by J. S. Cooper
FALLING FOR THE BILLIONAIRE
J. S. Cooper
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This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is entirely coincidental. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Copyright © 2017 by J. S. Cooper
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Have you ever been That Girl? The one that thought with her heart and ignored her brain? The one that loved hard; and then even harder when she knew he shouldn’t be loved at all? Have you ever held on to a dream so tightly that all your days were wrapped up in the fairy tale of what could be?
The beginning of my story should be the end. I know that. I really do. However sometimes what we know isn’t enough. Sometimes we have to learn things the hard way. This is my story. This is my life. This is a decision I made for love; or maybe for lust. I don’t even know anymore. All I know is that I can’t stop myself. All I know is that I’ve given him forty-three days. He’s got forty-three days to make me fly from the cliffs. He’s already made me fall for him. I only hope I don’t crash and fall into the rocks as well.
There are three things I know before going into this:
1. It’s not going to end well
2. There will be many tears
3. This is an adventure I never saw coming in my life.
You might be wondering why I’m going into this if I know it won’t end well. Honestly, I don’t know. Have you ever been so absolutely captivated by someone? Have you ever felt something that makes you want to forget everything you already think and know? That’s what Henry James does to me. He’s my own personal drug. He’s my everything and he doesn’t even know it. Or maybe he does. And maybe that’s the real problem.
Prologue
“I have a proposition for you.” His words were smooth and silky, flowing into my ears like melodious music.
“Okay,” I said, swallowing hard as I stared into his bright, emerald-green eyes. He stared back at me, not blinking, his eyes almost mocking me as they sparkled. I waited for him to continue, but he didn’t say anything else. He just kept staring at me. “Are you going to say what your proposition is, then?” I spoke up again and I watched as his lips spread into a wide smile, his gleaming white teeth now showing…yet he still didn’t speak. “Or do you have nothing to say?” I said again, this time irritation apparent in my tone.
He spoke again finally. “I have a lot to say.” I watched as he ran his strong tanned hand through his short black silky hair. “I wasn’t sure if you were ready to hear it yet, though.”
“Uhm, obviously I am.” I rolled my eyes at him and tried to avoid staring at his chest. He was wearing a crisp white shirt, and the top two buttons were undone, exposing part of his chest. I was finding it hard not to ask him to undo more buttons so I could see the full glory of his muscular chest. His tie hung loosely around his neck; I wanted to reach over and tug it off, but somehow I was able to restrain myself. I didn’t want him to know just how badly I wanted him. I didn’t want him to know that I wasn’t as immune to his charms as I was trying to make myself out to be.
“Good,” he said and then he took a step toward me. I swallowed again as my heart started racing with anticipation. I could feel my skin heating up.
“So what’s your proposition?” My voice was a squeak as I took a step back from him and waited for him to continue. I had no idea what he was about to say. Well, that wasn’t true. I had a slight inkling. I just wasn’t sure what I would say in response. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to play the sort of games I imagined he was interested in. I wasn’t the sort of girl who had casual flings and, well, I didn’t even really know him. I’d only met him recently and I wasn’t even sure yet if I liked him.
“I’m not sure you’re ready.” He laughed as he took another step toward me.
“I just told you that I am,” I said, this time not stepping back. I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing me retreat.
“I need to make sure that you can handle me.” He licked his lips as he stared at me, and for a few seconds I felt like he was a wolf and I was a juicy piece of meat that he wanted to devour.
“Handle you for what?” I swallowed hard as I gazed at his arms. They were so muscular and strong through his shirt, and I wondered what it would feel like to have them holding me down as he caressed me. I blushed at my thoughts, wondering what had happened to my mind. Whenever I was around Henry James, my thoughts went straight to the gutter.
“Everything,” he said, his eyes narrowing as he surveyed my body.
“Everything?” I licked my lips nervously.
“I want you to submit to me, Lacey.” His voice was almost a growl as he spoke and I could see lust in his eyes.
“Excuse me?” My eyes widened at his words. He wasn’t messing around about what he wanted. I’d expected he’d dance around a bit before he said it, but it looked as though he was cutting to the chase.
“A man like me takes what he wants when he wants it,” Henry said as he undid his tie and threw it to the ground. “That’s important for you to remember.”
“I see.” I stared at his tie on the ground and then back at him. What was he going to do next?
“Do you?” he asked as he stepped forward, and I watched as he undid the rest of the buttons of his crisp white shirt one by one. I felt like I couldn’t breathe as I watched him. It almost felt like I was in a dream. This couldn’t really be happening, could it?
“Yes.” I nodded, swallowing hard and staring at his olive skin as he took his shirt off and threw it next to his tie. “What are you doing?” I asked him, my eyes widening as his fingers fell to his belt. I watched as he removed it as deftly as he’d removed his tie. Whoa! I had not expected him to take off all of his clothes. He wasn’t going to go completely naked, was he?
“What does it look like?” He licked his lips and smirked at me.
“Why are you taking your clothes off?”
“Why do you think?” he said as he bent down and removed his dark navy slacks. He stood in front of me, almost naked, his white boxer briefs the only thing keeping him from baring all.
“Henry…” I said, my head starting to spin. My throat felt dry as I stared at him. Boy, was he sexy.
“Yes?” he said, and he smiled, a big, wide smile, before stepping out of his boxer shorts. He was naked now. Completely and utterly naked. My gaze fell to his cock. I swallowed again as I took it in. He was big, magnificent almost. I couldn’t believe he had just gotten naked in front of me. He was way too comfortable with me. I had to nip this in the bud before he went too far.
“Henry…” I said again and took a step back. My face was burning and my body was on fire. I was in way over my head and I didn’t know what to say or do. I groaned as I felt the wall behind me. He’
d backed me into a corner, just as he’d planned. I was almost sure that he had me exactly where he wanted me.
“Yes, Lacey?” he said, his green eyes piercing mine knowingly.
“What are you doing?” I repeated, my voice barely a whisper.
“Showing you how easy it is to let go,” he said. He slammed the door shut and turned the lock. “Are you ready to hear my proposition now?”
Chapter One
Three Weeks Earlier
“A hundred dollars for the night…a hundred dollars for the night.” I kept repeating the words to myself over and over again to keep myself from turning my car around and going back home. “A hundred dollars for the night,” I said again, this time with a sigh. I looked down at my serving outfit and grimaced. I looked like a maid. A cheap, slutty maid. My black skirt was way too short, my white shirt was too tight and it was also a little see-through, which I hadn’t realized until I’d left the house. I was going to show up and be the worst server at the party. Of that I was sure. I might even get fired. And on my first day. Ugh, that would be embarrassing. I had no experience as a waitress and I didn’t even really look the part. And as much as I wanted to go home and just forget the job, I needed the money. “This is what you get for trying to make it as a writer, you broke-ass,” I chastised myself as I drove up the long driveway to one of the most impressive houses I’d ever seen in my life. I tried to remember where my new boss had said to park, but I completely forgot. I pulled up behind a black Bentley, quickly jumped out of my car, and slammed the door shut. I grabbed my handbag and headed to the front door, even though I vaguely remembered being told to enter via the servants’ entrance. I couldn’t remember how to get there so I just went through the front door and prayed no one would see me and tell me off.
“Lacey?” A pretty lady with short red hair came rushing up to me with a stack of papers in her hand and a frazzled look on her face. I had no idea how she knew who I was, but I wasn’t about to question her.
“That’s me.” I nodded and cringed as she looked me over and made a face.
“You’re late.”
“Really?” I looked down at my watch. “Sorry, I didn’t realize…” My voice trailed off as I realized the lady wasn’t even listening to me anymore and was walking away from me.
“Are you coming?” She turned to look back at me with a disdainful look. “Follow me,” she said, looking annoyed as she turned back around and walked quickly out of the room.
“A hundred dollars…a hundred dollars,” I muttered to myself as I followed her. I wasn’t even sure that a hundred dollars was worth this stress, but some income was better than none. And waitressing private parties at night was the best sort of job for me if I was serious about being a writer. Which I was. I really wanted to make it as a writer, even if the book I wanted to write was on the backburner. I was still excited about writing my romance novel, Play the Player, and I had the support of my best friend, Eliza. She thought it was a brilliant and inspired novel. In fact, she was even letting me stay with her for free, which was why I had gotten this job. I knew she couldn’t afford to support me; I had to provide some income to the household as well. I didn’t want to take advantage of our friendship and I certainly didn’t want to be a burden. Not that she ever made me feel like I was a burden. She’d never done that to me.
“So you’ll be in charge of passing out the canapés, okay?” The redhead was talking to me and I had completely spaced out. I nodded quickly as we made our way into one of the most impressive kitchens I’d ever seen in my life. There were seven other servers standing around, looking as overwhelmed as I was, and that made me feel a little bit better. I watched as the redhead grabbed her phone and hurried out of the kitchen. I stood there awkwardly, wondering what I was meant to do now.
“Hey, you must be the new girl.” A tall, cute guy, with short blond hair and big blue eyes, came over to me. “I’m Tad.” He gave me his hand. “Is this your first time serving at a private party?”
“That obvious, huh?”
He nodded, a huge grin on his face. “You look like a fish out of water.”
“Kinda.” I laughed and looked around the kitchen. “This is a private house, huh?”
“Yeah, some rich guy.” He nodded. “Makes more money in a minute than we make all year, I bet.”
“Must be nice.” I laughed. “I’m Lacey, by the way.”
“Nice to meet you, Lacey.” He looked down at me and batted his eyelashes. “Maybe we can get a drink after this?”
“Yeah, sounds good,” I said with a small smile as I gazed at his handsome face. He reminded me of a surfer, with his deep tanned skin and golden blond hair. He had a boyish smile and while he looked like he was a little younger than me, I didn’t really care. It would be nice to go for a drink with a cute guy. Someone who seemed unassuming. Someone who would take my mind off of the small crush I had on the enigmatic Henry James, a man I barely knew and who, I was fairly certain, didn’t even know I existed. Well, he knew I existed. We’d met once and exchanged words and glances. His glance at me had been full of contempt and conceit. Mine had been the same, though my body had been on fire as I’d stared at him. I’d never experienced anything quite like that before. I’d never felt like I was falling for someone just by looking at them once, like I was drowning and flying all at the same time. It was a heady and scary feeling. It was also a weird one. Who felt that way about someone after just looking at them once?
A crazy person, that was who. I was crazy, crazy, crazy.
“Awesome.” He did a little dance and I laughed at his goofy moves. Maybe it wasn’t going to be so bad working here after all. Tad seemed cool and I couldn’t be that bad of a server.
***
I wandered around the periphery of the room, feeling dreadfully out of place. The room was full of distinguished grown-ups, which made me feel very much like a little kid, even though I was in my early twenties. All the men were dressed in classy suits, and the women were in ball gowns that were even more glamorous than the dresses the rich girls at my school had worn to prom. I held the tray carefully as I made my way around the room with the small, delicious snacks. The tray felt heavy and there were several times that I’d nearly dropped it. The first time, I’d been saved by Tad, and the other times, I had managed to catch the tray before it completely fell on the ground.
“Ooh, Peter, you must try the lobster and caviar bites.” A tall slinky blonde approached with a handsome man in a dark suit. “They are divine. Absolutely divine.” She grabbed two from my tray, without even a hello or thank you, and I tried not to roll my eyes as she made a sound close to an orgasm as she ate one. The man gave me a wink before he took the other one from her hand, and I gave him a small smile. I was about to turn around and go back to the kitchen to refill my supply of canapés when I suddenly felt like someone was staring at me. I turned around quickly and looked behind me, but there was no one there. My body felt warm and I felt slightly uncomfortable as I stood there, staring out at the sea of people.
“You okay, Lacey?” Tad hurried over to me, and I nodded and gave him a quick smile.
“Yeah, just going to get more divine lobster and caviar bites.” I winked at him and he laughed, his face coming close to mine.
“You’re really cute, you know that, right?” he said, his blue eyes gazing into mine with an appreciative smile.
“Thank you,” I said, beaming back at him. “That’s really nice of you—oh!” I gasped as I felt hands on my waist.
“Come with me,” a deep voice said from behind me. “Give him your tray,” the voice commanded, and I swallowed hard as I recognized the voice. I handed a confused-looking Tad the tray and found myself being escorted from the room and into a hallway.
“What are you doing?” I said angrily as I looked up at my new companion.
“What do you think?” he said, a sardonic look on his handsome face.
“I have no idea.” I glared at him and swallowed hard as he opened a
door and pushed me into a room. He followed me and then closed the door shut before turning the light on. I stood there, staring at him, taking him in and trying to remember to breathe.
Dark, silky hair. Light green, teasing eyes. Tanned olive skin. Perfect white teeth. A body that looked muscular and strong without being too built. A smirk that drove me crazy. And hands on my waist that were driving me wild. This was not a good sign. What was he doing here? And how had he found me? My face was a hot mess, and I glared at him as I tried to back away.
“Get your hands off of me,” I snarled up at the man who had pulled me into the poorly lit room, his warm hands feeling as if they were burning holes through my shirt.
“Or?” He grinned down at me, his smile wide and teasing. His eyes gazed into mine searchingly and I wondered at how he could be so familiar with me, even though we’d only met once before.
“Sir, I may be the hired help, but I was hired to waitress, not to be your own private plaything.” I kept my voice steady, though I was starting to feel lightheaded. This man in front of me was entirely too good looking, and I could tell by the look on his face that he knew it. I also had a feeling he wasn’t buying my “not interested” story, but I didn’t care.
“That’s a pity.” He laughed as he let go of me. “I’d quite like you to be my plaything.” He winked at me and his eyes seemed to sparkle like emeralds as he surveyed me.
“I bet you would,” I said and quickly turned around and grabbed the door handle. “If you’ll excuse me, please.” I opened the door quickly but before I could hurry out of the room, he grabbed me and pulled me toward him. I looked up at him. “Oh,” I said softly, my voice dropping as I took in his face properly and saw that his expression was suddenly serious. “Henry,” I said as I tried to regain my breath. I stood there for a second and tried to pretend like I hadn’t known who he was as soon as he’d grabbed me and pulled me into the room. I knew I wasn’t convincing.
