“And where am I supposed to live while this is going on?”
“My place,” he said, firmly.
This time he’d gone too far with his organizing and bullying. “Now, just you wait one cotton-picking minute.”
“Jenna, listen. I’ll move into the house. You will not be compromised and there are no strings attached. I promise.”
“It doesn’t feel right.”
“Because we haven’t known each other long?”
He knew what she was thinking. He was so infuriating. But, he was also right. Since the fire, she woke with terrible headaches. She was coughing every day too. Like Ben said, there would be insurance coming, but she didn’t know any contractors and she’d heard it was hard to get them.
What would Renee say? What about his family?
“What does your mom think about it?”
“She’s happy to have you. Sarah wasn’t ready to come home just yet, so Caris’s meeting her in New York. Mom would love having another female around to combat all the testosterone.” He gave her one of his winning smiles.
She had to ask. “You said no strings.”
“I mean it.”
“Okay.”
“Okay. Let’s get you packed.”
In a slight daze, Jenna led the way upstairs. She was really moving into his family home, albeit in a separate space. She would see Ben, his mom, and the family every day, but she and Ben would be what to each other?
Friends. That’s all they could be. He was a have and she was a have-not. She’d helped him out and now he was helping her. But she wouldn’t stay there for nothing. She had savings.
“Ben?”
“You’re thinking too much.”
“I want to pay rent.”
“We don’t need it.”
“I’ll pay rent or I won’t come.”
“You know, Mom needs a driver at the moment, with Sarah not here. How about you work for her for nothing?”
“She might not want me.”
“I bet she will. She hates strangers in the house.”
“But that’s what I am!”
“We all know you. Everyone likes you. Sure, you’re a little strange, but we’ll cope.”
She threw a cushion at him, and he grinned. She was defeated, so how come she felt so darn happy all of a sudden? This man was too much for a girl like her. Yet . . .
Chapter Eighteen
Ben was true to his word. He made no demands on her, sexually or otherwise. Jenna wasn’t sure how she felt about that as she wandered around his apartment and slept in his bed, which smelled of his aftershave, reminding her of their one night together. One incredible night.
It was difficult to see him most days and not touch him. It was what she wanted. Knowing it was for the best didn’t make it easier.
Eloise had embraced the idea of Jenna driving her around, and they’d had a lot of fun. In the evenings, they’d gone over colors for the shop and for the flat. The twins had been very interested in her plans for the shop refurbishment and Andy had asked a lot of questions. It was nice to have the attention, even if it was for a short time.
Sarah and Caris were due back tonight, and as much as Jenna enjoyed being here, she didn’t want to overstay her welcome.
Ben had called to ask her to meet him at her store this morning, and she was anxious about what that meant. He wouldn’t say on the phone, but she hoped there were no setbacks. She actually had no idea what stage they were at with the refurbishment, so it would be good to see for herself.
She pulled up around the back and walked back to the store. Ben was waiting outside. The windows were covered with paper, so she couldn’t see anything, but the door was new and painted a blue that she’d picked out.
Ben solemnly handed her a set of keys. “Here you are. And here’s a spare set. Do you want to open up?”
“I can’t wait.” She put the key in the lock and turned.
The door swung open and inside Renee jumped up from behind the counter.
“Surprise!”
The twins followed, while Andy and Eloise came from out the back.
“What do you think, Jenna?” Eloise beamed.
Jenna was dumbfounded. The place was exactly how she’d pictured. Exactly as she and Eloise had discussed. Ben’s family had done this for her.
Tears rolled down her cheeks, and Ben’s family were mortified.
“Leave her be," Renee intervened when they would have smothered her with kindness. “You Knights have done the unthinkable and made her speechless. Well done, all round, I’d say. For goodness' sake, pick your lip up and thank them, Jenna.”
Renee always knew the right thing to say. Jenna wished she did. She gulped a couple of times, and went for a wobbly smile.
“You are all so very kind. I didn’t know it was finished, and it’s perfect.”
“This isn’t all, you know,” said Matthew, and he received a glare from his mother.
“What do you mean?”
“Let’s go upstairs,” said Ben.
“We’ll meet you at home,” Eloise collected her brood, including Andy. “You come too, Renee. I’d like you to meet my daughters.”
“Sure, I’d love to.”
Renee who lived to work, sailed past Jenna with a grin and a wink.
Jenna was intrigued. The shop was one thing, but surely her apartment wasn’t already fixed up like the shop?
It was. As soon as she opened the door, Jenna squealed.
“Oh, Ben. This is even better than the shop. I love it.”
“I hope the colors are right?”
“They are. Oh my gosh, I don’t know how I can repay you.”
“Let’s not start down that track again.”
They both burst into laughter, and Jenna gave him a hug. It’s what you did. To say thanks. Only, when she lifted her face, the look in his eyes wasn’t the look of just a friend.
In that moment her heart melted, and all her fears faded. He must have noticed. How could he not when she was grinning like a loon? And he kissed her. A kiss that held so much feeling that it transcended mere passion.
“Do you want to stay?” she whispered against his lips.
His eyes widened. “You mean here?”
“Here.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Only if you want to.”
Ben ran a finger down her cheek, making her shiver. “For how long?”
“Indefinitely,” she sighed. “I have a spare set of keys.”
“Andy will steal my room.”
“Is that a problem?”
He picked her up and wrapped her legs around his waist. “Actually, it’s not. It’s well past time that I moved out of the house.”
Jenna kissed his neck. “I like the way you kiss me. The way you make me feel when you look at me. I like your body and your sense of humor. I like the way you look after your family. The way you look after me. I want to do the same for you.”
Ben sat down on a chair and gazed into her eyes. “We can look after each other forever.”
She shook her head. “That’s a very long time. We haven’t known each other long enough to make that call.”
“My father told me he fell in love with my mother at first sight. Sarah and Marcus were together for years, and, like you saw, that didn’t turn out so well. I love you, Jenna.”
Jenna gasped, but he put a finger on her lips. “Keeping my distance has been hard, but it helped cement how I feel. I know you’re the one. If it’s too fast, we’ll take it slower. Whatever you want.”
Jenna wiped a tear, then kissed him with everything she had. When they broke apart Jenna held his face in her hands.
“I love you, Benjamin Knight. I want you.”
“You have no idea how scared I was that this was a one-way thing.”
“You, scared?”
“Well, you were keeping things very close to that delectable chest.”
“Because I was scared. I thought you were only interested in the sex.”
<
br /> “As good as it is, we connect on every other level too, don’t you think? That’s what makes me think we have this.” His hands were in her hair and he kissed her thoroughly.
“I think so too, but I have missed the sex too.”
He grinned at her innocent look. “Then let’s take care of first things first.”
“What about your family?”
“Who?”
She kissed him. “They’ll be waiting,” she said when they came up for air.
“Let them wait.”
She couldn’t argue. The only thing she could do was enjoy Ben as much as he seemed to enjoy her. He carried her to the freshly made bed and proceeded to take her with the same urgency she felt. They matched their rhythm until, looking in each other’s eyes, they orgasmed together.
Yes, it was too early for promises, but they’d been made regardless, and the future was looking pretty darn good as far as Jenna was concerned.
Ben might be a ruthless billionaire in business, but to her he was nothing of the sort.
Thanks
Thanks so much for reading Ruthless Billionaire the third book in my Billionaire Knights Series. If you enjoyed Ben and Jenna’s story and you haven’t read the others you can find the links on the Also By page.
I’ve added an excerpt from the first and second books in the series—Restless and Reluctant Billionaire.
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Restless Billionaire
Macy felt terrible. She’d given Evan such a hard time over being rich, and as she’d admitted, she was jealous. He could do what she couldn’t. He could pack up and leave his home town anytime. Hell, he could leave America, if he chose to, and see the world.
But he was so right. It wasn’t his fault he’d been born into a family business. Like her, but so very different. Yet, it was perfectly sound reasoning that he could empathize with her having to do what was right instead of what you’d really like to be doing.
She took a bite of the lobster. It was perfect. Nothing less should be expected at Bruno’s, because the Chilean had exacting standards, which he led by. She licked her lips in anticipation of the next mouthful.
“You have a little sauce right there.” Evan pointed to her chest.
Sure enough, as careful as she’d been, there it was. Her shirt was no longer as white as it had been. She shrugged. “Happens all the time here. Actually, there are bibs on the side of the table. I don’t know how I forgot about them.”
“Bibs?”
“Yes.” She reached over the table and pulled two of the firm paper bibs out of a hanging tray attached to the side, and handed him one. “To cover your clothes.”
His eyes were like saucers. “Like a baby?”
She laughed at his shock. “Too fancy for a bib?”
“I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t,” he said wryly.
“Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you,” she told him, as she fastened the paper bib around her neck and tucked it down her front.
He shook his head in amusement. Crack! He broke open a claw and juice sprayed across the table.
“Oops, sorry. Lucky you had the bib.”
“Unlucky you didn’t,” she smirked.
He looked down at his spotted linen shirt that had earlier also been one color—a dazzling blue that matched his dreamy eyes.
“I should have listened to the expert.”
She liked that he wasn’t outraged at spoiling his shirt. She liked that he could see the humor in such a thing. She liked an awful lot about Evan Knight.
They had an enjoyable dinner, then at Bruno’s insistence forced down a small bowl of gelato even though they were full.
While Evan paid, she went to thank Bruno, and say hi to his wife and the kitchen staff, who made a fuss and told her to come back soon.
They walked out into an end-of-summer night, and stood at the rail on the edge of the world, where the breeze was a little fresher but the air was still heavy with the smell of the ocean. Around the corner, she pointed down. It was finally dark and they could see the lights far below of the marina and the shopping district.
“I’m so glad you talked me into coming out with you tonight, Evan. It’s nice to see a different face around town. Unless it’s tourist season, when it’s crazy with strangers.”
“I’m glad too. But surely it’s still tourist season here?”
“The season used to be longer, and we’ll get the odd person who wants a more intimate experience between now and winter, but there are so many choices for people along the coast, with towns that have more to offer than Heaven Bay. We haven’t exactly moved with the times.”
“That must make business tough?”
“Business is fine, thank you.”
“Good. Will you have any time off this weekend?”
She hesitated. One date was all she’d planned for, but she was having such a good time, why not have more while she could? “When do you go home?”
“Sunday afternoon.”
“And you had no plans?”
“I was going to sail all weekend, but I could be persuaded to do something else.”
His voice conveyed a meaning she couldn’t ignore. “It might be quieter on Saturday afternoon. I can ask my dad to take care of things if he’s well enough. We could take Maggie out and I could show you some beautiful bays around here.”
“That would be good. I hope I’m not being too pushy, but what are you doing tomorrow night?”
“Oh. Since it’s Friday, I usually have a beer at the local bar. You can come if you want. It’s kind of a tradition for most of the town. A winding down gently into the weekend kind of thing.”
“Sounds good, if I wouldn’t be intruding?”
“Not at all. Everybody’s welcome.”
“In that case, I accept.”
As he drove carefully down the hill, Macy studied him. He had a kind face. A strong chin. A lovely smile. And he’d ‘saved’ her from Sean. Could he really be privileged, and also be such a nice guy?
“Want me to show you the town?”
“Sure. Shall I park?”
She laughed. “It won’t take that long. Just drive in a straight line.”
As he drove she pointed out the landmarks and before long they were near the end of the main street.
“There’s the pub, at the end of the shops.”
“It looks lively.”
“Hah! That’s nothing. Tomorrow night the place will be rocking.”
“Rocking?”
“You know, dancing and yahooing?”
“I don’t think I’ve ever yahoo’d. Sounds intriguing.”
“Sounds like you need a night at Clem’s to get the complete Heaven Bay experience.”
“Hmmm. Are you teasing me?”
“You’ll have to wait and see, won’t you?”
Reluctant Billionaire
The sun was stronger now, and after the wines she’d consumed last night, she needed some more water or juice. Possibly both. She swam back to the shore and headed over to her lounger. Christian lay on the one adjacent.
“Good morning, gorgeous.” His tinted sun glasses hid his eyes, but not the dimples in his cheek. He was one handsome, smug, SOB.
“Good morning, Christian.” She quickly dried herself and threw on her top, aware he was studying her.
“Sleep well?”
“Pretty good. Considering.”
“What were you considering that would detract from this Isl
and Paradise, and a wonderful evening?”
She lay down on the lounger and put on her glasses. “How I came to be here.” She could hardly say that in her dark room she had fantasized about him lying beside her, of his hands roaming freely and his lips on hers. Again.
“I don’t think we discussed it last night.”
“You mean you don’t remember after all the wine?”
He grinned. “I remember everything you said and did last night. I’m pretty sure why you came here wasn’t revealed.”
She blushed, remembering the goodnight kiss and how her body responded to him. His kisses could melt ice in Alaska.
“So, what did bring you to Rarotonga, besides a plane?”
Sarah took a quick look around to make sure other tourists were out of earshot before giving him the news. “I’m on my honeymoon. Why are you here?”
“Whoa. You said you weren’t married.”
She had to laugh at the outraged look on his face, not sorry for the teasing. “I didn’t lie. No husband. The groom is back home and probably with another woman by now.”
Christian snapped his open mouth closed, and there was a significant pause before his curiosity kicked in again. “Sounds like an interesting story.”
She shrugged. “Not one I’m comfortable sharing. With anyone.”
“I’m not anyone. I’m your dinner companion.”
Sarah couldn’t help smiling. “It was one dinner.”
Also by Cheryl Phipps
Billionaire Knights Series
Restless Billionaire
Ruthless Billionaire
Reluctant Billionaire
Reckless Billionaire
Resident Billionaire
Millionaire - Family Ties - Series
The Millionaire Next Door
The Millionaire’s Proposal
The Millionaire’s Seduction
Laguna Beach Series
Weddings in Laguna
Hidden in Laguna
Sycamore Springs Series - Romantic Comedy
Jack and Gill
Adam and Eve
Ruthless Billionaire (Billionaire Knights Book 2) Page 8