The Billionaire's Seduction (Billionaire Bodyguards Book 5)

by Avalon,Kristi

  She snorted. “No. I really don’t. He’s too self-absorbed.”

  At the same time, she never in a million years would’ve anticipated his ability to deceive and swindle her, and pull off an intricate casino heist.

  Her spirit plummeted. “But I completely underestimated him. At this point, he might be capable of anything. I’m not sure how to anticipate the man anymore.” She thought for a moment. “If someone is after Todd, is that why you’re pretending to be like him—to be him?”

  “Partly. I’m also trying to look the part. Todd and people like him are drawn to each other. They need an audience, need to be noticed and brag to others who share their station.”

  “A mutual admiration society,” Sophia said dully. How had she fallen for such a narcissist?

  Liam gave a curt nod. “The more we act like that, the better chances we have to be invited into that circle.” He shrugged. “Like I said, by tomorrow, I’ll know either way.”

  Turning her thoughts inward, she began doubting herself. What if the copper streaks in her shorter, straightened hair and dressing in more revealing clothes wasn’t enough to make her look like a different person? “Maybe I should’ve changed my appearance more.”

  “Stop.” He dipped down and gave her a kiss on the cheek, whispering in her ear, “You’re gorgeous.”

  “I thought the point was to look different.”

  “You do. Enough. Don’t worry about it, baby.” He slid his arm around her waist. “Unless Todd is really searching—and from what I know if him, I agree, he probably isn’t—he won’t suspect it’s you.”

  “But—”

  “You look fucking hot, okay?” he said sharply. “Like a professional model. Those legs… I’m finding it hard to keep my hands off you. You’re with me. You have a ring on your finger, so do I. For all outward appearances, we’re a couple in mad love, on our honeymoon. Even if he’s keeping an eye out, he won’t focus on us as a package deal.”

  Fucking hot? Professional model? Hard to keep his hands off her?

  The sexy compliments turned her on more than she wanted to admit. Heat that had nothing to do with the climate rushed to her face, made her eyes feel over-bright as she continued to look around. To look at anything except Liam.

  “We’ll have dinner served at the hotel. Then we’re going out,” he said. “We need to establish our bond, in the eyes of Todd’s people…and whoever else might be watching.”

  He smoothed his thumb over the fleshy padding at the base of hers, massaging. The gesture wasn’t simply one of reassurance. It expressed lust, longing.

  She didn’t know how she knew that. Yet she felt their connection solidify in that moment. For better or worse—ironic, considering their marriage charade.

  How far would Liam go to make this sizzling undercurrent between them real?

  If he crossed the line, would she stop him?

  *

  Liam hadn’t been lying, when he’d given Sophia those compliments. She looked like a bathing suit model on a cover shoot. Those fucking legs went on forever, and he didn’t want to go out. He wanted to stay in, wrap those amazing legs around his waist, and thrust into her naked body.

  But he also had a job to do.

  Even though his back was turned to protect her modesty, he’d watched her slip into her dress through a well-placed mirror. She wore no bra, because she couldn’t in her outfit. The under layer consisted of an opaque, white slip that ruffled at an angle from her knees to her ankles. The gauzy white sheath flowing over her shoulders was nearly see-through, but not quite, giving the tantalizing glimpse of cleavage. Without a bra.

  Fuck. This night might shred his restraint past the point of repair.

  As the breeze off the ocean kicked up and swept through the open doors of their lanai, it fluttered through the fabric of her dress. When she stepped in front of him, she looked like a goddess descending to earth. One he wanted to bed right that second.

  Tamping down the urges practically boiling him alive, he waited with the patience of a saint for her to finish her makeup routine. The instant she set down her mascara wand, he needed to get out of this room.

  He grabbed her elbow and asked in a voice roughened by lust, “Ready?”

  “Ready,” she said, with a sweet but unbelievable hint of self-consciousness. How in the hell could she doubt for one second how obscenely gorgeous she looked?

  Evidently, she’d never been with a man who made her feel like the goddess she was. He wanted to change that.

  Tonight.

  If she’d let him.

  Otherwise too many cold showers lay in his future.

  Though he suspected even those wouldn’t assuage his scorching infatuation.

  The nerves shook under his arm muscles, when she reached for his elbow. Yeah, he’d escort her anywhere. On the planet. In the afterlife.

  He’d never felt like this. Experiencing a constant emotional, sexual high around her. Knowing he might crash any moment, but the rush of that extreme height was worth the fall.

  When they reached the street, she clung to his arm. “Where are we going?” she asked, stepping carefully, as if not entirely comfortable in the new heels she wore.

  “Back to the hotel room?” he ventured, eyebrows raised hopefully, knowing she’d decline.

  “Seriously.”

  Yes, seriously. He cleared his throat. “A bar near our hotel. A Tiki lounge. Apparently, they serve the best drinks on the island.”

  “And we’re doing this because…?”

  “We have to put ourselves out there.” He slid his fingers through hers in a casual yet secure hold. “For whoever might be watching, we need to act the part. Talk to other people, other couples, have conversations that ensure we are who we present ourselves to be.”

  “So we’re faking it. Like the rings.”

  That stung a little, because he somehow deep-down part of him knew he wasn’t faking it. “Yeah.”

  “Okay,” she said, breathing a sigh of relief.

  Damn. If she took him as her lover, would it be so trying? Such a burden?

  Well, she didn’t know yet. She was used to men who used her, for selfish gain. And left her without reason, without closure. Guys like Todd.

  Liam wanted to lighten those dark uncertainties lurking inside her with his body. With his mouth.

  Minutes later, they arrived at the Tiki lounge. He requested a spot at the bar. When the hostess declined them, he whipped out a hundred-dollar bill. She excused herself to speak to her manager.

  Miraculously, space opened up.

  Once they were seated, Sophia hissed, “You’re tempting fate! Why did you do that?”

  “I haven’t changed my goals since this morning, sweetheart. We’re here to get in to Todd’s crowd. The best way to pull that off is to be seen. We can’t do that hidden away in a hotel room. Or at some random little restaurant. We need to be where the beautiful people go, to be noticed. I thought I explained this.”

  She glued herself to his side. “You did, but—”

  “What?”

  “People are staring at me,” she said, as she ducked her face behind his shoulder.

  “Yeah, they are. Because you’re gorgeous.”

  She sent him a narrow-eyed stare. “Or because you’re gorgeous. And they’re wondering what you’re doing with me. Jesus, Liam. You should be between the pages of a cover shoot. Not next to me.”

  Hadn’t he just vocally and mentally compared her to the hottest models?

  “Then we have differing opinions. Stop doubting yourself, and pretend you’re the hottie that you are on my arm.”

  “Okay. You’re right. This is all pretend.”

  Beside him, she straightened her spine. She walked with a sexy strut. She owned the status he’d suggested. Only, it wasn’t a suggestion. She owned it regardless.

  At her display of self-assurance, fake or not, his sexual desire shot through the roof.

  The more people they met and introduced th
emselves to, as they mingled, the more her confidence became the ultimate aphrodisiac. She said she was faking. He saw nothing false about it. She came into her own.

  As the night wore on, Sophia attracted men and women alike. She was genuine, real, something these people rarely saw. Having been catapulted to their ranks over the past four years, he knew what they saw in her. She laughed a little too loud after drinking one cocktail too many. But she was still her. His beauty. His innocent girl who needed one small prodding to step into her own—and stand out as herself.

  The whole time he watched her, falling deeper. He both admired her and felt protective of her, as men offered her their numbers, which she swiftly declined, citing the ring on her finger as evidence she was happily married.

  Women attempted to approach him, also, but he was too locked in on her to give them the time of day. He waved them away, having found his muse.

  He achieved a sense of personal pride in her self-expression, her relaxation. He’d never seen her relaxed like this. She charmed everyone who talked to her. And this was all her. She was on a roll, and she needed this. Other people besides him were giving her the attention she needed to accept how extraordinary she truly was.

  Toward the end of the evening, most of their new-found compatriots and ex-pats had left the Tiki bar. Sophia returned to his side. She giggled happily, and that’s what he’d wanted. “I met so many people! You were right, not to keep us in a prison in the hotel room. Thanks, Liam.”

  Swaying a little, she latched onto his arm. He wrapped the other one around her to steady her.

  “So,” she said, her eyes slightly unfocused and dreamy, her smile warm, her lips impossibly inviting. “Did we accomplish our mission?”

  When she hooked a finger into one of the belt loops closest to his crotch—and tugged—he realized she wasn’t too tipsy to know what she was doing. His pulse soared.

  “We did.” He pulled her against him, his hands pressing against her backside, pressing her hips to his. She was the perfect height, his perfect match. “And now it’s my turn.”

  She blinked. “Your turn? For what?”

  “To accomplish my personal mission.”

  “What is that?”

  “I’m going to take you back to our room. And fuck you. Hard. All night. Make you mine.”

  With a sharp inhale, she whispered, “You want to do that? Really? With me?”

  “Until I break the headboard and owe the hotel a replacement.”

  Her lips parted. Her pupils dilated.

  All the invitation he needed.

  He sat in the nearest barstool and dragged her up into his lap facing him. Her thighs cinched his.

  He held her face still in his hands.

  Their eyes met.

  One second. That’s all she had to say no.

  She didn’t.

  Tilting his head, he crushed her lips beneath his.

  He didn’t wait for her to question the instinct that drew them together. He swept his tongue inside her mouth, sweeps that grew deeper, more determined, more untamed.

  Vaguely, he heard the bartender requesting payment for their tab.

  Sliding Sophia off his lap, but keeping her close, he fished out his wallet and dropped three hundred-dollar bills on the counter. “Keep the change.”

  He swept Sophia into his arms and carried her back to the hotel. She tried to protest. “I can walk.”

  “I don’t care,” he said, pausing at intervals to make out with her.

  Once they entered the hotel, he set her down. She practically floated toward the elevator, clutching his arm.

  The most endearing uncertainty entered her eyes.

  His heart clenched.

  “Is this all part of the ruse?” she asked, shadows of pain and questioning lingering at the edges of her eyes.

  Over the course of one amazing night, he wanted to sweep away those shadows of doubt. With his fingers. His tongue. His body.

  When the elevator doors parted, he hauled her inside. “No, baby. This is all me. All you.” He cupped her face in his hands. “All us.”

  The second the doors closed, he yanked her against him. Their mouths met. Open and hungry. Tongues swirling. Eager. Searching.

  In every way, he wanted to devour her.

  “You’re so fucking hot,” he said between ravenous kisses. “I’ve wanted you in my bed since the moment we met.”

  “In the panic room?” she questioned, as his mouth trailed down her neck.

  Is that what she called it? Alex Atlas’s confinement room?

  He wanted to go back and save her from it.

  His sweet, innocent Sophia.

  Yes, he wanted to go back and change everything.

  Yet he wouldn’t change a thing.

  All that had happened had led her into his arms. He refused to question. Refused to second guess.

  Refused to let this moment go, when he could finally have her.

  The doors parted on their floor.

  Focused more on exploring every facet off her mouth her than sliding the key card into the door, he growled and set her aside, for two seconds, until the green light flashed.

  Then he dragged her into their suite. He shoved her up against the nearest wall.

  He bunched her dress up to her waist. Lifted one of her legs around his waist. Tugged her panties aside and slid a finger into her. He pushed deep. Met slick sensation.

  His tongue delved into her mouth to reach her most intimate secrets.

  Further. Deeper. Down her throat.

  Claiming. Owning.

  His own need spread like fire through him. He fingered her. Imagined his cock where one finger, then two thrust inside her.

  Tossing her head back, she responded with hot moans, inciting him even more. But that was just the beginning.

  There was so much more he needed to know, taste, explore.

  A generic picture on the wall behind them crashed to the floor.

  The momentary distraction from this lust provided a pause he needed. To remember her trust had been broken.

  Regardless of what his instincts dictated he do to her, he carried her to the bed and pulled back the sheets. Gently, he laid her down.

  Offering the confirmation that he’d done the right thing, she sighed softly. Trustingly.

  As he sank between her thighs, he whispered, “I want this to be your best time. Your first, best time. So many more to come.”

  When she bit her lower lip, it drove him wild.

  “I don’t know if I can handle you.”

  He kissed her gently, sweetly, as his hips nudged her. He wanted his cock against her opening. “We’re in this together, baby. I’m here for you. I want to make you feel good. That’s all.”

  She gripped his shoulders. “Promise? That’s all?”

  “Yes,” he said, though his heart knew the statement was a lie. She meant far more to him than one night.

  But if that’s what she needed, that’s what he’d give her.

  “One night,” he confirmed. “Tomorrow, we can pretend like this never happened.”

  “Please?” she whispered.

  The plea cut him deeply. No, he didn’t want to make love to her and pretend it never happened.

  He hovered on the edge of a cliff. All he wanted to do was this.

  With her.

  “Whatever you need,” he breathed against her lips.

  True enough.

  She slid her hands up from his shoulders to touch his face. “I want this. With you.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  When she admitted her desire to be with him, she watched Liam’s expression change.

  In a good way.

  A hot way.

  The way that makes a girl feel wanted. Special.

  Like she’d become the center of his world.

  He dipped his head and whispered in her ear, “You’re the best thing I never thought I’d find.”

  The flick of his tongue made her shiver. He dragged his mouth
along her jaw to her chin, the softness of his lips challenged by the bristle on his face. Then he pushed up from the bed, straddled her, and dragged his shirt over his shoulders. He tossed it away.

  Naked from the waist up, he stared down at her. In the dim lighting, she couldn’t read his expression. But his eyes…they glittered like an open invitation.

  She couldn’t help her gaze fixating on all the tightly coiled muscles in his shoulders and arms. And those perfect, insanely chiseled abs begged her to trace each sexy groove. With her tongue.

  In a daze of desire, needing to touch him, she sat up. Her hands trembled slightly as she reached out to rest her fingertips on his collar bones. His skin was hot, almost scalding beneath her touch. So tan compared to her pale hands.

  She coasted her palms around the breadth of his shoulders, down his chest. His stomach clenched as she leaned in to pressed her mouth to the top ridges of his abs.

  With the tip of her tongue she traced the indentation down the center line of those delectable grooves. Her fingers went to his belt.

  He fisted his hands at his sides, making his arm muscles pop. A vein pulsed in his wrist. But he didn’t touch her, allowing her to explore him at her pace.

  She undid the buckle

  Arms outstretched, his hips between hers clothed with boxer shorts, he paused.

  The perfect opportunity to explore him with her eyes, first, and all his obscenely chiseled beauty. A light left on from the bathroom door issued enough illumination to impress her beyond belief. He was unfathomably gorgeous.

  She wanted to touch those hard-won eight-pack abs with her tongue. She wanted to worship him.

  Whispering in his ear her thoughts, he instantly flipped their positions. “Do what you want to do, baby. I’ll meet you halfway.”

  Only, she didn’t know what she wanted to do. Was it bad that she wanted to treat his hot body like a playground? Her own personal exploration?

  With one hand he held her face, pressing his thumb against her lower lip. “What do you want to do? Do it. Now. Here. With me.”

  How open would she be?

  For a full minute, she stared up at him.

  Like she couldn’t find words to request all that she wanted to do. Know. Explore.