One Night With A Billionaire(16)

His eyes narrowed at her, but she wasn’t fooled. She’d thought they were bright and shiny because he was upset over Daphnewhich he probably was. But it was more likely that he was just wasted and hiding it really well.

“I had several drinks,” he admitted. “And normally I’d say it’s irresponsible to attempt to drive back to my hotel with as much as I’ve had to drink, but after what I’ve seen tonight, I still think I’m far more responsible than anyone else I’ve seen.”

And he gave her a dopey, gorgeous grin that told her, yup, he was plastered.

“What am I, chopped liver?” Kylie retorted, unable to keep an equally silly smile off of her face. God, he was cute.

“You are entirely too good for this motley crew tonight.”

Sweet man. She held the keys away from him when he reached for them. “Well, this entirely too good woman is driving you back to your hotel, because she hates the thought of you as a smear on the pavement.”

He snorted. “I can drive myself. Seriously. There’s no need to babysit me.”

It was on the tip of her tongue that she’d been doing a lot of babysitting tonight, and what was one more? But she suspected that it would hurt him more than make him laugh. He was putting on a brave face, but she knew that Daphne’s behavior had to be bothering him more than he let on. “Just consider it a friend looking out for a friend. Now, get in.” She clicked on the remote and the car’s security lights flashed.

“Really, Kylie, I’m fine.”

“I insist.”

One corner of his mouth curved up and then he was giving her another panty-melting smile. “Who am I to resist such a beautiful woman?”

Um, an equally beautifulif not more soman? But she didn’t say it aloud. At least he was getting into the darn car. Kylie got in on the driver’s side and put the keys in the ignition, then adjusted the mirrors. Cade was several inches taller than her, so she had to pull the seat forward, too. But when she was buckled in, she looked over at him. “Ready to go?”

He was gazing at her, a thoughtful look on his face.

“Cade? Buckle up.” When he just continued to study her, she wondered if he was an “out of it” kind of drunk. He probably wouldn’t remember this in the morning, any of it. So she reached across the car and pulled his seat belt over his legs. Her hands accidentally brushed over his groin, and she jerked away. “Oh, God, sorry!”

“S’okay,” he told her, voice strangely husky. “I’ll get it.”

She waited as he fumbled with the belt, but eventually was able to get it snapped in place. That done, she nodded at him and turned the car on. “Okay. Now, what hotel are you staying at?”

“Peninsula.”

Of course. It was only the most expensive hotel in Chicago. Daphne’s crew was staying at a chain hotel while Daphne herself stayed someplace decidedly more upscale. “All right,” Kylie said, easing the car forward. “Let’s get you home, then.”

The drive to the hotel was an easy oneeven the Chicago streets weren’t terrible at three in the morning. She pulled up to the front of the massive hotel and the valet immediately stepped out to open her door. She grabbed her purse and then hurried over to Cade’s side. He’d been quiet on the drive, and she wondered if he was half-asleep.

But he got out of the car just fine. He leaned on Kylie as they headed into the hotel, and then draped an arm over her shoulders. And since he was tipsy, she allowed it. She was sure he didn’t mean anything by it. Guys like him didn’t claim girls like her.

“Floor?” she asked him as they went through the big doors of the hotel.

“Eighteen.”

She nodded and steered them toward the elevator. The doors shut and they were alone. She looked up at Cade, only to see him gazing down at her with that same glazed fascination. It was a little intimidating, and she wasn’t quite sure what he was thinking. She patted his chest with her free hand and smiled up at him, trying to make everything seem more casual than it really was. “Hanging in there?”

“I’m great, actually,” he murmured.

“Not falling asleep?”

“Not sleepy at all.”

They got up to the eighteenth floor and she gazed around her in vague wonder. There . . . weren’t many doors on this floor. “Which room is yours?” These looked suspiciously like the penthouse suites. Which shouldn’t have been surprising, given that he was trying to gift Daphne Petty with a car on a whim. But seeing all this opulence made her a little self-conscious. Just another reminder that the guy draped over her shoulders was way out of her league.