Tempting the Billionaire: Falling for my brother's best friend (The Hartford Brothers Book 1)

by JA Low

  “Looks like they’re celebrating something. I don’t want to interrupt them.” My excuse sounds pathetic to my own ears.

  “Miles?” Nell looks up and calls my brother’s name out from across the room. Great.

  “Would be rude not to say hi now, don’t you think?” Miles grins at me as he heads on over to the girl’s table. “Ladies, it’s so nice to see you all again.”

  “It’s been too long.” Nell practically purrs at my brother. Thank goodness Remi isn’t here to see this.

  “Stirling?” Audrey gasps my name; those bright blue eyes widen. She’s surprised to see me and I’m not quite sure yet if she is happy about it or not.

  “You ladies look like you’re celebrating something?” Miles flashes his megawatt smile at them, and Nell practically hyperventilates.

  “Nell’s been given an opportunity to move to Paris for the summer so we’re celebrating,” Rainn informs us.

  “Wow, congratulations, Nell. That sounds fantastic,” Miles tells her.

  “Why don’t you join us?” Nell asks us but really, she means my brother.

  “That sounds great. I think we need to order another bottle of champagne to celebrate your success don’t you think?” Miles asks Nell, who absentmindedly nods her head at him. Miles calls over the waiter and orders another couple bottles of champagne and some starters for the table. He slides in beside Nell who is almost beside herself over it. The only other spot on the crescent shaped booth is beside Audrey. She looks up at me then down at the space beside her and shuffles over a little.

  “Thanks,” I tell her as I take a seat. “How’ve you been?” making polite conversation.

  “Good, good. Been helping Mom with the foundation ball and you know how she gets every year over that thing. We are at battle stations time.” She giggles and I can tell she’s already a little tipsy by the tiniest of slurs with her words and how bright pink her cheeks are.

  “Are we okay?” I ask her. The other three are involved in a heated conversation and aren’t paying any attention to our conversation. “I haven’t heard from you, that’s all.” Audrey tilts her head, as her eyes narrow on me.

  “I could ask the same question to you. Why didn’t you message me?” Oh, she’s got me there, doesn’t she?

  “I left it in your court because I didn’t want to push anything,” I tell her truthfully. Audrey takes a sip of her champagne and looks out across the table for a couple of moments, before turning back to me. I feel her hand land on my thigh, which makes my fingers grip the champagne glass tightly. Then her hand moves to my crotch and cups me. Shit. My eyes widen as I check around the table to see if anyone has noticed, they haven’t thank goodness.

  “You owe me a new dress.” She raises a brow in my direction, as she takes a sip of her drink.

  “That I do.” Trying to clear my dry throat as her hand runs over my crotch again making my dick come alive. Is this woman trying to kill me?

  “Great timing that we so happen to be in a dress store don’t you think?” She grins as her hand grips my hardening length making me jump.

  “I think they might notice us disappear, don’t you?”

  “Leave it to me.” Her hand falls away from my dick and she joins in on the group’s conversation leaving my dick feeling very confused.

  We’ve finished the third bottle of champagne and have devoured platters of food.

  “I’m going to have to get going guys. I have to get ready for a date,” Rainn tells the table. The girls say goodbye to their friend, as I move out of her way so she can exit the booth. She waves goodbye and disappears out of the restaurant. Miles and Nell keep talking, and if I’m honest, look a little too cozy. Audrey seems to notice too from the frown on her face as she studies them. Audrey’s phone pings as if she’s got a message, she opens it up and scans the screen before putting it back in her bag.

  “Urgh. Stanford is such a jerk. He found out I’m here. Thanks, social media and wants me to meet him downstairs to help pick out a tuxedo suit for the foundation’s ball,” Audrey tells the table. Nell’s eyes widen in surprise and Miles nods as if he understands what’s going on. “Stirling, do you mind coming with me. I don’t want to be caught in the middle of Sandy and Rhys’s fights. You’ll make a good buffer.” She turns and gives me her best pleading pout.

  “Of course. I can handle Sandy.” Placing my champagne glass down on the table.

  “Thank you so much. I owe you,” Audrey tells me seriously. “Guys, stay please. There’s still some champagne left in the bottle.” Audrey turns to Nell and Miles.

  “I’ll grab the bill. You guys go deal with Sandy. I’m sure Nell and I can finish what’s left,” Miles explains. Nell nods quickly in agreement. Audrey gives Nell a wave goodbye as I escort her out of the restaurant.

  “Hah. Told you I could get us out of there and no one would know the difference.” Audrey looks at me smugly.

  “We aren’t catching up with Stanford?” Feeling rather confused.

  “Nope. You have me all to yourself.” She grins, linking her arm with mine as we step into the elevators.

  “Wow. You had me going. That was an Oscar worthy performance.” She gives me a little curtsey as she giggles. We step off the elevator onto a private floor and there is a receptionist there greeting us.

  “Miss Davenport, it’s so lovely to see you again. Your suite is ready with a selection of dresses for you,” she tells Audrey while escorting us down a corridor toward a door, she turns the handle and we step into a private suite, this one is a little more opulent than the one I was in with my brother.

  “Thanks Lisa. I’ll let you know if I need any help. Thanks.” Lisa nods and closes the door behind her. Audrey walks over and turns the lock. The click echoes through the room changing the atmosphere instantly. “Take a seat. This won’t take long.” Audrey saunters over to the racks of clothes and pulls a red dress off it and walks behind a gold panel. I do as I’m told and take a seat on the mustard-colored chair and wait for whatever Audrey is about to show me.

  Moments later she emerges from the behind the panel and I’m floored. She’s wearing a gorgeous red satin evening dress that dips low, showing off her incredible cleavage, then as she begins to walk toward me there are two long slits that hit her hip exposing her long legs to me. My dick is appreciating the shit out of this dress and all I can think about is how quickly I can get her out of it. She does a twirl for me before stopping right in front of me.

  “What do you think?” she asks, placing her hands on her hips.

  “Least it doesn’t have buttons,” I tell her, which makes her smile.

  “This is true.” As she strides over to me, until she is in touching distance. “I can’t wear any underwear with this dress.” She bites her lip. Oh really?

  “Show me?”

  Audrey lifts one of her legs up and places it on the arm of the chair, the dress falls open exposing herself to me. My fist comes to my mouth as my teeth sinks into the skin. Damn, she looks gorgeous exposed for me.

  “I have the room for the next two hours.” She grins. “But I’ve already found the dress I want.” Running her hands down over the satin material, teasing me. “Think we can find something to fill the rest of the time?”

  Challenge accepted.

  “Come here,” I say, crooking my finger at her. She comes willingly, as she straddles me in the chair and our lips meet each other again, as my fingers tangle in her blonde hair. Her greedy little hands are on my belt buckle and as much as I want to take my time with her, the champagne has gone to my head and I’m as frantic to get inside of her as she is for me to be. My hands pull the top of her dress down as I take her nipple into my mouth. My tongue teases and taunts her, and I know it drives her wild when I do. Deft fingers have unzipped me and pulled me from my jeans, my dick is hard and ready.

  “Please tell me you have protection.” I still at her question. I’m not sure if I replaced the condom in my wallet. My mouth moves from her breast, and I f
rantically pull my wallet from my back pocket. I flip it open and my stomach sinks – nothing. Shit. I look up and see Audrey’s face fall. No. Damn it.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t think this is where I would be today.” Audrey nervously bites her nail.

  “I’m clean.” Her words are small and quiet. “I had a test after I found about David. It came back clean and I’m on birth control.” My heart is thundering in my chest at what she is telling me. I’ve never not used protection with a woman before because a mouth is as good alternative than a baby.

  “I’ve been tested too. I’ve never not used protection,” I explained to her.

  “I trust you, Stirling.” Those doe eyes look down at me. “But I understand. I would never take this risk with anyone else.” My head and dick are fighting against each other, but in the end, I know who’s ultimately going to win. I let my wallet fall to the floor, as my hand grips my dick and positions it against the entrance.

  “I’m all in, Audrey.” And with one hard thrust I enter her bare. I feel like I’ve died and gone to heaven. I can feel how wet she is against my skin. Her heat radiates against me. Every muscle tenses as she sinks further down on me until we are one. I look up into Audrey’s eyes; her mouth has fallen into a silent O at the connection. I’ve never in my life felt more connected to woman than I do in this moment.

  This moment is going to be my downfall.

  23

  Audrey

  I’m not a risk taker like this not over something so serious but why am I doing this with him? Why do I trust Stirling with my life like I do? Because you know deep down, he’s a good man and would never do anything to hurt you.

  Stirling sinks deeper inside of me the sensations are making everything feel so much more. Every nerve ending is firing, and I don’t know if it will take much for me to explode. He looks up at me and I’m done for. Stirling Hartford has me mind, body, and soul in this moment. I’ve never felt more connected to a human than I do with him right now. He begins to move inside of me, his fingers digging into my hips, guiding me with each thrust, his face buries itself into my breasts as I begin to ride him. I throw my head back as his teeth nip me, sending shockwaves over my body. One of his hands moves between us and his thumb rubs along my clit as he angles himself deeper and he pushes into me, and I explode seeing stars. We are both breathless as he chases his own release until he too joins me over the edge.

  Oh no. My eyes widen as I realize how wet it feels between my thighs.

  “Um.” That post coital glow quickly fading away as the wetness begins to seep through. Ew. Who knew condoms saved you from this awkwardness? “I think we need some tissues,” I say, looking around the room nervously.

  “I don’t see any.” Stirling’s voice raises.

  Don’t panic Aud, you’ve got this as I look down at the edges of my dress. The slits are long enough that I could use the edge as a tissue. Good idea.

  “Don’t move,” I tell Stirling as I try and angle myself so that the fabric catches anything. One…two…three I swap Stirling’s dick for the edge of a six-thousand-dollar dress. I gingerly get jump off him and awkwardly run to the changing area and wipe myself. I quickly get dressed again and walk back out holding the offending garment.

  “Guess we bought the dress?” Stirling states and we both burst out laughing at the silliness of the situation. He then stalks over to me and grabs my face between his hands and kisses me. “I think I owe you dinner after that.” He gives me a wink. Then he takes my hand and walks us out of the dressing room. He pulls the tag off the red dress and gives it to Lisa. “Add this to my tab and I’ll take everything else in the room for Miss Davenport,” Stirling tells Lisa.

  “Of course, Mr. Hartford. We will have the clothes delivered tonight to Miss Davenport’s address,” Lisa tells him, her eyes falling to the red dress, and I swear she can smell the sex radiating off us.

  “We’re taking this dress to go.” Stirling gives her a wink before turning on his heel and escorting me out of the area. As soon as the elevator doors close, we both burst out laughing again.

  “Thank you. But you didn’t have to buy me all those clothes.” I stare at him in the mirrors of the elevator. Stirling shrugs his shoulders as he places his hands in his jean’s pockets.

  “I’m starved. Want to grab an early dinner somewhere?” He rocks on his heels, and I can see he’s trying to be relaxed over the whole situation when he’s probably a ball of anxiety like me over it all. I should say no but I don’t think I want to.

  “Yeah. I’d like that.” Stirling’s face lights up over my answer. We step out onto the sidewalk and instantly spot Tiffany & Co and like a magpie I’m distracted by all the shiny objects. I grab Stirling’s hand and pull him across Fifth Avenue.

  “Where are we going?” Stirling grumbles as we make our way through the waves of tourists and weekend shoppers. We stop in front of the iconic building and watch a couple of tourists have their Audrey Hepburn moment, my name’s sake which makes me smile. “What are we doing here?” Stirling looks over the expensive jewels.

  “I thought that now you’ve come inside of me that we should look at engagement rings.” I watch the blood drain from Stirling’s face at my comment. I think I can hear his heart beating uncontrollably out of his chest. He doesn’t dare look at me otherwise it will give his real thoughts and emotions away. “I’m only kidding.” Tapping my hand against his arm as I burst out laughing.

  “Oh my God, Aud. I was having a heart attack.” Stirling runs his hand through his hair uneasily.

  “I should have known better than to scare an old person.” I chuckle at the look he throws my way. He shakes his head at me. “Come on old man, it’s close to your dinner time.” Hooking my arm through his as we head down Fifth Avenue toward a high-end steakhouse.

  “I don’t think we’ve ever eaten alone together.” Taking my seat at the restaurant. Stirling looks like he’s trying to go back into his memory and think of a time that we might have had dinner without Rhys, but he can’t.

  “Guess your brother has been a buffer between us,” Stirling muses while he looks over the menu.

  “It’s nice getting to know you outside of you being with Rhys all the time.” Putting down my menu to look at him, my action grabs his attention, and he does the same.

  “Me too. I like hanging out with you.” His green eyes smolder with desire.

  “Well, yes. That’s been fun.” I roll my eyes at him.

  “Are you okay with what’s happened between us?” Stirling starts asking the more serious question. I’m about to answer when the waiter comes back and asks us what we would like for dinner.

  “We’ll both take the eight ounce fillet mignon, medium rare, with truffle fries, steamed asparagus and the lobster mac and cheese.” The waiter writes down our orders. “Oh and add the black truffle butter as the sauce and bacon wrapped shrimp too, please.” He pushes the menu to the side. “And two glasses of red.” The waiter turns on his heel and disappears. “What?” I stare at him in astonishment.

  “I can order my own meal,” I tell him. Stirling sits up straighter after my comment.

  “I’m sorry, I was trying to hurry him up so we could finish our conversation. Did you want to change anything?” No, dammit he ordered everything I would have wanted to order myself and then some that I probably wouldn’t have allowed myself to have.

  “It’s fine. It all sounds amazing.” Waving my hand in his direction. There’s a little bit of an awkward silence that falls between us.

  “Look, Aud, I like what’s happening between us at the moment.” Stirling starts the difficult conversation, “I don’t want to lead you on.” That’s fair and honest.

  “Honestly, I’m not looking for anything more than a flirty friendship.” If we’re going to be honest about the situation. “I need to start growing up.” Stirling’s eyebrows raise high in surprise. “I can’t keep relying on my parents for everything. I’m a twenty-four-year-old girl. I should have my sh
it together.” The waiter arrives with our glasses of red and places them down on the table for us. I take a sip to calm my nerves.

  “What do you want to do with your life?” Stirling asks the million-dollar question. I turn the stem of my wine glass around and around hoping that magically the answer will appear.

  “I want to do more with Mom’s foundation, I think. Learn the ropes more than I have been.” Letting out a heavy sigh.

  “That’s brilliant. Marjorie would love for you to work with her full time on that. You know she wants you to take it over from her.” I forget how much he knows about my family. All their secrets. Their flaws. Their charms.

  “I guess I’ve been hiding behind my parents’ divorce for too long. I need to get my head out of the clouds and start living.” I can’t believe I’m telling him all this.

  “I think you’re being awfully hard on yourself, Aud. I understand why you stayed. Your mom was devastated when she found out about your father’s love child with his assistant. The entire family he hid from her all those years.” He’s right my father messed up and in doing so he ripped apart our family. We had to pick sides. Rhys and Stanford were constantly at each other’s throats, no loved lost there. My mom would stay in her bed and hide away from her friends because the society ladies loved nothing more than to gossip about one of the Grand Dames perfect life falling apart. In my parent’s circle affairs are tolerated as long as they do not ruin the reputation of the family, unfortunately my father’s blew up in his face.

  “You still keen to help me look for a new place?” Changing the subject.

  “Yes of course. I’m assuming you’re wanting to look around here.” He gives me a grin.

  “I can’t get rid of the Park Avenue princess in me,” I say, tapping my hand across my heart which makes him smile. Not long after, dinner arrives, and we fall into an easy yet familiar conversation.

  “Thanks for today. It turned out a little different than I thought it would.” Smiling up at him as we stand curbside outside the steakhouse. The sun has set a while go and the bright lights of Manhattan have turned on.