by Marian Tee
“I get off in about ten minutes.” Her tone was just as knowing as her smile, and this, too, was fascinating. What the hell did she know to make her speak like that? Did her mind operate in a parallel universe or something?
And it was as if she had heard him think when she said very sweetly, “You’re going to ask me out, aren’t you?” The lips curved once more, but this time it was a hundred times more knowing, as if it were saying---
You’re so into me. And we both know it.
The billionaire slowly straightened in his seat. Be still, my heart. Kharis Stamos may indeed be the woman he was looking for, if only for the way she was able to make him feel.
Incredulity. Irritation. Insanity.
It probably wasn’t how Jaike Hepburn made Derek Christopoulos feel, but since emotionally challenged beggars like him couldn’t afford to be choosers, he summoned another smile, saying, “Yes. I am.”
A giggle. “I knew it.”
“Did you?” His tone was just the right amount of casual and ice, the perfectly polite way to make it clear to Kharis Stamos that he didn’t care to hear anything else.
Unfortunately, it didn’t work.
“See that guy?” She pointed to the bartender, and the billionaire nodded. “And that one?” She gestured to the old man who had just stepped out of the kitchen.
“The cook?”
“Uh huh. Those two are my grandfather’s friends. Marvin isn’t just the bartender. He co-owns the club with Juan, the cook.”
“I see.” A pause. “Actually, I have no idea why you’re telling me that.”
Another giggle. “Oh, right. Sorry.” She gave him a sweet smile of apology. “I’m easily distracted.”
Since there was no way he could answer that without sounding like either a liar or a jackass, the billionaire only smiled politely.
“I told them about you last night.”
“I see.” But this, again, was a lie, and when no other words seemed forthcoming, Christien was forced to ask for clarification. “May I know what you told them?”
“What else?”
The odd look sent his way made the billionaire feel obliged to apologize, but if he did – what for?
He glanced back at Kharis, who was still gazing at him chidingly.
I cannot believe I’m about to apologize for no reason, the billionaire thought.
But in the end, he heard himself say, “I’m sorry. I must’ve missed something, but I don’t see what your grandfather’s friends have to do with me asking you out---”
“It’s exactly that!” She rolled her eyes at him. “I told them I had a feeling you’d ask me out. Did you think I didn’t notice? You couldn’t stop staring at me last night.”
Because you have the most horrible makeup in the world.
“Then you asked for my name---”
Your name, not your hand in marriage!
“And that’s how I knew,” she declared triumphantly, “you had a crush on me.”
What the fuck?
She peered at him. “You do, don’t you?”
No.
The word brimmed on his lips.
Hell, no.
But then those brown eyes of hers claimed his, and instead the billionaire heard himself say, “I guess the secret’s out.”
Chapter 5
“They warned me about you, you know.” Kharis had been chatting nonstop since leaving Howdy with the billionaire, and not even the sight of his sports car parked outside the diner was able to put her mouth off its stride. She had lacked for nothing to say throughout the ride, and so it continued even by the time they made it to the inn. It should probably have turned him off, but it did not.
Should he be worried about that?
As he unlocked the door to his suite, he asked her what her grandfather’s friends had said about him.
“Oh, the usual.” She wrinkled her nose as she stepped past Christien to enter the room. “That no sane woman would go out with a stranger alone, that you could be a serial killer, that you could hurt me in so many crazy ways.”
Shutting the door closed, he turned around in time to see the little mutant make a face.
“Like duh.” She flashed him a dimpled smile, a sight the billionaire imagined might be pretty if not for her mouth.
Looking at it again, Christien thought it looked like she had asked a Beverly Hills surgeon for Angelina Jolie’s pouting lips – only everything had gone wrong.
“You’re staring at me again.”
Riiiiiiight. He recovered himself with an effort – those lips were truly horrendous – he said stiffly, “Apologies.”
“Oh, please don’t say sorry. I don’t mind at all. I think it’s cute.”
Riiiiiiight. His incredulity increased twice-fold and his irritation tenfold, but the billionaire strove to remind himself that this was a good thing.
At least he knew now his valves for emotions hadn’t rusted away due to lack of use.
“Marvin even threatened to call my Gramps, but I managed to convince him otherwise. I made him believe you would never hurt me. If anything, you’d do the opposite---”
Don’t ask, the billionaire warned himself immediately.
But when Kharis started walking around his suite, hands clasped behind her back, a carefree air about her – ah, damn it, but she was acting like she was The Ancient One, and he her ignorant apprentice.
And so despite knowing better, Christien heard himself ask, “What wouldn’t I be able to help doing?”
She giggled. “Like you really don’t know.”
“I guess I’d like to hear it from you.”
The little mutant released an exaggerated sigh. “Worship the ground I walk on, what else?”
Christien took a deep breath and counted to ten.
Next time, he would listen to his instincts and not ask.
“May I?”
Her question had him glancing back at her, and the billionaire grimaced when he saw his guest gesturing to the two-seater couch. “Of course.” It wasn’t like him to forget his manners, and to make up for his slip, he asked right away, “Can I get you anything? The minibar’s decently stocked, surprisingly.”
“Umm, no, I’m good, but thanks.”
As she took a seat, he bent down to take out a can of beer from the minibar. Turning back to her, he caught Kharis studying him, cocking her head to one side then another, like she needed to dissect his looks from every angle.
“Anything wrong?”
She told him sincerely, “You’re really beautiful.”
In the act of taking a sip of his beer, billionaire sputtered and coughed. It wasn’t that he didn’t know what kind of face stared back at him from the mirror, but in all the years of his life, no one had actually ever called him that to his face---
And so the billionaire found himself genuinely speechless.
A look of concern crossed her face, and she said with sweet, pure-hearted insistence, “I’m not lying.”
And the billionaire still did not know what to say. Did she really think he was worried that she lied about him being beautiful?
“You really are beautiful, and I think I have a little crush on you, too.”
Should he be insulted, the billionaire wondered, that she was acting like he should be honored by her crush?
In the end, Christien only said, “Thank you.” But when she continued gazing at him, as if waiting for him to say something more, he added, “That, err, means a lot.”
He had meant it as a joke of sorts, but Kharis had obviously taken the words at face value when her dimples reappeared as she said, “You’re welcome.” And that was that, with the little mutant somewhat throwing him for a loop as she quickly moved to another subject, asking him about the Elm Street property.
“I heard you were going to buy it?”
“I already did. I’m simply waiting for the papers to make it official.” He watched her closely as he spoke, thinking this was the part that most gold-diggers would g
ive themselves away.
A thoughtful look crossed the little mutant’s face. “You must be very rich.”
He waited for her to say something else, but when nothing seemed forthcoming he realized that was indeed all she had to say.
“Does it matter,” he heard himself ask, “if I’m rich or not?”
“Well…” Kharis wrinkled her nose. “I’d rather you didn’t drive a sports car.”
“I…see.” Christien was bemused. Sports cars? Why the hell were they talking about sports cars all of a sudden?
She flashed him a guilty smile. “Did I offend you?” Before he could answer, she added in a rush, “It’s not that I hate sports cars, but you see, Tony – he lives next door…” A wistful look flickered in her eyes. “He drives a sports car every weekend, too, but we all know it’s just on loan from his uncle.”
Her lips pursed disapprovingly, and it was so much like watching a monster puckering for a kiss it left him visually arrested.
“When he drives it, he---” She broke off, and a knowing smile played on her lips. “You’re staring at me again.”
“I, err, can’t help it.” He mentally shoved the horrific image of a kissing monster out of his mind and, clearing his throat, he said, “What is it with Tony then? What do you have against him borrowing his uncle’s sports car?”
Kharis appeared surprised. “I don’t. But every time he drives that horrible thing, he changes. He’s---” She bit her lip.
The troubled expression on her face made Christien frown, and putting his beer down he took a seat next to her on the couch, asking in a hard voice, “Did this Tony do anything to you?”
“No, no, nothing like that.” Kharis looked properly appalled at the direction of his thoughts. “It’s just…I…” She shook her head. “Can we just talk about something else?”
Christien considered pushing it for a moment, but in the end he decided to let it go, and as soon as he did, Death whispered in his mind.
That should tell you then, don’t you think? You’d have made her speak if you cared enough.
But you don’t.
So is she really your rainbow, boy?
The billionaire shoved the words away and forced himself to concentrate on Kharis’ words. Realizing she was asking him about the current state of the Elm Street property, he said, “I’m not planning to remodel it at all. Rather, I need to have it torn down and build something new entirely.”
“But after that,” Kharis said eagerly, “will you be moving in right away?”
Realizing how his revelation about buying the property must have misled her, he said carefully, “I’m sorry if you misunderstood, but I didn’t actually buy the Elm Street property for my personal use. It’s for business.”
“Oh.” Her shoulders slumped. “Then does that mean you’re not going to move here?”
“No. I’m not.” Her face fell at his words, and the billionaire could’ve stared at it for an endless amount of time. He knew it made him somewhat sadistic, but he couldn’t help it. She was just so damn different from him – his very opposite – and he wanted, needed, to know her secret.
How did she feel so damn easily?
“Where do you live then?”
The smallness of her voice made Christien wince inwardly, but even so he didn’t want to dishonor her with any untruth. “I spend most of my time in Miami, but I also travel a lot.”
“I see.” The light in her brown eyes dimmed a little more. “That’s so far away.”
“I’m sorry.” The billionaire hadn’t meant to apologize at all, but somehow he had still ended up doing so. It was as if this woman had woven an apology spell about him, and she only had to look at him and he couldn’t get ‘I’m sorry’ out of his mouth fast enough.
When she sighed, he felt honor-bound to try comforting her, saying, “It’s actually just two hours by plane---”
“I’ve never flied, not once.” A ghost of a smile touched her lips. “Do you know that the farthest I’ve been to is Hartford? And we only had to go because Gramps needed to have his operation there.”
“Do you still live with your grandfather?” Christien knew he was acting like a gutless asshole, changing the subject like that, but he didn’t give a damn. Right now, it was the only thing he could think of doing, the only way to stop the light in her eyes from going out completely.
Unfortunately, all his question got was another small nod, but even so the billionaire persisted in pulling Kharis out of her self-locked cage. “Doesn’t your grandfather mind you working late hours in Howdy?”
“My summer internship only takes up my afternoons, and he knows Marvin and Juan will look after me.”
“They can’t possibly watch over you all the time.”
“I know.” And surprisingly, it was this of all things that made her smile a little. She pointed to her face, saying, “That’s why I have this.”
“Err---”
Kharis giggled. “Oh my God, if you could see your face now!” She sent him a teasing look, asking, “Did you really think I didn’t know how terrible I look?”
At her words, Christien began adding one and one together, and the billionaire grimaced. “So the reason you’re dressed differently from the others---”
“Marvin says it’s guaranteed to let others know I’m off-limits.”
“And why you work at the bar the whole time---”
“So they’ll have an easier time looking after me.” She pointed to her face again. “And don’t forget this. It’s the most effective repellent of all.” Her eyes danced merrily. “But it didn’t work on you, did it?”
“No.” Christien’s lips twitched despite himself. “It didn’t.” But not for the reasons she thought.
“You’re the first guy who’s crushed on me looking like this,” she shared candidly.
“Then that should tell you,” he drawled, “what kind of intentions I have towards you.”
A part of him had thought he would make her blush or stammer with his words, but she didn’t just pick up the gauntlet, she threw it back at him, saying sweetly, “Oh, I don’t know about that.” When he raised a brow, she said in a voice that was shockingly, seductively husky, “If you already like me this much with my disguise on…” Her voice trailed off suggestively.
Ah. Christien’s blue eyes gleamed. His little mutant was turning out to be a lot more unpredictable than he expected. One moment she seemed like the proverbial provincial miss, the next moment it was like she was Cleopatra reincarnate, exuding a kind of natural sensuality that was so much more potent than whatever the women he had dated in the past possessed.
His gaze narrowed on her, and this time the billionaire studied her with single-minded intensity. Her features were still indistinguishable from a clown thanks to her makeup, but this time Christien also took note of other things.
Things like the tender swell of her small but pert breasts, and as his gaze remained on her chest, he saw the way her nipples slowly pebbled against her bra---
A soft breathy gasp spilled past her lips.
It was the sweetest sound of arousal he had ever heard ---
And he wanted more.
She suddenly made a move to rise, but he caught her wrist and she automatically froze, her brown eyes turning wide under the heavy strokes of her purple eye shadow.
“Am I making you nervous?” he asked silkily.
“You know you are.” Her words were a breathless whisper, and it was another tantalizing sound that had the most incredible effect on his body. It had him taut and fully erect in moments, and when she wetted her lips, he inhaled sharply.
“I think,” the billionaire said in a low, guttural voice, “I’d like to see you without your mask.”
“I d-don’t think so.”
“Why not?” He slowly lifted his hand as he spoke, knuckles grazing one rogued cheek, and her entire body trembled.
She swallowed hard. “I just don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“You
say that and yet…”
His gaze dipped low, taking note of how her breasts had swelled even more noticeably against her shirt. And ah, her nipples, those pebble-hard nipples---
The billionaire’s lips curved as he lifted his gaze back to hers. “Your body’s saying another thing entirely.”
Shock flickered in her eyes, and yet at the same time the way she licked her lips anew spoke of nothing but excitement. “I d-don’t---”
He interrupted her, his words a soft, almost tender command. “Show yourself to me.”
She shook her head.
The sudden display of stubbornness was unexpected but like everything about her, it only served to intrigue him, and Christien asked simply, “Why not?”
“Because…” The way her gaze darted here and there made it evident the little mutant was madly racking her brains for an excuse. “Because…” And then Kharis’ eyes lit up, and when she spoke again, her voice was almost giddy.
Whatever she had to say would probably be cute as hell and weird as fuck, the billionaire thought idly, but whatever it was ---
It wouldn’t matter.
Because he had already made up his mind.
“I can’t do it,” she finally said in a rush, “because you already have a crush on me the way I am now.”
He raised a brow. “And so---”
“And so what would happen if you see me without my, err, mask?”
“I might ravish you?” the billionaire asked dryly. “Is that it?”
“Exactly! And you mustn’t ever do that,” she warned him.
“Because if I do, you might---”
Her eyes twinkled. “Ravish you in return.”
It was not at all what he expected, and the billionaire found himself throwing his head back with a laugh.
A genuine laugh---
A fucking genuine laugh that he didn’t have to fake---
And ah, it had his heart beating faster than ever.
When he looked at her again, his little mutant was smiling at him, but there was also wary hesitation in her eyes, and her body was still slightly tense, as if she was ready to jump out of his reach any moment.
