Billionaire's Forbidden Baby: BWWM Interracial Alpha Male Baby Romance Novel (7 page)

He wasn’t usually the kind of man to chase like this, but he needed to know what was going on in Kiara’s delightful little head. Why hadn’t she stuck around at the party like he’d asked her? In his head, he’d plotted every manner of dark debauchery to share with her that evening, and when he had found out that she had not stayed as he had demanded, he had been both curious and disappointed. And he didn’t like being disappointed.

In fact, he didn’t like most of the emotions Kiara had been making him live through lately, and he would have much preferred to return to the original situation – hot sex and clever banter with a woman that made his cock hard just at the thought of her.

When he heard the door open and close behind him, he took a moment to exhale before turning around. His pulse raced, and he couldn’t suppress the wolfish grin that spread on his lips as he took in the sight of Kiara standing by the door, dressed in a tight silver-gray dress and high heels that made her legs look like they went on forever. She looked like a doe standing in the middle of a highway, cars rushing past and keeping her nailed in spot.

In a way, he liked seeing that vulnerable look on her face, but at the same time he also wanted to wrap his arms around her and tell her that it was all going to be okay, that he was going to protect her from anything she thought could harm her.

Where do you get those thoughts…? Focus on the goal.

But what was the goal? To get her in bed again? To get her pining for him as he apparently did for her? He wasn’t sure, but he was curious to find out.

“Miss Lockett. You look beautiful today,” he said mildly, stepping a few steps closer.

He could see her physically recoil at his approach and words, her cheeks drained of color. A conference table separated them, and he didn’t enjoy the obstruction in his path, but he stopped, giving her a moment. Like a hunter approaching his prey, he knew that skittish creatures had to be treated with carefulness, and when he took aim, he couldn’t afford to miss.

“You haven’t answered my calls, Kiara. Is everything alright?” he asked, keeping his tone conversational. He didn’t like the way she reacted to his approach. Something was wrong, and in true female fashion, she obviously wasn’t going to share it with him. His brows knit in frustration as she nodded, offering him no more and no less than exactly what he had asked for.

“Everything’s alright. I’ve just been busy, Mister Thatch,” she said. The way she said his last name stung.

“Mister Thatch is my father, and perhaps me at a meeting. But when we’re alone, it’s Damien. Did you like the flowers?”

Now when she nodded, at least a small smile made the corners of her delicious lips curve upwards a bit. A softness came to her hazel eyes, and Damien’s posture relaxed. Progress. Good.

“They were beautiful,” she said quietly, barely more than a whisper.

He wanted to tell her that he had picked out each bouquet himself, wanting it to be special, not just something Jasmine sent to the bendier than average, fascinating females that he’d shared a bed with when the mood struck him. He wanted to tell her that she was one of a kind, an extraordinary woman that made both his mind and body want her. But that would have been awfully mushy, and he didn’t do mushy.

“I’m glad you liked them,” he said, closing the gap between them.

She gasped sweetly as he came to stand in front of her, and he couldn’t keep the smirk off his face. He remembered that gasp. He liked it. Without another thought, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him, pressing her curvy body against his hard muscles.

Just where you belong…

Her hands were set on his chest, and she pushed against him a little. Not too much, but he could feel the hesitation in her. She worried her lip as his cock got hard against her thigh, color returning to her face now. It was good to know that at least up close, he could still make her melt. Not everything had changed over the few weeks he had been away.

“Did you miss me?” he asked, his voice a soft growl.

His eyes tracked the way her teeth grazed against her lips, and his steely arms kept her close to him, not letting her stray from him. She was exactly where he wanted her, where he needed her, and he was sure she wanted to be there as much as he did.

“Yes,” Kiara confessed, her breath hitching.

It seemed to be a struggle to admit that, her eyes brimming with tears but not a single drop breaking to mar her cheeks. Internally, it made him roar. Everything about this delicate, yet strong and capable woman made him want to reshape the world into a place where she would never be sad, never be hurt. A Herculean task – but one that he was uniquely capable of delivering.

“Good,” he murmured, bringing one hand slowly up her body and over her arm until it was at her chin, tilting it upwards so he could taste her sweet, sensual lips.

She trembled a little. When he kissed her, the world fell away for a moment. His tongue dipped hungrily into her mouth, and though at first hesitant, she soon answered his need with equal fervor. Like two addicts who’d tried and failed at being good, they drank from one another, eager to distill all of the emotions and sensations into one perfect moment.

His hand slid behind her neck, and he cradled her head while his other hand rested on her ample ass. Damien couldn’t wait to undress her again.

His teeth gripped her lower lip for a moment, and she let out the most heartfelt moan, one that made him almost quake with the need to fuck her right there on the conference table. But there was still something off about the way she had treated him. If he’d learned anything about women, then it was that a woman with something on her mind was best treated with careful hands and not rushed. He’d have to rein himself in for now – even if it was the last thing he wanted to do.

With obvious reluctance, he finally withdrew from the kiss, and after a peck on her forehead, stepped back from Kiara. He grinned, tucking his hands in his pockets. She was flustered, and her chest was rising and falling heavily. He liked her like that a lot more than he had when she’d stared at him like he was the most dangerous man in the world. That glow she got when he touched her was delicious.

Damien thanked the years he’d spent toiling at his companies, putting up with every manner of nonsense – it had helped shape him into a man strong enough to step away from a gorgeous woman when it was needed. Every fiber of his being wanted to rip that dress off her body and fuck her until she couldn’t walk straight, but he didn’t. Not yet. He packed the need into a tight ball inside of him and tucked it away to be unraveled when he had her alone again.

“I actually had work to discuss as well,” he said, making her gaze sharpen immediately.

She straightened her dress and ran a hand through her hair, as if visual appearances would hide what he knew she wanted. He wouldn’t be fooled so easily.

“I want to hear your promo strategy. We’re coming closer to the pitch deadline, and I think Mirrorview should tell me about its preliminary plans so I can be sure you’re moving in the right direction. Are you ready for that?” Kiara pondered it for a moment.

“Yes, I think I can have something for you by tomorrow.”

“Excellent. I want you to pitch it to me in person. I’ll send a car here in the morning. Pack a swimsuit.” He didn’t give her time to answer.

Instead, he gave her a wink and brushed past her, reveling in the surprised look she gave him as the door slammed shut behind him. It’s not that he wouldn’t have enjoyed arguing with her on whether or not being in a bikini was necessary for the job, but rather that if he stayed there with her for even a minute longer, he might just not be able to control himself any longer.

You must be growing soft, Damien,
he pondered as he headed through the office, plotting his next move.

The bigger question, however, was whether he minded his transformation.

CHAPTER NINE

Kiara

Kiara shifted uneasily in the seat, the soft, buttery leather enveloping her in lavish luxury. It felt odd to be sitting in a town car that probably cost more than she was ever going to make. She absentmindedly thumbed the strap on her purse – a ratty faux-leather hobo that was the only one big enough to accommodate her spare clothes and the materials she needed to show Damien.

Experimentally, she tried crossing and uncrossing her legs a few times to see if she could get comfortable. Nope.

Her stomach was twisting and turning, and she was constantly on the edge of vomiting. Kiara wasn’t entirely sure if she was coming down with something or if Damien Thatch just had that kind of effect on her. Really, could be either as far as she was concerned. Every time she was near him, she thought the world would fall away from under her, so a touch of vertigo was to be expected in her opinion.

With a resigned sigh, she tucked her hands together on her lap. She had no idea where the driver was taking her, but by the look of the streets he was taking, they were headed down to the marina.

Figures,
she thought glumly.
Of course he would have me parade around in a bikini for his personal amusement. And of course I’d do it just because he asked. Dammit, I was supposed to be strong about this!

Kiara’s mouth curved downwards as she considered her current options. Eliza’s words still burned in her ears, and every time she thought about that conversation, she felt cheaper and cheaper. When Damien had been out of town, she had managed to muster all of her strength and keep from replying to his messages or reacting to the gifts he’d sent her.

But when he had turned up in person… well. Kiara couldn’t keep the blush from creeping to her cheeks and a warmth from spreading between her legs when she thought back to the kiss they had shared in the conference room.

Somehow, his touch had grown even more commanding than she remembered it, and his lips were firm but tender. There was affection and longing in that kiss, she thought, but at this point Kiara wasn’t sure if she wasn’t just imagining things and seeing a silver lining where there was none. Making up emotions and feelings that she wanted to be there, but weren’t.

Rationally, she knew that she must have been just another trinket for Damien to pass the time with. But emotionally, she couldn’t help but think that there was more there.

The way he looked at her wasn’t the look of a man, who just wanted to sink his dick into a nice body, to put it crudely. Then again, he could have any woman he wanted in the entire world, so why her? Kiara sighed as the familiar train of thought rushed through her head, the same questions she had asked a thousand times already piling on until she could hardly think straight from all the worrying.

Just when she was about to launch into another tirade about how things couldn’t possibly work between her and Damien, the car stopped and the driver opened the door for her. He extended a hand to help her out, and Kiara got up on wobbly legs, wearing heels that were meant more for standing than any kind of actual motion. The warm L.A. sun beat down on her, and her eyes went wide with surprise as she took in the sight before her.

They were at one of the most exclusive marinas in L.A., and the car had driven right up to a big, gleaming white yacht the size of an apartment building. Standing in white slacks and a partially buttoned-up white shirt, Damien greeted her from the bow of the ship, smiling like a man who knew he was impressing the pants right off of her. She swallowed hard. Wealth didn’t make her knees buckle, but the sight of his chiseled chest in that shirt and his dirty blonde hair being whipped around by the wind certainly did.

“I’m glad you could make it,” he called, motioning towards the ramp that lead up to the deck. “Come up. It is about time we head out.”

On shaky legs, Kiara made her way up the ramp until a strong hand was there to help her, Damien’s fingers gripping her hand and pulling her to him. She half-expected him to kiss her again, but he just smirked and waved to the driver to leave, letting go of her.

“Come, I’ll show you around,” he said conversationally, leading her across the ship with her hand firmly in his.

It was one of those impossibly large and expensive power yachts, and wherever she looked, extravagance gazed back. It wasn’t hard to imagine hundreds of people having a big party on the boat, laughing and drinking champagne from crystal flutes. While Kiara had helped plan parties like that for clients, she had never really been on a ship like that, and frankly, it was a bit intimidating.

“It’s gorgeous,” she mumbled as they headed down into the rooms hidden below deck. The engine of the ship rumbled to life, and Kiara could feel it start to move. “Wait, are we going somewhere?” she asked, surprised.

“Yes. I thought we could go sail a bit. I assume you have nowhere better to be today. Besides, I want you to get good use of that swimsuit, after all,” he said, looking like a wolf staring down a bunny.

She couldn’t suppress her smile. So what if she didn’t know what the hell he wanted to do with her? She could enjoy the ride while it lasted, right? Kiara tried to push the worries out of her head and just enjoy her time in the presence of the sleek, powerful man, who seemed to be on a mission to sweep her off her feet. A girl could dream a little, right?

***

“And that’s how Cadence would become the new Tiffany’s classical collection – sought after by the mid-class and worn just as easily by the rich and the famous,” Kiara concluded with a big grin on her lips.

It was easy to enjoy work when she had a freshly made mojito in her hand and the sun was gently licking her body as it was laid out on a plush, comfortable beach chair on the uppermost deck of the yacht. Damien was looking at her while sipping on his own drink, his eyes sharp and focused. He’d insisted that she change into her bikini before they start with the work talk, and though she protested with all her might, Damien won as usual.

Now, in retrospect, she couldn’t disagree with his logic one bit. Everything went smoother when one got to bask in the warmth of sunshine with a delicious drink in her hand and a man, who looks like a Greek god keeping her company.