Billionaire's Baby Promise (Mills & Boon Desire) (Billionaires and Babies, Book 79)

by Sarah M. Anderson

  “I did.” He was easily the best lover she’d ever had. “But that doesn’t change things.”

  “What things?” He cupped her cheeks in his hands again and stroked his thumbs over her skin.

  She shouldn’t lean into his touch, shouldn’t want him. But she couldn’t help it. “I don’t know anything about you and I shouldn’t trust you. And when this is all over, I’m going back to being a dumpy single mom and you’ll go back to doing...whatever it is you do.”

  Everything about him sharpened. Dangerous was all she had time to think before he spoke. “You know more about me than anyone else does.”

  She stared at him—no way would she buy that line. But before she could tell him that, he went on, “And you do trust me. You trust me enough to get into a car and a plane with me. You trust me to play with your daughter. And,” he said, which was when she realized he was backing her up, one slow step at a time, “you trust me with your body.”

  “I’m not worried about my body,” she got out as they crossed the threshold into his bedroom.

  He tilted his head to one side and leaned back, his hot gaze raking over her. “You’re not? Then what’s the problem?”

  My heart, she wanted to tell him. She couldn’t risk falling for him any more than she already had. Which was a battle she’d already lost because he was too perfect and she couldn’t fight this attraction anymore.

  His lips curved into a sinful smile. “Let me take care of you, Christine,” he said in a voice that made her want to do bad, bad things—like peel him out of that sweater.

  Hell, she already wanted to do that. Last night on the couch had taken the edge off but she had a backlog of physical need that went well past a one-time thing.

  “Why?” The younger Christine would’ve fallen right out of her pants by now—especially after what had happened last night.

  But last night, she had been mad at him, at herself—at the world. The anger had tripped some sort of mental wire, sure. But today?

  Today she was tired and worried. And Daniel was still...perfect.

  “Why do you want me?”

  Part of her hoped he would whisper sweet nothings, easy-to-believe lies about how pretty and special she was. But part of her knew that if he said things like that, she wouldn’t believe him, no matter how sincere his earlier compliments had seemed. Having him think she was pretty wasn’t enough for her to give her heart away again.

  “Because you are the strongest woman I have ever met,” he said in a serious voice that was a balm for her soul. “But even strong women need a soft place to land every now and then.”

  Oh, sweet heavens. She needed him and if that made her an unnatural thing, a sinner of the first order, then so be it.

  And then he was kissing her, pulling her cardigan off and Christine gave in to the strength of his body and the sweetness of his lips. She gave in to this place out of time, this life that wasn’t hers.

  Daniel sat her down on the edge of the bed and pulled the tunic off over her head in one smooth movement. “Last night, you showed me what you wanted, Christine. So let me give it to you.” When she shivered as the cold air rushed to her bare skin, he paused and said, “Okay?”

  “Yeah. Kiss me.” Because she didn’t want to stop and think about this, or what would come after. She just wanted Daniel to take care of her.

  With a wicked grin, he pushed her back on the bed. She yanked at the sweater, trying to get it over his head. Back in her wild youth, she would’ve let the guy take the lead. Whatever worked for him worked for her. She wasn’t that girl anymore, thank God.

  “I want you naked.”

  “The feeling is mutual.” He pushed off her and peeled his sweater, shirt and undershirt off. So many layers. The joys of sex in the winter. But eventually, he was down to his bare chest. “Oh, my,” Christine said, running her hands over his sculpted muscles. She jerked her gaze up to his face. “You really are perfect, aren’t you?”

  He chuckled, a throaty noise that was definitely strained with need. “Far from it.” When she went for the button fly of his jeans, he grabbed her hands. “Patience,” he hissed.

  “I don’t want to be patient.” She didn’t want time to think of all the reasons that doing this—again—was a bad idea. And she didn’t want Marie to wake up before...

  Well. Before Daniel unleashed another mind-blowing orgasm upon her body.

  That’s all this was, she tried to tell herself as she grabbed for his jeans again—something physical. A way to take the edge off.

  This time, he was faster than she was. He dodged and grabbed her tank top, stripping it over her head.

  And then she was in nothing but her bra and jeans. Daniel froze, staring down at her with what she desperately wanted to believe was reverence. “God, Christine—look at you.” His hands drifted over her collarbones and to the tops of her breasts above her bra. “You are amazing.”

  She didn’t want to think. “Less talk.” This time, she got her hands on his jeans and began jerking the buttons open. Talking meant thinking and thinking wasn’t what she wanted right now. She just wanted to feel good.

  Daniel kicked out of his jeans but before he could get out of his boxer briefs, he had her on the bed, his mouth covering hers, his body covering hers. He was hot to the touch, so hot it made her sweat with need.

  They rolled under the covers together. His hands were everywhere and his mouth followed in hot pursuit.

  Christine’s mind tried to drift off into the quicksand of worries and regrets—because she knew those things were real and unavoidable and would be waiting for her the moment the fun stopped.

  But Daniel simply would not let her mind wander because he took full possession of her body. His erection rubbed against her in languid strokes, his mouth and hands demanding her full attention.

  “All day,” he murmured against the sensitive skin on the underside of her breasts, “I thought of doing this to you.”

  “You did?” Then she gasped when his fingers slid over her sex.

  “I didn’t get to touch you last night,” he said, sounding cool when she was about to lose her mind. “At your request. But I want to touch you. All of you, Christine.”

  With that, he slid a finger inside of her. “Oh,” she moaned, her hips writhing at his touch. Because he wasn’t just stroking in and out of her body. Oh, no. He was kissing his way down to the juncture of her legs, rubbing his thumb over the very center of her sex—he was going to drive her insane.

  “Daniel,” she gasped as he worked over her body, his mouth settling where his thumb had been. She laced her fingers into his short hair and held him against her.

  Everything fell away as he drove her higher and higher. Good Lord, had anyone ever done this for her?

  Daniel made a humming sound that rocketed through her and she couldn’t help herself. Her back came off the bed and she made some kind of noise but her mind blanked out in white-hot pleasure and all she could think was how much she’d missed this.

  How much she would miss this.

  But before that thought could take hold and drag her to the future where she was alone, except for her daughter, Daniel moved over her. “That’s better,” he murmured, settling his weight on top of her. “God, you’re so beautiful, Christine.”

  And she was so relaxed from the orgasm that she believed him. Because right now, she felt beautiful and desirable and special. He’d given that to her—all that and an orgasm, too. “You’re very good at that.”

  He chuckled, a confident sound deep in his throat. Who knew chuckling could be so sensual? “I told you I’d take care of you,” he said, pressing his erection against her opening. “And I always keep my promises.” But instead of thrusting in, he paused. “Okay?”

  She lifted her hips to meet him. “Please,” she whimpered as he teased her.

  “Hmm,” he said, but this time, she heard the crack in his cool demeanor. “Which is better?” As he spoke, he flexed, driving his erection into her a
teasing inch at a time. “When you’re mad at me? Or when you’re begging?”

  She dug her nails into his back. “I’ll show you mad...”

  But that was all it took. He sank into her, filling her so completely that she almost came again. She must have really scratched him because, with a grunt, he grabbed her hands from around his waist and held her wrists against the bed. “Last night I was at your mercy,” he said, driving into her with such ruthlessness that it was all she could do to meet him. “Now you’re at mine and so help me, Christine, you will come again.”

  “Oh, God,” she whispered as she gave herself up to him.

  For all his perfection, they fit together. He was relentless, driving into her over and over. She came and then came again as he groaned and collapsed onto her and she knew—

  She was forever ruined for anyone but this man. Which was a damn shame because time was not their friend.

  Exhaustion clawing at her, she hugged him tight, not caring that he was crushing her with his weight. She didn’t want to let him go.

  “Christine,” Daniel said, his voice shaky as he leaned up on his forearms and brushed a lock of hair from her face.

  She’d never heard him so uneven before. She got her eyes open to find him staring down at her, a look so intense that she was almost afraid—because this was the man who stopped at nothing.

  Just when she couldn’t take another second of being in his sights, he kissed her. “We’ve got some time,” he said, rolling to the side and tucking her in his arms. “Sleep.”

  She might have protested but honestly? She was completely wrung out and even the simple touch of his arm around her waist and his heartbeat against her ear from where she was resting on his chest—everything pulled her into the nap.

  So she went. Willingly.

  Twelve

  Daniel was a mess. His mother was on the way—which was fine. That was a part of the plan.

  Natalie had also landed—again, all part of the plan. But she was bringing her husband, CJ, with her.

  Daniel’s brother.

  And the hell of it was, he wasn’t sure why the idea of Natalie and CJ waltzing into his apartment had him on edge. After the explosive afternoon sex with Christine, Daniel would have thought he’d be achieving peak mellow right about now.

  After all, he’d essentially taken the morning off. He’d played with Marie and made love to Christine and...

  And for one too-brief morning, he’d gotten a glimpse of what a different life looked like, one where he was a normal man instead of the heir to the Lee Enterprises fortune and Hardwick Beaumont’s bastard son.

  He did not enjoy this level of personal confusion. This was exactly why he didn’t let people just walk into his house—or his life. The results were too messy.

  Still, when he went to wake up Christine, he found himself staring at her. All of this upset—it was because of her. She made him feel things, want things, that he’d long ago decided he’d never have and, therefore, never want.

  But here she was, anyway—in his house and in his bed. She was in his life now and he had no idea what to do next. Except wake her up. After all, he still had most of a fully functional plan to protect her and Marie, thwart Brian White and Clarence Murray and...

  And then what? After the dust had settled—and he’d been doing this long enough to know that the dust would settle eventually—what came next? Where were plans A, B and C?

  For the first time in his life, he wasn’t sure what came next. “Christine,” he said gently, leaning down to touch her hair. Her eyelids fluttered. “You need to get up and get dressed.”

  Her eyes scrunched shut. “Why?” she murmured groggily. “Wanna stay here.”

  God, he’d love that—her in his bed?

  But the moment the thought crossed his mind, he heard his grandfather’s voice in his head, telling him had to marry the “right” girl. “People will be here soon. Do you really want Natalie to interview you nude in my bed?”

  That did the trick. She sat up, clutching the sheet to her chest. “Oh, Lord, no. How long?”

  Daniel knew he needed to put some distance between them. But she looked so gorgeous, her hair mussed and her shoulders bare. He knelt, one knee on the bed, and kissed her.

  “Twenty minutes,” he murmured against her lips. A man could get a lot done in twenty minutes.

  She shoved him back. “I’ve got to—oh, Lord!” She hopped out of bed, pulling the sheet with her. “I’ve got to...” she repeated, gathering up her clothes and dashing into his bathroom.

  Just before she closed the door, she turned around, the sheet falling to reveal the creamy sweep of her breast. His blood quickened as he jerked his gaze up to her face.

  She shot him a knowing little smile—and then shut the door.

  “Wow,” he exhaled, forcing his body to stand down. He had to get through some unexpected family socializing and media management before he could follow up on that smile.

  * * *

  “Where is my little Marie?” Minnie said, all but running into the apartment, bags of toys hanging from her arms as she ignored Daniel completely.

  Marie looked up from her bowl of Cheerios and squealed. Christine came running—Daniel noticed that she came from the direction of the guest room, not from his bathroom. “Is everything—oh, Minnie,” she said with a warm smile, “you’re here.”

  “Christine,” Minnie said, a warm smile on her face as she dropped her presents for Marie and scooped the little girl up. “You’re looking better. Did you sleep well?”

  Christine flushed and, for a second, Daniel wondered if she was about to give them away. Not that there was anything wrong with consenting adults enjoying some time together.

  But that’s not how his mom would look at it. A physical relationship between him and Christine would only be further proof that Daniel had found a ready-made family.

  “Yes—the bed was wonderful,” Christine said, slanting him a sideways look.

  That answer was good enough for his mother. She and Marie were off, talking in a mixture of English, Korean and Baby that not even Daniel had a hope of understanding.

  Daniel moved to Christine’s side, but he was surprised to see a look of sadness on her face as she watched his mom and Marie. “Okay?”

  “It’s fine,” she said too quickly. She caught him staring at her and gave him a weak smile. “It’s just going to be hard when we leave all of this behind. I mean, for Marie. She’s not used to being spoiled like this—that’s all,” she said, color washing over her pale cheeks.

  “Christine—” he started, but stopped because she was right. It would be hard when this ended. But end it would.

  The amount of work he was ignoring to take care of this was snowballing and if he didn’t get a handle on things soon, he’d be buried in an avalanche.

  Besides, it wasn’t like he could keep Christine and Marie here. They had their own lives. He couldn’t imagine Christine giving up her job because doing so would put her at the mercy of someone else and she wouldn’t do that.

  “It’ll be fine,” she said, watching Minnie and Marie. But her eyes revealed the lie of her words.

  Once again, Daniel was seized with some sort of urge to do something—anything—to make it better. But what? It was no stretch to say that he was out to sea here. His entire involvement with Christine Murray should have been limited to protecting Marie from the press. That was what he knew how to do—a concrete plan with actionable steps that led to a desired—and predictable—outcome.

  At no point did any of those steps include him and Christine naked. Or even partially naked, as they had been last night.

  Or as they would be again tonight.

  Jesus, what was wrong with him? The fact that he was thinking about tonight instead of the interview or the imminent arrival of his brother—this was a problem.

  He could work around problems. Through them, if he had to. And his attraction to Christine... Well, he didn’t want to call i
t a problem. Even if it was on the verge of becoming one.

  His phone buzzed—the text from the doorman. Natalie and CJ were here. Which was good. It would keep Daniel from thinking about Christine and her sleepy smiles and the way she had felt beneath him, over him. “They’re on their way up.”

  Christine patted her hair. “Do I look all right?”

  “Gorgeous. As usual.” Even as the words were leaving his mouth he wondered where they had come from. He did not flirt. He didn’t even sweet talk. He was all business.

  Except with her. And he didn’t know why.

  Luckily, he was saved from any further fruitless introspection by a knock on the door. He opened it to see CJ wearing a giant cowboy hat. “You really do live here,” his half brother said, an easy smile on his face. But that’s how CJ was. He was open and happy, honest almost to a fault.

  “I really do live here.” It struck Daniel that, if not for Christine, he had no idea when he might’ve invited his brother to Chicago. “Come on in. Thanks for making the trip, you two.”

  “And miss the chance to get a glimpse into the life of Daniel Lee?” Natalie said, launching a professional smile in his direction. “We wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

  Daniel knew that she was teasing him—they both were. But it bothered him, anyway. He didn’t really have close friends. He suddenly had a huge family—but they were mostly strangers. It had always been easier that way. Safer, too. “It’s not that big of a deal, guys.”

  It was supposed to be a joke. But he didn’t miss the look that Natalie and CJ shared, the way they seemed to understand each other without saying a word.

  He shook his head. He shouldn’t have stayed in bed with Christine until she’d fallen asleep. It had messed with his normal routine and that was throwing him for a loop. “My mother is here. She’s going to watch Marie during the interview,” he told them as he led them into the front room.

  CJ whistled at the view, which got Christine’s attention. She hopped to her feet and said, “Hello. I’m Christine Murray,” in a surprisingly even voice, given the circumstances.