The Taming of the Billionaire

by Jessica Clare

  And she’d started letting Bianca do all the difficult shit for her. Bianca, whose goal in life was to become a Trophy Wife, and who didn’t like to plan further than what colors would be “in” for fall.

  “Don’t like to talk about it?”

  “Not much,” she admitted. “I had three reconstructive surgeries and the thing still hurts me every damn day. If I think about it too much, I feel like it takes over my life.”

  “I get that,” Magnus said, but his fingers kept massaging. “I won’t pry.”

  “Thanks,” she said softly, relaxing under his touch. A yawn escaped her and she grimaced. “I might have to keep my leg in your lap for the next few hours while we drive back.”

  “I don’t mind,” he said. “Why don’t you relax and take a quick nap or something?”

  Edie gave him a suspicious look, but when he pulled out his phone and began to flip through it, his other hand rubbing her stretched-out leg as if it were the most normal thing in the world, she closed her eyes again.

  The next thing she knew, Magnus was patting her leg. “We’re here. Wake up.”

  She started awake with a jerk, running a surreptitious hand along her mouth to make sure she wasn’t drooling. “Did I sleep the whole time?”

  “You did,” Magnus said. “Which was okay. You must have been pretty damn tired.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Edie said, sliding out of the car after him awkwardly. “I usually never sleep in the car. I—”

  “It’s fine,” Magnus said, offering her a hand as he stepped out onto the curb. “You almost kicked me in the balls twice, but no harm no foul.”

  She smothered a laugh at that, and took his hand to get to her feet. The sidewalk still had people on it despite the late hour, and the city was lit up so brightly that it was a wonder she’d slept at all. She rubbed her eyes as Magnus took the cat carrier and headed for the door to his place.

  “Hold her while I unlock?” he asked, and Edie took the cage. She watched as he undid the locks and then typed in the alarm code, disabling it. Then he took the cat from her and ushered her into his strange house once more. She was starting to get used to the stark appearance of the place, which was kind of amusing, Edie thought as she stepped inside and set down her purse.

  “Why don’t you put on a pot of coffee while I take Lady Daredevil here up to the fourth floor and get her settled into my office?”

  “All right,” Edie said. “Don’t forget cat litter and food for her. She’s probably hungry and needs to use the bathroom.”

  “Got it,” Magnus said, his voice disappearing as he clomped up the stairs. “Be right back.”

  She crossed the massive room to the kitchen area, poking around in cabinets and looking for coffee mugs. Unlike everything else in the house, the mugs were a nice normal shape, and she set up the pot of coffee. And then because she was nosy and he still wasn’t back, she continued to poke around, examining the contents of the fridge and pantry. Lots of chips in the pantry, lots of sodas, and the fridge was empty of everything but beer, leftovers, and condiments. Typical guys.

  She poured two mugs and waited, sitting at one of the counter stools. Just as she was taking her first sip of coffee, Magnus came jogging down the stairs. She appreciated the way he moved. It was kind of funny to think about admiring the way someone took the stairs, but Magnus went down them like an athlete, hands clenched as if he were about to do a set of reps, body flexing.

  Yeah, she could pretty much watch that for hours.

  He bounded down the last steps and crossed the big, open floor toward her. “Got the coffee?”

  She held up the mug she was drinking from.

  “Excellent.” He rubbed his hands together and moved toward her. As he did, she set the mug on the bar next to her and he sat down on the stool beside her own. He picked up his cup, chugged it, and then set it down with a flourish. “Good coffee.”

  Edie blinked at him. “How would you know? You barely tasted it.”

  Magnus just grinned and tipped the mug back to finish his drink. “I’m not one for lounging around and savoring. I prefer to get shit done and done fast.”

  “Maybe that’s why you’re single,” she couldn’t resist jibing back.

  His eyes widened, and then he gave her a speculative look. “Only with coffee, Edie. Only with coffee.”

  Annnnd now she couldn’t finish her coffee. Blushing, she put it aside. “So how is Lady Daredevil settling in?”

  He gestured at the stairs, all energy. “You want to go up and see her? I got the litter and the food set up, but she seems scared.”

  Edie nodded. She slid off her stool and went around the long bar to take her mug to the sink.

  They headed up the four sets of stairs to Magnus’s office, and Edie’s leg protested the entire time. By the time they got to the top of the stairs, her knee was throbbing a reminder that she wasn’t supposed to do those kinds of things to it, and she tried to hide her limp as they walked, remembering his ease as he went up and down the stairs. It sucked to be her sometimes.

  The office was just as she remembered it, all sterile neatness on Magnus’s side, and all chaos on Levi’s. Papers were strewn about on Levi’s desk and the small garbage can under his desk overflowed with more wadded notes. Other than the two desks and a file cabinet, there wasn’t much to recommend this room as a haven for a frightened blind cat.

  “Perhaps we should have started with a smaller room, like with your bathroom,” Edie commented, searching the room for Lady Daredevil. She found her huddled by the file cabinet, pressed against the wall. She moved closer and squatted, ignoring the screaming pain in her knee, and clucked gently at the cat, outstretching her fingers.

  “Can we just stick her in with Lady Cujo?” Magnus asked, coming up behind her.

  “Not right away,” Edie told him. “Cats are territorial so they’d fight, and I imagine Lady D here is having to go through enough trauma at the moment.”

  “Should we move her, then?”

  Edie nodded. “Why don’t you sit here and hold her so she can learn your scent and I can move the litter and the food into your bathroom?”

  “Why don’t I move the litter and you comfort the cat?”

  She frowned. “Because she’s supposed to learn your scent if she’s going to be your cat. Scent’s very important to a blind cat. I . . .” Her voice died as he began to strip his shirt off. She got to her feet, staring. “Wh-what are you doing?”

  “You can wear my scent,” he said, shrugging his button up shirt off and handing it to her. That left him in nothing but a tight-fitting tank top that showed off sculpted muscles.

  Oh dear sweet lord. Wasn’t the man supposed to be a video game nerd? How was it that he was built like this? She tried not to stare, even as she clutched the shirt he handed her.

  “You need help putting that on?” he teased. “I’d be happy to help you with your clothes.”

  “Huh? No, I’m cool.” She shrugged it on over her own shirt, and immediately the scent of his aftershave enveloped her. Oh, damn. He smelled so good.

  This was so unfair.

  “You look good in my things,” he said with a grin, reaching out and straightening the collar. The action brought him close to her, and she gazed up into his handsome face. His fingers brushed against her neck, and for a moment, she thought he was going to lean in and kiss her. Press his lips to hers and claim her mouth . . .

  Nope. He winked and sauntered away, and she watched his tight ass as he left the room.

  So, so unfair. Wrapping his shirt around her body, she moved to sit next to Lady Daredevil again. The cat hunched its body and gave a small hiss, and it took Edie a few minutes to calm her down again, then eventually pulled her back into her lap.

  By the time Magnus returned to the office, Edie was curled up on the floor with the cat tucked against her front, p
urring and relaxed. He’d taken longer than she’d thought. “Everything okay?”

  “Just setting up things for our newest resident,” he said, and she couldn’t help but watch as he moved forward to take the cat from her. He cradled the fluffy Persian in one arm and offered his free hand to her to help her up from the floor, and Edie was surprised at how easily he hefted her up.

  “Thanks,” she murmured, and dusted some of the stray cat hair off her clothes as she followed behind him. Down the stairs and into his room, and when he opened the door, she was surprised (and pleased) to see Lady Cujo curled up on his bed, as if she owned the place. “I see someone’s made herself at home.”

  “Yep,” said Magnus as he headed for the adjoining bathroom. “So far, so good. We’ll get this one settled in, too, don’t you worry.”

  She followed him into the bathroom, well aware at how intimate the moment felt. Bathrooms were private sorts of rooms, because you knew how organized or clean a man was by the state of his towels and the ring around his bathtub. Magnus, she was happy to see, had a clean, claw-footed tub with a nice fluffy cream-colored towel hanging from a hook nearby. Inspection: passed. Not that she was inspecting him, of course.

  There was a thick, shaggy bath rug on the tile floor, and in one corner next to the toilet, he’d set up the cat litter. On the other side, food and water bowls were laid out. Against the opposite wall, Magnus set up several boxes with additional towels for the cat to hang out in.

  Magnus sat down on the floor and curled his legs underneath him, still cradling the cat in his arms. Since he looked as if he was settling in, Edie sat down, too, stretching out her bad leg.

  They hung out in silence for a bit, watching as Magnus set down the cat and Lady Daredevil explored tentatively. She moved a couple of feet, then returned to Magnus and rubbed her head against his leg, demanding more attention. Edie’s heart gave a little squeeze when he chuckled and picked up the cat, pulling her back into his lap and petting her again. “She’s a little monster for attention, isn’t she?”

  “She probably hasn’t had any in a long time,” Edie said softly.

  He scratched under the cat’s fuzzy chin. “Don’t say things like that. You’ll break my manly heart.”

  “It’s just the reality of shelter cats. Some zoom out the door right away and some never find another home. They’re too old, or not cute enough, or they’re unfriendly when someone shows up to adopt a cat, and it’s a death sentence for them.”

  “And so you try to rescue them?” he asked.

  “Just because they’re flawed doesn’t mean they don’t deserve love.”

  “No one ever debated that,” Magnus said. His fingers rubbed one side of the cat’s whiskers and Lady D closed her eyes, clearly in bliss. “I think I’m pretty good at this cat-owner thing.”

  “You definitely seem to have the magic touch,” Edie said, and then blushed at how that sounded.

  “Just a matter of giving a lady the right kind of attention,” he murmured, his focus on the cat. “It’s all about making her feel comfortable with you. Once she knows what your intentions are, you can touch her however you want, wherever you want.” He ran a finger along one of the cat’s tufted ears.

  “I have a feeling we’re no longer talking about cats,” Edie said dryly.

  “Cats, ladies, the same rules apply. Everyone wants love and safety . . . and lots of the right stroking.”

  She snorted.

  “You’re uncomfortable, aren’t you?” he said, glancing up at Edie as he scratched the cat’s head.

  “Oh, please.”

  “No, you are. Your cheeks are bright red.”

  “It’s because you’re making innuendos while petting a cat.”

  “She doesn’t mind,” he said, rubbing Lady D’s head. “She knows it’s harmless talk. You, on the other hand . . .”

  “Me what?” Her arms crossed over her chest and with horror, she realized she was still wearing his shirt.

  “You’re all flustered.”

  “I am not!”

  “You are,” he said smugly. Then, in a lower voice, he added, “I like making you flustered, you know.”

  Her mouth went dry.

  The room got quiet between them, the tension thickening in an almost palpable way. Edie’s body tensed, her pulse pounding, and she clutched at the collar of his shirt, feeling strangely vulnerable.

  “I’d like to kiss you again,” Magnus said in a soft voice. “Put my mouth on those pretty, plump lips of yours and kiss you until you’re begging for more.”

  Heat scorched her cheeks, and she sucked in a breath. She couldn’t look at him, at those brilliant green eyes that seemed to see what she looked like without her clothing on. All she could do was sit and silently picture him leaning over her, kissing her. Soft, and then hard, his lips brushing against her own. Her thighs clamped together tightly.

  “I can’t.”

  “But you want to,” Magnus continued in that husky, seductive voice. “Don’t you?”

  Her nipples pricked in response and she shivered. “I . . . I can’t kiss you yet, Magnus.”

  “Why is that?”

  Because Bianca knows men, and she says if I have a shot in hell at keeping you interested, I’ll play hard to get. But she couldn’t tell him that, of course. In fact, she could think of nothing to say to that, nothing that sounded clever, composed, or in control. So she mutely glared at the cat, unwilling to look Magnus in the eye. “I should call Bianca.”

  Magnus straightened, the seductive look leaving his face, and her heart pounded in brief disappointment. “Don’t call her. She’s fine.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Because she’s a grown adult?” He gave her a speculative look. “Or is this just an excuse to run away?”

  “I’m not running away!”

  “You are absolutely running away. Tell me, is it the fearsome cat that scares you, or her soft-hearted owner?”

  Even though she was growing more annoyed with Magnus by the minute, she couldn’t help but smile at that assessment. “I’m not running away. I need to get up and stretch my leg anyhow. All this sitting on hard floors isn’t good for it.”

  “I’ll join you,” Magnus said. He gave the cat one final scratch behind the ears and then gently set her on the floor. “She should probably get used to her surroundings without us here, huh?”

  “Sure,” Edie said, a little distracted by his nearness. Okay, a lot.

  “You want to head up to the game room? We could watch TV or kick back and play a few games.”

  She considered him for a moment. “We can game,” she said, because she was curious to see him in his “element” a bit more. Every time they had a conversation, it seemed to focus on cats and her. She wanted to learn more about him, for purely platonic reasons, of course.

  They exited the bathroom, shutting the door behind them, and as they entered Magnus’s big bedroom, Lady Cujo greeted them with a loud meow from the bed. Both of them stopped to pet the cat, and Edie noticed that she seemed to be flourishing in her new home. She looked healthy and content, and Magnus gave her an affectionate ear rub. “She sleeps with me now,” he commented. “She’s totally a cover hog. I’m even teaching her to play fetch.”

  And because that gave her stupid cat-lady heart a little squeeze of delight, she just made a humphing noise in her throat. “She’s not a dog.”

  But he grinned at her, all proud anyhow.

  Edie’s knee groaned a protest as they went up the stairs for what felt like the umpteenth time that evening. Stairs never bothered her six years ago, but now that her knee was crap, she noticed them unfailingly, and hated every damn step.

  If Magnus noticed she was lagging behind him, he didn’t comment. He was right that the seating in the game room was excellent, though. Large leather loungers had been set up in fro
nt of the projection screen, and as she made herself comfortable in one of the chairs, Magnus went to the wall and touched a panel, and the entertainment center opened up, revealing console systems of every make and model she could imagine, all neatly arranged with the appropriate controls and remotes. Even more impressive was the selection of games—Magnus seemed to have every game that had come out in the last ten years, most of them still shrink-wrapped and in their cases. He explained to her that they got a lot of games from companies trying to woo ideas from him, and got more at conventions, but they also tended to buy games simply to see how the mechanics worked. Research, he explained, and offered to let her pick the game.

  Since she didn’t know much about games other than what was on her phone at the moment, she picked a title that had an interesting sounding title—Tomb Treasures of Arkandiz. It was apparently a platformer, which meant nothing to her, and they spent several minutes playing before Edie’s character died by falling into a pit.

  To Edie’s surprise, Magnus didn’t heckle her. Instead, he began to play his turn and jumped his character into the exact same pit. When he did it several more times, Edie asked him curiously what he was doing. His response? He was seeing how the game responded to different iterations of the same scenario.

  Which was interesting for a game designer, she supposed, but boring to watch. She ended up handing him her control and watched him play, running different characters through the same paths over and over again with the same results, and watching his fascinated, intent expression as he did so. Every once in a while, he’d make a little grunt of interest, as if the game did something unexpected, but for the most part, she just watched him.

  And watching Magnus for hours on end? No hardship. No hardship at all. As he played, there was an intent little crease between his brows, and she noticed that he tended to subconsciously clench his jaw as he played through some of the harder levels. His arms flexed as he moved the controller, and he’d talk through some of the game mechanics as he played, gaze glued to the screen. And while she didn’t understand most of it, she liked that he took the time to try and explain things to her.