Billionaire Rides: The Complete Series (MC Alpha Billionaire Romance Love Story)

by Claire Adams

  "Sort of," I said as I looked up at him. Looking into his eyes, I could feel an electrical connection between us building and I wanted nothing more than to grab his hands and tell him what had happened that last night in Sydney and ask him if he ever thought of me, but even thinking that made me feel exposed, so I bowed my head and looked at the floor.

  "Why only sort of?" he asked. "Paris is the city of...well, everything! You should be having a grand time here shopping and eating and enjoying the sites!"

  "Oh, I'm enjoying the sites and I've been to some marvelous places," I said attempting to assure him that I wasn't a totally lost cause. "I'm just feeling like there's something missing."

  "And, what would that be?" he asked pointedly. I could feel his eyes on me. It was like he was giving me a fresh look, but I wasn't sure why. I wasn't sure how to answer his question because I knew exactly what was missing, but I didn't dare say it.

  "It just feels a little...lonely, here," I said as I hesitated for a moment. I wanted to tell him that it was him I was missing and that Paris felt pale in comparison to the time we'd had in Sydney, but I knew that I had no right to say it after having run away. Besides, I didn't know if he'd already replaced me. After all, guys like him were in great demand and he probably had many women pursuing him. I'd be easy to replace.

  "That's strange, I feel like Paris is so full of life and people and the hustle and bustle of just everyday living," he smiled. "Sometimes I just want to escape and be alone."

  "Ah, I see," I said nodding at the floor. I didn't want him to see the tears welling up in my eyes as I realized he was looking for a polite way out of the conversation.

  "No, I don't think you do," he said as he stepped closer and slid his hand under my chin, lifting my head so that I was staring right into his eyes before smiling as he said, "I've missed you, Emily."

  "Oh!" I inhaled sharply and tried to look away. He held my chin firmly and I was forced to look up at him.

  "Have you missed me?" he asked.

  "I...I...I...Austin," I said miserably as I searched for a way to explain everything that had happened since the last time I saw him. I couldn't find the words to tell him how lost I felt without him in my life, and I didn't know how to explain why I'd gone back to Tommy.

  "Oh, I see," he said as he let go of my face and stepped back. The spell was broken and the moment passed, but I realized that I didn't want it to. I looked up at him and knew I had to do something or this time he was going to walk away for good.

  "Yes!" I blurted out. "I missed you!"

  "I see," he said smiling. "Now was that so hard?"

  "Uh, yes?" I answered making him burst out laughing.

  "You're so cute!" he laughed. "Do you have plans for dinner or, if you do, could you cancel them and have dinner with me?"

  "Austin, I..." I hesitated for a moment and then barreled ahead, putting the worry and fear out of my mind for a little while. I smiled up at him and said, “Yes, I'd love to have dinner with you."

  "Good, then you go up to your room and get ready and I'll find us a table," he said. I shadow crossed my brow and he said, "I'm sure whatever you wear will be lovely, but if you're worried about it, just stop in the shop over there and pick out something pretty. Tell them to send the bill to me."

  "Right, like they're going to believe that!" I laughed. "Seriously, how many women would walk in and say, 'Mr. Marks told me to tell you to put it on his bill?'"

  "Well, only one," he replied seriously. I stopped laughing. Only one? Which one? "And, that would be my mother."

  It was my turn to burst out laughing. I laughed loudly as I walked toward the shop. Austin called after me, "Tell them to put it on the bill for room 1301."

  "But there's no thirteenth floor," I said confused.

  "Precisely," he smiled. "That's how they'll know it's real and not some grifter trying to pull one over."

  "I see," I said. "Good to know."

  "It's the same in all of my hotels," he said with a smile.

  "And I need to know this why?" I asked matching his smile.

  "No reason, just saying." He grinned like a kid in a candy store. I shook my head and headed over to the shop.

  #

  I stepped into La Belle Robe Boutique and was immediately rendered mute. The shop was so elegant that I held my breath for fear of disturbing one of the exquisite dresses. They all looked like they'd been pulled from a fairy's wardrobe and were ready to come to life any second.

  "May we help you?" asked an elegant woman dressed in a black sheath dress with a scarf artfully tied around her throat. I briefly thought about the finding the woman from the Eiffel Tower tour and bringing her here to see what the scarf was supposed to look like.

  "Yes, please, um, Mr. Marks sent me here to find a dress for dinner," I managed to get out before feeling myself turn red. I felt like I was in the movies and Pretty Woman was the only one that came to mind. I swallowed a giggle and smiled at the sales woman.

  "Why of course he did," she said eyeing me suspiciously.

  "He said to bill the dress to room 1301," I quickly added.

  "Ah, yes, wonderful," she said smiling as if the room number had been the key to her attitude. "What kind of dress would you like to wear?"

  "I don't know," I admitted. "I don't know where we're going and I don't know if I'm good at playing dress up."

  "Oh my dear, we're all good at playing dress up." She smiled warmly. "We just have to find the right clothing to dress up in!"

  She proceeded to move gracefully around the store pulling pieces from racks swiftly and efficiently, and when she was satisfied, she nodded at me to follow her. She led me into a fitting room that was larger than the living room of my home in Las Vegas and began hanging the dresses on what looked like invisible hooks. She hung them right to left and nodded at the first one on the left before saying, "Start with that one and move to the right."

  "I'm sorry, what is your name?" I asked.

  "I am Marion," she answered. "And you are?"

  "It's nice to meet you, Marion," I replied. "I'm Emily."

  "Very well, Miss Emily," she smiled. "I will go find you shoes and accessories while you try the dresses on. Please let me know if you require an additional assistance."

  "I will, thank you," I said meekly. The dresses hung on the wall like a fashionable army and I felt intimidated by them. "Well, girls, I guess you're just fabric after all, so here goes nothing."

  I tried on each one of the dresses that Marion had chosen; the first dress was light and airy in a beautiful shade of deep peach that set off the highlights in my hair. The second dress was form fitting and set off my curves in a way that I'd never seen before, but it proved nearly impossible to sit down in, so it went back on the hanger. The third dress was the charm. It was fitted on top and body skimming but not constricting on the bottom. Made of a chartreuse gossamer layered over a silk lining, it made my eyes shine and I felt like a princess in it. I stepped out of the dressing room and into the main viewing area, looked around and called, "Marion?"

  "Yes, Miss Emily?" she replied as she stepped out from behind a doorway holding several boxes. Marion gasped and then nodded her approval. "Yes, this is the one! I have shoes to match!"

  She pulled out a pair of delicate silver kitten heels with straps around the ankles and helped me slip them on. The effect was mesmerizing. Aside from the fact that my wind-blown hair was a mess, I looked like royalty in the dress.

  "Yes, this is the one," she said again as she nodded as she had me spin so she could see the dress from all angles and make sure there weren't any hidden problems. "You look absolutely lovely in it."

  "Then, I guess this is the one?" I asked.

  "It most certainly is," she replied. "I will have it steam pressed and delivered to your room."

  "I'm in room 1512," I said. "But, Marion, I need help with this..." I lifted my hair off of my neck and looked at her helplessly.

  "Not to worry, I will send someone up to take
care of it," she said in an efficient tone as if she made these kinds of arrangements all the time. Perhaps she did.

  "Good, then I guess I will go up and shower and get ready," I said hesitating worried that I'd forgotten something.

  "Don't worry, Miss Emily," Marion smiled. "You will look absolutely radiant when you meet Mr. Marks for dinner tonight."

  I nodded and thanked her profusely, but in the back of my mind, I was already worrying about the effect this would have and the consequences.

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  Austin

  When Emily walked into the lobby two hours later, I stood in stunned silence as she crossed the room. She was wearing a dress that fit her like a glove in a shade of green that I'd never seen before – she looked like an angel floating toward me.

  "Well, hello," I finally sputtered. She laughed lightly as she looked up at me. "I mean, you look amazing."

  "Thank you very much, Mr. Marks," she smiled. "It's all thanks to you and Marion in La Belle Robe Boutique. I gave her the secret code and she had me done up in no time!"

  "You look amazing," I repeated as I stood back and took her all in.

  "You said that already," she stage whispered with a playful smile. "But I love hearing it as many times as you'd like to repeat it."

  "Wow, I mean..." I had been caught off guard. First, because I knew I'd missed her, but I hadn't known how much until I saw her in the lobby. Second, because she looked like a dream come true. I pulled myself together and asked, "Are you hungry? I've got reservations for dinner for us at eight, so I thought we'd stop and have a drink at this little bar I know."

  "I'd love to, Austin," she said looking up at me. I reached down and took her hand as I led her to the car waiting outside.

  Once inside, I turned and looked at her again. Her hair was loosely gathered and tied back in a low-ponytail and it looked both sophisticated and casual. I wanted to run my fingers through it, but I didn't want to frighten her, so I reached up and stroked her cheek with my fingers.

  "I've missed you," I said softly.

  "I've missed you, too," she replied with a smile as she raised her hand and covered mine. "I'm so glad I ran into you."

  I had the driver take us to Le Sherry Butt and drop us off. We looked a bit out of place in our dinner dress, but no one said a word and I grabbed a booth at the back where I sat Emily down and slid in next to her. I wanted to be as close to her as possible, but I didn't want to scare her off. We ordered our drinks and while the server went to get them, I looked at her again and smiled.

  "Tell me what's been happening in your life," I said as I reached up and brushed a stray lock of hair from her face.

  "Oh, wow. Well, that's a story," she said shifting nervously in the booth. "I don't know where to begin."

  "It's okay, Emily," I said trying to reassure her. "You can start anywhere and you can tell me anything."

  "Anything?" she asked looking into my eyes.

  "Anything," I assured her.

  "First, I have to apologize," she said looking down at the scarred wood tabletop. Her hands twisted nervously in her lap and she shifted in her seat.

  "For what?" I asked.

  "For running away from Sydney," she said quietly. "I wasn't running away from you, I was running back to try and fix my life so that I could..."

  "Could what?" I asked as I reached down and took her hand. "What were you thinking you could do once you fixed your life?"

  The server bringing our drinks suddenly filled the silence that hung between us. He set them down and asked, "Would you like anything else?" I assured him that we were fine and impatiently waved him away. I wanted to hear what Emily had to say, but I also dreaded it knowing that she might be trying to tell me that she'd reconciled with her husband and that I wasn't part of the picture anymore.

  "I thought I could end my marriage," she said quietly. "I thought I could..."

  "Emily, just say it," I urged. "You can tell me anything."

  "I thought I could end my marriage and get back to you," she blurted in one rapid sentence. My heart soared as I heard her say the words I'd been hoping to hear, but she quickly followed it with, "But when I didn't hear from you, I thought you didn't want me anymore, that I'd been a blip on your radar and that I should just let it go and remember what we had as a nice little interlude in an otherwise unremarkable life."

  I felt my stomach lurch as she told me about reconciling with Tommy and how they were trying to fix up the house and get it ready for kids. There was something wrong here, but I wasn't entirely sure what it was. I listened to her talk about life with Tommy and how he was trying to get sober, but I could feel that something was being left unsaid.

  "Emily," I broke in. "Are you happy?"

  "What do you mean?" she asked.

  "I mean, are you happy?" I repeated. "Are you enjoying your life and loving every day?"

  "Honestly?" she asked.

  "Yes, always honestly," I nodded.

  "No, I'm not," she replied with a sad smile and then dropped her gaze to the table. She ran her finger over the edge of her wine glass and then looked up at me. I was surprised to see the tears welling up in her eyes. "I'm not happy at all, but I don't know what to do about it. My mother says it's my duty as a wife to hang in there and fight for my husband. She says that I made my bed, now I have to lay in it."

  "Emily, what do you want from your life?" I asked quietly.

  "I want to be a good person!" she cried. "I'm not someone who just abandons people when they no longer fit my idea of what life should look like!"

  "I know you're not," I tried to soothe her, but she was getting more worked up by the minute. "Emily, listen to me, please!"

  "What?" she said suddenly calm.

  "What is it you want out of your life?" I repeated. "For you and only for you."

  "I want to travel," she said. "I want to go places and see things and experience everything that life has to offer! But..."

  "But what?"

  "But I want to do it with someone who actually loves me," she said in a small voice. "Tommy loves me, but he's never going to leave Vegas. He thinks that life in the house we bought is going to be enough. Two kids, barbecues on the weekends, holidays with his family close to home, all in that small little house on that small little street in that small little part of the world."

  "Are you going to stay?" I asked.

  "I don't know," she replied, raising her glass and sipping as she reached out under the table and took my hand. I was surprised by how hard she gripped it, but she didn't look at me, so I wasn't sure if I was supposed to acknowledge her touch or not. I squeezed her hand to let her know I was feeling the same thing, but I didn't pressure her for anything else.

  "Tell me something happy," I said changing the subject. "Tell me something fun you've done in the past few months."

  "I met a man who was feeding the pigeons by the Eiffel Tower today," she said smiling at the memory. "He told me that I needed to be more like the birds and choose the good parts of my life better."

  "This is interesting," I said thoughtfully.

  "It made me think," she replied as she turned and looked straight into my eyes. I felt like I'd been shot through by lightening as I held her gaze. And an instant later, she leaned forward and planted a light kiss on my lips as she whispered, "Come with me."

  #

  Emily grabbed my hand and pulled me down the dimly lit hallway toward the ladies room. She pushed open the door and pulled me inside then turned and locked the door. She smiled as she crossed the room, stood on her tiptoes, and wrapped her arms around my neck.

  "Emily," I said hesitating. "Are you sure?"

  "Shhh," she whispered as pulled my head down and kissed me with an urgency that I'd never felt before. I hesitated for a moment, then gave in and wrapped my arms around her and pulled her tightly against my chest. She fit so perfectly against my body, and I slid my hands lower and gripped her round bottom as I urged her lips apart with my tongue. If w
e were going to do this here in this tiny little bathroom, I was going to make sure she felt what I was feeling.

  I kissed my way down her jaw to the soft place on her neck, where I licked and teased until I heard her moaning my name. There wasn't time for formalities, so I reached down and yanked the skirt of her dress up around her waist and then lifted her up onto the edge of the sink. I could feel her breath coming in ragged gasps as I slid my hand up her thigh and teased the warm juncture between her legs before pulling her lacy panties to one side.

  "Oh, Austin," she moaned as she looked up at me. I could feel how much she wanted me and I felt my own desire straining against my pants. She reached out and opened them as I continued to tease her. She momentarily fumbled with the zipper of my pants, and then with one hard yank, she had it undone. Her hands moved quickly as she pulled out my stiff shaft and began stroking it as she whispered, "Yes, oh yes," over and over again.

  I positioned her on the edge of the counter and grasped the base of my throbbing rod as I pulled a foil packet out of my pocket and split it open. I quickly rolled the latex down my engorged shaft before positioning it at the edge of her moist opening. I could feel her pushing her hips forward as she tried to force me inside, but I smiled and held back, enjoying the way I was holding her on the edge. I let my fingers slide up and down in her wetness as I teased the hard little nub that drove her desire. She moaned and then cried out as I circled it before pressing it with my thumb.

  I looked down into her eyes as I buried myself deep inside of her tight wet center with one deep hard thrust. She cried out and gripped my arms as she gave in and together we found our rhythm. I pulled back slowly and then thrust in hard and fast, her hips meeting mine as she matched my pounding beat.

  "Emily, Emily, Emily," I groaned as I felt her tightening around my shaft and drawing me deeper inside while I searched for a way to climb inside her body and become one with her.