The Billionaire Playboy

by Christina Tetreault

  “Not really. I've never spent much time in Boston. Never had a real reason to, so whatever is fine.”

  The yacht's captain didn't expect them until five o'clock but if they arrived early he knew the man wouldn't complain. “In that case let’s head over to the marina”

  “The marina? Why are we going there?”

  “You're just going to have to wait and see,” Jake said as he headed in the direction of Boston Yacht Haven one of the city's most exclusive marinas.

  I definitely owe Christopher one. Jake looked around as he followed Charlie through the yacht and onto the port side deck. His friend had made sure no detail was overlooked. The scent of several dozen flowers placed around the yacht filled the air. A romantic table for two stood prepared on the deck and a bottle of fine French wine sat on ice waiting for them. Since no other detail seemed overlooked he guessed his friend had also made sure the main sleeping cabin was prepared just in case Jake needed it.

  Whatever favor Christopher called in later, it'd be worth it.

  “When you said dinner I thought you meant at a restaurant downtown,” Charlie said, her hazel eyes wide with astonishment as she took in her surroundings.

  Jake pulled out Charlie's chair. “You can do that anytime. How often do you get to cruise around Boston Harbor at night and watch the sunset?”

  “You've got me there,” she admitted looking up at him, her lips turned up in a smile. “Is this your yacht?”

  “No. It belongs to a friend of mine.”

  “He must be some friend.”

  “Christopher and I were roommates in college. We've been good friends ever since.”

  He couldn't keep himself from bending down and pressing his mouth against hers for what he intended to be a brief kiss. Soon the kiss turned hotter as she wrapped her arms around his neck and their tongues met.

  Behind him Jake heard someone clear their throat. Pulling back, Jake stared down at Charlie, her eyes were closed and her lips were rosy from their kiss. Turning he looked at the woman who had interrupted them.

  “The chef wants to know when you would like dinner served.”

  “Tell him we're ready whenever he is.” Once they were alone again, he turned his attention back to Charlie. “I hope you are hungry. Christopher's chef is amazing.” He let his hand linger on her shoulder. The skin beneath his hand was soft and he loathed the idea of losing the physical connection he had with her.

  When her eyes fluttered open they locked onto his. The desire he saw in them matched his own. “I'm starved.” She sounded breathless, and the cave man in him surged with pride because he knew he'd caused her current state of arousal.

  “Did you always want to join the Navy?” The dinner plates were gone and they sat watching the final rays of sunshine disappear. The more they talked the more Jake wanted to know about Charlie. He'd been physically attracted to her from the first moment he saw her, but the more time he spent with her the more emotionally drawn to her he became. He found being around her intoxicating and hoped they could see each other after they both left Massachusetts.

  Charlie shook her head without any hesitation. “I always wanted to be a doctor. Never even considered the Navy till I realized how expensive college and medical school were. A Navy recruiter came to my high school junior year and I knew that was the only way it would happen,” she said, her voice a mixture of anger and sadness. “Even with scholarships I wouldn't have been able to swing it without a ridiculous amount of debt waiting for me at the end.”

  Jake could understand her reason. Even though he'd never worried about it, he knew education was expensive. “Do you ever regret your decision?”

  “Nope. I got what I wanted and I'm serving my country. But that doesn't mean I want to be in the Navy forever,” she said without pausing to consider her answer. “I keep going back and forth about staying. I finished filling out the paperwork, but it's still sitting in my room.

  Must be nice not to have any regrets. He wouldn't mind trading places with her for a day or two. Although if he told her that, she’d probably fall off her chair laughing. Everyone thought he lived such a charmed life. No one ever stopped to think about how much a pain in the ass it could be with the media waiting for you to make a mistake.

  “What about you? Did you always want to work for your family's company?”

  “It wasn't anywhere on my radar.” Jake heard the bitterness in his voice but he couldn't keep it from creeping in. Although the foundation wasn't related to the hotel business, it was still tied to Sherbrooke Enterprises.

  Charlie leaned forward, her interest obviously captured. “Really? What did you want to do?”

  The last rays of sunshine danced across her hair and her astute gaze flickered over his face as if she could learn the answer on her own. And for some reason he sensed that perhaps she would truly understand; unlike anyone else he'd ever told.

  “If you laugh I swear I'll toss you overboard,” he threatened.

  “I'm in the Navy, remember? I can swim.”

  Jake threw her a dirty look. “If that's the way you're going to be, forget it.”

  “All right. No laughing. Promise.”

  “I made up my mind when I was about twelve to go to the Naval Academy and be a SEAL. But it didn't happen.”

  Charlie's jaw dropped open and her eyebrows shot up. “You didn't get in?” Her voice rang with astonishment.

  At least she didn't laugh. The last person he'd told laughed his ass off. “I didn't apply. My parents had other plans for me, and eventually I realized people would always wonder if I'd gotten in thanks to the family name.”

  The resentment he felt toward his parents whenever he thought about this crept through him. He loved them both and knew they loved him but their disappointment in the decisions he made cut him deep.

  “They had it all figured out. My parents sent me to boarding school when I was fourteen. They wanted me to go to either Yale like my grandfather or Harvard like my father for undergrad and then Harvard for my MBA. After that I would join Sherbrooke Enterprises. And then eventually I'd transition into politics. That's been the basic life map for every Sherbrooke male for the past hundred years.” Jake found the truth just spilled out as he spoke to Charlie. Unlike so many people he spent time with, he didn't feel as though he needed to omit details to protect himself.

  The corners of her pale pink lips turned downward in a frown. “You went to boarding school at fourteen?”

  “Choate Rosemary Hall in Connecticut. My father and grandfather went there too. My mom wanted me to go to Eton in England like Dylan but my father refused. I still remember the arguments they had over it.”

  “So which did you choose, Yale or Harvard?” Charlie reached across the table and took his hand.

  “Neither. Went to Cal Tech. About as far away from an East Coast Ivy League school as I could get. Got my undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering. Worked for an engineering firm out in LA for a few years before moving to Virginia.”

  Compassion and understanding spread across her face. Even though she hadn't said it, he knew that she understood why he'd made the decisions he had. Most people assumed he'd been rebelling against his parents, and to some extent he had. Yet there had been much more to his decisions than that. He'd been trying to prove to himself that he had some control over his future. That just because his last name was Sherbrooke he didn't have to follow the path so many in his family had.

  “I left the engineering firm a few years ago to start the foundation.” It was one of the only decisions he'd made as an adult that he was proud of.

  “Do you ever regret not becoming a SEAL?” Sometime during his explanation she came to stand next to him and now she placed a reassuring hand on his face.

  Jake averted his gaze and focused instead on the city skyline, “Every damn day.”

  Leaning closer she spoke in a tone filled with respect. “If you had, who knows what all those people your foundation helped would've done.” Her v
oice dropped to almost a whisper. “And we might not have met.”

  Jake was floored by the feelings her words and gentle touch evoked in him. They were so unfamiliar. Sure he'd desired plenty of women and enjoyed their company but he'd never felt such an emotional connection to one before. Of all the women he dated never had he confessed this regret. None of them had ever shown any interest. Most were more interested in what he could give them or what being seen with him meant. It didn't appear as if Charlie cared about either.

  Pushing back his chair Jake pulled Charlie onto his lap. “I'm glad we did,” he said before lightly kissing her. Like it had earlier, desire hot and heavy swept through his body the second his lips touched hers. When she wrapped her arms around his neck and wiggled her sexy bottom in order to get closer, he instantly became hard. Thoughts of tossing her over his shoulder and finding the closest bed ran through is mind. How would she react if he did?

  Raising his mouth from hers, he kissed a path down her neck. “Do you want to see the rest of the yacht now? We didn't check out the bedrooms, or would you rather have dessert?” he asked his voice low and purposefully seductive.

  “Depends, what is the chef planning?” Charlie asked with a trace of laughter in her voice. She didn't wait for an answer. Instead she slid off his lap giving Jake the only answer he needed.

  Anticipation surged through him as Jake led her to the largest of the bedrooms below. Just as he expected, the room was prepared for them. The lights were dimmed and the sheets on the bed were neatly turned down.

  “Where were we?” Charlie moved close to him and began to caress the back of his neck.

  Rather than give her a verbal answer, he walked her backward and then eased her down onto the queen-sized bed. “Does right about here seem right?” He brushed his lips against hers as he spoke.

  A soft moan escaped Charlie and she slipped a hand under his shirt searing a path up his back to his shoulders. Not needing any further encouragement, Jake stood and pulled his shirt up over his head. Then he reached for Charlie’s, intent on doing the same thing to hers. The sound of the beeping intercom on the wall halted his progress.

  For half a heartbeat he stared at the offending box on the wall. “What the hell?” Slowly his brain registered what the sound was and stood.

  This better be an emergency. With more force than necessary, Jake jabbed the talk button with his index finger. “Something wrong Captain?”

  “I'm sorry to disturb you Mr. Sherbrooke. There is a disabled yacht just off our port. It's taking on water.”

  Frustrated Jake raked his fingers through his hair. “Get them on board and make sure you alert authorities. I'll be right up to greet them.” Grabbing his shirt off the floor, he turned to Charlie who now sat upright on the bed. “We'll have to continue this another night,” he said brushing his lips against hers one last time.

  A devilish smile formed on her face. “I'm going to hold you to that.”

  ***

  By the middle of the following week more than half the town had power back and things were inching their way back to normal. Fewer and fewer people needed help every day, so Wednesday Charlie found herself helping her mom around the bed and breakfast. Two of the families who had been staying at the Victorian Rose left that morning and their rooms needed cleaning. Charlie doubted there would be paying guests anytime soon but the rooms still need to be prepared.

  Working on autopilot she stripped the queen-sized bed in the Revere Room. Would she be getting Jake's room ready for a new guest soon too? With conditions in town improving she figured he wouldn't be sticking around much longer. He'd already been here a week and a half. How much longer would he feel the need to stay? Not once during their conversations did he mention how long he typically stayed in the field or when he planned on returning to Virginia. And they'd had plenty of talks since their dinner together the previous weekend. In fact he seemed to go out of his way to get time alone with her.

  Charlie pulled the fitted sheet across the mattress and thought back over their talks. They seemed to discuss everything from books and music to sports and politics. They didn't always agree, but she found that she enjoyed their conversations and heated disagreements.

  Their conversations weren't the only things she liked either. Charlie figured she could be kissed by Jake for the next hundred years and not tire of it. The man could kiss. She'd never considered herself a romantic, yet when his lips came in contact with hers it was like something out of a movie. Everything around her faded away. Warmth and tenderness swept through her body as a deep longing settled in her soul.

  Charlie unconsciously sighed as she thought about the kiss they'd shared the night before. For the second straight night they'd both come down for a late night snack and ended up having homemade oatmeal cookies with a side make out session.

  If your friends saw you now O'Brien, they'd think you'd been abducted by aliens. She didn't sigh and daydream about men. It simply wasn't her. Yet she was doing just that.

  With more force than necessary she stuffed a pillow into a clean cotton pillow case. She prided herself on her ability to remain emotionally detached from the men she spent time with. No matter who she dated or became intimate with she always held back a part of herself. She never let her heart become invested in a relationship. It was the only sure way to avoid a broken heart.

  This time things were different. Every day she found it a little more difficult to keep her emotions under lock and key. She kept trying to figure out why? Maybe if she knew why she could get a handle on it. Part of her wished she still thought of him as the spoiled playboy the media referred to as Prince Charming. Then she wouldn't have a problem keeping her heart safe. Though she still didn't know how much of his playboy status was fabricated by the media, he'd more than proven that he was more than just a spoiled rich guy. He cared about the welfare of others, no one could deny that.

  Charlie tossed the pillow back onto the bed and reached for another. “I've got to get myself back in control.” She stuffed the other pillow into its case.

  Through the open bedroom window she heard a car pull into the gravel driveway. After a few minutes she heard the front door downstairs close. Despite her previous words to herself about getting back into control, hope and anticipation blossomed in her chest. Had Jake returned? He'd left right after breakfast. Lunch time had come and gone and he hadn't returned.

  Determined not to look out the open window to see if his truck was back, Charlie spread the sage green comforter over the bed. “I've got issues,” she said, her voice laced with annoyance and disgust. Turning from the bed she retrieved the bottle of Murphy's Oil Soap and the rag she'd brought up with her.

  “You're not alone. We all have issues but talking to yourself can be a serious problem. You might want to see a professional,” Jake said from the open doorway, the amusement in his voice apparent.

  For a moment Charlie wanted to do something she'd never in her life done before; drop everything and run to the man leaning against the door frame and throw her arms around him. Instead she looked at him forcing her feet to stay rooted in place. “Can you suggest someone?”

  “I've got a great shrink on speed dial. I'll give you the number.”

  He walked further into the room and Charlie swore the temperature jumped twenty degrees. Doesn't he ever look unsightly like the rest of us mere mortals? It just wasn't fair. No matter the time of day or what he'd been doing, Jake always looked incredibly sexy. Today was no exception. Wearing a pair of khaki Dockers and a light blue dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up he could've been a model in an ad for a weekend executive collection.

  “Your mom said you were helping out. Almost done?” He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close as he spoke. “Thought we'd head over to see Mr. Quinn.”

  All the nerves in Charlie's body quivered at the physical contact. It seemed no matter how many times he pulled her close like this it happened. Her entire body went on high alert with excitement a
nd yearning.

  Control. Somehow she needed to get a handle on these emotions. Otherwise she ran the risk of having her heart crushed. The last person who had done it was her father and she'd vowed it'd never happen again.

  With that single word repeating in her head, she broke free then took a few steps away from him. “Give me another ten minutes and I'll be done. Dusting is all I have left. I'll meet you downstairs.” She needed him to leave before she said the hell with dusting and threw her arms around him for one of his fabulous kisses.

  Jake opened his mouth as if to say something but then closed it again. Stuffing his hands in his pockets he nodded. “I'll be in the kitchen getting a sandwich. I missed lunch.”

  Without another word he turned and headed back downstairs. He figured waiting in the kitchen was best. Being that close to her and a bed was dangerous. The minute he'd seen her in the bedroom he envisioned himself locking them in, peeling her clothes off and spending the rest of the day in bed getting to know every inch of her body, something he'd come close to doing on the yacht before their unexpected visitors arrived. In the middle of the day with her family around struck him as a bad time to give into his desires. He'd have to wait till they had more privacy, assuming her response on the boat hadn't been an isolated occurrence. He hoped it hadn't been.

  Although the last thing he'd come here for was a relationship, Jake hoped she gave them a chance. Everything about her was so different from the women he normally dated, yet being with her felt right. Though they'd only known each other a short time, he felt like she understood him. She looked past his name and saw the man. True, at first she'd only seen what the media told everyone, but her opinion had changed. He could tell by the way she responded to his kisses and the way she spoke to him. When they first met she'd been indifferent and aloof. That wasn't the case anymore.