Mine Forever (Book 3: The Billionaire’s Obsession Trilogy)(12)

He came to his feet in one graceful motion, muscles flexing, a wicked  grin on his face. "Sweetheart, if you keep flashing that sexy body at  me, I'm going to be doing my own studying." His grin widened and his  eyes grew dark as he prowled after her, his big body cutting through the  water easily. "And I examine and test my data very thoroughly."

She scooped up a towel from a pile next to the tub and scrambled out the  bathroom door, Simon hot on her trail. Laughing as he caught her around  the waist before she could make it out the bedroom door, she squealed,  "No. I'm thirsty."

As he pulled her back against his wet, solid chest, she wondered if she  really needed water all that badly. God, he felt good. Melting back  against him, she could feel his hard, insistent arousal against her ass.

"Are you thirsty?" His voice changed, instantly concerned. "Did you  eat?" He took the towel from her hands and started to wipe her body  gently, drying her back and turning her around to blot the moisture from  her breasts and belly.

She bit her lip as she peeked up at his face, his expression anxious and  slightly agitated. "I'm not that hungry." Her appetite was increasing  for something other than food.

By the time he was satisfied that she was completely dry, she was  certain she was going to die of lust. The man was definitely thorough.

"You need hydration and food." He grunted as he tossed her his black  silk robe and quickly dried his own body, going to his closet to rummage  for clothing. He pulled on a similar garment in navy blue, putting it  on quickly, barely taking the time to yank the tie closed.

She nearly whimpered as he covered that glorious, masculine body. She  slipped on the black robe reluctantly, her thirst being overridden by  the heat between her thighs. All she wanted at the moment was to get  horizontal with Simon. "Seriously, I'm not that hungry."

He grasped her hand and tugged, pulling her along behind him. "You'll  eat." He stopped, piercing her with a dark, warning stare. "I plan on  fucking you until you beg for mercy later."

Her nipples hardened to pebbles and the smoldering heat between her  thighs went up in flames. His heated expression made her shiver with  longing, every inch of her skin tingling.

I'll be begging. But not for mercy.

With a frustrated sigh, she let him pull her toward the kitchen. She  knew that stubborn, determined look of his. He was determined to satisfy  her needs, give her whatever she needed. One casual mention of being  thirsty and Simon was a man on a mission, pushing his own needs and  wants aside, taking care of her first.

And he wondered why she loved him?

Her heart turned over as he squeezed her hand, leading her with focused  determination toward food and water. The man was a tantalizing mixture  of sizzling male hormones, intensity, tenderness, vulnerability and  compassion. The perfect male wrapped up in a bossy, handsome,  irresistible package.

Why did she love him? Shouldn't the question be...how could she not love him?

She smiled as she admitted to herself that she had never stood a chance  against falling madly, completely and totally in love with this man.  Something had drawn her to him from the moment they met, something  elemental and primal. Maybe she had been afraid to recognize it for what  it was, but it had always been there. Simon was like a force of  nature-dangerous, yet compelling because of its fierce, wild and raw  power.                       
       
           



       

She remembered her mom once saying that true love was not for the faint  of heart, but the rewards were worth the risk. Kara had been young, not  even a teenager, and she hadn't understood the meaning of her mom's  statement.

Now, with Simon, the meaning of those words was crystal-clear and she

understood exactly what her mom had meant. And she had finally found the man who was well worth the risk.

Sending a silent thank you to her mother for the words that it had taken  her many years to understand, she allowed Simon to guide her out of the  hallway and into the kitchen, a silly grin on her face.





Chapter 6


Simon popped open the door of the refrigerator with a flick of his  wrist. "Diet Coke or water?" He reached for the Diet Coke, already  knowing how she would answer.

"Diet Coke," she affirmed, her attention distracted.

He flipped the top on the can and handed it to her. Opening a regular  Coke for himself, he chugged half of the container down in seconds.  Christ, no wonder Kara had been thirsty. He hadn't been in the steamy  room as long as her, but he was parched.

Lifting the can to her lips, she drank, but her gaze was fixed on the archway that led to the dining room.

Shit, he had completely forgotten his earlier errands. "Happy  Valentine's Day." He gulped the rest of the can of soda and tossed the  empty container in the trash.

Following her into the dining room, he scowled. She hadn't said one  word. Maybe Nina and Marcie had steered him in the wrong direction.  Would she like any of it?

He'd tried to be organized about delivering stuff to the dining room:  Flowers on the table, candies on the chairs, jewelry and perfume gifts  on the floor. Yeah, there were teddy bears and other miscellaneous stuff  scattered around the room, but he had thought he had arranged things  fairly well. "You don't like any of it?" Damn it, he was firing his  assistant and secretary in the morning. They had specifically told him  that these were the things that made women feel good, special,  cherished.

"Oh Simon, what did you do?" Kara ran a fingertip along the velvety  surface of a red rose and tapped on one of the heart-shaped balloons,  watching it sway back and forth through the air.

"Okay. Those two are definitely fired in the morning!" Fuck! He wanted  to please her. Instead, she looked like she was traumatized. He knew he  should have gotten other things, but the Veyron and the Mercedes had  been full.

"Who are you firing?" She turned and looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"Nina and Marcie. They told me that these types of gifts make a woman happy."

Oh hell, he couldn't fire either one of them. They did their jobs too well.

Honestly, it was his fault that he didn't know a damn thing about how to  romance his woman. But he was willing to try until he got it right. "We  could go shopping. Pick something else." he suggested, hoping she'd let  him take her, see what she thought was romantic.

"You asked Nina and Marcie for advice?"

"Yeah."

"Simon, this is incredible. I don't know what to say." Her voice was  tremulous as she bent down and picked up a fluffy brown teddy bear and  held it against her chest in a death grip. "I think Marcie and Nina were  giving you suggestions. They didn't mean for you to buy everything."

Damn it. She sounded like she was going to cry. He fucking hoped she  didn't. "I don't know your favorite flower. Or what kind of candy you  like. I don't really know your favorite color. Shouldn't a guy know  those things? Shouldn't I know how to please you?" he answered, his  voice disgruntled.

Dropping the stuffed bear gently to the floor, she turned to him. "You  didn't need to do all this. I've never even gotten flowers before."

What did he do? He went shopping. Big fucking deal! Sure, he'd usually  rather have a root canal than go shopping, but for the first time, he'd  enjoyed it. "I went shopping. It wasn't exactly a big effort." At the  last minute, because he had only just realized that it was Valentine's  Day. How pathetic was that? Thank God for Nina's thoughtful husband!

"You did all of this for me." Her arm stretched out, motioning toward  the full dining room. "The flowers are beautiful. I love them all. I  want a piece of that candy so badly that I can taste it already, and  everything else is so overwhelming that I'm speechless. I would have  been over the moon with a few flowers or a card. You didn't need to do  this. It's more gifts than a woman gets in a lifetime. But it isn't the  things that amaze me. It's you. Your desire to make me happy. You're the  most incredible man on the planet. That's why I love you." She took a  long sip from her can of soda and set it on a small, available area of  the table.                       
       
           



       

He caught her body as it rocketed into his arms, savoring her softness  as she pressed against him. Warm lips nuzzled his cheek and the side of  his neck. As he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, her body  gliding slowly along his until her feet touched the floor, he decided  that maybe he would give Marcie and Nina a raise instead of a lecture in  the morning.

"You're insane. You know that, don't you?" Pulling back, she planted a  loud, smacking kiss on his lips. "But I love that about you."