Pair Us: A Jet City Billionaire Romance (The Billionaire Matchmaker Series Book 3)

by Gina Robinson

  I owed her a great deal and had an even larger affection for her. When my star was on the rise and I was still a gawky, geeky nerd who was on the fast track to making a billion before twenty-five, Riggins introduced her as someone who could put the polish on the new image I was struggling to create. Did I want to be the city's most eligible nerd, like Justin had been? Or did I want to be Seattle's hottest bachelor?

  The choice was clear to me. I had my own sense of style. I had money, at that point, to buy the quality I wanted. I didn't have the experience to put it all together in a way that looked like it came naturally to me. Milia did.

  She also understood the security issues surrounding wealth. While she fixed me up and honed my style, she tweaked my security team, taught me how to be aware of my surroundings and detect threats, and how to defend myself.

  She taught me about passion, too. She and I had a brief affair nearly seven years ago. Before she started the spy school, back when she was involved in a boring job she never talked about. The affair burned brightly, but quickly extinguished itself. Fortunately, not before I learned a great deal about pleasing women. Damn. Those had been good times.

  Since then we hooked up from time to time when I was between relationships. She was a balm on my soul when I was down. She was fun to be with. The sex with her was always great. She never took us seriously. She never wanted a commitment. It was the perfect situation for both of us.

  I considered her a good friend. Why not throw some business her way? Tap into her connections? Have her introduce Ashley to the people she'd need to make my friends over? To the movers and shakers in the city in her realm of influence? She could help Ashley. For some inexplicable reason beyond the financial advantage to our joint venture, making Ashley happy was important to me. And I had no doubt making her matchmaking business a success would make her extremely happy.

  Milia was always up for a challenge and an adventure, a product of being easily bored. When I suggested she come to the lodge, test out the app, and meet the guys, she jumped at the chance.

  I was still let down from Ashley's rejection in the woods earlier. Bringing Milia in as a surprise to help Ashley was already on the agenda. The timing was impeccable. I wanted to see Milia. Hear her laugh at my fears and insecurities, putting them in perspective. Yes, I hid them, but I was like everyone else. Something about the way she poked fun at me was healing.

  If Milia hadn't kept herself so aloof, I might have fallen in love with her years ago. When I was younger and impressionable. Less confident in general. As it stood, I was no longer in any real danger of losing my heart to her.

  It hadn't been my first intention to use her to make Ashley jealous. Not when I'd originally brought Milia in. Maybe it had been my second intention, after being frustrated by Ashley. Pleasant unintended consequence, or plan of attack, I was going to use her to my advantage.

  Women would always be mysterious. How the hell could Ashley be jealous when she so zealously kept herself from me? When she turned down sex and attempts to get close to her? When all my powers of seduction in the woods couldn't tempt her?

  Was Ashley jealous? Oh yeah. Jealousy, even undercover and well controlled, was easy enough to spot. Would I use that to my advantage? Hell yes. If my friends would ever take the hint and leave me alone with Milia.

  I had expected Ashley to grill Milia. Which she had, gently. Milia held her own. I had anticipated a certain amount of frost between them. I hadn't been disappointed. The catfight waging just below the surface had been amusing to watch. The chill directed at me beneath Ashley's pleasant demeanor, not so much. Yes, I felt it.

  I had also expected our evening gathering to break up early. The guys had been talking about doing some gaming in my Red Room of Game. I was eager to see Milia alone and get her impressions of my crew and Ashley.

  Around eleven, Lottie and Ashley excused themselves.

  "I'm still on New York time. I'm beat. I'm going to bed," Ashley said pleasantly. "About the time I get on Pacific time, it will be time to go home. That's usually the way it works." She smiled. "Goodnight, gentlemen. Big day tomorrow. Get to bed early and get some beauty sleep." She winked at them and blew them kisses one by one.

  "Lazer, walk me in. I have a couple of thoughts about the business to share before I forget them."

  Lottie rose dutifully. The three of us walked into the lodge together. I felt like a small boy about to have his hand slapped. I would have been up for another kind of playful spanking, but she clearly wasn't game.

  Inside the lodge, Lottie peeled off to her room with a quick goodnight.

  Ashley turned a dead serious business eye on me. "Don't do that again."

  "What?"

  "Bring someone in on the business without consulting me first. We're equal partners. I don't like surprises." Her voice was steely.

  It should have turned me off, but it only served to turn me on. I've never liked pushovers. I like my women feisty. I like them with fight. I like my business partners the same way.

  "You asked me to recommend the best barbers, shoppers, dentists, trainers, and stylists in the city." I nodded back toward the pool. "I went one better and brought the woman with all the important knowledge and connections to you. Milia is like the wedding planner of makeovers. She can help you pull together the looks you want with a crook of her little finger. Without her, we wouldn't have been able to get half the appointments we have for makeover day tomorrow. Not on such short notice."

  Ashley raised an eyebrow.

  "Not even with my money and connections," I said, reading her mind. "Milia made over the Duchess of Witham—"

  Ashley crossed her arms. "Don't play coy with me, Lazer. If you hadn't been trying to pull one over on me, you could very well have told me about her in the first place when we discussed the makeovers while I was still in New York. I don't appreciate power plays like you just made."

  She took a step into me, so close I got a whiff of her perfume and hair, and her breast brushed my arm. "If we're to be partners, it's equal or nothing," she whispered into my ear. "Next time I want all the information upfront. No surprises." She held my gaze.

  Why were we always playing Who will blink first? And why did I want to grab her and kiss her until she saw reason?

  I took her arm, resisting the urge to pull her into my arms. "No surprises. Duly noted." I grinned wickedly. "Be careful what you ask for. Surprises can be fun."

  She shook her head and grinned back at me. "I'll remember you said that. I'm glad you like surprises. It partially explains your attitude." She hitched her thumb back toward the patio and pool. "Get back out there and make sure the men are in good shape for tomorrow."

  "Anything you say." I dropped her arm.

  She turned in the direction of her room, pausing to look back at me over her shoulder. "Goodnight, Lazer. And make sure to get some sleep tonight yourself."

  Was that a warning? She wasn't going to tell me what to do.

  "Sweet dreams, matchmaker."

  When I returned to the pool, the guys were showing off for Milia. Despite numerous hints, I couldn't get them to leave.

  Finally, at nearly twelve thirty, just as I was contemplating telling them point-blank to give us some privacy, Milia yawned, covering her mouth an instant too late, and smiling privately at me with invitation dancing in her eyes.

  "You're wearing Milia out," I said to my friends. "We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow, guys. Milia, I'll show you to your room."

  She leaned in and whispered in my ear, "You mean you'll show me to yours. Rest is the last thing I want right now."

  My heart skipped a beat. But the fast-pounding beat of sex didn't pulse in my ear. This was a skipped beat of reluctance, hesitation, anxiety. Cheating. Where the hell had that come from? I pushed it aside.

  I hadn't made any deal not to sleep with women I hadn't been matched with by Ashley. There was no exclusivity between us. I wasn't sure what exactly we had other than a business partnership. An equal bus
iness partnership, as she'd just informed me. I was so frustrated I could practically still smell Ashley's perfume swirling around me as a reminder to behave myself. She'd gotten under my skin and onto my nerves.

  And those thoughts of sex I was only supposed to have on average less than once an hour? My average was shot to hell. Every other minute. Ashley, naked and moaning beneath me. Ashley in my spa tub riding me. Ashley—

  I forced her out of my mind, rose from the patio chair, and offered Milia my hand, glancing up at Ashley's bedroom window out of almost morbid curiosity. Or maybe it was out of desperation. A figure in a white bathrobe stood in the window. Ashley. The curtains fluttered closed. She'd been watching. My heart raced faster.

  I took Milia's hand, ignoring Ashley. Milia, who radiated with the desire for a good time.

  "Goodnight, guys. Help yourself to the red room." I paused. "Don't stay up all night or Ashley will give me hell. She told me to tell you to get your beauty rest.

  "You guys are ugly enough well rested. Looking like sleep-deprived zombies?" I shook my head. "She and Milia aren't magicians. Give them a fighting chance to pretty you up enough that some woman will take you."

  "Ashley said that?" Austin nudged Cam. "Called us ugly? That doesn't sound like her."

  "I may have put it in my own words. But I knew what she was thinking." I led Milia away to a chorus of laughter from the guys.

  My master suite was on the top floor of the lodge, only one of two bedrooms with a view of the pool. Ashley's was the other. Milia knew her way there. I'd told Ashley that entrance into my suite was invitation only. Completely true. I'd extended that invitation to Milia on more than one occasion and it had been happily accepted.

  I wasn't a technology geek in name only. I loved high-tech crap. My suite, in fact most of the house, could be controlled from my phone, or once inside, by voice command. Just like my apartment and my main residence on the lake. Before leaving the pool, I'd set the lighting to dim, the music to soft and romantic, and the LED candles to flicker. The gas fireplace crackled.

  My staff, anticipating my needs—incorrectly in this case, but how were they to know Ashley had gotten beneath my skin?—had turned down the bed, put a red rose on one pillow, set out a bottle of dessert wine on ice, and a box of dark chocolates and plate of cheeses and seasonal fresh fruit. They'd set a selection of bubble baths next to the spa tub, which featured prominently on a pedestal in the corner of the room not far from the bed, along with a set of fluffy, plush towels.

  A tray of the world's most expensive body oils, perfumed with exotic and sensual essences, for intimate massages, sat on the ledge of the oversized tub for two, along with scented candles and a lighter and gold candlesnuffer. A women's white robe in Milia's size was artistically laid over a chair. The scene was set. Any woman would have to be blind, deaf, and have no sense of smell to miss the signals.

  Milia was expecting sex, probably since I invited her to the lodge. What woman wouldn't? Especially given our history. She smiled seductively and slowly as I closed the door to the suite behind us. My heart skidded to a dead stop and kicked back in; I was as nervous as an adolescent who feared his parents were going to walk in on him and his girlfriend during their first attempt at sex.

  Milia seemed unaware. "You didn't tell me the matchmaker was so beautiful."

  "You didn't ask."

  "I should have known." She inhaled deeply and smiled as she looked around the room. "You wouldn't partner with an ugly woman."

  "Are you calling me superficial?" I took her arm and swung her around to catch her.

  "Is it superficial to like beautiful things?" Her tone was light, almost magical in the way it calmed me.

  "If you were so curious about her, you could have used your spy skills to find out what you wanted. You're very good at getting the dirt on people. All it would have taken was a quick Google search."

  "Maybe I should have said her pictures don't do her justice." Milia curled into me. "You do know how to entertain." She inhaled deeply and sighed.

  The windows were open, letting in the bracing night air, the scent of the woods, and the calls of the wild. Which I should have had every intention of adding to.

  Instead, I was more curious about Milia's opinion of Ashley. "What did you think of her?"

  Milia was an astute judge of people. Maybe it was crass to ask about another woman, but I couldn't help myself. Milia was used to talking about my women and had never been offended before.

  "Be careful around her, my darling man." She stroked my arm as she stared into my eyes. "Or you'll get burned."

  I laughed softly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

  "That you like her a little too much." She shook her hair sexily, emphasizing the way it fell over her shoulders, and ran her fingers lightly over my shoulder. "That gives her power over you. Power I haven't seen in a woman since Justin's wife Kayla. Fortunately, that only lasted five minutes before you came to your senses."

  I shook my head. "You're imagining things."

  She shrugged. "I know what I saw. You know I always speak my mind and give you the truth as I see it."

  Milia held my gaze. "She likes you, too. Maybe a little too much for her good, as well. Time will tell. But why are we talking about her? I'm the one who's here now, ready to have some fun."

  In one agile move, Milia let go of me, slid down the zipper of her dress, and stepped out it, revealing her perfectly proportioned figure clad in only a tiny thong and a pair of press-on tasseled red sequin nipple covers.

  I knew what to do. How to do it. Even how to do it expertly and in the way she liked. I should have been comfortable doing it. Excited to make my move. Ready. One tiny tug of those tassels and those breasts would be mine…

  I hesitated.

  "Lazer?" She raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. "Something wrong? Are you feeling all right?"

  "I'm fine." The words came out too harsh and determined. Laced too heavily with denial. I kicked off my shoes, crossed the room to the wine, and began pouring two glasses.

  Milia came up behind me, pressing her breasts and tassels into my back. She slid her hands beneath my shirt, up my chest, and teased my nipples with her light, erotic touch, biting my shoulder gently through my shirt.

  "I think we've had enough already." She tugged at my nipples. "I hope that's not a glass for courage," she whispered, taking my earlobe in her mouth and sucking.

  I froze. My breath caught. I was hard, ready for sex. Horny as hell. Why wasn't I acting on my urges?

  She stepped around in front of me and relieved me of the drinks I was holding, set them down, and wrapped her arms around me. "Too many clothes, Lazer. Way too many." Her voice was breathy.

  As she reached for the fly of my pants, I instinctively sucked my abs in and froze. What the hell was wrong with me? Why was I acting like a rank amateur? A novice? A virgin?

  Before I could correct my bumbling stupidity, the lights in the room went from subdued and sexy to full out glaring-shine-the-light-in-our-eyes-like-we-were-under-interrogation-and-about-to-be-water-boarded.

  Milia leaned back and shielded her eyes with her hand.

  "What the fuck?" Even the heat lamp above the tub was on full bore, like it wanted to roast us for dinner.

  I grabbed my phone from my pocket, glad my pants were still on, and fumbled in the glare to reset the lights, completely forgetting for the moment that I could have used voice control.

  Milia laughed like a good sport. "My, what bright lights you have, my delicious wolf."

  "Yeah, the best light bulbs money can buy." I blinked as I got the lights back to romantic dimness.

  "May I suggest you skimp on them in future? Or go for a lower wattage at the very least. For the sake of our vision in case of another malfunction." Her smile, what I could see of it through the spots in my eyes, was seductive as she helped me shed my shirt.

  "Good idea." I squinted at my phone. "This has never happened before."

  "Software bugs,
such pests! Forget about it. Should we take a bath before we get all dirty?"

  By which she clearly meant "get all dirty in the tub." She thrust her breasts at me and undulated, twirling her tassels provocatively.

  "Amanda, run us a bath. Put the jets on gentle. Tub temperature, warm," I said to my voice-controlled device that I'd named Amanda. Amanda controlled my home electronics. Of all the women I'd slept with, I'd never slept with an Amanda. Which made her a neutral name for an electronic assistant.

  As the water began to run, Milia took my hand, leading me toward the tub.

  I pulled her into my arms, determined to make my body act like normal, damn it. I stared into her eyes, lifted her breasts to my lips and kissed the creamy tops, peeled off one tassel, then the other—

  The soft music suddenly blared to full volume and morphed into earsplitting screamo rock. We both jumped and covered our ears.

  I yelled over the noise. "Amanda, turn down the volume of the music to three and put the romance playlist back on!"

  I turned back to Milia, embarrassed by having to name my playlist as much as anything. "Sorry. It appears Amanda is jealous tonight. I'll have one of the guys take a look at her tomorrow."

  Milia, always a good sport, shrugged and led me to the tub. She did a striptease, kicking off her heels, stepping out of those tiny panties, and sinking in. She dumped a stream of bubble bath into the gently steaming running water. "You'd better hurry in before I steal all the bubbles."

  "I'd better hurry in before you cover up with all the bubbles." I was sliding out of my shorts—

  Milia screamed and shot to her feet, slipping on the bubbles and catching herself just as the air conditioning came on full speed, blasting us with an arctic chill.

  "Amanda's trying to scald us!" Milia did a little hotfoot dance, looking so comical I almost laughed, which would have been totally inappropriate.

  I gave her my hand and pulled her out of the water.

  She was shaking and shivering at the same time, with bubbles sliding down her hips and ass as I wrapped her in a towel.

  "Damn it, Ashley! Stop the bath and turn off the A/C. Now." I was shaking with rage, ready to sue Amanda's manufacturer.