The Billionaire’s Pretend Girlfriend (The Billionaires Club Book 2)

by Leslie North

  “Yeah, but they at least were able to seem mildly interested in focusing on dinner and the people around them.”

  Her comment seemed like an odd jab. He drew his brows together. Were they already having a couple’s quarrel on their first official day as a pair? “I don’t know what you mean.”

  She sighed, wilting dramatically. He wasn’t sure how many glasses of wine she’d had tonight, but it was probably more than two. “Daniel, we were a pathetic excuse for a happy couple.”

  “What do you mean? We were there at dinner. We talked. We drank. We engaged.”

  “Yeah, but every time I tried to talk to you, you acted like I was a complete stranger—possibly speaking in ancient Greek.”

  “Oh, come on. It always takes me time to unwind after work. I told you, I was distracted.”

  She didn’t look convinced. “We need to practice.”

  He turned his gaze to his laptop, flipping through screens. “Practice what?”

  “Practice being a couple.”

  “We’ll have this entire week. This was just the first night. Don’t be so hard on us.”

  She crawled over to him on the bed, pushing her head into his line of sight. “Your friends are going to know by three p.m. tomorrow this is a fucking joke and that you’re paying me to be here.”

  Her words made something tighten inside him. If they weren’t convincing, his friends probably would accuse him of paying off some actress just so he didn’t lose the bet. It wasn’t that unbelievable that they might do some digging and find out she was his house sitter…if they had reason to suspect he was lying, that was.

  “Fine. We’ll practice, but I just need to send a few emails first,” he said.

  “Okay. You have a half hour.”

  He laughed despite her out-of-line request. “Now you’re setting the terms and conditions?”

  “Hey. This week, we’re a couple, and that’s how it works when you date Jackie Stone.”

  He couldn’t fight the grin as she rolled off the bed and rummaged around in her suitcases. He could finally breathe a little easier after she disappeared into the bathroom, but once he heard the water running, he realized he needed to go to a different part of the suite. If he caught even one more glimpse of her lithe and sopping wet body, well…he’d throw platonic out the window himself.

  Daniel settled into a large, wooden desk near a bay window, overlooking a few acres of vineyards. He sank into work easily, sending all the emails he needed and getting a head start on tomorrow’s as well. He jolted when he felt a tap-tap-tap on his shoulder.

  Jackie smiled down at him, wearing what he’d learned over the past week were her standard issue pajamas: a flimsy tank top and cotton booty shorts. He swallowed, fighting to keep his gaze off her hardened nipples. She wasn’t wearing a bra, which meant he could see just how perfectly her breasts would fill his hands, if he’d venture to take a handful.

  “Almost done—”

  “No. I actually gave you forty minutes, because I’m a nice girlfriend, but you’re done now,” she said, closing his laptop. Before he could protest, she sank down onto his lap, slinging her arms around his neck. She giggled, so close that he could smell her minty breath.

  “Is this what you mean by practice?” He relaxed into the chair a little, welcoming the weight of her on top of him. This wasn’t all bad. In fact, the familiar haze of lust was descending. Even if this was under the guise of ‘practice,’ this was something he’d been wanting to explore. A little too much.

  “We need to get comfortable in each other’s space,” she explained, adjusting her position on his lap. Rocking back and forth right on top of his semi-hard cock. “From a psychological perspective, if we’re not physically comfortable with each other in private, then we’re never going to convince the rest of the world we are when we’re in public.”

  He nodded slowly, his palm finding the small of her back. He pushed his fingers beneath the hem of her shirt, absent-mindedly stroking the smooth skin there. “Makes sense.”

  “So let’s just loosen up a little.”

  “I think you’ve loosened up quite a lot,” he teased. When she adjusted on top of him again, his cock swelled from semi to fully hard. “How many glasses of wine did you have tonight?”

  She giggled, rubbing her nose against his. “Plenty.”

  His eyes drifted shut. Now this felt pretty nice. It just meant he’d have to fight even harder to make this intimacy work like a switch he could turn on and off.

  Except he wasn’t sure, once she turned it on, that it would be so easy to turn off.

  “The wine was pretty great,” he murmured, feeling himself get swept away in the current. Aided by her delicious weight on top of him, the heat of her against his hard-on, and the light floral scent coming from her freshly washed hair…Jackie was like the ripest fruit, and he was dying to get a taste of her. He nuzzled her neck. Why not just dive headfirst and see what happened? If she wanted them to get comfortable, then maybe they should get really comfortable.

  She laughed when he nipped at her earlobe. He felt a shiver wrack her body.

  “You wanted us to get comfortable, right?” He pushed his palms down to her hips, urging her to toss a leg to the other side of his lap so that she straddled him. Her eyes were hooded as she watched him, nodding as she dragged her teeth over her bottom lip.

  “Well, come on. Get comfy. We’ll prove we’re the happiest couple they’ve ever seen.” His voice was edged with heat. Maybe she noticed it too. Maybe she was feeling it right along with him, because she did as he urged and hooked a leg over to his other side, straddling him in the plush armchair.

  “Good,” she whispered, tilting her head to the side as he brushed his lips over her neck. She shivered visibly, and this time, he allowed himself to ogle the tight points of her nipples through the thin green fabric of her shirt. God, he was so close to grabbing that handful…

  “This was a good idea,” he murmured, his hands lowering to cover the tops of her ass cheeks. With his pinkie fingers, he could graze the hem of her shorts. Jackie released some of her body weight onto him then, and he wondered if she could feel the thick ridge of his cock yet. She was sitting right on top of it. She had to.

  “I mean, we’re relative strangers,” she went on, and he could have sworn she bucked her hips against him. Or maybe she was just fidgeting with nervousness. “It’s good that we, you know, become familiar.”

  “Mm-hmm.” He dragged his lips up the side of her neck to her jawline, drawing back so he could snag that pretty green gaze of hers. He needed a breather, because he was headed full steam to the point of no return. Knowing him, he’d be the one to fuck things up because he wanted to push things too far, too fast, with the woman who was only trying to help him out because she needed her school tuition paid.

  He needed to remember that. Even if his hard-on could drive a nail into the wall.

  “Do you want me to kiss you?” he asked.

  She nodded eagerly, and he surged forward, capturing her lips against his. The first kiss was intense, but holy hell, the second one was slow, thorough, and passionate. Daniel pushed his tongue past her lips, finding hers waiting for him. She moaned a little through the kiss, and the next time she moved against him, he was positive she was rocking against him.

  Because maybe she wanted it too.

  Daniel’s hands cupped the roundness of her ass, his fingertips finding the hot flesh just under her ass cheeks, right past the hem of her panty line. He couldn’t stop himself. He wanted to dip in to that sweet, sacred area so bad. Jackie moaned through the next kiss, pressing herself against him. He squeezed her ass again, and she tore herself off of him mid-kiss with a groan.

  “Wow, yeah!” She pushed off of him, laughing weakly. “Yeah, okay, I think we got the hang of it!”

  His mouth hanging open, palms still cupped like he was touching her ass, he could only stare at her. “Yeah?”

  “Yep. That’s all we needed to do.” She r
an a hand through her hair and hurried back into the bedroom, calling out over her shoulder, “I think we’re solid. Good practice!”

  Daniel let a long sigh slide out of him, rubbing at his face.

  It was better that she stopped it when she did.

  But it didn’t mean he would be able to think about anything other than her sexy ass in his grip for the next few weeks…or possibly longer.

  Jackie moved on wooden legs, unsure of where she was going, just knowing that she needed to get away from Daniel.

  It was too good. Her drunk plan had backfired. And she knew the full scope of the worrying situation now: if she had let it go any further, she would have torn his pants off herself and ridden him until dawn.

  Come on, Jackie. Daniel’s hot, yes. He kisses 1000% better than you expected, yes. But this is a business arrangement, and you’d better not fuck this up with needless romantic bullshit that’ll set you up for eventual heartbreak!

  Too bad she’d already showered, because she could go for an ice-cold rinse off right about now. She put herself in bed, reaching for the remote control. Mindless television—that was the answer. She just needed to zone out and forget about the very thick ridge of arousal that she’d felt rubbing between her legs in juuuust the perfectly right spot…

  Daniel rustled around from the other room, and when he appeared in the bedroom, he was tugging off his necktie, looking particularly unaffected.

  “Are you ready to go to sleep?” he asked as he undid his belt buckle, facing the walk-in closet on the far edge of the room.

  “Yeah, I figured I’d just watch some TV before bed, unless it bothers you?”

  “No, that’s fine. I’m going to take a quick shower. Then I’ll probably pass out.”

  Jackie frowned as he disappeared into the bathroom. Passing out seemed nice. A lobotomy seemed even nicer—probably the only way she’d be able to stop thinking about those impossibly hungry kisses they’d shared.

  The man kissed her like he’d been dying for it. And the way he’d sunk his fingertips into the flesh of her ass, just inches away from her pussy? He might as well have fingered her to climax right there. She’d been just a breath away from orgasm. The man’s touch was electric, and it was like he didn’t even know it.

  As she flipped through channels, nothing spoke to her. Her body was still buzzing with awareness by the time he emerged from the bathroom a half hour later, shirtless and wearing simple black boxer briefs.

  Her cheeks flushed. Lord in heaven, of course Daniel had a body that could make angels weep. It was only appropriate that he be brilliant, gorgeous, physically fit, and wildly successful. The fact that he was probably the world’s most emotionally unavailable man was only the rotten cherry on top of this stupidly hot sundae.

  Jackie scowled, burrowing into the covers so she couldn’t see Daniel easing onto his side of the bed. Once he was settled into place with a satisfied sigh—the kind she might imagine he would let out after their amazing sex, which would never happen—she turned the channel again.

  “Any requests?” she asked, trying to sound lighthearted, when in reality her heart was heavy with wanting him.

  “Whatever you want is fine,” he said, and then a yawn ripped out of him. He shifted in the bed, throwing one leg out from underneath the covers. The puffy wall she’d created between them deflated a little, allowing her to see Daniel in all his ripped, relaxed glory, one arm propped behind his head. Wiry, dark blond armpit hair on full display. She swallowed hard and jerked her attention back to the TV screen.

  Right when two characters were leaning in for a hot and steamy kiss.

  She hurried to flip the channel. When she landed on the next random selection, it was a movie where the hero and heroine were tearing each other’s clothes off. Ugh, not helping! She hurried to turn the channel again.

  “If you wanna watch porn, I don’t really care,” Daniel teased, already sounding half-asleep.

  “I would hardly call that porn.” The next channel she settled on featured puppies on the screen. Lot and lots of puppies. “Here we go!” she exclaimed, tossing the controller back onto the nightstand. “This is my kind of show.”

  Really, she had no idea what they were watching. She just knew it wasn’t active sex and stood no chance of stoking the fire between her legs to even more intolerable heights.

  Daniel laughed softly. “This is a dog competition.”

  “Mm-hmm.” She nodded slowly, watching as a finely groomed poodle followed around his equally finely groomed owner. “Yep. I love dogs. And, you know, watching them compete.”

  Daniel smirked, looking over at her. “You never fail to surprise me.”

  “What?” Her cheeks went hot, but for a different reason this time.

  “Bad karate, Taylor Swift-loving, dog show extraordinaire Jackie.”

  The smile in his tone was enough to make something deep inside her wrench painfully. Really, the fact that he saw her—was actively seeing her—around his distracted work lifestyle felt like a small victory. Even though they had nothing between them except business.

  “That’s me,” she confirmed. “Gotta problem with it?”

  He laughed again. “Not at all. I love dogs too, you know.”

  “Oh yeah? Why don’t you have one then?”

  Daniel frowned. “Well, I’m never home. It wouldn’t be fair to the poor thing.”

  “Did you have one growing up?”

  He scoffed. “Hell no. My dad would never have allowed it.”

  She relaxed back into her pillow, finally feeling a tinge of tiredness. Maybe it was the ultra-soft bedding. Maybe it was the innate calm of watching poodles run in circles. “That sucks.”

  “Yeah, well, he values work above all else. Even childhood memories.”

  She frowned, looking over at him. She didn’t want to criticize his dad—she didn’t know him well enough for that—but it seemed to her that he should have had a dog if they had the money and space to get him one. As for her, she’d always wanted a dog too—but foster kids rarely had much of anything to call their own, especially not anything as unnecessary as a pet. She’d stayed in some houses with dogs, but she hadn’t let herself get too attached, never knowing how long she’d stay with a family. If she’d spend three Christmases with them or one. Nothing was ever guaranteed to last, so somewhere along the line she’d just started expecting everything to end prematurely. It was a defense mechanism as much as a razor-edged outlook. But at the same time it protected her, it also kept her from getting too deep with anyone. So she kept her mouth shut.

  Daniel didn’t say anything. They watched the hoop sequence of a particularly lethal looking Dalmatian, each murmuring occasionally about a dog’s spectacular coat or the insane shoes of a breeder, before Jackie noticed the time.

  “We should probably hit the hay,” she said, reaching over to turn off the light and TV.

  “Night, Jackie,” Daniel murmured, already sounding halfway to dreamworld.

  When darkness consumed the room, she lay rigid on her side of the bed for a few moments. Wondering if every breath and distant rustle was really Daniel at her side, suffering from the same pent-up attraction, or if it was in her head.

  One thing was for certain: this sexual repression might kill her if she let it go on for too long.

  She just didn’t know how to keep it business while also getting what her body demanded.

  6

  Daniel woke up the next morning at four a.m.

  He didn’t plan it, hell, he didn’t even want it. But his body was flushed with so much anxiety that it forced him out of bed and up to his laptop.

  This was the way of it recently. And the worst part of it all was that when his brain woke him up early on mornings like this, he barely accomplished anything. Instead of getting a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed head start, these sleep-deprived days were dismal, underachieving, pathetic excuses for productivity.

  And this morning in particular, all he could think about was
the unclaimed kisses he’d left on Jackie’s lips the night before.

  Still, Daniel did his best to sink into a work groove and get something done, since sleep was off the table. By the time Jackie was groaning from the bedroom, it was just after eight thirty. He’d been awake for over four hours, and he felt ready for a nap.

  Jackie gasped when she saw him in the lounge area on his laptop. “Oh. I didn’t expect you to be here.”

  “Where would I have been?” He grinned, looking her up and down. Her short hair was a complete bedhead disaster in the cutest possible way. Her tank top was askew just enough to give him a tantalizing glimpse of the top of her nipple. She must have followed his gaze because she hurried to adjust herself and ran a hand through her hair.

  “I don’t know. I thought you and Grayson and Blake might be heading somewhere to play golf or something.”

  “Grayson and Blake might be. I can’t afford to take off an entire week.”

  She yawned, scratching at the sliver of skin visible between her tank top and shorts. “Why? Bills got ya down?”

  He smirked. His bills were the least of his worries, but he understood that she came from a very different place in the world. One that he didn’t understand entirely…but he was increasingly eager to learn.

  “Not that. I have a high-pressure job. Lots of deals on the line, and I come from what you might call a high-performance family.”

  “Tell them to butt out.”

  “My father is my boss.”

  She grimaced. “Oh. Well, in that case…”

  Daniel appreciated her attempts to be supportive, but he needed to get back to work. Jackie eventually wandered off, and he returned his sandy-eyed focus to his emails.

  But each time he made a mistake, or started an email to the wrong client, the frustration built inside him. He was too tired to keep going, but he had too much to do to go back to bed now. Besides, the anxiety wouldn’t let him sleep anyway.

  Jackie poked her head into the lounge area a moment later, confusion creasing her face. “Is everything okay?”