Billionaire Bachelor: Clint (Diamond Bridal Agency Book 3)

by Lily LaVae

  “Why would you do that? I still owe you a debt of gratitude,” her breathy mumbled words drove a spike into him. He couldn’t expect a declaration of love, but…gratitude?

  “I may have paid for a bride service…but I didn’t, and won’t, pay someone to marry me. I have a little more pride than that.” And it had been wounded. “I understand why you lied. I get it. But was this whole arrangement based on hiding from your brother? You didn’t want to be here, at all?”

  “My only objective was to stay out of his reach. He threatened to kill me. Since he’d already killed our parents, it wasn’t something I could ignore.” Her eyes were pleading with him, but he couldn’t understand why. What could she be asking of him, other than to let her go?

  “Fine.”

  He pressed the button to talk to Patton. “Turn the car around at the next available place. We’re headed back to Cheyenne.” He clenched his fist and stared out the window. It wasn’t that he couldn’t afford to go through the agency process again. He didn’t want to. They couldn’t do better than Rhetta.

  She sat silently across from him, crying.

  9

  He was sending her away. She didn’t have to get married to a stranger to stay hidden, but that didn’t solve her problem completely. In a few weeks, she would be there illegally and then she would have to return to Ukraine and hide from her brother once again. It had taken the agency over a month to find Clint, she didn’t have time to go through the motions again. Even the idea left her empty. She’d found living with a soldier unbearable, until she’d met Clint.

  The car pulled back into the dark parking garage and she stared at Clint’s tough, handsome face in the flashes of light. He’d been strong, understanding, and so desirable. She’d been sure he would be her first, and only, and she still wanted him. His military background should’ve frightened her, but now that he’d proven her brother was a freak among men, she didn’t want a weakling. She wanted Clint, for him to provide her with safety, protection, and love.

  The driver opened the car door and held it. Clint stepped out onto the sidewalk and waited for her in the orange glow of the security lights. She slid out, a little confused. The driver had let her off at the front and picked her up at the front before.

  “What’s this all about?” She tugged on her dress, nervous about the change.

  “There’s a party in the lobby this evening and I don’t want to walk through, nor do I want to walk you through and have to answer questions. They only had two rooms left, my suit and a room for my driver. Both rooms have a separate bed,” he said dryly as he turned and headed for the nondescript gray door. Patton opened the trunk and lifted one of her bags and another then followed.

  “I guess I’ll stay with you, more likely there will be more room…” What else could she say? She didn’t even know his driver.

  Clint nodded, but didn’t say anything else. He held a blank card in front of the door scanner and the light turned green, letting him in. The driver followed and within a few steps, Clint opened the room he’d stayed in the night before.

  “Patton put the bags there. I’ll take care of them later. Thank you.” He handed the driver another card and then he left them alone. The soft click of the door plunged the room into a heavy silence.

  “Well, here we are again.” Clint’s eyebrows rose up his forehead. “But tonight we have other decisions to make. Like, where you’ll go from here.”

  She slid out of her shoes and stood on the soft cream carpet, but it was little comfort. Ever since Patton had turned the car around, she’d felt cold dread creeping up on her. Her life should be just beginning, but she couldn’t shake the fact that it was ending.

  “Thank you for your help with my brother.” She hated breaking the silence, because her voice sounded so loud in the huge room.

  “It wasn’t just your brother. I included your information in that email to Neil, he extended your visa for safety reasons.”

  She sucked in her breath, how had he managed that? “He can do that?” And how had he known who she was? She’d only told Clint her real name once.

  “Yes, he can. He owed me a few favors. I don’t ask him to do anything that isn’t important.”

  Though he stood stiffly on the other side of the room, his hands in his pockets showcasing his every muscle, he still looked slightly vulnerable. His stiff stance and quiet words bespoke a building tide, but he refused to just come out and say what made him so angry.

  “Well, then thank you again.”

  “I guess this means you’re free. Where do you want to go?”

  With you…

  But she refused to say that. Everything she’d put on that application was a lie and Clint deserved truth, craved it, refused to take anything but. And she was nothing but a lie on paper. It was only fair that he found that person. Someone he could love, and caress, and make love to…

  Damn, she turned away from him, hoping he didn’t see her need. How could she be so drawn to someone who was so wrong for her after just two days?

  “I want to stay somewhere with horses.”

  “Done.”

  She whipped around. He was doing it again, just fixing her life without even letting her try. “What do you mean, done?” Just because he was made of money didn’t mean he had to look after her indefinitely and she certainly didn’t want to be even more indebted to him.

  “I told you I have a ranch with horses in Texas. I almost never get to go there anymore, so you don’t have to see me or have any reminder of what almost happened.”

  Was that bitterness in his voice?

  “I can’t do that. I can’t live off of you. I’m not some leech.” Now anger bubbled where her confusion had started.

  “And do you think just anyone is going to hire you to come work on their ranch? A Russian woman with no history and a visa that’s flagged until all the paperwork goes through?”

  Damn, had he thought of everything?

  “Just when were you going to tell me you aren’t from the Russian Federation, but it’s much smaller foe, the Ukraine?” He crossed his arms and stared at her, every angle of his face a hard line.

  So, his contact had shared that one last big secret. “Does it matter anymore? Russian, Ukrainian? All that matters, is that I was on the run.”

  He strode up to her and gripped her shoulders. She fully expected his grip to be rough, but it wasn’t.

  “It does matter. I asked you not to lie. In every other instance, you told me just enough that what you said was still truth, but that was a lie.”

  When he was that close, and she could smell his cologne, feel his heat, read his anger…and his need, it was too much to take in.

  “I’m sorry for not trusting you. I haven’t trusted anyone in a long time.”

  He slid his hands gently up her arms and into her hair, then pulled her in. Slowly at first, then his lips were a driving force, an army set on conquest. Her every nerve exploded with need and she couldn’t pull herself close enough to him. This was it. If she was going to be shoved off to some ranch alone for the rest of her life, she wouldn’t leave without taking a memory or two with her.

  She yanked his shirt out of his pants and slid her hands up to feel his hot firm skin beneath her fingers. He softened the kiss, nibbling lightly around her lips. She had to get closer to him. She felt the hard length of him press into her abdomen and a shudder of need went through her. Her fingers fumbled as she unbuttoned his shirt. He was still taking his time with her lips, but she wanted all of him.

  When his shirt was on the floor, she growled, realizing he’d been wearing another underneath. He laughed, slow and husky, as he peeled the t-shirt off. She didn’t waste time, slipping out of her own dress easily. When she went for her bra, he stopped her, holding her hands away from her body.

  “Let me.” His eyes burned into her, knew her, more than she knew herself and she was lost.

  She unbuckled his belt as he kissed her again and down her neck, pleasuring e
very inch along the way. His hands moved deliciously slow, taking their time over her waist, up her belly and finally cupping her breasts, testing their weight in his hands. His belt and trousers were soon open and she ran her hand down the bulge of his front. He would be better than any of her electronic boyfriends and better than any other man’s hand. He groaned at her attention and nipped at her soft earlobe.

  “You aren’t going to tease me like you did in the car, are you? That wasn’t very nice.” She let her head fall back to give him better access and he nipped and kissed from her ear down her neck.

  He unfastened her bra and tossed it to the floor. “That was before, when I thought you’d be my wife. I didn’t like the idea of my wife having a bunch of partners before me. I know it’s not fair, but it’s how I feel.”

  She wouldn’t tell him she was still technically a virgin. She’d never slid her dildo all the way in, only the head, to let it pleasure her in front where she was the most sensitive. It was how she’d passed the agency’s virgin exam. Since she wasn’t going to be his wife, she didn’t have to abide her promise not to lie. She would never return to the agency, so what did it matter if she wasn’t a virgin anymore?

  “Well, now that that’s out of the way, we can just enjoy ourselves.” And he’d wake up in the morning and she’d be gone. She wasn’t going to act as his little mistake that he felt he had to watch over. She’d make it on her own, but tonight, she’d only think about him.

  She slid to her knees and pulled his briefs along with his trousers down his thighs. He was huge and ready. Most girls weren’t naïve to sex anymore, even at a young age, and she was no exception. She knew exactly what to do to make him scream her name. She slid him across the top of her tongue, then wrapped her lips around him, her hand worked the rest of the length she couldn’t reach. Slow, steady, she drove her lips and tongue on him until she felt his knees weaken and she slid off of him, licking her lips.

  “You vixen,” he breathed, lowering himself on his knees in front of her and pulling her close again.

  None of the other men she’d allowed to touch her had bothered to kiss, to hold her, to care about her beyond proving they could pleasure her. Maybe any man could do that, but none had cherished her like Clint.

  She didn’t care about foreplay any further, she just wanted him, the shuddering climax only he could provide. He gently kissed her, his lips and hands guiding her to the soft carpet. He slid one hand under her and tugged her panties off. She’d forgotten she still wore them. When they were gone, she spread her legs, waiting for him, but he wasn’t ready yet. He gave her a sultry smile as he slid two fingers inside her and massaged her already sensitive skin.

  He was masterful, as if he knew just the right way to touch her, to coax her body along with hardly a fight. He’d barely touched her breasts or done much more than kiss, but the easy drive of his fingers proved she was more than ready. He maneuvered on top of her and her breath came quicker as he slid partway in, his thumb kept the steady pace on her pleasure. He moved slowly at first, just partway and then he dove inside her. There was a pain, a tearing, and she gasped, not expecting it to hurt, but within seconds, the magic of his thumb erased the memory.

  He slowed for a moment and stared down at her, his mouth opened partway.

  “Rhetta?”

  She tilted her hips and pulled him deeper inside her with her legs, she was so close to her first real orgasm. “Please!” She couldn’t say anything else.

  He slid inside her once again, velvet, heat, and hard all at once. Her body clenched around him and he gasped taking up the rhythm again, then growled his own release as he relaxed over her on the floor.

  She wanted him to fall asleep, to not speak. To forget her so she could sneak away with her one beautiful memory. He would be with her, a part of her, forever. She pushed against his weight when he didn’t move after a minute.

  “You lied to me…again.” His voice was distant, disbelieving.

  “You wouldn’t have believed me if I’d said otherwise. You needed to find out for yourself.” She could’ve argued with him in the car about his notions, but what good would it have done. There was only way to prove such things.

  “I’ve got to—”

  “No.” She refused to listen to another word. She’d heard enough of what he had to do. She wanted him, wanted to stay with him, to be his wife. But never because he had to. “I’m going to shower, then bed. It’s been a long day.”

  He didn’t respond as she stood and left him lying on the floor.

  10

  He’d been certain she wasn’t a virgin, but there was no way to deny what he’d felt. The little gasp she hadn’t been able to hide and the pain in her eyes that had taken over her pleasure for a moment had dampened some of his own. The one thing she hadn’t lied about, and he hadn’t believed her. Was he so clouded by his anger with lies that he’d missed something?

  She came out of the shower in a long white robe with a towel wrapped around her hair. Her natural beauty was breathtaking, with her iridescent skin. She walked quickly toward the spare room, avoiding him completely.

  “Rhetta, we need to talk.” He’d found a pair of his jeans and had slipped into them while he’d waited for her.

  “There’s nothing to talk about. We were going to be married, now we’re not. We had sex. We go to bed, and life goes back to normal tomorrow.” Her voice was a false sing-song, only adding to the tension between them. She made it to her door and she paused. “Unless there’s something I’m missing?”

  “Yeah, I think there is.” He pushed away from the window where he’d been waiting. “I don’t feel right about sleeping with you and just shoving you off somewhere. That’s not the way this is supposed to work.”

  She laughed bitterly and finally glanced at him. Her eyes were red, but he couldn’t tell if she’d been crying or if she’d just washed her face in the shower. “If I were any other girl, you’d have no issue. It’s just me. You have some weird sense that you owe me. I lied to you, remember? You don’t owe me anything. You told me from the start that nothing would make you angrier than lies. So, it wasn’t like I didn’t understand what I was getting into.”

  He strode forward and held her door closed so she couldn’t leave him quite yet. “You might’ve understood what you were getting into, but I didn’t. I’m no good at relationships. If I were, I wouldn’t have needed the agency. But I do know I feel more than just some sense of duty, like you say. I’ve been in the Navy, I know about duty and honor. This is different. I’m not ready to let you go.”

  She slid his hand off the doorknob and opened her room. “You don’t have a choice.”

  “But, what will you do? That visa extension won’t last forever. How will you gain citizenship?” If she left him and went back home, he’d never find her again, and the loss was beginning to scare him. There was no guarantee if she chose yet another name that he’d be able to find her anyway.

  “I’m not your concern, Clint. I already told you that.”

  He followed her into her room and she ignored him, dropping the robe to the floor. Her naked body drew him once again. She opened her luggage and shoved things aside until she found what she was looking for. She slid on a pair of panties, then a sleeveless top as he tried to control what seeing her body did to him. She turned to face him, crossing her arms over herself.

  “Rhetta. I thought the agency was insane when they said I’d meet you and want to marry you right away, but they were right. I can’t explain it. All I know is that I feel more for you than I’ve felt for any other woman.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m not just going to be some kept woman who you’ll eventually realize was a mistake. I set you free, Clint.”

  He didn’t want to be set free, he wanted to dive deep, find out what made Rhetta so strong and why he was so pulled to her. “You signed the agreement.”

  Her dark eyes flashed. “Now you’re going to hold that over my head?” Her accent grew even t
hicker the angrier she got. “Need I remind you that you’re the one who turned the car around, not me.”

  He had, but only because he couldn’t force her to marry him, and still wouldn’t. There had to be some way to get her to open up to him, to figure out this fissure between them. He strode to the television and turned on an all music station. All he cared was that it was slow. She eyed him, the wall of her doubt firmly in place. “What are you up to, Clint? I’m tired.”

  She wasn’t, she just was uncomfortable with him. He’d step out of his own comfort zone if it meant she’d talk to him again. He reached out to her.

  “Come here.” He softened his tone, coaxing, drawing her in.

  She slowly trudged to him and stood before him. Damn, she was beautiful. He lightly flipped her damp hair over her shoulders then pulled her into his arms. Her own naturally went around his neck and he swayed to the music. Her body, close to his, was a temptation, a torment, and a treasure in one.

  “I thought you said you don’t dance?” she whispered, her voice rough with emotion.

  “I don’t, except right now.” He didn’t want to entice her, just hold her and as he rested his hand on the swell of her bottom, he couldn’t imagine that scene with anyone else. She rested her head against his bare chest, her hair cool to his overheated skin.

  “Rhetta? Can we start over? You asked me that yesterday, do we get one more do-over?”

  She stiffened in his arms, then backed away. “Not tonight, Clint.”

  “Fine. I can see you don’t want to talk about this right now. Patton can take both of us to the airport tomorrow, we’ll talk on the way. I’ll head back to Manhattan, and you can go to Texas.” That way if she changed her mind, she could contact him. He would stay single indefinitely if it meant she might let him back in one day.