My heart starts hammering in my chest. I still haven’t forgotten his comment about working in his bedroom. Is he going to proposition me? Does he think I’m that type of girl? Well, I was sleeping in his bed. A thousand thoughts fly through my head at the speed of light. Dani, you are one sex-starved, pitifully pathetic woman! What should I do? This time, I decide, I need to say something. “I hope you don’t think I’m going to do anything with you…”
His eyes flash. “I’m insulted you’d even think such a thing.”
I can feel myself start blushing again. Like a freak. I lift my chin defiantly. “I don’t know you. How would I know what you’re thinking?”
His gorgeous eyes give me a lazy once over. “I don’t need to offer women money for sex, Dani.”
“That’s good to know.”
“I’m offering you a trip to Las Vegas.”
“Excuse me?”
“There you are again, asking me to excuse you. In which way was I unclear?”
I tip my head to the side. “When you offered a stranger a trip to Las Vegas. Somewhere around there.”
“Allow me to explain,” he says, a slow smile is tugging his mouth upwards. He leans forward, elbows on his knees, his stare intense. Like he can see through my clothes.
I realize for the first time that I’m only wearing my tank top. The hoodie got discarded hours and hours ago, once the work got a little tougher. I resist the urge to cross my arms over my cleavage.
“I have a wedding to attend in Las Vegas, and it’s unfortunately the wedding of my ex-girlfriend.”
“Oh.” My nose wrinkles. “That’s no good.”
“That’s putting it mildly. I’ve been dreading it ever since the happy event was announced. We only broke up a few months ago, after dating for…um…some time, so you can imagine.”
I never would’ve thought a man like him would be so affected by his feelings. I wouldn’t imagine he even has feelings. Wrong of me, maybe, but I can’t help it. He just comes across that way. “I’m sorry. That really sucks. I can only imagine.”
“Have you ever had the privilege of watching an ex you haven’t yet gotten over get married?”
“No. No, I can’t say that I have.”
He nods slowly. “You’re right, then. You can only imagine.”
I can’t help but toy with the bedspread a little as I try making heads or tails of where this is going. Am I his therapist now? “So, you need somebody to accompany you to this wedding.”
“Correct.”
“No offense intended, but don’t you have female friends?”
His smile is slow. “No. I can honestly say there are no female friends in my life.”
“Because why would a man want to be friends with a woman?” I can’t help but roll my eyes even though he’s in the power position right now. I’ve never been a fan of men who don’t understand that women are more than pleasure bots, or whatever they think we are.
“I’m not highly skilled in male-female relationships, and I don’t do things I’m not good at.”
I want to ask how he expects to ever get good at it then, but something tells me that would be completely pointless.
“And any female acquaintances may…um…misconstrue an offer such as this. Besides, my ex has a nose for such things. A brand new face would be best.”
I get what he’s saying and can almost imagine some of his acquaintances. Bubble-breasted bimbo gold diggers who would expect more than a trip to Vegas with a man as good-looking and rich as him. Because he’s obviously loaded. His Rolex could pay my rent for years, and I’ve seen the other three watches in a case on his dresser. “What are you asking? That I attend this wedding as your plus one?” Oh, my God, can I really do something like this? I don’t know this guy. He could be anybody. And he’s so darn pushy. Bossy. I can’t imagine we’d get along well, as that sort of attitude always rubs me up the wrong way.
He smiles, showing off a perfect row of straight, perfectly pearly teeth. He really is extremely, extremely hot.
I’m just about ready to faint from sexiness overload, when his grin gets wider, almost wolfish.
“I’ll need a little more than that in return, Dani.”
I take a deep gasping breath and stand. “What do you mean?”
“I’ll need you to act as my fiancée and pretend you’re in love with me.”
Chapter 9
Dani
Now I’m sure I’m going to faint, so it’s a good thing the bed is just behind my legs. I sink down, hard. This impossibly handsome billionaire wants to take me with him to Vegas! “You want me to pretend we’re engaged—and in love.” It isn’t a question. I just need to say it out loud to be sure I’m not imagining things.
“That’s right.”
I gaze at him with wide eyes. “Why? Why me? A complete stranger?”
He leans forward again, and this time I catch a whiff of his cologne. That musky, spicy, intoxicating scent makes my head spin worse than it already is. Not fair. He’s just so damn hot. I need to get my brain functioning properly because things just got real.
“For one thing, you’re a beautiful woman.”
I blush and turn my face slightly away.
“You must know it’s true, so don’t put on the shy act. Beautiful women know on some level how beautiful they are.” He pauses, his eyes shining. “Though, I must admit, you’ve probably looked better than you do at the moment.”
I run a self-conscious hand over my sleep-mussed hair. “Thanks. I got this way after scouring your apartment.”
“And the effort is appreciated.” He sits back, grinning wickedly. “Another reason: you’re honest. Honesty goes a long way in my book. The fact that you made the effort to do the job correctly rather than balling up another set of sheets from the closet and throwing them into the laundry chute says a lot about your character. I appreciate that. I’ll need a woman with character if we’re going to pull this off.”
“A woman with character who will lie for you.” I really don’t know why I’m smirking.
“A woman with character who I can trust not to try to take advantage of me.”
“What does that mean? How would I even go about doing that?”
He pauses, blue eyes a little wider, as though he’s marveling at me. “You honestly have no idea. I’m liking you more and more with each passing moment, Dani.”
“I don’t even know your name.”
“Brock,” it rolls off his tongue like something dark, sensual and borderline dangerous.
“Well, Brock, I don’t know how I feel about this offer.”
“I appreciate your honesty.” He tents his fingers under his chin again, as he was doing when I woke up and found him watching me sleep—how creepy is that?—and says, “I enjoy negotiating and I’m prepared to do just that. Let me warn you however, that I’ve been known to drive a hard bargain.”
Terrific. I have to get myself in order and stop wondering what he’d look like without his shirt on. My heart’s beating so fast, I’m afraid I might be sick. I need to outfox him, somehow. My competitive nature won’t allow me to give in. “All right.” I swallow hard. “I assume you’d want us to share a room when we’re there.”
“A suite,” he corrects.
“Fine. A suite.” That makes things a bit better, or does it? “I would appreciate there being an arrangement in place for us to sleep separately.”
“Naturally.”
That was easy. Maybe too easy. “I would expect to sleep in the bed, of course.”
He chuckles. “We both will. It’ll be a two-bedroom affair.”
My mouth goes dry at his choice of words. I lick my lips. “Uh…I would probably need something nice enough to wear to a wedding,” I admit, the old shame comes flooding back as I look down at my hands. His cleaning woman, admitting she doesn’t have nice clothes. Because she’s never had nice clothes. She may no longer rely on Goodwill, but her wardrobe would never fly in Brock’s circle. I can’t help but l
augh softly at myself. “Funny how stupid little things can bring up old baggage. I’m not exactly proud to admit I don’t have a nice dress.”
“Baggage is tricky,” he agrees, but there’s a new softness in his voice which surprises me.
My head snaps up. I look up at him defiantly. I don’t want him pitying me, or anything. I’ve worked hard for everything I’ve got and I’m not ashamed of anything I’ve done.
He smiles. “No worries. I wasn’t intending to let you go to the wedding with me before purchasing a suitable wardrobe for you.”
A wardrobe? “What’s that, now?”
“This is a weekend-long agreement. You would need more than just a dress for the wedding. I planned to purchase clothing which pleases me.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Why should it please you?”
He shrugs. “I’m the one buying it.”
I fold my arms in front of me. “I’m the one wearing it.”
“You don’t have to wear it.” His eyes flicker over my body.
Now, a shiver runs through me. “Yeah, and I don’t have to go with you.”
He looks me in the eye at this challenge and we stare at each other for a long, silent moment. What’s going on in his head? I wish I knew, though I’m not even certain I’d be comfortable with the answer.
He clears his throat. “Wearing clothing that I find attractive is hardly a wise sticking point, Dani,” he warns. “I promise I have excellent taste, and since I will have no use for them, they would be a gift to you. You could keep them. I would like you to.”
“So long as they’re comfortable and I like them too. I’m not spending the weekend walking around looking like a fetish porn model, or something.”
It’s his turn to raise an eyebrow. “Hmm. Now there’s an idea.”
I frown. “I mean it.”
He waves his hand. “Cool your jets. You’re quite safe. My proclivities don’t run in that direction.” There go his eyes again, straying further south. “Though I could be persuaded to change my mind.”
“Eyes up here, please.” I point to my own eyes.
He obeys with a cheeky, little-boy-caught-being-naughty smile.
I know he should irritate me to the point of slapping him and storming out, but I just can’t seem to muster up the indignation. Maybe because he’s so darn charming. Maybe because he seems like a fairly honorable person. Or maybe the truth, because he’s so frigging sexy that I want him to flirt and talk dirty to me.
“Anything else you’re concerned about?” he asks.
“Public displays of affection.”
His eyes glitter suddenly. “Personally, I believe in discretion, tact. The sight of couples slobbering all over each other in public is unnecessary. Public sex, I wouldn’t rule out—but somewhere discreet.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I mutter, shaking my head at him. He’s a real piece of work. I can’t make sense of him.
“However, we’ll have to play it by ear. While I’ve never forced myself on a woman and don’t intend on starting with you, some intimacy will be expected of a newly engaged couple.”
“What sort of intimacy?”
“Some hand holding.”
I nod.
“A quick kiss.”
I take a deep breath and nod.
“An arm around the waist—perhaps a little lower than the waist…”
“Watch it,” I warn.
“We have to be convincing, don’t we?” And now he’s all innocence. He’s having fun with me.
Chapter 10
Dani
What am I getting myself into? I can’t believe I’m actually considering this. “You will pay for the airfare?”
“We’ll be taking my private jet.”
God, I must sound so hopelessly backward. “Of course, I should’ve known.”
“Money is a problem for you, isn’t it?” His eyes have that intensity to them again.
“A rude question.”
“Which means the answer is yes.” He sighs, tapping his fingers together. “I wasn’t going to bring up this part of the bargain so early, but I’m willing to do so if it helps you make your decision.”
“And what would that be?”
“The fact that I’m willing to pay two hundred and fifty thousand dollars for the pleasure of your company.”
My jaw drops. It literally drops. He said it like it was nothing. I stare at him, speechless. A quarter of a million dollars! What I couldn’t do with that kind of money. It’s enough to make my head spin. Actually, I can’t even do the math right now because my brain is somewhere far away, floating along in the ether. I’m pretty sure it might even be lost forever.
He waves his hand in front of my face. “Did I lose you?”
“I-I mean—are you serious?”
“I don’t play games.”
I shake my head, blinking rapidly in the struggle to get control of myself. At least five years. If I keep living on the cheap, as I do now, I could support myself for five years on that much money. At least.
Four years, if I decide to take a vacation or two.
Wow, I could go to school full-time and stop working.
I could live like a girl my age wants to live.
I’d have time for friends again, and for fun.
I’d be able to live my life instead of falling asleep over my books every night and cleaning up after rich slobs everyday.
“I wish I knew what to say…” I whisper, still trying to come up with something, before reality hits, and my eyes narrow into dangerous slits. “Hold on. You want me to believe that all I have to do is go away with you for a weekend, on your private jet, and hang out in Vegas with the two of us sleeping separately? For that much money? You really want me to believe that?”
“I do.” He raises one hand, a finger extended straight up. “However, there’s one more catch.”
“I knew it. I knew this was too good to be true.” And I’m about ten seconds from running out the door.
“You have to move in here with me until we leave for the wedding, which is this weekend.”
“Oh, come on. And I suppose we’re just going to accidentally bump into each other on the way to or from the shower and oops, your towel’s going to fall off and whoops, we just fall onto the bed together—”
“Dani.”
The word is like a whip cutting through the air. It stuns me into silence.
He stares at me, his eyes so brilliantly blue, it is like a photograph of the ocean around one of those tropical paradises in the magazines on the coffee tables of the houses I clean. “I’ve already told you, I don’t force myself on women and I do not play games. I’ve already stated the obvious, that you’re beautiful, and I’ll admit to allowing myself the pleasure of admiring your body. This isn’t some elaborate ruse to lure you into my bed. I don’t need a random woman to fuck. And even if I did, I wouldn’t pay for it and certainly not that much money.”
I’m shaking. There’s another side to him, one much more in keeping with how demanding he is when it comes to the condition of his apartment. A coiled power, just under the surface. He keeps it under control. But just barely.
“I’m still in love with my ex-girlfriend.” Suddenly, his voice sounds strained.
My heart’s racing faster than an express train. I actually feel a little woozy. “Why—why do you want me to move in here, then? What for?”
“To make this as believable as possible. I don’t go into anything without preparing first, and I want to prepare the both of us so we’ll make a convincing couple.” His eyes narrow, just enough to make me shiver a little. “And I want to be sure you’re safe. New York isn’t safe.”
My eyes widen with shock. No one has ever cared enough to check whether I’m safe. I’ve watched my own back for as long as I can remember. “That’s ridiculous. You don’t have the first idea about my life or how I live it.”
“That’s irrelevant. I have OCD tendencies. When you’re here with me, living unde
r my roof, I’ll know for certain.” He grins. “Would you rather I call you every ten minutes to be sure?”
I accept the olive branch and grin back. “That isn’t the least bit troublesome, or insane,” I quip drily.
“Would you?” he challenges.
I chew at my bottom lip. “No. I wouldn’t rather you call me every ten minutes. I wouldn’t even give you my number.”
“Do you want to see how quickly I can find it?”
“No. Thanks very much.”
He looks about as satisfied as the cat that ate the cream—another of my foster mother’s favorite sayings. He knows he has me where he wants me, that’s why.
I shift my weight from one foot to the other. “I could take one of the other rooms?”
“Naturally.”
“And it would only be until the weekend, when we would go to Las Vegas? And I would move home after that?”
“Of course.”
Somehow, that didn’t come out as sure and strong as the first agreement. I wonder why not. What does he think? That I’ll let him control my movements even when this is over? He’s got another thing coming—but hey, he wants to get to know me, doesn’t he? That’s why I’m moving in with him. Well, he’ll get to know me, all right. “I’m pretty sure I’ll end up regretting this,” I whisper.
“I’m certain you won’t. I’ll make sure you don’t.”
“I have to wonder what you mean by that.”
“You’ll have to wait and see.” He stands, towering over me.
Boy, he’s tall. This is the first time I’m seeing his full height. When I stand too, he dwarfs me. I’m around five-five, so he has to be almost a foot taller. Whew. “Am I honestly accepting this crazy idea?”
Brock smiles, his eyes are warm and sparkling for the first time since I woke up. “If you’re half as smart as you seem, you are. This is the sort of arrangement any girl would kill to be a part of.”
“Because you’re so wonderful?” I challenge.
“Because you need the money. And I have more than I know what to do with. In fact, this is likely the first time in a very, very long time that I’ve ever been truly satisfied with the result of spending it.” He extends a hand to seal our deal.
The Promise Page 18