Bare Skin: A Billionaire Romance

by Leah Holt

  When it was over she'd have to leave, she'd have to walk out the door that brought her in. I didn't want that, but it was inevitable.

  Maybe it's been awhile since she's been touched. Maybe she hasn't been this close to a guy in ages.

  From her slap down of my compliment, to the nervous twitch of her hands, it didn't appear she was as 'eagerly needy' as her friend. Willow looked unsure, anxious, and still very, very takeable.

  Maybe I was reading way too much into this, and it was my obsessive nature that was trying to force a connection between us.

  That was a bad habit I'd never been able to quit. When I found something I wanted or something I enjoyed, I would dive in with both feet, and let it consume me.

  Always a good and bad thing.

  That obsession drove me to do amazing and horrible things with my life.

  Right now, I was on a high. Everything around me had turned from ashes to gold. Changes I forced to take place held me in that euphoric state.

  I wanted to engulf my world in the things that made me happy. And right now, Willow was making me very happy.

  Beth's phone burst into a loud ring, her head finally getting torn from the mirror. “Lo, I got to take this, be right back.” Her heels clicked like tiny cymbals as she disappeared into the hall.

  Perfect, now we were alone.

  “It's about time she left.” My fingers ran lightly over her knee, her body trembling before my touch even spread.

  “She's not that bad.” Willow's face flushed, tongue gliding slowly over her lips.

  “Maybe not, but I'm almost done with this, and can't stop thinking about something else.” Letting my fingers fall a hair closer to her hidden sex, I waited to see if she'd push me away, shove my hand back and tell me to fuck off.

  She never did.

  Instead, her thighs parted, fingers gripping the arms of the chair to the point they were white. And when she swallowed, I could hear it.

  Even the beats of her heart started to pound right out of her ribs, echoing around the room like wind in a tunnel.

  Our eyes locked, hers flickered in silver lightning, warming and prowling my fingertips. “What's that?”

  “Can I show you?” Slipping a glove off, I skirted my fingertips towards her inner thigh. Pausing, I said, “But you can stop me at any point.”

  Her teeth dug into her bottom lip, head tilting back with a sultry snap. “I don't know what you're asking me.”

  My hand slowly danced across the hem of her dress, peeling back the edge to reveal a satin pink diamond. Flutters hit my chest, my hand twitching with eager need to rip the material clear off.

  God, I need to have her. All of her, in every way possible.

  Willow closed her eyes, legs parting further. She didn't speak, she didn't tell me to stop, or even to keep going. So I did what I felt, and tickled my fingers across her hidden pussy.

  Her chest jumped with a quick gasp, breathing turning shallow, thighs opening even wider.

  Words aren't needed, her body speaks thousands.

  Curving my index finger into the edge of her panties, I plucked them to the side. A shadow from her lap hid the view, but I could see a faint glimmer of her lips. Feeling the smooth surface, it was wet and soaked, pulsing with need.

  Dropping my gun, I laid my free hand over my cock. The tip was engorged, pressing up into my jeans. Squeezing the crown, I fiddled with the button to pop it free. I had to release some of the pressure, my dick was angry and ready to break through the surface.

  I want to fuck her, I need to fuck her.

  Damn her friend for being here!

  Pressing her thighs together, Willow rocked her hips forward, a graceful moan floated out from the back of her throat.

  My balls tensed, cock throbbing as I drove my hand inside to grab the shaft. Stroking my length, I pushed my finger into her entrance. Eagerly she devoured my offer, closing around my finger and latching on.

  Her hips dug down, rolling and gyrating in the chair. Faster and faster I thrust deep into her pussy, her juice smothering my skin in liquid temptation.

  Willow's teeth bit down hard on her lip, silencing the gasps floating out. Slipping a second finger in, her face scrunched a little. But the subtle discomfort washed away, back arching off the chair, riding my hand.

  My cock was thick to the point I was afraid it would burst. All I wanted was to throw her legs open and fuck her. She was wet enough to guide me in, tight enough to milk my length.

  But I couldn't, not now, not with her friend right outside the door.

  And as quickly as the spark ignited, it was gone. The sound of feet crept closer to the door, Beth closing in on our unexpected encounter.

  Willow pulled herself free, clearing her throat and snapping her head towards the entrance.

  I jammed my dick painfully back into my pants. My cock cried out in pain from not getting what it wanted, and being bent in a way that wasn't natural.

  No! Fuck me!

  Willow's eyes slit tight, jagged rock exploding behind her pupils.

  What the fuck was that?

  Fear? Disdain? Regret?

  Was she trying to ignore the attraction between us? Or was it just something she refused to let in?

  Was regret for giving in sinking through her skull?

  She didn't stop me, so why the fuck did she throw evil eyes my way? She accepted my hand, she welcomed the gifted touch.

  It should have been me glaring, my eyes launching fire. But not at her, at Beth for coming back and corrupting our time.

  “What do you think so far, Beth?” She asked, fingers strangling the life out of my chair. And her eyes strangling the air out of my lungs.

  I wanted her to look at me again, I wanted her to give in to the small flame between us. But she blew it out, focusing on her friend to keep the air light and the tension thin.

  I understood that Beth had just smothered our moment of passion, she had completely fucking cock blocked me.

  My balls were now hurting, swollen and sore from not being able to finish. Willow looked completely shaken. Her eyes had gone hard, full of disapproval with a nervous edge.

  Beth let her eyes drift up for a moment, before the self reflection floated them back onto her own image. “It looks nice, Lo.”

  She hadn't even smiled or said a damn thing when she walked back in, she just sped right over to the mirror to get back into her own reflection.

  We probably could have kept going, I bet I could have kept flicking her sensitive button and Beth wouldn't have even given us a second glance.

  So why did she stop me?

  “You hardly even looked. How can you even see it from there?” Willow's hands nervously tapped the arm of the chair, her eyes deliberately avoiding mine at all costs.

  “Lo, I looked. He's doing a great job. I'm sorry, I've just never seen anything like this before, and I can't believe it's on my skin.”

  “And you said I was full of myself.” Laughing, I glanced up at Willow. “I think your friend might have a problem of her own.”

  A soft smile pulled at the corner of her lip. “Trust me, that's not news to me. But she's a good friend, even if she doesn't appear to be.”

  “Oh yeah, would you put your life in her hands?”

  “I said she's a good friend, I didn't say I expected a miracle from her.” Giggling, she twirled a tight curl in her hair. The blonde spiral bounced against her cheek as she let it free.

  What I would give to pull those curls one time, just once.

  Every fucking move that girl made turned me into a raging hard-on. Her giggle, her slender fingers, the damp flesh covered in fresh ink.

  I couldn't stop my cock from thickening, my stomach from turning, or my mind from undressing her with each blink.

  And now her scent, her thick juice, had coated my fingers. The scent was with me, making my cock crave her even more.

  “Good to know you at least have a brain.”

  “Are you done yet? My leg is
really burning, I'm not sure I can handle much more.”

  “Almost. Can you give me five more minutes?”

  “I'll try. It wasn't that bad in the beginning, but now it just feels raw.”

  “You don't like a little pain? I know one thing you like.” Smirking, I winked up at her.

  Shaking her head, Willow pursed her lips. “You're a pervert.”

  “I can't help it. When there's a gorgeous woman letting me touch her thigh, among other things.” Flashing a devilish grin, I said, “It's hard not to be.”

  “Didn't I tell you to stop?”

  “Did you expect me to listen?”

  “I guess I shouldn't have. You don't seem to have a filter, you remind me of Beth.”

  Arching a single brow, I dipped my head into my chest. “No. I'm nothing like her, I care about more than just myself.”

  “But you still have no filter.”

  “Fair enough, but that's probably all we have in common.” Spraying her thigh, I let my fingertips glide over her smooth skin one last time. “Done, check it out.”

  Standing slowly, Willow held her skirt tight against her hip. She was trying to push out of the chair, while holding the fabric so nothing would show.

  Like that really mattered now.

  Silly woman. Still trying to hold onto self dignity when I just teased your pussy.

  Walking towards the mirror, her eyes widened, jaw falling open. “Oh my God, Kash, that's incredible.” Each word came out on its own gust of air, riding her tongue with pure amazement.

  “I'm really glad you like it. That's kinda what I was going for.”

  “Like it? I love it. Holy shit, it looks so real. There's so much color in there, I can't believe it.”

  “Well believe it, because it's yours.”

  “How much do I owe you?” Reaching for her purse, she held it waist high.

  “Don't worry about it, consider it a gift.”

  “No, I can't do that. How much?”

  “I said don't worry about it.”

  “Wait, what?” That was the first time in two hours Beth's attention diverted to something other than her own reflection, and the phone call that was way too short. “You're not going to charge her? What about me? How come I had to pay you a buck and a half?”

  “Because your tattoo is superficial. Willow's has meaning, and was meant to give her something she needs.”

  “What do I need?” Tilting her head, she folded her arms across her chest, eyes turning to thin slits.

  My cock of course.

  And a life that's about to change.

  “When it happens, you'll know. For now, it's a gift. Just take it and accept it.”

  “That's not fair, if Lo doesn't have to pay, I shouldn't either.” Beth's hands slammed into her hips, her tone flying out like a whiny child about to throw a tantrum.

  “You just can't stand not being the center of attention can you?” Beth veered her stare down the bridge of her nose, crinkles exploding from the corner of her mouth. “I own this shop, I make the rules.”

  And I want Willow for myself.

  I just wasn't sure how long it would be before I saw her again.

  But she had a taste, a small sip of what I can give her.

  My only wish was that she would come back, that she wouldn't be able to get me out of her head.

  That my tag on her body burned my image into her brain.

  I was going to make sure she knew that gift made her mine.

  Mine forever.

  Chapter Five

  Willow

  The throbbing pulsed through my thigh, hitting the bone. Getting up, my leg was swollen around the tattoo, and it felt like I had been kicked repeatedly by a damn horse.

  No one warned me about this.

  But the picture was incredible, and I couldn't believe it was mine, set in my skin forever.

  The roots had life, the flowers were all flowing and popping off the branches, as if I was staring at a real cherry blossom tree.

  My favorite detail in the whole image was the trunk. There were small indents that wrapped the bark, tiny streaks and divots just like the scars of a real tree.

  Scars from living, scars from supporting life, scars from growing into the beauty it had become.

  Every color seemed to stretch out and grab my eyes. The vibrant hues, all the pinks, the whites, the highlights that rolled across each petal...

  It was amazing enough to hang in a gallery, to have people stand around it and chatter about the realism and how the artist captured the natural beauty with every stroke.

  Rubbing the A&D ointment gently over my bruised muscle, I couldn't stop thinking about Kash.

  His face was flashing in my brain, his muscles were ricocheting like thunder screaming against the skyline. And I couldn't stop the storm, couldn't shake the tremors he sent through my lungs deep into my core.

  What the hell did I do?

  Kash had taken my one track mind, my focus and desire, and turned it into dreams of him. Dreams of his hands and how I wanted him to finish what he started.

  I let him touch me.

  Why?

  Why him?

  Why now?

  He had only used his hand, we didn't have sex. That was one thought that brought me some comfort. I'd never let someone I just met caress me that way. Ever.

  But there was something about him that made it easy for me to give in, to want it, to crave it. He made me feel sexy, he made me feel...

  Stop. It doesn't matter!

  There was no time in my world to get caught up in some guy, to let him taint what I was working so hard to achieve.

  I needed this gallery to work, I needed to stay focused on making my art pay for itself. I couldn't let myself get sidetracked by a fucking bad boy; riddled in ink that sent shivers over my flesh, and ripples that shocked my system from him being thick in all the right places.

  You have a huge day Friday. Get your shit together!

  Limping to my couch, I lowered slowly and rested my leg up on the arm. The pain pulsed so fiercely, it felt like I had a second heart built under the surface. The skin was rising, deflating, and breathing with lungs of its own.

  Getting home after five-thirty in the morning didn't help either. My eyes hurt, my head was crushing the brain inside my skull, and all I wanted was to sleep till I could wake up and feel like myself again.

  But that wasn't happening. Every inch of me seemed to be bursting with some form of pain and discomfort, highlighted by tingles and a raging case of electric static flowing through my veins.

  I was annoyed and miserable, hot and bothered. And I couldn't stop staring at the image glistening beneath my waist.

  Revisiting the night in my head, picturing Kash's hands, the way he worked his fingers around my thigh...

  God I had wanted him to go higher, wanted him to brush my skirt out of the way, and drape a finger across my needy button. And when he did, I froze.

  My inner wish had been granted, it manifested right in front of my eyes, and I opened to let him in.

  But I wanted it, stopping him didn't even cross my mind.

  The way he looked at me, the way his eyes drifted around my body. It turned my insides into a watery pool of liquid desire.

  His muscles had muscles, his body looked like it was crafted from marble, painted with designs I could watch dance all day long as he flexed every inch of hardened sinew.

  And for the first time ever, it was me getting the attention. Kash had bypassed Beth and ate me up, he shoved a model to the side just to get closer to me.

  Right? Or am I just imagining that?

  Was I just the vulnerable one?

  No he did, he definitely went for me.

  The thought sent a rush through my nerves, electricity fired off inside my skull in the form of colors.

  Bright ringing colors exploded behind the scenes, fireworks in the darkness, a new light in a place that had been barren and forgotten.

  Confidence, excit
ement, pleasure; all the feelings that coated me in ways I had lost long ago came to life, brewing deep in my core. Shaking my head, I drove my fingers to my temples.

  You're never going to see him again. It was just a small attraction. If you can even call it that.

  Stop drooling over the first guy to show you any interest in years.

  And it had been years.

  I hated thinking about that, hated having to admit that my honey pot had long grown dry. I wasn't outgoing, I didn't go looking for relationships, or even a one night stand to fulfill any need my body had demanded.

  Because I had a goal, a desire that fed the hunger of my soul.

  Besides, I learned ages ago that guys are self-centered. Men are walking hard-ons with one goal in mind; pussy.

  My life in upstate New York was plagued by a couple assholes and users. Men who took advantage of my weaknesses, men who used me for what they wanted then tossed me into the gutter when they were through.

  Yeah, Lo, all two of them. Sad, that's so sad.

  I was twenty-three, and regretfully had to say I was a born again virgin. It had been over three years since I had gotten down and dirty.

  My late night excitement now consisted of batteries and a voiceless expression. It was shameful to think I had grown accustomed and accepting of my lover being more closely related to a hand mixer than an actual human being.

  Beth had no idea about my dry spell. She thought four months was a long time... Shit, she probably would have died of dehydration ages ago if she was in my shoes.

  Before I moved here, I let her think that I had been through a few relationships that ended under normal circumstances.

  That was a bold-faced lie. One I tried to forget and ignore.

  It was embarrassing for me to have to tell her that my weekends were spent alone, while she would ramble on and on about her many guy friends, and all the long, wild nights.

  There hadn't been any guys in my life for ages, and the ones that did sneak a little taste of my world here and there, all left before it even led to a friggin kiss.

  Pathetic, I'm so damn pathetic.

  I'm an artist, an introvert. My internal thoughts are best laid out on paper, my emotions are best said through brush, and my feelings are best expressed through colors.