Bedding the Billionaire (Book 3) (Legacy Collection) by Ruth Cardello Page B

she was eye to eye with him, the material of his unremoved pants rubbing against the inside of her thighs. Her hands gripped h is shoulders through his jacket and she closed her eyes in anticipation.
    “Look at me,” he growled.
    And she did. She looked into those hot, golden eyes as she felt his tip tease her wetness. A gasp escaped her when he filled her with one powerful move. Her body naturally clenched around him and they began to move in union. He gripped her hips and positioned her so he could go deeper.
    Never breaking rhythm, he explored her from within, adjusting and seeking until each stroke sent a shudder of pleasure through her . She gripped at the smooth material of his shirt, pulling him back down to take her breasts into his mouth once again.
    His mouth returned to hers and t heir climax es w ere shared, all consuming, and left them both shuddering against each other.
    He stepped back and offered her his hand in a gentlemanly move that seemed ridiculously out of place in the scene. She took it only because she suddenly felt over- exposed lying there , quickly breaking contact to reach down for her shirt. When she looked up from securing it the best she could around her and adjusting her skirt, he was already perfectly put together again. If she could ignore the residual throbbing of pleasure between her legs or the places her body was still warm from his touch, it would have be easy to believe she had imagined the entire interlude. Unfortunately, the panties and bra that taunted her from behind him were indeed hers.
    “Lil, I – ”
    She brushed past him and hastily bent to snatch the offending article s of clothing off the floor and stuff them behind the cushion of the couch. What could he say? Nothing she wanted to hear. “Don’t say anything.” She held the front of her shirt closed with one hand and pointed to the door with her other. “Just go.”
    L ooking much more miserable than any man should after sharing what Lil considered the bes t sex in her limited experience, he said, “ This was…”
    “A mistake,” Lil ended his sentence for him. “You don’t have to say it. You don’t have to try to sugar coat this with sweet words. I ’m not naive . I know it doesn’t mean anything.”
    “Don’t…”
    “Don’t what? Don’t say the truth? Don’t acknowledge what we’re both thinking? Look me in the eye and tell me you don’t want to run out that door and forget this ever happened.”
    He couldn’t.
    “Go, Jake. Go back to New York. I’ll be fine. This was a mistake that we’d be better off pretending didn’t happen.”
    He walked to the door and shook his head. “ I don’t make mistakes like this . ”
    “We ll, welcome to the human race, ” Lil said and slammed the door.

Chapter Six
     
     
    Jake rode down in the elevator, chastising himself as he went. He was not an impulsive man. Life was a game best played like chess – each move only undertaken after all the possible outcomes had been considered.
    Something inexplicable happened to that belief when he came within a certain proximity to one outspoken, fier y brunette . Half the time he wasn’t sure if he was insulted, irritated, turned-on or some bizarre combination of all three.
    Now he was in the unique position of being thoroughly confused.
    It wasn’t until he stepped onto the curb that he remembered he had driven Lil’s car. Instinctively, he dialed the number of someone who was technically Dominic’s personal assistant, but had become so much more than that to both of them over the years . He had yet to find a crisis Mrs. Duhamel didn’t take in stride.
    “Marie, I’m at Lil Dartley’s place. I need a…”
    The older woman interrupted his request. “She moved in?”
    “Yes, she and Colby are settling in, but since we drove her car here this morning…”
    “How d id she take it? Was she upset?”
    “She was…” Fantastic! That’s the problem.
    Oh, hell, what was he supposed to say to the woman who