The Billionaire's Paradise (Sexy Billionaires)(15)
“We scared away your assistant.”
“I should go, too,” she said, gripping the arms of her chair to rise.
His hand caught her wrist. “Running again?”
She dropped back into her seat. “I don’t run.”
“Don’t you?”
She lifted her chin. “You’re not so fearsome, Mister Billionaire.”
“Good. I’d hate to scare you away, as well.” His gaze fell to her left hand again. “Where is your husband?”
“Jon? Knowing where he is isn’t my business anymore.”
“Ah,” he said, leaning back. “Divorce, I take it?”
“Two years ago.” She glanced away. “And now you know something more about me.”
“One more piece to the puzzle,” he agreed.
“How about you? Ever been married?”
There was a long pause, long enough for her to return her gaze to him.
“No,” he said finally.
She studied his carefully blank face.
“Ever been close?”
A bitter smile twisted his lips, one she’d never seen on his carefree face before. “No.”
It was a simple answer, but his expression made her pause. She had the oddest sense he was lying, despite the fact that everything she knew about him supported his claim.
“I’m sorry about your ex,” he said. “Is he the reason you are so determined not to sleep with me again?”
“Jon does not control my actions anymore,” she replied. “Shockingly, my desire to keep my clothes on is all me.”
“There’s plenty we could do with your clothes on,” he purred, his eyes running over her flowing skirt. “I’m nothing if not a creative problem-solver.”
She rolled her eyes. What had she been thinking? That one moment of vulnerability meant there were complexities to him she hadn’t been aware of? Hayden Wexton had the emotional depths of a birdbath, and she’d do well to remember it.
“Is it the chase?” she asked, leaning toward him. “Is that why you’re not letting this go?”
“I’ve had women play hard to get before.”
“Did you get on a plane for any of them?”
His eyes met hers. “No.”
A shiver ran down her spine. She shouldn’t be effected by the information, and yet there was no stopping the pleasure unfurling inside her.
You’re not special, she scolded herself. You’re just a game to a bored billionaire. Don’t for a second think you mean more to him than some fun in the sack.
Because if she let herself think about that, she’d have to think about the way her fingers itched to brush aside the curl hanging over his forehead. She’d have to acknowledge how her body leaped when he walked into a room. How her dreams were filled with the memory of his lips running over her naked body.
There was too much to want about Hayden, and if she loosened the harsh grip she kept on her self-control, she’d be lost to him.
A disastrous possibility she never wanted to give in to.
“How long are you going to pursue me?” she asked him. “I’m telling you now, you don’t have a chance of changing my mind.”
His eyes flicked to her lips. “There are worse ways to spend one’s time than attempting to seduce a devastatingly beautiful woman in paradise.”
She laughed. “Devastatingly beautiful woman, huh? I wonder how many others you’ve said those words to.”
“Too many to count,” he replied smoothly. “But I never meant them until you.”
Dammit. The man was too suave for his own good.
“Save your lines for someone they’ll work on,” she said. “I’ve resisted men like you before.”
“Love, you’ve never met a man like me before.”
For better or worse, till death do we part. I do.
Pain shot through her chest before she forced the old memories back. Pushing from her chair, she rose to her feet. “Thank you for dinner. It really was lovely, but I have some work to get back to.”
He followed suit. “Working well into the evening? How unfair. You should complain to your boss.”
“I’m sure he’s pleased. He has rather high standards, after all.”
“The highest,” he agreed, his hand finding its place at the small of her back. Trying to ignore the touch, she walked from the restaurant and headed toward the main lobby.
The cool night air ruffled her curls, surrounding them in a perfumed breeze of night-blooming jasmine that seemed unique to this island.
Silence stretched as they walked back. She thought about trying to fill the quiet, but allowed the urge to subside. Instead she tried to focus on not enjoying the presence of the man beside her.