Rescued by the Billionaire CEO

by Amelia Autin

  The king had intended to send Alana back to Hong Kong in his private jet, but Alana had adamantly refused. Charter a jet to get her here quickly when Juliana’s life seemed to hang in the balance? She could understand that. But there was no earthly reason to fly an entire plane to Hong Kong and back for one person.

  “I’ll just take a commercial flight,” she’d insisted. And the king’s personal secretary had subsequently hand-delivered Alana’s first-class one-way ticket for Friday morning. “The limousine will take you to the airport in plenty of time, Miss Richardson,” the man had assured her. “Please ring for someone to bring your luggage down when you are ready.”

  As she packed, Alana thought of the work waiting for her when she got back. She’d done her best to keep up as much as possible long distance—email and the internet helped greatly in that regard. But some of Dirk’s older fans still put pen to paper when writing to him, and those letters had probably piled up in her absence, along with a few other things.

  Dirk had insisted she stay in Zakhar as long as Juliana needed her. How many bosses out there would be so understanding about a six-week hiatus? He’d still paid her full salary, too, which, considering she hadn’t worked for him all that long before her emergency trip to Zakhar, put Dirk right up there next to sainthood where bosses were concerned.

  “No wonder his fans love him,” she murmured to herself as she tucked her panties in a corner of her suitcase. “He’s such a sweetheart.”

  When she was completely packed except for what she’d need tonight and tomorrow morning, Alana sat on the bed next to her suitcase and contemplated for the umpteenth time what she’d done her best not to think about while she was here in Zakhar...and had failed miserably at doing.

  Jason.

  Jason and his “no children ever” stance.

  He’d texted her that next day.

  Sorry I missed your text, lang loi. I was on a plane to London. I’ll be back next week, and we can talk then. Glad you see things my way. Yours always, Jason.

  He’d obviously misunderstood. He’d seemed to think that because she’d tried to contact him she was conceding he was right. Which wasn’t the case at all. Before she could formulate a response, however, and text him back, another message had popped into her inbox.

  Mei-li told me about your cousin, lang loi. You and she will be in my thoughts and prayers. We’ll talk when you get back. Missing you already. Yours always, Jason.

  It wasn’t possible to say what she wanted to say in a text—that medium wasn’t designed for eloquence. She’d seriously considered calling him immediately to discuss it, because at least then he would understand how important this was to her. But she’d decided against it because she wanted to see his eyes when they talked. And she wanted him to see hers.

  But the days in Zakhar had turned into weeks, the weeks into a month, and still Juliana wasn’t completely out of the woods. There’d been one mini-scare after another, and Alana had had no intention of leaving her cousin until she was confident Juliana and the baby she carried were 100 percent healthy.

  Jason had called her every afternoon at four on the dot. Which, considering the six-hour time difference between Hong Kong and Zakhar, meant it was already ten o’clock for him. So at first Alana had tried to keep their phone calls brief—no more than fifteen minutes. But after the third time he’d wormed the reason out of her. And from then on he’d refused to let her hang up until they’d talked for an hour or more.

  Every morning she’d promised herself that the next time he called, she’d ask him again why he didn’t want children. But her courage had failed her every time. Instead they’d talked of inconsequential things...her day, his day. And not-so-inconsequential things...how much they missed each other. Alana had even confided in Jason about her strained relationship with her parents, and why, hoping that would prompt him to open up to her about his past.

  That hadn’t happened, although occasionally he’d shared with her the progress RMM was making on the various cases they were pursuing, including the one that had almost ensnared her. Not the details, but still... She’d cherished those moments, because it had indicated a level of trust she knew was difficult for him.

  Every day away from Jason was subtle torture, though, because just hearing his voice on the phone made her knees weak, made her stomach quiver and evoked intimate memories of all the things they’d done for and with each other. Now she knew what she was missing. Now she knew he could arouse her with just a look. A touch. And his smile? He had a thousand smiles, but the wicked one, the one that said she could trust him to satisfy her completely, she craved that smile the way she craved him. Alana had never so much as experimented with illegal drugs, but now she was addicted...to Jason. He was her drug of choice, and she never wanted to kick the habit.

  The problem was, she might have to. Unless she could reach him somehow, unless she could help him conquer whatever deep-rooted fear prevented him from wanting children, unless she could heal him as Dirk had so bluntly put it, she would have to. Because she already knew she was carrying his child.

  Chapter 16

  That night Alana finally broke down and confided in her cousin. Not just about her pregnancy, but about the terrible dilemma she faced where Jason was concerned. Her flight was departing the next morning, and she desperately needed advice and moral support before she left.

  “You’re sure?” were the first words out of Juliana’s mouth. “It’s not just the stress over what happened to me? You know, stress can play havoc with a woman’s system, and—”

  “I’m sure. I took a home pregnancy test...three times. Positive across the board.”

  “Oh, honey.” Juliana hugged Alana tightly for long minutes, then stepped back and asked, “Have you seen a doctor?”

  “Not yet. But I will when I get back to Hong Kong. I promise.”

  “What are you going to do...about Jason?”

  “I don’t know. If I don’t tell him, it’s totally unfair to him. But if I do tell him, I know what he’ll say. What he’ll probably try to talk me into doing.”

  “You never had a chance to ask him again why he doesn’t want children?”

  Alana shook her head. “I was going to, but he had to fly to London unexpectedly and then I got the urgent call about you, and...well...no. And it wasn’t the kind of conversation I wanted to have over the phone.” She hesitated, then admitted in a low voice, “I love him so dreadfully, Jules. But I want this baby, even if he doesn’t. Am I wrong to feel this way?”

  “You’re not wrong. At least...I don’t think so.” Juliana sighed. “I never told you, never told anyone, not even my dad...but I...I faced something of a similar situation when I was eighteen.”

  “You did?”

  “Andre and I...well, he had reason to believe I might be pregnant when I started college. His father found out and sent agents to see me, pretending Andre had sent them. They handed me an envelope stuffed with cash, saying I could use it to have an abortion, or if I wasn’t pregnant, I should consider it my farewell gift from him.”

  “What?” Alana couldn’t believe it. “Did you throw the money back in their faces?”

  “That’s exactly what I did. As I told Andre years later, I wasn’t pregnant, but even if I had been I could never... I loved him with all my heart, Alana—still do, as you know—but when it came right down to it, I could never destroy his child. Our child.”

  “I can’t do it, either,” Alana confessed. “Even if...” She gulped. “Even if he makes it a choice between the baby and him.”

  “So what are you going to do?”

  * * *

  Alana had plenty of time to think about Juliana’s question on the flight back to Hong Kong. As she’d told her cousin, on the one hand she had to tell Jason. On the other, she shrank from telling him. Because she wanted him to want th
eir baby, and she was so afraid...

  So what are you going to do?

  From that question for which she had no answer, she moved into the blame game. You shouldn’t have relied on just a condom for protection. Why weren’t you on birth control? You know condoms aren’t perfect, even if they don’t break.

  But then she answered, What are the odds? What are the odds I’d get pregnant on my very first time?

  Oh, she’d known ever since sex-ed in sixth grade that it only took once. Hadn’t her teacher hammered the message home that unprotected sex was like a game of Russian roulette? But still...it wasn’t as if they hadn’t used protection at all. It was only afterward that...

  She sighed and readjusted the pillow the flight attendant had provided her with when she’d taken her first-class seat on the plane. Then, because the seat next to her was vacant, she raised the armrest and stretched out across both, draping the blanket she’d also been given over her legs. Her first-class seat on the jumbo jet from DC to Hong Kong had converted into a horizontal bed, but the morning flight from Zakhar on the smaller plane wasn’t long enough for the airline to think it was warranted.

  What are you going to do? What are you going to do?

  * * *

  Jason checked Alana’s flight status on the Arrivals board in Hong Kong International Airport. He’d rescheduled three appointments to meet her flight, but he hadn’t even had to think twice. He hadn’t seen her in forever. Hadn’t kissed her. Hadn’t held her. Hadn’t breathed in the scent that was uniquely associated with her in his mind. He’d been strongly tempted to fly out to Zakhar every time there’d been another postponement of her return, but things were heating up with the covert operations RMM had going, and he couldn’t justify it to himself. He was needed here. Absenting himself at this time would be selfish. I want just didn’t cut it.

  He pulled out the little box he’d been carrying around in his pocket for the past month and flicked it open. Then stared at the ring it contained, a flawless three-carat princess-cut diamond ringed by amethysts in a platinum setting. It wasn’t the largest stone he’d looked at, but he’d known this was the ring the moment the jeweler had brought it out of the back room and placed it on the black velvet display card...the amethysts complemented Alana’s eyes. There were matching wedding bands, too—he had every intention of wearing one—back at his condo.

  He had no reservations about asking Alana to marry him. None. Her absence had left a black hole in his existence these past six weeks. Not just a physical ache but a deep yearning for the simplest things: touching her hand, watching her slow smile. Their phone calls had made her absence bearable. Barely.

  And she’d been the one to contact him first, despite knowing how adamant he was about not having children. That had to mean she accepted it.

  He had big plans for tonight, more than just the proposal. More than just making love to Alana. Tonight, after she accepted his proposal, once she was wearing his ring, he intended to tell her who he really was. What he was. And explain why he’d deliberately deceived her. If she loved him, she’d forgive him the deception. He couldn’t fathom a scenario where she wouldn’t.

  He saw her before she saw him, and a jolt of adrenaline shot through his veins. She walked through the wide customs doorway, overnight case on one shoulder and pulling her wheeled suitcase behind her, then stopped and looked around expectantly. He waved from behind the barricade to get her attention, and when she spotted him she smiled and practically ran to meet him.

  He’d waited forever; he couldn’t wait a minute more. He wrapped his arms around her, even though the metal barricade stood between them. Then he lifted her over the barricade despite her laughing protests. “Jason! You really shouldn’t. Won’t we get into trouble?”

  His mouth found hers, silencing further protests. And when she dropped her purse and overnight case at their feet and her arms stole around his neck, he deepened the kiss. Alana filled his senses, and the sights and sounds around him faded into nothingness.

  Eons later he finally broke the kiss. Then just stared down at the woman who’d become his world so quickly he’d been blindsided. Heart pounding. Pulse racing. Lungs desperately trying to make up for lack of oxygen.

  She smiled the smile he’d only seen in his dreams the past six weeks. “I think you missed me, lang jai,” she murmured. “Almost as much as I missed you.”

  “More,” he assured her. He kissed her soft mouth one last time because the urge was too great, then reached over the barricade, grabbed the handle of her suitcase and lifted it to their side. He strapped her overnight case to her other bag, handed her the purse she’d dropped and wrapped his free arm around her waist, drawing her to his side. “Come on, lang loi. Let’s get out of here. I have so much to tell you, but—” he glanced around at the teeming swarms of people waiting for their loved ones to exit from customs “—not in this crowd.” His eyes sought hers, letting them speak volumes about love and longing and who missed the other more.

  Surprising him, her smile dimmed. “I have something to tell you, too.” Her eyes turned soft and vulnerable. “But you’re right—this isn’t the place.”

  * * *

  In the terminal’s adjacent parking structure, Jason stopped beside a gleaming fire-engine-red Jaguar and clicked the key fob to unlock the doors and pop the trunk. He stashed Alana’s luggage inside, then held the passenger door open for her.

  Startled and a little concerned because owning a car in Hong Kong, any car, was an expensive undertaking, not to mention a Jaguar, she asked, “Is this new?” Hoping he hadn’t bought the luxury vehicle just to impress her.

  He hesitated. “Not new, no.” He accurately interpreted the expression on her face and said gently, “No, lang loi, your worries are unfounded. I’m not trying to impress you. And yes, I can afford to run a Jag here in Hong Kong.”

  When it appeared he was going to explain further, she blurted out, “I’m not trying to...to pry into your finances, honest. I just don’t want you to think...” She fumbled for the words. “I told you once before, but maybe you didn’t really believe me, so I’ll tell you again. I don’t need things from you, Jason. I just need you.”

  His slow smile made her heart melt. “I believe you, lang loi. That’s why—no,” he said, shaking his head. “We’re not having this conversation here.” But soon, his eyes promised her.

  Alana had hoped Jason would take her back to his apartment near Causeway Bay, and was disappointed when he pulled into the valet lane of one of Hong Kong’s premier hotels. “Why are we—”

  “This is a special occasion, lang loi, and the restaurant here is one of the best. But it’s not just the food. The restaurant is on the top floor of the hotel and it rotates, giving its diners an incredible view of Hong Kong. The perfect setting.” He didn’t say the perfect setting for what, but Alana’s pulse kicked up a notch, wondering if...

  A sudden realization hit her. “But I’m not dressed for anything fancy.” She’d known Jason was picking her up at the airport, so she’d selected an outfit with that in mind. But still...she was wearing a poppy-patterned sundress made from an uncrushable fabric that would withstand wrinkles, pairing it with a solid poppy-red jacket she could take off if she got too warm. Nowhere near dressy enough for an exclusive restaurant.

  “You’re beautiful in anything,” he assured her. Then his smile turned wicked and his voice deepened. “But you’re most beautiful when you’re in my bed wearing nothing but a welcoming smile.”

  Alana didn’t have time to respond before the valet opened her door, but she promised herself she’d have something to say to Jason in the elevator going up to the restaurant.

  A promise she wasn’t able to keep after all, since another couple got into the elevator with them. The man was wearing a business suit, same as Jason, but the woman was wearing sequins and four-inch high heels.

/>   Jason laughed softly when Alana cast an accusatory look his way, obviously correctly interpreting the message she was sending. He leaned down to whisper in her ear. “She can’t hold a candle to you, lang loi, no matter what you’re wearing.” A statement which mollified her somewhat, but at the same time sent a tinge of warmth to her cheeks as she remembered what he’d said in the car.

  Alana couldn’t help but notice the golden-brown color of the folded bill Jason discreetly handed the hostess who seated them at a table on the outer ring, right next to the window, and her eyes widened when she translated that into US dollars. Hong Kong currency was printed in different colors and different-sized bills for the various denominations, and golden brown was five hundred dollars HK. Not quite sixty-five dollars US. And that wasn’t the tip for the meal, just to seat them.

  She started to say something, but the waiter materialized before she could. He handed Alana a menu, then dexterously shook out the folded linen napkin on the table in front of her and tenderly laid it across her lap. He handed another menu to Jason, saying, “Our specials of the day are Lobster Cardinale, prawns in a delicate garlic sauce, and abalone steak, breaded and pan-fried, served with our chef’s unique cocktail sauce.”

  Alana made a little face at this last item. She knew abalone was an Asian delicacy, but not for her. She noticed the waiter also didn’t mention the price before concluding with a smile, “I’ll give you and the lady a few minutes, sir. If you have questions, just signal.”

  When she opened her menu to make her selection, she was shocked to see the waiter had given her a “Ladies’ Menu.” Which was the old-school practice of printing a menu without prices for the man’s female companion, so as to not sully her mind with anything as unimportant as the cost. She leaned across the table and hissed, “Jason! This is my father’s kind of restaurant. You don’t have to compete with him, I told you. So what are we doing here?”