Catching Fire: New Rules (Billionaire Romance Series Book 2)

by T. N. King

  “Thank you, hun.” She winked at him.

  Rex made his way over to the buffet and decided he would just play Ava’s game. He never met her before—he did not know her. He grabbed a plate and looked at all the chafing dishes in the buffet.

  Ava looked over at him and smiled.

  His heart thudded in his chest. Man, he’d forgotten the way it always made him feel. This was not going to be easy at all. “What’s your favorite dish?” he asked politely.

  Ava looked from him to the buffet. “Well, I love the smoked salmon and the chocolate mousse.”

  Yeah, I knew that already, he thought.

  “But…” she whispered low as she leaned close and served up some potate dish onto her plate. “I would avoid the Shrimp paste or any seafood.”

  Rex looked down at where she pointed.

  “Some of the Pavorellis seem to be allergic.” She beamed at him.

  Rex blinked his eyes. “Oh, really?” He looked at the buffet and casually moved over to the cold table. He dished up the salad mix, and then moved over to the shrimp, where he carefully dotted it along the lettuce bed.

  Ava seemed preoccupied with using her tongs to pick up some chicken, she glanced over briefly. Her eyes rounded as she stared at the salad and raised her gaze to his face.

  He grinned and stepped back over to the salad table. “Oh, sweetie?” he called to Mimi.

  Her head swung up as she was sipping her wine. “Yes?”

  “I know you usually like blue cheese dressing, but do you want ranch dressing, this time?”

  Mimi looked amused by his act. “Yes, dear, go ahead and go with the ranch.”

  Rex did so and covered the dots of shrimp paste with dressing, adding cheese and croutons to the top, he was rather proud of the salad. When he turned around, Ava was already back at the table she never looked up, as he grabbed a plate for himself and filled it. He made his way back and set Mimi’s specially made salad down. “I hope I got it right?”

  Mimi seemed to inspect the salad. “You just gave me salad, right?”

  Rex looked confused. “Well, yes. I thought you might like one before the main course.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Which I will serve to you, when you’re done.” He then sat next to Mimi.

  Mimi nodded and picked up her salad fork.

  Rex took his fork and started to eat.

  Mimi raised a biteful of salad to her mouth.

  “So, Mimi?” Tino called out.

  She halted the forkful of salad. “Yes, Tino?” she answered.

  Rex tensed up as she paused.

  “Tell us where you and Rex met.”

  Mimi stilled for a second.

  Rex watched her slyly from her right. I would love to know that too.

  She laughed. “At a club.” She popped the bite of salad into her mouth.

  When she took the bite, Rex almost choked on his food.

  Moaning with delight, she forked up another bite. “This is delicious, Rex.” She munched on the salad.

  He swallowed and tried to smile as he watched her take yet another bite. “Yes, dear, I do try.” Watching her eat the shrimp while unaware, he then had to prevent a glorious victory smile that so wanted to break over his lips.

  “So, how long have you two been an item?” Ava asked.

  Item? Rex nearly choked on his wine. He wasn’t going to make it through this meal without the Heimlich maneuver.

  “We’ve been together for a few months,” Mimi answered and took a sip of wine.

  Rex did smile now. “It was love at first sight.”

  Mimi gaped at him, before recovering from her shock.

  “I just couldn’t resist her.”

  Tino laughed. “Sorry, we’re just so happy about it and naturally, we are curious.”

  Yeah, I’ll just bet. Rex thought. He looked over at Mimi.

  She smiled and nudged her plate away.

  “Oh, are you ready now?’

  She nodded. “Just chicken, okay? No seafood, please.”

  Rex looked perplexed. “Why? There is some great smoked—“

  “Just that—okay?” She gave him a thin smile.

  He nodded and went over to the buffet. All the while, he wondered how long it would be before she showed symptoms.

  The rest of dinner went by pleasantly and Rex had to admit, he enjoyed it as long as he never looked over at Ava. I especially enjoyed the shrimp! He suppressed a chuckle. “Well, I think we should go and rest for awhile.”

  Mimi looked over at him.

  He shrugged. “Unless there are other plans?”

  She gazed back at her brother. “No, I think we can all meet later, like say about nine?”

  Ava nodded and looked very serene.

  Tino smiled. “That sounds great we can all meet on the deck and have a nightcap.”

  Rex willed his eyes to move away from Ava.

  Mimi poked him in the ribs.

  His head snapped up. “Well, let’s go.” He stood and pulled her chair out. He held her hand on the way out and once they were in the hall, he pulled his hand away, as if her skin was acid soaked.

  “Well, Sexy Rexxy?” she called back on her way along the hall. “You did good back there. Especially, while drooling over that fat bitch!”

  Rex glared at her. Fat? He shook his head and finally allowed the triumphant grin to appear on his face. “Yeah, I think I did great!” he called out to her retreating form.

  * * * *

  Rex had slept for several hours in the cabin. After the day before of no sleep and all the stress, he had needed a nap after all.

  He stretched and lay in the bed, thinking of Ava again. She seemed to be holding herself together. He wished he’d found her in a different way. Like they bumped into each other somewhere—anywhere else. He sighed. She seems happily married, and he really shouldn’t disturb that. Especially, when that was Mimi Bitch’s entire aim, in bringing him here in the first place.

  “Ahh!” A scream rent the air. “No!”

  Rex sat up.

  The adjoining door flung open and Mimi stood there.

  Rex couldn’t help but to gape.

  Her face was swollen and nearly purple, her eyes were red rimmed and puffy.

  “You son of a bitch!” she screamed.

  Rex batted his eyes at her shout.

  “How in the hell did you do it?”

  Rex shook his head. “Do it?”

  “Don’t play dumb with me, pretty boy!”

  Rex made sure that he looked insulted.

  “You slipped me seafood!”

  He nodded at her. “Yeah with the salad, I guess?”

  “Oooh!” she cried.

  Rex could swear she was puffing out all over, as he looked at her swollen fingers. “I really don’t know what’s going on.”

  Mimi was huffing and puffing. “I will get you for this!” She slammed the door behind her.

  Rex bit at his lip and covered his laugh with his hand. He then composed himself. “Who’s the fat bitch now, I wonder?”

  * * * *

  He arrived on deck at nine. Chuckling, as he thought of Miss Puff and Stuff he didn’t think his Lover would be joining him. He figured that it might be good for him to be the third wheel, see Ava with her loving husband and let it sink in, maybe it would finally reach his other brain, the one that sprang up every time he even caught sight of her, the one he’d used to make a living for three years. The bad boy needed to quit rearing its head too, he kept chuckling, and then halted on the deck. Gazing around, he found it was entirely empty.

  Rex saw someone though, movement from the side of the ship on the rope ladder, across the deck. He walked over and leaned on the railing, no one was down there, why would there be anyway? He sighed to himself. Maybe no one would show. He felt relieved and disappointed at the same time while he stared up at the full moon.

  Something moved under his elbows he lifted them up while staring down at the rope ladder, so he peered over the side. All
he could see was the tarp-covered lifeboat. Puzzled, he glanced down at the rope ladder again. It suddenly moved, as if someone was shaking it. He studied it, the wind maybe? It shook again, his eyes followed all the way down to the ladder and it stilled again. He shook his head watching, as it tugged and swayed back and forth.

  What the hell? He looked around at the empty deck, and then climbed down the ladder. He wondered what this was all about as he got to the bottom. The tarp moved. Someone was in the boat? He then thought about climbing back up.

  “Rex…”

  He froze, Rex would know her voice anywhere, it had been in his dreams many times and he climbed down into the boat, under the tarp. “Ava?” he whispered. It was dark and he couldn’t see her, but he could smell her scent. The feelings it brought were powerful, ones he’d avoided for all these years. He realized just then, that he had truly never forgotten it and now it seemed to infuse the memory of her into his brain.

  Her hands grasped his shirt and he was tugged forward. Lips smothered his, and that familiar flavor of her, imbued his senses. He reached his arms around her and jerked her closer.

  She used those pouty lips to smother him, her kiss was fierce, in all of his tricks, no one had ever kissed him so desperately, so passionately. All sorts of things ran through his brain; she wasn’t upset? Why was she here in the life boat? Did she—?

  Ava jerked his zipper down and her fingers dove into his briefs, latching onto his already hard cock. She moaned with a needy sound from her throat.

  Rex was being accosted in the sexiest way possible and he didn’t think anything at all anymore, he only felt.

  She broke free of his mouth and seemed to move away again into the darkness.

  “Ava?” he panted his chest heaving.

  Her mouth enveloped his dick and she took him all the way in, deep into her throat.

  “Uh!” he breathed out and his body jumped as the warmth from her sucking motion drew the breath from his lungs.

  She moved her mouth back and forth, up and down, as though she were trying to devour him.

  Rex had always prided himself on delaying his climaxes but he knew if she did just one more stroke, he would explode.

  Just then, she removed the velvet sexual instrument that was her mouth.

  Again, he gasped. His brain wouldn’t function, his body was on fire. She pushed him back and now his eyes had adjusted to the dark, he could in fact see her silhouette. As he gazed up, the light of the moon glanced across her face.

  Her eyes were bright and wild her long red hair flowing over her bare shoulders, while she slid over him, tugging his pants down from his hips.

  Rex lay helpless, he could have stopped this or he could have been more aggressive himself, but he did nothing. He couldn’t seem to do anything at all except feel and immerse himself in everything that was Ava.

  Her face came back into view as she ripped his shirt open, the buttons popping. He could hear her desperate panting as the steam of their breathing filled the inside of tarp covered boat.

  Ava slid forward and rubbed her breasts across his bare chest as she crouched over him.

  His cock throbbed painfully as he panted, with the adrenaline of pure need pulsing through him. The feel of her skin and scent of her hair brought all of it back. The hunger and thirst rose up in him with a brutal force. He did in fact, feel as if he were a man crawling through a hot arid wasteland and she was the water that he needed so desperately. Her body slid closer, and then he could see her face in the slant of moonlight again.

  Her face was flushed, covered with a light sheen of moisture as she gazed into his eyes and slid her silky wet pussy over his bare stomach. Straddling his hips, she shoved herself down on his full erection with a supreme force and covered her own mouth to muffle her ecstasy laced scream.

  Raising his hands, he smoothed them along those magnificent full breasts. He remembered the feel of them—the succulent taste of them. Even after all those women, this was the one he’d always remember, every luscious full curve, every inch of her soft skin.

  She breathed heavily through her nose as her palm remained over her mouth, while he could feel her riding him, lifting herself up and slamming her pussy down. The boat kept rocking from the force of it.

  Rex was lost in the look she held in her eyes. He could smell her and taste her on his lips and his brain seemed to buzz. The buzzing grew until he was capitulated into a place of pure sensual pleasure. He felt himself start to climax as he’d forgotten to hold back. In fact, he forgotten every rule he’d ever abided by in order to please a woman. Nothing he had instituted before applied to this. There was no planning or measuring a feeling as divine as this.

  He held onto her hips tightly and lunged his pelvis up high, nearly spearing her with his exploding cock.

  The gasp Ava drew caused her breath to expel forcefully from her lungs, as he watched her gorgeous form grow rigid with her orgasm. Tears rolled down her cheeks as her weeping and sensual moaning mixed to form a sound he’d never heard from a woman before. He knew he would never forget the beauty of it.

  Ava sighed and collapsed forward, while holding onto him so tightly he almost couldn’t breathe and she covered his mouth again, kissing him gently.

  Rex was panting as well, as he embraced her and allowed her to kiss him in any way she wanted. They lie that way for several minutes, clinging to one another, with their lips pressed together.

  Rex wanted to talk to her and he wanted to hear her voice. What had happened before, and was she okay? What did she want for him to do, not to do? Somehow, he knew not to speak, her continued silence let him know that this was the way she needed it to be. All his years of studying women, getting to know them had taught him some things, yet he never ceased to be astonished by some, and this one in particular amazed him from the first day he met her.

  She moved from him and scooted back into the darkened part of the boat.

  Rex felt her leaving at that moment, like the day she’d left him at the Grande Hotel, years before. It was like a vacuum had sucked all the light from his world away. A great big drawing and he remembered it all just then—that feeling. Did he want this pain again? Something which he’d tried to rid himself of by fucking as many women as he could deal with, over the years she’d been absent.

  Releasing a breath, he stayed still, she’d led this boat ride so far and he was fine with following her lead.

  In silence, she crawled over him and climbed from the boat.

  He could hear her soft weeping as she made her way up the ladder.

  Watching her through the slit in the tarp, she halted at the top and laid her head on the rung.

  Ava was composing herself just then, he knew this. After a couple of minutes, she raised her head and seemed to be listening.

  Oh, she needs to hear if anyone is on the deck.

  She climbed over and disappeared from his view.

  Rex laid his head back down and resolved that he would wait for a long while before emerging. He didn’t want anyone to find out and for obvious reasons. As he lay in the lifeboat, listening to the water lap up on the side of the ship, he realized that he was now the two things he swore to never become. A married woman’s affair and a one-woman man.

  Rex balled his hands into fists of frustration. He also had to face the fact that he hadn’t even a choice in the matter.

  HATE ME, HATE YOU

  Rex awoke in his luxurious bed the next morning, and he just lie there, replaying the lifeboat loving again, in his mind. It had been so intense and it had all transpired almost without a word between them. He released a heavy sigh and thought about how sex and loving were two very different things. He never stopped to think about it before. He hadn’t wanted to. Ava disappeared like a specter years ago and in a strange way, she introduced him to being a man for hire, but not in the way he’d previously realized.

  He built his client list with the main aim of wiping her from his memory. He’d almost succeeded too, if it had
n’t been for the fact that she had remained locked in his heart. A heart, he denied having.

  Now he was certainly trapped. He wanted to jump back into the lifeboat, unhitch it, and take Ava with him. Why was she married to this Tino? Money? Rex thought not. He wondered what was really going on here. Was it all one dimensional like he’d surmised before? Did Ava love her husband? The question appeared in his mind and then it hit like a dagger in the pit of his stomach at the same time.

  Was it all just about Mimi, trying to get rid of Ava for the sake of money?

  He needed to give Jack a call and see what the real story was on the Pavorelli fortune and anything he could find on Mimi. He also needed to talk to Ava and find out what her take on this was. Did she realize he was Mimi’s pawn? She must. She isn’t stupid. Rex did know that there was more going on here, than what met the eye.

  Unfortunately, he was tied into it all. Secrets, betrayals and lies. Now he was really a kept man, kept not by money, but by love. He’d been lucky all this time, carefree and always his own man, but not anymore. It wouldn’t have been a bad thing if it’d been his choice. His anger wasn’t centered on that. The fact that he was to be the instrument to destroy the only woman he ever loved? That was what really burned him. Frustration welled up in him again, and he wanted to slug somebody, anybody.

  His door crashed open and there stood someone he really would slug. Too bad, she was female. If not, she would be lying on the floor with a fat face that was all bloody.

  “Rex!” she shouted at him.

  He realized that he was nude beneath the silk sheets and he tore them off.

  “Oh! Cover yourself, for Christ’s sake!”

  Rex smiled over at her. “If you break in here? This is what you will see.” His grin grew at the startled look on her face. “If you were more polite? Maybe you could have knocked and I—“

  “Shut up!” she yelled and stepped closer her gaze avoiding the long hard length of him. “What happened last night?”