One Night With a Billionaire (Novella): The Perfect Man by VickiLewis Thompson

like a shot in the arm. That’s why I want to give you the grand tour of Paris, because I know we’d have ourselves a terrific time. But I also find you tempting as all get-out, and I’ve struggled with that.”
    “You have? For how long?”
    “Pretty much since I first saw you. Your expression when you were looking at Notre Dame was . . . I don’t know if I can explain it, but I had an instant gut reaction. There was a sensual look about you that I couldn’t resist. I was determined to say hi.”
    “Is that attraction . . . Is that why you invited me to stay with you?”
    “No. At least I hope I’m not that much of a schemer. But from the moment those bastards grabbed your backpack and knocked you down, I’ve felt in charge of your welfare. The easiest way to make sure that you’ll be safe is to keep you here.”
    “I do feel safe.”
    “You are.” He paused. “And you’re safe from me, too.”
    That was disappointing news. She was just getting used to the idea of having a wild and crazy affair with him. “Why?”
    He laughed and shook his head. “You’re something else. Only you would ask that.” He cleared his throat again. “It’s simple. I’ve offered you a place to stay and a top-drawer introduction to Paris. I’m doing it as much for me as for you, but you’ll still feel indebted. After the few hours we’ve spent together, I’m positive about that.”
    “You’re right. I do feel indebted.”
    He spread his hands, palms up. “There you go. What kind of man would make a woman feel beholden to him and then hit on her? I don’t tolerate that kind of manipulation from others, and I sure as hell won’t tolerate it in myself.”
    So he was claiming the moral high ground. She wasn’t sure where that left her. Probably sleeping alone for the rest of her visit. She could protest that she wouldn’t feel manipulated, but that was more forward than she was prepared to be at this point.
    Plus she had her own issues. Throwing herself at a billionaire was tacky, even if the billionaire had admitted that she turned him on. She didn’t want to put herself anywhere near the gold-digger category. Her daddy had raised her to be hardworking and honest, so it just wasn’t her way.
    “I’m glad we had this talk.” She stood.
    “So am I.” He got up, too. “Because I have to tell you, I weakened when we were in the car. When you started getting giggly, I had a tough time not kissing you.”
    Zing.
That comment certainly put a match to her fuse. “But you controlled yourself.”
    “Only because you wouldn’t look at me. If you’d turned your head the slightest little bit, that would have been all she wrote.”
    She noticed that his drawl became more pronounced when his emotions were involved. Sometimes he didn’t sound like a guy from Dallas, but other times, like now, he could have been the boy next door. She wondered if he’d deliberately tried to iron out the Texas from his speech.
    He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans, and now he really looked like a Texan. “Now that we’ve talked about this, we’ll both be aware of it. I swear that I can take you on all those excursions without forgettin’ myself, so don’t let that be a factor in your decision.”
    She debated saying what she was thinking, and finally decided that she might regret going upstairs and leaving it unsaid. “You haven’t asked how I feel regarding this subject.”
    He sucked in a breath. “No, I haven’t. That’s not good.” He hesitated. “How do you feel about this subject?”
    “I’m not sure yet. Until I saw the way you looked at me in the car, I thought I was sort of like a homeless pet you’d adopted to keep me from roaming the streets alone and getting hurt.”
    “Melanie, I never—”
    “Don’t worry. You didn’t give me that impression. That was all in my head. I tried to figure out why you were being so nice, and then I found out that you’re into charity work, so everything made