Wife Wanted (A Billionaire Bad Boy Romance)(100)

 

"Sara, please stop." Nick was following me but I wasn’t stopping. "Sara, can you please stop? You have something that belongs to me."

 

That stopped me. He knew what he said would make me stop. Men like him, billionaires like him, knew how to get what they wanted.

 

"Yes," I said, turning around and wiping my eyes. I reached into my bag to pull the necklace out. The moonlight reflected on its diamonds. I held it out to him, but he didn’t take it. I lowered my arm.

 

"That too, but that's not what I meant," he said.

 

"What did you mean?" I asked.

 

"May I be honest?” he said.

 

“Be my guest,” I said.

 

“I just wanted you to stop and listen to me."

 

“I’m listening. Speak,” I said, surprised by my courage. Hours ago, I hadn’t even dared to look at his picture because I was concerned I wouldn’t be able to face him. Now I was giving him orders in his own house.

 

"I am so sorry about what happened back there.”

 

"What are you sorry about? That you kissed a total stranger? With your reputation, that must have been easy to do.”

 

"Okay, that hurt, Sara. But I deserved it."

 

"Mr. Saunders, I am not here to figure out what you deserve."

 

"Sara, a man in my position hardly apologies for anything. You should know that.”

 

Except I didn’t know that and I didn’t care. Even if I did, Nick Saunders had no right to kiss me without my permission, especially if he was doing it to ward off an old girlfriend. "A man in your position thinks he has a right to kiss a woman without permission?"

 

"To be fair, I did ask your permission first."

 

"No, you demanded I kiss you and when I asked why, you forced yourself on me."

 

"I didn’t force myself on you. You kissed me back."

 

"Only because you were kissing me and making a show of it for that woman.”

 

"Olivia."

 

"Whoever."

 

"Sara, that was wrong. I'm sorry I kissed you like that, but that kiss wasn’t for Olivia's sake. Trust me.”

 

"So why did you kiss me?” I asked against my better judgement.

 

"I wanted to. For my own sake," he said simply, his voice neither loud nor low, just firm.

 

"Yours! So you exploit women's mouths for your own benefit.”

 

"I didn't exploit your mouth. I simply kissed you because..."

 

"Because you think you can buy everything. You think you send me an invitation and a diamond necklace and I'll let you kiss me.”

 

"I was hoping for that, actually," he smirked.

 

I saw the smile curve his face before being replaced by fake seriousness. "You what? First of all, you don’t know me.”

 

"But I want to know you,” he said.

 

"Tricking me into coming to your party is not a good way to meet me. You know what, I am so sorry I came to this ball or whatever it is. I'm sorry I even came up here."

 

"Don't say that."

 

"It's true. I came up here to return this necklace to you. I thought your office sent me an invitation by mistake since I’m neither elite nor rich. I barely have more than ten dollars to my name. And if I have half the sense I need, I would not have let my best friend talk me into coming here.”

 

"She's a true friend," he said.

 

"Mr. Saunders, I need to go," I said. I held the necklace out to him again.

 

"Sara, please keep it."

 

"It's not even for me. God knows how many women have worn this. I’m not like that. You can’t just pick a woman’s name off your to-do list and send them necklaces, even if you think you can buy the whole world.” My voice was loud, my anger was seeping through. I needed to get out of there.

 

I watched his eyes change from the sexy brown to smoky brown. I was treading on dangerous ground. Whatever I had just said had taken him over the edge. I needed to stop and think. I was still holding the necklace, but he ignored me and started walking back to his party.

 

"I'll make arrangements to have someone take you home. I apologize for ruining your night." His tone was flat and icy.

 

Maybe I should have relaxed and let him explain why he had kissed me. Maybe if I had been calm, I could have talked to him about interviewing with his office for a job. I still needed a job, and now that Amy had spent so much of her money getting me ready for this party, she didn’t have much more to spare if I needed an extra dollar or two. Rent was due in a week, and I didn’t have enough money to cover it. My bills were not going away just because I attended a ball.