Billionaire Undaunted:The Billionaire's Obsession ~ Zane(21)

She shook her head and broke their locked gazes, her eyes straying to  her fluted glass of champagne as she stroked the stem. Hell, even that  turned him on. He wanted those caressing fingers all over his fucking  body.

Suddenly remembering why he'd been gone so long, he put his hand into  his jacket pocket and pulled out the items that he'd bid on and won in  the silent auction.

"I won one of the bids on the auctions. I want you to have these." He pushed a white velvet box across the small table.

Truth be told, he'd made damn sure he won by bidding a small fortune on  the items. The minute he saw them, he knew they needed to belong to  Ellie.

She looked at him in confusion and then down at the box, tracing the decorative gold lettering on the top. "Mia Hamilton?"

He nodded. "She does something special for my corporate fundraiser every  year. The majority of the proceeds this year are going to a joint  charity for domestic abuse victims. Mia's sister-in-law founded it. Asha  Harrison. They're doing a lot of good work. My brothers and Chloe all  support Asha's Fund."

Ellie nodded slowly. "I've heard about it. Lara is involved, too."

"There are a lot of wealthy donors now all over the country. It's a  great charity that has very few administrative overheads since they have  a lot of volunteers." He nodded at the box. "Open it. I hope you like  it."         

     



 

"Zane, is this a piece by Mia Hamilton?"

"Of course," he answered sensibly.

"I can't believe I'm even touching it. Her stuff is exclusive. I've never seen anything but pictures."

Zane smiled. "Another first," he replied as he impatiently reached over and popped the box open.

Ellie's astonished gasp was audible even in the noisy ballroom.

"Oh. My. God." She leaned back as though she was afraid to touch the jewelry.

Zane hadn't seen all of Mia's work, but he was pretty certain she'd  outdone herself on the necklace and earrings she'd made this year.  Somehow she'd made a fortune in sapphires, diamonds, and gold still look  classy, delicate, and feminine. The chain of the necklace was  alternating hearts made of small diamonds and blue sapphires with a  slight violet tint. The chain met in the middle to support a heart  pendant made of a large sapphire with diamonds framing the center heart.  Mia had paired the necklace with simple drop earrings made of the same  gems.

"I thought they were pretty. The sapphires almost match your eyes," Zane  said anxiously, getting worried about the nervous look on her face.

"Pretty? Zane, these are the most beautiful pieces of jewelry I've ever seen. Can I touch them?"

He reached out and took her hand, placing her fingers on top of the  necklace. "They're yours. Of course you can touch them." He was secretly  pleased that she seemed so enchanted by Mia's creations.

She carefully traced the delicate hearts on the chain, and then ran a  careful finger down the sapphire pendant. "You know I can't accept a  gift like this," she told him adamantly. "But I'm really happy that I  was able to see these in person. I didn't go to see what was on  auction."

He got up and plucked the necklace from the box. Standing behind Ellie,  he slipped the chain around her neck and fastened the clasp. He didn't  bother with the earrings since Ellie was already wearing a costume pair  that he wasn't about to try to take out and replace.

Sitting back down again, he surveyed the stunning contrast of the  sparkling gems against Ellie's creamy skin. "Perfect," he declared,  satisfied that the necklace had found the place where it had always  belonged.

"Take it off," Ellie squeaked, her voice sounding panicked.

He smirked. "Any other time, I'd love to hear those words come out of your mouth, but not this time."

"Zane, I can't wear this. What if somebody tries to steal it? What if  the clasp breaks and it gets lost?" She'd leaned across the table so she  could speak without attracting attention.

He shrugged. "It's just jewelry."

"Jewelry that costs more than most people's houses," she answered in a frantic tone.

He was getting irritated because her objection was all about how much he  spent. Logically, he understood her situation, but he'd never miss a  single penny he spent. "It was a gift, Ellie. The money went to a good  cause. Christ! Can't you just accept a gift from me without worrying  about paying back the money? I want you to have it. It matches your  eyes, and sapphires are your birthstone. Coincidentally, they're my  birthstone, too."

She lowered her eyes. "I'm sorry. It's such a thoughtful gift, but don't  you understand that I'm not used to accepting gifts like this?"

"I do understand. But you have to realize that I'm very used to giving  these types of gifts. Not jewelry exactly. But expensive for the average  person. For me, it's not that pricey," he reminded her. "It's like you  sending flowers to a friend, or buying a card."

Ellie burst into laughter, the sound grabbing and squeezing Zane's heart  like a vise. She snorted before she answered, "That really is true, I  suppose. But I think I'd be more comfortable with flowers." She fingered  the necklace carefully. "And I know it's a good cause. But this is  something you need to save for somebody special," she prompted, reaching  back to fumble with the clasp of the pendant.

He stood and grasped her wrists. "Don't," he told her gruffly. "I'm ready to go. Are you?"

She nodded. "Yes, but I really need to-"

"Let's get our coats. You can either take the earrings or leave them  there for whoever decides to pick them up. I'm not giving them to anyone  else. I did give them to someone special. I gave them to you."

He tugged on her wrist to get them to the coat check area.

"Wait!" she answered with panic. "I can't just leave them here, and I need my bag."         

     



 

Zane released her wrist and let her pick up her small black clutch from  one of the chairs, and then observed with satisfaction when she  carefully closed the lid of the jewelry box and stowed the earrings  safely in her purse.

"You're not playing fair," she snapped at him as she brushed by him.

"You haven't played fair since you decided to wear almost nothing  underneath that dress," Zane shot back at her as he clasped their hands  together.

"I hardly think that's the same thing," she said tartly, sounding like a sexy schoolteacher.

"Close enough," he replied nonchalantly, continuing to lead her toward the door.

His dick had been hard since the moment he'd seen her in that slinky  black dress. Ellie was so naturally beautiful that she didn't need the  makeup and hair, but the perfection of how she looked tonight had blown  him away. When he'd seen the outline of her pebbled nipples through the  black fabric, his cock had started to throb even more insistently.

Mine!

His reaction had been immediate and irrevocable. Ellie belonged with  him. Though, he was pretty sure that he needed her more than she needed  him.

After she'd revealed exactly what she was wearing underneath that dress,  he'd wanted to see if she was teasing him, or if she was telling the  truth.

As far as he was concerned, he was done playing fair. Seeing her climax  once hadn't been enough. He was addicted. He needed to see her come  apart again, hear her scream his name. Oddly, he didn't care if she was a  virgin other than the fact that he'd be the first and only guy to claim  her, a fact that made him want to fuck her even more. But he hadn't  wanted to take her that night because he needed to know that she truly  wanted him to be her first. Now, he knew that not only would he be her  first … he'd be her one and only.

Honestly, Ellie had always been the one for him. Subconsciously, maybe  he'd always known it, but it was pretty damn clear the few times he'd  seen her back in Rocky Springs. He didn't act then, which was a fact  that he now regretted, but he was going to now.

I almost lost her.

It was pretty damn sad to think that it took Ellie almost dying for him  to pull his head out of his ass and find his balls. One thing he knew  for sure: he was ready to fight for what he wanted.

No more playing nice. Zane was ready to play dirty, knowing it would be a hell of a lot more satisfying for both of them.



It didn't take long for them to get back to Zane's home. He'd made use  of his limo and driver, and they'd been dropped off at the door after a  smooth and fast ride home.

The champagne Ellie had consumed was starting to wear off, but she was  still riding a little buzz as she asked Zane, "Are you hungry?" They'd  stopped into the kitchen to get a drink. She handed him a Coke from the  refrigerator, selecting a diet for herself.

When she set the can on the countertop to open it, Zane pinned her from  behind, slapping one hand on each side of her. "Not for food. But I'm  dying to find out if you've been lying to me all night."

An exploring hand landed on her ass, pinching her butt cheeks and  rubbing to see if there was any material underneath. Her breath hitched  as he started raising the flowing material up her thighs and to her ass.