Her Indecent Proposal (The BAD BOY BILLIONAIRES Collection) (9 page)

She raised her finger to her lips, her mind on Sloane as she
wondered what he was doing just then.  Right at that moment, was he as horny as
she?

She smiled to herself then shook her head.  In all her thirty-three
years this was the first time she’d found herself scheming to ditch her duties
and run off and jump into bed with a man.  And it was all Sloane’s fault.  He’d
turned her into a wild woman.

She had no idea what Sloane was up to, but work day or no work day,
she was going to call him.  If luck was on her side, he’d answer his phone and
she’d be able to convince him to play hookie with her.

She picked up the phone and dialed his number.

CHAPTER TEN

“Naughty, naughty.”

Sloane’s voice drifted up the stairs to Melanie and she immediately left
the bedroom and ran downstairs to greet him.  She was halfway down when she saw
him at the door, tall and rugged and ever so handsome in his dark business
suit, his tie already loosened and hanging around his neck. He was bending to
drop his briefcase to the floor but when she came running he looked up and his
face broke into a smile.

“There’s my girl,” he said, as he straightened and looked at her
with open admiration.  “Sexy.”

Melanie paused at the foot of the stairs and gave him her most
seductive smile.  She knew she looked good.  She’d dressed in a scarlet teddy
that opened in the middle to show off her navel and the skimpy bikini panties underneath. 
She did a little pirouette for her admirer then walked right up to him, went on
tiptoe and gave him a kiss full on the lips.  Then she stepped back.  “I’ve
been waiting for you,” she said, her voice husky with want, “and I’m ready.”

“Then let’s do this,” he growled and bent down to press his shoulder
into her middle.  When he stood up it was with her over his shoulder in a
fireman lift and then he was climbing the stairs two at a time as he headed to
their bedroom, the one he’d converted from a bachelor’s den to an abode fit for
a royal couple.  And she knew he’d done it just for her.  

Sloane deposited her in the middle of the bed then headed to the
bathroom, sliding his jacket off his shoulders as he went.  “Just give me a
minute,” he said as he began to unbutton his shirt. 

Within seconds Melanie heard the shower and she settled back into
the pillows and smiled.  She remembered Sloane's surprised response when she’d
called to say she wanted him in bed.  Now. 

Apparently, someone had been in the office with him because he
cleared his throat and gave her a generic answer.  “Uh, yes.  I think we can make
that happen.  Let’s make it four-fifteen, shall we?” And then he’d hung up and
she’d spent the next minute laughing her head off.  She could just imagine the
thoughts racing through his head.  He was probably wondering why in the world
he’d married this crazy woman who had gone from nun-like state to wanton in a
matter of weeks.

She didn’t get much more time to gloat over her newfound self confidence
because within minutes Sloane was striding out of the bathroom, stark naked,
his manhood one hundred percent ready.

“You wicked woman,” he said as he climbed onto the bed beside her. 
“I had an operations meeting this afternoon.  I had to tell the team to cancel
as something very important had come up.”  Then he chuckled.  “I wasn’t lying.”

Melanie reached out to slide her hand over his shoulder and down his
arm, enjoying the feel of his smooth skin and taut muscles.  “I never did
anything like this before,” she said, her eyes sliding over his chest and down
to the soft hairs forming a V down below.  “It’s crazy but I couldn’t help
myself.  I was so…”

“Horny?” He put out a hand and started some exploration of his own,
sliding his palm up to cup the soft roundness of her breast.

“Yes,” she said in a whispered gasp, as his thumb grazed her nipple.

“When I see you,” he said not ceasing his torture, “I’m always
horny.”

And then he lowered his head and captured that tortured nipple in a
kiss so sweet that she arched her back, wanting so much more.

That afternoon Sloane delivered on his promise, making sweet love to
her till the sun began its slow descent behind the hills, painting the sky with
swathes of red and yellow and gold.

For Melanie it was the most wonderful way to end her day, lying
there in the arms of the man she was growing to love.  Yes, she had to admit,
with each passing day Sloane was becoming more and more a part of her life, her
being.  What she was feeling, she realized, had nothing to do with wanting his
baby.  What she was feeling was all for him.

As she lay there in the crook of his arm, his hand caressing her
body which was still warm from lovemaking, she sighed and looked up at him.  “I
still can’t believe this is me, skipping work for sex.  This is so unlike me.”

He laughed softly then touched his index finger to the tip of her
nose.  “That was the old you.  You’re a super sexy woman who loves to make
love.  Nothing wrong with that.”

“But I never used to like sex,” she protested.

“You never had the right man to show you what love is.”

She dipped her head and tucked it under his chin.  Her face pressed
against his chest, she spoke again, her voice slightly muffled.  “They both
told me I was the problem.  And then…they got frustrated and left.  I
thought…it was all my fault.”

Sloane made a sound deep in his throat, an unmistakable grunt of
disgust.  “The men in your life, they were nothing but jerks.  Sounds like they
didn’t even try.”  Then he wrapped his arms around her and lifted his hand to
stroke her hair.  “If you’re the problem, you’re definitely a problem I love to
have.  Did you know I get hard every time you’re around?”

She pushed away from his chest and looked up into his face.  “No
way.  You’re lying.”  It was a sweet lie, but she didn’t want that.  He didn’t
need to flatter her.  With her slender body and fairly small breasts she was
never going to win a prize for ‘sexy’.  The fact that he wanted her when they
were in bed was more than enough for her.

“I can prove it,” he said, his eyes never wavering as he looked at
her.  “Next time you want to test what I told you, wherever we are, whether at
home or away, just rest your hand right here and check what you feel.”  He took
her hand and placed it on his groin.  And he really was hard – or at least
semi-hard – even though they’d just made love.

Melanie gave him a playful glare.  “Sloane, I can’t do that.  Not
out in public.  It’s…indecent.”

He shrugged.  “Well, you asked…”

She laughed.  “Okay, I’ll take your word for it.  I believe you.”

He tapped her on the nose again.  “Never question that I want you.  You
should have no doubts about that.”

And she didn’t.

But she couldn’t help noticing that nowhere in his declaration had
he mentioned the word ‘love’.

***

“Aaw, he’s so cute.”  Melanie knelt down and stretched out her arms
to two year-old D’Jean but he made no move toward her.  Instead, he clutched
his mother’s skirt with a tiny fist and popped the thumb of the other hand into
his mouth, staring back at her with big blue eyes.

“Go on,” Jacqueline said, giving him a nudge.  “Go give Melanie a
hug.”  That only made him cling tighter.

When Melanie’s face fell in disappointment, Sloane gave her a
reassuring pat on the shoulder.  “He’ll come around soon.  Just give him time
to get used to you.”

“But what am I doing wrong?”  She turned confused eyes up to him.

“Absolutely nothing.  Just be patient.  He’ll be bouncing up and
down on your knee in no time.”

Melanie nodded but her tiny sigh and the slight droop of her mouth
told Sloane that the toddler's lack of interest really hurt.  He guessed she
was feeling sensitive, especially because she so badly wanted a child of her
own.

“Hey, Thierry looks ready to play.”  He pointed to the brown-haired
boy throwing a tennis ball up into the branches of a tree, intent on hitting
the bird’s nest there.

Melanie looked doubtful.  “Yeah, but he’s four.  Do you think he’s
into hugs and kisses?”

“Definitely not,” Jacqueline said with a laugh, “but he loves
playing catch and D’Jean’s too young.  Why don’t you try that?”

“Ookaay.” Melanie dragged the word, looking even more uncertain, but
she got up from where she was kneeling on the rug in the kitchen, crossed the
patio and went out onto the lawn where Thierry was peering up into the leaves. 
When he saw her his eyes lit up and he pointed to the object of his interest,
chattering excitedly, probably explaining what he’d been doing.  When Melanie
shook her head his face fell and the bright smile was replaced with a pout.  Then
he stalked off, climbed onto his tricycle and rode away, leaving Melanie
looking depressed.

“Well, that went well,” Jacqueline said as she stroked D’Jean’s
head.

Sloane laughed.  “She’ll recover, but I probably need to give her
some moral support right now.”  He was still chuckling as he walked out the
kitchen door and headed toward where Melanie stood staring up at the now
abandoned bird nest. “Rejected by two men in a row,” he said under his breath,
of course not loud enough for her to hear.  “That must hurt.”

Despite the rough start, as Sloane had predicted, D’Jean grew more
relaxed around Melanie with each passing minute and within the hour they were
playing ball out on the lawn.  Of course, the game had them doing nothing more
than sitting on the grass, facing each other, rolling a melon-sized ball back
and forth.  From time to time Thierry would ride over and regard them with
obvious disdain.  Still, Melanie had a wide smile on her face as she played
with the toddler and D’Jean, he was chortling with glee.

When Jacqueline called them in for dinner forty minutes later it was
a smiling Melanie who came in, holding a babbling boy in her arms.  And after
she’d cleaned him up and then strapped him into his high chair, he raised his
hands up to her, clearly preferring to be in her arms than over in a chair all
by himself.

“Aaw, he wants to sit on my lap,” she cooed, obviously pleased that
he wanted to be with her.  She looked over at Jacqueline.  “May I?”

“Now, now.  You have to be strong.”  Jacqueline shook her head but
she was smiling.  “Don’t be fooled by that innocent look.  If you have him in
your lap while you’re eating, before you know it all your food will end up on
the floor.  Trust me.  I speak from experience.”

Melanie seemed to accept that but she still looked wistfully back at
D’Jean, obviously enamored by his cherubic charm.

“What did I miss?”  They all looked up as Patrick came into the dining
room holding a tub of ice cream in one hand and a cake box in the other.

“Sorry I’m late.  The guys wouldn’t let me leave the soccer game.”

“They wouldn’t let you leave or you couldn’t tear yourself away?”  Jacqueline
gave him a teasing glare.  “Anyway, you made it just in time.  Leave those on
the counter and go clean up.”

After apologizing again to his visitors, Patrick went off to the
powder room then deposited his gangly frame in the chair at the head of the
table.  “Cool,” he said, grinning like a little kid.  “Fried chicken and corn
on the cob.  Looks so good I could eat it all.”

Jacqueline rolled her eyes but the glow in her cheeks made it
obvious that she was pleased with his praise.

After that they settled down to a delicious dinner, with the
children entertaining them with their chatter and Patrick giving them a
detailed account of his performance on the soccer field – a far more detailed
account than they would have wished, so much so that Sloane eventually cut him
off midstream.

“Yeah, so you want to hear about my day?” he asked as he dipped up a
spoon of pistachio ice cream.

“No, not really,” Patrick sneered.

“Okay, then.”  Sloane gave him a pointed look and Patrick’s sheepish
grin said he got the point.

“Oh, shut up and eat your ice cream,” he muttered under his breath,
a rebellious smile forming on his lips.

Thierry gasped and his eyes grew wide.  “Mommy, Daddy said a bad
word.”

“Daddy.”  Jacqueline’s brows fell.

Patrick shook his head.  “They don’t hear you when you tell them to
pick up their toys,” he grumbled, “but they always hear what they’re not
supposed to.”

Jacqueline gave him a stern look.  “Apologize.”

He sighed.  “I’m sorry, Thierry.  Daddy didn’t mean to use naughty
words, okay?”

“Okay, Daddy.”  Thierry, looking suitably appeased, picked up his
spoon and began eating again.

Melanie looked on, obviously amused by the antics of Patrick and his
family, and then her eyes took on a faraway look that told Sloane she was busy
daydreaming about her own future family, one that would have at least one
child, probably more.

He was just about to reach over and touch her hand, just to let her
know he was privy to her thoughts, when the doorbell rang.