The Billionaire's Disgraced Virgin (Billionaire Knights Book 2) by Nic Saint

was going to take that away from her. Love only destroyed, she knew that now. Not that any love was involved where Mike Knight was concerned. Far from it. This was simply an unwanted physical attraction, and it wasn’t hard to see why: even the salesgirl had blushed when she’d brushed up against Mike on his way out of the dressing room.
    He was a very attractive man, and any woman would be tempted to fall for him. But not her. Never her. Not now, not ever. And when the girl asked her if she should wrap up the black dress, she shook her head. She didn’t want to be caught in Mike’s gaze again like she’d been just now, like a deer in the headlights, waiting for him to destroy her. She’d never wear that black dress again. And most definitely not when it might catch the eye of a man like Mike.

Chapter 8
    W hile Mike settled the bill , Chloe sat waiting in the limo outside. Then she saw him leaving the store, two Harvey Nichols people in tow carrying boxes and bags. A mixture of excitement and mortification held her in its grip. Excitement for the pretty clothes she’d selected and would now have an opportunity to wear, and mortification that Mike was footing the bill.
    She’d never before experienced this confusing thrill and wondered if other women who allowed a man to buy them clothes didn’t feel deeply embarrassed. She’d always done her own shopping. No boyfriend had ever bought her a gift and now here she sat, the unwilling and stunned recipient of a gift as lavish as she’d only imagined the Kardashian women would ever have bestowed upon them.
    But then she told herself there was one significant difference: those other women were offered those gifts from the men who loved them, who worshiped the ground they walked on. Mike wasn’t buying her these clothes as a token of his never-ending love. He was simply a bossy overlord who wanted the woman he’d coerced into doing his bidding to look good and present the image he hoped would help him further his goals. He was dressing her up as his own personal plaything, an instrument to land him the deal of a lifetime and make certain she played the part he’d envisioned. Cheeks reddening, she realized he was simply using her, the same way Dixon had used her to further his career.
    But then he was stepping into the car and she almost whimpered when she was hit with the overpowering effect of his sheer presence. It overwhelmed her, as did the potent memory of the moment they’d shared in the dressing room.
    She daren’t look at him, for fear she’d succumb once more to the devastating effect he had on her body’s capacity to act sensibly and rationally. But then he brought out his laptop and was soon engrossed in his work, the car tooling along, heading out of the busy capital.
    He’d told her they were driving up to Oxfordshire, where his family owned an estate, and which would be the scene of the negotiations with the Press Corp people. Inwardly she was already steeling herself for the confrontation with Roderick Holmes. She took out a compact and checked her hair once more. She’d only applied fresh dye the week before, and her natural auburn was still covered up quite well, not even showing at the roots. She hoped the new color would draw attention away from her face, preventing Holmes from recognizing in the woman she was now the erotic image of the girl she’d once been.
    As the hours and the miles ticked away, Mike doggedly studied the latest reports on the Press Corp Group. He found it increasingly hard to focus. For some inexplicable reason the mere presence of Chloe set his teeth on edge. She was dressed in a smart charcoal woman’s power suit now, courtesy of Harvey Nichols, and presented such a mix of vulnerability and sheer beauty that the effect was threatening to lay waste to his intention to keep their relationship on a strictly professional footing.
    She kept the blouse she was wearing buttoned up to the top and yet the effect was almost as