The Billionaire Bargain (Millionaire's Club) (7 page)

“Disgusting little things,” he said. “Like sticky rubber bands.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she said, still not convinced she’d escaped the whole experience alive. Damn him for giving her one more thing to be worried about. Wasn’t fear of malaria bad enough?

“They won’t take more than you have to give.”

She’d turned into a sweaty heap of wet clothes. Damp, she was in desperate need of a nice cool shower and a dry outfit. Rae turned and stalked toward the villa. Her muscles already ached, a perfect match to her churned up insides. She didn’t have to stand there and take being harassed.

“Make sure you dry your feet. And quickly. Can’t have you going around with foot rot,” he shouted.

Rae spun around to face him. Her shoulders shook with anger. An icy chill wrapped around her heart at the realization he and her father were the only two men alive who could hurt her. “That’s not fair. I followed you into the jungle and now you’re torturing me.”

“No. You stood at the edge afraid to go in.” His glare could’ve crumbled stone. “I’m shocked you didn’t dive right in with Steve there. Should I invite him to dinner?”

“Why not?” she hurled back. Was that what this was all about? Steve?

“Fine. I will.” Daegen looked at Rae with so much disgust it nearly knocked her a step backward.

His jealousy had turned to anger.

As it was she practically gasped for air, feeling the wind sucked out of her. The look of disappointment in his eyes should have caved her. And it nearly did. She struggled to stay upright against his glare even as she so desperately wanted to fall to her knees. Every part of her body wanted to run away. She told herself she had to stay put in order to save her father. He was on his way and there wasn’t much she could do to change his course. Besides, he was the real reason she’d come in the first place. If helping him meant stress for her, so be it.

She told herself everything was fine. Did her damnedest to believe the lie. But it was not fine. And probably would never be fine again. Daegen’s words crumbled her, leaving her as tiny dust particles to be swept away with a gust of wind.

Determination straightened her shoulders and caused her to bite back her frustration.

All the better that she should clean up and check online to see if her request for a credit limit increase came through. When the time came, she wanted to be ready to get the hell out of there so she could put her life back together.

After inspecting her body carefully, not seeing more than a few mosquito bites here and there, she stepped into the shower and blasted cold water on her face.

For a few moments, she realized she hadn’t stressed about her father’s situation. A pang of guilt hit her.

The reason she could relax a little about her father was Daegen. She hadn’t exactly been fair to him earlier and still couldn’t figure out why she’d picked a fight. Was it because her defenses were lowering? Only Daegen had the power to get past her carefully constructed walls. They’d started to tumble down around her and she’d panicked. Damn. She’d been too harsh.

She needed to apologize.

After drying and dressing, Rae stepped across the hall to his room, and knocked on his door.

He appeared out of his adjacent bathroom and her heart faltered. His cell was to his ear. His expression intense.

Breathless, she considered him. He moved like an athlete, smooth and precise. He was handsome and male and naked. Each muscle in his long legs tensed and relaxed in perfect symphony as he walked across the room.

Her pulse climbed, thumping wildly in her throat. Awareness skittered across her taut nerves.

“What evidence does he think he has?” Daegen said into the phone. He paused for a beat. “I won’t dignify this by taking a blood test. I can assure you there are no Tan children running around I don’t know about.”

Tan children? What the hell was that all about?

She should do something to alert him to her presence...cough...sneeze...hell, say something for God’s sake instead of standing there like some...inappropriate...stalker.

The best Rae could do was open her mouth a little more and hope a few syllables fell out. Her breath caught. Words refused to form.

Looking at him, appreciating his perfect maleness, she struggled to control her hormones.

Daegen glanced up at her with those beautiful dark eyes that glittered with coppery overtures. He closed the call.

The electrified air between them crackled with energy and impulse. Her body still rocked with aftershocks from the memory of his lightest touch. She sensed his did too.

“I didn’t see you there,” was all he said. He made no real effort to cover up. He kept moving as though he was used to her standing in his bedroom while he was butt naked.

Touché. She might have seen him undressed before but she never got used to the sight of his lean, masculine figure. Or the surge of power she felt when her lips covered his erection and his body trembled.

This was not the time for an inappropriate trip down memory lane.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize—”

“We both know you’ve seen me naked before. And if I have any say, it won’t be the last time either.” The anger in his eyes gave way to hunger. If anything, it shone brighter, stronger, more intense and primal than before.

He pulled on his boxers, and then closed the distance between them.

This close, his body glistened. He stood dangerously near. She wanted to touch him. To ease the hollow sting in her chest that came with his absence. Her body tensed, craving contact.

Every protest as to why this shouldn’t happen melted away like ice cream left in the sun...because she could think of nothing else. Had thought of nothing else but the caramel taste of his lips for as long as they’d been apart.

His hand came up to her face.

Breathless, she allowed him to touch her. Mistake be damned, she invited his long lean fingers to explore her lips, moving down to the soft lines of her throat, and then to caress the tender nape of her neck.

And then slide down.

Down to trace the V created by her blouse where he paused. Lingered. Toyed with the top button as Rae struggled to do something as basic as breathe. His gaze held onto hers. She stood there incapable of doing anything else as swirls and sensations pulsed through her.

God, she wanted this...wanted
him
. Except she knew full well the colossal mistake she’d be making if she let it go forward. Daegen Tan had been honest three years ago. He didn’t do forever.

What if he changed his mind?
a little voice said in the back of her mind.

Everyone leaves eventually. Whether they want to or not.

Besides, how could any man love her when her own father didn’t?

No matter the logical argument going on in her mind to counter all the terrible points that had invaded her thoughts since childhood, Rae couldn’t shake the feeling of failure. The internal script kept running.
I’ve failed on my dreams. I’m failing my father. I’m failing my job.

She pulled back. “This is not a good idea.”

His brown eyes were smoky. Dark. Hungry. “Are you saying you don’t want me?”

She bucked up when she really wanted to melt in his arms. If she let him know how badly her body ached for him, she would open herself up to unimaginable pain.

“No. I don’t,” she said stiffly. And in the place where logic ruled, meant it. Her emotions stalked off in a different direction. They sent her body into shock from being away from him. No control there.

Trembling, Rae stumbled out onto the terrace needing to find a way to quiet her inner critic and reclaim her realistic thoughts—thoughts that reasonably told her she was on top of her game professionally, and had it not been for a curve in the road she’d have executed a near-perfect safety net for herself. She’d been so close to being able to really live she could almost taste it. Anyone could be led off course. The important thing was to find the track again.

Outside, alone, with nothing but the vast ocean in front of her, she couldn’t help but feel inconsequential.

Daegen’s words wound through her thoughts. Was he right? Had she closed herself off from new experiences? Hid behind her job? Had she ever really lived?

Rae knew without a doubt she would always associate the sound of waves crashing against the surf with pure ecstatic insanity. Not that she’d be experiencing many more white sand idyllic beaches in her future, which might not be a bad thing. She needed to get home, root herself in reality, and regroup.

So why did emotion lump in her throat at the idea of going back?

That, like so much in her life, had lost its appeal. Perhaps it was time for her to break out. Taste the unexpected. Fly without a plan.

Standing on an emotional ledge of her own, examining her life, she didn’t like the view. And yet she had to think she could salvage her future.

Frustrated, she made her way back inside the villa to figure out a means to break the news to her boss she wasn’t coming back in time for the meeting. Her career would be in the tank. She was broke.

Surely, it wasn’t over.
This hell can’t be my life.

Not when she’d been so careful.

By the time she made it to her room, she’d lost the nerve to call Walt. This way, she could pretend to have gainful employment a few more hours. Besides, she’d faced enough demons for one day. Her arms were heavy. Her bones weary. She’d lost ten pounds in the last month. Bottom line. She’d done a crappy job of caring for herself during this ordeal.

That needed to change.

The bed held little appeal when she got there. She wanted to cry for how hopeless she felt. She wasn’t hydrated enough to form spit.

Water would help. She moved to the kitchen.

Placing her empty water glass down on the counter next to the sink, she couldn’t help but notice a stack of tabloids. She thumbed through them. Beautiful women and Daegen. What he ever saw in her when supermodels literally clamored for his attention was beyond understanding.

A headline stopped her. Her heart plummeted to the floor.

Daegen Tan...a father? She overheard him tell his assistant there were no Tan kids.

Nah. Couldn’t be. His position on marriage had been clear. They’d never even broached the subject of kids. He’d always insisted on using protection when they were together even when she’d reassured him she was on the pill. Was he only that careful with her?

Panic knotted her stomach as she stood there, frozen, gripping that rag until her knuckles went bare white. His eleven-year-old son had been abandoned. Left in an orphanage. Tension pulled taut across her shoulder blades.

Daegen. Could. Not. Leave. His. Son.

She scanned the article with a heavy weight on her chest. It didn’t seem right to dig into the details. This was almost as bad as rummaging through his dresser to search out his secrets. She’d never been able to get him to open up to her or talk about his past. Clearly, the rest of the world knew him as well as she did.

When Daegen strode through the door wearing the expression of a wild animal, Rae gasped. Heat spread through her with a wave of nausea. She felt lightheaded and colors turned gray.

Then everything went black.

****

Daegen closed the gap between them in time to spare Rae’s head from slamming against the floor. A nasty cut on her forehead came from hitting the counter on her way down.

He scooped her up and took her to his bed where she belonged.

Dammit.

He scanned her body for other injuries as he tried to wake her. He pulled off his shirt and rolled it into a ball, carefully placing pressure on the cut to stop the bleeding. With his free hand, he checked her pulse. It was strong.

His muscles strung tight. He took a deep breath. It was then he realized he’d been holding his breath.

Her gaunt eyes told him she wasn’t taking care of herself. It was just like Rae to throw herself into caring for someone else so deeply she neglected herself. When she had a goal, the devil himself couldn’t rise up and stop her.

Guilt nailed him for giving her a hard time earlier. He’d grown angry when he saw her with Steve. He’d interpreted her actions as flirting and saw red. His brain centered on one word.
Mine.

What if she was sick?
a little voice asked.

Daegen’s heart squeezed. He suppressed the question trying to rise about her inheriting her father’s illness.

More than likely, she’d been neglecting her body, and it caught up to her. Even so, he phoned his personal physician. Daegen wouldn’t truly relax until she’d been completely checked over.

He applied pressure to her forehead long enough to stop the bleeding and made sure the cut didn’t need stitches.

The doctor arrived ten minutes later and reassured Daegen she was fine after a preliminary check.

“Shouldn’t she be awake by now?” Daegen asked, his fingers clenched.

“Her vitals are strong.” The doctor held up a vile of blood. “I’ll let you know what I find here.”

Fear chipped at Daegen’s resolve. “You don’t think there’s anything really wrong with her, do you? There’s a family history of a rare blood disease.”

The doctor gave a reassuring smile. “Probably a combination of jet lag and hunger. At the worst, she might be dehydrated or anemic. But we’ll rule out those scarier possibilities to be safe. When she wakes, make sure she forces fluids. I’ll have the results of her blood work within the hour.”

“She’s unconscious?”

“Asleep. The bump isn’t big enough to do any real damage.”

“She slept through my putting pressure hard enough to stop her forehead from bleeding.”

“Is she a deep sleeper?”

“Yes.” Daegen rose to his feet and shook the doctor’s outstretched hand. “I appreciate you for coming so fast.”

“She’ll be fine,” he reassured.

Except his words had the opposite effect on Daegen. The question he’d been battling surfaced. What if she’d inherited the blood disease from her father? The thought of Rae becoming sick clenched his gut. The disease didn’t have to be deadly if she took care of herself. Or allowed someone else to for a change.