“You know the best part of having a twin?”
“Being the better looking one?” he fired back.
“Having a convenient stand-in.”
“Oh, fuck no.”
“Come on. Go for me. Charlotte wants to, and I’d hate to disappoint her, but I am going to see Willa tomorrow night.” I wanted more of her smiles, her honesty, her sense of humor. I needed her like oxygen to a suffocating man, food to the starved...any cliche I could think of, well, that was her.
Jameson studied me and then sighed, slipping his glasses back over his eyes and deflating against the seat. “Fine. I’ll do it. But only Charlotte can know.”
“She’d know?”
“Xander, she’s been able to tell the difference between us since she was six years-old.”
I nodded, already preoccupied with the present I’d arrange to have sent to Willa this afternoon. “Yeah, that’s fine then, but only Charlotte.”
“Agreed, and Charlie has to keep her claws tucked away.”
“One, you know she hates it when you call her that, and two, she doesn’t have claws.”
“Yeah, that you’ve seen.” He sighed. “This is dangerous, big brother. She’s American, a commoner, and you know nothing about her.”
I looked out the window as the snow-swept world sped past. “Yeah, well, she knows nothing about me, which makes her even more perfect.”
Willa
The crisp floral scent of the extravagant bouquet filled the cabin, and that damn smile returned to my lips as I re-read the card.
Please call me.
-Xander
His cell number was listed below his name, I traced the ‘X’, loving the masculine way it slanted down and fierce like his hand couldn’t help but press hard against the paper. I was touched he’d signed the card himself, and he shut down my assuming thoughts of servants doing everything for him from dressing to breakfast to thank you cards.
He’s a billionaire. His expensive suit and the family business mentions had told me that much. Right alongside that, he was powerful. He was straight-up out of one of my novels.
I hadn’t stopped thinking about that, not since he left yesterday morning. I’d even dreamed about him—those deep brown eyes, the cut line of his muscles, the tension in his massive shoulders. I couldn’t have written a better specimen.
How was it a billionaire had wound up stranded in the cold at my door? That was the craziest part. It was more like a plot point than anything I would ever normally experience, and the whole encounter had me questioning my sanity.
And now he wanted me to call him? For what? Was there some legal matter, some document I had to sign that equated to a formal apology for almost offing Elleston’s most eligible billionaire bachelor? Or maybe it was a silence bouquet, a bribe to keep me quiet about our innocent encounter. He’d said there was a woman his family wanted him to marry. Maybe he didn’t want it getting out that he’d spent the night with a colorful author, let alone one who currently had two books in the top one-hundred of the erotica category.
The thought sent a nervous tightening through my chest, and I buried my nose in the beautiful bundles of lilacs, the lavender petals soft against my cheeks.
No, he wouldn’t have sent such a gorgeous arrangement if his family was about to sue me. When he’d spoken of his family business, power had radiated through his eyes and sent a zing straight down my spine. A flicker of heat pooled low in my belly at the idea that the man I saved last night from the bitter cold could possess so much blatant authority and still remain open, and easy, our conversation not forced at all.
I pranced across my living room to ease the tension between my thighs and finally settled on setting the flowers on my desk. Sinking into my chair, I tucked a knee under my chin and stared at the numbers on the card. The curiosity was more than I could stand. If anything, whatever further interaction the billionaire wanted with me would at least make for great writing material.
The breath in my lungs fluttered after I’d punched in the numbers.
He answered after one ring, his commanding voice heating my cheeks. “Willa,” he said, somehow knowing it was me.
Well, I couldn’t have that.
I altered my voice slightly, adapting the best southern accent I could. “Is this a Mr. Xander, sir?”
He cleared his throat, and I heard fabric scratch on the other end of the line like he shifted his weight. “Yes.”
“Good. Sir, I’m calling from Daisy’s and Pine about the arrangement you purchased this morning to be delivered to a Ms. Willa Collins.”
“Yes, and?” The edge in his voice only made the heat in my tummy flare, and I bit down on my lip to stop from laughing. Poor Xander. No one must ever dare to pull a joke on the eldest in his family company. A quick flash of doubt threatened to ice my mood, but I pushed on, already committed.
“There is no Willa Collins at this address, sir. The cabin is completely vacant. Except we did find one item on her porch.”
“What?” His voice was gruff, and tears pricked the edges of my eyes from holding in my laughter. “What the hell was it?”
“A taser. Pink. Looks like it’s been used recently. Maybe she packed up in fear of getting sued by whomever she hurt.” I swallowed my laugh, still holding onto the voice. “You want these flowers sent to someone else more…classy?”
A deep sigh, and the sexiest, fullest laugh I ever heard rumbled straight through the phone and resonated deep in my chest. I joined him, no longer able to silence the hilarity bursting within me.
It was a full minute before he inhaled deeply and sighed my name again. “Willa. Tell me you at least like lilacs.”
A grin hurt my cheeks it was so wide. “Depends,” I said, smiling at the gorgeous flowers as if I were looking right at him. “Are they a peace offering before someone comes to arrest me? Or I’m served with court papers? Some legal notice from your company threatening to sue?”
“No,” he said. “Of course not.” Another laugh. I took a full, deep breath. “But,” he said, and I stopped my casual lean against the seat, sitting stark straight instead. “I did send them with an ulterior motive.”
“Oh really?”
“Yes,” he said. “I wasn’t kidding. I want to see you again.”
My heart jolted inside my chest, a little flip that dipped all the way down to my tummy before finding its home again. “Why?” I couldn’t help but blurt the question, the shock from his interest killing my brain to mouth filter.
“What can I say?” he chuckled. “Maybe I like getting beat up by you.”
My entire body flushed. The playfulness in his eyes last night as we’d talked after he’d woken up had been bright and wild and almost seemed to shock him. Knowing how rich and powerful he was, I fully understood his reaction to the easy banter we’d had. Like the joke I’d just played, I doubted anyone would’ve had the gall to speak to him the way I had, or tase him either, even if it was an accident.
The weight on his shoulders now made sense, too, and my own sank, my heart heavy for the constrictions he must live under every single day. I couldn’t imagine running a family company, with so many siblings and responsibilities, let alone throwing tons of money into the mix.
“Willa?” He asked after I’d been silent for a few breaths too long. “I was only joking.”
I blinked out of my stare, my eyes still on the flowers. I played with a petal, tracing it over my lips. I knew he was rich and classy and totally out of my league, and that he was only here for a couple weeks on a business trip, but a part of me couldn’t resist the chance to show him a good time. One that wasn’t scripted or directly relating to the formal billionaire world he was used to. I’d already knocked the man unconscious and made him bleed, and with no legal repercussions on that event, how much more damage could I do?
Your heart.
The voice in my head hissed a warning, but I told her to relax. I wasn’t about to fall in love with the billionaire who could’ve been my own prince cha
rming with the way he made my heart race. No. I only wanted to see him again. Maybe show him a good time. Make him laugh some more before he had to return to running a small family empire.
“Are you free tonight?” I asked, knowing he likely wasn’t but not caring to wait.
“I am now,” he said, a smile in his voice.
Well, if that didn’t just melt me.
“Perfect. I’ll be ready at seven.”
“I’ll pick you up,” he said.
“Maybe I should drive,” I teased.
“The roads are clear. My staff picked me up yesterday morning, and it hasn’t snowed since.”
The image of the armed security guards flashed in my head.
“Right,” I said, twisting the petal in my fingers. “Will they be joining us tonight, too?” I knew he was powerful enough to merit protection, but he’d been alone last night when he’d come to me for help, and my plans didn’t really fit for a team of guys in suits with guns under their jackets.
“No. I’ll make sure of it.”
“Perfect,” I said. “See you then.”
I hung up before I could lose my nerve and call the whole thing off. My heart raced like I’d run five miles instead of agreeing to a date. A fairytale like evening flittered through my mind—ball gowns and starlight and champagne—and while that image looked beautiful and fun and something I’d never gotten to do, I shoved it away.
That was something he likely did on a weekly basis.
No, tonight I would make sure Xander had fun. Real fun. And if I failed, well, he was never going to stick around anyway, and I’d know that I tried to show him something different while he was here.
The thin layer of snow on my driveway crunched under the massive wheels of the black Escalade at exactly 6:58 pm. I peeked through the curtains, my breath rushing out of my lungs in one full whoosh at the sight of Xander opening the driver’s side door.
My skin heated from the top of my head to the bottom of my toes that were snug in a warm pair of moto-boots. He was alone, and he looked downright delicious in a royal blue sweater, black slacks, and boots. I smirked at the shoes, happy he’d worn something more appropriate for the weather as opposed to those ridiculous dress shoes last night.
The man looked good in a tux, and he looked damn fine in casual winter wear, too. He had one arm concealing something behind his back, and I would’ve been content to watch him wrap his free hand against my door, the biceps flexing under the sweater, but he caught me staring through the window, and I jerked the curtain in front of my face.
“Damn,” I hissed, and ran my fingers through my hair. I’d braided half of it, wrapping it around the top of my head, allowing my array of color underneath to show. “Hello,” I said as I opened the door.
His smile was half-wolfish and half-sensual but one hundred percent breathtaking. Everything about the man was massive. His frame, the sharp angular lines of his handsome face, even his hands were huge. I had only seen him yesterday, and yet it felt like my muscles both relaxed and tensed at just the sight of him. “For you,” he said, revealing the hand that he’d hidden behind his back.
I gasped a laugh. “It’s a mini! And pink!” I scooped up the offered taser, the thing easily fitting into the palm of my hand like a baby to the one I accidentally used against him last night.
He chuckled. “Since I’d already sent flowers,” he said, pointing at the tiny weapon. “I figured you could use another one. One with less voltage but still as effective.”
I pressed my lips together to contain my smile. “It’s like you know me,” I said, slipping it into my small black purse and stepping out onto the porch.
“I’d like to,” he said, his hand on the small of my back as he guided me to the passenger side of the SUV. The touch was innocent but warmed me despite the winter chill in the air.
“I must’ve shaken up your brain,” I teased, buckling my seatbelt as he came around to the other side.
He cocked a brow at me, those deep brown eyes locking onto mine with a strength that made my breath catch. “Why would you say that?” He asked as he started the car and put it in reverse.
I smirked. “I’m no aristocrat.”
As he braked to back into the road, he clenched his eyes shut for just a moment, and I instantly regretted the quip. When he opened them again, he parted his lips to say something, but I cut him off.
“Xander,” I said his name, testing it on my tongue, hoping he wouldn’t mind. The tension in his shoulders relaxed a fraction, and I continued. “You’ll want to take a left at the end of the road.”
“What?” He furrowed his brow. “I secured us a table at Trinity.”
It was my turn to be shocked. “That place is booked out for months,” I said, knowing my agent had once tried to get us a table there for a celebratory release dinner. We’d ended up buying pizza by the slice at a nearby pie shop. Much more my style anyway.
“I know,” he said, a pleased smile on his lips.
“Well, I appreciate the gesture, Xander,” I said his name if only to watch the way his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down in his throat. “But I have other plans for you.”
“Really?”
I nodded, crossing my arms over my chest to show him I wouldn’t budge.
A low rumble emanated from his chest. Did the man just growl at me?
“Come on, it will be fun,” I said with an exaggerated pout.
“I don’t really do fun.”
“Not used to giving up control, are you?” I asked.
He shook his head slowly, his lips flat.
“But you’re going to this time, right? Because doing it your way would be boring, and you didn’t come all the way back up here for boring.”
After an intense stare down that made me feel like he could peer straight into me, he grinned. “Doing it my way is never boring, I assure you, Willa.”
Hello stomach flutters.
A twenty-minute drive—him following directions like a champ without any frustration—and we parked in a crowded lot boarded by thick pine trees. The snow glinted in the lowering sun’s light, the sparkling white and green appearing majestic with the mountains on the horizon.
“What is this?” Xander asked as he hurried around the SUV as if to open my door. I was already out and waiting for him by the time he made it.
“Haven’t you ever been ice skating before?” I glanced up at him, my neck arching a bit because of how extremely tall he was.
“No,” he admitted. “But what are all the trucks around it?”
“Ah,” I said, eyeing the silver and black food trucks surrounding the exterior of the outdoor skating rink. “That is the best part about this place.” I slipped on a pair of purple gloves before offering him my hand. “Trust me?”
He put on his pair of black gloves and smirked. “You’re lethal, remember?” he teased before taking my hand. “I must be out of my mind.”
I squeezed his fingers, so strong and large overlapping my own. “That’s the best way to live,” I said, and tugged him toward the entrance.
A few moments later and we had our rented skates laced up and headed to the ice. I offered Xander both my hands as I skated backward onto the slick surface, unable to contain my smile as the massive man struggled before me. His legs were long and muscled, and I was sure if he needed to outrun someone he totally could, but here on the ice, he was as stiff as a tree.
“Here,” I said, tugging him closer to me. “You have to loosen up. Bend your knees.” He growled, the sound vibrating my core, but he did as I said. “Now push the heel of your right foot, slowly.” He looked down and back, his eyes darting to me and the skates over and over again. “Good,” I said as we moved an inch. “Now the other.” I smiled as he finally got used to the skates, the slippery ice, and the motions. “See,” I said, “you’re perfect.”
His smile sure was perfect.
“This isn’t so hard,” he finally said, easing into the motions until I was confident enoug
h he could handle it without me holding on to him. Not like I could stop his incredibly large frame if he started to fall, but I could at least slow it down.
I flipped around to skate beside him, releasing his hands. He wobbled for a moment as he kept his eyes on me, but instantly righted himself. The grin on his face was genuine, and I couldn’t help but wonder if the man was good at everything anyone ever asked him to try.
“Who taught you to skate?” He asked, slipping slightly and grabbing my hand.
Heat shot up my arm as if I could feel the sear from his skin through the gloves. I sucked in a sharp breath, allowing him to intertwine our fingers. “My Grandma. When I was little. It was something we’d do together. Just the two of us.” I swallowed the tiny lump in my throat, allowing the memories to draw a smile on my face.
“That’s nice,” he said. “I’m picturing an older woman with your natural fierceness.”
“That’s her,” I said. “She taught me to never sit on the sidelines of my own life. To not put so much weight on what other people thought and just go after what I wanted. That’s why I became an author even though everyone around me told me it was financial suicide.”
“That must be an amazing way to live,” he said.
I glanced up at him as he scrunched his eyebrows, wondering what it was about being a billionaire that made him look as if the entire world sat on his shoulders. The other skaters—both teens and couples and elderly people alike—whipped by us at a faster pace, though I didn’t mind the leisurely ease at which we moved. “You obviously proved them wrong,” he said after a moment.
I grinned because I did. My children’s books were the stories of my heart and served me well, but the pen name books are what offered me the security everyone had doubted I’d ever have. Plus, the erotica’s were for me—a way to tame the wild passion that constantly pulsed inside me. I smirked up at Xander, knowing he’d seen the titles on my shelf but hadn’t asked about them.
“You do that a lot, don’t you?” He asked when I’d only smiled at him.
“What?”
The Crown: A Modern-Day Fairytale Romance Page 4
