by Tee, Marian
She choked out a teary laugh, not feeling offended at all, considering the genuine note of panic in the billionaire's voice.
"What the fuck did I say or do?"
The worst thing possible, she thought hysterically, which is to make me fall in love with you.
"Stop looking at me like that," Logan said between clenched teeth, "and just say it. In case you haven't noticed, I can't read your fucking mind—-"
But you can.
"For fuck's sake, Tilly, just say it!"
I can't.
"You can tell me anything—-"
Anything but this.
"Goddammit, Tilly."
And because the glint in his eyes told her he wouldn't be letting this go until he had the truth out of her—-
Logan bit back an expletive when she suddenly started taking her clothes off. "You have got to be fucking kidding."
Tilly's blouse dropped to the floor, and his throat went dry at the sight of the sheer black lace cupping her succulent breasts.
"You can't keep using sex to win a goddamn argument—-"
Tilly's skirt fell in a pool of satin around her legs, and he sucked in his breath as she stepped out of it before reaching for the back clasp of her bra. It had Tilly straightening her back, chest out, and when the bra finally fell—-
"What the fuck do I know?" she heard the billionaire mutter seemingly to himself, and a fresh set of tears pricked her eyes even as a bubble of laughter threatened to burst past her lips.
Tough but tender, cold but kind, serious but funny—-
Oh, how she loved this beautiful, contradictory man.
She slowly walked towards him, and his blazing gaze followed her every movement.
And she could be with him forever, as long as she never let her love stand in the way of his dreams.
Logan's throat was dry by the time she made it to him, standing so damn close that the rosy tips of her breasts brushed against the taut outline of his chest every time she breathed.
"I'm yours to command, Mr. Hardwall."
Fuck. Her voice was sweet, husky perfection, and it was enough to have his already-throbbing cock nearly poke a hole out of his pants. The urge to touch her burned, and when he raised his hand to slowly run his knuckles down one soft cheek, the way she closed her eyes and turned to his hand almost as if to savor his touch almost had him spilling pre-cum out.
Hot fucking damn.
"Dance for me then," he heard himself say.
Her big brown eyes swept open, and it was like being struck by lightning, with the way she stared up at him as a naughty little smile curved over her lips. She really was everything he wanted in a woman, his most delectable dream turned into flesh with her mix of sensuality and innocence.
"It will be my honor to do so. But first—-" One small hand pressed against his chest, and he let her have her way as he walked back. She gently pushed him down after, and he lay back slightly, propping himself up on his elbows, his gaze never leaving her.
Walking in the nude, with a man watching her every movement, should have embarrassed Tilly, but oddly enough, that it was Logan only served to empower her. She loved the way he never tried to hide how much he desired her, the knowledge making her feel bold and beautiful, and more importantly, it gave her the confidence to be whatever he wished her to be.
Because when she told him she was his to command, she meant it.
Using his iPad to play some music, she began to dance in the way she imagined he would want her to dance. Slow, sinuous movements, her hands drifting over her body the way he liked to caress her. Fingers trailing down the side of her neck. All the way to her breasts so she could play with her nipples. And then dipping into the hot, musky valley between her legs.
He sucked in his breath at seeing her fingers disappear from view, and she saw in the glitter of lust in his eyes that her fingers touching her own pussy had him thinking of how his cock had also been able to experience the same thing.
Any moment now...
Their eyes locked, the billionaire's gaze wild with need, while hers simply asked a question.
Shouldn't you be fucking me by now?
Tilly's toes curled at the rough, guttural sound that came out of Logan's throat.
Oh, that sound...
It was like his inner beast coming to life.
And honestly?
She couldn't wait to have him ravage her.
Their gazes collided, and every cell in her body tingled in heightened anticipation.
"I need you here. Now."
Oh, yes.
She would have even crawled to him if he had asked for it. She just wanted, needed, loved him that much, and a squeal that turned into a smothered laugh escaped Tilly when the billionaire yanked her down the moment she was within reach and she tumbled into his lap.
He lifted her up.
"Logan!"
And then he was bringing her back down to impale her pussy on his cock.
She screamed.
And as he started bouncing her on his big, hard cock, she found out for herself just how long and high she could scream.
"Oh God, Logan."
"Yes."
"Like that."
"Oh God, yes."
Watching her spiral out of control had his cock pummeling harder into her, and her wild, breathless cries only served to spur him into a similar descent, his own control slipping away as the moist, hot tightness of her pussy started squeezing the last brain cells out of him.
He could feel his balls tightening, and he heard Tilly cry out as he found himself gripping the cheeks of her ass.
"Come for me, baby," Logan urged tautly.
She moaned.
"Now."
His name came out as one last moan, and then she was sobbing and shuddering, her body obeying his command as the sticky, creamy essence of her orgasm flowed out of her pussy and coated his still-thrusting cock in the process. It was like having her heat wrap itself all over him—-
His.
Her cum was all his.
Only one who would ever make her cum was him.
The possessive thought was the final push, and Logan expelled his breath in a low, gritty hiss as his cock started pumping its load inside of her, huge amounts of cum that her pussy was soon unable to take everything in, and he heard Tilly whimper as it started dripping down her legs.
Tilly's arms went around his neck just as her legs locked around his waist, her eyes sweeping close as she savored the shudders of his big, strong frame.
If only this could last forever, this one moment where the two of them felt one and impossible to break apart.
I love you.
It hurt not to say it.
I love you so much.
But she knew it would hurt even more if her love would ever end up holding him back.
Chapter Eighteen
"What do you think, Billie?" Tilly was asking her younger sister as they joined the billionaire for breakfast on one Saturday morning. "Mr. Hardwall is asking me out on a date."
Logan managed not to roll his eyes at the primness of her tone. Listening to her, no one would probably believe him if he had said that just this morning, the very same woman had slipped into his bedroom to gave him the most unforgettable wake-up call, rousing the billionaire out of his sleep with his cock in her mouth.
The memory of Tilly taking all of his cum into her throat had Logan shifting on his seat just as his gaze accidentally collided with his wife's mini-me. He saw the way Billie was looking at him, almost as if debating how much she could get out of the billionaire, and he raised a brow. Have you forgotten about the time I caught you watching TV at 4AM...and I didn't tell your sister about it?
Billie quickly turned back to Tilly, saying earnestly, "You should say yes."
The billionaire glanced down at his phone to hide his smirk.
"He's already like a big brother to me," the girl was saying before smiling up at Logan like butter wouldn't ever melt in her mouth. "
Right, Mr. Hardwall?"
He smiled back at her. "That's correct, and you should start calling me Logan."
Her eyes seemed to purposely widen. "Are you sure?"
"I'd consider it an honor if you did," he told her gravely. "Like I told you before, I truly want you and your sister to be a permanent part of my life—-"
Overkill, he heard Tilly cough under her breath, but he ignored this.
"And since you already think I'm your big brother..."
The younger girl grinned. "Good point. I'll start calling you Logan then, and maybe..." Her voice turned sly. "Soon, people might change the way they call my sister, too."
Tilly frowned. "Change how?"
"Oh, you know, from Ms. Wakefield to Mrs. Hardwall?"
The billionaire struggled to keep a straight face as Tilly sputtered in disbelief, but when Liam, who was seated in his high chair next to his soon-to-be-ex-nanny, started imitating Tilly's sputtering, Logan's broad shoulders began to shake with uncontrollable mirth while Billie practically fell out of her seat laughing.
"No, Liam," Tilly was pleading with the toddler. "You shouldn't be making fun of Nanny, too."
The little boy frowned up at her. "Nanny?"
"Mama," Billie whispered.
Liam's chubby face brightened. "Mama!"
Little she-devil really had a good head on her shoulders, he reflected approvingly, seeing the way the girl had one-upped her sister. It was a good thing the brat was on his side, and another good thing, Logan thought, was how his life had turned out in recent days.
It had been two weeks since the incident with Claudette, now no longer in his employ...as well as being on the wrong end of the billionaire's legal team.
That night, while an exhausted Tilly had fallen asleep in his bed, the billionaire had checked his phone as was his habit, and it was then he had seen Charlotte's message.
He had been able to put one and one together after that, realizing how Claudette must've seen his friend's message, hence that damning scene she had contrived in front of Tilly and the press.
And if he had been married to any other woman, the billionaire brooded, things could've easily gone Claudette's way, and that staged kiss would've effectively thrown a wedge between Tilly and him.
Instead, it had backfired, with Tilly trusting his word without a qualm, and things had actually turned for the better after the incident.
To make up for the still-circulating rumors about him and Claudette, Logan had taken steps to at least make her position in his life clear with those working for him. And his first move: hiring another au pair for the day shift, and since there was no such thing as a nanny working for another nanny, none of his house staff even pretended they still thought of Tilly as one of them.
His housekeeper even went as far as consulting Tilly about the weekly menu, his executive staff at the office knew better than to ever put Tilly's calls on hold, and even his friends' wives had started inviting her to public gatherings that a mere "nanny" wouldn't normally be expected to participate.
If Logan had his way, he would've given the timeline the middle finger and publicly declared their relationship a long time ago.
But for some reason, it was Tilly who now wished to take things slowly.
Tilly noticed the way the billionaire was staring at her, and instead of the usual glitter of lust, his dark gaze was veiled, and she couldn't help feeling self-conscious. "What?"
Billie nearly snorted, thinking that her big sister was only playing hard to get. "Logan's obviously smitten with you, Tilly."
"Yes, Tilly." The billionaire's deadpanned tone once again had Tilly in stitches. "Logan's obviously smitten with you, so why not give the poor man a break and say you'd go out with him on a date?"
"I'm just worried I'm not his type," Tilly demurred. "Have you seen the women he used to date? They're all blondes."
The billionaire didn't miss a beat, asking, "Surely the guy's entitled to change his mind?"
"And then there's the alphabet thing those girls were also famous for."
Two pairs of eyes swung to her in open puzzlement at her words, but it was Billie who asked blankly, "The alphabet?"
"Oh, you know." Tilly's voice took on a breezy tone. "MD, PhD, JD, MB, and I think there might even have been a TSgt once?"
Billie still didn't get it, but the billionaire did, and amusement gleamed in his gaze as he drawled, "There is nothing for you to feel bad about. None of their, err, letters can compare to yours."
"But I don't have any—-"
Leaning towards her, the billionaire whispered into her ear, "It's called MRS," and Tilly ended up choking and blushing all at the same time.
Even young as she was, Billie was far from oblivious to the undercurrent of tension charging the air between the older couple, and she shook her head at the pair's stubborness. It was so obvious they liked each other. So why did they insist on playing this weird and stupid game of just being friends?
Tilly couldn't help making a face when her sister suddenly asked permission to play in the garden with Liam and Jeannie, the newly hired nanny. Turning to the billionaire, she said wryly, "She totally did that just to get us alone."
"She probably found it awkward," Logan speculated idly, "seeing that you're the one completely smitten with me instead."
"I wasn't acting anything like that," Tilly protested, but the billionaire simply smirked, and she was torn between exasperation and a tender, helpless form of amusement at the amount of blatant satisfaction carved over the billionaire's chiseled features. Why would he even want her smitten was beyond her, considering how much of their mail-order marriage contract had revolved around his insistence to keep their relationship strictly business-like.
And that was just one of the continuously increasing number of contradictions the billionaire presented, Tilly couldn't help thinking.
Not once had he ever spoken about love, but then she'd catch him looking at her at times, and the look in his eyes almost made her believe in the impossible. One moment, he would seem hell-bent on keeping his distance from her, but in the days the billionaire would suddenly come home and find her gone, he'd use any method short of siccing the police on her to locate her, almost as if he was afraid of her leaving him.
Can I believe you love me?
She terribly wished she could just ask him that once and for all, but even the mere thought of doing so made her feel guilty and greedy, with Tilly unable to forget the countless ways he had changed her life and Billie's for the better.
This has to be enough, she told herself. Love him without holding him back. That had been her promise to herself, and she could never stay true to that if she spoke to him of her feelings.
"Tilly..."
Logan's darkly musical voice had her biting back a sigh as she turned to him, and her heart skipped a beat at the look in his eyes.
"Just say yes, baby."
"I want to," Tilly said solemnly, "but you might think I'm too easy."
"But you are easy—-"
She half-sputtered, half-laughed. Jerk!
"And you'll never be able to help it," the billionaire purred, "since your body was made for me to please."
Oh, this man.
"So just say yes, and let's get our timeline moving." When his head slowly bent down, her eyes automatically closed and her lips parted, Tilly waiting for a kiss...that wasn't meant to happen.
"Mr. Hardwall?"
The sound of the head housekeeper's voice had Tilly's cheeks burning as her eyes flew wide open. She saw the billionaire smirking and Enid doing her best not to laugh, and she could feel herself turning a deeper shade of red.
"The guys at the gatehouse radioed in. They say the Crown Prince of Namja is on his way."
Chapter Nineteen
"Hartland, Wyoming," Logan mentioned casually as he scribbled his signature on the sales contract that would transfer ownership of one of his prized foals to the Crown Prince. "You have a stake in it, don't you?"
"But I have to confess: I wouldn't have thought of that particular investment at all."
"My friends and I had tried buying in as early as last year, but we were informed that someone from the inside must vouch for us first." Logan offered his pen to the prince as he spoke, and the other man smiled, appreciating the timing of the gesture.
Raj scrawled his signature on the other dotted line while his thoughts turned towards the billionaire's unspoken request. Hartland was a newly established settlement a few miles outside Laramie, Wyoming, and while it looked no different from any other small town in the Cowboy State, everything and everyone in it was actually the product of a meticulously detailed plan almost five years in the making.
The rising number of terrorist attacks, increased gun violence, and other similar threats had prompted a select group of extremely private billionaires to pool their resources into setting up the Hartland Initiative.
While the idea had been inspired by Isla de Flores, a coastal town in the Key West that was quietly protected by its community of secret millionaires, Hartland was designed to take things a step further. Envisioned as a town that could serve as the group's sanctuary in case public safety could no longer be guaranteed elsewhere, all of Hartland's permanent residents were carefully vetted and handpicked, and no piece of land within its property lines could be sold without the entire board's approval.
All of this, however, took place strictly behind the scenes, and any tourist passing by Hartland was unlikely to find anything out of the ordinary. Locals from nearby ranches and neighboring towns were always welcomed, and cowboys galloping to McDonald's on horseback was still a fun but regular sight. There was nothing for anyone to suspect the truth, such as the fact that it was pharmaceutics billionaire Slade Wyndham who typically manned the counter at the coffee shop in 7th Avenue or that it was the I.T. tycoon Thornton Brandt who owned the bookstore across the local church.
Raj himself had his own role to play, being one of the assigned riding instructors at the Hartland Stable, and the time he spent there, under the guise of being the quintessential average Joe, always proved to be a refreshing and much-needed interlude from his normally high-pressure, fast-paced lifestyle.