BILLIONAIRE: Protected (A Dark Billionaire Romance)

by Royer, Kristina

  He cleared his throat and stood. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously and muttered, “Listen, it's getting late. I should probably get some sleep. We have a long day tomorrow. If you want to crash on my sofa, feel free. Nothing weird...you just shouldn't walk home in your condition is all... especially this late at night in New York.”

  “Do you have a err...blanket? I don't have anything to wear tomorrow—”

  “I'll buy you something in the morning before we start branding,” he replied, quickly. “I'll show you where I keep the blankets. You can have your pick. I just don't want you trying to walk home.”

  I almost suggested that he called a cab, but I realized that I would be ruining my only chance to spend more time alone with him. With a nod, I stood and he led me down the single short hallway where there was a bathroom to the left and his bedroom at the end. To the right was a wooden closet door, which he opened with a smile. I peered inside and saw an array of expensive fabrics.

  “Is that real velvet?” I asked, gesturing a luxurious red duvet.

  He smiled and nodded. “Is that what you'd like?”

  “Yes,” I answered, shyly. “I haven't felt real velvet in—well... ever.”

  *****

  He pulled the folded blanket out of the linen closet and handed it to me. “Glad I can give you your first time.” He winked at me and my face flushed. I looked to the floor, nervously. Without acknowledging his flirtatiousness, I took the blanket to the living room and lay down on the sofa. I could hardly escape my own embarrassment.

  Suddenly, I heard his footsteps draw near and my heart raced in my chest. I had no idea what could happen to my career if anything were to happen between the two of us. I could only imagine the office rumors. Before I could even pretend to be asleep, he hovered over me.

  “Just wanted to tell you goodnight,” he murmured, leaning down to look at me. I could hear my heart beating faster and faster as his face was only inches above mine. He got closer, his lips only centimeters from my face, and then I turned my head.

  To further my embarrassment, I quickly discovered that Liam had simply been attempting to kiss my cheek, which was not so strange in his culture. However, when I turned my head, his lips landed on mine instead of the much more innocent spot that he had intended. For some reason, he did not pull away, though. His lips lingered on mine and I could not bring myself to stop it. A tingling sensation entered me through his soft mouth and ran all the way down to my toes. It seemed as though it lasted forever despite it lasting only but a moment.

  He cleared his throat and got to his feet, awkwardly. “Goodnight,” he muttered, and hastily walked to his bedroom.

  Both confused and ecstatic, I touched my fingertips to my lips.

  *****

  Chapter 4

  The scent of bacon accompanied with the clunking of metal pots and pans woke me. Groggily, I rubbed my eyes and felt my makeup smear all over my balled fists. Cursing under my breath, I used a little extra force to open my eyes, as the mascara had caused my lashes to stick together. With a yawn, I scratched the back of my head and peered into the kitchen from my place on the sofa.

  Liam stood in the kitchen, shirtless, exposing his rippling muscles. I chewed on my lip as I took a mental snapshot of his godlike form and I began to recollect all of my memories from the night before. Remembering the feeling of his lips against mine, I blushed. Everything felt like a dream.

  “Morning,” I grumbled, wearily. “Nice apron.”

  He turned on his heel, a spatula in one hand, and looked at me in an alarmed manner. He was adorned in pajama bottoms and a plain white apron; his hair was messy and there were bags underneath his cerulean eyes, but to me, he looked just as attractive as usual.

  “You're awake,” he said, seemingly surprised. “Good morning, good morning. I'm making bacon for us. Well, you probably smelled that... do you need me to buy you clothes this morning like we discussed? If you'd like a shower—”

  I looked at the contemporary clock mounted on the wall and interjected, “We don't even need to be at the office for another three hours. Why are you up so early?”

  “Bit of an early bird,” he replied, turning and flipping the bacon in the pan. It sizzled loudly and he yelled over the sound. “Listen, I think we need to talk about everything that happened last night. I was knackered and—”

  “And it meant nothing to you,” I finished with a frown. I knew better than to show any interest in a business partner and I certainly knew better than to open up regarding my past. The alcohol had compromised my cognitive abilities.

  “No, no, no! Nothing like that!” he said. Relief enveloped me like the embrace that he had given me the night before. I was not sure that I could handle having frivolous drama in my relationship with my business partner. “I just think we should lay some ground rules.”

  Furrowing my brow, I wondered what he was trying to say. I sat upright and considered asking what he meant, but I lost my courage and asked him if I could use the washroom instead.

  “Yeah, it's in the hall to the—”

  “I know where it is,” I snapped, getting to my feet and walking down the small corridor. I opened the bathroom door and locked it behind me. After using the restroom, I braved looking in the mirror at the damage that the previous night had had on my makeup. Black and metallic eye makeup was smeared across my face and my lipstick had stained most of the skin around my mouth. Cringing at my appearance, I wadded up some toilet paper and wet it with tap water. It was certainly not the most ideal way to remove makeup. Scrubbing as hard as I could, I began to realize that my efforts were futile. No matter how much I scrubbed, I simply was making my face red and leaving a wet, black mess all over my skin. The mirror never lied, and the mirror was telling me that I looked terrible.

  “Crap,” I muttered under my breath, opening the medicine cabinet and searching frantically for a cotton ball or something more useful than toilet paper. The closest thing to a cotton ball that I could find was a box of cotton swabs. I reached for it, but was interrupted, to my misfortune.

  Suddenly, I heard a knock on the door and out of surprise; I jumped, knocking the box to the ground. Looking at the door nervously, I started collecting them, trying to put them back in the container, but Liam was persistent.

  “You okay in there? Breakfast is ready,” he yelled through the wooden door. He knocked again and the doorknob rattled. “Ally, are you all right?”

  “Yeah, one minute!” I called back, hurriedly trying to put the cotton swabs back. As I was bent over, I knocked over the ceramic soap dispenser on the sink and it shattered into hundreds of pieces all over the floor. “Damn it!”

  “Whoa, that didn't sound good. Can I come in?” Liam asked.

  “Just...one more minute!” I yelled through the door. “I'll be right out! Go ahead and eat!” I really did not think that I could embarrass myself in front of him any more than I already had, but I stood corrected. He did not leave as I expected; he merely stood in front of the door, waiting for me to emerge. I cursed under my breath once more and started picking up the pieces to put in the trash, only to slip on the liquid soap and land on my rear with a loud thud.

  I screamed both out of surprise and pain, as one of the shards had left a long gash in my calf. I really was not having very good luck.

  “Whoa! Hold on, I'll be right there!” I heard him yell. I heard his feet thumping down the short hallway and the opening and closing of a drawer, but I was more concerned about the mess he was about to see.

  The doorknob rattled and I heard the clicking sound of it being unlocked. The dull pain in my leg was not enough to leave me careless about my appearance, and I quickly began rubbing my face in one last, desperate measure to look more presentable. The door opened and I looked up at him from my place on the floor, a weak smile on my face. It was hard to pretend that I was fine when I had made such a mess.

  “Goodness, you look horrible,” he murmured, coming to my aid. I frowned and he correct
ed himself. “I mean—not horrible. I mean—you look hurt. Are you okay? Oh that doesn't look very good... Let me wrap that...” He went to the already-open medicine cabinet and started shuffling through the dozens of items. After pushing an electric razor aside, he found a box of butterfly bandages and pulled it out of the cabinet. He turned and squatted to my level as he unwrapped one of the bandages. He stuck it to my calf, offering me a concerned look.

  “Sorry about the mess,” I muttered, averting my gaze to the floor. “Thanks for the band-aid.”

  He chuckled. “No worries. The cleaning lady will take care of it. Are you okay? That was quite a slice there.”

  “Yeah, I'm fine,” I replied. “I think I could use a shower, though.”

  “Yeah, okay,” he said, his face flushing. He scratched the back of his head and stood. “Well, er, there's a towel there on the rack...I'll—I'll be in the kitchen, I suppose.” In a nervous, nearly boyish manner, he shuffled his feet towards the door, stepping over the broken shards.

  Something about his anxiousness was charming, and I felt compelled to ask him something that was entirely inappropriate. I opened my mouth and made a noise, but stopped myself from saying anything that I should not have. Unfortunately, the noise from my throat was enough to get his attention.

  “Did you say something?” he asked, turning on his heel.

  I stammered again, but I could not filter myself much longer. “Wh-why don't you join me?” I asked. As soon as the words fell from my lips, I felt regret. I knew that he was going to tell me how inappropriate it was and that everything that had happened the night before was simply a mistake fueled by alcohol. However, he had a soft smile on his lips and part of me felt like there was still hope. My stomach turned as I waited for his answer.

  “Well, I guess I can't really turn that down, can I?” he replied with a chuckle. “You don't waste time, eh?”

  Blushing, I removed my skirt and coolly answered, “You're the one that asked me to stay the night after a business meeting.”

  “That's true,” he said. “Those panties are...something else.” He cleared his throat and his face became a shade of scarlet.

  Feeling a little bit more confident, I smirked and said, “You like them?” I removed my blazer and blouse. “What about my bra? Is this to your standards?” It had been a long time since I had felt nervous around a man, but Liam made my stomach twist into what felt like a million knots. It was something like a schoolgirl crush and I could not really tell whether I liked the feeling or not. Despite my confusion, stopping me hardly seemed possible. I was beginning to act on impulse, which was not something I did often anymore, but it felt good.

  “I-i-it's certainly nice too,” he stammered. “Wow, you're...beautiful.”

  I blushed, as I had not had a man tell me that I was beautiful in quite some time. My eyes were drawn to his groin, which was sporting a rather impressive bulge. The tip of his manhood slightly peeked out from the opening in his pajama pants and I felt myself growing more aroused.

  “You really aren't lacking where it counts,” I murmured, unhooking my bra. “You wanna turn on the water?”

  He nodded hurriedly, and shakily turned the knob of the shower. Letting my brassiere fall to the floor, I stood before him, exposing all but my womanhood, and it was apparent that he could not wait much longer. It had been nearly eight years since I had been so sexually charged. The moistness between my legs alerted me that I could not wait much longer either.

  “Are you going to just stand there or what?” I asked, gesturing his plaid pajama pants

  Luckily, he had taken off the apron and spared himself the extra work. Frustrated as he continued standing there, clueless, I approached him and ran a hand down his chest, running my fingers along his waistband. He chewed on his lip, sensuously, and I tugged on the elastic, urging him to undress.

  Instead of taking his own pants off, he caught me off guard and hooked one of his strong fingers around my thong. He leaned down and pressed his lips to mine, kissing from the corner of my mouth to my neck and all the way down to my full breasts. A gasp fell from my lips as he sucked on my flesh and his hands explored my body. Tossing my head back in ecstasy, I ran my hands through his thick hair. His hand embraced the breast that his face was not buried in, only momentarily, before dancing down my body towards my lowers. I bit my lip, looking down at him as his thumb rubbed me slowly through my red silk panties.

  “Oh, Liam,” I moaned lightly, encouraging him not to stop. It was pleasantly surprising that he had been able to find my pleasure spot as quickly as he did.

  He pulled away to look in my eyes, his cerulean irises boring into my own emeralds. Judging by the smirk on his face, he was growing more confident. Biting my lip, I found myself becoming wetter between my legs. Confidence was something that I found extremely sexy.

  “You like that, do you?” he murmured, rubbing me a little slower, teasing me. “Can't have you finishing too early…” He pulled his thumb away and I whimpered, but secretly, I loved every minute of his game. It was refreshing in comparison to the fast-paced, mundane manner in which most men chose to make love. He reached into the shower and felt the water before nodding and slowly pulling off his pajama pants. I reached out to stroke him, but he stepped over my hand into the shower and pulled the glass door closed. An annoyed scoff emitted from my throat, yet his indecisiveness only fueled my libido even more. Hastily, I tore off my panties and opened the glass door, stepping into the shower behind him. The shower itself was unlike anything that I had ever experienced. The shower head was located at the top and misted us like a warm, April rain. The mosaic tiles were earthy shades of grey and green. It almost felt like being in the rainforest and I knew it would only make the experience all the better.

  “Hello there,” he welcomed me, softly. He did not turn around to face me, but for some reason, it made everything more intimate and mysterious.

  I did not answer him, but let my hands dance upon his skin, my eyes fixed at the contrast between his tan complexion and my paleness. He shivered as my hands traveled from his biceps to his lateral muscles and I touched his waist, sensuously. The skin near his groin was covered in goose-bumps and he flinched at my touch, anticipating my hand. I stopped for a moment to tease him, running my hand back up his spine. He whimpered and I slowly moved my hand back down to his lowers, once more, finally caressing his erect member.

  “Is that what you wanted?” I whispered in his ear. He nodded and a low groan of pleasure fell from his lips. I stroked him softly, using the shower water as natural lubricant, running my thumb along the head of his manhood. Using my hand for scale, I realized how massive he truly was and my loins ached. He moaned and pressed his hands against the shower walls in an effort to stabilize himself. I wrapped both arms around his waist, cradling his testicles with one hand and stroking him rapidly with the other. As I pressed my lips against his neck, my smeared, day-old lipstick stained his flesh. I lightly sunk my teeth into his skin and he let out a loud moan.

  “I-I need you,” he breathed. “Ally, p-please.”

  I smirked and released him from my fingers, stepping back so he could turn around, an expectant look written on my face. He turned and swallowed nervously before his eyes explored my exposed form. Hungrily, he seized my waist and pulled me close to him, crashing his lips into mine. I groaned in ecstasy as I felt his manhood rub against my inner thighs and our tongues intertwined. The teasing was beginning to become painful. I wanted him more than I had ever wanted anything before. I pulled away and looked him in the eyes.

  “Please,” I begged. “I can't wait anymore.”

  He nodded, breathing heavily. The water cascaded down upon us, soaking our hair and our warm bodies. He offered me two fingers, which I took in my mouth to coat with a copious amount of saliva. He applied the natural lubrication to his erection and scooped me up into his arms. I whimpered, giving him a pleading look. He squeezed my buttocks to pull me even closer to him and I wrapped my legs aro
und his waist and my arms around his neck, completely trusting him not to drop me in the slippery conditions. Suddenly, I felt the tip of him enter me and I emitted a gasp.

  Slowly, he pushed more of himself inside of me and pressed his lips to my neck. “How's that, huh?” he murmured, easing his way in and out of me.

  “P-perfect,” I whispered. Unexpectedly, he pushed all of his manhood into the depths of my warmth and I let out a scream of pleasure. Squeezing his waist with my legs, I propelled my hips towards his and he groaned as I physically urged him to quicken the pace. He moved inside of me faster and faster, making my large breasts bounce with each thrust.

  “Oh Aaliyah!” he yelled. My nails sunk into his spine as he grunted in ecstasy. I gripped onto his shoulder to let myself maneuver myself in order to grab onto one of my breasts. My nipple stiffened under my hand and I moaned as his manhood rubbed against my innermost walls. His eyes traveled to my hand and I felt him stiffen inside of me. He let out a groan.

  “Oh, Liam,” I breathed. “You're a god.”

  “Touch yourself,” he murmured, his breath hitching slightly. “Please.”

  At first, I was a little taken aback by the request, but something about it also turned me on in the most sinful way. I ran my hand down my full bosom to my clitoris and began to do as he requested. His eyes were fixed on my hand's movements upon my lowers, but all I felt was pleasure. His thrusts grew sloppier and his face started to become purple. A vein in his forehead protruded slightly as it began to become too much for him to continue much longer.

  “I-I'm getting close,” he managed with a grunt. “Ah—oh, oh Ally! I can't—go much—oh!” He stiffened as much as physically possible within my womanhood and I rubbed myself as fast as I could. My inner muscles pulsed in pleasure as I approached climax.

  “Me too!” I managed to squeak. His grip on my buttocks grew stronger and I tossed my head back, releasing a loud scream as we reached climax together. Upon release, he buried his face in my neck, breathing heavily as he tried to regain his energy. My vision became blurry and my wet hair clung to my face, but I could not bring myself to move it out of my eyes. Shakily, he set me down gently. My legs trembled, the muscles feeling like gelatin. I closed my eyes, allowing myself to swim in the oxytocin before getting out of the shower. However, the sound of the glass door opening and closing brought me back to reality.