The Billionaire's Secretly Fake Bride (MANHATTAN BACHELORS Book 3)

by Susan Westwood

  She only shared his gaze for a moment, because in his eyes she could see that it was anything but friendship. “At the very least,” he answered her in a low voice. His words drew forth some of the emotion that was sparking deep in her and beginning to take hold. She forced the feelings and thoughts that came with them back down, pushing them from her mind as she turned the topic of their conversation to other things. She asked him about some of the guests; who they were and how they knew his family.

  Their conversation became lighter, and then it was shifted to travel as they reached the airport and she was given her ticket. She didn’t recognize the name of the destination and she looked up at him quizzically.

  “What is this place? Where are we going?” She asked with a light and curious tone.

  He only grinned at her. “Well, we might have just had a spectacular wedding that was nothing more than a sham, but I’m not about to pass up the opportunity to have an incredible honeymoon with my new bride.” He gave her a meaningful smile and she felt her cheeks grow warm as her breath caught in her chest and she looked away from him.

  He continued speaking in his suggestive tone. “It’s a little island in the Caribbean. I thought it would be a truly… romantic… place for a honeymooning couple to go. It’s paradise. I have no doubt that you’ll love it and enjoy yourself there immensely.”

  She nodded and tried to ignore his seductive undertones. “It sounds amazing. How long will we be gone on this honeymoon?”

  “Two weeks,” he answered, hoping with everything in him that two weeks would be enough time for him to draw her out of her bubble of uncertainty and into his arms, into his bed where he most wanted her.

  If it had been almost any other woman, there would have been no doubt in his mind, but with her there was doubt. There was no way for him to know if he could entice her to be with him in every way that he wanted her. He had never been pushed away by any woman, and he found it both frustrating and challenging in her.

  He could see and feel that things were changing between them, but he was in uncharted territory trying to win her affections and passion. He would not force her at all; no, more than anything he wanted her to want him, to desire him and hunger for him the way that he hungered for her, to need him with an insatiable lust, the way that he needed and wanted her. That was his goal. Bringing her to that point, to the point where she ached for him and could not get enough of him, that was his goal, and he was determined to reach it in as little time as he could manage.

  It took two flights to get them to the island where they would be living for two weeks. An island paradise nestled into the tropical and endlessly beautiful Caribbean. The island was small; dotted with only a few villages along its coastline where a road wound completely around the circumference of the land. There were a couple of villages in the hills, but most of the indigenous population of simple people lived along the seaside, in a sweet and easy-going lifestyle.

  The airport was miniscule; only two gates through which passengers could board a plane, and the building was little more than the size of a large gas station on the mainland. There was a sporty little convertible waiting for them when they left the airport, and she was surprised to see that he seemed to know his way around, being very familiar with the place.

  “You’ve been here before?” she asked in surprise as he pulled the car away from the airport and drove them down the sunny seaside road. The ocean breezes rushed over her skin, cooling it in the bright warm light, and the ocean danced and rolled beside them as the car hugged the curves and turns along the road.

  “Yes, I’ve been here with my family many times. We own the home where we’re staying.” He smiled, his beautiful blue eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses. It made him look like a mysterious movie star.

  She felt her stomach tighten slightly and an unfamiliar feeling edged over her. “Have you… have you brought any other women here before?” She didn’t want to ask, and as soon as the words left her mouth she felt like a jealous fool, but she had wanted to know enough that she voiced it, and once it had left her, it was out in the open and all she could do was wait for an answer.

  The corner of his mouth turned up in a half smile as he realized that she was just the slightest bit curious about it, showing a sliver of possible envy, and it delighted him. It was a step in the right direction; the direction that he wanted to go in with her.

  He made her wait a long minute as he drove in silence, eyes on the road, savoring the knowledge that she was even hinting at being jealous. He waited until she looked away from him, turning her gaze out to the sea before he answered her.

  He reached over to her and took her hand in his, giving it a little squeeze. “I’ve never been here with any woman other than Cami. No other woman was ever important enough for me to bring to such a special place so far from New York.”

  Her heart, which had begun to tighten in anxiety felt a sudden release, as if it was a bird being freed unexpectedly from a cage. She turned and looked back at him. She couldn’t help the smile that spread over her mouth. “Really?” she giggled softly.

  “Really.” He answered, looking over at her and peering over the top of his sunglasses so that she could see his eyes and know that he was serious. “You’re it.”

  Regina bit at her lower lip and let him weave his fingers into hers, looking from them out onto the road ahead of them, and the crystalline ocean washing in beside them. There was a wave of satisfaction that washed over her, and though she didn’t want to admit it at all, she loved the feeling it gave her.

  Chapter14

  It wasn’t a long drive from the airport, but it felt to her as if they must have gone half way around the island when he finally turned the car off of the small two-lane road they were on. It was canopied with trees part of the way, as the forestry and jungle seemed to spill from the hilltops downward to the very shoreline, reaching for the waves.

  In the place where he turned off, the shoreline had disappeared from sight and they were surrounded by lush growth; trees, bushes, flowering plants, vines, and all manner of tropical flora and fauna everywhere they looked. The air was more still and the sounds around them changed. The rushing tumble of the sea gave way to the chirping of birds and frogs, and strange exotic sounds from whatever lay hidden in the foliage they were engulfed in. The road had led inward, away from the water, and she soon discovered why.

  The driveway that took them from the main road was short, and after a curve in it that took them into the seclusion of the jungle, there was an electric gate between two stone pillars. Ryder stopped at the gate and pressed a code into the box beside the car. The doors of the gate swung open and he pulled through them, leaving them to close behind them as he drove the car past a couple turns more.

  They came to a stop before a massive white stucco home that never could have been seen from the road, though she didn’t know how, it was so large. It was a fraction of the mansion in the Hamptons, but it was considerable in size all the same. She stared up at it and took it all in.

  It was a multilevel home, with rounded balconies at varying points, open windows nearly all around it, and Spanish tiled roof and front patio. She was surprised that it was immaculate and that it looked as if someone might be home.

  There was a line of palm trees all along the front of it, set into perfectly trimmed grass, lined with tropical flowers. There was a large fountain near the front door, and it bubbled and poured endlessly over three tiers as it renewed itself. There were birds in the trees all around them, singing and chirping songs that she had never heard from birds anywhere before. It all seemed strange and spectacular to her.

  She felt him take her hand as she stood beside the car, and she didn’t look over at him, she was far too taken with gazing at the magnificent structure before her. “This is incredible…” she trailed off, shaking her head.

  He was looking at her, rather than at the home. “It is incredible indeed,” he agreed, speaking of her, and not at all of the home.


  “Why does it look like someone is living here? Is there someone here?” she asked quietly, as if speaking the words out in front of the home might disturb someone inside.

  He smiled as he looked at her, reaching his hand up to run the back of his finger down her cheek. He wanted so badly to take her in his arms right then and there and kiss her until neither one of them could remember how to breathe.

  “No, we’re alone here. There’s a couple who look after it while we are gone, and when we come they prepare it for us,” he said, not thinking of the words he spoke as he said them, but instead gazing at her mouth, wishing that he could taste it.

  She felt the tension and heat beginning to build between them and she blinked, turning her head slightly to look up at him. “It’s a beautiful place.”

  He drew in a breath and told himself to steady the passion growing inside of him. “It is indeed a beautiful place. Come with me and I’ll show it to you.”

  Taking her hand, he led her into the front door of the home, and she found herself standing in a great area that spread out from a foyer into a wide-open kitchen and dining room. Further beyond that, there was a spacious sitting room that looked out onto a wide expanse of white sandy beach sprinkled with flowers and palm trees that danced in the sea breeze, and the turquoise and deep blue sea beyond.

  Ryder watched her as she looked around. They discovered a large bouquet of fresh flowers in a vase on the kitchen counter, with a note congratulating them. There was a basket beside the flowers, filled with fruits, nuts, chocolates, and champagne. Regina was delighted to see it and she realized at the sight of it that she was famished from their long trip.

  “Oh… we’ll need to go to a grocery store.” She frowned slightly as she looked over at Ryder.

  He shook his head. “No, they’ve taken care of that for us already. Actually, not only is the kitchen freshly stocked with just about any kind of food you could want, but they always make a delicious island dinner for us when we arrive.”

  Ryder walked over to the oven and pulled it open. “It’s in there. I’ll turn this on now, and it will be ready by the time we’re done looking at the house. I’m sure there’s salad in the refrigerator as well.” He looked, and there was. She was surprised at just how well stocked it all was.

  He chuckled softly as he walked over to her and gave her a long look. “They know this is our honeymoon… they would have wanted to make sure that we wouldn’t need to leave our… love nest… if we didn’t want to.” He gave her a suggestive smile and a wink and she felt her cheeks warm slightly.

  “You know,” he grinned, reaching his hand up to the side of her face, “you blush the loveliest shade of pink now and then. I love it.” He stroked his finger over her cheek again and she drew in a breath and turned away from him.

  Business, she reminded herself. She had to remember that it was just business. She cleared her throat. “Well, shall we see the rest of the house?”

  He dropped his hand from her and gazed at her only a moment longer before nodding as his smile faded somewhat. “Of course. Let’s go have a look, shall we?”

  Ryder led her all through the main floor, showing her the other rooms, including an indoor pool which opened up into an outdoor pool, and was enclosed over the middle of it with sliding glass doors that when opened made it an indoor and outdoor pool. There was a Jacuzzi beside it, and there were glass walls all around that looked out into the gardens and the beach.

  They went up one of the two separate flights of stairs that led to the upper levels of the house. There was a flight at the front, and a flight nearer to the side of the home, that lead up to the same hallway on the second floor. Another floor six feet further up from the second floor was also connected by those same stairs and another set. It went to the highest level of the home, one with sun rooms, reading rooms, and a few bedrooms.

  Regina was amazed at the home. It was astounding to her that anyone could own a place so beautiful and only visit it a handful of times a year. Ryder told her that there were business responsibilities back in New York, the main residence in New York, and there were other places where the Carrington’s owned property; other places that they went to visit. For the life of her, she could barely conceive of it.

  Once she had seen the entire layout of the house, walked through each room and gotten familiar with the place, Ryder asked her which room she wanted to stay in. He had hoped that she would be staying in the room he usually occupied. It was a large room on the second level, with a balcony overlooking the sea, but she chose instead a smaller room on the main floor; one that led out to the beach. There was a wide tiled patio that led off of it, and that same patio led off of another bedroom that shared a wall with the bedroom that she had chosen.

  When she said she would stay in the room on the main floor, Ryder said nothing about the room he usually stayed in on the second floor. Instead, he smiled and nodded at her, and told her that he would take the bedroom beside hers. She wasn’t surprised, though there were almost ten other rooms in the house where he could have stayed.

  She stood in her new room; at least it would be hers for the coming two weeks, and she marveled at it. She had said she would take the small room, but small was relative. The bedroom was bigger than her house had been in Manhattan.

  It didn’t take her long to unpack, and in almost no time she was settled, and had walked back out to the kitchen. She was surprised to see that Ryder had set the dining room table out on the side patio through the glass doors from the dining room. There was a simpler dining area there for al fresco meals in perfect weather.

  She helped him bring the food out to the table, and opened a bottle of island spiced rum for them. Their food was what the locals on the island ate; Caribbean fare. Jerk chicken, plantains fried in coconut oil, rice and beans seasoned with garlic, onions, and Creole spices, infused with bay leaves, thyme, and coconut milk.

  They enjoyed their meal beneath a sky that darkened and revealed countless stars; so many that it seemed to her as if there was more light than darkness, and the meal was one of the best she had ever had, and the spiced rum made her smile and relax, feeling the weariness of her long day and long travels.

  “I can’t believe you thought of all of this.” She smiled happily as she emptied her glass of rum. Ryder filled it back up and handed it back to her.

  “I wanted to do it right,” he replied thoughtfully. “I never thought I’d get married. I’m the wild one of the family… I thought I’d be single and unstoppable all my days, but because of my dear father, I’ve been forced to be caught… at least, that’s what he thinks, anyway. Even if this is a marriage of convenience, it’s still a legitimate marriage, and there’s every chance that this will be the only time in my whole life that I’m ever married or that I will have a honeymoon, so… I thought I would give it my best and make the most of it. Besides, I’ve discovered that I quite enjoy impressing you.” There was a twinkle in his eye and a smile at the corner of his mouth when he spoke.

  She giggled a little and wondered if it was his charm or the rum, and finally decided that it was a combination of the two.

  He watched her quietly as she drank most of her rum, and then before she finished it, he took it from her and set it down on the table. Taking her hand in his, he stood up and smiled down at her. “Come with me, there’s something that I want you to see.”

  She let him lead her away from the patio and the house, across a beautiful lawn, and when they got to the edge of it, he stopped and took his shoes off, leaving them there. Kneeling down, he carefully took her shoes off as well, letting her lean on him for support.

  When he stood up again, he wove his fingers into hers and walked with her over the sugar-soft white sand toward the beach. There was only a little light on it, just enough of a glow from the house to show them where they were walking until they reached the water. He looked at her with a smile on his face and walked into the sea up to his knees. They were in a kind of cove, and ther
e was a barrier reef further out from the beach that absorbed the bigger waves. Only smaller waves made it in to where they were.

  “This is a lagoon.” He told her as he pulled his shirt off and tossed it onto the sand. She tried not to look at the toned and sculpted body before her. He was gorgeous by any definition from the neck up, but from the neck down, the sight of him made her draw in her breath. He reached his hands to his waist and began to unfasten his pants, and she turned away and looked back toward the house.

  “What are you doing?” she asked in a breathless panic.

  “I’m going for a swim.” He casually sent his pants sailing past her. She saw them land on the beach not far from his shirt and her heart began to pound in her chest.