The Billionaire's Secret (21 page)

“Hello, Ms. Burke. I am so very sorry to
interrupt your evening. We seem to have a problem regarding your
accommodations.”

“My room? What is the problem?”

“We apologize, Ms. Burke, but there seems to
have been an error with the reservation. Your room has been
double-booked.”

“Double-booked?”

“Yes, Ms. Burke. I am very sorry but we will
need to move you to another room.”

“Oh, that’s okay. I just finished packing so
that’s no problem. What room number will I be moving to?”

“Oh, that is—what do they say in the United
States?—‘perfecting timing,’ I think?”

“Yes, perfect timing.”

“I will have someone come and retrieve your
bags for you. There is a car outside waiting to take you to your
new room.”

“A car? I don’t understand, isn’t my room in
this hotel?”

“No, Ms. Burke. We do not have any
vacancies. Someone will be up for your bags in a moment.” With a
small bow, he exited her room without further explanation.

Well, good thing my plane leaves
tomorrow,
she thought as she grabbed her personal items from
the bathroom and put them in her small carry-on bag. Before she
knew it a bellhop had come to take her bags and escorted her to the
car waiting outside. Only after the car pulled away did she wish
she had asked where she was going. All she could figure was it may
be a hotel affiliated with the one she’d been staying at.

As she drove through the busy streets of
Tokyo, her cell phone rang. This was the first call she’d received
while here and it was from a number she didn’t recognize. It seemed
to be a local call. “Hello?”

“May I speak to Ms. Burke?” a woman with a
thick Japanese accent asked.

“This is Ms. Burke.”

“Ms. Burke, I am calling from the
airlines.”

Great! Now what?
“Is there a
problem?”

“No, no problem. We are only calling to
notify you your flight for tomorrow has been canceled. We do not
have another flight available at this time. We will notify you once
we have a seat available.”

“What? I need to be on a plane tomorrow. I
only have one more night booked for a hotel. You can’t leave me
stranded here. I need to get home.” Lizette was sure the woman
could hear the panic in her voice.

“Ms. Burke, we understand, and all
arrangements will be made for your comfort while you are here. We
will get you back home as soon as a flight is available.”

There was no fight left in her. First her
room, and now her flight. Was the world against her for some
reason? She laughed, thinking this should be the time when someone
jumped out and told her she was on a hidden-camera show and this
had all been a joke. But there was no one in the car besides the
driver, and she was still on her way to whatever hotel she was
going to be staying at tonight. All she could do was hope they
would let her stay until she found a flight home.

Finally, the car pulled up in front of a
luxury hotel. This could not be right. Not unless they had a room
in the basement for her. The doorman greeted her by name. “Ms.
Burke, welcome. Your room is ready.” Then he called to the bellhop,
who retrieved her luggage from the car and rushed to the
elevator.

Lizette just nodded and followed the bellhop
to the elevator. They were moving her along so fast, yet no one was
taking the time to explain what was going on. At some point, she
realized, she’d stopped caring. All she wanted to do was get to her
room, take a shower, and go to bed. Maybe when she woke the next
morning, everything would be back to normal and she would be on her
way home.

She hadn’t noticed the bellhop had pressed
the button for the top floor until the elevator doors opened. It
was clear she was about to enter the penthouse. This was obviously
a mistake. The bellhop exited the elevator and stopped in front of
a grand golden door. He used the key and opened it. Lizette just
stood in the hall, not wanting to move. This wasn’t her room.
Whoever they thought she was, they were wrong. This room probably
cost more than her entire trip. There was no way she was going
in.

Before she knew it, the bellhop came out of
the penthouse, nodded to her, and then reentered the elevator, the
doors closing behind him. She stood in the hall alone. She was
staring at the elevator doors when she heard a familiar voice
behind her.

“Aren’t you going to come in?” Jon
asked.

She spun around, half thinking it was just
her imagination, to find that it really was Jon. He was here, in
Tokyo, with her. “Jon, it’s really you; you’re here.”

“Yes, Lizette, it’s really me.”

Tears of joy, frustration, exhaustion, and
love poured down her cheeks, and she gladly stepped into his open
arms. For the first time in two weeks she felt safe, at home, and,
most important, whole again.

Jon held her as she sobbed softly. He kissed
her head and stroked her hair. When she stopped crying she looked
at him and asked, “Jon, what are you doing here? How did you find
me?”

Well, here comes the hard part,
he
thought. One thing he’d learned from the past was he needed to be
honest and not hold anything back. “Well, let’s start with the
second question first. I stopped at Ma’s house last Saturday and
when she told me you’d taken a trip you’d been dreaming about since
you were a child, I knew exactly where you were.”

“But Tokyo is not a small place. You cannot
tell me you simply flew here and just happened to book a room in a
hotel I was going to be transferred to.”

“No, I had some help from your travel agent.
I think I may have scared her. You might need to find a new one.”
He laughed.

“I’m not sure I want to know what you said
or did. But I’m happy you’re here. Now for my first question. Why?
Why are you here, Jon?”

He reached out and wiped what remained of a
tear from her cheek. “That’s simple. I’m here because this is where
you are.”

Lizette’s eyes softened at his words, and
another tear came down her cheek as she leaned in to his hand.

“Does this mean you’re happy to see me?” he
asked, knowing very well her answer.

She turned to his arms once more and said,
“No words can describe how happy I am, but maybe I can show
you.”

Lizette leaned in and kissed him ever so
softly. His kiss was equally gentle. There was something different
about tonight. A joining of a different kind, at a different
level.

Jon picked her up and carried her to the
bedroom. There, he slowly unbuttoned her blouse and slid it off her
shoulders. Then he kissed her neck, her shoulder, and her neck one
more time before he reached behind her, unhooked her bra, and let
it drop to the floor. Bending over, he kissed her throat, then
trailed kisses from one breast to the other. His tongue teased her
until she trembled with desire. He then slipped his shirt off his
broad shoulders and removed his pants and boxers. He stood naked in
front of her. She removed her skirt and panties, then leaned and
kissed his shoulder, trailing kisses over his chest. In one swift
movement Jon scooped her back up in his arms and carried her to the
bed.

He lay down next to her. She could feel his
erect cock pressed against her. She wanted to—no, needed to—feel
him inside of her. Her body was on fire with anticipation. But
instead of satisfying her need, Jon lay on his side, propping
himself up on one elbow as his other hand slowly explored her body.
His hand was soon followed by his lips and tongue. She reached for
him, trying to pull him on top of her, but his response was to take
her hand in his and hold it above her head. She was being held
captive by the sweetest torture she could imagine. He nibbled and
licked down her chest to her navel, finally coming to rest on her
inner thighs. She opened to him but he continued to kiss and
nibble, one thigh and then the other. She wiggled to try to get him
closer to her, to take her in his mouth, but he refused. He was
making it clear he was in charge. Then, as he continued to kiss her
thighs, his fingers found their way to her wet folds. Only his
thumb touched her as it began to circle her clit. He brought her to
the brink of climax but refused to take her over the edge.

“Please.” The word escaped from her lips as
a whisper.

He ignored her plea and instead nipped her a
bit harder on her inside thigh. A shudder of pain and delight shook
her.

“Please, I need . . .”

“What? Tell me what you need.”

“I need you to kiss me.”

He kissed her but once again on her
thigh.

She groaned and said, “No, Jon, please, I
need you to lick me, suck me, please . . .” She moaned again.

This time Jon did not disappoint her. His
thumb was replaced by his tongue, tantalizing her to open wider for
him. She did. Each lick and suck brought her closer to climax. Jon
let go of her hands and now gripped her ass, pulling her closer to
him as his tongue darted in and out of her. He sucked her clit even
harder, until the waves of her climax rocked through her. The
tremors seemed endless. It was a pleasure she had not known before,
more intense than she’d thought was humanly possible.

Before the waves totally stopped, Jon knelt
between her legs. He lifted her legs so her knees now rested on his
shoulders. With his hands on her hips he entered her with one deep
thrust, then held her there, not moving. A low growl emerged from
somewhere at the back of her throat. He began to move, lifting her
to him again. The pleasure was almost unbearable as he held her
hips and drove deeper and deeper inside her, as though he couldn’t
hold himself back. The sound of his flesh smacking against hers
filled the room and drove her need for more. Jon answered her
request with faster, harder strokes. He gripped her thighs tightly
as he exploded within her, bringing her to yet another explosive
climax.

Afterward, Jon collapsed on top of her. His
weight on her while he was still inside her was glorious. They were
breathing heavily as he nestled himself close to her. Entwined like
this, they gently caressed each other until they eventually drifted
off to sleep.

Jon had been sitting on the balcony, letting
Lizette sleep in, when his phone rang. “Hello, Drew. What’s
up?”

“I’m just checking to see how everything’s
going.”

“Excellent,” he answered dryly.

“Did you find Lizette?”

“Yes, I did.”

“I was worried you might screw it up.”

The frustration was evident in his voice as
Jon asked, “What exactly does that mean?”

“Well, in all the years I’ve known you, you
haven’t gotten involved in relationships. You’ve focused on only
one thing. Work.”

“That doesn’t mean I’m not capable of having
one. It just wasn’t a priority.”

“Oh, don’t worry, Jon, we noticed that. But
Lizette, she has changed you. You’re no longer such a . . . well,
such an ass.”

“Does this call have a purpose?”

“Of course. I’m just wondering if I’m going
to be the best man or what?” he joked.

Best man. Wow, funny how last night had been
so amazing and yet he had never actually asked Lizette to marry
him. It was obvious how he felt about her.

“You did ask her, right?” Drew asked after
he received no response from Jon.

“Not yet. But I’m sure she knows how I feel
about her.”

“Did you tell her?”

“It was obvious,” he said firmly.

“Jon, how can a man have the IQ you do and
grow a billion-dollar business as you have, and yet not have a clue
as to what a woman needs?”

“Trust me, I know what a woman needs. I
don’t need any lessons from you.”

“Okay, so you told her you love her?”

Did I actually say the words? No.
He
had shown her, but actually saying it—well, no.

“I take your silence to mean no. So if I
were a betting man—”

“If? Come on, Drew, we all know you’re a
betting man. You’ve probably bet on what her answer would be if I
asked her.”

“Well, I would bet you haven’t even gotten
her a ring yet.”

Damn, Drew was getting on his nerves. It
wasn’t that he wasn’t right; it was that he’d thought Lizette would
know how he felt without him having to say it. “Drew, it’s been a
nice chat, but I’ve got better things to do today than talk to you.
We’ll catch up when I’m back in the States. Oh, and one more
thing—I’ll bet the next time we speak, Lizette and I will be
officially engaged.”

“Jon, you know me, I never take a bet I
can’t win. Good luck. See you stateside.”

Jon hung up the phone and headed out the
door. There were things he needed to do today, plans he needed to
make. He hated to admit it, but Drew was right. He needed to tell
Lizette how he felt and make their engagement official.

Jon called Matt on the way to the car that
was waiting outside the hotel for him. “I need you to book the
observation deck of the Mori Tower at Roppongi Hills for a private
engagement tonight.”

“How many in your party? Two?”

“Yes, Matt, two. I need you to ensure this
is kept confidential. No one can know about tonight. I don’t care
how you pull this off but I want the entire floor set up for
Lizette and me. Very private, very romantic. Got it?”

“Yes, sir. I will have everything set up as
you wish.”

Jon didn’t doubt that. Matt could pull off
things that amazed him. Why Matt was so loyal to him he wasn’t
sure, but he did know he couldn’t have made Vinchi Medical
Engineering as successful without him.

Everything was going to be perfect. They
would be able to see all of Tokyo from the observation deck. There
was one last thing he had to take care of, and he had to do this
himself. As he reached the car, he saw his driver standing, holding
the door. Jon instructed him to take him to the best jeweler in the
city.