The Billionaire's Unwanted Virgin

by Doris O'Connor

  Disoriented in the complete darkness of her room, Alice fumbled for the phone. She groaned out loud when it clattered the floor. Face up, it danced like a demented gnat, and a stone crashed onto Alice's chest, obliterating any left-over arousal, when she read the lighted display.

  There was only one reason her mum would call her at four AM in the morning. Heart pounding in her throat she scrambled out of bed, and went down like a sack of potatoes. With the sheet twisted around her body she had no way of saving herself, and the air whooshed out of her lungs. Tears sprang to her eyes and she struggled to sit up. The buzzing sound stopped, and, plunged into pitch darkness again, Alice couldn't see a thing.

  "Fucking hell."

  The curse echoed around the still room, and the phone started buzzing again. The dim light from the display acted like a beacon, and Alice tried to get closer, but only succeeded in shoving the phone farther away from her.

  "Damn it all to hell and back." Alice bit back the tears of frustration as the phone once again stopped. The door to her room flung open, and she blinked in the sudden light from the hall way. Silhouetted against the light like an avenging angel, Lakota stood in her doorway. He flicked the light switch and scowled down at her, every imposing inch of him, screaming his annoyance at having been wrenched from his slumber. With his dark hair hanging loose around his face, and wearing nothing but low slung pajama bottoms, Alice had a far too arousing view of her husband to be. Just as she'd suspected he was all muscle, with a light dusting of dark hair over his chest, narrowing down to an enticing trail that disappeared under the elastic of his nightwear, that barely hid his arousal.

  Alice swallowed nervously as his dark eyes connected with hers, all too aware of her own state of undress under the twisted sheet. The phone lying halfway between them pinged to let her know she had a voice mail message, and it galvanized them both into action.

  With one fluid move Lakota crossed the distance, picked up the phone and pulled Alice up with his other hand, while he read her phone display. His scowl deepened, and Alice snatched the phone away from him. With his other arm still ‘round her waist she was far too close to him, and her wayward body reacted to his nearness with embarrassing predictability. Moisture coated her thighs, and her nipples beaded against the sheet. His nostrils flared as though he could smell her need for him, and Alice wanted the ground to swallow her up. She sought refuge in anger instead.

  "Give me that, and let go of me, now."

  Lakota's eyebrows rose, and his gaze zoomed to her breasts. They ached under his heated perusal, and Alice swallowed her groan. Instead of letting her go, Lakota picked her up and dumped her on the bed instead.

  "Forgive me for saving your sorry ass. You made enough noise to wake up the dead. Next time I hear you scream and there's a crash in your room, I'll leave you to it, shall I? You were doing so well for yourself after all. Make it a habit to sleep on the floor, do you?"

  "Of course not. I stumbled trying to get to get the phone and dammit—?" Her mum's phone was now unavailable, and she feverishly punched the button for her voicemail. The thing froze on her, and she swore again. Lakota's large hand closed over hers, and tugged the phone away from her.

  "Let me. You'll break it at this rate." She would have resisted, but something in the compassionate tone of his voice let her relinquish control—just this once.

  In no time at all he brought up her messages, and her heart missed a beat when he raised the phone to her ear. Sirens were blaring in the back ground, and she barely understood her mum's thick voice.

  "It's Beth. Alice, she can't breathe. I need you. Where are you? I've got to go…"

  Fear froze Alice to the spot for one horrifying moment, before she tried to get up. She had to get away. Away from him and this nightmare situation and she had to help her mum and Beth. God, little Beth. She had to be all right, she just had to be. The doctors had warned of this complication, the tumor so close to her lungs could cut off her air supply, but it was too dangerous to operate, unless they absolutely had to.

  "I have to go. I have to get away from here. My mum, my niece, they need me. Damn it, let me go."

  Tears blinded her vision as the whole horror of her situation crashed down on her. She was a few good hours' drive from London, completely at the mercy of this man, who just sat there and watched her with that unsettling dark gaze that stripped away all of her defenses. And he wouldn't just let her leave, would he?

  "Where have they taken her?"

  "What?" The question confused her, and she tried to focus past the rushing in her ears.

  "Your niece? Where have they taken her? Do you know?" He cupped her chin to focus her attention on him, and some of her anxiety fled.

  "I … I don't know. She didn’t say. It's an emergency, so I guess our local one, but they wouldn't have the expertise to deal with her."

  "Is she not under the care of Great Ormond Street? Alice, focus. Is she or isn’t she? Because if she is, they will be transferring her there. "

  The calm words made sense, yet they didn't. How did he know that?

  "I can have us there in half an hour. I just need to make some phone calls. Get yourself dressed and meet me in the hall way. Can you do that for me?"

  "What? I mean … yes I can, but I don't understand. You're helping me?"

  Lakota's harsh laugh settled over her like barbed wire, and his fingers dug painfully into her skin.

  "I told you before I'm not the ogre you think me to be. She's your niece. Of course you need to be with her. Lucky for you my money will make that happen."

  ****

  His fingers were going numb in the death grip Alice had on his hand, and he rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand in a silent effort to reassure her. She'd been dressed and downstairs in record time, so fast in fact that he'd only just beaten her. He doubted she'd even brushed her hair in her haste to get dressed. It fell round her pale face in enticing waves and ripples and tumbled halfway down her back, and he had to suppress the urge to bury his hands in the fragrant mass and kiss the worry lines off her face. Every time she moved the subtle fragrance of a summer's meadow tickled his senses. In the artificial light of the helicopter her expressive face looked so pale it was almost translucent. Her full lips set in a grim line, she was barely holding it together.

  Her heartbeat was thundering under his finger tips, and her breaths were too shallow.

  "Breathe, little Alice. You'll be no good to either of them, if I have to carry you off here because you fainted."

  His lips twitched in an amused smile when she snatched her hand away and glared at him.

  "I have never fainted, and I am not going to start now. And do not call me little Alice! I am not a child." Her voice sounded tinny and lost over the head sets they were both wearing, and he clasped her hand back in his, as the pilot started his descent towards St. James's park.

  "Trust me; I am very aware of that fact."

  A brief flare of heat stained her cheeks at his growled admission, before she screwed her eyes shut and shook her head.

  "We're going to die." The panicked screech hurt his ears, and the pilot chuckled.

  "Not on my watch, Miss."

  Sure enough, Jackson completed the maneuver with his usual effortless skill, and Alice released the breath she'd been holding in one fell swoop, when Lakota pulled her headset off.

  "Open your eyes, Alice. All safe and sound on terra firma, sort of. I'll have you with Beth in just a few short minutes." He cursed silently at the inconvenience of the renowned children's hospital not having its own helipad. This time of night the drive would only take a few minutes, but it was still a damn nuisance. "We'll be there in minutes, you'll see."

  If possible she went even paler, and the rush of affection he felt toward her took him by surprise. She was genuinely terrified, and had been ever since they'd approached the helicopter back in his grounds in Hampshire, yet she'd bravely swallowed her fear and climbed on board. It seemed nothing was going to stop he
r to see from seeing her family, and some of his cynicism towards all womankind fled. He could understand devotion to family better than most people. The fact that she'd sought his money not for herself but for her family meant far too much to him.

  In fact, she had no idea that her niece was already in the best possible care his money could buy. When Lakota had read her file, he'd wasted no time contacting his golf buddy and old friend, Spencer. Spencer Jamison not only sat on the charity committee for the eminent children's hospital, he was also the best children's cancer specialist in the country. As his personal friend and major benefactor to the hospital coffers, Lakota had set the wheels in motion the minute he'd realized how serious little Beth's condition was. He knew the little girl was in theatre right now under Spencer's skilled hands, the man himself having been alerted to her plight the minute the ambulance crew made the call for help.

  He hadn't told Alice any of this. She would find out soon enough, because his money had also bought the little girl a private room and a place on a clinical trial. Whether it was all too little, too late remained to be seen, but he hoped for Alice's sake, that her niece would survive the night. Chances of a full recovery were good with the right treatment, but this current crisis could jeopardize that recovery severely.

  Whatever happened there was no going back on his plan now. To obtain the information he needed from the hospital staff, he'd had to announce the nature of his relationship with Alice, and he could almost hear the pound signs drop when he informed the over-eager receptionist that little Beth was indeed family, as he was engaged to her sister. No doubt come morning that little tidbit would be plastered all over the gossip columns.

  He shook the thought off and concentrated on coaxing Alice out of the helicopter instead. In no time at all they were safely seated in the waiting limousine and speeding towards the hospital. Her entire frame shook when they arrived at the entrance, her gaze riveted to the little welcoming committee standing there.

  "Why are they there? It means bad news, right? I know how this works. The NHS doesn't greet you like that unless it's bad news." She stopped abruptly, and her fingernails dug into his arm. "Don't let it be Beth, please."

  "Alice, look at me. Relax. They’re here to greet me. I took the liberty of phoning ahead. Beth is in theatre, and in the best possible hands. I can't promise you it will all work out okay, but she is getting the best treatment possible. I made sure of that."

  Her eyes widened and sought his, and she would have stumbled had he not pulled her close to him. So close that the delicious weight of her breast rested on his arm. It seemed in her haste to get dressed she had foregone a bra, and his blood heated at the thought of what else she may not be wearing under those loose fitting clothes.

  "She's in theatre? But, they said it was too risky to operate, unless …" Her voice trailed off, and she straightened her shoulders and pushed away from him. "I need to be with Mum. She'll be falling apart, and you, mister, you'd better tell me exactly what you've done."

  She glared at him, but he was close enough to her to feel the slight tremble going through her body. His little Alice was putting on a brave front, but the terrified expression in her eyes gave her away. Again that need to protect her from what was coming almost took his breath away, and he shook his head to clear the unexpected fog of emotion.

  Emotions had no say in his dealings with this. The best thing he could do for Alice and little Beth was to do what he did best—get things done as efficiently as possible.

  She strode ahead of him now, head held high, until they reached the little welcoming committee. The fact that they completely ignored her irked him no end, and he waved the fawning welcome away with an impatient wave of his hand, and pulled Alice back against him. The blue eyes of the hospital board executive's personal assistant narrowed in speculation, and Lakota swallowed the bile rising in his throat.

  "Save the niceties, and fill my fiancée in on how her niece is doing, will you? I'm not here for a fucking social visit."

  The platinum blonde's practiced smile slipped for a nano-second, before she recovered and extended her perfectly manicured hand towards Alice at last.

  "I am so sorry. Where are my manners? Beth is in theatre at the minute, but we expect her out within the next hour. The operation is going well, I believe. Mr. Jamison is the best at this, after all."

  "Mr. Jamison?" Alice mirrored the words and looked up at Lakota with a frown. "But she's under the care of Mr. Reynolds. It was our impression that Mr. Jamison was unavailable to take on her care, as his Rota was full, and she did not qualify to be on his trial?"

  "As to that, I have no idea, my dear. This is just what I have been told. Now if you follow me, I will take you to her niece's room, where you can wait for her. Your mother is already there."

  She turned about on her heel, and pressed the button for the elevator with an impatient stab of one long painted finger. Despite the situation Lakota had to smile. It seemed little Miss Blondie was rather put out by the fact that he'd showed up with Alice. They'd had a brief fling a couple of years ago, when he'd first gotten involved with the hospital charity, but as he didn't mix business with pleasure he'd soon broken it off. That hadn’t stopped Louise from trying to rekindle their flirtation every time they met.

  The way she bristled and stole coy glances at both him and Alice spoke volumes of her curiosity, and annoyance. No doubt she wondered what Alice had that she didn't. Acting on pure instinct he laced his fingers with Alice's, and she gave him a grateful squeeze and leant against him. Her fresh scent was a welcome relief from the other woman's expensive perfume cloying up the limited air supply in the lift, and Alice and he exhaled in unison when the lift doors finally swung open.

  Alice's eyes widened when they approached the private wing of the hospital, but before she could say anything to him, they had reached her niece's room. He dismissed Louise and opened the door for Alice. The woman perched on the edge of the bed clutched a battered teddy to her chest, and she looked so much like an older version of Alice, Lakota would have recognized her as her mother anywhere. She looked up when the door opened, and the keening sound coming from her sliced straight through his cold heart.

  "Alice, you're here. I thought—" She stopped and glared at him, even as her arms drew Alice into a bear hug. "Is that him? How dare he show his face here? You may have bought my daughter, but that doesn't give you the right to barge into our private affairs. Get out!"

  Suitably chastised by that little bundle of motherly outrage Lakota took a step back and put his hands up.

  "I don't mean to intrude Mrs. Wanderlund. I simply made sure Alice got here. I will leave you two on your own for a bit. I have some phone calls to make anyway, and I shall find out how Beth is doing."

  "There is no need … Mum, this is not what it seems—" Alice's defense of him stopped him in his tracks. She held her mum back and threw him a worried glance. "Lakota is here to help. You don’t understand what he's done already. All this," she swept a hand ‘round the private room," this is Lakota's doing. He even got Mr. Jamison operating on Beth. I have no idea how he did it, but, please, Mum, he's not the baddie here. He really isn't."

  "So what?" Her mother's voice rose to shrill screech. "Maybe he's trying to assuage his conscience, I don’t much care. I don't want him in here."

  "But, Mum—"

  "It's okay, Alice. I'll leave. I’ll just be down the corridor, so if you need me, just holler. Your mum has been through a lot tonight. I'm not expecting her to be reasonable. Stay with your mum. I'll rustle us up some coffee or something."

  He grinned at her mother's snort in disgust. It was pretty obvious where Alice got her backbone from, and if looks could kill, he would be dead several times over already. Not that he could blame Alice's mum. She didn't know him, and he would not have been impressed had she just accepted him with open arms. Alice looked so damn worried, however, that he couldn't stop himself. He brushed a kiss across her lips, catching her shocked exhale in his m
outh, and she melted against him for one precious second, before he stepped back and out through the door.

  Yes, Mrs. Wanderlund would need some convincing to play along. And he would need her support for what he had in mind.

  ****

  Alice's lips still tingled from the unexpected kiss, and she had to suppress the urge to touch them.

  "I can't believe you brought that man in here, Alice. I really can't." Her mother's terse words shook her out of her kiss-induced daze. Heaven help her if he ever kissed her properly. She would be putty in his hands. She pushed the disturbing thought back into the box it had popped out of and concentrated on her mother instead. This is what she was here for, not to moon over her fiancé. A silent thrill had gone through her, when he'd called her that in front of that irritatingly chirpy and well-coiffed Barbie doll lookalike, who had made Alice feel like the frumpy girl at the school disco again.

  "Mum, what happened with Beth?" The starch went out of her mother at the mention of little Beth, and she sat back down on the bed with a heavy thump. She picked up the little girl's teddy, and a tear rolled down her cheek.

  "I didn't know what to do. The oxygen wasn't working, and she just got worse and worse. She called for you, and she got more and more agitated when you didn't come."

  Alice pulled her mother in for hug, and she was once again shocked at how frail she felt in her arms. Beth's illness was taking its toll, and no matter what her mum thought of Lakota, Alice knew deep down in her heart and soul that she was doing the right thing by marrying him. He had surprised her tonight with his quiet, yet forceful, efficiency. He hadn't needed to bring her here, to go through all this trouble. She was his to do with as he pleased, and the cold man she'd encountered at this mansion could have easily not cared about her family. The fact that he did, the fact that he must have set the wheels in motion long before Beth's crisis, gave her a suspiciously warm glow inside.