When She Fell for the Billionaire

by Suzette de Borja

  He shrugged.

  “I can’t afford them.”

  He appeared incredulous. “None of your lovers have given you diamonds?”

  Sabrina shook her head before the full import of his assumption dawned on her. Lovers? Had he recognized her? He didn’t look like the type who wasted his time reading American tabloids. He was the type who landed on those pages. In fact, he had. With regularity, as she had seen by her search on the Internet. With his high-profile business, family name, and sheer gorgeousness, he would always make for an interesting article. And she couldn’t blame the eye candies that were seen frequently hanging on his arm for being thrilled to be photographed with a handsome and wealthy bachelor.

  Or maybe he had just assumed she was in his league? Woman alone on holiday equals sexually adventurous woman? Let him think then that she was as sophisticated as his lovers. It would make her job easier.

  “A very unfortunate oversight,” he murmured, “one I’ll need to rectify.”

  “Wh-what?” Sabrina stepped back. Rectify? Was he saying what she thought he was saying?

  “I’ll give you diamonds, Sabrina.” His eyes sparked with little embers of heat.

  “G-give me diamonds?” This man was playing havoc with her faculty of speech. “Y-you can’t.”

  “Why not?” he shot back arrogantly.

  “You don’t go around telling women you just met you’re going to give them diamonds.” It might be like handing out candy to someone as rich as him. “That’s creepy.”

  His dark brows met.

  Uh oh. Shouldn’t have called him creepy. Maybe it’s just an Italian billionaire thing–doling out diamonds to whoever caught their fancy.

  His sudden bark of laughter, as if he was surprised to find her so amusing, goaded her into saying:

  “And you’re not my l-lover,” she protested, but her body betrayed her. Parts of her were heating up, plumping and tingling at the thought.

  “Not yet, cara, but I will be.” His deep, liquid voice was like a shot of dark, molten chocolate in her veins.

  The echo of his laughter was still there on the small smile playing on his lips. Those full, sexy lips Sabrina wanted to sink her teeth into. Her breath stalled at how badly she longed to do it.

  His eyes flicked over her breasts and Sabrina felt it like a caress. When he stepped nearer, she found she could not move her legs. She saw his head moving inexorably closer. A tiny inch before his lips met hers, he breathed a single word: “Yes?”

  Shit, no, she thought, but her head bobbed up and down in assent like a marionette on a string, and she realized that what she actually meant was shit, no, this can’t be happening that a hot Italian man is going to be kissing me on the beach.

  When his lips grazed hers, the first thing she felt was relief. At last he’s kissing me. Like on the rare occasions she had donned pantyhose and after a full day of wearing them and she got to remove them first thing when she got home–it was that kind of immediate, gut-level relief.

  His lips brushed hers fleetingly, as if trying to learn their shape. Sabrina tilted her head more, offered them without protest. He was gentle but insistent, dropping butterfly kisses on the corners of her mouth, on the bow of her lips, and it made Sabrina want for more. Absently, she noted his hands had wrapped around her ribcage, under her breasts. When his thumbs grazed her nipples, she gasped and her bag fell like a sack of potatoes on the sand. Luca took the opportunity to slide his tongue inside her mouth. She moaned. Or managed something quite close to it while he continued to kiss her senseless, the bold foray of his tongue making her ache sharply between her legs. She squirmed, trying to ease the discomfort, only to feel moisture.

  He pulled back a bit, breaking contact and breathing heavily. Sabrina felt bereft. She stood on her toes and nipped his lower lip. He groaned into her mouth “we must stop,” even as he grasped her bottom and pulled her flush against him, giving Sabrina another deep, open-mouthed kiss.

  The breeze whipped around them madly and the waves crashed and died on the shore with wild abandon. Sabrina was not in the water, but she was drowning right in his arms. When he lifted his head from hers, it was only her hands clasped to his shoulders that prevented her from collapsing on the sand.

  “Be grateful the lifeguard is on duty,” he said thickly, his hand cupping her nape. “If it weren’t for our audience, I would have had you on your back in two seconds flat, your legs spread wide and my mouth between them.”

  It took enormous self-restraint for her not to beg to do so anyway. Her hands fisted at her sides. Luca noticed them, and something wicked and sensual darkened his eyes to indigo.

  “Meet me in the lobby at noon for lunch.” It was a command. Sabrina marveled at how cool and calm he sounded, but then her gaze dropped lower and her eyes skittered nervously away from the obvious sign he wasn’t as unaffected as he seemed. “And cara, don’t be late.” His blue eyes flashed wickedly. “When I’m hungry, I don’t like to be kept waiting.”

  He sauntered off, tall, elegant, and confident, and Sabrina stared at his retreating back for several seconds. When he was a mere distant speck on the horizon, she sagged to her haunches on the sand, clutching her bag close to her for dear life, her breathing harsh. If she let go, she feared she might be swept away like driftwood, bobbing on the waves, never to reach the safety of the shore once more.

  Chapter 3

  Luca had fallen under her fucking spell. He thought he was above the dictates of his cock, but apparently that body part of his had not matured as well as he had thought it had.

  The combination of a gorgeous face, knockout body, and a certain reserve were guaranteed to make men chase her. No wonder men found her irresistible. Cazzo! And that kiss on the beach…he had to enter the hotel by the service entrance unless he wanted everyone in the lobby to see his hard on.

  He definitely wanted much, much more. And judging by her reaction to their kiss, she wouldn’t be averse to taking things further. Luca knew she was attracted to him but was strangely reticent. It was probably part of her strategy, that playing hard to get.

  She had not said yes to his invitation to lunch, but Luca felt it in his gut. She would be there. It was a clever ploy. The thrill of breaking down her walls was a challenge he couldn’t resist.

  Luca had a morning meeting with the key hotel staff for the relaunch of the The Medeia Seirenada, one of the hotels in the chain of the Konstantinos Worldwide Group. Casa Argenti, the home and furniture line of the Argenti House of Fashion, had been tasked to refurbish the interiors of the 5-star hotel in time for its relaunching after the royal wedding. It was the project of his sister as creative director but as she had taken ill, Luca had taken over. The timing was perfect. Royalty and some heads of states from other countries were arriving in Seirenada and were staying at The Medeia. The relaunch would benefit from the presence of the international press.

  His mobile rang.

  “Have you made contact?” Markos Konstantinos’ tone was brusque. Of the four brothers, the president of the family business was the least charming. He was blunt, sometimes to the point of rudeness.

  “Buon giorno, Markos,” he drawled, just to irritate his long-time friend. He checked his reflection in the mirror in the bathroom to check the smoothness of his shave.

  “And a good fucking morning to you, Luca,” his friend growled.

  He decided not to bait him any longer. “Yes. I’ve made ‘contact,’” He heard the deep intake of breath on the other line.

  “And?” Markos demanded.

  “And what?” Sabrina Connelly turned out to be a delightful surprise. Markos’ previous ex, whom he had to distract at another occasion during a party, had been a shrew.

  “How did she seem?”

  “Beautiful, just as I expected.” And intriguing. That was unexpected.

  “I’m not interested in what she looks like.” Markos made a gruff sound of impatience and ignored the roundabout compliment on his good taste in women. “Do
es she know of your connection to me?”

  “I let her know.”

  “Did she mention anything about trying to see me?”

  Luca felt a stirring of possessiveness. “Actually, she didn’t.” The statement filled him with satisfaction.

  “The family?”

  “No.”

  He heard Markos sigh. It sounded like a sigh of relief.

  “I don’t seem to recall your ex-girlfriends giving you this much trouble. You should have just sent Sabrina Connelly off with some diamonds.” In Luca’s experience, it expedited awkward break-up scenes.

  “Given her diamonds?” Markos sounded puzzled.

  “I didn’t think you’d be such a cheapskate with your lovers.”

  Markos cursed softly in Greek. “You think Sabrina Connelly is my ex-girlfriend?”

  “I’ve had on some occasion doubted your taste in women, Markos, but I think you outdid yourself on this one. I find myself very attracted to her.”

  Why the hell did Markos keep answering him with questions? The thought of his friend or other men having possessed Sabrina before flooded his gut with acid, but right now he didn’t fucking care. He had to have her. Get her out of his system. He was going to wipe out any trace of other men who had been with her before. He just didn’t want any complications.

  “You’re attracted to her.” Markos tone was slow and measured.

  That was the understatement of the year if there ever was one.

  “I just want to know if it’s really over between the two of you.” His friend remained silent, but Luca forged on: “I’m going to make her mine. I don’t share.”

  There was a short pause. Then his friend’s voice sounded strangled when he said, “There has never been anything between me and that woman.”

  His friend’s forceful denial sounded…odd. Did Markos still have feelings for the girl, after all? No matter. He had given his word. “Molto bene,” Luca said with satisfaction.

  “You’re welcome to her. What are your plans with the girl?”

  None of your fucking business, my friend. “Keep her occupied, like what you said.”

  “Luca,” Markos paused, as if struggling with what he had to say next. “I think you should know-”

  “I don’t need to know anything that went on between the two of you during your affair, Markos,” he ground out swiftly. “I just don’t.” Too much information.

  “Fucking hell.” The words sounded frustrated and resigned. “Suit yourself. Just keep her away from me and the family.” Then the Greek billionaire added gruffly, “And thank you for taking care of it. We’re arriving the day after tomorrow. Try to keep her away from the hotel as much as possible. The security team of the hotel is at your disposal.”

  “Don’t worry, Markos. Once I’m with her, she won’t want to be anywhere else.”

  Luca had the perfect place to keep Sabrina all to himself.

  * * *

  “Enjoying our grand vacation for two?” Chase Latimer’s modulated voice came through her mobile.

  “I wish you were here, darling. It’s like paradise.” Sabrina eyed herself critically in the full-length mirror. Was her floral sundress pretty enough to keep turning the Italian’s head?

  “And the accommodations?”

  Sabrina wrenched her eyes away from her reflection to glance around the room. The color white dominated the huge suite with the white walls, leather couches, and carpet. Splashes of cobalt blue and gold in the furnishings added sophistication to the interiors.

  “You would have definitely approved,” she murmured.

  “Have you hooked up with any of those hard-bodied, half-naked gorgeous men lolling about on the beach? I hear they’re a dime a dozen there.”

  “Chase!” Sabrina scolded. She colored guiltily. Luca Argenti had been hard-bodied and half-naked. But she hadn’t hooked up with him. Not yet. “You know that’s not what I came here for.”

  “A pity,” Chase sighed. “How’s the ‘mission’ going by the way?”

  Sabrina stepped into her wedge sandals. She didn’t know where they were having lunch. She had forgotten to ask when Luca had issued the invitation. Could she be blamed after having her wits kissed the hell out of her? Memories of the kiss made certain body parts of her tingle. That was just a bonus, Sabrina, but you have to keep your eye on the prize.

  “It’s not going anywhere,” she admitted glumly. She stuffed a shawl into her fabric shoulder bag, a find from the quaint flea market she had visited yesterday. “The family’s not here yet, but no one wants to tell me when they’re coming. I’ve tried to flirt with the guy at the front desk, which I hate to tell you was an epic fail, called and pretended to be Markos Konstantinos’ personal assistant only to be busted and told his assistant was a man,” she ticked off, “and even tried to bribe a member of the cleaning staff to tell me if their private suites were being prepared.” She paused to catch her breath. “All to no avail.”

  “That’s hardly surprising. The Konstantinos are rich and powerful. I doubt even the hotel staff know when they’re arriving.”

  Sabrina sighed. “I know. It’s just that I’m so close, you know? And not to see them...”

  “I’m sorry, Bree. If it weren’t for the blasted change in the filming schedule, I would’ve been there with you. I would’ve scored an introduction for you.” Chase’s Hollywood A-list status would’ve opened a lot of doors.

  She corrected her friend. “If it weren’t for you, I would’ve never gotten here in the first place.” Sabrina would not have been able to afford a stay in any of the rooms of the 5-star hotel by herself, let alone be able to purchase a plane ticket to the much-touted next big destination after Monaco. Her online accessory business wasn’t that profitable. Not yet. Chase Latimer’s presence would have probably paved the way for an introduction. No one would be able to resist a well-known Hollywood actor. But as Sabrina very well knew, things sometimes didn’t turn out the way you expected them to. One just had to make the most of it. “I just have to be more,” she paused, thinking of the right word, “resourceful.”

  An image of her source rose before her, and Sabrina felt a rush of heat swim through her veins.

  “Do you really have to do this?” Chase had not been in favor of the idea since the start. He had warned her they probably wouldn't be receptive.

  “I think I do.” Since her mother’s last letter to her before she died two years ago, Sabrina had been filled with a sense of restlessness. She had felt adrift. Only fulfilling her ‘mission’ would re-align her world. A world that had to be re-framed after what she had learned. “I met someone who might be able to get me an introduction.”

  “It’s a man,” Chase declared with certainty.

  “How did you know?”

  “Powers of deduction,” Chase said smugly. “And you have that tone of voice you use when you talk about something you don’t particularly care for. So I assumed it’s a man.”

  “I’m not a man-hater!” Sabrina protested.

  “Don’t get all your feathers ruffled, Bree. I never said you were,” Chase chuckled.

  “I’m not just interested in them.” Not before Luca Argenti appeared.

  “Your grandmother really did a number on you. Not all men are out to hurt you.” Chase became serious. “You know that, right?”

  “Of course I know that,” Sabrina automatically said, but years of being warned about them had made her distrustful in general. The mysterious fate that had befallen her mother in the hands of a powerful man was an ever-present cautionary tale. Because of the letter, she had found out that her father had been married when he and her mother had their "affair."

  If only it was about relationships with men she was afraid of. “I have you, Chase. And I’ve never been afraid of you.”

  Chase sighed mournfully. “What we have is different, Bree.”

  “And it’s wonderful.”

  “Be that as it may, it’s not enough. It shouldn’t be enough for you,” he re
torted a bit gruffly. “And with that unfortunate business with William and his wife, you’ve become notorious, a target for dirty old men. I should’ve never sent you to his house that night.”

  Sabrina recalled the despair on the powerful producer’s face when she saw him that evening. And the cold fear that gripped her chest when she spotted the gun in his hand.

  “You were on a location shoot, Chase. You wouldn’t have reached him in time. I was glad I arrived before he had done anything rash. How is he, by the way?”

  “He’s seeing a shrink and writing his memoir,” Chase said in a rather odd tone.

  “That’s good," she murmured, then the implication hit her like a slap on the face. “You think he’ll write about your time together-”

  Chase cut her off quickly. “No, no,” he said with forced conviction, then sighed. “I don’t fucking know,” he admitted raggedly. “Sorry, Bree, I didn’t mean to take it out on you. William says his therapist is making him to do it. So that he can process who he is, become integrated, and some psycho bullshit like that.”

  “Oh.”

  William Fraser had been instrumental in Chase landing his first big Hollywood role. When Sabrina had reconnected with Chase after bumping into him at an organic grocery store in Los Angeles two years ago, he and the producer had already parted ways but had kept in touch.

  “For all I know, he won’t even finish it. Let’s not jump the gun just yet.”

  Sabrina cringed. “That was an awful pun, Chase.”

  He exhaled noisily. “Jesus. I just hope William would have the sense not to use real names. I’m not yet ready…” he trailed off, cleared his throat, then changed the subject. “Tell me more about this man you met.”

  “He’s a business associate of the Konstantinos.”

  “And?” Chase prompted when she didn’t say more.

  “He’s related to the royal family. I was hoping I can ‘entice’ him,” she said wryly, not really sure how she was going to go about it, “into bringing me to the wedding as his plus one. That’s my desperate plan. It’s a shot in the dark, but it’s the only possibility I can see right now.”