The Billionaire’s Betrothed(37)

His sweet breath grazed over my lips, a shudder crawling up my spine.

“Moments?” I repeated, dizzy from the scent of this man’s cologne.

“Yes, moments, where everything seems alright again.” Jake whispered, his voice muffled as his lips tenderly pressed to my own.

Everything seemed to pass in a flash of red.

The billionaire’s lips were everywhere, as were my own hands, memorizing every inch of each other’s bodies.

The chiffon dress lay in an undignified mess on my bedroom floor. Jake’s suit jacked on the couch, his tie draped off my dresser.

In that moment, in a world that I saw as empty, I suddenly felt complete for the first time in months.





Chapter Eight





I awoke long before the sun had even started sending shimmering rays into my bedroom.

Honestly, how was I supposed to sleep when there was a softly snoring man blowing hot air against the tingling flesh of my neck?

Just what had happened last night?

Was it a mistake?

Did it mean anything?

No, no to both of those questions.

We were two people simply confiding our pain in one another, there was nothing more than that.

Was I supposed to feel guilty that I’d betrayed not only Tessa, but my late husband as well? Strangely enough, there wasn’t a shred of guilt inside of me to be found.

Perhaps I was still more empty than I believed.

Carefully, I tugged the blanket up and slid out from the bed, shivering as the cool floor met my toes. Even more carefully I grabbed the closest article of clothing I could find, Jake’s button up white shirt, and slid it over my cold shoulders, padding out of the room and into the kitchen.

I started up the coffee pot while shuffling around in my pantry for anything that I could make the billionaire for breakfast.

The billionaire.

I had a freaking mega multi-millionaire CEO sleeping in my bed. I had a freaking mega multimillionaire CEO who’d slept with me!

I almost started laughing at the ridiculousness of it all, leaning my elbows against the counter as I waited for the coffee to finish brewing.

With a pang, I realized that I had no one to talk to about how funny this was.

I could have called my mother, but hearing her voice just reminded me of the pain. I could have called Eric, but after our kiss the other day, I didn’t think it was fair to rub a new …dalliance in his face.

I sure as hell wouldn’t be able to talk to Tessa about it.

I supposed this was just an affair that I would have to take to my grave.

“Good morning.”

The gruff voice of my billionaire lover startled me up straight as I whipped to face him.

He now wore his slacks, one black sock on his foot – the other missing.

“Morning.” I murmured, as the coffee pot dinged cheerily.

I grabbed it, hurriedly pouring a cup and pushing it towards him, “I’m afraid I don’t have any food, but I make a damn good cup of coffee.”

He chuckled, taking it as he sipped the bitter liquid, “IT’s good.” He offered, though I couldn’t tell if he was simply being pleasant.

“Listen, about last night…” I began, frowning.

How was I going to tell this man that I wasn’t ready for anything serious? How was I going to say that we shouldn’t make this a regular habit?

We were too different. The only thing we shared was an unpleasant past, and that certainly wasn’t a thing to bind together two people.

“Last night was an enjoyable moment.” He finished for me, stepping forward to sweep a strand of hair behind my ear. He bent, pressing a chaste kiss to my lips, the bitter taste of coffee still clinging to his lips.

Words were lost upon me as I watched him slide his shoes on, hurriedly beginning to unbutton the buttons of the shirt that I had stolen.

“Here,” I offered hurriedly, however he grabbed my hands to stop my movement.

“You keep it.” He smirked, sliding his suit jacket over the bare, rippling muscles of his chest, “I think it looks better on you, anyways.”

With that, he left me, half naked in my kitchen, blushing like a mad woman.

I got ready for work that day in a haze.

On one hand, I was strangely excited to go in and just have the chance to bask in his green eyed gaze once more. On the other, I was not looking forward to the barrage of questions that I had no doubt Caroline would attack me with.

I wasn’t sure how I was going to avoid a cat fight with her. In all honesty, she could keep Jake. My loss was much too fresh to withstand dedicating myself to another person so quickly.

Though, Jake Roma was sexy, charming, and the way the hint of a dimple popped in his cheek when he almost smiled…

I shook my head, glaring at myself in the mirror as I brushed my teeth.

No. There would be none of that!