The Hotel 3 (The Billionaire Seduction)(5)

I break.

"Yes," I scream, feeling my body constrict with pleasure. "I'm yours, I belong to you!"

Dom lets out a roar. With a final epic slam he thrusts up inside me, so  deep and so good I come hard enough to lose my mind. I feel him shudder,  hear the groan echo through him as he collapses against me, spent.         

     



 

I lay against the desk. My heartbeat measures the seconds until Dominic  moves away from me. I hear him pull up his pants, but I'm too wiped out  to move.

Jesus H Christ. That was the most epic fuck of my life.

"Clean yourself up."

Dom's voice comes, cool and measured. What?

I struggle upright and turn  –  then wish I hadn't. He's buckling his belt  a few feet away. His expression is unreadable, distanced and aloof.

Is he serious?

"No." I struggle upright, pleasure still coursing through my system. "No  way do you pull that bullshit on me now. Not after that."

"What else am I supposed to do?"

"Act like an adult and talk about it." I demand. "This, what we have between us, it's real OK? And you can't just fuck it away."

For a moment I see it on his face: pain. The kind of agony I've been feeling, hurt and betrayal. Heartbreak, too.

Then it's gone.

"I can't." He says, his voice cracking raw. Then he walks out, and I'm all alone.

Again.

I stay there a moment, slowly pulling my skirt down and tidying my hair. Even though I wanted this, I feel numb.

I can't keep letting him do this to me.

No matter how much I was falling for him, no matter how deep I thought  our connection ran. That's over  –  he just made it perfectly clear. And  I'm not the kind of girl to let a man treat me like this, yell at me,  and judge me, and fuck me like I mean nothing to him.

It's over now; it has to be.

I'm done.





Chapter Five




After what went down in his office, I don't want to look at him again,  but Dom is suddenly everywhere. It's like he's making a point of being  where I am. The hall, the elevator, even the freaking breakroom.  Considering he has a fancy espresso machine and a Keurig in his office, I  don't brush that off as coincidence.

What is he playing at?

Thursday lunchtime, he comes striding out of his office just as I get  off the elevator. My assistant rushes to help with the armful of fabric  samples, design prints, laptop bag, and coffee I'm trying to balance.

"Thanks, Meredith," I say, focusing on her so I don't look at Dom. From  my peripheral vision, I see him walk by me. He greets someone in a  smooth tone that drips with flirtation. It's almost seductive. I've  never heard him use that tone with anyone …  except me.

Who is he talking to like that?

Dominic is leaning next to a female intern sitting at one of the  secretary desks. His face is turned toward her, his lips close to her  ear. She's blushing, her eyes lowered as a sneaky grin tugs her lips. He  says something in a sexy, bedroom tone, and she laughs.

I can't tear my eyes away.

After everything we shared-Paris, planning the gala, the intimate  moments when he opened up to me-this is what he does all over again?

I swallow back my hurt. I should be glad he's making this easy for me. I  said I was moving on, and clearly, that's exactly what he's doing too.

"Juliet, darling. There you are."

Lillian appears and loops her arm through mine. "Let's chat over lunch.  I'm dying to know how the renovation planning is coming along."

An escape? I never thought of Lillian as my savior, but right now she's  giving me the perfect excuse to get away. "That sounds great."



We walk a couple of blocks to a restaurant she loves. Lillian makes  small talk, but I don't hear much of what she says. My brain keeps  replaying the scene from the office, Dom leaning in close to that girl  –   just like he used to do with me.

I follow Lillian up to the roof terrace and take a seat, still distracted.

Lillian flags down a waitress. "Mimosas, please. And keep them coming."  She looks back at me. "No offence, but you look like you need a drink."

"Is it really that obvious?"

She gives me a sympathetic smile. "You're forgetting, I've been on the  other end of Dom's tantrums. It's not a pleasant place to be. Let me  guess, he's started flirting with everything in a skirt?"

I nod.

Lillian rolls her eyes. "It's so juvenile. He's doing it just to make a point. He doesn't mean any of it."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because Dominic Rexford may be many things, but a cheater isn't one of  them." Lillian takes a calm sip of her water. "He wouldn't screw around  when he's still in love with you."

What?

I stare at her in disbelief. She smirks. "I know my ex-husband. Trust me, you're the only one he cares about right now."

"But …  why are you telling me this?" I can't figure her out.         

     



 

"You mean, I'm supposed to be a jealous bitch hell-bent on stealing him  back?" Lillian gives a little laugh. "Please, darling. We're both adults  here. And I have no interest in reliving my marriage with Dom. We tried  it, it didn't work, the end."

I'm still reeling. She seems so calm. So mature. Everything I'm trying and failing to be right now.

The waiter arrives with the mimosas. I take a gulp and look around. It's  a gorgeous terrace, with potted topiaries and fresh flowers growing  along the edge of the roof.

"So …  what, um, what happened with the two of you?" I ask.

Lillian shrugs lightly. "We were a good match. Our families knew each  other, I saw him at a lot of the same events, and we had a good time. We  were a team."

Despite everything, I feel a pang of jealousy.

"It was a beautiful wedding," Lillian gives a nostalgic sigh. "But then.  Well, Dominic is a hard man to tap. Emotionally, I mean. He's …  aloof,  contained. He never let me in, never let me see the real Dominic. I  needed more of a connection than that." Her smile turns softer,  vulnerable.

She's more like Dominic than she realizes. Inside her classy, cool  exterior is a human being craving love and affection. They just couldn't  give that love to each other.

Lillian smiles cheerily, the melancholy on her face suddenly gone.  "Anyway, consider it a cautionary tale. Dom doesn't know how to open up,  and you need to ask yourself if you can settle for that."

I hear her, but I don't believe her. I've seen Dominic loosen up. I've  seen him crumble. As much as he's hurt me, I can't imagine that it was  all in my head.

"He's opened up to me," I blurt. "He let me in, a little bit."

She looks surprised and I shut up before I say too much. If he never  shared that side of himself with Lillian, it's not my place to do it for  him.

"Well, maybe he can change." She gives me a supportive smile. "Either  way, you shouldn't let him walk all over you at work. You can't build  your world around a man like that. You never know when the walls will  give way." She looks like she's going to say more, but the waiter  arrives with Caprese salads and salmon. I realize how little I've been  eating lately. Maybe it's stress, or the mimosas, but I'm suddenly  ravenous.

"There she is! Lillian!"

I look up in time to see Blaine Prescott heading right for our table,  knocking a waiter aside in his haste to come greet Lillian. "I didn't  know you were back in town," he smarms, looking like a reject from a  Ralph Lauren ad with his blond hair slicked back and a white seersucker  suit. "You should have returned my calls. We must have dinner!"

"Blaine, so nice to see you," Lillian says without conviction. He's  smiling widely at her, adoration clear on his face. Lillian returns to  her meal as if she hopes he'll just go away. Instead, he puts a hand on  the back of her chair and leans in.

"You look stunning as always. Dom never did know a good thing when he had it." He laughs again.

Ewww.

"There's a new French restaurant opening tomorrow night. I could make us reservations-"

Lillian puts up a hand. "I'm sorry, darling. I really can't tomorrow."

Nonplussed, Blaine leans even closer, his armpit in perfect alignment to Lillian's face. "The day after, then."

"Blaine," Lillian's voice snaps before it sweetens. "I'm flattered, but I'm not interested."

Blaine's face changes. He takes a slow breath through his nose and I  feel like I'm waiting for an explosion. Lillian is tense, but she  doesn't look at him, just keeps on cutting her tomatoes and mozzarella  into tiny bites.

"So this is where the Rexford's beauties wandered off to."

The tension is broken by a familiar flirty voice. Xander saunters over,  his crooked smile and good looks turning heads. Lillian lights up when  she sees him, clearly relieved. Me too.

Xander takes in the situation with one look, then extends his hand to  Lillian. "Emergency at the office, sweetheart. I need you back right  away."

"Of course." Lillian gets up, moving to put Xander between herself and  Blaine. "Sorry Jules, you'll finish up here? Take your time."