes off and curling her legs under her bottom at the same time as she popped a strawberry in her mouth.

“Wow, that’s a feat I can be proud of,” Chad said, as his saucy smile promised pleasure. “Do I get a reward for good behavior?”

“What do you want?” A smile crossed her lips and she wondered if it were the alcohol or his demeanor that made her feel so comfortable.

“Your shoes,” he said, trailing his gaze down the length of her body all the way to her feet. The black heels she'd kicked aside were at the forefront of his fantasy about fucking her every since he saw her outside the restaurant.

“My shoes?” Bonnie asked, shocked. “What do you want with them?” She gulped.

“I want you to wear them, right after I peel that dress off you body, so you can hook you heels around my shoulders.”

“You mean... as in?” Bonnie said, but stopped on the follow-through.

“Is it that shocking? That I'm so easily appeased.” Chad mouth kicked up at the edges. “I don’t want money or fame right now. All I want is to hug your ass as well as your dress does.”

“Must you always be so vulgar?” Bonnie asked, feeling hot. She stared at him.

“You look so damn sexy when you're blushing.”

“Asshole,” Bonnie said, looking away only to have her gaze fall onto her heeled Mary Jane’s.

Chad chuckled. “Hey, I'm just being honest.”

“Can't you be cool for a change?” she asked. “Our is that out of your depth?”

“How do you expect me to?” He shrugged. “Have seen yourself?”

“I have. You're deluded if you think…” Bonnie stopped. Something on the edge of her periphery caught her eye. “You're deluded if…” There it was again.

“What's up?” Chad asked, sitting up.

“Did you see that?” Putting her bowl on the table, Bonnie looked out into the water. “Something's out there.”

Together, they approached the glass and peered, apart from the reefs and vast expansive blue, into the void of space that surrounded them.

“Look, there,” Bonnie pointed. In the distance, there was movement. A dark shape outlined on the blue background grew increasingly large. Bonnie sucked in a breath; the fear that rippled through her, thrilled and terrified her. The large shark swam lazily passed the glass.

“Frazer mentioned something about a shark,” Chad said.

As unexpectedly and as suddenly as it appeared, the creature disappeared into the distance. Everything stilled in its wake. Bonnie finally remembered to breathe. The whole experience felt surreal, but somehow fitting. The entire evening might've been a dream.

“I wish I had snagged a pic,” Bonnie said. It was then that she became aware her head was resting on his chest. Until that moment, she stood on not-there legs, startled she might have lost her footing. Except…

“I've got you,” he whispered into her ear. Chad held her close. He was firm. She would never fall as long as he held her. His warm hand stroked the dip of her waist and the curve of her hip.

She couldn't think. She needed to gather her mind before it ventured to dangerous places. Dangerous thoughts. The thought of him being between her legs, again, rendered her suddenly mute.