Confessions of a Bad Boy Millionaire

by Cathryn Fox

  His jaw unclenches, a new softness about him. “Then you trust me?”

  I toy with the handle of my purse. Trust him? Yeah, I trust him. The question is, can I trust myself around him? “Yes,” I say. “To both your questions. It’s all in, or nothing and I trust you.”

  “Good.”

  He closes my door, and I shift restlessly in my seat as he climbs into the car. I try to settle myself as I pull up Google maps and give him directions. We drive mainly in silence, my thoughts going too fast to remain on any one topic. Half an hour later, we reach my boss’s beachside mansion.

  “Nice place,” he says.

  “Not as nice as yours,” I blurt out without thinking.

  “You like my house, Eliza?”

  I shrug and examine the cars in the lot, searching for Jason’s. “Sure.”

  He taps his thumb on the steering wheel. “I was actually thinking about selling it.”

  My head jerks around. “You’re kidding me.”

  His brow furrows as he angles his head my way. “No, why?”

  “It’s beautiful, with a great infinity pool, overlooking the bay. Why would you ever want to sell it?”

  With his concentration back on the road, he slows the vehicle and puts on his signal light. “It’s kind of obnoxious, don’t you think?”

  “Obnoxious?”

  The muscles in his jaw bunch as I glance at him, but he turns his face from me. Not before I catch the embarrassment in his eyes. Others might not see it, but there are things this man can’t hide from me—never could.

  “I think…it’s just…a house like that for one person. All those rooms and space. It’s kind of much.” I frown, hating that he feels guilty for his wealth. He shrugs one shoulder, and goes on to justify his decisions. “I bought it on a whim, you know. Interest rates were down, right time for an investment property.” He casts me a quick glance, and I hate how he cares so much about what others think.

  “It’s a beautiful property and you deserve it,” I say.

  A smile touches his mouth. “Yeah?”

  “Yeah, and believe me, I know all about spontaneous decisions. Sometimes they aren’t always the best choice, but you never know. Maybe someday you’ll have a big family with lots of kids and fill all those rooms.” Without thinking, I slide my hand across the seats, close it over his and give a reassuring squeeze. But the second I do, his gaze lifts to mine—a gaze so hot and so intense it fires every nerve in my body.

  Okeydokey…

  I reach for the door handle, needing a reprieve from the storm inside my body. I’m about to flee when he leans into me. “Eliza,” he whispers, and I practically jump out of my shoes, when he captures my hand, and holds me in place.

  “Yeah?” I ask, trying my best to pull off casual.

  “Listen, Eliza. If you want to pull this off, you’re going to have to stop jumping every time I touch you. I get it, you don’t like me, but you’re going to have to pretend you do in front of co-workers.”

  “I know,” I say, feeling far too breathless and ridiculous for my stupid body’s reactions to this man’s innocent touch.

  He touches my hair, coils it around my finger, and I swear to God, the muscles between my legs clench.

  “Take a deep breath,” he says softly. I do as he says, then let the air out slowly. When I glance back at him, he’s smiling. “Better?”

  “Better,” I say.

  “One more thing.” His hand slides to my neck, and his fingers clasp gently as he slowly caresses my flesh with his thumb.

  “What’s that?”

  “I’m going to have to kiss you.”

  Holy shit!

  “I don’t think that’s necessary, Brax.” Jesus, why do I have to sound like I just ran up eight flights of stairs.

  The muscles in his jaw clench, and air gusts from his flaring nostrils. “Oh, I think it’s very necessary if you want us to look like lovers. We should at least have the kiss nailed, right?”

  “Yeah, but…”

  “When I sign on to do something, Eliza, whether I want to or not, I give it my full, one-hundred percent. Anything worth doing is worth doing right. I’m not going to make a fool of myself by doing this half-assed, and getting called out. I thought you would have known that about me by now.”

  I do.

  Cripes, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Brax so intense before. I get he’s trying to help me and this all part of the act, but holy hell, the man deserves an academy award.

  “I…well, I suppose. If you—”

  He leans into me and his mouth steals my words. My body ignites. My eyes slide shut but I quickly open them again. Forget all the angst between us in the past; I have to see Brax’s face as he kisses me. My chest rises and falls with shallow breaths and his clean soapy scent swirls around me. His fingers delve into my hair, tugging, controlling, confident in his touch as our mouths move, and tongues tangle.

  He slides his tongue in farther, a slow exploration, testing, tasting, discovering with a deeper curiosity. A moan I have no control over catches in my throat, and his kisses deepen, expand, our tongues tangling as curiosity changes to a single-minded hunger that I’ve only ever read about.

  This is what I’ve been missing?

  He inches back, severs the intimate moment and not only am I breathless, I’m speechless—dying from need I never even knew existed, until this second…this man.

  Oh this is so not good.

  “Well?” he asks. “Do you think we’ll be able to pull it off?”

  I take more breaths, praying my brain starts working and I can form a coherent sentence. “That was…” How do I put in to words that the man kisses like a freaking God? If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was kissing me like he meant it? But of course, I do know better. Right?

  “Awful?” he asks.

  What? I was awful?

  How mortifying!

  I swallow down the pain and remind myself it shouldn’t matter that he thinks I’m an awful kisser. It’s Jason I want. Not him. I repeat that to myself until it sinks back in. “Yeah, awful.” I make a face like I’d just eaten a bucket of worms. “Horrible.”

  “I think tonight, behind closed doors, we’re going to have to give that a whole lot more practice if we have any chance in hell of making this work.”

  OMFG.

  I am so in over my head here.

  3

  Braxton

  It took everything in me, and I mean every fucking ounce of willpower I possessed, to break that kiss, when all I wanted to do was drag her into the back seat and fulfill all my teenage fantasies—with the one girl who always starred in them.

  Seriously though, what the fuck was I thinking? Kissing her was a dick move, and I’m old enough to know better. I might have been lying when I said it was awful, but I wasn’t lying when I said anything worth doing was worth doing right. But did I really have to kiss her? Fuck no. I wanted to kiss her—wanted to kiss her long before she ever pressed her lips to mine when we were teens. Today, I simply took advantage of the situation. Selfish bastard that I am.

  A tortured sound, a half laugh, half moan catches in my throat as she hurries from the car, like she’s being chased by monsters. Perhaps she is. It’s dark, but the floodlight spilling over the huge stone driveway gives sufficient light for me to stare at her sweet ass, so round and firm in those daisy dukes, just begging to be squeezed by my hands, kissed by my lips. I shake my head to get my shit together. Good thing Derek is in New York, consulting with an architect firm for the big project he’d been hired to oversee. Because one look at me, and he’d know what was going through my dirty mind. I scrub my hand over my chin. My best friend has one hell of a punch and I’d hate to be on the receiving end of it.

  But kissing Eliza again would be so worth it.

  Then again, I can’t risk losing the best friend I’ve ever had, the one guy one who always cared about the real me and not what I had in my bank account. People treat me differently when they
find out who I am, that I’m the son of real estate mogul Phillip Freeman, and made it big in the tech world. But neither Derek, nor his sweet sister, ever let my wealth stand between us, or ever judged me for it, and believe me, I’m always being judged.

  Eliza hurries to the back of the car, and I catch her reflection in the rear-view mirror as she waits for me to get our bags from the trunk. I slide my tongue over my bottom lip, and still taste her there. Cotton candy and all things sweet. Great. How the fuck am I going to get that kiss out of my head, especially when we’re in the same bedroom tonight, with her using me to catch another guy?

  Motherfucker.

  My nostrils flare as I think about the douchebag who’s too stupid to see what’s right in front of him. He’d better be worth all this shit. I climb from the car, press the fob to lock it, and pop the trunk. Eliza glances around, quick, jerky flashes of her lashes as she takes in the empty vehicles lit up under the lights. If I had to guess, I’d say that kiss fucked her up as much as it did me.

  “It looks like everyone is here,” she says, her chest rising and falling quickly, her expression a mix of nervousness and excitement.

  Ah, okay, so now I get it. Jason is here, and that’s why she’s on edge. It wasn’t the kiss after all. Which is a good thing. I am doing her a favor—she doesn’t even like me—and I shouldn’t be thinking about sex.

  What do you want in return?

  Don’t go there, dude.

  I grab her bag and she holds her hand out for it. I snarl at her and toss it over my shoulder. “Lead the way,” I say as I grab my duffle and shut the trunk.

  She turns and I follow her along the stone pathway leading to the backyard. Noises and splashes reach our ears as we round the corner. I do a quick scan, take in the people swimming, lounging near the edge of the pool or sitting at one of the many tables with a view of the ocean, sipping champagne. I’d say outside of us there are about twenty people gathered.

  Eliza opens the gate and I hold it for her to enter. I step through and when it bangs and clicks shut behind us, a few eyes turn our way. I take in her co-workers. Most are male, which isn’t unusual in the tech industry

  “Eliza,” a man in his fifties says as he hurries toward us. Water drips from his board shorts, and he slows when he sees me. The joy in his eyes at seeing Eliza turns to shock when they glance my way.

  “Braxton, this is my boss, Richard. Richard, this is—”

  Richard holds his hand up to stop her. “No introduction needed, Eliza. I know exactly who this young man is.”

  “Nice to meet you, Richard,” I say and he gives me a power shake.

  I return it and he winks. “I had no idea you two were…” He pauses, like he’s not sure what to say.

  “Dating,” I say and step into the role Eliza asked me to play. I put my arm around her and tug her against me. She stiffens at first, but then I gaze at her, a smile on my mouth. “You might have snagged her straight out of Stanford, utilizing this beautiful brain of hers for the better part of the day, which I’m not too happy about, by the way,” I say and we both laugh. I let my chuckle die down, and put my hand on the side of her cheek. “But I get her the rest of the time.” A pause to let that sink in, and then, “I guess we both know a good thing when we see it.”

  A warm blush crawls into Eliza’s cheek, and I bend down, press a soft, barely there kiss to her open mouth. It takes her by surprise, so I linger there for a moment, wait for her to pull herself together.

  “Good?” I whisper. She nods and I straighten.

  “I think I’d better show you to your room,” Richard says with a chuckle. “Eliza, I put you in the same one as last year. You loved the view so much.”

  “Thanks, Richard. I really appreciate it.” She jerks her thumb toward me. “And I hope you don’t mind that I just sprung Braxton on you like this.”

  “Are you kidding me? Partners and spouses are always welcome, and I am so looking forward to getting to know him, maybe even learning about his business practices. As long as he’s not here to scope out any of my team,” he says teasingly, but with a hint of seriousness. I can’t blame him. Competition is fierce in Palo Alto, but I would never poach from his company. He’s been good to Eliza, which makes him A-Okay in my books.

  “Wouldn’t dream of it,” I say and he relaxes a bit. “Eliza tells me you have annual bonding retreats for your top-level management. I think it’s a great idea.”

  His face lights up. “Coming from you, that’s a huge compliment.”

  As he leads us through the crowd, he stops to do a few introductions. Beside me, Eliza shifts from one foot to the other. I follow her gaze, and spot her best friend Valerie talking to some guy who has his face buried in his phone. Jesus, that had better not be Jason. There is nothing I hate more than a guy who pays more attention to his phone than a woman making conversation with him—and that’s coming from a guy who built his own tech company from the ground up. It’s just plain fucking rude.

  Richard stops to introduce us to his wife, a very motherly woman with blond hair and inquisitive eyes. “This is my lovely wife, Michelle.”

  Richard is about to tell her exactly who I am, when I hold my hand out and say, “It’s just Braxton.”

  Richard nods, like he totally gets where I’m coming from and I suppose he does. “My goodness, Eliza,” she says and nudges her. “Where have you been hiding this one?”

  Eliza laughs. “Brax and I go way back, actually. It just took the right situation for us to realize how much we liked each other.” She smiles up at me and for a brief moment I almost believe she might actually like me, but I’m sure I’m wrong.

  “I can tell how much you do.” She puts her hands up, like she’s warming them near a fire. “I can feel the sparks from here.” She gives a sigh of longing. “There is nothing like young love.”

  Richard laughs. “Come on then, let’s get you settled. It’s a warm night. I’m sure you’ll want to go for a swim and have a drink before lights out.”

  “Lights out?” I say. “Sounds like you run a pretty tight ship.”

  “Busy day tomorrow,” he explains. “Very competitive group here, and we all need a little shut-eye.”

  He leads us into his house and I study his mansion. Unlike mine, his has a woman’s touch. There are paintings, and flowers, and floral sofas. Mine, well, it’s decorated in every shade of gray you could think of. Despite what Eliza thinks, I really should sell it. The house would be better utilized by a big family—one I never plan on having.

  I might have grown up with two parents, but they were never there for me. Dad was always working and Mom was busy with her charities. From the outside it might have looked like the perfect family, but it was a very different story behind closed doors. I’d been in private schools since I was a child and had a no-nonsense nanny at home before I was shipped off to a boarding school in my teens. I was given opportunities others weren’t, and I’m truly grateful for that. But there is a part of me that missed out on being a kid, missed out on quality time with my parents. How could I ever get married, or bring a child into this world when I have no idea how to be a husband, or a father? Jake and Eliza might have grown up with only a mother, but she gave them—and me—the love of two parents. I’m so grateful for that. And of course, that’s another reason to keep my hands off Eliza. They all deserve that much from me.

  We head up the wide stairs, and when we reach the top, Richard points the way, then leaves us to get settled.

  “I like him,” I say to Eliza and that seems to make her happy.

  “I really like the culture at Exact. It’s a great place to work.”

  “Doesn’t sound like I’ll be stealing you away anytime soon,” I say, and give her a little nudge. Okay, now who’s the one doing all the touching?

  “You weren’t serious about that anyway,” she says, as she opens the door.

  “Hell yeah, I was. I won’t poach, but I would have hired you in a minute.” I snap my fingers and follo
w her into the room. She glances at me over her shoulders. “You’re brilliant,” I add, and mean every word of it.

  “Is that a compliment?”

  “Just stating a fact,” I say and that brings on a grin, but her grin fades as she glances around the room.

  “One bed,” she murmurs under her breath. I’m about to tell her I’ll take the floor when someone screeches from outside. We both walk to the window to see Valerie break through the water, coughing and sputtering and shoving her wet hair from her face. Her eyes are murderous when she glances at some guy standing on the edge of the pool laughing.

  “I think someone just dunked her,” Eliza says. Her head jerks my way. “Promise me you won’t do that?”

  I take in her big brown eyes, the panic backlighting them. I step closer to her, and my knuckles brush hers. “Eliza…” I begin, as her chest rises and falls rapidly. “You know I wouldn’t.”

  She looks back out the window again. “I don’t like…”

  “I know.” I still feel like shit for the time I tossed her into my pool when we were kids. We were going through a heat wave, and Derek brought her to my house one Saturday afternoon, after they’d both gotten off work. She was wearing a cover-up over her bathing suit and for a long time she just watched us in the pool. I was in the house grabbing us all drinks when she finally took it off and decided to have a swim. She was testing the water, when I spotted her in this cute one-piece that showed a curvy body. Fuck, she was hot. My dick grew as I watched her, and I knew if I didn’t do something soon, get Derek’s attention off me as I handed him his drink, he’d see my erection. So in a dumb, juvenile stunt, I picked her up and tossed her in.

  Bad move.

  She didn’t come up right away, and I jumped in after her. Little did I know she hit her foot on the side of the pool going down. Fuck, I still hate myself for that. She spent the rest of the summer in a boot, all because I was trying to hide a fucking boner. Now she has a fear of the water.

  Well done, dude. Well done.

  “Come on, let’s get changed and get out there before we give everyone the wrong idea,” she says, breaking the quiet.