Courage (Billionaire Secrets Series, #3)

by Lexy Timms

  Suddenly, he leaned towards her and took one of her nipples into his mouth. She let out a soft cry as his teeth grazed against her sensitive flesh. He sucked greedily and started to swirl his thumb around her other nipple, doubling her pleasure.

  A breathless moan escaped her throat, and the spot between her thighs throbbed with need. She was already so wet for him.

  He pulled away to lower his lips to her other breast. His tongue flicked across her nipple and she gasped at the pleasure. Simon was so attentive. So focused on making her feel good.

  She arched her neck, letting her head fall back as he sucked her, torturing her with his perfect mouth.

  When he pulled away from her, she was in such a haze of lust and longing that she could barely think clearly.

  “Do you want more?” he asked.

  Her reply was a ragged moan. Finally, she managed to choke out, “Yes. Please.”

  Simon flashed her a wicked grin and gently helped her lie back on the bed. “Spread your legs for me, Heather.”

  He didn’t need to tell her twice. With her heart hammering in her chest, she lifted her knees and then wantonly spread her legs for him.

  “Damn, I’ve missed this,” he said, his voice gruff. “I’ve missed you.”

  She swallowed hard. “Show me how much you missed me.” Her face heated at her bold words, but Simon always seemed to bring out this side of her. A side nobody else had ever seen. It was like a secret they shared. The whole world might know they’d had an affair, but they could never know how each tryst affected her. Changed her. It was like her body was meant for his and no matter how many times he pleasured her she could never get tired of it. The more she gave herself to him, the more she wanted.

  He moved over to her, covering her body with his as he got between her legs. “Are you ready for me to show you?”

  “Yes,” she said, her voice a breathless moan.

  When he thrust into her wetness she clenched tightly around him, her body never wanting to let him go. Needing more of him she wrapped her legs around him, moving him deeper into her.

  A groan escaped his throat and he looked down at her. “Fuck, that feels so good.” He rocked into her at a slow, leisurely pace, pleasure coiling through her entire body. It was like he was taking his time to savor her. Make this moment last as long as possible, because neither of them knew if this was the last time they’d ever do this.

  Her heart squeezed in sadness at the thought of losing Simon for good. Of having to let him go again. Never had lovemaking ever been this bitter or this sweet. She held on to him as he thrust harder into her. Her heart might be in pain, but the rest of her body was now overwhelmed with pleasure. So much pleasure that the pain in her heart started to disappear, and all that remained was the ecstasy he was giving her.

  She came hard with a cry of his name, and when he collapsed on top of her a moment later she knew he had climaxed, too.

  When he rolled away from her, he pulled her close. She pressed her cheek against his solid chest, but before she could speak darkness took over and she slipped into dreamless sleep.

  Chapter 11

  It felt invasive to watch her sleep.

  Pulling back from her as slowly as he could, Simon got out of bed. She stirred but didn’t wake up.

  He grabbed his clothes and walked into the bathroom to clean up and get dressed. With that out of the way, he stepped back out and assessed the room. Simon had no idea if this was Heather’s room or his. The best thing to do was get to the bottom of this to avoid another mix-up. Not that he regretted ending up in a room with Heather.

  Making love to her had been incredible, but the best thing about them getting stuck in a room was that he had finally gotten the chance to apologize properly. She deserved to know how much he regretted those ugly things he had said to her.

  When his eyes landed on her sleeping form, he smiled. Her auburn hair was still damp, fanning around her. He’d never seen her look so peaceful.

  Silently he reached for the blanket on the bed, pulled it back, and covered Heather with it. Still asleep, she let out a soft, satisfied sigh.

  Feeling restless, he grabbed his cell phone to check his messages and headed out to the front desk. After fifteen minutes of talking to the receptionist and one of the hotel managers, Simon managed to get some answers about the room mix-up and got a new room key to the vacant room across from Heather.

  Once he took his duffel bag to his new room, he headed back into Heather’s room to check up on her. If he was being honest, he was doing more than checking up on her. His heart couldn’t stand to be away from her for too long. With each passing minute, he missed her more and more. A week ago, this kind of yearning would be absurd to him, but he knew that he loved her now and his feelings for her made sense.

  He walked into the bedroom to find her stretching and yawning.

  “You’re awake,” he said softly.

  She blinked and pulled the blanket tightly around her. “How long have I been asleep?”

  “About an hour,” he replied.

  “I guess now that I’m up you want to talk.”

  The truth was, he didn’t. Not now anyway. When he had apologized to her, he had stopped just short of confessing that he was in love with her. Because he had no idea how she would take it. Would she feel the same way? Or would she throw it back in his face?

  On top of his anxiety about how that kind of declaration would make her feel, there were the ethics involved. She might have moved to a different department, but she was still his employee. As her boss, he had to be careful about revealing something that earth-shattering to her.

  “You should get some rest,” he said. “It’s been a long day and you’re probably tired.”

  “Where are you going to sleep tonight?” she asked sleepily.

  He couldn’t tell if she was just curious or if she was trying to invite him to spend the night. “In the room across the hall. One of the hotel managers explained that we probably got a staff key by accident.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Staff keys can open all the rooms, right?”

  He nodded. “That’s how we both got into the same room. Our keys could pretty much open any room in the hotel.”

  “But what about the room number?”

  “This is room 37,” he said.

  “It said 38 when I walked in.” She must have noticed the skepticism on his face because her eyes narrowed. “I swear it did. I’m not lying.”

  “I know you’re not lying,” he said slowly. “Maybe you made a mistake. I mean, you’ve had a long day. The exhaustion might have made you read the wrong number. Combine that with the mix-up with our room keys and it was probably an accident waiting to happen.”

  “It seems like a very convenient accident,” she said with a frown.

  “Meaning?”

  “Meaning we’re not very well-behaved when we’re alone. Which you know very well,” she said.

  “You still think I did this?”

  A smile tugged at her lips. “I wouldn’t blame you if you did.”

  “Heather, I didn’t do this.”

  “I’m not mad,” she said.

  “I’m not going to be able to convince you, so how about you talk to the manager yourself?” he suggested. “You’ll see that I’m not lying.”

  “Whatever you say, Simon.”

  Her tone was infuriating him, but he didn’t push the subject. The room mix-up hadn’t made her angry and, best of all, it had helped to reunite them. He couldn’t have planned it better if he’d tried. Right now, the best thing to do was let her reach out to him. Let her set the pace for whatever was going to happen.

  Simon didn’t want to push her so much that it scared her off again. If that meant he wouldn’t reveal the depth of his feelings just yet, he would have to find a way to live with it.

  “Can you stay the night?” she asked, her cheeks turning pink. “We don’t have to do anything, it’s just that I sleep easier when you’re around.”r />
  “Sure.” He smiled and kicked off his shoes, glad to hear that she wanted him around. With his shoes off, he climbed into bed and gathered her in his arms.

  She smiled up at him, her hazel eyes lighting up. Her lips found his and she kissed him gently. Tenderly. It didn’t have the heat of their earlier, passionate kiss. This was a kiss that revealed her comfort with him.

  It was then that he realized that Heather felt safe with him. Safe enough to reveal a secret side of her that few others knew existed. That gave him hope that maybe they really could have a future together after all.

  When she pulled away from him, she sighed happily. “I doubt we’ll have much time for something like this tomorrow or the day after.”

  “We’ve got a full schedule for tomorrow,” he said in agreement. “Let’s enjoy each other’s company tonight.”

  “When we get back home to Seattle we can finally talk,” she said. “About us. About where we stand.”

  She made it sound so easy, but his insides were already in knots. This talk meant that he was going to have to bare his soul to her. And Simon wasn’t sure he was brave enough to tell her he loved her and put his heart in her hands.

  THE NEXT COUPLE OF days were a blur of contract signings and coming up with a campaign strategy for Blue Naught. Some of the marketing ideas were Linda’s, but Simon watched in awe as Heather came up with ideas on her own. She might not be his assistant anymore, but he still swelled with pride when she laid out her ideas.

  Finally, on the last day, they grabbed their bags and took a taxi to the airport.

  Hours later they were back in Seattle, and Simon found his electric car in the airport parking lot.

  “I’ve got a meeting this afternoon at Dover,” he informed Heather. “If you need to come into the office today I can give you a ride.”

  “I have to meet with Linda to talk about the trip.” She sighed. “I can’t wait to get some rest this weekend, because I’m exhausted.”

  “Same here.” He helped her into the passenger seat and got into the driver’s seat beside her.

  “Simon...” She paused as he started the car and drove out of the parking lot. “I know we haven’t gotten the chance to seriously talk about us, but when we go in to Dover this afternoon we have to be professional.”

  “I know.”

  “No, I mean, when we left we weren’t on the best terms,” she pointed out. “People knew that we had a tense relationship. If we go back looking all friendly, it’ll look suspicious.”

  “Aren’t we friends?”

  “Of course, we are, but we have reputations to protect. I assume you assured the board that we wouldn’t rekindle our relationship.”

  He had tried to assure the board of that, but he recalled how that meeting had ended. With him revealing that he loved Heather and telling them all to go to hell. They couldn’t fire him over that, but it probably hadn’t helped Heather’s case with a scandal hanging over her head. She still hadn’t proven that she was innocent, and the board knowing that he loved her meant that the executives had serious leverage over him. Executives like Everett could use his love for her against him to punish her.

  His grip on the wheel tightened and he cleared his throat. “Board members are very stubborn.”

  “What does that mean?” she asked.

  It meant he couldn’t tell her what he’d said at that board meeting without revealing that he was in love with her. He was hesitant to tell her that for many reasons, but he sure as hell didn’t want to declare his love for her in his car on their way to work. Romance might not be his strong suit, but when it came to Heather he was determined to do this right.

  “It means I’m not sure how they’ll feel about our trip,” he said. “Especially since we haven’t cleared your name yet.”

  “We?” Her tone was icy. “Simon, we aren’t proving anything. I’m working to clear my name. Me and my lawyer. Stay out of this.”

  “In addition to your lawyer, Linda is also helping. So are Dover’s IT guys, who are trawling through internet forums to find the hacker,” he said. “Hell, I’ve been upgrading my security system at my apartment and I got my lawyer to question my building’s super. A lot of people are already helping to clear your name whether you like it or not.”

  She sighed. “I appreciate everything you’re trying to do. But don’t do anything specifically for me. Treat this like you would with any other employee. Make decisions based on what’s best for Dover.”

  Days ago, when he realized that he loved her, he had made a vow to himself. A vow to put Heather before Dover. He meant to make good on that vow even if Heather begged him not to. From now on she came first. Always. She just didn’t know it yet.

  TWO HOURS LATER, HE concluded his meeting with members of Dover’s cyber security team. With the shadow of the hacking still looming over them, the company had to take major precautions and revamp its cyber security.

  He scrolled through the messages on his phone and found one from Heather. She wanted him to come down to the media relations department to have a quick meeting with Linda. Pocketing his phone, he headed out of his office and made his way downstairs.

  “You made it.” Linda looked up as he stepped into her office. She was sitting in a plush chair beside Heather, the two of them leafing through a binder Linda was holding.

  Heather looked up at him, and he couldn’t help himself. He smiled at her. They’d only been apart for two hours, but to him it had felt like an eternity. Seeing her beautiful face again warmed his heart. Took the weight off his shoulders.

  Linda glanced from him to Heather. “Did you enjoy your trip to California?”

  “It was fine,” Heather said stiffly.

  Suddenly, he remembered that she had suggested they act like there were still tensions between them. Smiling at her had probably not been a good idea on his part. “Yes. Fine.”

  “Don’t tell me you two had a fight,” Linda said.

  “There was a room mix-up,” Heather said bitterly. “I suspect Simon did it on purpose.”

  “I did not—”

  “Oh, crap.” Linda shook her head. “This is all my fault.”

  Heather frowned. “How on earth is it your fault?”

  “I’m the one who screwed up your rooms,” Linda replied. “Only it wasn’t a screw-up. I got some of the hotel staff to switch the room numbers and give you a master card. I figured if you two ended up in the same room you’d reconcile and—”

  “What?” Heather’s voice rose an octave. “Why would you think something like that?”

  “Didn’t Simon tell you?”

  Heather shot him a glance, confusion flashing in her eyes.

  Linda gave him a pleading look, as if she needed him to save her from her revelation. “Oh... well... I meant...” Linda’s face went bright red and she swallowed hard. “Nothing. Forget I said anything. I obviously made a mistake.”

  “Obviously,” he said through gritted teeth. Linda had been at that disastrous board meeting. Which meant she had heard him declare his love for Heather. Linda had been the one to get them alone together in that room. If Linda revealed why she had done that, it meant he was going to have to reveal his feelings for Heather. And he wasn’t ready for that. Not ready at all.

  His heart slammed in his chest as Heather stared at him expectantly.

  “What does Linda mean?” Heather asked. “Simon, what did you want to tell me?”

  Chapter 12

  I love you.

  A voice inside his head was saying it over and over, but he didn’t dare utter a word. Not now. Not with Heather staring at him expectantly. There were a million reasons he couldn’t just blurt out his feelings to her, the least of which being that Linda was right here with them. Telling Heather he loved her was a delicate matter. A personal one. Blurting it out at work, in front of Linda, was the least romantic thing he could think of.

  The moment was growing more awkward by the second as he shifted his weight from one foot t
o the other. He had to find a way out of this. He shot Linda a warning glance and then turned back to Heather. “Linda and I need to clear something up. Excuse us for a moment, Heather. Please.”

  He motioned for Linda to follow him. Without a word, Linda trailed him out of her office and into the hall, leaving Heather behind, looking bewildered.

  Simon fought to keep his temper in check, focusing on slowly closing the office door before he confronted Linda. As the door shut he inhaled deeply, forcing himself to calm down. “What was that about?”

  Linda’s face burned redder. “I assumed you told her how you felt.”

  “How I felt?” He nudged Linda further away from the office to make sure that they were well out of Heather’s earshot. “Have you lost your mind?”

  “No. But you certainly have if you still haven’t told her the truth.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “Watch yourself, Linda.”

  She paused and took a deep breath. “I shouldn’t have blurted all that stuff out, but I assure you I was only trying to help.”

  “My private life is none of your business,” he said icily.

  “You’d like to think that, wouldn’t you?” She crossed her arms and glared at him. “But your life is my business whether you like it or not.”

  “I don’t like it one bit,” he said.

  “Tough.” She tossed a lock of her graying hair over her shoulder and took a step towards him. “You think I like wondering if company stock is going to tumble because you’ve been caught having an affair with your assistant? You think I like wondering if I’m going to get fired because Dover has to start laying off staff to keep up with a loss in revenue?”

  His jaw tightened. “I’m sorry things at Dover have been chaotic recently, but that doesn’t mean my private life is any of your business. It has nothing to do with the company.”

  “It has everything to do with the company!” she hissed, throwing her hands up. “If it’s none of my business, why did you tell the entire board that you’re in love with Heather?” she demanded in a low voice. “You haven’t exactly kept your feelings a secret around here. Though, from the looks of it, the one person who doesn’t know how you feel is Heather herself.”