How to Avoid a Billionaire

by Tressie Lockwood

  “Yes and yes. I have several holdings in various cities and countries. Thousands of people depend on me for their livelihoods.”

  “Wow, that’s….I don’t know what that is. Kind of scary, I guess. I mean I would crumble under the pressure. What if you make a wrong move that puts you in the position of that man Robert Bean? If someone didn’t bail you out…”

  “It’s happened before.” He saw her shiver, alarm in her gaze and decided to downplay the situation. Several hundreds of people did lose their jobs, but he had worked damn hard with a few others to find the best solution that would benefit the majority if not the minority. Sometimes he did have to make tough choices, but she didn’t have to be burdened with the knowledge. “I pulled it out. Everything turned out fine.”

  “Don’t patronize me. I’m not a billionaire, but I’m not stupid.”

  “I apologize. Sometimes I have to make tough choices. It’s not something everyone can or is willing to do.” He laced his fingers with hers. “We’ve heard enough of my day. Tell me about yours.”

  She set her fork down. “What else is new? I keep getting looked over. I realize I’m a rookie, but it gets frustrating. I’m not as aggressive as a lot of people in my field, and that has cost me.”

  “I could talk—” He paused just as she stopped him, holding up a finger. What had he been thinking about to offer his help when his motives for being with her weren’t wholly pure?

  “Don’t even say it,” she said.

  “Angel.”

  “No way. I’m doing this myself. You’re not slinging around your influence or money or whatever it is you do. Everybody at work knows your name, but up until today they didn’t know you and I were seeing each other.” She sighed. “I feel like every time I come up with an idea, someone beats me to the punch. Not just at my company but at another bigger advertising agency.”

  He tried soothing her since she didn’t want his help. “It happens. Companies compete all the time, racing each other to uncover the next big product. Whoever gets before the public eye first wins. In advertising, the ideas can flow the same way, as if you all pull from the same giant pool.”

  The hurt in her expression spurred him to look into her situation, whether she liked it or not.

  Ryder lay on his back, his arms tucked behind his head. The clock had read four when he’d looked at it. Normally, he would have gotten up, dressed, and left Melanie’s apartment, but he’d been awake a good fifteen minutes, and he hadn’t moved. She murmured in her sleep and turned over toward him. With moonlight illuminating the room he saw her sleeping face, peaceful and beautiful. Her hair seemed messier than usual, and he reached out to smooth it. The spongy silk popped up again, he grinned. She shifted positions once more causing the sheet to slip beneath her breasts. His cock hardened. He had never taken her in the morning, although they had sex half the night countless times.

  “Stop,” she moaned.

  He chuckled. “Stop what?”

  “I feel you looking at me, and you’re disturbing my sleep.”

  He snatched the sheet the rest of the way down her body and took in the soft curves. “Sleep is overrated.”

  She tried covering her breasts and pussy, which was ludicrous since he knew them both very well. “What are you doing?”

  “Put your hands down, angel.”

  Her gaze slid to the bedside table. “It’s after four. You usually leave—”

  “Hands to your sides.”

  Her lips curled on one side. “What if I don’t?”

  He sat up, tossed the sheet off himself, and snaked fingers over her thigh. Before she could yelp a protest, he snatched her legs apart and thrust a hand between them. Cupping her pussy, he leaned over and kissed her sweet lips. “You hide this from me again and you’ll be sorry.”

  Her hips rose off the bed, and she moaned, her eyes fluttering closed. “I’m n-not sorry now. Ryder, you’re going to make me come.”

  “Yes.” Her juices coated his fingers, and he slid two into her heat. She squirmed and tried closing her legs, but he blocked the movement with his knees. “You like teasing me, angel? I’m going to show you what teasing gets you.”

  He hoisted her legs up and slid down the bed. One swipe of his tongue had her thighs quivering. He stuck his tongue into her pussy and lapped at her cream. She tasted so good, he wanted more. She cried out his name. Ryder used a thumb to push back the hood covering the stiff bud and sucked it. Melanie scratched the sheets.

  He leaned up and stretched to turn on the light. While he did so, her fingers found her clit and stroked. “Hands to your sides.” This time she obeyed. “Good girl.”

  By the time he returned to kneeling before her, her juices flowed. She was so hot, so turned on. He knew it came from his commands as much as from his lips and fingers. Early on in their sexual games, he’d learned how she loved to be told what to do. He had also gathered during that time the desire did not translate to outside the bedroom. As Christian had said, she bucked against him, and that turned him on, to have her fight him.

  He pushed a single finger into her sex and watched her tremble. “Do you want me to make you come?”

  “Yes.”

  He pulled his finger out and slid it back in. She twisted her hips left and right. He looked down at his cock, which had grown so hard it ached. He wanted to replace his finger with his shaft but held off. Leaning down, he sucked his finger and let her watch him do it. She bit her bottom lip.

  “Mmm, do you know how good you taste?”

  “I know you like it.”

  He chuckled. “Come here. I want you to ride me.” When she faced him, he made a gesture. “No, face away. Let me watch your ass.”

  Her expression changed. “You like my ass, Ryder?”

  “Maybe.”

  She climbed onto her knees facing away from him and arched her back. The movement spread her cheeks, giving him a good view of her pussy and the tight little rear entrance he’d enjoyed once. He’d liked it but it hurt her, and he’d been reluctant to try it again.

  Ryder leaned on his hands, legs straight. “Climb up and guide my dick in.”

  She did as he asked, straddled his thighs and then slid back so the tip of his cock brushed her pussy. He blew air between clenched teeth. The way his ball sac drew up, he wouldn’t last long, but when she sank down, her heat engulfing him, he cared about nothing except this instant. He encircled her waist with one arm and jammed his hips upward. She whined her pleasure.

  “No, hold still a minute, angel.” He willed his body to calm a little, but control and Melanie naked did not mix. “Ride me.”

  She held onto his thighs, her legs spread wide and began grinding on his erection. Mesmerized, he stared at the rise and fall of her ass, enjoyed the sight of his cock disappearing into her tight pussy.

  “Mmm, you feel so good. Faster, angel.”

  She picked up the pace, allowing him to slide out a few inches and then came down hard on him. He squeezed her waist and shoved upward the same time she descended. His mind spun at the feel of her, the scent, the sounds of her juicy sex consuming his cock. Ryder couldn’t help himself. He switched their positions so she knelt in front of him and he crouched behind. He had to scoot low because she was so much smaller. Yet the reward of burying his shaft into her sweetness drove him to the brink of release. He held onto the headboard above her and thrust into her. She shouted his name. Her inner muscles clenched the hell out of him, stroking his shaft.

  “Ryder.”

  Damn it, he loved how she said his name. “Say it again.”

  “What?”

  He pumped deep, drew away glistening with their combined juices, and thrust in again. “Say my name!”

  “Ryder.”

  He let go, having no choice. His come spilled out, filling her, and he grunted through a powerful release, but he didn’t
stop moving. “Play with your clit, angel.”

  She rubbed it. He saw her arm moving, steady and confident. Inside, she tightened around him. He knew what that meant. She was close. He kept one hand on the headboard and placed one at her hip then raised a knee. Arching forward and back, he drove into her, glad that in the mornings, without fail, he stayed hard longer.

  “Ryder, I’m going to come!”

  He pumped faster, giving her every inch, driving deep as he could. She screamed and fell down to the bed. He followed so he wouldn’t slip out of her, and pushed her legs together, squeezing his shaft. Lying on top of her, he continued to pump, but now slow and easy. He pushed a hand beneath her hips and found her clit. Gently, he thumbed the bud. Her soft lips parted, and when she sighed, he knew she’d enjoyed the aftershock.

  At last, he rolled onto his back. She followed and buried her face in the crook of his neck. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. I never cuddle. What the hell is wrong with me?

  He slipped away after a moment and stood to search for his clothes. The slacks were on the chair. He recalled removing the shirt in the living room. Rather, she had removed it there. The pants were halfway up his legs when he remembered something else, and he spun to face her.

  “Damn it. I didn’t use a condom!”

  She sat up. “Don’t worry. I promise I’m clean.”

  He frowned.

  “And I’m on the pill. I never miss a dose. I wouldn’t try to trap you.”

  The fact was, she wouldn’t. He knew her well enough to get that. For the first time, he began to wonder if he should forget this plan of making her fall in love and then dumping her. He’d never backed off teaching a person about crossing him. At the same time, he’d never set out to make a woman fall in love with him either. They just did without any prompting from him. I’m getting soft.

  “You’re leaving now?”

  “Yes.” He turned away from her and continued pulling on his pants. “I don’t know when I’ll see you next. I have a business trip.”

  “Sure. No problem.”

  The casual tone pissed him off. “I expect you to refrain from dates while I’m away.”

  She climbed off the bed. “Oh you expect it, huh?” She sashayed out of the room, completely naked. He swore under his breath. This too was unlike him. He hadn’t cared one bit what his lovers did when he didn’t have time or the desire to see them, unless it reflected badly on him.

  Melanie returned holding his shirt. He studied her face while he slipped into it. The little minx had no intention of making him any promises she would behave. She had no idea what had become of the last guy other than the new job.

  When he’d stepped into his shoes and straightened, he tugged her into his arms and raised her chin. “I didn’t get your answer, Melanie.”

  “You got it.” She smiled at him. “You just didn’t like it.”

  “If—”

  She stretched to her toes and kissed him. “Have a good trip, Ryder. Maybe I’ll see you when you get back.”

  He opened his mouth to ask what the hell that meant, but she disappeared into the bathroom and shut the door. He ground his teeth at the sound of the lock and then the shower coming on. Grumbling, he let himself out of the apartment and headed down to his car. On the highway, miles from her place, he recalled he’d planned to spring a Paris trip on her. Now he claimed to have a business trip that wasn’t until the week after next. Things had gone horribly wrong, and it was his fault. What was it about her that did this to him? He needed to rethink his next steps.

  Chapter Five

  “Wéi.”

  “Hi, Ma,” Melanie said into the phone. “How are you?”

  “Oh, Melanie, honey. It’s so good to hear your voice. I thought it was one of your father’s friends calling.”

  Melanie chuckled. “Ma, you know you have caller ID, right?”

  “Yes, but I’ve misplaced my glasses.”

  “Did you try your head?”

  Her mother laughed. “Yes, that’s the first place I checked. I’m not senile.”

  “I know. How’s Dad?”

  “He’s doing well. The herbs are helping with the arthritis pain.”

  Melanie sighed. She knew her dad had refused to see a doctor other than to get the initial diagnosis. He preferred to use Chinese herbs, and she didn’t necessarily blame him given she’d seen them work well growing up, but the man was also stubborn.

  “When are you coming home, Melanie? We miss you.”

  Her parents considered their home hers, even though she’d moved out seven years ago. She didn’t mind. They respected her—at least her mother did—as an adult. Her dad still saw her as a little girl, and for a while he hadn’t spoken to her when she chose to go against his will and get a job and her own place rather than head straight to college. He had considered it wasteful for her to pay for an apartment when she had no family of her own. If he had his way, she would still live at home, waiting for some man to sweep her away.

  “I’m not sure. I work late so many nights…”

  “Sweetheart, what’s wrong? You sound sad.”

  She straightened in her chair and pasted a smile on her face although her mother couldn’t see it. “I’m fine. Just tired.”

  “Melanie Song Cai, don’t you lie to your mother!”

  Melanie chuckled under her breath. Her mother might spend much of her time speaking in fluent Mandarin to her dad and his friends as well as traveling back and forth to Beijing, but she was still like every other mother, calling her by her full name when exasperated.

  The truth was, Melanie had been feeling a little down. Ryder had walked out her door that last morning and she hadn’t heard from him since. Two weeks had passed, and she’d made the stupid choice to visit a financial news website and stumbled across a picture of Ryder and a leggy blonde. Of course the report had named the woman the CFO of some corporation, but there was speculation as to how far the two had gone to settle negotiations. Melanie didn’t regret how she had responded to Ryder’s insistence that she wait on him. He could hold his breath! However, it didn’t change the sadness she felt not seeing him. They’d had a lot of fun together, and sex with the man was explosive.

  I guess it’s a good thing I’m not in love with him. The attraction would pass, and she’d find another lover. Simple as that.

  “I’ll come to dinner on Friday, Ma.”

  “Perfect.”

  Melanie and her mother chatted a little longer, and then Melanie rang off with an excuse. Before she had a chance to get back to work, her cell phone rang, and her belly flip-flopped at the display. Of all people, Ryder called. She considered letting it go to voicemail. If she did answer should she mention the blonde? Then again, he didn’t need to know how his treatment affected her. At the last possible minute, she answered.

  “Hello?”

  “Hello, beautiful. It’s been a while.”

  “Oh has it?” She willed herself to lose the attitude. “I’ve been working on a new idea. Hanson has given me the opportunity to present my design to his boss, so I’ve had my nose to the grind. You had that business trip too, didn’t you?”

  When he spoke, she heard amusement in his tone. “Yes, I did. I’m free now and I want to see you.”

  She hesitated. “Like I said, Ryder, I’m really pulling in long days right now.”

  “If you’re concerned about the blonde, it was business. Nothing more.”

  She blinked. How would he know she’d seen the picture? “Your personal life isn’t my business.”

  “Isn’t it? Weren’t we exclusive? I demanded it of you. Why wouldn’t I do the same?”

  The man confused the hell out of her. She wanted to yell at him and hang up, to cut him off for good, but at the same time she wanted to draw him closer and hold on to him. Common sense said run, but a cravin
g to feel his hands on her body, to hear his voice, to lie under him was too strong to deny. She could enjoy him for the time being, couldn’t she?

  “Angel?”

  She shut her eyes at the endearment and pressed a flat hand on the desktop. When she spoke, she convinced herself she sounded unaffected. “Friday night. It can’t be any sooner. If that doesn’t work…”

  “I’ll pick you up at seven.”

  “Make it five, and bring a fruit basket.”

  “Why—”

  She disconnected the call and turned to her computer screen, heart racing.

  Melanie grinned and reached to the backseat to touch the fruit basket. “You bought it.”

  “Of course, although I don’t know why. Do you want to take it upstairs?”

  She shook her head. “No. Did you buy it or did your secretary get it?”

  He seemed surprised at her question. “Does it matter?”

  “Which means your secretary did.” She didn’t answer his question as to whether it mattered. “Tonight, we’re going to my parents’ place for dinner.”

  She waited for his protest, but when he didn’t say anything, she glanced at him. His unreadable expression gave nothing away. Rather, he buckled up and started the engine. Maybe he intended to make it up to her for disappearing. She didn’t know the rules on dating a billionaire and whether they often pulled the vanishing act. Their girlfriends or mistresses were supposed to fall in line or be replaced. Then she recalled he said he held himself to the same standard he’d given her. Either way, she wouldn’t play the game. He either wanted her or not. If he didn’t, she knew how to move on, and hurting was a part of life.

  She buckled up and gave him directions to her parents’ house. When they drew up to the place, Melanie’s stomach tied in knots as it always did when visiting her father.

  When Ryder touched her cheek, she started and faced him. “You’re nervous,” he said. “I can see by how high your shoulders are and the set to your mouth. Don’t you get along with them?”

  She made an effort to release the tension, but it didn’t budge. “With my mother, yes, but my dad’s a whole other story. We go through rough patches, and we’re kind of just off of one. I haven’t been to the house in a few months, so who knows how he’s going to react to me. I just wish he wasn’t so hard. He’s been here forever, but he still acts like… Never mind. I don’t mean to burden you with this.”