Beddable Billionaire

by Alexx Andria

  Grady held up his finger in a “just a minute” motion, then twirled his fork for a mouthful. After an exploratory bite, his eyes brightened and he nodded vigorously. “Deeeee-licious!”

  Was it weird that Grady’s praise made me squirm a little with pride?

  I didn’t know this kid. I barely knew his mother.

  But everything I knew so far, I was kinda into.

  A little voice warned that I was messing with things that were out of my depth.

  But that was part of the allure.

  Hell, I never said I was a saint and I never pretended to be. I looked to Lauren with a smile, wineglass in hand.

  “Shall we start the interview?”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Lauren

  AS MUCH AS I wanted to find fault with Nico’s culinary skills, I couldn’t. He made a mean dish of pasta, and that wine pairing was divine. After listening to how Nico prepared his sauce, simmering it for hours after I left, I was embarrassed to admit that spaghetti in my house came from a jar.

  “You’re very proud of your heritage,” I said after Nico shared some of his family’s history. “How did your family go from a wine-making operation to the global empire that Donato Inc. is today?”

  “Is that part of the article?” he asked, smiling above the rim of his glass, those dazzling eyes something of rare beauty. Or maybe that was the wine talking. No, I could admit he had gorgeous eyes without wanting to sleep with him. He refilled both our glasses, and even though I knew I shouldn’t, I didn’t stop him. Grady, having finished and becoming bored with grown-up talk, had gleefully taken up Nico’s offer to level up his gamer tag on his gaming system. It would’ve been mean to refuse Nico’s offer, but I wished I still had Grady for a buffer. “To be honest, the business side of my family’s operation has never interested me. I was never in line for a serious position—my father has his heir and a spare, which makes me the spare ‘spare’—so I don’t really care how our family rose to the place where we are now. I reap the benefit, and that’s all that matters.”

  “You don’t mind that your father doesn’t think of you in the same way as your brothers?”

  “If you’re asking if I have daddy issues, the answer is emphatically no. Why would I want the stress of running the empire on my shoulders? I’d much rather spend my time pursuing happy things. If you met my brothers, you’d see what I mean. It’s a blessing, in my opinion, that I’m not on my father’s radar.”

  “But that just seems wrong. A father is supposed to love his children equally.” I didn’t want to feel bad for Nico, but a part of me did. “I mean, what kind of relationship do you have with your father?”

  Nico chuckled but I sensed I’d hit a chord. He shifted as he explained, “My father is an old-world misogynist with whom I have nothing in common, so it’s safe to say I don’t have much of a relationship with the old fart and I’m not missing out on anything.”

  “That’s sad. You missed out on what it’s like to have a great father. Mine died when I was fifteen, but he was my world and we were very close. Losing him still hurts to this day.”

  “Well, I guess I can’t miss what I never had.”

  A true statement, but Nico’s flippant shrug was incongruent with the sudden shuttering of his gaze to focus on the wine left in his glass. “Are you close with your brothers?” I asked.

  “Do you have any siblings?” he countered.

  “A younger sister, Claire. She’s in her last year at NYU.”

  “And are you close?”

  “Yeah, I like to think so, but the age gap makes things a little difficult at times. I mean, she’s still in that college frame of mind, and I’ve moved on from that stage.”

  “Because you have a kid.”

  “Not only because of that but I suppose it was a big motivating factor in my need to grow up.”

  “So...single mom...there’s a story there...” he fished, but I wasn’t about to share that particular story, so I shut him down.

  I placed my empty wineglass on the table and turned off my recorder. “I should probably get going. It’s getting late.”

  Nico made a show of checking his watch and disagreed. “It’s barely ten o’clock. The clubs are just starting to open. This is when the night begins.”

  “Not when you have a sleepy six-year-old,” I said, rising. “I’ve already stayed way longer than I’d planned.” That was an embarrassing understatement. I wasn’t even sure if I had enough information for my article in spite of spending hours in Nico’s company. “But I didn’t count on you being a master chef and surprisingly consummate host,” I admitted sheepishly.

  Nico laughed, amused by my admission. A dimple in his right cheek flashed, and I felt my knees tremble suspiciously. It’d been a long time since I’d felt anything remotely resembling attraction, since Houston made his grand exit, and I didn’t particularly appreciate the familiar tingle now.

  Yes, definitely time to go.

  I walked into the living room to gather Grady and found him sacked out. Mom guilt set in hard. I bit my lip, chagrined. “Damn it,” I murmured, “he’s already asleep.”

  “It’s the pasta. Best sleeping aid in the world,” Nico boasted, nodding as if he’d accomplished some great feat as to put a six-year-old to sleep.

  “I hate to burst your bubble, but Grady’s internal clock put him to sleep, not your pasta. My son has never had a problem dropping off, no matter where he is. I should’ve known better and left earlier.”

  “It’s not the end of the world,” Nico said. “Just stay.”

  I balked. “Excuse me?”

  “Calm down, Mama Bear. I have a spare bedroom. The sheets are clean and the pillows like clouds. I don’t mind if you and Grady take the spare.”

  “Yes, but I mind,” I told him, unable to believe he would think I would stay the night with him, separate bedroom or not. The fact that my mind went somewhere it shouldn’t sharpened my tone. “It’s not appropriate.”

  But he didn’t seem to notice and chided playfully, “I don’t get many opportunities to play the gentleman. You would rob me of the chance to play the hero?”

  My cheeks flushed as butterflies erupted in my stomach. Maybe it was the wine, but he just got ten times hotter—which really should’ve been a crime.

  “It’s just not... I mean, what would people say? I have a reputation to protect. Not to mention if my editor found out...it would be all bad.”

  Nico still didn’t see the problem. “We’re adults. We’re allowed to make our own choices.”

  “Clearly,” I said with a hint of exasperation. “Which is why we both should know better.”

  “It’s not as if I’m asking you to share my bed,” he said, sending an illicit shiver down my backside. “Now, that might be construed as...inappropriate.”

  “Y-yes, completely inappropriate,” I agreed, bobbing my head vigorously, though my stomach muscles had just tightened at the idea. “I wouldn’t even consider it.” What a total lie. I’d just considered it. Maybe for a microsecond, but it still counted.

  “Neither would I.”

  And yet, his gaze was saying something else entirely. His gaze, if my senses weren’t malfunctioning, was saying, if given half the chance, he’d fuck me raw.

  My stomach tightened again. I didn’t like this feeling. Everything was tingling and aware—including my lady parts, which I would’ve much preferred to remain silent and dead when around Nico Donato. Except, as fantasy material went...Nico was pretty hot. I wasn’t above using him for mental purposes later...but to be honest, I was tired of getting myself off by myself. Just for the sake of argument, Nico might be the perfect way to scratch that itch without fear of anything turning serious, which I didn’t need or want.

  In that case, it wouldn’t be me becoming a notch on his bedpost, but rather, the other way around. The
idea had merit. Or I’d had too much wine. It could go either way.

  However, for tonight, home was where I’d sleep.

  “Your offer is very generous but I can’t,” I said firmly. “There’s no way I could explain to Grady why we spent the night at a stranger’s house without uncomfortable questions. You might’ve already noticed, he’s very smart.”

  “A point in his favor,” Nico said. “Most kids are irritating. Yours is surprisingly entertaining.”

  I chuckled ruefully. “Well, he has his moments, but you can imagine what kind of questions his head might conjure if we stayed.”

  “Fair enough but you will let me call for a car.”

  “I can call an Uber,” I protested, but Nico wouldn’t budge. There was something oddly protective about his determination to ensure our safety that plucked at my primitive female brain. I withheld a sigh of longing, wishing for a brief moment that I didn’t suffer from the knowledge that all men were pigs and had ulterior motives.

  Because if I didn’t suffer that knowledge I might even enjoy an evening tangled up with Nico, skin on skin, covered in sex sweat and moaning loud enough to cause the neighbors to complain.

  I rubbed my suddenly damp palms, needing to get away from Nico. Maybe Uncle Ronnie was right—it’d been too long since I’d been with a man—because I was actually starting to fantasize about banging boots with Nico Donato, a man I held zero respect for and would never trust.

  But I bet the sex would be fantastic.

  Of course it would be!

  Watching Nico do his thing in the kitchen had been sexy as hell. A man who had the patience to simmer a sauce all day had the wherewithal to pleasure a woman with just as much attention to detail.

  God, it’d been so long since I’d had sex with another human being.

  On the tail of that mournful thought, Nico returned, saying, “The car is coming. He should be here in a few minutes.”

  “Oh! Yes, th-thank you,” I said, stumbling on my words, sounding to my own ears like an idiot. I shouldered my purse and started to reach for Grady, but Nico wasn’t having it and instead hoisted my boy up like he weighed nothing. Grady, adorable in sleep, his lips pursed, simply lay against Nico’s shoulder as if it were natural to do so. “You don’t have to do that, I can carry him,” I said, troubled by how much I liked the sight of Nico holding Grady. What the hell had Nico put in that spaghetti sauce? I was clearly losing my mind.

  “Nonsense,” Nico said, going to the door. “Like I’m going to send you and the boy down to the car by yourselves. The city at night is no place for a mom and her son to be alone. I’ll feel better knowing you made it safely to the car.”

  Again with the tingling. Were my ovaries doing the polka? “That’s very nice of you,” I said, my tongue sticking to the roof of my mouth. Maybe I’d had too much wine. I wasn’t thinking clearly. But I couldn’t quite help but wonder if maybe I’d misjudged Nico earlier. He’d been nothing but an entertaining and gracious host tonight. Aside from the one comment, he’d been on his best behavior.

  And I hadn’t hated the fact that he’d noticed my ass.

  I purposefully downplayed my looks and figure because I didn’t want to deal with the complications of entanglements, but I’d forgotten how good it felt to be noticed by the opposite sex.

  To see that banked hunger in a man’s eyes.

  To know that they were interested.

  But I didn’t want Nico to be interested in me.

  At least, the logical part of my brain didn’t want that.

  The decidedly female part of my brain was cooing and purring and practically begging to thrust my ass in his face.

  Had I mentioned that it’d been a long time since I’d had sex? That drought was making me pretty damn thirsty right now, and Nico was starting to look like a mountain spring of cool, fresh water.

  We got to the bottom floor of the building, and true to his word, a shiny black town car idled softly, waiting for us.

  “Do you have a car on retainer?” I joked as Nico gently put Grady into the vehicle and strapped him into the seat belt. He closed the door gently, standing between the car and me.

  “It’s a perk,” he answered with a cheeky grin that sent my stomach flip-flopping. I’d grown up in the city, and having a car of any sort was a luxury most people couldn’t afford, except for special occasions.

  “Well...um, thank you for a surprisingly lovely evening,” I said, thrusting my hand toward him for a benign handshake, but Nico just stared at me with amusement as if we both knew a handshake wasn’t going to happen. Instead, he accepted my hand gently and pressed a soft kiss on the top, his lips lingering long enough to create havoc with my nerve endings. The gesture was both gentlemanlike and erotic. My breath was suspiciously breathy as I said, “Th-that wasn’t necessary...”

  “But I disagree,” he said, his gaze finding mine. Those eyes were killers. I could only imagine how many women had fallen to their doom in their blue depths—and gladly so. “What if I said, I want to see you again?”

  “I’d say that’s probably a bad idea,” I answered, but my belly trembled. “It would be unprofessional.”

  “And why is that?”

  “Because it is.”

  “So this is it?” he asked. I jerked a nod, shivering but not because of the cold. His subtle smile was my undoing. “Well, then, if this is to be it...” and then he moved in, slowly enough that I had plenty of time to stop him, but I didn’t. I tilted my chin and his lips were on mine. Electric heat zapped between us, binding us. Curse it all, I opened my mouth a little more, inviting his tongue to dance with mine. He obliged with a sexy growl that I felt to my toes. The sidewalk seemed to slant beneath my feet, and I clung to Nico, losing all sense of reason for a blinding moment. It was all sorts of wrong, but I wasn’t going to see him again and it’d been so long since I’d felt a man’s touch that I might’ve succumbed to the advances of the FedEx driver if he’d given me clear enough signals.

  At least, I clung to that justification so I didn’t chew myself to pieces over indulging in this single moment with Nico.

  Our breath mingled as our tongues twisted, the heat building between us enough to melt snow. My clothes scratched against my skin, an irritant. It was a blessing that Nico hadn’t tried to kiss me in his apartment because I might’ve stayed—with him, in his bed—and it probably would’ve been the best sex of my life.

  How did I know that? Well, because oh, God, help me, he was an amazing kisser and I could only imagine what he could do when given free rein.

  Orgasms for days.

  Yep. That was what Nico would deliver. I knew it. My certainty was bone-deep.

  Argh, don’t think of bone.

  Time to stop. Time to be responsible.

  Goddamn morals and ethics—why couldn’t I just be like the rest of the women who would gladly throw their panties at his feet for a single glance from him.

  Because I wasn’t.

  And because of that—I broke the kiss.

  Reluctantly. Oh, yes, very reluctantly, but I broke it nonetheless.

  “Good night, Nico,” I managed as I slid out of his grasp and ducked into the awaiting car as if the devil himself were leering at my soul.

  I didn’t breathe until we were far enough away that I couldn’t still see his silhouette watching us leave.

  Then, and only then, did I draw a shaky breath, my fingers lightly touching where Nico’s lips had been, closing my eyes to savor the lingering pleasure of being touched by a skillful lover...if only for a heartbeat.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Nico

  I WATCHED THE car until it was out of sight.

  The night had turned out like nothing I’d planned.

  Never had a night bombed so bad and yet been so wonderful at the same time.

  I had a raging boner—a
nd no one to ease the pain of my erection—and yet, I couldn’t stop smiling.

  So, Lauren was a single mom with a fantastic ass. Never would’ve called that one.

  Her kid was pretty chill. I didn’t usually dig kids, but Grady was entertaining and smart. Kinda reminded me of myself at that age, so of course, I thought the kid was brilliant.

  Under most circumstances I avoided single moms. I didn’t have the patience to deal with the drama, and truthfully, I’d never met a single mother I’d felt worth the hassle to try to figure it out.

  Until Lauren.

  Yeah, Grady was a great kid. The little monster was different, precocious and very protective of his mom, and yet he’d spilled valuable intel with impunity. But the kid had definitely cock-blocked me, a fact his mother had counted on.

  Lauren’s crafty intelligence turned me on in a way I hadn’t felt in a long time.

  And that kiss.

  Definitely worth exploring in the future.

  Except, I knew the only reason Lauren allowed the kiss was because she felt safe in the knowledge that we wouldn’t see each other again.

  I chuckled as I returned to my apartment. Naive woman. Now that I’d had a taste, I wanted more. Who took one tiny bite of New York‒style cheesecake and then pushed away the plate with a satisfied “I’m good”?

  Exactly. No one.

  And Lauren was my New York‒style cheesecake. On the surface, plain and unadorned with flash and extraneous details, but once a bite crossed your lips, you realized, nothing else was necessary. In fact, to add more would be to take away from the robust flavor of the dessert’s complexity.

  Lauren was smooth and rich—decadent and forbidden.

  How could I not want more?

  As if punctuating the thought, my erection wouldn’t subside. I flopped onto the sofa as I jerked my jeans down around my hips. I palmed my cock, groaning as I closed my eyes, envisioning Lauren’s sweet lips closing over the head, her teeth grazing ever so lightly as I fed my cock down her throat.