The Billionaire's Paradise (Sexy Billionaires)(13)

And a dangerous one.

He liked fantasy. It didn’t haunt his memory or make him think about roads not traveled.

It didn’t make him wonder what he might have had with someone like Avery had Sophia not destroyed him first.

Avery turned, her brown eyes unerringly finding him. Under his gaze, she lifted her chin as if readying herself for battle, and changed course to come to him.

What an effect you have on the ladies, Wexton.

Only on Avery, he wanted to argue. She was the only one who didn’t stare at him like a meal ticket. No, she stared at him like he was a trap she didn’t want to spring.

He wasn’t sure it was an improvement.

Hayden stood as she reached the table.

“You look lovely,” he said, pressing a light kiss to her cheek.

She leaned back, staring up at him as he fought not to think about how close her mouth was to his.

“Thank you for the invitation.” She almost sounded as if she meant her words.

Almost.

“I know part of your job is to test out everything our guests have access to. I think you’ll find our food is not part of the occupancy rate problem.”

“It’d be nice to cross something off the list of possibilities,” she said, lowering herself into the chair he’d pulled out for her.

He shifted his attention to Karen as she took her own seat. “Hello, Karen. I trust you’ve both found everything you need?”

“It’s a gorgeous hotel,” the other woman said. “You really outdid yourself here.”

“Thank you.” Taking the seat next to Avery, he signaled the server over to pour their wine.

Hayden tried not to smile as Avery opened her menu in a not so subtle attempt to avoid him. When he glanced at Karen, the woman gave him a small smile and a shrug before turning her attention to her own menu.

He took a sip of his scotch, studying Avery’s profile. She really was lovely with her gamine features. Not for the first time, he wondered why he hadn’t been able to forget her. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t had liaisons in the past. But staring at her, he couldn’t remember any of their faces.

“The steak is excellent,” he said, wanting to recapture her attention, needing those eyes on him.

She glanced his way briefly. “Sounds perfect.”

“I can get behind that action, too,” Karen said, closing her menu. “So, shall we get our daily update out of the way? Keeping in mind it’s still early in our investigation.”

“Please,” he said, taking another sip.

Karen launched into a prepared explanation that he listened to with half an ear. It was hard to focus on anything else when Avery was within touching distance.

It would be so easy to cancel dinner and retreat to his suite. After a few hours of hot sex, they could order room service and share a meal naked in his wide, king bed. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d wanted something so badly.

Instead, when the waiter came, he dutifully ordered a meal that had no hope of being eaten in bed.

Give it time. This island had a way of lowering one’s barriers. All he had to do was wait.

…

Avery focused on her perfectly cooked steak and tried to ignore the weight of Hayden’s gaze.

Just as he’d promised, the food was exceptional. Though they’d have to conduct a more thorough interview to make sure nothing was going on behind the scenes, it seemed safe to say the hotel’s restaurant was not part of the problem.

Karen had been doing her best to carry the conversation and distract Hayden, but his gaze always seemed to find its way back to her, as if he wasn’t capable to looking away for long.

Can something be both flattering and unsettling at the same time?

She didn’t often find herself the center of a man like Hayden’s attention.

“What are you two doing tomorrow?” he asked.

“We’re going to start individual interviews with some of the staff,” she said. “How about you?”

He shrugged. “I’m sure Wyatt would appreciate if I telecommute in for a few hours.”

“If you need to return to the mainland, we’d be more than happy to keep you updated long distance,” she offered.

A slow smile spread across his face. “Trying to get rid of me?”

“Just being considerate,” she lied. “I’m sure the days of a CEO must be pretty hectic.”

“They are. Which is exactly the reason I spent so much time building up the perfect executive team.” He leaned closer to her. “I’m sure you’ll be thrilled to hear you’ve got me all to yourself for the foreseeable future.”

“It’s always nice to have real-time input,” Karen said diplomatically. “It must be lovely to take a vacation every now and then.”