Alpha Billionaire’s Bride, Part One (BWWM Romance Serial) (8 page)

She pulled back from Ian, breaking their kiss. Gulping down
a swallow of air, her head cleared more. Ian leaned forward, his eyes closed,
blindly seeking her lips.

Jada pushed against his chest, trying to ignore the play of
his muscles under her hands. “We have to stop.”

Ian settled for nuzzling her neck. “Mmm.”

Jada pushed harder and tried to get her hand between her
body and his hand which was still massaging her breast. “Stop, Ian. I mean it.
It’s going too far.”

His head popped up and he blinked at her. “Why?”

She took another deep breath and willed her racing heart to
slow down. He was too damned sexy, all bedroom-eyed and greedy. “Why stop? Or
why is it too far?”

“Hell, sweet thing, I don’t know. You’re the one talking.”

“This isn’t making any sense.”

“You’re telling me. Damn you taste good. Did I mention
that?”

“Uh, no. And don’t mention it now.” She pushed even harder
against his chest.

“Oh, right. I should let go. But just so you know, I don’t
want to.”

“I’m aware.”

“Fine then.” He released her, his fingertips trailing a
final, blazing path over her skin as they departed. Ian took a step back and
eyed her. “If you hadn’t stopped me, I probably would have taken you right here
on this dock. Hard and fast, right there.” He pointed at a spot on the wooden
planks.

Jada’s heart skipped a beat and her lower half gave a
powerful throb. “Had it all figured out, did you?”

He smiled wickedly. “I know you’re not as cool as you
sound.”

“You do not.”

“I felt your heart beating against my chest. But I don’t
want to argue with you, charming though I’m sure the experience would be.” He
blew out a long breath. “I want to thank you, because, hot as hell as it would
have been to have my way with you right there on that spot.” He pointed again
at the same place. “It wouldn’t have been right. So I’m glad you stopped me in
time. Thank you.”

She had a hard time not staring at the still-obvious bulge
under his light-weight pants, but it was fair game in her peripheral vision.
What would it have been like to be thrown on the dock and taken by—she had to
quit thinking that way. “You’re welcome,” she said archly, and turned on her
heel, marching off toward the house.

IAN CAUGHT UP TO HER as soon as she hit the stone path, a
grin playing at the corner of his mouth. “I had fun fishing.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“Have dinner with me tonight. Mrs. Best told me she’s
putting on a spread.”

“Well, I’ve gotta eat, and I don’t see any fast food joints
around here.”

“So you’ll have dinner with me by default? Did I push you so
far back there that you don’t even want to eat with me?”

From the tone of his voice, she feared she’d hurt his
feelings. She turned her head and saw the teasing twinkle in his blue eyes. “I
won’t soothe your conscience, mister. You know what you did.”

He shifted his pants slightly at the hips. “Don’t remind
me.”

Jada couldn’t help but grin.

They kept the banter light and friendly the rest of the way
to the house. Something pricked the back of Jada’s mind, giving her the
distinct impression that she was forgetting something. It was hard to think
clearly, however, with Ian around.

On the porch, she remembered the fishing gear. “Oh no. We
left everything back there. We’ll have to go get it.”

Ian stepped over to a control box that was blended nearly
invisibly with the exterior of the house. “Billy? Please clean and stow my
gear. It’s down at dock three, in one of the boats.”

Billy’s voice returned crystal clear. “Yes, Sir. I’m on it.”

“There you go,” Ian said. “Billy’s on it.”

“I feel bad. We’re the ones who forgot it.”

“It’s his job, Jada. And weren’t you telling me that I need
to give them more to do?”

He opened the front doors then escorted her to the main
stairwell. “I’ll leave you here. Take your time cleaning up. Dinner won’t be
ready for over an hour still. I’ll come to your room at seven. I’m thinking we
should eat in the southeast dining room. What do you think?”

“I think I don’t remember which room that is.”

“Excellent. It will be a surprise then.”

Jada said goodbye and climbed the huge, turning staircase.
She was aware of Ian standing below, watching her ascent. His attention made
her nervous, but in a good, fluttery way.

She didn’t turn back when she reached the top, heading
toward her room and resisting the urge to pop back around the corner of the
wide hallway, to peep over the balcony and see if Ian were still there.

Something wouldn’t quit nudging at the edges of her mind.
What had she forgotten? She’d thought it was the fishing gear, but that clearly
wasn’t the case since the feeling hadn’t gone away. She grimaced as she sought
to clear the cobwebs from her memory.

A sing-song humming pulled her from her thoughts. It was
coming from one of the rooms down the hallway. She listened harder, and realized
it originated from a room ahead, on her left. That was Deb’s office, Jada
thought.

The humming was deeper, though remained gentle and soothing,
as Jada approached the door. She couldn’t resist peeping inside.

Deb stood behind one of the massage tables, humming
pleasantly, an easy, peaceful smile on her face. She clearly was a woman who
enjoyed her work. As for Deb’s client, she was stretched out flat on her
stomach, thoroughly relaxed and Jada guessed, half-asleep.

Jada might have been embarrassed, intruding on such a scene,
and would have tiptoed away quickly before she got caught peeking. She would
have done just that, except for one thing—the massage client was Ms. Kitty.

Getting the full body treatment and loving every second of
it, Ms. Kitty was lost in full-on bliss. Her legs were stretched out straight
in front and behind her, her furry chin resting on the cushion. She wasn’t
moving a muscle, not even the tip of her tail twitched, and her ears appeared
droopy in complete relaxation.

Jada gaped, then snapped her mouth shut when Deb noticed her
in the doorway.

Deb broke off her humming. “Hi there. Would you like to go
next?”

“Thanks, but I’ve got to get ready for dinner.”

“Okay, well drop me a text if you change your mind. Massage
is good for everyone, even animals, as you can see.” She resumed humming and
worked her fingertips delicately down Ms. Kitty’s spine.

Ms. Kitty sighed deeply. Jada realized what had been giving
depth to Deb’s humming: Ms. Kitty’s purring. Her purrs were so loud that Jada
could clearly hear them from where she stood.

Jada slowly shook her head and couldn’t think of a thing to
say, other than warning Deb that Ms. Kitty was anti-social, a character trait
which had disappeared on the estate. It hardly mattered that Jada was tongue-tied,
since both cat and masseuse had obviously dismissed her.

Jada headed on to her room, excited to call Marina and tell
her everything that had happened. Well, most everything. Some things were
private, and how it felt to be desired by a sexy billionaire was most certainly
private.

A tiny thrill burst through her when she thought about how
she’d be dining alone with Ian that night. She could hardly wait.

AT PRECISELY SEVEN O’CLOCK, IAN knocked on her door. Jada
took a final glance at herself in the full-length mirror.

“Oh, you look so beautiful,” Elly gushed.

Elly had helped Jada choose her outfit, had done her hair
and even tried to do her makeup, though Jada had put her foot down there, not
wanting to risk being overdone.

She had to admit that Elly had done a good job with her
hair, using sparkling silver, stretchy strands to pull the front of Jada’s hair
back, weaving them into an intricate, delicate pattern. The rest of Jada’s hair
hung straight and shining down past her shoulder blades, the result of Elly’s
deft work with a straightening iron.

Elly had convinced Jada to wear a sleeveless, golden silk
sheath dress that snugged her curves and glimmered with her every movement. The
hem hit just above Jada’s knees and tickled each time it brushed her skin. A
pair of strappy, delicate heels finished the look.

Elly ran over and stood by the door. “Ready?”

Jada turned from the mirror. “Yep.”

Elly flung the door wide, a smile on her pretty face.

Ian stepped into the doorway and addressed Elly. “I’m here
to escort Miss Jada to dinner, if you’d be so kind as to call her, Elly.”

Elly covered her mouth with her hand and giggled. “She’s
standing right there, Sir.”

Ian leaned against the door jam with playboy ease, looking
devastatingly handsome in a white evening jacket, an open-collared shirt and
black pants that hung on him with tailored perfection, straight-line crease and
all. He examined Jada. “Well, well, if that isn’t so. And she’s looking
positively ravishing, wouldn’t you say, young Elly?”

“Yes, Sir. I would.”

“Did you pick out that dress?”

“Yes, Sir. I did.”

Ian’s grin was playful. “Then remind me to tell Mr. Forest
to give you a bonus in your next paycheck. Well done, Elly. Well done, indeed.”

Elly giggled again, and overcome from too much
Ian-attention, scampered off into the dressing room mumbling about how she had
ironing to finish.

“That Elly’s a treasure,” Ian said. “She even knows the
perfect time to leave. That’s not a skill you can learn.”

He stepped into the room and Jada thought for a moment he might
try to corner her in her bedroom, push her up against her canopy bed, peel off
her dress and tear off her new, lacy lingerie, doing everything to her that he
wanted to do on the dock.

But he didn’t do any of that. He held out his arm, instead.
“Shall we be off then? I’m sure Mrs. Best is anxious to start over-feeding us.”

Jada was kind of disappointed Ian didn’t toss her on her
bedspread and ravish her. She wondered what Marina might have said about it.
Marina hadn’t returned Jada’s recent calls, though. Probably busy,
investigating.

Jada smiled and accepted Ian’s arm. The muscles of his
forearms flexed under her touch. “Let’s not keep Mrs. Best waiting.”

Ian told her the evening’s menu on the way to the dining
room on the first floor. They were having six courses, two of which were Ian’s
favorites. Jada was pleased everything was familiar and didn’t sound ornate and
fancy, though after her delicious lunch, Jada knew that Mrs. Best could make a
gourmet event out of the simplest food.

The southeast dining room was one of the smaller rooms on
the floor, and had wide French doors that looked down the sweeping south lawn
which was glowing in golden browns and reds in the setting sun.

She would have described the room as classy casual, a
gleaming crystal chandelier juxtaposed with an antique, weathered breakfront
cabinet. The table was large enough to seat eight, and set with a white
tablecloth, crystal goblets and glasses, and white accoutrement.

Ian pulled out a chair for Jada on the side then sat at the
end nearest her. It was more intimate than she’d thought it might be. The
lighting helped, romantically heightened with a pair of flickering, tapered
candlesticks.

Mrs. Best arrived within mere moments, serving up the first
course. Ian thanked her and told her he’d pour the wine. Mrs. Best bustled back
out of the room.

Ian poured the wine, which turned out to be delicious,
chatted amiably and made conversation obviously intended to draw Jada out about
her job, home and family. Jada could hardly answer in complete sentences.

At some point between leaving her room and right then,
nerves had overtaken her. She was having dinner with one of the richest, most
accomplished men in the world, and he was looking at her like she was the only
woman in the world. It was heady stuff and she felt every iota of it.

She picked at the salad, hardly tasting the tangy dressing.
She pulled apart her crusty roll, buttered it, then couldn’t take even a
nibble.

“Don’t you like it?” Ian asked.

“Oh, no. It’s delicious. I’m ... well, it’s just kind of
hard to believe I’m here, that’s all. It’s been a long, strange day.”

Ian nodded. “Agreed. And since it brought us here, to this
moment, I wouldn’t change a single second of it.”

Jada looked at him, shyly at first, then with more verve.
“Not even the part where—”

“Don’t finish that sentence. Not a single thing, I tell you.
I wouldn’t change it. How about you?”

“I—”

She was interrupted by a knock on the doorframe. She looked
over and saw uniformed Lydia standing there.

“Sir,” she said after Ian beckoned her to enter. “If I might
have a word with you.”

“Of course. Is something wrong?”

“I’m not certain. Perhaps we should discuss this in
private.”

Ian cocked his head. “Is it an emergency? I’m having dinner,
obviously.”

The tall, stately woman appeared distinctly uncomfortable.
“Yes, well, I don’t think it can wait. The subject of this situation is ...
impatient to have it resolved.”

“Fine. Whatever it is, I’m sure Jada won’t mind if we
discuss it.”

“Of course I don’t,” Jada said.

Lydia shot Jada an indecipherable glance. “This might be a
delicate subject.”

“You’re so conservative, Lydia,” Ian said. “Go on. Tell me
what the problem is.”

Lydia stood ramrod straight and squared her shoulders. “It’s
Miss Sasha, Sir, your ...” she cleared her throat, “... er, girlfriend. She and
her publicist are at the front gate and they’re demanding we let them in.”

Jada took the news like a wallop up the side of her head.
Sasha. Ian’s girlfriend. The woman that the online gossip ezines rumored to be
Ian’s fiancee. The supermodel with one name. THAT Sasha.

Well, duh.

So that’s what had been tickling the edges of Jada’s memory
all evening. How in hell could Jada have forgotten that Ian had a girlfriend,
that he might even be engaged?

Jada thought she must be the biggest idiot in the world, not
a feeling she was accustomed to. She didn’t make these kinds of numbskull
mistakes. She eyed her wineglass. Maybe they put something in the alcoholic
beverages out here at rich-people estates. It was the only thing that would
explain it.

Or maybe she’d been foolishly swept away in the fantasy that
a billionaire could be a normal person, and might want a real woman like Jada
in his life, want her for more than a roll on a dock.

Wow. She truly was a sucker. And Ian was a no-good player.

Jada swallowed hard and did her best not to allow the
crushing wave of disappointment to push her out of the room, weeping.

She looked over at Ian, who appeared as shell-shocked as
Jada felt. “This part,” she said.

“What?” he asked.

“I’d change this part, right here, if I could.”

He picked up his wine glass and downed the contents in one
long draught. “You and me both,” he said, and refilled his glass. He held the
bottle out to her in invitation.

She nodded and he filled it up. It might not be the best way
to handle the situation, but it appealed to her at the moment. She took a long
swig, and didn’t choke when Ian finally gave his answer to Lydia.