(3 Book Romance Bundle) "The Cowboy's Love" & "Sex with the Billionaire" & "Loving the White Billionaire"

by Julie Allen, Carla Davis, & Monica Brooks

  Chapter Six

  When I reached the front lobby, I was exhausted from the trip. This resort was huge and the walking was a plenty. But every step was worth it. It was such a beautiful escape from San Francisco. The palm trees, the flowers, even the iguanas were welcome in my company.

  Though I was tired, the jitters would not allow me to keep still. So I started wandering around the vast lobby, stopping every now and again to touch a flower here, and to read a brochure there.

  It wasn’t that Axel was late; I was early. Fifteen minutes early to be exact. I left earlier to give myself time to decide whether or not I wanted to stay. Axel seemed like a great guy, but I just went down that road. Just to be cheated on at a pit stop. Suddenly my mood changed.

  I felt saddened, broken, and just awful. Like those emotions from that night came up and slapped me in the face. I tried to fight back tears, and nearly lost the battle when I remembered my boss’s words. “Put on some lipstick and remember that no man is strong enough to break your heart.”

  I needed those words at that moment. They are what helped me fight back these tears. I smiled as I rummage through my clutch for some red lipstick. Using the mirror that was built in, I smoothed the lipstick over my full lips before closing the tube and resealing the clutch.

  “Jaida?” I heard him say.

  I could see him out of the corner of my eye before I turned my head to take him all in. My God, he was dressed to the nines in his steel gray dress shirt and black dress pants. His stature commanded attention as he glided down the lobby towards me. And as he came closer, I could tell that he was equally impressed by my look. I was wearing a long royal purple dress that swayed to reveal a deep slit that bared my toned legs. It hugged my curves sensually as the quarter sleeves were made up of intricate lace. My hair was down to the middle of my back in soft romantic curls, and my makeup was subtle complimenting the almond shape of my eyes.

  “I’m stunned, you’re even more beautiful now than when I first saw you,” He complimented softly.

  “Thank you, Axel. You look incredible yourself.”

  “Do I?” he asked in such a goofy manner I couldn’t help but to laugh.

  “Sorry, I have a tendency to lose my composure around gorgeous women,” he said offering his arm to me. I found myself admiring the way his muscles rippled underneath his slightly hairy arm. The same black silk that adorned his crown.

  “Well that’s okay, I have the tendency to babble about nothing when I’m around a gorgeous man,” I said as we began to walk to our destination.

  “That’s alright, we’ll be good buffers for one another,” he said looking down at me as I looked up at him.

  This man would be the death of me. He smelled like pure ecstasy, I found my breasts tightening as his gaze roamed over my body. I didn’t make it apparent that I could see him, and I wasn’t going to. It felt so good to have someone admire me. Ethan would look at me every once and a while, but never with a hunger like this.

  Had I really been that oblivious? Now that I thought about it, Ethan hadn’t been as affectionate or caring as he used to be. It stopped being magical about two years back, but I just felt that we were getting accustomed to each other. I should’ve seen it coming.

  “You’re thinking way too hard, Jaida; we’re on vacation remember?” Axel said interrupting my downward spiral. If this wasn’t going anywhere far, Axel was a seriously good distraction right now.

  Like a gentleman, Axel pulled out my chair and pushed it in before taking the seat next to me. We were sitting behind the fanciest Teppanyaki grill I had ever seen. The menus were so extensive with sushi and so many different Asian cuisines. I decided on a roll that was dressed with fancy ingredients and colorful sauces on top of the Teppanyaki steak and shrimp on the grill.

  Axel went with the filet minion and lobster special.

  The food was prepared excellently and the sushi roll that I had was the best that I’d ever had in my life! It was absolutely delicious. Axel had eaten just about everything on his plate. I was impressed with his appetite being that he was very fit. I was glad that he didn’t have the chef trim the fat. Something about a person, male or female, that could enjoy the guilty pleasures in life was incredibly sexy to me.

  “Wow, dinner was fantastic,” he said wiping his chin with his table napkin.

  “Amazing isn’t even the word, my friend,” I said patting my belly.

  “How was that roll?” he asked taking a sip from his cup while the waitress came around with the bills.

  “I’ve never had anything that delicious.”

  When she got to us, she handed me my bill before handing Axel his with a smile. Checking out the damage, I didn’t feel as bad as I thought I would. It was fifty dollars, but it wasn’t going to break me. Reaching below the table for my clutch, I straightened up with my card in hand when I noticed that my bill had disappeared. I looked to my right thinking that possibly my hair had swept it off the bar, but it hadn’t.

  “You guys have a great rest of your night,” the waitress said, as she placed a card and a few receipts back on the bar. I went to ask the server to print me up another ticket when I heard Axel chuckle.

  “Axel, I was going to pay for that. You didn’t have to,” I actually felt that maybe he didn’t believe me for a second.

  “I know. But I asked you on this date; I fully expected to pay,” he said as he smoothed my right sleeve. His touch sent goose bumps up my arms and down my spine.

  “Thank you, Axel,” I stated genuinely. I was very grateful for his act of kindness. Though he made more than I did, Ethan was always okay with me paying for our dinners. I thought I didn’t mind until Axel just paid for mine.

  “You’re welcome, Jaida,” he said as his gaze locked with mine.

  I felt so impelled to take his mouth in a kiss. His lips were so inviting and full. I tried so hard to stop my eyes from breaking contact with his so that I could stare at his lips. But his eyes were so mesmerizing I found myself leaning closer before reality hit me.

  I suddenly readjusted myself to make it seem that I’d leaned purpose for that purpose alone. I didn’t want him to think that I was desperate. I mean, he was incredible to look at, and he did just buy me a meal, but what if he just wanted to get in my pants? I couldn’t deal with that on top of everything else.

  “Are you ready to go?” I asked softly.

  “Ready when you are,” he said standing up and extending his hand down towards me. I took it in mine and stood.

  When we made it back to the lobby, it was only eight at night. Still fairly early, but I decided to turn in for the night so that I could wake up in time for the sunset with my camera at the ready.

  We were nearly silent the whole walk back, but I found that didn’t bother me; his company and his presence soothed me enough to where I didn’t feel the need to talk.

  Axel was now facing me, his hands behind his back, giving him a more authoritative stance as we waited for the next move. I didn’t know exactly where to start, so I just waited for him.

  “Well, I would walk you back, but I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable. Although I would prefer to, just to make sure you make it back safe,” he said.

  “You can walk me back,” I stated; in that short time I’d grown a little more trust in him.

  He smiled and nodded as he again took my arm in his.

  The walk back seemed shorter than the walk I took to meet him. Probably because I didn’t want the night to end so soon. Part of me honestly wanted to tear his clothes off with my teeth while the other part just wanted to sit up and talk. I knew that I couldn’t have either, not without inviting sex into the equation, so I decided to say goodnight at the door.

  Before he left, I stopped him by placing my hand on his shoulder.

  “You really are quite the gentleman, Axel.”

  He brought the back of my hand to his lips before smiling and walking away.

  Sleep was going to be hard to come by tonight.
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  When I woke up, it was to the alarm on my phone. The sun was still sleeping, giving me enough time to go to the bathroom and get dressed. I threw on some short denim shorts and a white scoop neck t-shirt before I headed outside with my camera in hand. I already knew where I wanted to capture the sunrise, and it was at the secluded beach on the resort.

  I needed to hurry before it was too late. Though I had plenty of time, I still felt as though I should speed up. That’s when I thought to myself. What am I doing? I’m not at work! I’m on vacation! I needed to let go of my everyday life this week, and that’s exactly what I was going to do.

  Deliberately slowing down my pace, I took the time to appreciate the foliage and the smells of the flowers. I took in the sweet and salty smell of the sea as its scent sailed through the breeze. I made sure that I stopped to stick my toes in the soft sands of the Caribbean before I readied my camera for the perfect shot.

  As the sun began to slowly rise and peak above the horizon, I found myself thinking about Axel’s eyes. As the warmth from the sun’s rays began to touch my skin, I remembered Axel’s warm kisses on my hand. I found myself wishing that he’d given me even more.

  As I snapped the first picture, I found myself chuckling slightly at the memory of Axel’s goofy demeanor. It was just as sexy as his serious mannerism. By the time the sun was above the horizon, I’d taken about twenty shots. I felt that was more than enough to add to my gallery, and began to make my way back to my room.

  I figured I’d take a nap, being that I woke up before the sun. Also because there was no way I could ever do this back in San Francisco. My eyes were on the path ahead of me, until I found them directing my hands to open up my camera. The pictures were even stunning the second time.

  “You’re going to run into me if you don’t look up,” I heard a deep voice warn playfully.

  “Oh sorry…,” I apologized as I looked up, but smiled when I saw who it was, ‘Axel.’

  “Good morning Jaida, did you get your pictures?” he asked before coming to stand beside me as he looked down at my camera.

  “I got at least twenty of them. I have a collage on my wall at home of the places that I’ve been. Every year I try and get a few pictures of the sunrise in different places. Here’s a picture of my wall at home,” I said as I clicked through the pictures on my camera.

  “That’s impressive,” he said honestly as he nodded his head in approval.

  “Thank you. I started when I was twelve and my dad took me on my first trip to Italy. I couldn’t sleep because I was so excited to be in another country that I stayed up. He’d bought me a camera especially for that trip, and our view gave me the perfect opportunity to take a few pictures.”

  I turned my head to look up at him to notice that he was already looking at me. He smiled a beautiful smile which coaxed one of my own. Just like at dinner, I found it hard not to look at those lips.

  Again I looked away. I wanted him, but I shouldn’t. I turned my attention back to my camera, trying hard to hide my shame. He was smart and intuitive enough to know what just happened; I felt too embarrassed to say anything.

  “Have you eaten breakfast yet?” he asked softly.

  “Um, no, I was actually thinking about taking a nap,” I said, the embarrassment causing my “stick-in-the-mud” persona.

  “You could take a nap,” he said shocking me with two fingers under my chin as he lifted my eyes to connect with his, “But I wouldn’t be able to spend the time with you that I wanted,” he finished with a smile.

  My heart was pounding in my chest so hard that I could feel it in my throat. If his fingers were any lower, he would’ve felt it too. My breath was coming out a little quicker than I wanted it to, and I could feel my nipples tightening as his breath polished my lips.

  “Let’s get some breakfast,” he said close to my lips.

  “Yeah, sounds good.”